News items come from the U.S. Department of Educations's National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF).

Lack of Funds Cited For Halting Renovations
-- Bill Turque, Washington Post

District of Columbia: July 3, 2008 -- City officials said yesterday that they will halt renovations of 14 schools slated to receive students from schools that have been closed because the D.C. Council has not approved funds to continue the work. Most of the schools on the list are being converted to pre-K-8 and are designated to receive students from buildings that have been shuttered. Preliminary work has been done in anticipation of the contracts being approved. But in a letter to Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D), school construction chief Allen Y. Lew said the council's failure to approve the funds meant he will have to issue immediate "stop work" orders on the jobs. The 14 schools are West, Lasalle, Raymond, Powell, Truesdell, Brightwood, Noyes, Whittier, Cleveland, Shaed, Burroughs and Langdon elementaries and Francis and Browne middle schools. Gray has held up approval of the contracts until Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso provide more information on the need for the conversions. A spokesman for Gray said he will hold a hearing on the matter as early as next week.

Central High School updates take center stage
-- Justin Much, Statesman Journal

Oregon: July 2, 2008 -- With dueling ambitions of keeping property-tax rates constant and providing essential attention to Central High School, the Central School District Board agreed to place a $47.3 million bond before voters in November. Issues weighed in the decision included a sluggish economy balanced against physical space and overall quality of the school's existing facilities. The bond amount is expected to replace an expiring bond. "The board decided that the high school has been put off, and put off, and put off," said Central School District Superintendent Joseph Hunter. "We wanted to rebuild the high school, and what we came up with was really amazing." The plans include expanding the school's capacity to 1,200 students, up from the current capacity of 729 without module classrooms. Earlier this year, Hunter noted that a Portland State University study indicated the district's enrollment will see a low growth rate of about 2 to 2.5 percent to a high growth of 7 to 8 percent during the next 10 to 15 years. Other projects within the bond's plan include a sports stadium and a performing arts auditorium. Hunter expects that some funding also will be available for minor energy-efficiency improvements at the district's elementary schools. Perhaps the biggest changes would be technological advances in the classrooms.

School facilities now handicapped accessible
-- David Atchison, Daily Home Online

Alabama: July 1, 2008 -- Schools Superintendent Dr. Bobby Hathcock said no further monitoring is required by the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, related to a 2002 agreement to make the high school accessible to mobility-impaired people. “We’re extremely pleased,” Hathcock said. “I’m glad to meet the requirements for all of our people.” Hathcock said this was an eight-year process. “We needed to make all our facilities accessible to all our people,” he said. “This has been a long process.” A complaint was filed with the OCR in 2000. “The complainant specifically alleged that the (school) district discriminated against individuals with disabilities by failing to make Pell City High accessible to mobility-impaired persons,” OCR’s letter dated June 13, 2008, states. In 2002, an administrative resolution was reached between OCR and the School System. Hathcock, who was not superintendent at the time the OCR complaint was filed, commended Michael Barber, assistant superintendent, and Gary Mozingo, facilities supervisor for the School System, for their work in bringing the system into compliance. Mozingo said he was hired in 1999, and he was meeting with officials from OCR six months later. He said there were 23 items listed on OCR’s corrective action list.

School Officials Urge Approval Of Funds for D.C. Building Repairs
-- Bill Turque, Washington Post

District of Columbia: July 1, 2008 -- School officials have warned the D.C. Council that failure to approve $83 million in building repair contracts could leave thousands of children in severely under-equipped schools or stranded altogether when classes begin Aug. 25. In separate letters to council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D), Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and Allen Y. Lew, head of school modernization efforts, said the contracts are critical to the renovation and repair of buildings designated to receive students from the nearly two dozen schools Rhee ordered closed this month because of low enrollment. Thirteen of the schools targeted for work are slated to become pre-K-8 campuses. Work at many of the schools, which got underway when classes ended June 12, involves extensive plumbing and electrical repairs, including the installation of elevators in some buildings. All renovations were scheduled to be completed Aug. 15, 10 days before the start of the academic year. In a letter that Rhee sent to Gray on Friday and that her office released late yesterday, Rhee said contractors retained to do the work on tight summer schedules might be unwilling or unable to complete the jobs because of uncertainty over whether the council will approve the money to pay them.

Indiana School Construction Projects Now Must Face Referendums
-- Sharlonda L. Waterhouse, Post-Tribune

Indiana: July 1, 2008 -- Eight Lake and Porter county school districts from Merrillville to Tri-Creek to East Porter and Highland have already snagged state approval in the past year for multimillion-dollar projects. They got in before a new law went into effect that calls for a voter referendum on school construction. Several more districts, including Valparaiso, Portage, Union Township and Gary, are bouncing around ideas now about the future of improvements to school campuses and could face voter scrutiny. The law requires approval by voters for building projects more than $20 million for high schools and more than $10 million for other schools. Valparaiso is still in the early stages of deciding on replacing elementary schools and redesigning the high school, business manager David White said. "If there is a project forthcoming it would require a referendum, but that would be a board decision." Many Valparaiso residents, however, voiced disapproval of the project that would eliminate neighborhood elementaries in favor of three new large schools. In Newton County, North Newton is readying plans to pursue a referendum to improve three elementary schools and the junior-senior high school. Portage Township Schools would be required to have one for its planned addition to Willowcreek Middle School. Portage Superintendent Michael Berta said the district is still deciding on the costs and square footage and might not be ready to seek a referendum until next year.

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