The Alaska State Board of Education moved to establish a special committee to review ongoing issues and make recommendations to improve operations at the state-run boarding school, Mt. Edgecumbe High School.

After a turbulent year of budget cuts, staff and administrative changes and more than 100 students disenrolling this year, a delegation of lawmakers made an impromptu visit to the school in February to investigate. Legislators have pressed school officials and the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, which operates the school, for explanations and improvements. Their interest has spotlighted the school’s ongoing maintenance needs and sparked a conversation about ways to increase support for remaining students.

The state Board of Education is charged with administering the school, along with DEED. The school normally serves roughly 400 students, the majority of whom are Alaska Native and from rural communities across the state.  

The Lee County School District is doing a lot of construction right now. Some of that is due to hurricane damage, other projects are to keep pace with the growing number of students, and some encompass both reasons.
At least one building, Cypress Lake Middle School, needed to be completely rebuilt.
Crews were about 80 percent done when we visited the new three-story main classroom building at Cypress Lake Middle School, according to project manager Matthew Burbach.
"You saw the drywall going in and everything like that," said school system project manager Matthew Burbach. "So that is what we're hitting hard right now and trying to get that wrapped up. But we are putting in the duct work. We're running the conduit. We're running all of the stuff that you see, that you don't see, that's all inside the walls."
 

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — In the small town of Indian Springs, about 45 minutes from Las Vegas, the local school isn’t just a building: it’s a community gathering space.  
Indian Springs Schools serve students from Pre-K through 12th grade.
“Our elementary school currently has 124 students, our middle school has 73 students, and our high school has 74 students, for a total Pre-K – 12 enrollment of 271 students,” according to the school’s website.
All students are located on a shared campus. 

“There’s not a lot compared to the city, our parks and rec, and then the school, that’s the only things that we have,” parent Jami Reid, who reached out to 8 News Now, said. 

It’s the heart of the community, but a recent email from the Clark County School District sent to families has left some parents feeling pushed to the side. 

Jefferson County Public Schools will not have enough money in its building repair fund to cover its own cash needs in 2027, Chief Financial Officer Brenna Copeland told the school board last week. The district will have to borrow from the state.

The warning caps years of deferred repairs and shrinking transfers.

The fund, essentially the district's savings account for fixing and maintaining school buildings, started this fiscal year at approximately $110 million, according to a March 3 presentation by COO Jeff Gatlin. That balance represents roughly one year of building upkeep at the level the district says it needs, he said.

It’s like a homeowner who sets aside money each year to replace the roof, fix the furnace and repair the plumbing. But instead of spending what the house needs, the district is spending about half that amount and pushing the rest of the to-do list to later, a list that grows longer and more expensive every year it goes unaddressed.

The district is spending about $60 million this year while delaying approximately $45 million in needed repairs and upgrades, according to the district. The adopted budget puts the opening balance slightly lower, at $100 million, and projects the fund will end the year roughly $29 million lower.

HONOLULU (Island News) -- The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) continues attending to nearly 300 work orders for storm damage to campuses statewide, and in one case where Konawaena High School will be doing distance learning next week.

In the aftermath of the Kona low storm that impacted the islands with heavy rain, flooding and strong winds, HIDOE has been assessing campuses, with a majority on Oahu, for storm damage.

HIDOE received nearly 300 storm-related work orders as of this week — common issues involve roof leaks and water intrusion into classrooms, which makes up about half of all reports, along with reports of downed trees, debris and localized flooding. 26 of these incidents have been reported for insurance review.

ROARING SPRING — In a 7 to 2 vote, Spring Cove School Board members rejected a proposal for repairs to the Central High School track, instead opting to purchase a kit that will be used by maintenance staff to repair the track in-house.
The repair proposal — conducted by ATT Sports — was for $5,170, while the kit will cost $135.
Board members Troy Wright and Samantha Snowberger were the only votes in favor of hiring ATT Sports.
The decision comes after an ongoing discussion about resurfacing the Central running track, which is due for repair. The entire project would cost the district $230,000 but last 10 years. The board has yet to make a decision concerning the total project.
Building and grounds supervisor Aaron Barnes said before the meeting that there are cracks on the track’s pole vault area, which is about 5 square feet. With track season approaching, the district needed to address the issue even without coming to a conclusion about the rest of the track renovations.
 

The Coronado Unified School District has earned about $830,000 in facility rental fees from 2021 to 2025, according to a report shared at the March 12 school board meeting. The total includes rentals by organizations ranging from after school arts programs like Monart, to local sports organizations and churches.

“The Civic Center Act requires that we make our school facilities available to the public,” said District Deputy Superintendent Donnie Salamanca. “But school-related activities always take precedence over non-school sponsored activities, even if that means cancelling a contract.”

CUSD currently rents out spaces on all four campuses, as well as District Offices, Crown Preschool, and the Brian Bent Memorial Aquatics Complex (BBMAC). Priority access is based on how closely an activity aligns with CUSD programming, with preference given to programs that serve a larger number of district students.

The Guadalupe Union School District is settling into new facilities after expanding its campuses over the last year with a new junior high school and early learning center.

The expansions aim to relieve existing overcrowding, improve learning spaces for students, and prepare for continuing growth posed in large part by projects such as the 800-home Pasadera development, which broke ground in 2015. 

In 2022, the Guadalupe City Council approved plans for Pasadera South, adding 98 homes to the phased development at the southeast corner of Highways 1 and 166. 

Before the expansion, the district’s two campuses — Mary Buren Elementary and Kermit McKenzie Intermediate — were operating at or beyond comfortable capacity, said district superintendent Dr. Emilio Handall, during the recent State of Education forum in Santa Maria.

Denver Public Schools has carried more obligations than unrestricted assets since at least 2005 — limiting the district’s financial flexibility for nearly two decades, a Denver Gazette analysis of district audits has found.
In practical terms, when the unrestricted net position is negative for a long time, it means most of the district’s resources are already committed to debt, pensions or other obligations.
Financial statements show the broader balance sheet reflects that pressure.
In its most recent audit, DPS reported about $3.7 billion in assets compared to roughly $4.2 billion in liabilities, leaving the district with an overall negative net position.
While that does not mean DPS faces an immediate cash crisis, it indicates the district has limited financial flexibility if revenue declines, costs rise or unexpected expenses emerge.
The Denver Gazette’s analysis of two decades of district audits identified several key trends:
• DPS has carried more obligations than unrestricted assets for two decades
• Long-term borrowing — bonds and certificates of participation — accounts for about 85% of the district’s liabilities, while pension liabilities represent a much smaller share
• The district’s funding mix has shifted, with state support shrinking, while local property taxes make up a growing share of revenue
 

The Oak Harbor School District may seek voters’ support funding either the construction of a new elementary school or major improvements to existing school buildings.  Those are the two recommendations of the district’s Capital Facilities Advisory Committee, which reviewed data, organized physical evaluations of existing facilities and solicited community feedback to formulate potential capital projects. Further discussion is needed before any decisions are made.  Whatever is done, action must be taken to address aging facilities district-wide.
“I think the big pressure point here is, we’ve gone a long time doing nothing here in Oak Harbor,” Superintendent Michelle Kuss-Cybula said during a board meeting on Monday. “… What we can’t do is nothing.”  Addressing capital improvements — like those concerning ventilation, roofing and security — at various schools would run the district $30 million. About $5-7 million of that total would be spent on improving the transportation center in similar ways.  These improvements would benefit multiple schools in multiple neighborhoods quickly. However, money would be invested into old buildings, the outdated designs of which will not be changed.
 

CHEYENNE — Starting this summer, school districts won’t be able to charge rental fees to non-school sports and organizations in excess of an hourly rate based on their own costs.

A new state law passed during the 68th Wyoming Legislature allows for youth organizations, including those not officially registered as nonprofits, to rent facilities like gyms and pools for only the hourly rate of personnel, equipment, utility and supply costs actually incurred by the district.

Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne, who sponsored the legislation for the second time, became emotional Friday when Gov. Mark Gordon signed Senate Enrolled Act 36, former Senate File 90, “School facilities-use fees.” Surrounded by Cheyenne athletes from basketball players to swimmers, she said legislation regarding children always brings her to tears.

Allowing access to school facilities for club sports and related activities, she said, will give in-person connection and community in an era when many interactions happen online.

A bill that would require Florida’s School Districts to document their vacant land and its value to the state is gaining momentum in the Legislature.

The House passed SB 824 with a vote of 84-27 on Monday. The amended bill goes back to the Senate, where it was adopted on the Senate floor last month, 28-9.

Republicans said the purpose of the bill is to make it easier for the public to know how much land School Districts are amassing.

“We’ve had people in our community that have come through … that said, ‘We’d like to know what the school owns because they’re sitting on a lot of property,’” said Rep. Danny Nix Jr., who sponsored the House version, on the impetus of the bill. “As a commercial Realtor, somebody who does this for a living, it was hard for me to find every parcel that the School Board owns. So this literally just puts it in one place for them to be able to give out.”

KAHLOTUS, Wash. — The Kahlotus School District is accepting bids for a major renovation project aimed at modernizing aging school buildings constructed in the late 1950s.
The renovation project is being funded through a $6 million Small School Modernization Grant from the state, along with additional grant funding secured through urgent repair programs.
The improvements will focus on some of the district's most pressing needs, including replacing aging roofs across several buildings and installing a new HVAC system to replace an outdated steam-based heating system that has become unreliable.
School officials say the buildings have been maintained over the years, but many of the core systems have reached the point where major upgrades are necessary to keep the facilities safe and functional for students and staff.
The district has seen strong interest from contractors in the bidding process.
"They opened it up and said if you as a contractor would like to come out and look at the property, you may. They said that you'd normally only get like five or six contractors — and like I said we had ten, ten to twelve," said Dr. Andie Webb, superintendent of the Kahlotus School District.
 

CHEYENNE — As the 68th Wyoming Legislature’s budget session draws to a close, the Select Committee on School Facilities met Thursday to outline what it will focus on for the remainder of the year to prepare for the 2027 general session.

Facing the pressures of declining enrollment in some districts and a 2025 landmark court ruling that found the state’s school funding and facility assessment methods are unconstitutional, the committee began the work of setting its goals for the next year.

Tania Hytrek, operations administrator for the Legislative Service Office, briefed the lawmakers on the Chapter 3, Section 8 exception process and educational suitability, ruled unconstitutional in the broader school finance case. Hytrek noted the state will seek to retain a consultant to assist the committee in undertaking this work.

In the Delmar School District, fifth through 12th grade students share almost everything. They use the same library, they eat lunch in the same cafeteria, and they use the same sports fields. 
That is because Delaware’s southernmost school district only has one building, and both its middle and high school students attend classes there.
The school was built in 2000 for a capacity of just under 1,200 students. But more than 25 years later, the community is facing a persistent problem: a growing student population, which has pushed the district over its capacity by nearly 300 students. 
Because of the overcrowding, some Delmar students have classes in the school’s media center. Two classes are held at once in the auditorium. Teachers must leave their classroom during planning periods so other classes can use the space.
 

A judge ordered state lawmakers to properly fund school construction and maintenance in Arizona, a move that comes more than six months after he ruled that the state has unconstitutionally underfunded public schools.

In a final judgment in a case that began in 2017, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dewain Fox wrote that state lawmakers have eight months to fix the capital funding system for Arizona schools. 

However, Fox also issued a 90-day pause on his judgment so that Arizona Republican lawmakers, who control both legislative chambers and have been defending the funding system, can appeal his findings. 

Public school advocates cheered on the judge’s order.

“For nearly a decade, Arizona educators and district leaders have fought in court to hold state lawmakers accountable for properly funding our schools. We welcome this ruling as an important step toward ensuring that all children have the safe, modern school facilities they deserve,” Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia said in a written statement.

Attorneys for parents and students in school districts with unsafe, unhealthy and inadequate facilities that say they can’t afford to fix asked the Alameda County Superior Court on Friday to freeze $3 billion in state funding for building repairs until the court has ruled on their lawsuit challenging the state’s funding system.

The motion for an injunction argues that the state’s funding formula “shortchanges” property-poor districts, condemning children to subpar school buildings.

“Our students in rural schools deserve a chance to learn in a safe and modern environment,” said Terry Supahan, executive director of True North Organizing Network in California’s North Coast, in a statement Friday. “We must freeze this money until we can figure out how to distribute the money fairly.”

An injunction, if approved, could further delay state matching funding for modernization projects for hundreds of school districts, already facing yearslong waits after past state funding dried up. It could also put pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom to seek a settlement to the lawsuit. A court hearing is scheduled for May 13. 

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the United States Environmental Protection Agency announced that the clean-up and remediation of asbestos at the Park City Schools has been completed after a December windstorm tore the roof off a building, causing insulation containing asbestos to spread around the town.

The sudden storm on Dec. 17, 2025, which received a federal emergency declaration order, ripped the roof off part of the school’s structure, doing damage to the building. But the wind swept particles of roofing and insulation containing vermiculite — a form of asbestos.

The price tag for a proposed rebuild of Madison Park High School in Boston may seem shocking with an estimate reaching $700 million — here’s a look at some of Massachusetts most expensive school builds and how costs have skyrocketed in recent years.

The ten largest school building projects have all received approval from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) and local communities since 2018, ranging from $285 million to over $659 million for a Lexington High School project moving forward last year.

A massive rise in material and labor costs could stymie the start of any new construction tied to Ann Arbor Public Schools’ capital bond this year.
District leaders reported a 44.4% rise in inflation related to projects in the second phase of AAPS’ campaign just over six years after voters approved a $1 billion capital bond.
Initially budgeting for a 2.1% rise, the 32% higher-than-expected difference will reportedly send officials back to the drawing board as they wait for the outcome of a sinking fund renewal request expected to go before voters in the months ahead.
Crews broke ground in 2025 on new buildings to replace Dicken, Logan, Mitchell and Thurston elementary schools, as well as the modernization of Slauson Middle School.
However, a host of other projects were penciled in for the second phase through 2030.
Here are a few takeaways about what the change means for local taxpayers and the AAPS community.