Four years after its creation, a state agency created to expedite school construction projects is at risk of losing all of its staff and funding.

Several bills in the Legislature aim to strip the School Facilities Authority of its responsibility over construction funding and projects, including a historic $200 million investment in the creation of pre-kindergarten classrooms. 

The authority was established in 2020 to take over the construction of new school facilities from the Hawaii Department of Education. Legislators have since tasked SFA with building a new school on Maui, constructing teacher housing and creating pre-kindergarten classrooms to advance the state’s goal of providing all 3- and 4-year-olds access to preschool by 2032. 

Some legislators say the authority has fallen short of its intended goal, citing SFA’s struggle to hire staff and make headway on projects over the past two years. For example, while the state initially tasked SFA with spending $200 million on constructing pre-kindergarten classrooms by June — enough money for roughly 200 classrooms — only 13 classrooms have been completed so far. 

Jacksonville School District is considering a $10 million bond sale at the end of this year to build a new school near Illinois Route 267 to replace Murrayville-Woodson Elementary School.
It could be the next use for a 1 cent facilities sales tax implemented in 2014 that has allowed Jacksonville school district to upgrade multiple buildings, including Jacksonville Middle School and, most recently, Eisenhower Middle School. 
Murrayville-Woodson Elementary was built in 1917 and replacing the school is one of the options under consideration, but a decision will have to wait until the end of the year, Jacksonville District 117 schools Superintendent Steve Ptacek said.
 

FITCHBURG, Wis. (WKOW) -- The first net-zero school in the state is closing in on its fourth year of carbon neutral education. 
Forest Edge Elementary is the first net-zero school in Wisconsin, meaning it creates more energy than it uses. 
"Everything in the building works on electricity. So, we can very easily see that we make more power than we use by just looking at our energy bills," the school's business manager, Andy Weiland, said.
The school has 1,704 solar panels across the roof for electricity and 99 geothermal wells 400 feet below the school collecting water for heating and cooling. 
"By using that kind of temperate water from the ground, we can condition spaces very easily," Weiland said. 
Sustainability is built into the school's literal foundation, their classes as well. 
 

In March, at Jeffersonville Elementary School in Twiggs County, Ga., school staff, parents and students toured a brand-new clinic.  

Inside, there’s a room with a TV for telehealth, and two empty suites being prepped for dentist chairs. There are rooms for primary care, too. It smells like fresh paint. 

This clinic will be one of about 30 new or expanded school-based health centers to be up and running over the next few years. The expansion is part of $125 million investment from the state fueled by federal COVID relief funds. 

Through grants issued by the Georgia Department of Education, school districts like Twiggs County were able to apply for up to $1 million to help build and support the startup of these health centers.  

Mack Bullard is the superintendent of the Twiggs County School District. 

“And it's not just for the kids, but if they have a little brother at home or a grandparent at home, they can come and be seen too,” Bullard said. 

What he describes is a big difference from the school nurse's office you may remember, and a big deal in Twiggs County where kids and adults are largely uninsured. Many don’t see a doctor or dentist regularly. 

The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a ruling Wednesday that Carmel Clay Schools did not violate Indiana’s “dollar law” when it closed an elementary school and refused to sell the building to a charter school.

In 2011, the Indiana General Assembly first approved a law that required a school corporation, under certain circumstances, to either lease an unused school building to a charter school for one dollar per year or to sell the school building to the charter school for one dollar.

Since then, the dollar statute has been amended several times.

In 2018, Carmel Clay approved the construction of a new Orchard Park Elementary School building and decided that the students wouldn’t be moved to the new location until 2021.

Carmel Clay used the old location for storage space for the school district.

The Juneau School District’s consolidation plan has been officially approved by the state and, while some parents are still hoping to prevent the plan, district leaders are well into implementing the multitude of fine details necessary to carry out the realignment that by law will not allow closed schools to reopen for at least seven years.

Consolidation details ranging from the color of labels on moving boxes identifying their destination buildings to making adjustments in starting times for some grades due to shifting bus routes were discussed during a Juneau Board of Education meeting Tuesday night. Some of the details added to what’s already been a contentious debate, including questions about whether extra work expectations are being placed on teachers and others — including students — in the packing, cleaning and moving process.

Final authorization for the consolidation that will place all students in grades 9-12 at Juneau Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé, and all students in grades 7-8 and the HomeBRIDGE program at what’s currently Thunder Mountain High School, was provided in an April 4 letter by Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED). The consolidation will result in the renaming of Thunder Mountain and closure of Juneau’s two middle schools (one of which will be used for other education programs), and the letter specifies the legal implications of taking such action.

PARIS — Maine School Administrative District 17 will ask voters to establish a $2 million capital improvements plan to address critical needs of several school buildings throughout the district during statewide elections this June.

In previous years’ budgets, building maintenance and repairs fell into the overall Facilities Department’s accounts, a cost center that also covers building operations and ever-increasing utilities expenses.

The move comes in the aftermath of recently closing Agnes Gray Elementary School in West Paris and a districtwide assessment last year which showed that four other elementary schools need overdue maintenance.

Near the state capital of Harrisburg lies the town of Steelton, Pennsylvania, the home of America’s first steel company and the birthplace of an industry that has long relied upon burning fossil fuels. Down the street from the 150-year-old steel mill is the campus of Steelton-Highspire School District (SHSD), which is forging ahead as one of the first Pennsylvania school districts to power its buildings and its buses with onsite renewable energy.

The school district found its way to renewable energy out of financial necessity. Steelton-Highspire School District (SHSD) sought creative solutions to overcome its annual budget gap of $10 million per year and provide the best educational experience for its diverse and predominantly low-income population of less than 1,500 students. SHSD found that energy efficiency and solar energy could provide significant operational cost savings to help the district balance its budget. The district’s 1.7 MW solar array powers 100% of the district’s electricity needs and is expected to provide $4 million in energy savings over the next two decades.

An agreement between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature that will reduce the state’s budget shortfall by $17.3 billion also will mean less money for school facilities.

The agreement, signed April 4, cuts the state School Facility Aid Program by $500 million, reducing the funding from $875 million to $375 million. The program provides funds to school districts for school construction, deferred maintenance and emergency repairs.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In a workshop on Tuesday, the Duval County School Board discussed a much-debated plan to rebuild, close and renovate schools within the district.
The workshop gave the first look at a potential timeline for public school consolidation in Duval County.
The plan, which includes a proposal to close nearly 30 schools, will impact nearly every student enrolled in Duval County Public Schools. Closing or consolidating schools would allow the district to make up for a $1.4 billion gap in the budget.
But nothing has been decided yet, and before making any decisions, the school district wants to hear from the public.
The district says with more students attending private and charter schools, DCPS has lost 30,000 students over the last 10 years.
James Cummings, a parent of an Atlantic Beach Elementary student, had a strong reaction.
“Shocked, saddened, and concerned, like a lot of parents around the city, I’m sure,” Cummings said.
 

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Wake County Board of Education is dealing with growing pains across the district. We're now learning more about their 7-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).

The plan, which now extends through fiscal year 2031, includes school programs, improving current schools, and adding some new schools to keep up with population growth.

Of the total $2.8 billion budget, $475 million is going towards new schools. The most pressing need right now is the booming western part of the county.

Parkside Middle School in Morrisville is already under construction and set to be done by next year, and Morrisville is also set to get another high school by 2028.

For some young parents like Ramchendra Koirala who moved to Morrisville from New York, he says one of the selling points was the schools, and he's glad by the time his kids are old enough they'll have a school close by they can call home.

RICHMOND, Va. -- The way localities can choose to help pay for new school construction and renovation is up for debate this week at the Virginia General Assembly.
Governor Glenn Youngkin (R - Virginia) vetoed a bill passed by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly that would have allowed Virginia cities and counties to add a one-percent sales tax to fund school construction and renovation projects if approved by voters in a referendum.
in Virginia
The way localities can choose to help pay for new school construction and renovation is up for debate this week at the Virginia General Assembly.
By: Cameron ThompsonPosted at 4:44 PM, Apr 16, 2024 and last updated 4:44 PM, Apr 16, 2024
RICHMOND, Va. -- The way localities can choose to help pay for new school construction and renovation is up for debate this week at the Virginia General Assembly.
Governor Glenn Youngkin (R - Virginia) vetoed a bill passed by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly that would have allowed Virginia cities and counties to add a one-percent sales tax to fund school construction and renovation projects if approved by voters in a referendum.
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A 2021 report found over half of Virginia's schools are over 50 years old and replacing them would cost around $25 billion.
"We know from a state perspective we can't fund, from the Commonwealth, all $25 billion. And so, this [bill] is really adding a tool to the toolbox for localities with pretty tough thresholds," Sen. Jeremy McPike (D - Prince William), who sponsored one of the bills, said about the tax.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers supported the bill in the General Assembly.
Governor Youngkin offered a different perspective.
"The reality, of course, is this bill is just another tax increase at a time when Virginians really can't afford it," the governor said.
 

NEW HAVEN — Dismayed by school bathroom conditions, students are calling on the city to fund an education budget for the upcoming year that includes more janitors, building maintenance and additional gender-neutral bathrooms in each school.
Toilets, stall doors, ceiling tiles and dispensers have been damaged in bathrooms across the district, according to a March report by the district’s facilities director that said vandalism in school bathrooms is “significant." Students say vandalism is one reason for the poor bathroom conditions, but not the only one, and they say many bathrooms are closed or unusable.
Thailynn Taylor-Morehead, a senior at Engineering and Science University Magnet School, said instead of just complaining, the students want to work with officials on solutions. She said having clean bathrooms should be a “no-brainer."
 

School gardens in this country have been around for over a hundred years. Early on, gardening for children at school often emphasized the use of tools, cooperative work, the value of urban agriculture, and the good health effects of working outdoors.

Today, school gardens can be places for discovery, trial and error, a sense of accomplishment, and wonder. Students can taste a fresh tomato or crunchy carrot.

Gardens that kids help plant and care for can get them excited about science, nutrition, and the natural world. Hands-on learning is a great way to explore and investigate. Gathering information through the senses can spark curiosity and help kids connect with what they’re learning.

Leila Rojas loves school.
Since she became one of the first 4-year-olds enrolled in the Defense Department’s free universal preschool program, which launched last year at M.C. Perry Primary School at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan, Leila is thriving academically, socially and emotionally, said her mother Yadira Rojas.
“It’s been amazing for us,” Yadira Rojas said. “Leila talks about her teachers all the time, about how much they teach her, how nice they are, and how they play with her all the time.”
Now thousands more military children will get that same opportunity as the Defense Department prepares to open universal pre-kindergarten at nearly all primary schools on U.S.-run bases worldwide this fall.
 

CEREDO, W.Va. (WCHS) — Gov. Jim Justice visited Wayne County Friday morning, bringing with him $20 million from the State School Building Authority for a new Buffalo Elementary School. The money will be used to add classrooms to Buffalo Middle School to make it a K through eighth grade facility.

"If we want them to have better and better learning experiences and learning environments, and we have to step up especially at times when we have a surplus," Justice said.

Students are also excited about a new school.

"We got more room for us to learn. We have more room so teachers can teach us better," Audrey Clickett, fourth grader at Buffalo Elementary, said.

Buffalo Elementary was built in the 1960s. Officials say the building is old and outdated. They say learning is better in a new and updated facility, adding the new building puts students in a different state of mind.

CHEYENNE — It’s been almost a year since students from Arp Elementary School were moved into a swing space, and it’s been more than two years since the local school district asked for money to demolish and rebuild the south Cheyenne school.

The good news is that the funds to design and build two new elementary schools in Laramie County School District 1 has been secured from the Wyoming Legislature. However, school district officials are still in conversation with the State Construction Department (SCD) about where those buildings should go.

Schools are invited to watch the White House’s first-ever Summit for Sustainable and Healthy K-12 Infrastructure on April 26th, highlighting the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to providing communities equitable access to energy efficient, climate resilient, and healthy school facilities that are conducive to learning. This summit will highlight the pressing need for sustainable 21st-century school infrastructure and the impact that facility conditions have on student and teacher health and learning outcomes. The event will also provide deeper insight into the tools and existing commitments offered by the federal government to invest in school sustainability and infrastructure. Students, educators, administrators, parents, and other school stakeholders are invited to tune in to the opening plenary and panels on April 26th from 1 – 3:30 p.m. ET.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – “When you’re a school district as large as ours, it is really a challenge to try and keep up with just the renovation and refurbishment needs of our facilities,” said Rory Salimbene, chief facilities officer for Orange County Public schools.

Salimbene took News 6 inside the district’s oldest school, Howard Middle School. The building is 97 years old and its age shows. Right now, the school is getting some much-needed upgrades, including new lighting, seating and finishes in the auditorium.

Upstairs, crews are building new floors, a new ceiling and are patching, repairing and painting the walls. They are also updating the old electric wiring and 22-year-old air conditioning.

“So much of what’s needed for a school, you can’t see it,” Salimbene said. He told us the biggest obstacle toward maintaining schools is money.

WOBURN - A new 15-member ad hoc committee established over the winter to explore the findings of a 766-page school feasibility study will spend several hours walking through several educational facilities this weekend.

According to a Building and Capital Building Committee agenda recently posted with City Clerk Lindsay Higgins, the advisory group will launch their investigation by examining the current condition of the Joyce and Kennedy Middle schools and the Altavesta, Linscott, and Wyman Elementary schools on Saturday.

The scheduled 45-minute long site visits are expected to begin at 8:45 a.m. with a walkthrough of the Joyce Middle School and end more than three hours later following a visit to Central Square’s shuttered Wyman School. Based on the meeting agenda, the day’s activities will start at 8:15 a.m. with a light breakfast at the Joyce and will continue at 12:15 p.m. at the Locust Street middle school after the walk-throughs have concluded.