The Boise School District is working on a number of facilities projects this summer, including parking lot construction and HVAC upgrades at several of its schools. Many of the projects are already underway and are expected to be completed before the start of next school year.

At this month’s school board meeting later this month, I will be proposing to modernize Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ (M-DCPS) attendance boundary, student assignment and school planning processes. The goal is to create a system that is more transparent, predictable, accessible and responsive to the realities facing today’s students and families.

Construction will start next week on new Career Technical Education Maker Spaces in three middle schools and expanded classrooms in Weeks Middle School.

From Guam's executive office, two pieces of legislation have been signed into law aimed at strengthening Guam's public education system through higher standards in student mental health services and continued investment in school facilities.

As school districts nationwide confront declining student enrollment, reduced funding, expiring pandemic relief funding and budget shortfalls, conversations about school closures and so-called rightsizing are intensifying.

From large urban systems to smaller districts, leaders are under pressure to consolidate and reduce costs while still accelerating academic recovery for students

School Construction News attended Bisnow’s inaugural Southern California K-12 School Real Estate & Facilities Summit on June 2 at the Omni Hotel in Los Angeles, the organization’s first conference dedicated entirely to K-12. The event brought together school district leaders, architects, contractors and investors to address the funding, design and delivery challenges reshaping school campuses across the region.

Legislators unpacked the details of one of the most contentious words to echo around the Capitol in the past few years: consolidation.

Mississippi representatives met on Thursday, June 4, to discuss, specifically, the consolidation of K-12 schools and districts throughout the state.

Every time storms threaten the Tidewater region, Superintendent David Daniel worries the next round of severe weather could cripple Mathews County Public Schools’ aging environmental system, forcing classroom closures and creating safety risks for students.

In one case, the storm did just that. Moisture overwhelmed the elementary school’s heating, ventilation and cooling system, causing water to collect on the floors and forcing staff to close the school for three days because of safety concerns. Daniel said the infrastructure is decades behind where it needs to be.

A team at the University of Michigan has created an online tool to track school closures and consolidations in West Virginia as the state is grappling with population decline and widespread school financial issues.

The project was led by Roane County native Christina Weiland, who is currently professor of education and social policy at the University of Michigan. 

Across the country, K-12 school districts are navigating a tough, familiar equation: aging buildings, rising utility costs and intense pressure to stretch every tax dollar. HVAC systems, particularly central energy plants, often sit at the center of that challenge. They’re essential, expensive to maintain and easy to postpone until problems become emergencies. At the national level, the U.S. Department of Energy notes that K-12 school districts spend nearly $8 billion each year on energy, making it the second-largest expense after salaries.  

The city’s “AC for All” initiative, launched in 2017, aimed to bring air conditioning to every public school classroom. But the policy doesn’t require the city to verify whether the units are functioning properly, or to extend cooling to common spaces.

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — For generations, the American schoolhouse has symbolized opportunity — a place where communities invest in the next generation and where children prepare to shape the future.

Now, as the nation approaches its 250th birthday, one Washington, D.C., elementary school is drawing attention for what that future might look like.

John Lewis Elementary School is the first public school in the world to achieve Net Zero Energy, LEED Platinum and WELL Platinum certification, according to officials with the District of Columbia Department of General Services.

Key Points:

Republican leaders seek to block court order to fix school funding system

Judge Dewain Fox declares current system unconstitutional, citing unsafe buildings and lack of equipment

His ruling may halt state funding if schools remain unfixed

Calling it an illegal intrusion on their authority, Republican legislative leaders are moving to block — or at least delay — a court order requiring them to fix the system of public school funding that left some students in disrepaired buildings and without the equipment necessary to learn.

Miami-based developer and investor Fortec is betting that one of the nation’s most overlooked real estate sectors, early childhood education facilities, is also one of its most needed.

The company has committed to building between 50 and 60 preschool and early education centers across the country, fueled in part by a $100 million investment fund launched in 2025 and a recent $30 million institutional investment backed by Equiturn Holdings.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — State Representative Brian Stewart (R-Ashville), Chair of the House Finance Committee, today formally introduced Ohio’s highly anticipated Capital Budget bill. The massive two-year capital improvements plan maps out nearly $3.7 billion in total appropriations to modernize the state’s infrastructure and jumpstart vital community initiatives.

The influx of nearly $8.5 billion to Texas schools last year was not enough to stop schools from making tough budget cuts, district officials told state lawmakers during a Capitol hearing Monday.

School leaders  across Texas have already had to eliminate jobs and close campuses because of financial pressure. The El Paso district, for example, faces a nearly $53 million budget shortfall and may soon declare a financial emergency, while the Crystal City district in South Texas recently told families that it has less than $500 in its bank account.

One Northeast Kingdom town took an unusual step to retain some control over its school’s fate just as the state Legislature finalized passage of this year’s landmark education reform bill on Friday evening. 

Around 40 Peacham voters unanimously approved an article authorizing the selectboard to purchase the town’s elementary school building for the nominal amount of $1. The pre-K-6 school of around 60 students continues to operate, but the town will now retain the facility and grounds for community use in the event that its school district merges with another, which is likely because of the district’s small size.

PHOENIX — Calling it an illegal intrusion on their authority, Republican legislative leaders are moving to block or delay a court order requiring them to fix the system of funding public schools.

A judge previously ruled that system unconstitutionally leaves some students in buildings needing major repairs and without the equipment necessary to learn.

Alaska would more than triple the funding it devotes to school construction and maintenance projects next year under a budget approved this month by the state Legislature. The funding, which awaits Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s signature, follows reporting by KYUK, ProPublica and NPR last year that documented a severe health and safety crisis inside the buildings used daily for public education.

Top Takeaways

At issue is whether districts with more property wealth per student receive a greater share of matching funds for school renovations.
Plaintiffs worry that funding from a voter-passed state bond will run dry by the time a verdict is reached; the state argues the plaintiffs failed to justify an injunction.
Judge Patrick McKinney said the facilities lawsuit could win on merits, but he’s concerned about halting funds for school modernization before the trial.

Attorneys pitched their arguments this week to an Alameda County Superior Court judge who acknowledged he was torn about whether to temporarily stop billions of dollars of school construction grants that plaintiffs charge discriminate against low-wealth districts.