Schools across California don’t meet state standards for cleanliness and maintenance, according to a new report from the state auditor, jeopardizing both students’ health and safety and their chances of succeeding academically.  

The report, published on Tuesday, details California State Auditor Grant Parks’ assessment of 18 public schools in six school districts across the state, ranging from large urban districts like Los Angeles Unified School District, to small rural ones like Calaveras Unified School District.

Even with their differences in student population size and average income of the counties they’re located in, a disturbing pattern of improperly stored hazardous cleaning supplies, leaky roofs, structural deterioration and fire safety issues emerged in classrooms across the state.    

“Of the 983 rooms we reviewed across the 18 schools, 359 had hazardous materials stored in an unsecured manner. The hazardous materials we identified included chemicals such as cleaning supplies,” Parks wrote in the report. “We also observed insect poisons.”

Four schools — in Calaveras Unified, Chico Unified, Palo Verde Unified, and LA Unified school districts — had barbeques and propane tanks inside of classrooms, Parks found.

Ultimately, the problem comes down to money and oversight.   

SAN FRANCISCO -- When the superintendent in San Francisco Unified proposed closing schools recently, parents launched a prolonged -- and successful -- protest. The uproar may have died down for now, but the issue is likely to erupt at school boards across the state -- and some say that's a good thing.

Declining enrollment, the end of pandemic relief grants and state budget uncertainty have combined to put hundreds of California school districts in precarious financial straits. Closing schools is never a popular option, but for some districts it may be the only way to avoid the state seizing control of operations. When the state takes over a district, the school board loses power and a state-appointed administrator makes cuts until the budget is balanced. A takeover could last a decade.

"This is the big thing that we're going to be dealing with in California education over the next few years. The declines in enrollment that we have seen so far pale in comparison to the declines the state is projecting," said Carrie Hahnel, a senior fellow at Policy Analysis for California Education. "In some areas, the declines will be severe. And I don't see how we manage those kinds of reductions without closing schools."

The number of students enrolled in California's K-12 public schools has dropped by 461,000 students -- or 7% -- over the past two decades. Lower birth rates, declines in immigration and an outflow of families from California have all contributed. Enrollment is expected to drop even further over the next decade, according to the state Department of Finance, to just over 5 million students -- a decline of nearly 20% since the peak in the early 2000s.

D.C. Public Schools is inviting community members to give their input on a new middle school in the Shaw neighborhood.

In March 2022, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced funding for DCPS to open a new middle school at 800 Euclid St. NW, the former Banneker High School building, in August 2028.

The new middle school, sometimes temporarily referred to as Euclid Middle School, will serve grades six to eight. Cleveland, Garrison and Seaton elementary schools will feed Euclid, according to letters shared over the summer to families at affected schools.

Currently, the three elementary schools feed into Cardozo Education Campus, which serves both middle and high school students. Cardozo will convert into a traditional high school by the 2027-2028 school year and will not enroll a sixth grade class next school to begin phasing out middle school grade levels.

ASHLAND — Most of the American Rescue Plan Act money that went to schools in Ashland County addressed capital outlay expenses. 
Of the $13.1 million received at six public schools throughout the county, $5 million — or 38% — went to this category. Capital outlay included expenses related to building new classrooms, renovations and upgrades to equipment, infrastructure and property.
The big spender here was Ashland City Schools. It’s no surprise — school districts received ARPA money based on enrollment. Ashland City Schools is the largest school district in the county, based on enrollment data. 
But another factor is the reality that capital spending between 2021 and 2024 was tightly connected to the inflated prices of construction goods. 
A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Producer Price Index table released in May showed double-digit percentage increases to everything from copper wire to gypsum and lumber since 2020.
 

Eight El Paso Independent School District elementary schools will be shut down starting next school year after the Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted in favor of the closures.
Carlos Rivera, Lamar, Newman, Putnam, Rusk, and Zavala elementaries will close their doors next school year, with Stanton and Travis elementaries closing in the 2026-27 school year under the approved plan.
The 4-3 vote sparked outrage from the crowd of parents, teachers and others who had largely spoken against the closures. They began shouting “Shame on you, shame on you” after the vote. 
Trustees Israel Irrobali, Daniel Call, Isabel Hernandez and Valerie Ganelon Beals voted in favor of the closures, with Leah Hanany, Jack Loveridge and Alex Cuellar voting against.
The latest proposal called for Carlos Rivera, Lamar, Newman, Putnam, Rusk, and Zavala elementaries to shut down next school year; and Stanton and Travis elementaries to close by the 2026-27 school year.
“This plan presents recommendations to avoid measures that would negatively impact students, such as increasing class sizes, laying off teachers or reducing instructional programs that are vital to a well-rounded education,” Superintendent Diana Sayavedra said during the meeting before the vote. “This work is not easy, but I’m confident that the decisions that are made today will create a path forward for our school district.”
 

ATLANTA — Three years after the federal government set aside money for Georgia schools and childcare centers to test their water for lead, a majority still haven't.
11Alive News Investigates analyzed the data and found as of November 2024, just 15% of Georgia's schools have completed water testing through the grant funded program. Only 3% of childcare centers have.
Scientists and medical professionals have emphasized that exposure to lead, especially in childhood, can have lifelong impacts.
Jennette Gayer is the state director of Environment Georgia, a bipartisan nonprofit environmental advocacy group that has been tracking how much lead is in Georgia's pipes. 
"It's a potent neurotoxin for children, which means it makes it harder to learn," Gayer said. "It has impacts on IQ levels, it has impacts on behavioral levels. And we know there's lead in schools.”
In 2021, a federal grant-funded program called Clean Water for Georgia Kids was established. The program is run by the Georgia Department of Education and RTI International, an EPA-accredited lead testing lab.
 

Mililani High School is prepared to host Hawaii’s first on-campus teacher housing project, but a shortage of funding and pushback from staff and families could slow progress. 

The School Facilities Authority, a state agency responsible for building new schools and workforce housing, awarded the project to the Pacific Housing Assistance Corp. in August. The project, which is tentatively scheduled to finish in early 2030, will create over 100 affordable one- and two-bedroom units for teachers.

Teachers working at any Oahu public school would receive priority for the units, followed by education department employees and then members of the public. 

Lawmakers and principals say they’re hopeful more affordable housing will help teachers cope with Hawaii’s high cost of living and stay in the state. As of last year, the Hawaii Department of Education offered just over 50 rentable housing units for teachers, but they were only available in rural areas of the state. Schools started the academic year with over 160 teacher vacancies in August.

The Clarkston School District Facility Advisory Committee has a 20-year facilities plan that the community will soon be able to review.

The committee began from conversations after the bond for a new high school failed to pass in 2023. A facilities committee was created and a levy to fund capital projects passed in April. The committee met Monday and has been meeting regularly since March.

The 20-year facilities plan came from tours of the schools, meetings and talks with staff about what needs to be fixed and a list of needs for different facilities. The plan breaks down projects into the 4-5 year segments and outlines how it will be funded either through already allocated money, the capital levy or with grants. Some of the funding areas are left blank as options are uncertain. The plan also lists the projects based on priority.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With nearly 30 counties requesting specific amounts of the remaining $54 million the School Building Authority has to give this year, and about five of them needing to build a brand new school, SBA Executive Director Andy Neptune says they will have a lot to sort through.

The SBA is hearing presentations from a total of 28 county school districts from across the state at its headquarters in Charleston for the next two days, giving each the opportunity to present on why they need the funding for schools in their districts and what their specific project plans are.

Neptune said the challenge, though, is that the $54 million the SBA has to give before the end of the year is less than 25% of the total dollars the counties are seeking, as it’s a little over $250 million in requests.

Kanawha County Schools, one of the few looking to build a brand new school in their county, was the first to present to the SBA Monday morning.

Arizona's schools are on the cusp of a much-needed overhaul, thanks to Governor Katie Hobbs' recently concluded committee efforts. The governor's Minimum Adequacy Guidelines Committee, tasked with revising and modernizing the state's school facilities, has published its final report. As the committee, consisting of experts from a variety of relevant fields, worked through Executive Order 2023-15, their mission was clear: to uplift the standards that shape the learning environments across the state.
"Arizona children deserve safe and secure schools, no matter their zip code," proclaimed following the release of the report. The sentiment echoes a widespread belief that the physical spaces where children learn play a crucial role in their academic and personal development. According to a statement released by the governor's office, Hobbs' thanked the committee for "their hard work and dedication to this issue," emphasizing the need to collaborate with the legislature to improve public school facilities in Arizona.
 

Even though the weather is cooling down, school districts in the high country are continuing to put in new air conditioning units. This is costing tens of millions of dollars and for some districts, they need the state to help fund those projects.
In order for students to learn in class, they have to feel comfortable. Chino Valley Unified School District Superintendent Cindy Daniels said they’ve noticed classrooms getting warmer as they’ve been operating with swamp coolers in the district which is common for districts up north in Arizona.
“There were classrooms that were routinely running between 84 and 86 degrees in the afternoon,” Daniels said of classrooms in Chino Valley High School after doing temperature studies in the district located just north of Prescott.
According to rules and policies from the state, school facilities are required to have systems capable of maintaining temperatures between 68 and 82 degrees under normal conditions with students and staff inside classrooms.
 

A wall that’s separating from the rest of the structure, an elevator that doesn’t reliably work, and no sprinkler system in an academic setting where several hands-on classes use an open flame.

These are some problems that the 60-year-old building housing the Hancock County Technical Center needs urgently fixed. With demand for career and technical programs growing, the aging facilities, crowded classrooms and lack of safety measures is taking a toll on enrollment and funding, according to Bill Tracy, director of the center that serves seven Ellsworth-area schools.

“We derive our funding from student participation. I want them to come see state-of-the-art equipment so they can be ready to work in the industry,” he said. “And if I have an aging building that is truly falling apart, one look at our building, and they’re going to say, ‘Wait, something isn’t lining up.’”

More than 500 school buildings in Maine were built before 1980, according to Steven Bailey, head of the Maine School Management Association. School buildings across the country are aging, and the costs of rebuilding or repairs can cost states millions of dollars per building. But with dozens of Maine schools in urgent need of fixes for safety or upgrades for accessibility, districts have a choice: they can apply to the state for money, or they can ask their local taxpayers to fund construction. 

Missoula’s Jefferson Pre-K is an unassuming brick building with a school bell out front and paper snowflakes in the windows. But before this summer, an elusive threat coursed through its core — its water pipes contained high quantities of lead, a metal that is extremely toxic to small children. 

A survey of the site in 2021, mandated by Montana’s Department of Public Health and Human Services, revealed harmful lead levels in nearly every water source at Jefferson. Although contaminated fixtures were covered with plastic bags and taken out of use immediately, it took three years for a permanent solution to arrive.

“We had lead throughout the entire building,” said Burley McWilliams, director of facilities operations at Missoula County Public Schools.

Jefferson wasn’t alone in its findings. A statewide survey of school drinking water sources initiated in 2020 found that more than half of Montana’s schools contained fixtures creating unsafe lead levels. As the initiative’s fifth year approaches, improvements remain uneven, and 20% of the state’s schools have not yet submitted testing results.

Energy management and training program will support 60 Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) in their pursuit of fostering healthier, more sustainable schools. 

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in partnership with the Efficient and Healthy Schools Program, today announced the 60 LEAs chosen to participate in the 2024-2025 Energy Champions Leading the Advancement of Sustainable Schools (Energy CLASS) program. Backed by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this strategic initiative supports the Biden-Harris administration’s broader Action Plan for Building Better School Infrastructure by empowering schools across the nation to implement energy-saving strategies, create healthier learning environments and achieve significant cost savings. 

The 60 selected LEAs, representing over 1.7 million students in 2,922 schools across 31 states, will receive training, coaching, and expert guidance to develop and execute projects prioritizing energy efficiency, renewable energy adoption and improved indoor air quality. By fostering a network of dedicated "energy champions" within the participating LEAs, the Energy CLASS program will drive sustainable practices and create scalable energy solutions that schools around the country can look to.  

DEEP RIVER, Conn. (WTNH) — John Winthrop Middle School is scheduled to reopen with the new year, Regional School District 4 Superintendent of Schools Brian White announced Wednesday.

The school has been closed since the mold was found in the building last September. Students at the middle school have been attending their classes at the Valley Regional High School.

But White said students and staff are scheduled to return to their home building on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025- the first day of school after their holiday break. The date will be confirmed with families in about a month.

CHATHAM – The long-overdue replacement of the roof at Monomoy Regional Middle School won’t be cheap, but at least the state will help foot the bill.
 The school committee learned last week that the project has been accepted into the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s Accelerated Repair Program, which will reimburse the district at a rate of around 37 percent.
 “That means for every dollar we spend on this project, we get 37 cents back,” district Business Manager Michael MacMillan told the school committee. The reimbursement only covers qualifying expenses related to the project, so the district will do its best to ensure as much of the cost qualifies as possible.

BOISE – The Idaho Department of Education has issued the first of its payments to school districts through the new School Modernization Facilities Fund. So far, more than $514 million have been distributed to improve school district facilities across the state.

House Bill 521, passed by the Idaho legislature in 2024, provided the ability for the state to bond for approximately $1 billion in facility funding and allocate and distribute that funding to school districts based on Average Daily Attendance (ADA). It also allows for the repayment of bond debt using state sales tax revenues over the next 10 years. School districts must meet certain requirements to receive the funding, including conducting facility condition assessments of school buildings and submitting a 10-year facility needs plan.

The first payment went out to school districts on October 30.

In a national election where candidates hammered each other over economic woes, Michigan voters last week approved nearly $640.3 million in new school bond tax requests.
In total, voters approved 62% of local school bond proposals that officials had put on the general election ballot, according to a Bridge Michigan analysis of Gongwer News Service data.
That’s a slightly higher passage rate than the most recent years but down from just under 75% of school bonds passed from 2018-2021. 
Still, the 38% of local requests rejected by voters would have amounted to another $364 million for the school districts that sought the funding. 
Such tax requests — primarily used to fund building repairs or upgrades — have been failing at higher rates in recent years amid increased focus on the economy, complicated nature of school finance and shifting attitudes about public education since the pandemic.
 

NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ New Philadelphia City School District is grappling with maintenance problems at its existing buildings after voters rejected a 5.9-mill bond issue on Election Day. The measure would have funded construction of a new elementary school.
The district's facilities committee recently met to discuss the need to replace the furnace at York Elementary School, which has stopped working because of a cracked heat exchanger. The furnace, a 1941 coal-fired unit converted to natural gas, heats the majority of the rooms in the building. When it stopped working about three weeks ago, the temperature in some classrooms dropped into the mid-40s.
A separate boiler on the main floor of the building heats four rooms.
Until the district comes up with a permanent solution, New Philadelphia is renting a temporary furnace at a cost of $2,575 per month, using the existing ductwork to supply heat to the building.
 

A massive overhaul of Cheyenne schools is moving forward now that it's been approved by the state's School Facilities Commission.

The school board in Cheyenne plans to close eight elementaries and build, replace or alter 12 other schools over the next decade to address aging facilities and a projected decline in enrollment.

Some parents, like Samantha Van Riper, said the overhaul will provide students in the district's south triad with more equitable facilities.

"We do feel like we have been overlooked for quite some time, and we are so very, very thankful," Van Riper told the commission. "I believe that your choice today is giving our children the educational benefits in the future that other kids in this district have been receiving up until this point."