Paul Robeson High School has been lauded by Philadelphia School District, city, and national officials alike: singled out for a strong student body, dedicated faculty, and a principal named the country’s best.
But there’s a disconnect between the school and its building.
Robeson, at 41st and Ludlow in West Philadelphia, lacks any functional ventilation besides windows, and some are nailed shut or don’t open fully, staff say. Its electrical service is so outdated that the school can’t accommodate even window air-conditioning units in most rooms, and the fuse box must often be reset.
Parents, staff, and students gathered at district headquarters Tuesday to push the school system for a timeline for renovations for Robeson, which was built in 1960 as the Catto School.
Ciani Pagan, a Robeson junior, helped organize 250 students — nearly everyone at the small school — to sign a petition saying they “no longer feel safe at school.” Pagan said she’s tired of bathrooms that are often broken and classrooms that are so hot she’s gotten nosebleeds.
“Who would want to go to school there?” said Pagan.
Though it is not among the district’s oldest buildings — some school system structures date back to the 19th century — Robeson is in poor shape, said Dan Reyes, a teacher at the school.
 

ROBBINSVILLE, NJ - It's been years in the making, but construction is now underway to build solar panels at the Robbinsville Township High School and Pond Road Middle School that could save up to $100,000 in taxpayer dollars. 
In a conversation with TAPinto Hamilton/Robbinsville, School Superintendent Brian Betze said the District is moving quickly to finish construction in order to qualify for tax credits offered by the State of New Jersey. As a result, there is zero cost to the District he said. 
The District has experienced some delays in the project, the superintendent said, including steel shortages. 
Betze said creating these solar arrays are "pretty cutting edge" for school districts. Each of the arrays is a compilation of solar panels grouped together to generate electricity to the energy system that it is attached. In this case, the arrays will offset energy costs to the school district.
When the five-array set as well as new security cameras, lighting and paving is completed, parking will be available under the panels. 
During construction at the Robbinsbille High School, some students and faculty have needed to park at Pond and walk 0.4 miles to to their school. Betze himself has been doing the seven-minute walk including in some of those colder brisk days. 
 

The campus of East Ascension High School has seen big changes in recent years, but the most dramatic one will happen this summer when the half-century-old main school building is torn down to make way for a new one.
The two-story building, in the heart of Gonzales on East Worthey Road, opened in 1966. It has an outdated heating and air conditioning system running throughout the building that called for new construction from the ground up, said Jeff Parent, the school district's supervisor of planning and construction. 
The two-pipe system now in place uses the same piping for both hot water heating and chilled water cooling — and switching from one to the other is a slow process, Parent said.
"Today is a nice, mild day, but we needed heat in the early morning," he said on a recent day at the school. "By 10 a.m., we needed air-conditioning, and that turnover can take two to four hours." 
"Over the years, we've done a lot of things to reduce the time as much as we can," Parent said. The new construction will bring a four-pipe system that uses separate lines for hot and chilled water.
East Ascension High's future new main building, with administrative offices and classrooms, is a $27 million project, funded by a 2020 bond election. 
 

COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s poorest school districts will soon learn whether they’ll get a chunk of $138 million from the state — and if so, how much — for their construction needs that exceed many times that amount. 
While the money is the largest single-year sum the state has put toward K-12 construction in decades, it won’t go far in replacing or overhauling dilapidated buildings that often date to the 1950s, when the state’s inaugural sales tax funded hundreds of Black- and White-only schools in a failed effort to thwart desegregation.
South Carolina hasn’t embarked on a major school building project in rural swaths of the state since. 
With decisions still in motion, state Education Superintendent Molly Spearman is asking legislators for more — lots more — though not a specific amount. The state’s largest-ever surplus, coupled with federal COVID aid, provides a once-in-a-generation, or longer, opportunity to provide students in the poorest districts a safe, healthy place to learn, she said.   
“I can’t think of a better use of one-time money than this,” she told a House budget-writing panel. “Please put in as much money as you can because there’s tremendous need.”
 

BOISE — Legislation to forbid Idaho school districts or other local taxing districts from rerunning a bond election for 11 months after failing to reach the 66.67 percent supermajority passed the House on Thursday with bipartisan opposition, amid concerns it could make it even harder for Idaho to address a huge backlog of school facilities issues.
“It is definitely a policy change on how government does business,” Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, the bill’s sponsor, told the House, saying, “No means no.”
Scott said she wants to rein in “aggressive taxing districts” that she said are “trying to take advantage of the citizens.”
 

NEW YORK — New York City schools are harnessing solar technology to power buildings and engage students.
Solar panels blanket the rooftops of 60 public schools, providing clean energy for the city and giving students a chance to learn about climate change and renewable energy up close.
At Thomas Edison High School in Queens, a recently-completed solar installation generates enough electricity to meet 65% of the school’s energy consumption — while also providing a unique learning opportunity for students enrolled in the school’s solar energy vocational track.
“There’s a newfound interest in our curriculum,” said principal Moses Ojeda. “Now with the addition of solar panels, they [the students] start to see the relevance.”
The program at Edison is part of what officials at the city Education Department and Department of Citywide Administrative Services say has been a mutually beneficial partnership.
In 2016, the Administrative Services Department began surveying city-owned buildings to find spaces suitable for installing solar panels, with the goal of producing 100 megawatts per year of solar energy by 2025.
So far, the city has built solar panels on 110 buildings, including 60 schools, producing 16 megawatts of energy a year — enough to power 2,600 homes.
 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island leaders held a news conference Wednesday to highlight school construction projects that have been completed with a taxpayer-approved bond as they ask voters to approve another one this fall.
The Statewide School Construction Bond approved by voters in 2018 provided $250 million in upfront “pay-as-you-go” funding to repair and replace crumbling school buildings across the state.
“The fact that we’ve allowed buildings to crumble is such a shame, but we’re not doing that any longer,” R.I. Department of Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said.
Infante-Green and Gov. Dan McKee on Wednesday released the 2022 School Building Authority (SBA) Report, Renewing the Dream, which they said describes the work being done to build high-quality facilities statewide.
Renewing the Dream is the SBA’s first report since 2017. Officials said it showcases 11 case studies on major renovations or full building replacements that have been completed, along with another six ongoing projects.
“We are continuing to make progress in providing every child in Rhode Island with modern school facilities where they can get an excellent education,” McKee said. “For too long, our funding structures have left our most at-need cities and towns behind, but our entire state team is working tirelessly to change that. Together, we can give every student in Rhode Island the world-class schools they deserve.”
 

PATERSON — The city’s John F. Kennedy high school complex will be getting $1.65 million in improvements, including renovations of the building’s façade, a repaired gym floor, new fire safety doors and a repaved parking area.

Kennedy will be getting the largest allocation from $4.5 million that the New Jersey Schools Development Authority has awarded to the Paterson district for emergent repairs and capital maintenance work. The Paterson school board last week voted on a plan that splits the state money among 12 city schools. 

But in a district with at least 17 schools that are more than a century old, officials acknowledged that the $4.5 million doesn’t come close to covering all of the repair needs.

School districts across the U.S. are renovating their buildings and upgrading dilapidated ventilation systems with the help of $190 billion of federal COVID relief.

But these improvements will take time, and some won’t be completed for years after the pandemic first disrupted schooling.

The improvements have gotten the blessing of the U.S. Department of Education, which has encouraged ventilation upgrades. And there’s good evidence that such projects will benefit students: Research has found a direct link between air quality and student success, and students in classrooms that aren’t air conditioned tend to learn less on hot days.

Still, the plans reveal an awkward reality: With limited options for spending a big, one-time chunk of money, school districts are using part of it for expensive facilities projects, which may have only a tenuous connection to the pandemic and will take years to complete.

Now, some school leaders want more time. The national school superintendents’ association and other groups recently asked the U.S. Department of Education for an extra two years to spend the money so construction projects can be planned and completed.

“I don’t necessarily think that facilities spending seems to be a bad way to spend it,” said American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Nat Malkus, who recently analyzed COVID relief dollars for schools. But, he added, “It’s certainly not under the original intent of the bill.”

ATLANTA - Atlanta Public Schools is in the process of finalizing a facilities master plan that would determine— in part— where students learn.
The Kirkwood Neighbors Organization, KNO, has some ideas that board members said won't solve everything, but could make a difference if overcrowding becomes more prevalent.
Taylor Cross is an APS parent who has lived in Kirkwood for years. He's on the KNO Education Committee Chair. The organization just wrote a letter to Atlanta Public Schools offering up a suggestion.
They said closed Coan Middle and Crim High schools could help with anticipated overflow.
APS educates about 52,000 students at 91 learning sites.
"The Jackson cluster is at capacity now," he explained. "Our organization started talking about what do folks in our neighborhood want to see if they are going to have to make some changes."
A firm hired to help reorganize the school system estimates within five years, six schools will be at or over capacity.
 

Leaders of the Virginia Coalition of Small and Rural Schools continued to advocate for more funding to repair and replace dilapidated schools statewide Monday.
Speaking during an education funding press conference in Richmond, speakers from different state advocacy organizations urged the General Assembly to expand funding for school buildings, behavioral health for students, greater teacher pay, revised Standards of Quality and literacy intervention.
For the coalition, which includes all of the public school divisions in Southwest Virginia among its 80 members, the theme of buildings is a familiar topic. 
“Among the key issues and challenges our work seeks to influence is the urgency of finally addressing the ever-increasing number of crumbling and dilapidated school facilities,” Peter Gretz, superintendent of Fluvanna County Public Schools and vice president of the coalition, said. “We believe the ZIP code in which Virginia’s children are born should not be the deciding factor in whether or not they get to learn in high-quality, modern facilities designed to meet the instructional needs of the 21st century — a century we are almost a quarter of the way through.”
 

On Sunday afternoon, more than a hundred Lower East Side and East Village residents gathered amidst the snow, to once again demand that the long-abandoned former P.S. 64 building be turned back into a community center.

After the school closed in 1977, the building — located at 605 E 9th Street near Tompkins Square Park — was used as the CHARAS/El Bohio Community Center for over twenty years, until the property was bought by a real estate developer Gregg Singer at a public auction during the Giuliani administration. Since then the building has been the subject of lawsuits, allegations of dark money fueling opposition, and a failed plan to turn the school into dormitory housing for local university students.

Last month, a state judge ruled that the developer’s investors can move forward with a foreclosure after the developer failed to pay the balance of a $44 million loan. A foreclosure would open up the possibility of new ownership.

At the rally on Sunday, locals called on Mayor Eric Adams to buy back the property.

The Evanston/Skokie District 65 School Board will get a report Monday that claims all of its elementary and middle school buildings are in poor condition and need nearly $189 million in capital improvements.
The Facility Condition Assessment, from the Cordogan Clark consulting firm, says the only building that isn’t in bad shape is the Hill administration building, where the school board meets.
The report estimates the current replacement value of the 17 district buildings at $461 million and says they need spending totaling just under $189 million in today’s dollars to eliminate building deficiencies.
The consultants say that adds up to a Facilities Cost Index, also referred to as a Facility Condition Index, of just under 41% district-wide.
The consultants say an index of less than 15% is “good,” between 15% and 30% is “fair” and anything over 30% is “poor.”
The International Facility Management Association says a Facility Condition Index of 0% to 5% is “good,” 5% to 10% is “fair,” 10% to 30% is “poor” and anything greater than 30% is “critical.”
The report comes as the school board is considering closing some schools amid forecasts of declining enrollment and excess building capacity.
At the same time, the board is hoping to build a new school in Evanston’s 5th Ward, a project the consultants estimate would cost $40 million, despite forecasts that it would decrease racial diversity.
 

ROCKLAND, Maine — Several area schools could pay for physical upgrades to improve  accessibility, air quality and other health and safety measures with a $5 million state loan to the school district.

Regional School Unit 13 was notified earlier this month that the 13 project proposals the district submitted to the Maine Department of Education were approved for a loan through its School Revolving Renovation Fund. With about 30 percent of the loan being forgiven upfront and the rest of the amount carrying no interest, district officials said it would enable them to improve safety for students and staff.

“It’s a remarkable opportunity because we have to do these projects at some point. They’ve got to get done and to do it with a loan opportunity that is interest free, and a big chunk of it is paid off at the beginning, is great for the taxpayers,” RSU 13 School Board Chair Loren Andrews said.

RICHMOND — The Virginia Senate today passed three bills to provide long-overdue funding for school construction and modernization.

The three bills – SB 471, SB 473, and SB 481 – are part of a bipartisan package of legislation recommended by the Commission on School Construction and Modernization. Two other commission-recommended bills - SB 238 and SB 472 – already passed the Senate earlier this session.

More than 1,000 schools — more than half of K-12 school buildings in Virginia — are more than 50 years old, according to the Commission on School Construction and Modernization. The Commission estimates that the amount of funding needed to replace these buildings is $24.8 billion. Many localities face significant challenges in raising sufficient funds to undertake these projects.

“These bills help ensure that schools across the commonwealth receive the funding to make capital improvements they so desperately need,” said Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond), the chair of the commission. “Students need a safe place to learn, and they cannot learn if the school around them is crumbling. It’s time for Virginia to invest in addressing our crisis of school infrastructure. I’m honored to work with Sen. Stanley as we make bipartisan investments in our children’s future.”

BIG SKY – Ennis School District voters this week turned down a $59 million bond proposed by the district. The third largest bond ever proposed in the state of Montana, the measure would have supported an ambitious expansion of the Ennis school facilities including a new building, new gym and improvements to the existing junior high school wing.

The issue was voted down by nearly 60 percent of the Ennis School District electorate which includes Madison County residents in Ennis, Virginia City and Big Sky. The Madison County Election Office reported an approximately 53 percent return rate on the 3,571 ballots issued in the Feb. 8 mail-in election.

EPA and indoor air quality experts are pushing ventilation and filtration as a key means to keep kids healthy during the pandemic as other measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 have become increasingly polarized.

“The pandemic has provided us with a defining moment on indoor air quality for schools,” said EPA’s Tracy Washington Enger, who works in the agency’s Indoor Environments Division.

Enger was speaking during an EPA-hosted webinar that aimed to help school officials at the local level “make the case” to school districts that they should invest in air quality improvements and ventilation, through upgrades to heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and replacing filters, among other strategies.

The training comes as a string of states, including New York, New Jersey and Delaware, have announced they will soon lift mask mandates in schools, putting pressure on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though CDC Director Rochelle Walensky as recently as this week stressed the importance of “masking in areas of high and substantial transmission,” the agency is reportedly considering updating its guidelines for which metrics states should use when considering lifting mask mandates, and whether such guidelines should still rely as much on case and transmission rates or incorporate more information on hospital capacity data.

The changing landscape on masking makes other Covid-19 mitigation measures like improved ventilation and filtration in schools all the more important, according to indoor air experts.

“Here we are two years into the pandemic, and what we are starting to hear is a shift in how we are thinking about coronavirus in this nation,” Enger told the webinar.

Though she did not directly address mask requirements, Enger said the nation is facing a question of “how we as individuals and institutions will make the shift from a crisis response to a pandemic to living with an endemic disease.”

The Detroit school district unveiled Thursday night an ambitious $700 million proposal to rebuild schools, renovate buildings, reopen previously closed schools, expand pre-kindergarten programs, and address other long-delayed building needs.

Under the plan presented during a school board study session, the district could spend $281 million to rebuild five schools, another $296 million to renovate buildings, and $128 million to reopen previously closed schools, expand pre-K, build additions onto existing schools, and demolish or sell some vacant buildings.

Nikolai Vitti, superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, shared the first details of the district’s facilities master plan with the school board, offering board members the chance to review the proposals.

“It’s a collection of almost four to five years of thought, analysis … about how to place all of our students in a better facility,” Vitti told the board and audience during the meeting.

“We have never over the last two decades had a facility plan for the district. We have been using a bandage approach to our facilities district wide.”

As part of the $700 million plan, district officials are calling for rebuilding the following schools: Cody High School, Paul Robeson/Malcolm X Academy, Pershing High School, Carstens @Golightly, and Phoenix, a building that closed in 2016.

A new report by state and federal officials released Thursday identified 119 Utah public school campuses with structures constructed of unreinforced masonry, which means they are susceptible to significant earthquake damage during moderate and even low earthquake shaking.

Such construction poses a threat to people in these schools and those in close proximity to the structures, the report states.

The inventory, released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Utah Department of Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Management, notes that children spend the majority of their weekday waking hours at school.

“While schools provide an environment for learning, socialization and personal growth, we generally assume the buildings themselves are sturdy. Unfortunately, some schools by virtue of their age or construction materials can pose a potential safety risk to those very same children. Most noteworthy in Utah, with its high earthquake hazard, are schools constructed of bricks with little or no steel reinforcement,” the report states.

However, a joint state and federal press release notes, “Just because a school is on the list, does not mean it is at an imminent risk of collapse.”

The report, titled “Utah K-12 Public Schools Unreinforced Masonry Inventory,” found 20 of Utah’s 29 counties have at least one school campus with a URM building or addition. Those facilities serve a combined 72,126 children, about 12% of the state’s total public school population.

With the help of a new rooftop solar panel installation at Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School in Jamaica Hills, Queens, New York City’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) and Department of Education (DOE) announced that the city has achieved a key milestone in generating solar powered clean energy.
The rooftop installation at the school and other city properties will generate 16 megawatts (MW) of solar power annually – enough electricity to power 2,600 homes each year. The installation at Thomas A. Edison high school alone will generate 579 kilowatts (kW) of electricity, enough to offset 65% of the school’s electrical use. The installation will also serve as an educational tool for students to learn about green energy alternatives, climate change and careers in the solar industry.
“Solar installations on our public schools help the City reduce emissions while providing valuable learning opportunities for students,” said NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services Commissioner Dawn M. Pinnock. “New York City is leading the way by generating clean energy on City properties and is on target to reduce emissions from government operations 50% by 2030.”
The solar panels at Thomas A. Edison high school are now one of 60 such installations located at NYC public schools. With this addition, NYC now receives a collective 75% of its solar energy from installations on public school facilities.