Lawmakers say they want to get back in the business of school construction aid. But how they’ll pay for it, how generously they’ll subsidize it, and what kinds of conditions they’ll attach to it remain very much in the air.

A report delivered to lawmakers this week by a task force created to study the matter suggests one strategy that is sure to prompt debate in Montpelier — an approach that would see construction aid used, at least in some circumstances, as an incentive to consolidate schools.

“The cost to replace all 384 school buildings is simply beyond our state's resources,” Jill Briggs Campbell, the director of operations for the Agency of Education, told lawmakers in the House’s education and tax-writing committees Thursday. “We're never going to be able to replace in-kind.”

School districts have been on their own to pass and finance construction bonds since 2007, when Vermont suspended its state school construction aid program. But in recent years, it’s become increasingly clear that the state’s aging campuses require major investments — soon.

Northside Elementary School was the final stop as Warren County Schools concluded its series of community meetings for discussion about a proposed consolidated elementary school last week. A number of parents and community members asked about whether the current elementary schools would be preserved to maintain part of local history.

Warren County Schools is considering renovation and construction work at the former Warren New Tech High School building as the site for a consolidated school serving all of the county’s elementary students. The existing building would serve as the center of the new school.

To provide more information to the community and to hear local concerns, the school system conducted information meetings at each of the three elementary schools. During meetings at Vaughan and Mariam Boyd elementary schools, common questions have involved whether new construction is the best resolution, and whether the existing elementary school buildings would be preserved. Again at Northside, audiences members voices concerns about preserving local history.

School buildings that experience natural disasters are now eligible for federal funding to install solar panels and other energy-efficient systems when they rebuild, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Tuesday.

Through the FEMA Public Assistance program, the federal government commits to covering 75 percent of the cost of rebuilding schools and other public institutions like hospitals following floods, tornadoes, and other storms.

With the new policy, schools can now include in their reimbursement requests the cost of solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, and other modern systems designed to improve sustainability.

Schools can take advantage of this funding opportunity for any disaster declared after Aug. 16, 2022, the agency said in a press release.

The goals of the policy, according to the agency, include offering incentives for schools to help with the nationwide effort to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Schools and other facilities that install energy-producing systems can stay open and even provide power to surrounding communities in the event of an electrical outage, said Tish Tablan, senior program director at Generation180, an advocacy nonprofit that promotes clean energy adoption.

As the School District of La Crosse looks to reduce the number of K-5 elementary school buildings, Hintgen Elementary School is listed as a lower maintenance option.
Hintgen parents see it differently. A Hintgen parent who identified herself as Vanessa during a Nov. 27 virtual meeting of the La Crosse School Board said Hintgen is a school with motivated teachers and staff who work to create a positive learning atmosphere. She said the school has achieved a student attendance rate over 94%.
“Hintgen has been a model school in the district,” she said.
If the board follows the recommendation of its Facilities Advisory Committee, Hintgen and North Woods International elementary schools will close at the end of the 2023-24 school year. The committee paired north- and south-side schools and recommended closing those two buildings instead of Emerson and Spence.
Committee members determined that Emerson and Spence were more geographically centered and offered lower transportation costs. Several options in the district’s new Long-Range Facility Plan 2050 also target Hintgen for closure either next year or sometime before 2028.
 

Nearly 50 Memphis-Shelby County public schools would receive new investments for their physical buildings or their academic programming under an ambitious plan that district leaders are developing in an effort to improve learning experiences for children.

Another 21 school buildings could close under the plan, district documents show, meaning their students would have to go to school elsewhere.

In all, nearly half of the district’s buildings, and their communities, could be affected if the district follows through on the plan.

The facility plan is described in general terms in draft documents and maps compiled by Memphis-Shelby County Schools that Chalkbeat obtained through open-records requests. Chalkbeat used further research to identify the specific schools targeted for new investments or closure. (To learn more about how Chalkbeat reported this, see below.)

NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ Residents offered their input on whether the New Philadelphia City Schools District should build new buildings and where they should be located at a recent facility planning meeting.
The district is in the midst of developing a facilities master plan to address the issues surrounding its aging schools.
"I do agree that we need new buildings for our students. I have four kids in elementary, so I'm very vested in seeing them under one roof. Actually, that's my first concern," said Erin Neff, who attended the session.
Her husband is Ricky Neff, principal of Welty Middle School. She said her family is vested in having state-of-the-art facilities and safe locations for their children to attend.
 

The Virginia Senate on Monday passed a bill authorizing local governments to increase their local sales tax to fund school construction projects if voters approve the hike in a referendum.
The proposal received support from the Senate during the past two sessions, but it faltered both times in the House, which was then controlled by Republicans. This year, Democrats have control of both chambers of the legislature, fueling lawmakers’ hopes it will reach Gov. Glenn Youngkin for approval. 
On Monday, party members cast the decision as a nonpartisan goal. 
“I think it’s important to recognize that kids, when they go to school, don’t go to Democrat schools or Republican schools. This is something that all the reports indicate impact every single one of our areas,” said Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William.
 

Participation in school gardens is linked to healthier eating habits throughout child development, according to a study led by a Milken Institute School of Public Health doctoral candidate released earlier this month.

Christine St. Pierre authored a study in collaboration with FoodPrints that found students who participated in school garden programs noticed increased enthusiasm surrounding healthier food options at home and a desire for “fresh food options” at school. St. Pierre said the study’s finding that school gardens garner interest toward more nutritious dietary habits in children demonstrates a need for hands-on nutrition education embedded into the school day.

“This study is a little bit unique in that it is one of the first to be able to look at what is the impact of these programs over time, like you can study while they’re happening in schools and see what students say,” St. Pierre said.

The study featured focus groups made up of 39 elementary school students and 39 elementary school alumni, ranging from middle school to college, who previously participated in the school garden programs. St. Pierre said researchers used “semi-structured” question guides and follow-up questions based on the participant’s original answers. They then organized students’ answers into themes: immediate, beyond the classroom and sustained, St. Pierre said.

The Guam Department of Education is developing a master plan for how to make its facilities accessible to all, according to an education official.

Assistant Superintendent Tom Babauta of the Special Education Division told The Guam Daily Post that many of the facilities were built before compliance under the Americans with Disabilities Act became law. As part of the department’s refurbishment of all schools, he said, the department also is addressing the ADA compliance challenges.

“It’s been difficult because we do have some facility challenges, such as the ramps. And even (for) things such as door knobs, there are certain requirements. The department in general is looking at each of the facilities and how they are going to be coming into compliance with all of that. There are certain things that need to happen in regard to the building itself because of our inspection. As they are tackling that, they are also looking at ADA compliance and trying to develop a master plan of how they are going to tackle that,” Babauta said.

Oregon’s recent winter weather severely damaged multiple school buildings in Portland, rendering them unusable and leaving hundreds of families frustrated in the process.
Dozens of parents gathered at Portland Community College’s Sylvania campus for an open house on Saturday to hear the Portland Public Schools’ plan for getting the schools reopened and express their many concerns.
The meeting was organized by state representatives Daniel Nguyen and Dacia Grayber, both of whom represent Southwest Portland.
School district officials have announced that students at Markham Elementary School and Robert Gray Middle School would temporarily move to different campuses while the schools undergo massive repairs.
Robert Gray suffered 10 breaks in its main water lines due to freezing temperatures, damaging the ceilings and leaving the floors soaked and deformed.
Burst pipes led to extensive damage across Markham Elementary’s western portion. PPS Chief of Staff Jonathan Garcia said they explored using only a portion of the building, but that it would have likely slowed repairs.
The district had asked Portland Community College if its Sylvania campus — located near Markham — could temporarily host students, but was told the college could not accommodate hundreds of elementary students, Garcia said.
 

The La Mesa-Spring Valley School District says it will take at least a month to clean up the damage from Monday’s storm at Bancroft Elementary.
The campus is at the bottom of a hill surrounded by storm drains that got clogged in the sudden downpours and flash floods.
Five hundred students and 60 staff members were safely evacuated and are now holding classes at nearby Spring Valley Academy while their campus is dried and disinfected.
“Safety is the No. 1 priority here. We don't want to rush anyone back into conditions if they're not safe to be rushed back into," said Robert Cochran, the district's chief safety officer.
District officials have determined that the damage was so bad that flooring in every classroom and office will have to be replaced. That is expected to take until the end of February.
The campus was devastated by high water, mud and debris.
Students were in class and saw it all happen in a matter of minutes before they were evacuated.
"It was kind of making me nervous because I was like: ‘Oh my God, what if it comes into my classroom?'” said Bellamy Haylock, 11, a fifth grade student.
 

WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Earlier this week, NewsChannel 7 went to the Walton County School District board meeting. Multiple parents spoke, expressing their concerns about unsanitary classroom conditions at Van R. Butler Elementary School in Santa Rosa Beach.
Since Tuesday’s meeting, we’ve been looking into the classroom conditions that caused the parents at Butler to be so concerned.
“It’s not fit for students, or teachers. No one should be in there,” said Nina Mayes, parent of a 3rd-grader at Butler.
Mayes is referring to the modular classroom building that houses all 3rd-graders at Butler.
“The AC issues, moisture, possible mold, general air quality inside the portable buildings,” Mayes said.
Parents say the 3rd-grade wing, which is the learning area for 178 students, has long been a problem, and it came to a boiling point at the beginning of January.
“It’s completely unsanitary, unhealthy, and I was not going to send my child to school in those conditions,” said Mayes.
NewsChannel 7 visited the school on Friday, and principal Jimmy Ross gave us a tour.
 

PARSIPPANY, NJ — The Parsippany-Troy Hills School District will be getting new state funding to address critical facility needs.

The New Jersey Department of Education and the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) announced recently that $75 million would be appropriated to school districts across the state to assist with emergency construction and other capital needs.

“Every New Jersey student and school staff member deserves a space for learning that is safe, secure, and supportive of the highest educational outcomes,” said Dr. Angelica Allen-McMillan, Acting Commissioner of the Department of Education.

The Parsippany-Troy Hills School District will receive $167,152, according to the state's figures.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Rhode Island a $5 million grant to support school infrastructure.

Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) announced the grant Thursday, which will go toward creating modern learning environments in schools.

“Modern and sustainable school facilities are critical in ensuring our students are able to learn year-round and be present in the classroom,” said Governor McKee.

Air quality is an environmental concern 15-year-old Adalayde Scott has been passionate about for most of her life — it’s personal for her.
The Skyline High School sophomore has seen her three younger brothers, who’ve dealt with lung problems since birth, struggle on bad air quality days. She said her youngest brother, a preschooler, has been hospitalized several times and sent home with oxygen.
“It’s really sad to see someone that you love being impacted,” Adalayde said. “And it’s especially difficult knowing that we live in an area that doesn’t even experience the worst air pollution in the valley.”
That’s one reason why Scott joined four other Granite School District students last year to campaign, with help from the Sierra Club’s Utah chapter, for a clear commitment from the district: to operate on 100% clean electricity by 2030, and all other energy sectors by 2040.
That could mean operating on solar and wind power, and stepping away from natural gas for building heat and cafeteria cooking, said former Granite student Ava Curtis, who is now a sophomore at the University of Utah and helps with the Granite Clean Energy Campaign. It also means replacing fuel-reliant school buses with electric ones.
 

CHESTER/DEEP RIVER/ESSEX — The consensus between Board of Education members, town leaders and community members is clear: Get John Winthrop Middle School students back into the building, and do it fast. 

The school board voted Tuesday to address immediate problems at the building — cleaning up the mold, reinsulating pipes and making limited repairs to the HVAC system — with the goal of having the students return by September. 

Board member John Stack said tackling the mold and pipe problems first would buy the group time to address the larger issue of decreased enrollment across the three towns. 

“I think we are probably putting that building in better condition than it has been for, let’s say, the last 10 years. Because we’re watching it. We’re hypersensitive to it. And I think from a safety point of view, what we do is we buy ourselves a few years so that the leaders of these towns can get together and start to solve some of these bigger picture issues,” Stack said. 

As the Moscow School District decides what to do with its aging buildings, it is learning from the Lewiston School District’s mistakes and successes with building a new high school.

The Moscow School Board on Tuesday listened to Lewiston School District Superintendent Lance Hansen share his district’s journey to passing a $59.8 million bond for a new high school in 2017 after previously failing three times.

Hansen spoke about the importance of keeping the district’s message to voters simple and clear in order to earn yes votes.

“Doubt equals ‘no,’ ” Hansen said. “Unclarity equals no, to me.”

BEATRICE – A Nebraska lawmaker wants to require voter approval before a public school district can spend building funds. Senator Steve Halloran’s LB 1063 was heard in the Education Committee on Tuesday. It would set a target of $250,000, above which would require voter approval to spend district building levy funds. Why $250,000? Halloran admitted it’s an arbitrary figure.

"Not all schools abuse their buildings funds....some do. But, the nature of what we do in the legislature is, if a few people abuse something and we make laws that everyone has to follow....sometimes it can be intrusive to do that. If the committee can think of a way to narrowly control those districts that abuse it, I'm all for that."
The bill drew no support testimony during the hearing, but plenty of opposition from school officials and organizations that represent schools. Those included the Greater Nebraska Schools Association, which represents 25 of the largest school districts.  Crete Public Schools Superintendent Josh McDowell spoke on behalf of his district, the STANCE organization…Schools Taking Action For Nebraska Children’s Education…. The Nebraska Council of School Administrators and the Nebraska State Education Association.  He said the bill represents an erosion of local control and undermines the authority of elected school boards.

Just before the pandemic began, administrators for the Oneida school district in upstate New York started pondering a plan to consolidate two elementary schools where enrollment had been steadily declining for years.
The onset of COVID-19, and the burst of federal relief aid that followed it, put those plans on hold. In recent months, though, the 1,700-student district has revisited the possibility that it could better serve students and spend resources more prudently with five schools instead of six.
On paper, the decision might seem simple. Having one less building reduces the cost of facilities maintenance, as well as compensation for principals and their deputies, nurses, counselors, and other building aides. That, in turn, frees up funds that could be redirected to staffing and support for students at the remaining schools.
But closing a school is almost always a logistically and emotionally arduous process.
The Oneida district’s students live across 42 square miles, which means closing a school could lengthen bus rides for many. Staff at the shuttered school might not be keen on shifting to another school, meaning the district could find itself needing to fill positions it otherwise wouldn’t. And the school building slated for closure, North Broad Street Elementary, has been a fixture in the community since it opened in 1911, meaning the 10,000-person city would be losing a part of its identity.
 

DENVER – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to award $10,670,000 in grant funding to nine selected recipients across the country to enhance community wildfire smoke preparedness. Of these recipients, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is anticipating a $1,895,705 grant to design a state-wide program for wildfire smoke awareness and preparation. 

CDPHE will use the EPA funds to provide outreach, education, and training for local community partners on how to prepare for, and respond to, the public health threat of wildfire smoke. This includes leveraging the Clean Air for Schools program, which provides air cleaners and indoor air quality monitors to K-12 schools, where CDPHE will partner with local communities to develop response plans for wildfire smoke events. Some of the expected outcomes include Smoke Readiness Plans, providing technical training on ventilation and filtration strategies, preparing school buildings to serve as Community Cleaner Air Shelters, and enabling indoor air quality monitoring in public school buildings to understand wildfire smoke impacts and evaluate effective responses.  With more than 880,000 kids enrolled in Colorado public schools, developing wildfire smoke preparedness programs improves indoor air quality and reduces public health risks for many students.