There are certain things Mannix Gonzalez will remember from his four years at Mountain Empire High School.
Rain hitting his head in class. Showering in his shoes because the locker room drains overflowed. School canceled for water pump failures, drinking water contamination and wildfire evacuations. The wind wearing away the school walls to little more than thin plywood.
All his life, Mannix attended school in the vast Mountain Empire Unified School District in rural East County.
Since he was a toddler, this has been home for the redhead with a black cap and a frankness that makes adults laugh and think. Both of his parents work for the school district — his mom as an executive assistant, his dad as a maintenance technician. He has friends here; he appreciates his teachers.
But Mountain Empire’s facilities have been failing for years, and failing them.
“Our experiences are: We don’t get to come to school because it’s windy. Our experiences are: There’s E. Coli in our water, so we got no school,” he said.
 

The Department of Public Health and Social Services is three weeks ahead of schedule in conducting sanitary inspections at Guam Department of Education schools, which are trying to keep the pace as they simultaneously plan to refurbish eight schools and rightsize department resources as well.

As of Thursday, George Washington High School was being inspected and is one of the eight schools – including Agueda I. Johnston Middle School, Ordot-Chalan Pago Elementary School, Jose Rios Middle School, Tamuning Elementary School, Vicente S.A. Benavente Middle School, Finegayan Elementary School and Oceanview Middle School – scheduled to be refurbished.

Superintendent Keith Hayashi promised state legislators late last year that he would reform the Department of Education’s approach to managing school facilities. DOE had just proposed relinquishing nearly half a billion in construction funds, and state leaders wanted greater accountability from school leaders in the new year. 

Now the Hawaii Board of Education is holding Hayashi accountable in his annual review. Hayashi has identified overall real estate optimization, a strategy to improve DOE’s management of facilities and school lands, as one of his top priorities for the 2023-24 school year.

In a self-evaluation Hayashi presented to the board last week, he said he’s making effective progress on the so-called “OREO” plan. But some educational leaders say they want more details on Hayashi’s work and remain concerned the department is moving in the wrong direction when it comes to overseeing over 260 campuses across the state. 

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) began classes on Friday, welcoming thousands of students back to class and opening the doors to Trailside Elementary School for the first time.

Christian Draper's daughter is starting kindergarten at the brand-new Trailside school, something he said is a surreal feeling.

"I'm honestly a little overwhelmed," Draper said. "I am definitely, as a parent, not fully prepared for this milestone. She's starting a whole new chapter, so I'm a little nervous, but I think she's gonna have a great time."

CRCSD Superintendent Dr. Tawana Grover said it's a beautiful day to welcome kids back to school, and she enjoys getting to interact with families.

"I just get all of my energy from these students, you know, some just a little bit of anxiety, but I just appreciate our staff members that have committed years of service here to our school district," Grover said.

With much fanfare, Ozark school officials cut the ribbon on a final storm shelter and celebrated a new indoor activities center on Thursday.
The two projects, both located on the northeast part of the Ozark High School campus, represent the end of substantial work associated with a $19 million bond issue approved in April 2022.
"It's the completion of our major projects," said Superintendent Lori Wilson. She added the district is "grateful to our community."
The "no tax increase" bond issue — which extended the district's debt but did not alter the tax rate — was heavily focused on safety. To ensure each campus had access to a storm shelter, three were constructed.
 

With a new school year on the horizon, the Rochester City School District is preparing to undergo significant changes in some buildings as part of a Facilities Modernization Plan.

The district is entering the third phase of its school modernization program which started more than a decade ago. In this round of renovations, six school buildings will be upgraded to the tune of $475 million.

“It provides a very unique amount of money into this community and into this school district,” former Rochester Mayor Tom Richards, chair of the Rochester Joint Schools Construction Board (RJSCB) said during a school board meeting Tuesday. RJSCB oversees the modernization program.

“Those of you who have had a chance to go into the schools that have been modernized, it really is a different feel to it,” Richards said. “There's no reason why our kids shouldn't have that kind of impression, and that kind of facility, just as much as some kid who lives in Victor.”

The most expensive project, with a projected cost of $140.7 million, is at Franklin Campus which will house the new Padilla High School.

Learn the key elements of an effective mold prevention program for schools.
As students and staff return to school, anticipation for the year ahead is palpable. However, one unwelcome surprise that everyone hopes to avoid in their classrooms is the presence of mold.

During summer break, the combination of reduced ventilation to conserve energy and increased cleaning and construction projects can contribute to elevated indoor humidity levels, which creates the perfect conditions for mold to thrive in schools. Understanding the factors that contribute to mold growth in schools and engaging staff in the preventative maintenance and early reporting of moisture problems can be effective strategies in school mold prevention programs.

Understanding suitable conditions for mold growth
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends keeping indoor relative humidity between 30 and 50% to prevent mold growth, which presents a unique challenge in regions with high relative humidity in the outdoor environment. When warm, moist air enters a building envelope, water vapor may form condensation on building materials. Saturated wallboard, insulation or ceiling tiles can serve as a food source for mold spores and a catalyst for fungal growth in the indoor environment.

Exposure to mold may cause respiratory or allergic symptoms, especially for building occupants with existing health conditions. Mold is able to grow wherever there is moisture and an organic substrate, like wood or drywall. Therefore, the key to prevent or minimize indoor mold growth is to actively maintain, inspect and correct buildings for moisture problems.

Pender County officials gathered this week to kick off the start of construction for the school district's newest K-8 school.

The new school is designed to accommodate the district's increasing student population and went through a significant redesign earlier in the year, according to a press release from the district. The redesign added an additional 24,000 square feet of classroom space by incorporating a second story on the middle school wing. This will enable the school to accommodate 312 more students, bringing the total school capacity to 2,312.

"Today's groundbreaking is a testament to our district's commitment to providing exceptional educational facilities that meet the evolving needs of our community," Superintendent Brad Breedlove said, according to the release. "The expanded capacity of this new K-8 school will ensure that our students have access to the resources and space they need to thrive academically and socially."

When Philadelphia student Chelsea Mungo wrote to her state senators pleading for renovations for her rodent-infested, century-old elementary school, she never imagined she would one day receive thunderous applause while cutting the ribbon on a $62 million building.

“I’m just so happy right now,” Mungo said at last week’s official opening of the new Lewis C. Cassidy Academics Plus School in West Philadelphia’s Overbook neighborhood.

The old Lewis C. Cassidy building — the one Mungo told her elected officials in 2017 felt like “prison” — was crumbling. The new version, ready for students to start on Aug. 26, would fit in on Google’s campus. The walls are almost blindingly white. The classroom seating is modular and adjustable for even the wiggliest students. There’s a new playground, a sensory room for pre-kindergartners, a “maker’s space,” and an innovation lab.

“Success Starts Here” is emblazoned in the front entryway, in a font bigger than many of the school’s youngest students.

Following a consequential school board decision in late May, the closure of Fort Worth ISD’s Daggett Middle School is no longer on the table. 

Now, the district is instead weighing two options for families in the Paschal High School pyramid: consolidate the McLean 6th Grade and McLean Middle School campuses while renovating the middle school or upgrade the existing campuses as approved by voters in the district’s $1.2 billion 2021 bond election.

During an Aug. 19 community meeting held at McLean Middle School, district officials presented these options, emphasizing a commitment to enhance educational quality while addressing the logistical challenges of merging schools if the consolidation is approved.

The Fort Worth ISD school board will vote on the potential consolidation and closure of McLean 6th Grade during its Aug. 27 meeting, trustee Anne Darr told the Report after the meeting.

On Monday, J.P. Lord School stood empty once again after it dismissed students early Thursday when staff found mold in the building.
The school serves students who are handicapped or have complex and chronic medical conditions.
Omaha Public Schools COO Charles Wakefield said it was on equipment that they stored over the summer.
“As staff went to pull out that equipment to start the school year, that’s when they saw the mold,” Wakefield said.
Officials identified the mold as cladosporium, which can cause allergies.
While there is no federal threshold for airborne mold levels, the Douglas County Health Department said it can be harmful.
“Out of the abundance of caution for our kids, especially students who attend J.L. Lord with their needs, we did send students home,” Wakefield said.
They believe they have it all cleaned up now, but they’re testing just to make sure.
 

CLINTON, Tenn. (WATE) — At schools across East Tennessee, the books are organized on the shelves, the walls and lockers decorated, and even the playdough is out and ready to be molded by the youngest of students.
“To educate a student you have to have a great environment. If the environment is not good, then there is a problem,” said Director of Anderson County Schools Dr. Tim Parrott.
For nine years, Parrott has overseen a number of projects with Anderson County Schools. One of which, keeping the county’s 18 facilities up and running.
“We do a lot of stuff in house,” said Parrott. “We have our own heat and air, our own electrician. We have our own plumbers and everything like that. So, a lot of it is done in house.”
This past spring, health inspectors graded 11 of Anderson County’s 18 schools. Nine of the eleven graded out with a score of 99 or better.
“Bottom line is, we’ve got good facilities. Climate control and all the things like that to make sure that the environment is conducive to teaching.”
 

SAN PABLO, Calif. - It’s a day of celebration for one community in the West Contra Costa School District. Lake Elementary School, which was almost closed a decade ago, has been rebuilt, and part of the new campus opened today.
The first day of school in the West Contra Costa Unified School District isn't until Monday, but dozens of parents, teachers, and students gathered today to celebrate the campus reopening. 
The original Lake Elementary opened in 1957. In 2009, district budget issues nearly led to its closure, but parents and teachers stepped in to save it.
"Patricia was at the forefront of parents and teachers telling the school district to find the money," said Kristen Jones, a West Contra Costa Unified School District teacher who used to teach third grade at Lake Elementary. 
Her friend, Patricia Ponce had three kids at Lake Elementary at the time when she led the community-wide effort to challenge the school board and district and keep the school open. 
 

When Lois Brink’s kids were in elementary school, she remembers being struck by how uninviting their schoolyard was. She described it as “scorched earth” — little more than a dirt field coated in “I don’t know how many decades of weed retardant” and some aging play equipment. But Brink, a landscape architect and professor at the University of Colorado Denver, didn’t just see a problem. She saw fertile ground for a solution. Over the next dozen years, she helped lead a transformation of nearly 100 elementary school grounds across Denver into more vibrant, greener spaces, dubbed “Learning Landscapes.”

Public schools alone cover about 2 million acres of land in the U.S. Although comprehensive data is hard to come by, the “scorched earth” that Brink witnessed is the norm in many places — according to the Trust for Public Land, around 36 percent of the nation’s public school students attend school in what would be considered a heat island. And as with green spaces writ large, a dearth of schoolyard trees and other vegetation tends to be most common in lower-income areas and Black and brown neighborhoods.

JONESBORO — During a recent public hearing about the Clayton County Board of Education millage rate, a local substitute teacher spoke before the board not only about the tax rate but about some school facilities being in disrepair.
“Being a substitute teacher in Clayton County, I have noticed that there are a lot of things that go unrepaired in our schools,” Shawana Jackson said during a July 29 public hearing.
She told school board members some of the maintenance issues included mold, carpet, pests and roof leaks.
“Nothing is being done,” she said.
In an email to the Clayton News, school system leaders and others, Jackson specifically cited problems at Callaway Elementary, Kemp Primary, Suder Elementary and Tara Elementary.
“My concern is for our children,” she said at the July 29 meeting.
In a July 29 work session, school board Chair Jessie Goree said she had also been made aware of a flooding issue at the Professional Learning Center and there were carpet issues at the Performing Arts Center. She added that there needs to be some renovations at the PAC, including lighting and sound.
 

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Orangeburg County School District was awarded $40 million dollars from the South Carolina Department of Education to build a new Robert E. Howard Elementary School.
The current Robert E. Howard Middle School will be demolished and replaced with a new, state-of-the-art elementary school that will be filled with students from Brookdale, Mellichamp and Whittaker elementary schools.
Orangeburg County School District Superintendent Shawn Foster says population decline plays a role in the consolidation of three elementary schools.
“Orangeburg County had upwards of 19,000 students. We’ve seen that steady decline down to little over 10,000, so with the change in populations, we have to make the tough decisions to make sure we’re most effectively using tax payers dollars but also keeping up with the educational needs and the infrastructure needs to ensure our kids receive a high quality educational experience,” Foster said.
Atiqua Brooks is a mom of a student who goes to Brookdale Elementary. She says they are excited for the new school.
 

The vast majority of school safety plans require administrators to lock exterior doors and limit building access, through protocols like ID checks for visitors.
In Texas, teams of inspectors visit every campus to make sure schools actually practice what they preach.
In unannounced visits, unarmed state employees conduct intruder audits to see if they can get into school buildings and, if they can, how long it takes to do so.
In sometimes divisive debates over school safety, limiting building access is one of the most commonly agreed upon strategies. But all it takes is a few bad habits—propping open a door during recess or waving a visitor past an ID check—for the most well-intentioned plans to fail, said Amy Klinger, co-founder of the Educator’s School Safety Network, an organization that consults with schools on safety plans.
“There is great value in having a fresh set of eyes look at your school,” said Klinger, who contracts with districts in other parts of the country to conduct vulnerability audits that included unannounced intruder tests. “We have to be careful that it doesn’t devolve into a ‘gotcha,’ but instead it’s being used as a mechanism for improvement.”
 

SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Independent School District says it only experienced minor air conditioning problems as classes got underway this week. Heating and cooling failures caused school closures and resignations at the district last year. The News 4 I-Team has uncovered the district still hasn't resolved a maintenance backlog that was a major factor behind the outages.
The I-Team requested records showing SAISD still has a total of 4,765 open work orders for buildings across the district. Of those, 1,725 are for heating and cooling equipment that needs repair. 1,081 are for plumbing problems at schools and support buildings.
As parents and students returned to Highland Hills Elementary Tuesday they were reminded of the AC problems last school year.
“Quite a few times they sent the kids home from school because it was hot and at meet the teacher everybody was dripping sweat really bad,” said parent Corina Hernandez.
 

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY(WOLF) — The discovery of lead contamination was reported to the Hanover Area School District while they were in the process of removing existing paint. Dust containing lead migrated into areas of the bleacher system.

Superintendent Nathan Barret informed the community they found lead contamination during a scheduled renovation project to repaint the home bleachers at the Hanover Area School’s Memorial Stadium.

“We knew there was lead paint in there. There was lead paint remediation scheduled for it. As the process was going through there was a slight compromise in one of the ceiling vents that contaminated a storage area we hadn’t anticipated,” saidBarret.

No one is in immediate danger, but the project has to be cleaned up by an environmental scientist at this point. This will delay the different stages of the project to about 4-6 weeks.

Now, the athletes are in jeopardy of playing on the football field.

Four San Antonio Independent School District schools shuttered over the summer are already being reopened as “swing campuses” where students will be transported in the event temperatures become too hot at their home campuses.

The contingency is one of three developed in response to aging HVAC infrastructure, which buckled during a winter freeze in January, prompting a facilities assessment and overhaul of the district’s operations department.

As part of that overhaul, the district created a dashboard, where conditions can be monitored by district staff in realtime. It’s color-coded based on conditions with green for fully operational and red for ongoing issues.