Severe weather is a common sight in central Kansas, with tornados, severe storms and weather warnings springing up throughout late spring and summer.

In Reno County's six public school districts, tornado shelters and storm procedures look slightly different, depending on what works at the school and the facility accommodations at each location.

Storm shelter updates at Reno County school districts
Nickerson/South Hutchinson USD 309 has storm shelters, but the one at the high school needs to be updated. The shelter is currently beneath the concrete bleachers in the old gymnasium.

"It's concrete seating in the old gym, so under there. It's like a concrete vault," said Nickerson superintendent Curtis Nightingale. "It's not ADA accessible, which we're discussing putting into the new bond issue."

JACKSON, MI - Jackson Public Schools has approved a new proposal to bring solar energy systems to three of its elementary schools that will provide more savings to the district.
JPS’ Board of Education approved moving forward with a proposal from CLS Sustainable, Inc., during its meeting on May 17, that would install solar energy systems at Hunt, Dibble and John R. Lewis elementary schools.
Although the school board previously approved a similar 20-year agreement with U.S. Global Energy to conduct the same project scope a year ago, the contract was never executed, Superintendent Jeff Beal said.
CLS Sustainable would provide the same services as U.S. Global Energy under the new agreement, but with more savings to the district, JPS Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Marcus Leon said. The company would own and maintain all the equipment, meaning there is no cost or liability to the district.
The district vetted more solar providers because the company’s long-term energy rates didn’t yield the return on investment the district was looking for, Beal said. U.S. Global Energy’s previous agreement was 9.75 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to CLS Sustainable’s rate of 9.1 cents.
 

MONONA (WKOW) -- The Monona Grove School District made history Saturday as they unveiled the largest solar array to be installed on a K-12 building in Wisconsin to date.

The project will replace the coal-fueled electricity that currently powers the school and will supply about half of the building's electrical needs.

Krishna Elwell, a sophomore at Monona Grove High School who helped the project come to fruition, said he is proud to see his school mark this major change.

"All this started out with an idea, a dream," Elwell said. "Energy is probably one of the most significant ways we can alter the effects of climate change and really create a sense of hope for the next generation, so to have my school doing that and to have the evidence that we can build a future right in front of my eyes--that's just so inspiring to see."

WILSON — School administrators and students gathered to “Flip the Switch” as they celebrated their newly active solar array on Tuesday morning at Rivercrest High School in Wilson.
The school made its switch to solar only a week after the Riverside School District flipped its switch with the help of Entegrity, as well, on last Tuesday at the East Elementary School in Caraway.
According to a press release from Entegrity, Rivercrest School District has been key in the growth of the communities it serves as it provides quality education to 1,220 students and employment for 125 teachers.
Seeking to catalyze innovation in Northeast Arkansas, the district signed a Solar Services Agreement with Entegrity Energy Partners to build a 1.33 MW DC solar array on land adjacent to the campus and this new solar array will allow the school to save over $98,000 a year on utility and energy costs, totaling more than $3 million in lifetime savings.
Rivercrest Supt. Mike Cox said that Rivercrest School District wants to continue to be an institution that provides the best environment for students to learn and grow.
 

A Monday in May poured sunshine over the playground and backyard of John S. Martinez Sea and Sky STEM Magnet School, where students recently broke ground on a fresh garden. A team of second graders had decided on the perfect spot for three new garden beds under the guidance of Hollie Brandstatter, an outdoor learning specialist from Common Ground.
The goal is to offer a different approach to learning, and playing in the dirt is bringing kids down to earth.
Common Ground is a New Haven environmental education center planting outdoor classrooms across the city and as far as Hamden and Wallingford. Their Schoolyards Program has partnered with over 20 New Haven public schools and led the installation of a number of school gardens, most recently at John S. Martinez. Common Ground outdoor learning specialists typically visit partner schools at least one day per week.
On this day, Brandstatter led a group of pre-Kindergarten and fourth grade students to cultivate the garden beds. Students worked together to transfer soil — enriched with hearty earthworms — with trowels and buckets from a pile outside the school into the new beds.
Schoolyards Program manager Robyn Stewart emphasized the range of skills young kids develop through outdoor learning.
“Kids are interacting in a different context,” Stewart said. “There's more opportunities for both independence, developing independence, but also developing teamwork and collaborative learning.”
Even a simple task like moving soil presents opportunities for personal growth.
 

KIMT News 3 - In 2021, the Minnesota legislative session developed a plan for solar energy in schools.
Now - the Minnesota Department of Commerce Solar for Schools Program is on track to award nearly $8 million dollars for up to 80 school across the state.
The state is awarding these grants based on the financial need of the school districts.
Around 70 percent of all rural schools in Minnesota fall below the state average for operating referendum dollars.
Schools with the most need can get up to 95 percent of system costs covered, which is up to $114,000.
Once the schools are accepted, they have one year to finish the installation process - which, has been a little but of a challenge.
"Another thing we're dealing with right now is supply chain issues," said MN Dept. of Commerce Jack Kluempke. "We've heard about supply chain issues throughout all the economic sectors that we deal with - Solar's no different. And that's why we put in one of those metrics that they have to have at least ordered the material by a certain date to make sure we get it within a year."
Solar energy helps reduce electric bills, creates local jobs, and is a homegrown power source for more local economic security.
A requirement for schools to apply to this program - is that they have to include solar energy into their curriculum. This creates more learning opportunities about solar jobs for students.
 

NORTH BRADDOCK, Penn.—On Wednesday evening, 10th grader Abby Wypych stood in front of Woodland Hills School District’s board and urged them to approve a feasibility study on installing solar panels.

“Woodland Hills has provided me with many opportunities to get involved with climate action, which I’m very passionate about,” she said. “As a student with severe asthma, I’m also very concerned about the poor air quality in our region.”

Wypych and her co-presenter Lauren Palamara, a youth educator for the climate advocacy nonprofit Communitopia, reminded the board that thanks to student advocacy, Woodland Hills became the first school district in Pennsylvania to pass a climate resolution in 2020. With a goal of having net-zero emissions by 2050, the district has helped educators create climate change lessons for their classrooms, established a climate-friendly food and gardening program, improved recycling and energy efficiency in school buildings, and students hosted the region’s first youth climate action summit. In 2021, the district won a national “Best of Green Schools Award” from the U.S. Green Building Council.

“How do we continue to champion this phenomenal work?” Palamara asked. “Imagine our next news headlines if Woodland Hills takes steps toward becoming a regional leader in solar power.”

Congressional Democrats are looking to invest $130 billion in the nation’s crumbling schools, partly by reviving a type of debt financing killed by tax reform during the Trump administration.
The Rebuild America’s Schools Act, which went to committee markup Wednesday, would establish a $100 billion grant program and authorize $30 billion of school infrastructure tax credit bonds, both aimed at high-poverty schools around the country where shabby infrastructure poses a health risk to students and staff.
The bill, introduced by Virginia Democrat Bobby Scott, marks a renewed push to pass school infrastructure funding through a gridlocked Congress after a similar measure folded into President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act failed. Democrats argue schools desperately need repair, and federal Covid-19 stimulus should be used for emergency purposes, not long overdue projects.
The somewhat obscure securities would likely be embraced by investors in the $4 trillion muni market, and schools would get a new tool for borrowing. “Issuers like having flexibility, and this is a structure that has had a long history in the market,” said Jamie Iselin, head of muni fixed income for Neuberger Berman. “There is typically an investor for every type of security.”
The debt portion of the proposed bill would reauthorize tax credit bonds, or TCBs, for school construction purposes after former President Donald Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated them. Unlike tax exempt muni-bonds, which exclude interest from federal taxes, TCBs give a credit or payment to the issuer or investor. 
 

This evening, the Eureka City Schools Board of Trustees will consider whether or not to implement sizable new developer impact fees within the district’s boundaries. These charges, which would be assessed to local builders in the permitting process, would generate revenue while making the district eligible to pursue $5.6 million in state grant money for new preschool classroom facilities.

According to Eureka City Schools Superintendent Fred Van Vleck, the driving force behind this proposal is the state’s recent adoption of a universal transitional kindergarten (TK) program. Currently, only a subset of 4-year-olds — those who will turn 5 between Sept. 2 and Dec. 2 — are eligible to attend TK. But thanks to a $2.7 billion initiative supported by Gov. Gavin Newsom and others, California’s TK program will be gradually expanded until it includes all of the state’s 4-year-olds by the 2025-26 school year.

That expansion, Van Vleck says, will lead to an influx of new preschoolers, requiring the district to add more classrooms that meet the state’s Title 5 requirements. And in order to qualify for the $5.6 million state grant that could pay for those new facilities, the district needs to charge these fees, at least temporarily. (We’ll get to his explanation of why that’s the case below.)

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine today awarded $4.8 million in grants to nearly 100 Ohio schools to help them improve the overall safety and security of their buildings.

Ninety-eight schools in 27 counties will implement safety upgrades with funding from Ohio's K-12 School Safety Grant Program. Governor DeWine launched the program through the Ohio School Safety Center to help local schools with costly safety upgrades to their buildings.

“I care deeply about every child in Ohio, and this will help ensure that more students are learning in an environment where they can feel safe and secure,” said Governor DeWine. “Today's kids are tomorrow's leaders, and we applaud the school districts that are proactively looking for ways to protect both their students and staff."

Funds will be used to cover expenses associated with physical security enhancements such as security cameras, public address systems, automatic door locks, and visitor badging systems. 

 MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) — Students at two schools where new football stadiums are under construction will have to wait a little longer than planned to watch games under the Friday night lights.
The Mobile County Public School System has four stadiums under construction and had hoped to open fields at LeFlore and Vigor high schools in August. But school system spokeswoman Rena Philips told FOX10 News that a variety of obstacles are causing a delay in that timeline. For instance, she said, workers have had difficulty getting aluminum transported to the construction sites.
“It’s like everything else in the country. … And so yes, we have had delays with some truck drivers and some materials and some weather delays,” she said.
Still, Philips added, officials hope to open the new stadiums at both schools before the end of the season. Construction also is under way at Davidson and B.C. Rain high schools. The school system is paying the roughly $20 million cost with money the state has borrowed and dedicated for school construction projects.
 

Construction has been temporarily halted on the Del Mar Heights School rebuild after San Diego Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal granted Save the Field’s preliminary injunction on May 12. The action comes about two months after the old school was knocked down and construction began on the new campus on Boquita Drive.

Save the Field’s latest legal action challenges the city of San Diego’s approval of the project, arguing that it did not comply with the California Environmental Quality Act because its approvals relied on a court-ordered vacated mitigated negative declaration and a “focused” environmental impact report. Save the Field’s attorneys have argued that environmental review may not be split between two documents.

“Judge Bacal found significant and serious flaws in the Del Mar Union School District’s plans and implementation – so serious as to issue an injunction to protect the environment from further destruction,” said Save the Field in a statement issued on May 18. “DMUSD has consistently and continuously operated as if laws and rules don’t apply to them. The court had to take action issuing the injunction, because the district has ignored the facts and attempted to silence community concerns that raised real, material issues that could and should have been addressed years ago.”

WASHINGTON (7News) — Big changes could be coming to a number of Ward 4 schools after council members approved the first vote of a budget bill to aid in modernization and address overcrowding.
“It was about $17 million in renovations and modernizations for Garnet-Patterson, about $7 million or so for renovations and modernizations for Sharpe,” said Ward 4 Councilwoman Janeese Lewis George
The plan calls for Roosevelt Stay to move to the renovated Garnet-Patterson School.
That would free up Roosevelt High students to have the building to themselves, bringing down what Lewis George says was set to be the most overcrowded school in DCPS with a 134 percent utilization rate.
Sharpe, across the street, will get renovated and will serve as the swing space for both Dorothy Height and Truesdell elementary schools.
All of this will then allow Whittier to stay on track with its modernization plan.
“The community really got together about the swing space and Stay and it’s a tremendous victory for democracy in action,” said Ward 5 Board of Education Representative Frazier O’Leary.
 

ROCK HALL — Renovation of the Kent County Middle School building is off the table, Superintendent Karen Couch told the Board of Education at its meeting May 9.
During her report, Couch said the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC), an offshoot of the Maryland State Department of Education that provides funds for school construction, visited Kent County on May 6 to tour the middle and high schools.
“They notified us that renovation of the existing (middle school) facility is off the table,” Couch said. “They are absolutely in favor of new construction … and where the new construction is going to be, that is for us to decide and we’re not at that point yet.”
Couch said the IAC was against renovation due to the age and condition of the existing middle school.
The IAC said renovation of the existing building would be “upwards of $100 million,” Couch told the school board. She estimated a new school would cost about $70 million.
There are two site possibilities for the new school: the existing site in Chestertown or the high school site in Worton, either attaching or building within close proximity of that school.
“And that really is something that we have to make some determination after we’ve had an opportunity to get community input,” Couch said.
That input will likely happen in early fall, she said.
 

Last week, superintendents gathered at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to celebrate the distribution of almost $400 million in needs-based school construction grants.
Twenty-eight districts received grants, which will provide funding for 42 projects such as new schools, renovations, and new classrooms, according to a DPI press release.
“Just as all students in North Carolina need an excellent teacher in every classroom, students and teachers need high quality schools in good repair that help support learning,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt in a press release. “These needs-based grants are an important boost for many districts and communities — and most importantly, their students.”
The grant distribution this year is the largest in the history of the needs-based public school capital fund, which has sent out $739 million in the last five years, funding “60 new K-12 construction projects, including 33 new schools, eight new buildings, and the replacement of 44 existing schools,” according to the press release.
Here’s which districts received this year’s awards, what they’re being used for, and how much each district received. For example, Polk County Schools will receive $1.3 million for an addition to Tryon Elementary School, Warren County Schools will receive $24 million to build a new elementary school, and Mooresville Graded School District will receive $615,750 for renovations to two schools.
All of this raises a question: What in the world is the needs-based public school capital fund?
 

Some of the two dozen school buildings in Butler County’s largest school system are aging or increasingly inadequate when it comes to providing modern learning spaces for 17,000 students or even more in the future, said school officials.
Lakota Schools officials recently announced a series of public meetings to let residents and others learn more about not only the state of its 24 school buildings, but also what facility needs are projected in the coming years as the district’s two townships continue to grow.
A “master facilities plan” is essential for Lakota’s future, said district officials.
And while public input is being gathered — and many decisions remain to be made in the coming months — any replacement or upgrade of existing Lakota buildings will likely require asking residents to approve higher school taxes to supplement state construction funding for projects.
But Lakota officials said no decisions as to the timing or size of a possible tax hike have been made.
“As we look to the future, it is crucial that we have a master facilities plan in place,” said Betsy Fuller, spokeswoman for Lakota Schools.
The work toward such a facilities plan actually started prior to the March 2020 onset of COVID-19 and was paused during the pandemic until recent months, though surveys of school parents, staff and others have been an on-going, periodic process.
 

PROVIDENCE, RI — The Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education has voted to approve $550 million in new school construction projects across Rhode Island, allowing for educational enhancements, health and safety improvements, new physical education and media centers, and five new schools to be built.

These improvements literally span the state: from our southernmost point on Block Island to Cumberland in the north, and from Tiverton in the east to Scituate in the west,” said Governor Dan McKee. “Today’s approval by the Council is an affirmation of my administration’s commitment to fixing schools in every corner of Rhode Island. We are excited to hit the ground running and give these communities all the support they need to build great schools for our kids”

“Our school construction program is transforming hundreds of school buildings across the state. That initial investment culminates today in the release of the last of those funds,” said General Treasurer Seth Magaziner. “Now we must move forward with a second state school construction bond, to continue this vital work so that all children can go to schools that are warm, safe, dry, and equipped for twenty-first century learning.”

Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio and House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said, “In the last few years, communities across Rhode Island have been energized by school improvement and construction projects. In many places, the benefits of these long-overdue investments in educational facilities are already being enjoyed. This latest round of approvals will enable more cities and towns to replace aging and ailing facilities with safe, modern and engaging learning spaces. Our children deserve every resource and advantage we can provide, and these projects represent the foundation of our state’s future.”

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A recurring issue is the focus of a big financial ask to the county commission from Memphis-Shelby County school leaders.
Old, dilapidated buildings within the district are at the center of a multi-million dollar funding request to county commissioners.
School leaders are proposing a $55 million capital improvement project budget for next year, that’s $33 million more than what is currently budgeted for this fiscal year.
The proposal was discussed during Wednesday’s Shelby County Commission budget committee meeting.
“Our students deserve to walk into a world class facility where they can learn, grow and compete globally,” said MSCS superintendent Dr. Joris Ray.
Within the district there are 33 schools that are 50 years or older.
School leaders told county commissioners Wednesday it’s time for much needed repairs, and, in some cases, it’s time to demolish some of the old buildings and start new.
There was a debate among commissioners about whether or not the county should consider raising taxes to fund the increased budget request.
Collierville residents, for example, voted to raise their taxes to help pay for their state of the art school building.
“The question here is if they’re willing to raise the taxes out in the suburb to fund their kids because they think that much of their kids, why can’t we do the same for our kids,” asked Commissioner Van Turner.
Superintendent Ray remained neutral on the subject of raising taxes to fund schools.
“I want to support anything it takes for our students to have the best facilities in the country. They deserve it,” said Ray.
 

The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has released a report detailing the amount and types of capital spending for local school districts and an overview of the methods districts and local governments use to pay for capital and debt spending.

Spending for public school capital projects by both local school districts and their county and city governments totaled an estimated $2 billion in fiscal year 2019-20, including spending for land; building construction and renovation; related facilities like parking lots and athletic fields; as well as equipment like desks, chairs, playground equipment, and buses.

The bulk of capital spending on K-12 school facilities, and any related debt payments on loans, is paid from local revenues, including revenues from bonds and notes issued by local governments, adequate facilities taxes, and dedicated property taxes. The state supports capital spending for schools primarily through the state’s share of Basic Education Program (BEP) funding for several components related to capital needs. State dollars allocated in fiscal year 2019-20 totaled $503 million for the BEP’s capital outlay, equipment, and technology components. (The BEP’s capital outlay component will be folded into the newly-approved Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) base funding formula, which will be implemented in school year 2023-24. Equipment and technology components are to be split between TISA’s base, weighted, and direct funding components.)

The report reviews the factors that can increase capital spending for schools, including student enrollment growth, classroom size limit, the age and quality of school buildings, and the cost of building materials and labor. The report’s focus on spending and revenue data from 2019-20 captures more typical spending patterns that occurred mainly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the large injections of federal emergency relief funds known as ESSER.

Fifteen years ago, Greg Libecci quit his career in sales at Fortune 500 companies to do something good for the planet: make public schools more sustainable. Since 2010, he’s been the energy and resource manager for the Salt Lake City district, tasked with minimizing the district’s use of energy and natural gas.
Progress has been slow going.
Libecci initially focused on what he calls “low-hanging fruit"—encouraging staff to turn off lights more often and shutting down HVAC systems during holidays and weekends. When he wanted to make bigger changes, such as replacing or converting fluorescent lights to LED bulbs, administrators told him it would be too expensive, or that it wasn’t the highest priority.
That all changed in early 2020. High school students in environmental clubs started asking him, Why aren’t you doing more to minimize the district’s carbon footprint? After all, as advocates and policymakers are beginning to realize, schools across the country contribute a huge chunk of the harmful emissions that are driving climate change at an increasingly alarming rate.
“I was almost embarrassed,” Libecci said.
Armed with a toolkit from the nonprofit Sierra Club, students crafted a thoroughly researched presentation and arrived at the April 2020 school board meeting with a concrete request: Could the district commit to transitioning its 40-plus buildings to entirely clean energy by 2030? And eliminate fossil fuels for heating and transportation by 2040?
Two months later, the board unanimously voted yes. That gave Libecci the backing he’d never had before to work with colleagues and students on a plan of action.