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.
 

When it was time to put down roots and buy a home for their family, Bay Area residents Mandeep Kaur and Jimmy Singh decided it was time to leave their cramped apartment in Fremont and purchase a home in the San Joaquin Valley.
They landed in Patterson, a small but rapidly growing town of 24,000 off the Interstate 5 freeway. The development they moved into in February is so new that not all the homes on their street have been finished.
Their new home, which, with two stories and a backyard, has plenty of room for their 6-year-old and baby. They like Patterson’s small-town feel.
“There are better schools,” Singh said. “It’s a nice community, not as hectic.”
Patterson is 75 miles from Oakland, which puts it at the outer rim of Bay Area bedroom communities. Singh is freed from the daily commute as the owner of a trucking business who works from home — an increasing trend among recent transplants.
For decades, the San Joaquin Valley has been a destination for young families seeking affordable housing. Enrollment in the San Joaquin Valley grew 24.5% before the pandemic, and it dipped only 1.1% since 2019.
“We’re very lucky,” said George Bradley, director of research and planning at the Kern High School District. “The alternative is that you’re shrinking.”
The big questions about enrollment in the San Joaquin Valley have been about where new schools will be built, how they will be funded and what to do with the surge of students on campus in the meantime.
 

VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Valley City school board continues to move cautiously on whether the district should build a new school or repair their existing facilities.

During a public meeting on May 16th, superintendent Josh Johnson said the district it facing some tough decisions due to aging buildings and facility maintenance upgrade needs. He said the district it looking at the most cost-effective option for all school district stakeholders.

Johnson said under one option, the cost to build a new grade 7-12 structure is estimated at $55 million. He said the school district has $3 million in COVID dollars to use for a new building. He said if there was a referendum vote and it passed, the maximum allowed would be $40 million, but, he said the district would still be $12 million short for that proposed construction project.

During the meeting, someone asked if the remaining money could be made up using dollars from the state Legacy Fund. Rep. Dwight Kiefert said it was unlikely that lawmakers would reach a two-thirds majority to free up funding for school district building projects, being there are other needs for those dollars across the state.

Johnson was asked about the school district’s priority for a new heating and cooling system, he had this response.

Johnson talked about how the school district can use their existing $3.8 million in COVID funding and the timeline.

Johnson believes transferring existing technologies and furniture would not be a cost effective issue, if the school district built a new structure.

Beaverton School District voters approved a $723 million bond to replace Beaverton High and Raleigh Hills K-8 school and carry out deferred maintenance and seismic upgrades throughout the district.
To pay for it, property taxes will increase by 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, resulting in a $709 school construction-related tax bill for the owner of the typical home, assessed at $303,000. If voters had rejected the bonds, the tax rate would instead have fallen 41 cents per $1,000, yielding a $509 tax bill for school construction debt on such a home.
Preliminary results as of 1 a.m. Wednesday showed 54% of Beaverton School District voters approving the bond and 46% rejecting it.
There was no organized opposition to the bond. Proponents raised $150,000 for brochures, online ads and other promotional efforts. Lead funders were Pacific Office Automation, at $25,000, and Nike, with $20,000. Three other donors -- food company executive Patricia Reser, law firm Miller Nash and construction company Kirby Nagelhout -- each gave $15,000.
By far the largest outlay from the bond, $253 million, will be to build a new Beaverton High on the campus that is home to the school, which was built in 1916 and has been expanded many times over the years. It’s the only high school in the district with a seismic rating indicating it would be at risk of partial or full collapse during an earthquake, district officials say. It also needs $53 million worth of repairs, which the district now won’t have to pay for.
 

As the Philadelphia district aims to tell the public how it is managing its aging infrastructure, parents and community leaders remain concerned about possible school closures, lack of enrollment data, and transparency when it comes to school building maintenance and safety.

The district is in the middle of public engagement about its long-term plan to improve school facilities. During this round of talks, which will take place over Zoom, the district’s facilities planning team is providing an overview of the process, including project goals and data collected from the district. These sessions began May 10 and are open to the public. Additional sessions are scheduled for May 18, 19, 24, and 25. To participate, residents can register online. 

In addition, as part of that plan, all district school buildings will be evaluated over the next 12 months, with the goal of creating recommendations for each building.

To identify problems with school buildings and identify recommendations to address them, the district also launched a $1.3 million Facilities Planning Process last month. School officials unveiled a website with an interactive map that the community could use to access information about each school building’s condition, as well as facility assessments conducted by third-party industry professionals. 

Penn Hills School Board voted to approve two bids to improve the Penn Hills High School and Elementary School infrastructure at a special voting meeting on May 10.

The cost of the bids amounts to a combined total of $2,281,200 and was based on the recommendations of Dodson Engineering Inc., an engineering firm located in Pittsburgh. It is a division of Remington and Vernick Engineers.

The first bid was for heating, cooling and air conditioning modifications at the two schools and is from RB Mechanical, a South Hills-based HVAC that is family-owned and has been in business for 16-years. The HVAC bid is the more expensive of the two, costing $1,501,200.

By spring of 2021, Rashelle Chase-Miller knew she'd have to make some hard decisions.
Schools in Portland, Oregon—including her son Leo's charter—were reopening in-person. But Chase-Miller, herself born and raised in the City of Roses, had reservations. For decades, she'd watched the schools—especially in her historically Black neighborhood—fall into disrepair.
In particular, she worried about ventilation. Vigorous air flow and filtration are crucial for preventing outbreaks of the COVID-19 virus. Yet, an August 2021 inspection by the city's schools found every assessed facility had at least one room with inadequate ventilation.
Chase-Miller had another reason to be worried: Leo, who is 9 years old, has cerebral palsy and asthma. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that puts him at higher risk of severe COVID. Leo catching the virus would also put her elderly parents, who live close by and are both older than 65, at risk. Not to mention, her 4-year-old daughter Luna, who is too young to be vaccinated.
"For families like mine," Chase-Miller told ABC News, "ventilation in school is a huge deal."

The U.S. Department of Education will consider requests from school districts for an 18-month extension on spending COVID-19 emergency funds under the American Rescue Plan beyond the Sept. 30, 2024, obligation deadline, according to a May 13 letter from the department to AASA, The School Superintendents Association. 
The two-page letter said that while the obligation deadline — when a district commits to use of certain funds — is based on statutory and regulatory requirements, the department can approve spending extension requests for properly obligated funds. Approvals would be based on specific facts and circumstances, and longer extensions may be considered for “extraordinary circumstances.”
School system officials and education advocacy groups, such as AASA, have raised concerns that a tight spending timeline for ARP — plus other circumstances such as supply chain challenges, inflation and labor shortages — make it harder for districts to use ARP funds for needed facility improvements.

The Hawaiʻi State Legislature passed six bills that invest $220 million in education, with $200 million appropriated for the goal of expanding preschool access to all 3- and 4-year olds by 2032.

The $220 million is in addition to the $2.4 billion in the Department of Education’s most recent budget. The bills were sent to Gov. David Ige for his consideration.

The biggest chunk of the additional funding is for the education portion of HB 2000. It appropriates $200 million to the School Facilities Authority to expand access to pre-kindergarten for eligible children. The funds may be used to construct new school facilities; renovate, improve and expand existing school facilities to increase pre-kindergarten student capacity; and any other costs to increase pre-kindergarten student capacity within the state.

In 2020, the legislature passed Act 46, which created a goal to expand preschool access to all 3- and 4-year olds by 2032. But there were two issues with meeting that goal: lack of preschool facilities and lack of a qualified workforce.

“Making big change such as providing preschool access for 3- and 4-year old keiki takes time,” said Rep. Justin Woodson, Chair of the House Committee on Education. “Last year, we adopted HB 1362 to create a stipend program for UH students to become early childhood educators. This year, HB 2000 provides an appropriation of $200 million to create appropriate spaces for these keiki to learn effectively. This investment lays the foundation for Hawaii’s children to succeed.”

Next week, California will jumpstart a seven-year initiative to convert potentially thousands of schools into full-service, parent-focused community schools. 
Approved a year ago by the Legislature, the $3 billion California Community Schools Partnership Program will be the nation’s most ambitious effort to create schools serving multiple health and learning needs of children. Community schools have come to be known as schools with “wraparound services.” The underlying assumption is that a holistic approach to education, particularly in low-income areas with unmet basic needs, creates the best conditions for children to thrive emotionally and academically.  Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to increase the community schools program by $1.5 billion – 50% – in his revised 2022-23 state budget, which he released on May 13. 
At its meeting next Wednesday, the State Board of Education is expected to approve $635 million in planning and implementation grants for 265 school districts, county offices of education and charter schools.
On the recommendation of the California Department of Education, 192 districts, county offices of education and charter schools will receive $200,000 two-year planning grants in the first round.
The other 73 districts, with at least some existing community schools, will receive implementation grants covering 444 schools; each school will receive over five years between $712,500 for schools with fewer than 150 students to $2.375 million for schools with more than 2,000 students. Schools serving at least 80% low-income children will receive priority funding.
 

Mayor Michelle Wu pledged Thursday to spend $2 billion to overhaul Boston’s deteriorating school facilities, under an ambitious effort that would begin with 14 new school buildings or major renovations.
Wu billed the proposal as a “Green New Deal for Boston Public Schools” and promised to greatly accelerate the pace of construction in a school system that has built fewer than a dozen new schools over the last 40 years, and where some buildings date to the 1800s. In many schools, the clanking of steam radiators distracts students, learning spaces are devoid of sunlight and fresh air, and water fountains lack drinkable water.
“These improvements are long overdue, decades overdue in many cases, and we’re often seeing the consequences of deferred maintenance,” Wu said outside the McKinley Elementary School in the South End.
“Our young people see that every day in the feelings they have when they enter buildings where you can see water stains on the ceiling tiles, or shades that don’t properly work, or windows that are sticky to open,” Wu said. “And we’re seeing that has built and reinforces mistrust between the city and the community we are here to serve.”
The ultimate goal is to ensure that every school community will be in an upgraded building. But that could involve some difficult decisions about combining schools in a district where many families like the intimacy of small schools, even if it comes at the expense of art, music, or gym. That dynamic has sometimes made it difficult for administrators to win support for large-scale projects.
The new building plan comes as BPS is grappling with a decline in enrollment and is under pressure from some elected officials and fiscal watchdogs to close buildings. Current enrollment is about 49,000, down about 8,000 students over the past decade.
 

CARAWAY, Ark. (KAIT) - A school district has “flipped the switch” in new efforts to reduce costs and become energy efficient.

The Riverside School District celebrated its newly active solar array on Tuesday. The panels are located on-site at East Elementary School.

The project was a partnership between Little Rock-based Entegrity, who together designed and installed the array that would offset 95% of Riverside’s total consumption and save them about $1.5 million over the project’s lifetime, according to a news release.

“By deciding to build a solar array, we have found a way to reduce facility costs while being good stewards,” Superintendent Jeff Priest said. “Having this array on school grounds provides students and faculty access to unique learning opportunities and garners the importance of promoting energy efficiency in our community.”

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Cedar Rapids Community School District is considering going to voters in March 2023 to approve a general obligation bond referendum to finance $323 million in secondary school building projects.
One consideration is consolidating the district’s six middle schools into four. Another is creating a new central aquatic center instead of upgrading the three separate swimming pools at Jefferson, Kennedy and Washington high schools, said Susan Bowersox, with OPN Architects, who presented an update on secondary schools facility needs assessment during a school board meeting Monday.
Renovated middle schools could have between 900 and 1,200 students, an increase of the between 500 to 800 students now at each middle school. New middle and high school buildings are also on the table.
“Do we talk about new construction versus major renovations?” Bowersox said. “When you talk about renovating a 100-year-old building to prepare it for the future, those are not small renovations.”
The school board last year approved an agreement between the district and OPN Architects to study secondary schools for a facility needs assessment, including the district’s six middle schools, three high schools and its alternative high school, Metro.
Final recommendations on the secondary facilities master plan will be presented to the school board this fall. The district had planned to present a facilities master plan recommendation for secondary schools this month, but more time is needed, Bowersox said.
Proposed construction projects to secondary schools include upgraded athletic facilities, upgraded music rooms, more space in nursing and counseling offices, flexible classroom spaces and furniture, collaboration spaces for students and staff, single-occupany restrooms, LED lighting, floor and ceiling replacements, upgraded kitchen equipment and technology upgrades.
District board documents included facility needs at McKinley STEAM Academy, Taft Middle School and Washington High School.
McKinley STEAM Academy could see a new 400-meter running track, new football and soccer fields, three new tennis courts, a new accessible competition gym and new boys’ and girls’ locker rooms.
 

The Detroit school board unanimously approved the district’s ambitious $700 million facility plan, setting up major renovations and rebuilds for school buildings across the city over the next half a decade.

The district will spend $281 million to rebuild five schools, $296 million to renovate buildings, and $128 million to reopen previously closed school buildings, expand pre-K, build additions onto existing schools, and demolish or sell some vacant buildings.

The major building changes would include:

Constructing new buildings on the current sites of Cody High School and Paul Robeson/Malcolm X Academy.
Reopening Paul Vetal Elementary, which closed in 2011, with an expanded pre-kindergarten program.
Building new additions at Charles Wright Academy, Communication and Media Arts High School, and John R. King Academy.
Closing Ann Arbor Trail Magnet Elementary-Middle School and Thurgood Marshall Elementary School by phasing out enrollment over the next several years.
Demolishing or selling active and closed school buildings, including Post Middle School, and Biddle and Larned elementary schools.

McClymonds High School will soon be getting a makeover. The West Oakland school, which has occupied the same campus since 1938, is set to receive $65 million over the next three years—part of a $735 million bond approved by Oakland voters in 2020 to modernize and upgrade Oakland Unified school sites. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2024, but community members, school and district officials, and architects must first agree on a vision for the campus revamp. 

All those involved agree that the renovation of McClymonds’ campus, located on Myrtle and 26th streets, is long overdue. In addition to needed technology and seismic upgrades, there are environmental and safety concerns to address, including elevated lead levels in the plumbing infrastructure and carcinogens in the groundwater. School and community leaders are hopeful that a modernized campus will also attract more students to McClymonds, where enrollment in recent years has plummeted. 

While optimism about the project is high, there are concerns: Some community members worry the funds won’t be enough to realize all of the desired improvements, and that a renovated campus could catch the eye of charter schools looking to expand or relocate. And the level of community engagement in the planning process thus far hasn’t been what many had hoped.

“This is not going to be an easy process,” said VanCedric Williams, the school board director for District 3 where McClymonds is located. “We’re all in agreement that McClymonds deserves some new energy and some new designs. We’re going to continue to push through this conversation.”

SANDWICH – Residents in Sandwich approved a $13 million debt exclusion for school improvements at the annual town meeting on May 2.

The work would take place at Oak Ridge School, Forestdale School, and Sandwich High School. Kevin Lasit, Sandwich High’s Theater Company Director, asked people to support the article since the school’s facilities need critical improvements.  

“The roof continuously leaks when it rains or when the snow melts. During rehearsals we have about eight to ten large garbage cans that catch water,” Lasit said, citing one hazardous incident when water leaked onto the stage during a live performance.

The article, which would also include improvements to the town’s Human Services Building, passed at town meeting. It was then posed as a ballot question on Thursday, May 5, where voters approved the plan as well.

The state legislature passed a measure that'll provide additional funding for the Windermere Building Project, aimed at addressing crumbling foundation concerns.

The measure lawmakers passed pertains to the school construction portion of the budget implementation bill.

Ellington Public Schools said the new measure increases the reimbursement rate from 55.4% to 70%. This will provide the school district with just over $9 million additional dollars than expected.

This higher reimbursement rate is expected to save Ellington taxpayers money.

"As Board Chair and former Windermere parent, I am thrilled with the progress we have made on this project in shaping it for the community. We appreciate the leadership of Mr. Greenleaf, who has a unique and extensive skill set in school construction projects, and many others who have worked to proactively address our facilities and we appreciate the State’s recognition of this ongoing concern,” said Board of Education Chair Jennifer Dzen.

The school district said the bill will make the project eligible for state funding. They're planning to submit an application to the Office of School Construction Grants and Review for consideration.

The project also gets to move forward six months earlier than previously anticipated because of this new measure.