A recent change to Mississippi’s power generation laws, set to take effect in January, will allow over half of the state’s public school districts to start saving money by generating their own solar energy. The new rule, which the Public Service Commission agreed to with the state’s two investor-owned utilities in October, paves the way for school districts to earn credits for generating solar power without actually having to pay for the solar panels. Starting in 2023, any of the 95 public school districts served by Entergy Mississippi or Mississippi Power can enter into what’s called a power purchase agreement, where a third-party contractor foots the bill to add solar panels to the school district’s property. Entergy or Mississippi Power would then buy the generated solar power and credit the district on its energy bill. For funding the new system, the contractor would be eligible for government tax credits.
While the rule change opens a door for widespread renewable energy use in Mississippi, a few of the state’s school districts are already generating solar power, with some seeing new wiggle room in their budgets. “It’s been a very, very big win for the district,” said Mike Papas, director of Auxiliary Services at the Forrest County School District.
 

Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed the Schools Impacted by Gross Highways Act (SIGH Act)—which bans constructing schools 500 feet from highways unless there’s special approval—this past Thursday, Dec. 23. The bill was passed by state legislatures earlier in the summer. 

The SIGH Act was drafted by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and co-sponsored by State Sen. Rachel May (D-53) and Assembly Member Latoya Joyner in an attempt to combat long-standing environmentally racist urban design in a state ranked first in schools built within 500 feet of highways. 

“Governor Hochul’s veto of the SIGH Act is an enormous disservice to Black and brown communities who have suffered most from the devastating health and academic impacts of highway pollution,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman in a statement. “We hoped the governor would heed the call of directly impacted students and residents, who have been organizing for years against this kind of systemic racism. 

Washington County, Tennessee Director of Schools, Jerry Boyd, says the gymnasium floor at Daniel Boone High School is possibly destroyed and will likely require a full replacement after a sprinkler pipe burst and flooded parts of the school.

A statement on Friday says almost 90 percent of the gym floor at Daniel Boone was flooded, as well as the majority of the cafeteria floor, and some of the front offices. After inspection, Boyd says the current condition of the gym floor is unsafe, and while a decision is made on repairs or replacement, upcoming basketball home games and other gym events will be relocated.

Full statement below:

At approximately 4:00 pm Christmas Day, a sprinkler pipe in the front hall gym lobby at Daniel Boone High School burst. Our maintenance department responded quickly to the issue. Unfortunately, when the water supply to the area could be shut off, most of the DBHS gym floor (~90%), much of the cafeteria floor, and a section of front offices were flooded. Because the gym floor was most susceptible to damage, clean up in that area occurred immediately. Unfortunately, the current condition of the gym flooring indicates the damage is irreparable. The water on the gym floor has resulted in buckling that has rendered the surface unsafe for use.

PLATTEVILLE, Wisconsin (KWWL) -- On December 26, the Neal Wilkins Early Learning Center in the Platteville School District experienced significant water damage after a pipe burst in the building.
According to a Facebook post from the school district, experts that assessed the building say that the east side of the building, that contains eight classrooms, will be inoperable for the next eight weeks.
It was determined that all school operations will remain in place at the west side of the building.
 

TUSCALOOSA Co., Ala. (WBRC) - Burst pipes from last week’s freezing weather has caused damage to some schools in the Tuscaloosa-area.

The Tuscaloosa County School System has crews working to make sure repairs are made in time for students return to class in January.

WBRC contacted five West Alabama school systems and asked if they had any damage from last weekend’s deep freeze. The Tuscaloosa County School System reported damage from frozen pipes from at least six schools according to spokesperson Terri Brewer. Brewer said they consider most of the damage minor. Brewer said the worst damage happened at Buhl Elementary School in Coker. The school system shared pictures some of the damage. Burst pipes left water leaks in several classrooms.

“Some water on the floor and what not. We had some ceiling tiles come out. We have our maintenance crews working to get the situation resolved before school starts,” Brewer told WBRC.

Public schools across Northwest Indiana are building — and building a lot.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into new facilities for local students. Here's an overview of capital improvement projects at some of the biggest districts across the Region:
Crown Point Community School Corp.
In 2020, the School Board approved a slate of capital improvement projects. By the time those projects are complete, every school in the district will have seen some sort of renovation or addition.
At Crown Point High School, the district is adding 25 new classrooms and five science labs. It's upgrading the visual and performing art facilities, robotics lab and career and technical center. It's also updating the school's media center, widening hallways, expanding the cafeteria and adding more physical education space. Those upgrades, which will cost a total of $55 million, are expected to be complete by the end of 2024.
The biggest project CPCSC is taking on is the creation of a new $78 million building for Taft Middle School in Winfield. Construction on that building kicked off in mid-August 2021 and is expected to be ready for students by the 2023-24 school year.
 

Seven schools in Stokes County have less than 20 years before reaching the end of their 80-year lifespan, according to a Facility Condition Assessment (FCA) performed by Peterson/Gordon Architects.

The architects were scheduled to present the findings and answer questions at the latest school board meeting in December but requested to reschedule to the first of the year.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jared Jones explained to the board the FCA was ordered by the county and conducted to assess the current condition of each of the Stokes County Schools buildings. It was provided to help determine whether to maintain, repair, or replace each of the represented school facilities.

Issues raised in the assessment were the level of unused capacity at most schools, overall trend of decreasing enrollment numbers and schools with higher enrollment numbers.

“We’ve talked about this as a potential funding issue and also mentioned the level of unused capacity at some of our schools,” Dr. Jones said. “I think it’s important to take away here that our elementary and high schools are operating at approximately 50% capacity. Some are higher and some are lower but as an average our elementary and high schools are operating at 50%, where our middle schools are operating at approximately 60% capacity. Obviously, this configuration can be costly to maintain and as noted in the study, as staffing and energy costs increase overtime the need to reduce the number of schools may surface.”

It’s mid-November and Parr Elementary School in Arvada is lacking its typical upbeat atmosphere.
“You walk into these buildings, and you can feel it—there’s this air of sad,” said Kaylie Weese, a mother to four kids in the school and president of the parent-teacher association. 
On Nov. 10, Jeffco Public Schools announced that Parr and 15 other elementary schools would close and consolidate with other district schools. The decision came after a pair of elementary schools were abruptly shuttered over the previous two years. 
Weese knew that Parr Elementary might be on the chopping block before the district released its list of recommended closures in August. She has seen staff pulling extra duty — taking on breakfast and lunch duty or covering for teachers who are out. One of her daughters is in a combined kindergarten-first grade classroom. Her second grader is in a classroom with 25 kids; she regularly tells her mom that she has trouble learning because it’s too loud. (The school’s target class size for grades K-3 is 18-24 students; the Colorado public primary school average was estimated at 22.8 in the National Center for Education Statistics’ most recent data).
“I understand that they had to make a hard decision. I understand it’s not really good for anybody,” Weese said. “I see why [the school closure] is necessary because I see my kids struggling with it.” 
 

OSKALOOSA — Oskaloosa Community Schools has launched a five-year facilities plan and vision as the district prepares to update their buildings and amenities.

The vision of the plan is to maintain, create, and imagine facilities that are safe, inviting, and attract current and future students and families to the Oskaloosa Community Schools.

The plan includes large strategic projects to be implemented over the next five years. The major areas of facilities growth include updates at the middle school, such as improving the cafeteria and kitchen facilities, improving front door access for safety and security, and updating classrooms for sound control and safety. The district will also explore improved wellness facilities for students, families, and staff, while also updating and replacing HVAC systems at the middle and high school.

Additionally, the district plans to address drainage issues at the baseball facility, increase capacity for spectators at the high school wrestling room and address firewalls, replace and renew playground facilities at the elementary school, and update parking lot lighting and signage at all campuses.

Notwithstanding worries about a looming recession and misperceptions that schools are swimming in money, California voters approved 71 of 101 TK-12 and community college construction bond proposals last month. The 65 of 94 TK-12 and six of seven community college district ballot measures that won will generate $20 billion in renovations and new construction. 

The overall passage of 71% is below the average approval rate of 80% since 2001, according to CaliforniaCityFinance.com.  The voting margins also “seemed thinner this year,” said Jeff Becker, executive director of facilities for the Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools. He also chairs the Coalition for Adequate School Housing or CASH, the California lobby for school facilities.

With a number of districts just a few percentage points below or above the 55% threshold to pass a school bond, officials were kept in suspense for weeks, until the final votes were announced in early December. 

The Future Facilities Capital Project presented to voters by the Croton-Harmon Union Free School District was overwhelmingly approved on Dec. 6 by a vote of 808-215.

The $45.5 million project addresses current infrastructure-related items, preserves the integrity of school buildings and property, and creates student learning spaces that allow for collaboration, creativity, and future-driven teaching and learning. The project is tax-neutrala nd was intentionally crafted to not increase the tax levy for the community’s residents.

Superintendent Stephen Walker expressed his gratitude to the community for consistently showing its support to the district, allowing it to maintain and build upon the high-caliber education and school facilities it provides to students.

YORK — South Carolina’s fastest-growing school district has enough money to start building two new schools after resolving a five-year battle with York County over $54 million the district collected in fees placed on newly built homes.
County Council voted this week in a special meeting to end its lawsuit over how Fort Mill School District 4 was spending the fees to cover debt and not to build new schools.
Another legal fight remains on the horizon.
The Home Builders Association of York County is threatening a class-action lawsuit against the school district and county to get the money back, said Michael Pruner, president of the Rock Hill-based trade group. 
York County has been charging builders an impact fee on new home construction since the 1990s. The money is sent to the district to cover the cost of adding classroom space in the fast-growing area just south of the stateline from Charlotte. The fee stands at more than $18,000 for each new home built in Fort Mill, adding about 4 percent on new home prices, according to the Home Builder’s Association of York County. 
 

WASHINGTON — Buried in the 4,155-page omnibus spending bill unveiled in the Senate on Tuesday is a single sentence that’s likely to go unnoticed by almost everyone — except the first-term congresswoman who fought for it with everything she had for the last year and a half.

“For an additional amount for ‘Education Construction,’ $90,465,000, to remain available until expended for necessary expenses related to the consequences of flooding at the To’Hajiilee Community School.”

It’s the only line item in the bill under a section titled “Bureau of Indian Education, Education Construction.” It’s money to rebuild a K-12 school in TóHajiilee, New Mexico, a remote community about 35 miles west of Albuquerque.

STAMFORD — Two schools only a few yards away from each other in Stamford are slated to be torn down and rebuilt for about $387 million — and the state has agreed to put down roughly $292 million to get it done.
Both Westhill High School and Roxbury Elementary School, separated only by Roxbury Road, were recently selected by the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services as two state projects to qualify for grant funding.
The Westhill construction is estimated to cost about $301 million, of which the state has agreed to pay $241 million. The price tag for Roxbury is $86 million, with the state taking on $51.6 million.
Westhill had already been selected for reimbursement last year, but at the time, the state had only agreed to pay for 20 percent of the work, or about $51.6 million. That previous submission estimated the full project cost to be $258 million, but that number has since risen because of increased construction costs.
 

A recent change to Mississippi’s power generation laws, set to take effect in January, will allow over half of the state’s public school districts to start saving money by generating their own solar energy. 

The new rule, which the Public Service Commission agreed to with the state’s two investor-owned utilities in October, paves the way for school districts to earn credits for generating solar power without actually having to pay for the solar panels. 

Starting in 2023, any of the 95 public school districts served by Entergy Mississippi or Mississippi Power can enter into what’s called a power purchase agreement, where a third-party contractor foots the bill to add solar panels to the school district’s property. Entergy or Mississippi Power would then buy the generated solar power and credit the district on its energy bill. For funding the new system, the contractor would be eligible for government tax credits. 

PROVIDENCE – Thirteen school projects in four cities and towns totaling $331.9 million were approved Tuesday by the R.I. Council on Elementary and Secondary Education.

Among the notable projects are a new high school and a new pre-kindergarten-through-eighth-grade dual-language school to be built in Central Falls. The schools are part of six projects, including renovations at other schools, to be completed in the city for $170 million.

East Providence will undertake new construction and major renovations at Martin Middle School, Waddington Elementary School and Orlo Avenue Elementary School for a combined $107.9 million.

In Westerly, $50 million will be spent to build a new elementary school on the site of the existing Spring Street School, renovate Springbrook and Dunn’s Corner elementary schools and construct an addition at Dunn’s Corner Elementary School.

Hornell City School District voters Tuesday approved a $32 million capital project that features improvements to the 100-year-old Intermediate School and other buildings.

The measure, which is the first phase of a 10-year facilities improvement plan, passed with 197 votes in favor and 118 votes against.

With about 62.5% support, the capital project exceeded the 60% threshold required for a Small Cities school district.

District officials said four affidavit votes must still be verified before they can be opened and counted. However, even if they are all "No" votes, the percentage will not fall below 60%, officials noted.

"I and the board of education are thrilled with the positive result in the capital project vote," Superintendent Jeremy Palotti said. "The work planned in this project will have a direct impact on our kids and our community. The Hornell City School District is grateful for the support of the community and looks forward to moving forward on this project."

Anisa Heming has been working on making schools more sustainable for a decade and a half, now as director of the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington nonprofit. And she’s never seen a moment of opportunity quite like this. “It’s an out-of-body experience, honestly,” she said. “Communities are demanding it, federal money is here, and the districts that didn’t do the prep work are scrambling.”
Since President Joe Biden took office in early 2021, three different giant federal spending packages have passed: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act. Each includes grants and tax credits school districts can use to benefit the climate while also, typically, saving money in energy bills over time. There are billions and billions for boosting building efficiency; replacing boilers, ovens and other appliances with clean-running electric models; solar and battery installations; electric school buses; charging stations; and more.
In some cases, districts can make upgrades with no upfront cost at all.
The enthusiasm is palpable: The Environmental Protection Agency received so many applications for electric school bus funding, it doubled the amount it originally planned to award, to nearly $1 billion the first year. (More money is coming, up to $5 billion for that one program.) 
So if you are a member of a school community — student, parent, teacher or leader — here are seven steps to claim your piece of the clean, green pie. “Don’t wait. Don’t hesitate. Act and figure it out,” urged Bryant Shaw, sustainability manager for the Dallas Independent School District.

The Fauquier school board at a special meeting Monday morning voted unanimously to recommend that $4.9 million in carryover funds (money left over from the previous year’s budget) be used to help pay for renovations and urgent maintenance at aging schools. 

None of the unused money from the fiscal 2022 budget will go toward bonuses or salary hikes for teachers or other school staff. “In the original carryover, we had the raises for next year,” school board member Susan Pauling (Center District) said at the meeting. “So is there still a plan for us to be able to follow through with our commitment for the 5% in the ’24 school year?” 

Not with the carryover, said Denise Sandlin, assistant superintendent of business and planning. “We have used up the whole $4.9 million, which will not include the 5% salary increase,” she said. School board members will need to look elsewhere in the budget to help fund those raises, Sandlin said. 

Community Board 8 was forced to cancel a much-anticipated meeting on the public school proposed for 160 Van Cortlandt Park South last Friday when School Construction Authority officials backed out with only a few days’ notice, citing a mysterious lawsuit against them.

“SCA has been advised by counsel that they cannot attend this meeting due to pending litigation.

“Therefore, this meeting with SCA is canceled,” wrote district manager Ciara Gannon in a Dec. 5 email notice.

CB8’s officers could only speculate about the details of the suit emanating from a small group of neighbors on Van Cortlandt Park South, a shady thoroughfare in Kingsbridge that cuts across the Major Deegan Expressway.

“I’ve been told it’s a group of residents representing themselves,” said CB8 chair Laura Spalter. “But I know nothing further.”

Spalter wanted a meeting with the SCA to take place before the end of the year in time to weigh in on the architectural designs of the new school, she said. Now, her hopes have been dashed.

The board’s committee chairs aired their frustration and bewilderment in the executive committee meeting two days later.

Whether or not the litigation has any merit, “it has enabled SCA to hide behind the pendency of a lawsuit and cancel the meeting,” land use chair Charles Moerdler said.

“I sincerely believe they just don’t want to meet,” he said.

And he may be correct. But CB8 has little recourse at this point.

The education committee voted to approve the SCA’s site selection a year ago, concluding the community board’s brief advisory role in the new school construction process. Like other public authorities that maintain New York’s bridges and highways, finance higher education, and run its mass transit systems, the SCA’s public accountability is limited. It does not follow the city’s land use review process or register its contracts in the city checkbook.

Community participation in new school construction is comprised of a series of public hearings and a 45-day comment period after SCA announces its site selection but usually before it begins environmental assessment or design.