Students at the Children's Workshop School in the East Village recently got a lesson in the power of protest.
The school’s playground had been shut for nearly two months, after a neighboring building’s facade began crumbling on Jan. 7. Construction on the wall wrapped up nearly six weeks ago, but the playground remained closed, in need of a sign-off from the city's Department of Buildings.
So students planned a protest for Friday afternoon. Even before it happened, they got action.
“The word got out. And the Department of Buildings and the Department of Education heard the students' voices, and they came, and it happened right away,” Maria Velez-Clarke, the school’s principal, said.
Overnight Thursday, the Department of Education built a fence, which led the Department of Buildings to approve opening the schoolyard. Students got the news at their weekly Friday assembly, bursting into applause.
“In some ways, my kids were surprised. Like, ‘Wait, we didn't even have our protest yet! And the problem got fixed, like I want to protest,’” third grade teacher Miriam Sicherman said.
Sicherman helped the students organize their protest, which ultimately turned into a celebration.
 

Delegates reviewed a $150 million allocation for school construction and maintenance, and they were a little puzzled. It was just that the list was so… expansive.
Delegate Clay Riley, R-Harrison, asked if the allocation would take care of everything proposed but not already funded by the School Building Authority. “So this wipes the backlog completely clean?” he asked at a House Finance Committee meeting last Thursday.
Delegate Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer, had a similar reaction.
“Every application is on this list. When was the last time the School Building Authority funded every single application?” Gearheart said. Then he responded to his own question. “I can answer that. I think it’s never.”
These are unusual times with an unusual, big pressure.
West Virginia is under pressure from the federal government to make good on the terms for hundreds of millions of dollars from covid relief meant to support education. The main requirement is known as maintenance of effort, which means the state had to keep the same proportional level of funding for schools as it had before the pandemic.
The state fell short, as a matter of percentage, in 2023 and now is negotiating to try to get a waiver and avoid a clawback of about $465 million.
 

Like many large buildings, schools suck lots of energy from the grid to keep lights on, halls warm and students comfortable, translating to high bills for school districts. However, a case study using a school in Quebec aims to challenge that status quo.

Researchers from Concordia University studied a school that runs off electricity sourced from geothermal heat pumps that rely on energy from Quebec’s grid, which is almost all hydropower.

They found that schools heated with electricity can use less energy and still keep students warm if they understand and adapt to the energy needs of each building. Researchers analyzed data from existing sensors in the school. Then, they combined it with weather predictions for the next day and other information to reduce power use at peak demand times when energy is most expensive. They tested the system in a few classrooms, where they reduced peak power consumption by up to 100 per cent. Their scenario found the school’s energy bill could be cut by up to 50 per cent if their approach was adopted school-wide because of cost savings from reduced power use during peak times.

GRAND FORKS — North Dakota’s K-12 schools are getting old. Some state lawmakers say many buildings need major infrastructure updates or entirely new construction to educate children safely.
But many small districts can’t afford to pay for replacements if a critical system breaks. Just ask Anna Sell, superintendent of Oakes Public School District. Her district’s high school turned 100 last year and the elementary school was built 63 years ago. The district is home to nearly 500 students.
“We actually had a terminal breakdown of our chiller (last year). We spent months and months trying to figure out a way to replace it but the system is so old, about 50 years old, that to retrofit it would cost around $400,000-$500,000. We don’t have that kind of money,” she said. “We’ve been asked, ‘What’s plan B?’ We don’t have a plan B because we don’t have enough money for a plan B.”
 

When Jefferson Parish School Board shuttered six schools at the end of last year, they agreed to build two new state-of-the-art facilities for students, one at Bunche Elementary in Metairie and one at St. Ville Elementary in Harvey. 
The new school on the east bank would serve students from the newly combined Washington Elementary and Bunche Elementary. Students from St. Ville were temporarily sent to Woodmere Elementary while the district completes the school.
But district officials say the footprint of the St. Ville school is too small for their designs, leaving its future location up in the air.
Where could it go?
Officials have considered several sites for the school, including the Martin Luther King playground site, at 2400 Leicester Street, and the Helen Cox High School site, at 2200 Lapalco Blvd. Helen Cox is slated for demolition soon.  
David Lachin, of Lachin Architects, told the school board facilities committee this week that building the school on the playground site would require about significant prep work. 
They would have to move municipal utilities that run through the site, a project that would cost around $1.5 million and would include moving 30-inch lines buried between six and ten feet under the ground, Lachin said. 
The footprint of the building would also be limited to 90,000 square feet based on the size of the property and would need to go up two stories, he said. 
 

Students in Puerto Rico tired of attending classes in dilapidated public schools have used TikTok to expose the poor conditions in their buildings, putting education officials on the defensive amid renewed attention on a long-standing issue.

Alaisha Torres Soto, the senior class president at Luis Felipe Crespo High School in Camuy, said she was compelled to use TikTok to report the "poor conditions" of the bathrooms at her school earlier this month after not seeing any improvements.

One TikTok video shows a bathroom in such bad shape that it was locked and had an “entrance prohibited” sign, forcing students to leave school to go to a bathroom or wait until they get home when classes are over.

Torres Soto’s TikTok post about one run-down bathroom at her school resonated with students at other schools. Videos from students across the public school system posted and shared widely on social media showed abandoned school areas and bathrooms without soap or toilet paper, sinks draining straight to the floor, and dangling bathroom stall doors.

The state’s Board of Education and Early Development approved a priority list for half a billion dollars in construction and upkeep for schools at its regularly scheduled meeting in Juneau on Wednesday.

The list will go to the governor and the Legislature to be considered for funding.

Typically, only projects from among the top 10 funding requests are granted. This year the governor’s proposed budget includes funding for only the No. 1 school construction priority and top two maintenance projects, totaling less than $9 million.

The construction priority is $4 million towards a project to relocate and replace the Newtok K-12 school. The school was partially destroyed in a fire last year and was threatened by erosion from the Ninglick River.

Major maintenance would include a nearly $4 million rehabilitation at the elementary and middle schools in Craig and nearly $300,000 copper pipe replacement project in the Allakaket School.

State School Finance and Facilities Manager Lori Weed said that in the last 10 years, due to fiscal constraints, the state has funded fewer projects for school construction and maintenance projects. Between the fiscal years from 2015 to 2025, the state has funded anywhere from roughly 1-35% of the grant requests.

Tension was high and questions were raised at the Middletown Town Council meeting on Feb. 20 over the cost and size of the new middle-high school building. Town administrator Shawn Brown passionately defended the recently approved Stage II appli­cation for the Middletown new school building after saying he received numerous concerning emails. One of the main concerns, he said, was the $20 million in capital reserves that fall outside of the narrow­ly approved $190 million bond. According to Brown, the money is part of the capital improvement program requirement of the ap­plication and is meant to address future needs of the new buildings, while being eligible for reimburse­ment from the Rhode Island De­partment of Education.

“Quite frankly, it’s irresponsible to continue to defer maintenance,” he said. “What would be negligent is if we don’t spend the money when repairs need to be made and we don’t take advantage of the re­imbursement.”

Brown said the potential repairs are eligible to be reimbursed by 55 percent over the next five years. Uti­lizing capital reserves, he said, is not uncommon with such projects and the town has done so in the past.

PASO ROBLES — A comprehensive list of maintenance needs was presented to trustees at the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) for the district’s campuses. The Tuesday night meeting on Feb. 27 compiled an evaluation of needs amongst the facilities.

The plan covered the Winifred Pifer, Kermit King, Glen Speck, Virginia Peterson, Pat Butler elementary, and Daniel Lewis and Flamson middle school campuses. A plan for the high school campus will be provided by early April.

PRJUSD Director of Maintenance Operations and Transportation Kelly Stainbrook created an extensive spreadsheet detailing life expectancy and replacement costs of major components along with budget considerations. It is a live document that is actively updated. Her report showed that many of the carpets at the campuses have never been replaced and, while in decent condition, are past their life expectancy.

In fall 2023, the leaders of the Milton Town School District unveiled the design for its new elementary and middle school (pre-K-8) at a cost of $200 million, which gave the community pause, but it was the challenges of the current annual budget cycle that ultimately led the district to table the much-needed project this year. 

Initial projections that indicated that property taxes could increase statewide by an average of 20% have the state and district school boards scrambling. 

Some are also pointing fingers at Act 127, a new law taking effect this budget season that changes the way statewide education funding is distributed. Its purpose is, in short, to direct more funding to schools with pupils who are more expensive to teach, such as English language learners, rural students and students living in poverty. Coupled with the sharp rise in property values statewide over the last three years — which is reflected in a town-by-town tax rate adjustment called the Common Level of Appraisal, or CLA — many district boards are bracing for the public’s reaction to eye-popping tax increases.

“To me it’s just the perfect mess,” said Amy Rex, superintendent of the Milton district. 

“I mean with Act 127 and the CLA mess that exists right now and, you know, 20- to 40-cent increases on homestead tax rates, people don’t even want to hear the word ‘bond’ — especially in this community,” she said. “And I get that. I get it.” 

Ayesha Ercelawn finds that after students spend even a small amount of time outdoors, they return feeling calm, relaxed, and quiet — all signs that students have experienced a state of mindfulness.
As education specialist for Green Schoolyards America — a nonprofit that supports transforming school grounds into green spaces that benefit children, the environment and communities — Ercelawn advocates for giving students time outdoors anywhere, especially in cities. She says students can enter these peaceful states of mind just by having some exposure to the outdoors and nature, even without being overtly led through a mindfulness lesson.
“With students indirectly nature journaling or doing other activities where we ask them to observe, they develop mindfulness without having to say, ‘OK, we’re doing this mindfulness activity,’” she says. “It happens naturally.”
Mindfulness is a practice that can essentially be done anywhere. After all, the goal is to bring oneself into the moment, activating an awareness and consciousness of being present. Mindfulness also appears to be linked to positive psychological health.
 

NEW BERN, N.C. — In a surprise announcement on Tuesday, State Superintendent Catherine Truitt presented Craven County Schools with a generous grant of over $15 million to fund the proposed project of adding 20 classrooms to Tucker Creek Middle School.

The funding for this project is a result of a partnership between the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Craven County Schools, and the Craven County Commissioners. The commissioners have been partners further demonstrating their commitment to enhancing educational facilities in the county.

Craven County is fortunate to benefit from the prudent management of lottery funds by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The interest earned from these funds, presented to Craven County Schools Board of Education, will now be utilized to create an enhanced learning environment for the students of Havelock.

ROCHESTER — Although it won't necessarily include a lot of changes that just anyone can see, Kellogg Middle School is getting ready to undergo a large-scale renovation project to the tune of more than $40 million.

The project is set to span two years, beginning in the summer of 2024 and continuing in the summer of 2025. A January 2023 report from a contractor for Rochester Public Schools outlined various needs in the building.

"We would recommend moving forward with a project that includes replacement of the main mechanical and electrical systems and equipment along with any general work that would be required to support these improvements, as well as addressing some of the more critical interior and exterior deteriorated conditions," the report reads.

In other words, even though the upgrades may be needed, they're far from glamorous. But they are expensive. The same report estimated the cost of the needed upgrades to Kellogg Middle School at $40.4 million.

Morgan County Schools is still counting their savings from a countywide guaranteed energy management project with CMTA Energy Solutions.

The project was implemented from  June 2017 through October 2018 under former School Superintendent David Banks.

At the February 20 school board meeting, CMTA project manager and engineer Tom Nicolas reviewed the energy management work that was done throughout Morgan County Schools facilities in his annual measurement and verification services review.

His presentation included the year-five savings results, along with the total cost savings for the school system over the past five years which was more than $1 million.

BALTIMORE —
From broken doors to collapsed ceilings and buildings with no heat, 11 News Investigates learned there are more than 11,000 requests for repairs to Baltimore City Public School buildings waiting to be addressed — more than 2,300 of which are over a year old.
The data obtained by 11 News Investigates provides certain information on more than 1,000 reports of plumbing issues, 95 work orders for security and 77 for fire systems.
To get at what's causing this backlog of work orders, 11 News Investigates went inside one of the district's oldest schools and talked to the district official who oversees it all.
Problems persist amid open repair work orders
No single camera lens can capture the more than 15 million square feet that comprise the Baltimore City Public School System's buildings — that's roughly the size of 270 football fields.
Maurice Gaskins, City Schools' director of construction, listed problems at Baltimore City College that include plaster failure, a broken dehumidification system and antiquated pool filters.
"It's been out of commission for so long that we probably have a group of students that probably never experienced this," Gaskins told 11 News Investigates.
The pool lane lines hang suspended in mid-air, a reminder of the championship teams that swam there until 2019.
 

Construction of DoDEA 21st Century School taking shape at Fort Campbell
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A new 167,000 square-foot Department of Defense Education Activity middle school at Fort Campbell, Kentucky., is more than 70 percent complete with a majority of the 35 learning neighborhoods having drywall in place.

"Constructing the new Fort Campbell Middle School is not just building walls and classrooms,” said Charles King, Facilities Engineer and DoDEA Project Manager. “We're creating a student-centered 21st Century learning environment where future generations will thrive.”

Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, 55th Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer toured the middle school and spoke with USACE personnel and contractors to get an overview of how DoDEA’s 21st century learning concepts are designed into the school.

The project includes 69,000 square feet of building demolition and 41,000 square feet of renovation to the old middle school.

In a best-case scenario, the Concord School District would receive no more than $32 million – less than half of what it asked for – in state money for the middle school project due to changes to the school building aid program taking effect this year.

“The problem is, it changes,” Superintendent Kathleen Murphy said at a meeting Friday morning attended by district leaders, city councilors and area lawmakers. “It’s a moving target.”

District leaders have sought to allay taxpayer sticker shock at the $176 million estimate put forward for the new middle school by emphasizing that the cost will only drop in the coming months and, they hope, be buoyed by a building aid package from the state. But the size of the aid won’t be known for more than a year, and is currently projected to fall far short of what the district is eligible to receive, according to state officials.

The Richardson Independent School District plans to close four elementary schools and a Pre-K campus as part of its “Project RightSize” plan to respond to declining enrollment and lack of state funding.

The district said four elementary schools – Greenwood Hills, Springridge, Spring Valley, and Thurgood Marshall – will be consolidated into other elementary schools in the district starting in the 2024-2025 school year. The newly proposed attendance zones can be found here.

The Dobie Pre-Kindergarten campus will be closed completely beginning in 2025-2026.

Project RightSize is the result of months of planning, according to Superintendent Dr. Tabitha Branum.

“When I think about the role of a superintendent and the things that weigh on your heart, and on your mind, tonight‘s conversation is probably one of the hardest conversations that I’ve had to lead to this point, and may in a long time, in my career,” Branum said at the outset of the announcement Thursday.

Two main factors brought this major change about – declining enrollment and a lack of funding from Texas legislators.

On any given day, there are more than 9,000 empty seats in Richardson ISD classrooms, according to figures released by the district. The elementary schools in question are each at less than 60% capacity.

A public-interest law firm threatened Wednesday to sue Gov. Gavin Newsom and state officials unless they create a fairer system of subsidizing the costs of school facilities. That system must be as equitable as the Local Control Funding Formula, the decade-old formula for funding schools’ operating budgets, Public Advocates demanded in a lengthy letter.  

At a news conference announcing their demand, Public Advocates and school board members, superintendents and parents with decrepit, inadequate and unhealthy school buildings charged that the state’s school facilities program discriminates against districts with low property values. Districts with high property values gobble up most of the state’s matching subsidies to modernize schools, while property-poor districts serving low-income families can’t afford local school bonds to qualify for state subsidies to build comparable facilities, they said.

State Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, likened the approach the Senate took Thursday in cutting $111.8 million in proposed major Wyoming school construction projects to performing surgery with a bludgeon instead of a scalpel.
“They could have gone in with a scalpel instead of a bludgeon, and they went in with a bludgeon hammer,” Brown said.
The Wyoming Senate voted 16-15 twice to cut funding for the design and construction of seven school projects around the state in the next biennium. The cuts were primarily in response to concern about the way two high schools were selected for the state money, one in Jackson and another in Rock Springs.
“The problem I have with that is, go after those two if you don’t like those particular two,” Brown said. “The rest of the process was followed with complete fidelity.”
Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, proposed both amendments, arguing the Legislature should follow its own rules no matter the circumstance. He said the Legislature was “putting the cart in front of the horse” by approving the construction projects.
“I want to be prospective and say from this point going forward, we in the Legislature, to the maximum extent possible, should follow our own laws,” he said. “Follow the rules of the agency and have a high degree of fidelity to the process.”