Seventeen years ago, Hurricane Katrina left the city of New Orleans and its surrounding parishes completely underwater, destroying 110 out of the 126 public schools in the city. Eight districts were severely impacted by the storm and 187,000 public school students were displaced. At the time, the disaster was unprecedented. In the years since, the frequency of climate disasters has continued to increase. Here, principals and superintendents who have faced the loss of school buildings from wildfires and floods discuss what school leaders can do to prepare for, and recover from, these crises.

ROCHESTER — It's not the end of the line in the construction process for Rochester Public Schools, but the district is hitting a major milestone.
This fall will mark the first time all four of the new schools that voters approved the funding for in 2019 will be open and in use. The $180 million in spending paved the way for the new Dakota Middle School, the new Overland Elementary, as well as the demolition and reconstruction of Longfellow Elementary and Bishop Elementary.
In addition to the new buildings, the funding is also providing new secure entrances at the district's schools, a new pool at Century High School, repairs to the Mayo High School pool, as well as the filling-in of the swimming pools at the three middle schools.
But Rochester isn't the only school district that has been taking on major projects in the last few years. Nor are all of Rochester's projects associated with the 2019 referendum completed. From Byron to Plainview-Elgin-Millville, area school districts have been asking voters to green-light some substantial upgrades.
Over the last five years, area schools have collectively spent more than $380 million for construction and renovation projects.
 

With the school year starting Monday, almost two dozen schools in the Baltimore City Public School system are dismissing early a few days this week because they have no air conditioning.

The Baltimore area is expected to hit 93 degrees Monday, with the heat index reaching triple digits Monday and Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service in Baltimore and Washington, DC.

At least 15 schools in the district are considered "traditional," meaning they lack air conditioning systems, and five schools have air conditioning systems that need to be repaired, a release from the district says.

Two schools whose buildings are not owned by the district also will have early release, the district said.

The district has dismissed schools early several times in recent years because of heat, according to CNN affiliate WMAR. And with climate change bringing hotter days, several other schools are facing the same problem.

Teachers went on strike in Columbus, Ohio, last week to protest classroom conditions, including a lack of air conditioning in some rooms.

"Students move around to different buildings, like a college campus, and they never know from one classroom to the next if it's going to be 50 degrees or 90 degrees," Courtney Johnson, a school library media specialist in Columbus, told CNN's Victor Blackwell.

Some schools don't have any air conditioning, she said, or may only have "a couple of rooms" with it. And in schools that do have it, including where Johnson works, the systems need fixing, she said.

"That's what we're fighting for -- safe, properly maintained and fully resourced schools where the air conditioning and heating works, and students don't have to suffer," Johnson said.

One hundred Philadelphia School District schools will close early Tuesday and Wednesday because of predicted high temperatures, officials announced Monday night.

The schools, all of which lack adequate air-conditioning units to cool all teachers and staff, will close three hours early. After-school and sports activities at those schools will also be canceled.

The rest of the district’s schools will stay open on a normal schedule, as will district offices.

“We realize that early dismissals, especially those made the day before, can present challenges for many families. Please know that these decisions, which we do not make lightly, are always made with the safety of our students and staff as our top priority,” officials wrote in an email sent to families and school communities.

WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Thousands of D.C. Public School students returned to classes Monday and unlike last year, there were no AC issues according to the Department of General Services (DGS).  But councilmembers say the persistent HVAC problems point to an issue within the agency. 
“Well, I would push back,” said Keith Anderson the DGS Director.  
Anderson is defending his agency despite criticism that DGS is failing to maintain cool and safe conditions inside the schools – consistently. According to Councilmember Robert White, whose committee oversees DGS, 106 out of 117 schools have open work orders.
“With 117 schools there will always be work orders,” said Director Anderson.
Anderson said crews worked over the weekend to get all the schools cooling systems online. All certificates are up to date and only two schools needed backup systems like spot coolers or window units.   
“Since the spring we’ve been very close with DCPS to prioritize the work orders we do have so we can have a successful first day of school,” said Anderson. 
 

COMBS, Ky. — Robin Combs has been teaching math for more than three decades, muscle memory guiding her as she reaches for the right lesson plans, confident in what works and how best to reach her middle school students. But when floodwaters surged through Robinson Elementary School last month, the roof collapsed on her classroom and three decades’ worth of curriculum materials were destroyed.

Now, like dozens of her colleagues, Ms. Combs finds herself starting over. On a recent Friday, she was among a handful of teachers cobbling together donated supplies and cleaning out a former elementary school that will now serve teachers and students from two schools wrecked by the floods. Though her own family had running water for just one day in just over three weeks, she was focused on ensuring that her school would reopen by early September.

“I just want our kids back together and for eight hours a day, be normal — just normal,” Ms. Combs said. “They’re cool, they’ve got a seat, they’ve got food. I don’t have to worry for eight hours a day.”

This school year was supposed to mark the return of long-awaited normal, after two years in which the coronavirus pandemic cut classes short and, for a time, forced students and teachers online. But just as custodians finished polishing the tile floors and teachers began laying out the new supplies, floodwaters surged through eastern Kentucky, sweeping away the Chromebooks and covering decades of class pictures in mud and mildew. At least 39 people died in the floods, including a few children and a beloved school custodian.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp stated on Tuesday that he will use $125 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to establish school-based health facilities.
“This innovative initiative is consistent with our continued efforts to reduce costs and enhance access to excellent healthcare coverage for everyone, particularly those in rural Georgia,” Kemp said in a statement.
It’s Kemp’s latest use of federal funds as he campaigns for reelection against Democrat Stacey Abrams. It’s also another illustration of how Kemp may use his office’s position to help his campaign against Abrams, especially because Georgia law gives him total control over federal monies.
Democrats criticise Kemp for distributing funds while opposing the COVID-19 relief proposals enacted by Congress. He has also declined to seek an increase of state-federal Medicaid health care coverage to include all people.
The state Department of Education will award funds of up to $1 million each to establish health clinics that will serve kids as well as community members in some situations. The goal is to improve students’ physical and emotional health while also satisfying their dental and visual requirements.
 

After 16 years of making do with fans and buckets of ice water, Andrew Saltz finally has air conditioning in his classroom, the week before Philly public school students return to start the academic year.

The critical new amenity exists thanks to almost three years of hard work and community activism, the teacher said.

“There are so many things in a classroom that you can’t control, that can go wrong,” said Saltz, who teaches English and computer science at Paul Robeson High School in West Philadelphia. “Having one less thing to worry about… Theoretically, no matter what goes wrong, I don’t think we’re going to overheat.”

Teachers, parents and students have been fighting for renovations and upgrades to the building at 42nd and Ludlow streets since COVID forced schools to close, seeing the transition to virtual learning as an opportunity to get renovations done. They circulated petitions, met with school district leaders and invited politicians to Robeson to raise awareness.

Some D.C. public school students may return next week to buildings that lack working heating and cooling systems. Additionally, some students may be unable to return at all to classes due to missing key vaccination requirements.

Why it matters: DCPS and DC Health were required to report on the readiness status of schools by Aug. 19, including the condition of HVAC units and air quality monitors, and the routine pediatric immunization rates of children, per the Back to School Safely Emergency Act of 2022.

Children across the nation have fallen behind on their routine vaccinations, which include shots that prevent measles, mumps, chickenpox, and polio. D.C. students ages 12 and up are also required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Yes, but: On Monday, D.C Council chair Phil Mendelson tweeted that the Department of General Services still hadn’t sent the required documents on school readiness. A spokesperson for Mendelson told Axios that the office will meet with DGS on Thursday.

What’s happening: The office of Ward 4 council member Janeese Lewis George, who co-authored the emergency legislation, says it has received some, but not all of the required readiness data.

Gov. Phil Murphy, along with a slew of other dignitaries, touted the investment in school construction included in the 2023 budget at the ribbon-cutting for a new school in the city of Passaic on Tuesday.

That project, the Dayton Avenue Educational Campus, is one of the largest handled by the Schools Development Authority. With a price tag of nearly $241 million, it includes a 448,000-square-foot campus that will house four schools.

“Every child in this state deserves a world-class education and every child in this state deserves a world-class school in which to learn and to grow, and today here in Passaic we’re bringing those basic principals to life,” Murphy said. “Public education is not just some number in the state budget to be cut through the whims of politics. Public education has become a central and core investment in our state’s social and economic future.”

As Rowan County reports more COVID and other respiratory illnesses among the young since school started Aug. 10, West Rowan Middle has temporarily closed its campus and switched to remote learning, health and school officials said. The closing through this week will allow for the “thorough cleaning and sanitizing of the school” after “new evidence of microbial growth’’ was found again in the HVAC system, Rowan-Salisbury Chief of Schools Greggory Slate said in a phone message to parents late Monday. “We apologize for this inconvenience,” he said.
A school district spokeswoman provided The Charlotte Observer a copy of the message after the newspaper inquired about parental complaints on social media over the past week that some of their children developed respiratory illnesses at the school. At the same time, the county has experienced a higher rate of COVID cases among ages 17 and under, “although our rates overall are decreasing,” Rowan County Public Health Director Alyssa Harris told the Observer on Tuesday.
 

FORT SMITH, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Fort Smith Public Schools’ energy conservation success has led to 17 of its buildings earning EPA “Energy Star” certification.
According to a press release from the school district, this recognition is presented to the most energy-efficient buildings in the country.
“We are extremely pleased to receive this recognition from Energy Star,” said Shawn Shaffer, Executive Director of Facility Operations. “It’s proof we’re operating healthier, more efficient buildings for our students and community.”
“Our energy conservation efforts are helping protect the local environment,” he added. “Just as importantly, the environmental impact is equal to taking 1,785 cars off the street or planting 126,792 trees in our community. We are proud that our program’s success is being recognized by Energy Star.”
Fort Smith Public Schools buildings earning Energy Star Certification include Beard, Bonneville, Carnall, Cavanaugh, Euper Lane, Fairview, Howard, Orr, Park, Spradling, Sunnymede, Sutton, Tilles, Woods, Chaffin, Ramsey and Northside High School. To earn Energy Star Certification, buildings must rate in the top 25 percent nationwide for energy efficiency.
The cost of utilities is a large budget line-item for Fort Smith Public Schools, and the prices for electricity, natural gas, heating oil and water have been steadily increasing. Fort Smith Public Schools has reduced its energy consumption by 25.2%.

As school districts and charter schools begin spending down an unprecedented infusion of federal Covid-relief aid, it looks like nearly $10 billion could go toward a single priority: improving heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

Recent stories in The Wall Street Journal and Kaiser Health News underscore how school districts are scrambling to spend the federal aid on these and other capital projects. While some schools are simply adding new filters, others plan to replace aging systems that haven’t worked well for years.

These repairs can influence how students learn, ensuring classrooms aren't too hot or too cold, and removing conditions that can make students and teachers sick. As I told KHN’s Liz Szabo, “If you look at the research, it shows that a school’s literal climate — the heat, the mold, the humidity — directly affects learning.”

FutureEd’s analysis of spending plans compiled by the Burbio data-services firm of 5,000-plus school districts serving 74 percent of the nation’s public school students shows that about half of the districts plan HVAC projects. Nearly a third of districts expect to spend on repairs to prevent illness, a broad category that includes lead and asbestos abatement, as well as mold and mildew prevention.

Members of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education are facing a dilemma when it comes to paying for all the projects in the $350 million bond package that voters approved in 2016.
With construction costs expected to be as much as $350 a square foot, the bond sale is now likely to fall $63 million short of finishing all the projects that came before voters.
Three projects — additions at Ward and Griffith elementary schools and a new Smith Farm Middle School — are likely to be delayed. The school board, upon the recommendation of district leaders — is now looking at altering two other projects, renovations at Philo-Hill Middle School and East Forsyth High School.
At a workshop last week, school board members talked extensively about how to approach those projects. In the end, they decided to visit each of the schools to better evaluate the needs there.
Superintendent Tricia McManus has talked previously about the subpar conditions at Philo-Hill Middle School, saying renovations there must stay on track. However, spending more at Philo-Hill may mean less extensive renovations at East Forsyth.
 

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Hundreds of millions of dollars in construction is underway or planned to upgrade schools on overseas U.S. military bases in the Pacific, according to Department of Defense Education Activity officials.

Major projects underway in Japan include a $150 million replacement for Nile C. Kinnick High School at Yokosuka Naval Base south of Tokyo and the $95 million replacement of Bechtel Elementary School at Camp McTureous on Okinawa, DODEA Pacific chief of staff Todd Schlitz told Stars and Stripes by phone July 28.

A $175 million replacement for Kubasaki High School on Camp Foster, Okinawa, is in the design phase, he said. Work has also started on a new $20 million DODEA Pacific East District Superintendent Office at Yokota.

Plans to replace Joan K. Mendel Elementary School at Yokota have been delayed at least five years due to the project’s “size and executability concurrent with other school projects,” although they will be reviewed yearly, DODEA Pacific spokeswoman Miranda Ferguson said by email June 22.

Over the past five years, DODEA has completed projects to build, renovate or add on to Zama Middle-High School, Sasebo Elementary School, Kadena Elementary and High schools, Bob Hope Elementary School, Killin Elementary School, E.J. King Middle School, Edgren Middle School, Yokota High School and Zukeran Elementary School, Schlitz said.

First-phase renovations at Erie High School are nearing completion as a four-story addition is rising at Fairview High School.

A multiyear, multi-million-dollar renovation is underway at McDowell Intermediate High School. Another is about to begin at Corry Area Middle-High School.

Cathedral Prep/Villa Maria will open a new technology center when the two schools combine this all.

They're just some of the construction and renovation projects underway as local schools prepare for the start of classes.

Erie High School work leads district's 'warm, safe and dry' projects
The first phase of a $65 million, multiyear project at Erie High School is expected to be finished ahead of schedule this fall.

TAOS — The state is poised to help the Peñasco Independent School District demolish its facilities and replace them with new buildings.

The rural district has struggled to keep up with the increasingly burdensome maintenance needs of its elementary, middle and high schools, parts of which were built in the 1950s. Some classrooms lacked heat last winter, and students returned to school earlier this month to find there was no air conditioning in some classrooms.

The district is working on its first-ever facilities master plan.

Three staff members of the state Public School Capital Outlay Council, traveled to Peñasco to apprise the district of the opportunity. Alyce Ramos, programs manager for the New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority, told the Peñasco school board Tuesday that all three buildings are expected to rise near the top of the state’s list of school facilities in need of replacement.

The list, updated annually, will be released Jan. 7.

Peñasco’s schools are ranked between 153rd and 379th among nearly 700 public schools across the state. After the list is updated, the district’s schools will all be ranked somewhere “in the top 20 or 25,” Ramos said. If the district applies for facilities replacement, Peñasco could see new buildings in three to six years.

Albuquerque Public Schools unveiled the Atrisco Heritage Academy High School photo-voltaic and battery storage project on Thursday, Aug. 18.

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico joined APS Superintendent Scott Elder and others in learning more about the state's largest public school clean energy project.

Also on hand were APS Board of Education President Yolanda Montoya-Cordova, Atrisco Heritage Academy Principal Irene Cisneros, APS staff who have worked for years on the project, project partners, and other distinguished guests. 

The solar panel and battery storage project showcases the latest step toward the district's ultimate goal of safe, energy-efficient facilities that conserve taxpayer resources while reducing our carbon footprint.

More than 2,200 electricity-producing solar panels -- which amounts to about one solar panel per student at AHA -- will generate electricity stored in a Tesla Megapack 2-energy storage system.

The Long Beach Unified School District has unanimously adopted a policy to implement goals aimed at reducing emissions and moving the district toward the use of clean and renewable energy.
LBUSD students and community members celebrated when the board approved the policy on Wednesday, Aug. 17. Among them was the Long Beach Green Schools Campaign, a student-led effort to address the climate crisis which has been advocating for the policy since 2020.
"I'm really happy, I think that's an understatement," said Diana Michaelson, an incoming senior at Poly High and founder of the Long Beach Green Schools Campaign. "Happy to have had this opportunity to work with district staff to do this all together, collaboratively."
The formally titled "Green School Operations — Energy and Sustainability Policy" is a revision of the district's original policy adopted in 2019. The updates arose from a collaborative involving the LBUSD facilities department, sustainability team, director of strategic programs and policy, Long Beach Green Schools Campaign, and LBUSD staff.
The revised policy is part of a multi-step approach to address climate change and justice at LBUSD, according to the agenda.
Its three main goals are reducing energy and water consumption by maximizing use of renewable and clean energy technologies, ensuring new and replacement machinery is zero-emissions, and reducing vehicle emissions to campuses. The policy also establishes a climate crisis and sustainability task force to hold the district accountable.
 

School construction within Park City limits is governed by both the city and the state. The Utah State Board of Education, or USBE, issues what are called project numbers before school districts can begin construction work.

Demolition started at Park City High School at the beginning of July – without a project number. The state found out about that this week, and called the district. In response, Park City schools superintendent Jill Gildea said the district would stop work until it provides the state what it needs to issue a project number.

The school district sent some required forms to the state Friday. It still needs to provide building and energy code reviews, a state fire marshal review, a Summit County Health Department review, a storm water permit and proof of coordination with Park City.

Scott Jones is deputy superintendent in charge of operations for the USBE. According to Jones, Gildea told state schools superintendent Sydnee Dickson this week that required documents weren’t submitted to the state due to a paperwork backlog within Park City Municipal.

“She cited some kind of backlogged paper documentation of what we still need to issue the project number. And we're trying to confirm this," Jones said. "Apparently all of that is subject to backlogs at the city level and that's why this management company from Park City School District or that works for them, JD Stevens, hasn't sent all the documentation we need.”