The Columbus Board of Education has taken the first step to relaunch a defunct school-rebuilding program it started nearly 20 years ago.
Board members voted 7-0 Tuesday to approve a nearly $800,000 contract between Columbus City Schools and Legat Architects for "educational planning and master facility planning services."
The district selected the firm, which is based in Chicago and has offices in Downtown Columbus, from among eight applicants. There was no discussion of the matter at the board meeting. The Dispatch has requested a copy of the contract.
The facility planning process is expected to last more than a year, through July 2022. Planning for a bond issue to fund any proposed construction would follow, Columbus City Schools spokeswoman Jacqueline Bryant said in an email to The Dispatch.
"Before we seek the public's financial support, it is important that we engage our community to determine how to best meet the needs of our current and future students, as well as the greater community," Bryant said.
It's not clear when a levy request might occur. Historically, the district has had success asking voters to support tax levies and bond issues during presidential election years. The district contemplated going on the November 2020 ballot but those plans never panned out, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 

Twenty-five local schools will be renovated in 2021 as the Salem-Keizer School District enters the busiest year of its years-long construction blitz - one of the largest such efforts in Oregon history.
The work, which will touch every school in the district, has expanded considerably since voters first approved borrowing $619.7 million in 2018, to be repaid through 20 years of property taxes.
Projects are on schedule, with some areas like major seismic work at South Salem High School “well ahead of schedule,” said Joel Smallwood, the district’s director of maintenance and construction services, who is overseeing the construction program.
The Covid pandemic, which has kept most students out of schools for most of the year, gave construction crews more time for interior work in buildings originally supposed to be crammed into summer vacation.
The district added $116 million to what voters approved, doing so by the way it sold bonds used for financing such work. With new state grants, interest earned and other reimbursements as well, project managers added more work to several large projects - without costing taxpayers more.
 

HARRISBURG (100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA) — State Senator Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) and Representative Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia), along with many other House and Senate members, called for repairs to be done on Pennsylvania schools that are in dire need of improvement.
On Friday, numerous legislators talked about the importance of investing in the improvement of the “school infrastructure" throughout the commonwealth.
In harmony with the earlier politicians, Senators Jim Brewster (D-Allegheny/Westmoreland) and Judy Schwank (D-Berks) and Representative Kyle Mullins (D-Lackawanna) singled out schools off-the-cuff that they knew needed repairs within their jurisdiction.
Many of the legislators were in agreement with their support for enhancing shoddy school buildings.
“Today’s event addressed conditions in schools all across the commonwealth, and make no mistake, these same hazardous and toxic conditions exist in communities represented by the Republican caucuses,” Senator Hughes said.
“Rural, suburban and urban communities alike face daunting challenges because of our aging public school buildings. We cannot wait any longer to act. I am grateful to my colleagues for their support on this legislation, as well as the awareness they are helping raise for this important issue.”
 

A coalition of Democratic legislators in Harrisburg are calling on the commonwealth to prioritize fixing crumbling school infrastructure with a substantial portion of the federal funds in the latest proposed COVID-19 stimulus package.

President Joe Biden’s planned $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package is still taking shape, but the most recent figures suggest the package will contain about $350 billion earmarked for state and local governments.

On Friday, state Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Phila.), state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Phila.), and several other Democratic lawmakers held a virtual press conference to demand Pennsylvania route some of that money into an emergency grant program that would pay for schools to remediate asbestos and lead, make electric and plumbing repairs, and do other needed maintenance work.

“We know that our schools were dangerous even before this pandemic,” Fiedler said. “For generations, our teachers, guidance counselors, nurses, students, and school staff have been sent into buildings where they can get brain damage because of chipped paint, or cancer because of asbestos.”

DUBLIN, CA — The Dublin Unified School District will have to prioritize which school facilities projects matter most after discovering a shortfall of at least $184 million in seven of its highest-priority projects.

That number could be as high as $200 or $300 million, but DUSD staff has yet to closely scrutinize its six lower-priority projects, Superintendent Daniel Moirao said at a Jan. 26 DUSD Board of Trustees meeting.

The biggest discrepancy was reported in the cost to build the new Emerald High School, which was initially estimated to cost $167 million. Now that number has ballooned to nearly $270 million, according to documents that district staff presented during the meeting.

MINNEAPOLIS — Khadija Ba walked the hallways of North High School with her cell phone camera rolling, hoping the video she captured would send a message.
“We are the blackest school in Minneapolis and this is what our school looks like,” she said into the camera.
In the wake of a city-wide reckoning over race, students and staff at North High School argue kids in the predominately black school deserve better.
As Ba toured the school, she pointed out long windowless hallways, outdated classrooms lacking any natural light, and holes and dents in walls and ceilings. Bathroom sinks are old and rusted.
In separate cell phone videos students can be seen jumping on their desks as a mouse runs through the classrooms.
“There’s such a big mice problem that sometimes the football players will like make games and try to catch them,” she told KARE 11.
The school also had to replace water fountains found with lead content above safe levels. The school custodians run water for two hours in the morning to flush the pipes and control the lead content. It’s consistent with the state’s best practices for solving the problem, but students say it’s still disconcerting.
“When you go to a different school for sports or something else, you see how nice their school is,” Ba said. “Then you come back to your school and it makes you sad.”
For Ba and other students, the conditions speak volumes.
 

MONTPELIER — George W. Bush was president of the United States the last time state of Vermont offered a financial assistance program to its public K-12 school districts for building construction projects.
That was two governors ago, in 2007, when the Vermont Legislature suspended state aid for school construction to allow then-Gov. Jim Douglas’s administration to study and recommend “a sustainable plan for state aid for school construction.”
On Thursday, the House Education Committee continued efforts to restore the state school building assistance program. The panel heard testimony on a proposal for a statewide study of school building needs, and an accompanying study of how the state would pay for it.
The price tag could be high. An informal study undertaken in 2019 by the Vermont Superintendents Association found that the state’s public K-12 districts had $565 million worth of projects either proposed or planned.
In the meantime, school districts either bonded their own projects, to the tune of $350 million between 2008 and 2019, or kicked the can down the road.
“The reality is we have aging infrastructure with declining enrollment, and we’ve been investing in people and programs and not in buildings. That caught up to us,” said Bill Anton, superintendent of the Windham Central Supervisory Union.
 

Portland Public Schools hopes to reopen in April but more than 40 percent of its 94 school buildings are 90 years old—and many have questions surrounding their ventilation.
Clean air is a key way to prevent COVID-19 from spreading. Just as the coronavirus is less likely to spread outdoors, it's less likely to spread when fresh air is regularly brought inside and old air is blown out.
There is reason to think PPS buildings will have problems doing that.
An analysis conducted last year to assess needs for the latest PPS school bond found a significant challenge for a district looking to reopen at least its elementary schools in early April after a yearlong closure.
The 2020 analysis found $203 million in needed HVAC repairs, of which $34 million worth were considered a matter of "health and life safety." At 26 buildings with health and life safety problems, boilers, piping, ductwork or other parts of the HVAC systems had exceeded their natural life span.
Those buildings included Bridlemile and King elementary schools, as well as Cleveland High School.
That PPS has aging buildings is not a startling revelation—not to the district, which a decade ago embarked on a 30-year plan to overhaul its buildings, or even to taxpayers, who have so far agreed to finance three major school bonds totaling $2.5 billion.
 

In a decision that could affect thousands of children and their families, the Spokane Public Schools board gave preliminary approval Wednesday night to a plan that limits how long children will be able to remain at their current building if boundary changes place them in another school.

In most cases, that limit will be one year.

The issue is known as “Legacy,” or grandfathering – whether some children will be allowed to continue at their current building even if boundary changes place them in another school.

Based on Wednesday’s conversations, the district will move forward with its recommendation for “rising” students, that is, those who are about to enter a given grade at the time of the boundary change.

The decision – expected to be finalized next month – is significant.

Up to 6% of the district’s 30,000 students could be affected by boundary changes that will take effect at the start of the 2022-23 school year, when the district adds two of its three new middle schools.

The board is expected to receive final recommendations in mid-April.

Here’s how the proposal would work.

Is opening a door or window enough ventilation to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools?
Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released last week provided significantly more detail on how schools should approach issues like community spread and mask use when deciding how to reopen schools safely during the pandemic. But critics say the new recommendations downplay the importance of improving indoor air quality and ventilation to prevent the spread of the airborne virus.
The CDC guidance encourages schools to improve ventilation as part of their overall cleaning strategy, and particularly points to opening doors and windows to “increase circulation of outdoor air to increase the delivery of clean air and dilute potential contaminants.”
In separate tips on ventilation, the agency describes this as a cost-free way to reduce the spread of the virus, along with inspecting and maintaining local exhaust ventilation; repositioning outdoor air dampers; and disabling demand-controlled ventilation, a common energy-saving system that reduces the rate at which outdoor air is pulled into a building.
“The guidance addresses near-field (close contact) inhalation dose with masks and distancing. That’s good,” said Richard Corsi, the dean of engineering and computer science at Portland State University, an expert on indoor air quality, via a tweet. “Ventilation is given lip service with little guidance. Incredibly disappointing. The lack of understanding of ventilation or its importance (or perhaps just disregard) is wholly obvious.”
And 13 scientists this week, in a letter to President Joe Biden’s administration, are calling for a greater focus on limiting airborne transmission in schools, meatpacking plants, prisons, and other indoor settings.
 

As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding provided to El Dorado County and distributed to local school districts, Black Oak Mine Unified School District was able to enhance safety measures in classrooms and workspaces through the purchase and installation of plasma screen filtering ionization units in all 155 HVAC units in the district.

Lead HVAC maintenance staff member, Kip Steward, is working closely with Site-Log IQ work crews to get the project completed. Operation of these filters reduces particulate matter, kills pathogens and neutralizes odors, which will greatly enhance the air quality supplied to each classroom and workplace in the district. They also save energy. Work is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.

It was the morning of Jan. 28 when Connie Kellum saw the weather report for Camden and called Tawanda “Wawa” Jones, her longtime friend.
“I said, ‘What are we doing for Code Blue? We got five hours, the storm’s in Buffalo, and it’s coming.”
Jones — founder of the Camden Sophisticated Sisters drill team and the Masked Melanin Market, which showcases Black-owned businesses — had been thinking the same thing.
Two years ago, Jones and Kellum had created a warming center for people experiencing homelessness in Camden at the Urban Banquet Hall during a frigid “Code Blue” weekend.
“I said, you get the building, I’m going shopping!” recalled Kellum.
Jones reached out to Camden Superintendent of Schools Katrina McCombs, who decided within a half-hour to let them use the gymnasium at Yorkship Elementary School in the Fairview neighborhood.
By 5 p.m., “the place was loaded and we were ready to go,” Kellum said.
The warming center has now been up and running with donations and volunteers for over two weeks, with no contracts or funding from the city or state.
The shelter at Yorkship is meeting a need that the city is not, said Camden activist Amir Khan, who uses an RV with showers and a washer/dryer to minister to the city’s unhoused residents every weekend. What the women have established in the school gym “is the only real Code Blue/day warming center in the city,” said Khan.
 

The largest U.S. school district, in terms of student numbers, is New York City.

But there are other ways to rank the size of school districts.

The largest school districts in terms of land area are in Alaska. That’s not surprising because it is the largest state—more than twice the size of the next largest state, Texas.

All 10 of the largest school districts by land area are in Alaska, according to the Proximity One website.

CHARLES TOWN -- The Jefferson County Board of Education unanimously approved the Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan for the next 10 years at a special meeting Thursday night.
The plan still has to move through approval by the West Virginia Department of Education, West Virginia State Board of Education and the School Building Authority but is one step further to coming to fruition.
The local board's approval came after months of input from numerous stakeholders. Eight committees were established in the spring of 2019 to facilitate input on the plan, committees including Safety and Security; Long Range Planning; Facilities and Infrastructure; Athletics; Fine and Related Arts; Business and Community Partnerships; Instruction and Technology; and Social, Emotional and Behavioral Health.
There were anywhere from five to 20 people on each committee with more than 80 individuals participating, including JCS directors, staff, faculty, parents and community and business leaders. Four public forums were also held in order to gain public input, hosted at each of the middle schools in the district.
There are a number of 2020 bond call projects that fall under the CEFP, ranging from county wide to school specific. 
 

LITTLE ROCK — The school construction that marked the first 20 years of the 21st century in Central Arkansas is continuing into a third decade, with three charter school projects in different stages of planning and construction.
Academics Plus Charter Schools Inc., one of the state’s oldest charter systems, broke ground in late 2019 on what will be the $32 million Maumelle Charter High School at 9701 White Oak Crossing.
Friendship Aspire Academy in Little Rock that has been operating since March 2019 in the extensively renovated Garland School at 3615 W. 25th St., in south-central Little Rock, is building an eight-classroom annex on the property to accommodate its expanding grades — while simultaneously looking at a southwest Little Rock site for a middle school to open in about 2023.
And the Jacksonville/North Pulaski district’s replacement middle school and adjoining elementary school — on the site of the old high school — are up and out of the ground with the middle school on target to open to students in August.
The construction updates from the systems were provided at a time of the year when registrations and applications are being solicited from families for enrollment in the coming, 2020-21 school year.
The new Maumelle Charter High is being built on previously undeveloped land, and that resulted in a construction delay, Rob McGill, chief executive for Academics Plus Charter Schools, said in an interview.
“We started construction in November and we’re scheduled to begin classes in August of 2022,” he said.
That’s a year later than originally planned because of the time it took to certify that the 32-acre building site did not qualify for environmental protection.
 

Lawmakers are again attempting to limit lead in Washington schools’ drinking water by requiring school districts to fix or replace fixtures that leach the toxin. 

This is the third year in a row that state Rep. Gerry Pollet, D-Seattle, has introduced a measure aimed at curbing children’s exposure to lead. 

In 2019, legislators never held a hearing. Last session, the bill seemed poised to pass after receiving unanimous support in the House, but there was a deadlock in the Senate after schools pushed back, saying it amounted to an unfunded mandate.

This year’s measure, which is sponsored by 21 Democratic lawmakers but no Republicans, is similar to its predecessors. House Bill 1139 would direct public and private schools to test all water outlets — including drinking fountains, but also bathroom sinks and those used to prepare lunch — in schools built before 2016. Schools would need to test again every five years. And schools would also be on the hook to post test results on a public website — and fix outlets with high lead levels.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — $940,420,782 of federal funding was approved last December for public schools in South Carolina.
Today Superintendent Molly Spearman noted the biggest difference with this funding then previous federal funding is schools can use it on things like facility repairs and on indoor air quality. 
Air quality inside of buildings has become a big concern since the pandemic.
“I think a number of districts are looking at ways that they can repair and upgrade air quality in their buildings which is very unusual to have federal funding to do that," Spearman said.
The Department of Education said at last check they have not received any plans from districts, but expect to start seeing some next week.
Since the pandemic shinned a light at just how important air filtration systems can be and experts say it can help with killing viruses like COVID-19.
 

The Roanoke School Board decided Tuesday to postpone a vote approving the school district’s 2022-26 capital improvement plan due to lingering questions about the selection process and concerns that crucial projects may be excluded. The board will vote at its next regular meeting on March 8.
Multiple school board members said they wanted to see improvements at Westside Elementary included in the plan. They also asked questions about the selection process, concerned other needs may have been missed.
“I just don’t want to miss anything in terms of school needs,” Natasha Saunders said.
The capital improvement plan is a five-year list — in this case, from fiscal years 2022 to 2026 — that maps out capital projects and appropriate funding sources.
The projects were identified using nine prioritization factors, which included equity, health and safety, and existing conditions, according to Chief Operations Officer Chris Perkins. He said the Office of Equity and Student Services reviewed the proposed plan, and that principals had provided input on their schools’ needs.
The proposed plan includes two dozen projects, the majority of which are related to HVAC replacements, roofing and paving. The plan also proposes additions to Morningside Elementary and Breckinridge Middle and either renovation or replacement of Preston Park Elementary, but the specifics of those projects have not been decided. Other proposed projects include playgrounds and athletic infrastructure.
 

BELOIT—The Beloit School Board’s oversight and finance committee passed a 10-year capital improvement after it was presented by Facilities Director Sean Winters on Tuesday evening. The facilities capital improvement plan for the 2020-2021 school year from Fund 10 is not to exceed $781,000.
The presentation also included a plan by Director of Food and Nutrition Dawn Smith for food service projects paid for through Fund 50 planned for the next decade which was also approved. The Fund 50 plan for food service for the 2020-2021 school year, is not to exceed $978,600.
Both items will go before the full board at an upcoming meeting.
Winters said the district’s intent is to budget $2 million dollars annually in its facilities budget which consists of $1 million for capital improvements such as bathroom and classroom upgrades, boiler replacements, flooring, cabinetry and equipment such as lawn mowers and tools and $1 million for repairs, preventative maintenance, mechanical certifications and materials.
The district may use Fund 46, which allows the district to set money aside for the use of future capital improvement projects. As part of the criteria of Fund 46, the board must approve a 10-year capital improvement plan annually. Currently there is only $100 in the Fund 46 account which was set up a couple years ago.
Winters explained the capital improvement plan is fluid but is designed to give a rough outline of what projects the district intends to address. The individual projects and accompanying dollar amounts would go before the board for approval as they come up.
“This is purely to show the board we are having some foresight in plans for our district,” Winters said.
 

The Bethlehem Area School District is convening a task force to study the best way to tackle extensive repairs needed at three elementary schools.
Just addressing the infrastructure problems at Fountain Hill, Thomas Jefferson and William Penn elementary schools, is estimated to cost almost $40 million, while replacing all three schools could cost up to $80.3 million.
The district was beginning to explore whether to renovate or repair the schools last school year when the coronavirus pandemic struck, said Mark Stein, district chief facilities and operations officer, during a Bethlehem Area School Board meeting Monday night.
Stein presented the school board with updated cost estimates for a facilities study from last year and outlined a plan to convene a facility study task force to weigh the best way to address the needs at each school. The task force will review current conditions of the three schools, school boundaries, attendance and enrollment projections and projected cost estimates, Stein said.
The district wants the task force members to brainstorm possible solutions and study them as a team. Eventually, the task force will present their work to the board and stakeholders.
There is no timetable for replacing the buildings or a funding strategy, Stein said.