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Facilities News - Since 2001
Grant grows green schoolyards in Philadelphia-- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Pennsylvania: September 12, 2024 [ abstract] Everywhere you look, there are sure signs of fall: big yellow buses, hi-vis crossing guards and flocks of colorful superhero backpacks.
September is back-to-school time in many parts of the country, and staff are welcoming students into buildings that have been prepared for a new year.
But while teachers can create materials and lesson plans to support student success inside the classroom, they can’t control conditions outside schools that also influence learning outcomes.
Studies show air quality, temperature, and even the presence of trees can affect how well students focus and learn.
Now, with support from the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund, four elementary schools in Philadelphia — one in South Philadelphia and three in Southwest — will transform their grounds into vibrant green spaces that benefit students, teachers and their communities.
Reimagining the learning environment
In partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, The Nature Conservancy received a $1 million grant to replace asphalt and concrete schoolyards with shade trees, outdoor classrooms, pollinator gardens and green stormwater infrastructure, like rain gardens.
The project is one of six this year supported by Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was directed to the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund for community-driven, green infrastructure projects.
-- Bridget Macdonald Some Idaho school districts are ‘scrambling’ for maintenance money after House Bill 521-- News From the States Idaho: September 12, 2024 [ abstract] Some school districts are struggling to cover routine maintenance costs — even as the state is delivering the largest single investment in school facilities in Idaho history.
House Bill 521, enacted this year by Idaho Gov. Brad Little and the Idaho Legislature, directed an additional $1.5 billion in state Funding to schools over the next decade. The biggest slice is a $1 billion state bond, which will soon be divided between school districts for capital projects.
But HB 521 had some give and some take. The legislation eliminated August elections for school districts, and it created new rules governing minimum instructional hours and days. The bill also altered the way school districts receive lottery Funding — in a way that’s leaving districts cash-strapped in the short term.
The facilities bill rerouted about $50 million in annual lottery dividends to a restrictive property tax relief fund that must be used to pay off local bonds and levies. Many districts used the lottery money for routine upkeep, from asphalt repairs to new light bulbs, as well as maintenance staff salaries. Those funds can now only be used for debt repayment, and that’s left a potential $30 million gap in Funding for day-to-day upkeep.
The Ririe School District, for instance, is short about $100,000, according to superintendent Jeff Gee. That’s a significant chunk for the 700-student, eastern Idaho district with a total budget around $2.7 million.
“We’re kind of scrambling, honestly, to figure out how we’re going to move forward with that,” Gee told Idaho Education News.
-- Ryan Suppe Allegheny County schools awarded nearly $11M for environmental repairs-- WESA.fm Alabama: September 11, 2024 [ abstract] More than a hundred school districts across Pennsylvania are slated to receive $75 million in state Funding to improve classroom air quality, install filtered drinking fountains and prevent mold.
State officials announced this week that 109 districts statewide were awarded money through the Department of Education’s Environmental Repairs Grants program.
“This Funding will enable schools to repair buildings and provide students and school staff with safe air to breathe, water to drink, and classrooms to learn in,” said Education Secretary Khalid Mumin.
15 school districts, charter schools and career and technical education centers in Allegheny County will receive a combined $10.7 million to make environmental repairs.
-- Jillian Forstadt Pa. environmental, education and labor advocates celebrate ‘solar for schools’ program-- Pennsylvania Capital-Star Pennsylvania: September 09, 2024 [ abstract] Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia) took a victory lap Monday under the Capitol rotunda following a ceremonial signing of a bill she championed that will fund solar projects in Pennsylvania schools.
“A year and a half ago, we were standing here, we had a solar panel in front of the podium,” Fiedler said. “But we did not know we would get to this point today.”
The Solar for Schools legislation provides $25 million in state Funding that can cover up to half approved school solar projects. But the real hope is that that money will serve as a bridge allowing approved school districts to access even more Funding provided by the federal government through the Inflation Reduction Act.
In an ideal situation, between state and federal Funding, the majority of the initial costs of installing solar panels would be covered. And moreover, the installation of solar panels could greatly reduce electric costs, freeing up money for other educational programs.
But the cost and scope of projects can vary, as well as access to initial Funding that some school districts may require. And Fiedler said she expects many school districts to apply for the available funds, which could be drained quickly.
-- Ian Karbal American school closures can leave "eyesores" and broken community in their wake-- Axios National: September 06, 2024 [ abstract] The role neighborhood schools once played as the center of community life is dwindling as public schools shutter across America.
Why it matters: School closures have well-documented impacts on academic outcomes, but more recent research shows they also can lower housing values, raise crime rates and diminish the social fabric of a neighborhood.
Yet districts rarely consider their community value when deciding whether buildings should close, experts tell Axios.
The big picture: More than 5,000 public schools closed across the U.S. between 2017 and 2022, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.
Urban Institute research dating back to 2003 found that closures happened across urban, suburban and rural geographies and socioeconomic statuses.
Threat level: More districts may be forced to close schools after pandemic-era Funding, which many institutions used to plug budget holes, expires at the end of this year, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities cautions.
-- Jessica Boehm As extreme heat cancels classes, climate change prompts Oregon schools to consider AC upgrades-- Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon: September 06, 2024 [ abstract] Extreme heat over the Portland metro area prompted several school districts to release their students early or cancel classes completely on Friday due to a lack of air conditioning units.
School officials and environmental groups connect the absence of AC systems to a lack of Funding for school modernization. They suggest such investment is needed to avoid heat-related school closures in the future and to better protect students as the climate crisis continues.
On Friday, temperatures continued to climb throughout most parts of the state prompting an excessive heat warning.
-- Monica Samayoa DOE Launches Application for Energy Management and Capacity Building Program in Schools-- U.S. Dept. of Energy National: September 04, 2024 [ abstract] The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Renew America’s Schools Program, in partnership with the DOE Efficient and Healthy Schools Program, today opened applications for the 2024-2025 Energy Champions Leading the Advancement of Sustainable Schools Program (Energy CLASS). This initiative, aimed at advancing building and energy management in schools around the country, supports the Biden-Harris administration’s broader Action Plan for Building Better School Infrastructure. Through the 2024-2025 Energy CLASS, participating local educational agencies (LEAs) will develop and advance plans, policies, and projects that make critical clean energy and health improvements, thereby promoting building and energy management in school districts across America.
Each of the 50 participating LEAs will nominate an energy champion who will engage with Energy CLASS resources and trainings, and receive 1:1 expert advice on strategic energy management, project development, Funding pathways, and related topics. Leveraging the outcome-based peer-to-peer learning network of Energy CLASS, champions will deepen bandwidth and knowledge for advancing the fiscal and environmental sustainability of their schools.
-- Staff Writer Teachers and activists are rebuilding crumbling schools with sustainable retrofits-- Fast Company National: September 04, 2024 [ abstract] Students and teachers experience the challenges of climate change firsthand, including struggles with extreme heat exacerbated by poor air quality and ventilation, and more and more missed days due to heatwaves and wildfire smoke. All harm student performance and make it harder to learn.
A newly coalescing coalition of school districts, teachers, and nonprofits see a solution available to all schools, one that can not only alleviate these inconveniences, but also address inequalities and Funding shortfalls and upgrade our crumbling schools. Half the nation’s elementary schools are over a half-century old, with near-failing maintenance scores from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Taking advantage of the IRA
By tapping into Funding sources and incentives found in the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, schools can defray the costs of all manner of infrastructure investments that can help improve their resiliency and save money. Organizations such as Undaunted K12 are pushing schools to take advantage of the nation’s largest clean energy investment; of the roughly 13,000 districts in the U.S., just a couple dozen have applied so far.
-- Patrick Sisson Aging RPS buildings to get multimillion-dollar facelift-- Richmond Free Press Virginia: August 29, 2024 [ abstract] Richmond Public Schools is getting a $15.3 million federal grant for HVAC upgrades, a crucial step in the district’s efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs among its aging facilities. The Funding, part of a broader initiative to enhance school infrastructure, will target 22 RPS buildings, addressing long-standing issues in a school system where the average facility is 62 years old.
In a press conference and infrastructure tour at John Marshall High School last Thursday morning, Superintendent Jason Kamras shared the school division’s plan for building improvements.
“We want to rebuild John Marshall and the rest of the schools that need it,” Kamras said. “We are in the work of fixing things up as best as we can with the resources that we have.”
The federal grant, which was announced by U.S. Sens.
-- Paula Phounsavath More Schools Invest in Solar Panels to Save Money and Help the Environment-- Education Week National: August 28, 2024 [ abstract] Roughly 12 percent of America’s K-12 students attend school in a building that has solar panels, and that number is likely to grow in the coming years thanks to an onslaught of new federal Funding promoting clean energy adoption, according to a new report from the nonprofit advocacy group Generation180.
Generation180 found that as of 2023, just shy of 9,000 public and private school buildings had solar panels—more than double the same figure from 2014. That’s out of 130,000 public and private schools nationwide, though some have multiple buildings.
Getting energy from solar panels reduces reliance on traditional electricity, which is often generated by burning fossil fuels that emit toxic fumes, worsen air quality, and contribute to global climate change. Schools can also save money in the long run by lowering their energy bills.
-- Mark Lieberman Santa Cruz County school districts will ask voters to borrow millions for repairs, workforce housing-- Lookout Santa Cruz California: August 26, 2024 [ abstract] Five districts in the Santa Cruz County public school system are asking their voters to vote yes on bond measures this November to fund repairs to leaky roofs, replacement of aging heating and air conditioning systems and modernization of classrooms. Three of those districts are also seeking Funding to build workforce housing.
Pajaro Valley Unified School District, Soquel Union Elementary School District, Live Oak School District, Scotts Valley Unified School District and Bonny Doon Union Elementary School District all have bond measures on the ballot.
The largest school district in the county, Pajaro Valley Unified School District, is seeking the largest bond of all the districts – and in its history – at $315 million. Chief Business Officer Jenny Im told Lookout that the district plans to renovate aging schools, some nearly 100 years old, update old classroom technology and improve teacher retention by building workforce housing.
-- Hillary Ojeda New work group on school construction focusing on aging facilities, overcrowding-- The Frederick News-Post Maryland: August 02, 2024 [ abstract] A new Frederick County work group on school construction met for the first time on Thursday to discuss solutions for overcrowded schools and aging buildings.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed HB1016 into law in April, which mandated the formation of a committee to address significant Frederick County Public Schools facility construction issues.
Del. April Miller (R-4), who was voted chair of the work group at the meeting, said the biggest issues in FCPS are a rapid increase in county population growth, which leads to overcrowding, and an aging school infrastructure.
She said in an interview that she hopes the nine other members, leaders at the state and county levels, can be innovative in coming up with solutions to the lack of Funding for school construction.
-- Esther Frances Defying decay: a strategy to enforce infrastructure standards in rural schools within the Eastern Cape, South Africa-- frontiers International: August 01, 2024 [ abstract] The Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE) in South Africa faces significant infrastructure challenges in rural schools, including inadequate Funding, poor maintenance, and a shortage of essential facilities. These challenges hinder quality education provision and violate the Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure (MUNS-PSI) regulations. This study investigates these infrastructure challenges and proposes strategies to improve adherence to MUNS-PSI regulations. An interpretivist philosophy and inductive approach were adopted, focusing on a case study strategy. The study employed a mono-method qualitative approach, collecting data through semi-structured interviews with ten school managers and senior managers within the Chris Hani East District infrastructure delivery section. Purposive sampling was used to select participants, and thematic analysis was applied to the data. The findings revealed that the ECDoE lacks credible plans, sound systems, and effective leadership, resulting in poor governance and non-service delivery. Key challenges identified include the absence of a retention plan and a shortage of technological expertise. The study suggests forming a cross-functional group led by the head of the Department of Education to manage school infrastructure effectively. Training officials on technical skills related to the built environment and implementing the Infrastructure Delivery Management System are recommended. These strategies aim to enhance adherence to MUNS-PSI regulations, thereby improving the educational infrastructure and quality of education in the Eastern Cape.
-- Buyisiwe Ndungane, Gerrit Crafford, Tirivavi Moyo Sprawling rural school district hurting as state moves away from coal-- ICTnews.org New Mexico: July 25, 2024 [ abstract]
A school district in San Juan County — small in student population, huge in land area — says it is in a precarious financial position as the Public Service Company of New Mexico transitions from coal-fired power to renewable energy.
Lawmakers and officials with the Central Consolidated School District are calling on the state's biggest utility to live up to the promises of a "just transition" promised in the Energy Transition Act of 2018. The legislation promised replacement power generation to be developed within boundaries of the school district as the company moved away from coal, long a key economic driver in the area.
The school district, consisting of 15 schools, a technical center and several preschools spread over nearly 3,000 square miles in northwest New Mexico, have complained about Funding shortfalls following the closure of San Juan Generating Station, and worry about a future closure of the nearby Four Corners Power Plant. Both have been critical contributors to the school district's tax base.
The district serves about 5,000 students; more than 90 percent are Native American.
-- Nicholas Gilmore Prince George's approves deal to build schools through public-private partnership-- nbcwashington.com Maryland: July 16, 2024 [ abstract] The Prince George’s County Council passed a resolution Tuesday that will allow several new schools to be built through a public-private partnership. The same resolution failed last week.
The decision went down to the wire, as the Funding deal had to be approved by the end of the month and Tuesday was the last day before the council went on break.
The county executive’s P3 school construction deal will fast-track building eight new schools, using $850 million in state funds.
Last week, several council members abstained from the vote.
Supporters held a news conference to make sure it got through this time.
“We don’t play when it comes to our kids,” District 2 council member Wanika Fisher said. “And we don’t play when it comes to our children in District 2. But I have colleagues that don’t mind playing with our kids’ future for politics.”
If it failed again, supporters say, the project would have been in jeopardy and the county stood to lose millions of dollars to build those schools.
-- Darcy Spencer Linn-Mar breaking ground on 5-year facility plan-- The Gazette Iowa: July 14, 2024 [ abstract]
MARION — A five-year facility plan for Linn-Mar schools that began in 2022 included construction of a new administration building, a larger performance venue and an indoor athletic center added to the high school, among other projects.
The cost estimate for all the projects at the time was between $48 and $60 million, which included design fees, construction costs and equipment expenses.
After the new administration building is finished this fall, the plan is to renovate its former space at the Learning Resource Center, 2999 N. 10th St. in Marion, as additional space for Linn-Mar High School and for other academic programs.
The Learning Resource Center was built in 1948 when 17 one-room rural schools joined together to become the Marion Rural Independent School. It was renamed Linn-Mar in 1959. The center currently houses the administrative offices for the district as well as the COMPASS Alternative High School and Venture Academics Program, a project-based learning program.
Funding for the five-year plan will come from the following streams:
-- Grace King South Plainfield School District Awarded $1.3M Grant Earmarked for Roof Improvement Projects-- Tapinto South Plainfield New Jersey: July 12, 2024 [ abstract] SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ - South Plainfield Schools will receive two grants from the New Jersey Schools Development Authority’s (SDA) Regular Operating District (ROD) program.
The grant Funding, which totals a little over $1.3 million, will go specifically toward roof upgrade projects at Roosevelt Elementary and the Roosevelt Pre-K Annex, which will open this fall at the Leonard A. Tobias Administration Building.
“This Funding opportunity allows the South Plainfield School District to save a significant amount of money,” said Business Administrator Alex Benanti, adding, “Work on the roofs began this past week and is expected to be complete in early August.”
-- Victoria Caruso State promises to replace 13 Newark schools as district mulls bond for other projects-- Chalkbeat Newark New Jersey: July 11, 2024 [ abstract] The state has agreed to fund several new facilities to take the place of some of Newark’s oldest school buildings — but the deal still leaves out 20 schools that need to be replaced, district officials say.
Through the state’s Schools Development Authority, New Jersey will pay to replace 13 school buildings built before 1920, said Superintendent Roger León during June’s board meeting.
But leaders of Newark Public Schools have identified 33 schools that need replacing and dozens more that need renovations. The state identified Newark’s need to replace its aging buildings but more Funding is needed to move forward with the plans, according to Edye Maier, the SDA’s director of communications.
-- Jessie Gómez Hundreds of new school seats on the way for Staten Island: Here’s where they’ll be located-- silive.com New York: July 06, 2024 [ abstract]
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Hundreds of new school seats will be available to Staten Island over the next few years, as New York City works to tackle overcrowding in school buildings, a growing student population, and a new law that would reduce class sizes.
New schools are being constructed throughout the borough, while other seats may be acquired by leasing or buying and renovating space. Additionally, charter schools are also expanding opportunities for more seats.
The city School Construction Authority (SCA) 2020-2024 Capital Program includes more than $539 million in Funding for 11 buildings, adding 4,989 seats on Staten Island.
Here’s a look at the new school seats expected for the borough.
-- Annalise Knudson A quiet revolution is taking place in Scottish schools-- The Herald International: July 05, 2024 [ abstract] An estimated 35 Scottish schools - either recently completed or under construction - are aiming to meet the international Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency, which can cut a building’s heating energy use by up to 80 percent. Designing this way also delivers exceptional levels of interior comfort, wellbeing and durability.
As the country aims for net zero, a proposed ‘Scottish Passivhaus equivalent’ policy for new build housing will be consulted on this summer – and there’s a lot to be learned from the education sector.
This quiet revolution in the way schools are built largely came about when The Scottish Futures Trust set clear Funding criteria to ensure new schools are energy efficient, not just on completion but throughout their lifespan.
Almost overnight, designing to Passivhaus standards became the go-to way for councils to secure Funding, because it delivers what it says on the tin – it ensures a school’s actual energy use is extremely close to the amount predicted by models. As architects of four Scottish Passivhaus schools – one complete, the other three in progress - we are certainly witnessing a rapid transformation of the Scottish school building sector.
-- Ryan Holmes World Bank Approves Support to Help Ensure Safer, Resilient Schools and Strengthen Recovery in the Philippines-- World Bank Group International: June 28, 2024 [ abstract] The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors today approved Funding support for two government projects designed to help ensure safe and resilient schools as well strengthen economic recovery in the Philippines.
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved EUR 466.07 million (US$500 million) in Funding for the Infrastructure for Safer and Resilient Schools Project, designed to support the resilient recovery of disaster-affected schools in selected regions of the country. Resilient recovery means improving schools’ abilities to continue its functions after being hit by natural disasters.
-- Staff Writer House Changes School Construction Language; Leaders Say Another Solution Is Needed-- CT News Junkie Connecticut: June 27, 2024 [ abstract] HARTFORD, CT – While the House added language banning school construction managers from bidding on subcontracts back into statute Thursday, leadership in the chamber thinks a solution to Funding those projects still needs to be found.
Senate Bill 501 is full of different provisions, one of which revisited the decision by the General Assembly to remove language from the current statute preventing school construction project managers from bidding on subcontracts within the same project. That language had been removed as part of an omnibus bonding bill that was passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Ned Lamont.
That change would have gone into effect in October, but the two chambers decided to re-address the issue and add the language back during their special session this week.
House Majority Leader Jason Rojas said Thursday that there are two competing issues within the provision: policy and timing.
“Part of it is a timing issue,” Rojas said during a news conference before Thursday’s House session. “I think the policy issue can be revisited – probably will be in the next legislative session – to try to figure out, is there a way to save money here on a really significant cost to the state?”
-- Hudson Kamphausen Several school districts issued bonds to reduce short-term capital project debts-- Yahoo! Finance New York: June 26, 2024 [ abstract] WATERTOWN — Several north country school districts will benefit from low-cost tax-exempt bonds issued this month through the state Dormitory Authority.
The Funding, announced Tuesday by Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul, supports projects that include such things as classroom additions and renovations, athletic field improvements, energy efficiency upgrades, safety enhancements, and technology updates to promote innovation and collaboration.
In each instance, voters in the school districts receiving the financing benefit have already approved spending the money to fund capital projects. The low-cost, tax-exempt bonds provide permanent, long-term, fixed-rate financing for the districts to refinance short-term debt associated with the capital projects.
-- Staff Writer Arizona schools allege the state is violating the constitution-- 12news.com Arizona: June 25, 2024 [ abstract] PHOENIX — A Maricopa County Judge will soon determine whether the state makes it too difficult for school districts to obtain money for equipment, repairs and construction. That’s the allegation from plaintiffs in a major lawsuit that began seven years ago. The judge’s decision could significantly change the way the state funds schools in the future.
An alliance of school administrators, teachers and school boards sued the state in 2017, accusing leaders of not providing a “general and uniform public school system” as required by the state constitution. The trial finally began earlier this month and is expected to wrap up this week.
"The state needs to provide enough Funding so that all districts can do things for their kids that the wealthy districts can do now," said Danny Adelman, attorney for the plaintiffs.
-- Joe Dana Elementary school relocation, APS debt debated as School Board approves $570M CIP-- ARLnow Virginia: June 24, 2024 [ abstract] Impassioned discussion surrounded a split Arlington School Board vote on Thursday to approve a $570 million Capital Improvement Plan for the next decade.
At issue in the 3-2 vote on the 2025-2034 CIP were disagreements over Arlington Public Schools debt service as well as a plan to relocate the Montessori Public School of Arlington (MPSA) to the current Career Center building.
Board members Miranda Turner and Mary Kadera cast dissenting votes. Other critics of the CIP include the Arlington County Council of PTAs, the current chair of the Joint Facilities Advisory Commission (JFAC), several former chairs of JFAC and four former chairs of the Facility Advisory Committee to the School Board.
School Board Chair Cristina Diaz-Torres defended the plan, which includes $302 million for long-range renovations, $120 million for major infrastructure projects, $73 million for construction of the Grace Hopper Center and $45 million for relocating MPSA. However, she reiterated concerns that APS lacks sufficient Funding to meet community needs.
-- Daniel Egitto Questions of fixing or replacing old Pa. school buildings remain a state budget issue-- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pennsylvania: June 23, 2024 [ abstract] As state leaders prepare for an intense final week of trying to pass an on-time state budget, the status of Pennsylvania’s many aging and deteriorating school buildings remains a driver in the big-dollar negotiations.
The infrastructure question is linked to the outcome of a Democrat-driven proposal for a massive, $1 billion-plus increase in K-12 education spending, which was triggered by a court finding that the current basic education Funding system is unconstitutional. That proposal has already been approved by the House.
Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery and chairman of the House Basic Education Subcommittee, said final approval would have a ripple effect on infrastructure.
“It frees up other monies in the school districts that they can put into the buildings,” Mr. Ciresi said.
At the same time, Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, has proposed a separate $300 million for school environmental repairs. Top lawmakers from both parties agree it is worth considering some repair money this year — following a total allocation of $175 million last year — to help with things such as asbestos abatement and furnace replacement.
-- Ford Turner Swanson: Over 1,000 school ACs installed, but more work to be done by department-- The Guam Daily Post Guam: June 23, 2024 [ abstract] The Guam Department of Education is making progress in reducing the heat in classrooms across the district, GDOE Superintendent Kenneth Erik Swanson said, but there continues to be an issue with Funding for lease maintenance support.
The superintendent reported to the Guam Education Board last week that 1,111 air-conditioning units have been installed.
“(The) contractor has begun the second round of installations for classrooms that require two split units. Some new units have begun failing, and the contractor is repairing or replacing (them) under the terms of the contract. The installation contract should be complete across the system by the beginning of the next school year, with two years of warranty service to follow installation of new units. Each school has identified units that are failing and were not considered in the initial contract for replacement. (Capital improvement projects) estimates an added 300 units will require a new procurement process to replace,” Swanson reported.
-- Jolene Toves Behind the scenes, a battle looms over fair funding for school construction-- EdSource California: June 18, 2024 [ abstract] In the coming days, Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to confirm his commitment to place a state school construction bond on the November ballot.
What he hasn’t committed to yet — but must decide in the next 10 days — is whether to reform a method of sharing state matching money that has long favored property-rich districts over their property-poor neighbors.
Along with a June 27 deadline to write ballot language, Newsom and legislative leaders face the threat of a lawsuit challenging the legality of the present system that ignores vast inequalities in districts’ ability to upgrade and repair schools. The public interest law firm Public Advocates filed its warning, a 21-page demand letter, with state officials in February. Public Advocates is calling for a new method that shares more state bond proceeds with districts that need more help. Their proposal focuses only on repairing and renovating facilities, not new construction.
The possibility of litigation drawing attention to Funding inequalities would endanger the chances that a bond would pass — just when the state will run out of distributing the last matching money from the last bond, eight years ago. That would leave the state with no Funding to help districts meet the rising cost of school construction.
-- JOHN FENSTERWALD RIDE accuses Providence of mismanaging school construction funds-- WPRI.com Rhode Island: June 18, 2024 [ abstract]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — State officials are blasting Providence Mayor Brett Smiley’s administration for allegedly mismanaging major school construction projects and potentially jeopardizing millions of dollars in Funding.
In a scathing letter obtained by Target 12, R.I. Department of Education chief operating officer Mario Carreño told Smiley: “RIDE is deeply concerned by the city’s inability to properly track and manage facilities funds, anticipate cash flow, and pay vendors in a timely manner for several of the school constructions projects underway.”
Carreño put the blame squarely on Providence’s Public Property Office, which he said has had 10 different directors over the last six years, a period that stretches back into Jorge Elorza’s administration.
The office “seems unqualified to manage these critical projects,” he wrote.
The letter ticks off a variety of accounting issues that RIDE has seen in Providence, from rapid shifts in project budgets to questionable requests for reimbursement. Carreño warned that the city is now at risk of losing over $8 million in state funds that expire at the end of this month, despite being urged repeatedly to claim the money.
Additionally, Carreño said due to the failure to complete projects at Classical High School and Pleasant View Elementary School by June 30, the city stands to lose $7 million in housing aid reimbursements included in the mayor’s most recent budget proposal.
-- Alexandra Leslie, Ted Nesi For U.S. schools in disrepair, federal infrastructure dollars can't come soon enough-- CBS News National: June 06, 2024 [ abstract] At Baker Heights Elementary, everything seems to be coming apart, and it's Timothy Scott's job to try to patch whatever's broken — whether it be falling ceiling tiles or a water fountain falling off the wall.
"It could be fixed, it could be repaired, but we're pulling Funding from the classroom," Scott said.
Baker, Louisiana, just outside Baton Rouge, is home to roughly 12,000 people. Money is tight, and the population and tax base are shrinking. The infrastructure, including five school buildings that were all built in the 1950s, is crumbling.
Across the U.S., the average public school building is now nearly half a century old, and communities like Baker are facing a lot of repairs. Although Congress allocated more than $1 trillion to rebuild America's infrastructure in 2021, many schools across the country are growing desperate to fund the much-needed repairs.
To date, the infrastructure law has funded more than 40,000 projects across the country. But in many cases, the money reaches communities like Baker too slowly.
Baker Superintendent J.T. Stroder says declining enrollment means "it's tough to do anything." The problems with infrastructure are not limited to the city's schools, he says.
"You can drive around the community and you'll see how those kind of match," Stroder said.
"The way a student feels about their surroundings and their atmosphere affects how they perform academically," he added.
Overall, America's infrastructure — from roads to bridges to drinking water — has a grade of C-minus, according to the last "report card" from the American Society of Civil Engineers. The investment needed just to bring American schools up to par is $870 billion, according to the 21st Century School Fund.
-- Mark Strassmann Trial over Arizona school facilities funding model begins-- K-12 Dive Arizona: June 04, 2024 [ abstract] Local school Funding disparities are not unique to Arizona, but in recent years, approaching the issue by suing a state is.
Recent research by Bellwether found wealthy districts in 123 large metro areas across 38 states often had much more local Funding per student than less-affluent districts as a result of economic segregation. In order to close the state and local Funding gap within these metro area districts, $26 billion in additional state Funding is needed on an annual basis, the study said.
Bellwether researchers also suggested updating state formulas that include a generous allocation for students in poverty and those needing learning interventions.
Arizona ranked 50th in overall education spending and last in Funding education as of September 2023, according to the Education Data Initiative, a team of data researchers who analyze figures on the U.S. education system. During that same period, Arizona’s schools spent $9,070 per pupil for a total of $10.3 billion annually. By comparison, the national average on spending per pupil was $16,080.
-- Anna Merod CT to award $122 million in air quality grants to 48 school districts. See if your town cashed in-- Greenwich Time Connecticut: May 20, 2024 [ abstract] Connecticut has awarded local school districts $122 million for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning upgrades, the state's Department of Administrative Services announced Monday.
Norwalk received the most Funding of any district — more than $21.5 million to be spent across six schools — followed by Montville ($15.5 million), Waterbury ($9.3 million), Thompson ($8.8 million) and Stamford ($6.8 million). Altogether, 48 districts received state money, Funding more than 100 HVAC projects.
In a news release Monday, top lawmakers praised the HVAC grant program, as did several advocates and the superintendent of one district receiving funds.
"A healthy physical environment in a school is foundational to learning," said Fran Rabinowitz, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents. "These grants promote healthy air for our students and staff. Although there is much more work to be done, we are all very appreciative of the continuing support that this Funding provides."
-- Alex Putterman, Jacqueline Rabe Thomas Virginia has history of underfunding school construction-- VPM NPR Virginia: May 17, 2024 [ abstract] Nature inspired the design of John Lewis Elementary School in Northwest D.C.
"We have our outside treehouse. I was pretty scared when I first saw that,” said Principal Nikeysha Jackson. “The kids loved it. It is their favorite thing in the building."
The district’s first net-zero building has all the bells and whistles: an outside amphitheater, eco-friendly ponds and solar panels. And as Jackson points out, all of the classrooms have retractable garage doors.
“Usually in the mornings, they'll be open as kids are walking in, and then they close them,” Jackson said. Some people teach with them open all day long.”
This new building is part of a long-term city effort to get all its schools in good shape. Not all of them are as impressive as John Lewis, but many were in worse shape a few decades ago.
‘Planning isn’t reacting’
In 1992, a group of parents filed a lawsuit against Washington over fire code violations. Mary Filardo, executive director of the 21st Century School Fund, had children in D.C. Public Schools at the time.
She said there were a number of fire code violations: “because doors were chained shut, so that kids wouldn't be able to get out. Because the doors weren't working properly. There were breaches in the plaster and in the ceilings, because of roof leaks and other problems.”
-- Megan Pauly, Sean McGoey School facilities drive Mississippi COVID spending-- K-12 Dive Mississippi: April 26, 2024 [ abstract] Many Mississippi districts are using notable portions of their federal COVID-19 emergency Funding to improve school buildings, most likely to address long-standing issues around underFunding for capital projects, according to research from FutureEd, an education analysis organization affiliated with Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
Of the 60% spent through March of this year across the state in American Rescue Plan funds, 42% — or $362.6 million — had gone toward building improvements, according to FutureEd.
The lion’s share — $296.8 million — funded reconstruction and remodeling projects like HVAC replacements and upgrades. That was followed by maintenance and upkeep at $27.6 million, new building purchases and construction at $20.5 million, and architecture and engineering fees at $14.8 million.
-- Kara Arundel This North Side elementary school has received a funding boost for overdue renovations-- Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin New York: April 24, 2024 [ abstract] After multiple setbacks over the past year, Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School in Binghamton will have access to extra capital funds to renovate and improve conditions at the school.
The funds come from a provision in the recently passed New York State Budget, and will allow the Binghamton City School District to access two times their multi-year cost allowance for building aid from the state, meaning the district will receive 10 years of Funding up front, as opposed to the normal five years of Funding.
While there is not yet a set dollar amount the district will receive, the project itself is estimated to cost $52 million.
According to Binghamton City School District Superintendent Tonia Thompson, renovations without the increased Funding would have taken up to 25 years — with the Funding, they will be completed in the next five.
-- Riccardo Monico Political Fight Over School Construction Could Slow Hawaii’s Preschool Expansion Plans-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: April 21, 2024 [ abstract] Four years after its creation, a state agency created to expedite school construction projects is at risk of losing all of its staff and Funding.
Several bills in the Legislature aim to strip the School Facilities Authority of its responsibility over construction Funding and projects, including a historic $200 million investment in the creation of pre-kindergarten classrooms.
The authority was established in 2020 to take over the construction of new school facilities from the Hawaii Department of Education. Legislators have since tasked SFA with building a new school on Maui, constructing teacher housing and creating pre-kindergarten classrooms to advance the state’s goal of providing all 3- and 4-year-olds access to preschool by 2032.
Some legislators say the authority has fallen short of its intended goal, citing SFA’s struggle to hire staff and make headway on projects over the past two years. For example, while the state initially tasked SFA with spending $200 million on constructing pre-kindergarten classrooms by June — enough money for roughly 200 classrooms — only 13 classrooms have been completed so far.
-- Megan Tagami School facilities funds cut as part of agreement to reduce California’s budget shortfall-- EdSource California: April 16, 2024 [ abstract] An agreement between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature that will reduce the state’s budget shortfall by $17.3 billion also will mean less money for school facilities.
The agreement, signed April 4, cuts the state School Facility Aid Program by $500 million, reducing the Funding from $875 million to $375 million. The program provides funds to school districts for school construction, deferred maintenance and emergency repairs.
-- Diana Lambert To tax or not to tax? Governor Youngkin and Democrats battle over building new schools in Virginia-- wtvr.com Virginia: April 16, 2024 [ abstract]
RICHMOND, Va. -- The way localities can choose to help pay for new school construction and renovation is up for debate this week at the Virginia General Assembly.
Governor Glenn Youngkin (R - Virginia) vetoed a bill passed by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly that would have allowed Virginia cities and counties to add a one-percent sales tax to fund school construction and renovation projects if approved by voters in a referendum.
in Virginia
The way localities can choose to help pay for new school construction and renovation is up for debate this week at the Virginia General Assembly.
By: Cameron ThompsonPosted at 4:44 PM, Apr 16, 2024 and last updated 4:44 PM, Apr 16, 2024
RICHMOND, Va. -- The way localities can choose to help pay for new school construction and renovation is up for debate this week at the Virginia General Assembly.
Governor Glenn Youngkin (R - Virginia) vetoed a bill passed by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly that would have allowed Virginia cities and counties to add a one-percent sales tax to fund school construction and renovation projects if approved by voters in a referendum.
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A 2021 report found over half of Virginia's schools are over 50 years old and replacing them would cost around $25 billion.
"We know from a state perspective we can't fund, from the Commonwealth, all $25 billion. And so, this [bill] is really adding a tool to the toolbox for localities with pretty tough thresholds," Sen. Jeremy McPike (D - Prince William), who sponsored one of the bills, said about the tax.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers supported the bill in the General Assembly.
Governor Youngkin offered a different perspective.
"The reality, of course, is this bill is just another tax increase at a time when Virginians really can't afford it," the governor said.
-- Cameron Thompson West Virginia officials approve $87 million for school building projects-- WCHSTV.com West Virginia: April 10, 2024 [ abstract] KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — The West Virginia School Building Authority on Wednesday approved $87 million in construction and repair projects for the state’s schools.
The approval covers projects and construction plans that were rejected in December due to lack of Funding during the fiscal cycle. The new Funding is coming from the state’s $150 million budget surplus.
Among the Funding approved Wednesday was $16 million for a new state-of-the-art Ona Elementary School in Cabell County.
About $1 million was approved for a STEM class addition and cafeteria expansion at Cabell Midland High School.
In Wayne County, a project to create an addition to Buffalo Elementary School for a PK-8 was awarded more than $20 million.
-- BOB AARON, SHANNON STOWERS GDOE working with FEMA to fund temporary SSHS campus-- The Guam Daily Post Guam: April 09, 2024 [ abstract] The Guam Department of Education is in contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency regarding Funding for a temporary facility for Simon Sanchez High School students, which would be 90% funded by FEMA and 10% by GDOE, according to Superintendent Kenneth Erik Swanson, who appeared before lawmakers on Tuesday for an oversight hearing covering the SSHS situation, GDOE's rightsizing initiative and other matters involving the education department.
Due to the condition of their campus, SSHS students are having to use the John F. Kennedy High School campus under a double-session schedule with JFK students.
"We understand, and we agree, that the dual schedule piggyback environment that our Simon Sanchez kids are in at JFK is not good for the JFK student body or the Simon Sanchez student body in the long term," Swanson said Tuesday.
-- John O'Connor Mississippi School Districts Break the Mold on Pandemic-Recovery Spending-- Future Ed Mississippi: April 03, 2024 [ abstract] As the deadline nears for allocating the third and final round of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, concerns are mounting about what the financial future holds for school districts nationwide. Amidst this uncertainty, some districts have focused their efforts over the past three years on investing in an area important to student success, but one that won’t require major budget cuts when pandemic recovery Funding ends: school facilities. In Mississippi, school districts are using the largest share of their $1.5 billion ESSER III allotment to improve the long-neglected spaces where students learn.
While some may associate spending on school facilities with flashy sports complexes and state-of-the-art buildings, the reality is that schools nationwide have long grappled with aging infrastructure and outdated facilities in need of comprehensive renovations. For states like Mississippi with historically low educational spending, the one-time infusion of federal funds presented a unique opportunity for districts to not only address immediate Covid-19 concerns but also tackle long-standing renovation needs that predated the pandemic. This analysis, the latest in a series of FutureEd reports on state and local pandemic-response spending, draws on Mississippi Department of Education data to explore how school districts in one of the nation’s poorest states have used federal ESSER III funds to address long-standing inequities in school facilities, a significant barrier to student success.
-- Bella Dimarco Constitutional concerns hang over blockbuster facilities bill-- Idaho Ed News Idaho: April 01, 2024 [ abstract] Nearly two decades after the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that the Legislature was shirking its constitutional duty to fully fund public school facilities, lawmakers recently took a major step to address the problem.
On Friday, Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 521, which the Republican governor co-authored with a handful of powerful GOP legislators, including House Speaker Mike Moyle. Under the sweeping legislation, the state will spend an additional $1.5 billion over the next decade to help fund building construction and maintenance.
While tidying up one constitutional conundrum, however, the bill sponsors may have created another: HB 521 itself could be unconstitutional. That’s because it doesn’t only address school facilities; it also cuts income taxes, eliminates a school election date and even gives the state’s public defender’s office a Funding boost, among other things.
Why does the bill’s broad scope matter? The Idaho Constitution explicitly prohibits legislation that embraces more than one subject.
-- Ryan Suppe Falling Marijuana Tax Revenue Cutting Into School Construction Grants-- Westword Colorado: March 29, 2024 [ abstract] Declining retail marijuana sales in Colorado could pause millions of dollars in school construction grants, according to lawmakers and the state Department of Education.
Colorado dispensary sales increased for seven straight years after recreational sales began in 2014, topping out at nearly $2.23 billion in 2021, according to the state Department of Revenue. Marijuana sales began dropping after the pandemic ended, however, decreasing about 20 percent from 2021 to 2022, and then another 14.5 percent from 2022 to 2023.
Annual tax revenue from marijuana sales and business licensing fees has experienced a similar decline, falling almost 46 percent from 2021 to 2023. But lawmakers continued going to the well of marijuana revenue for bill Funding, according to State Representative Rick Taggert, and now a crunch has hit.
Taggert, a college professor who represents Mesa County, is sponsoring a bill that would pause an annual $20 million transfer from the state's Marijuana Tax Cash Fund to the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) fund, a matching grant program intended to help spur new construction at Colorado schools.
-- Thomas Mitchell Tom McKone: Deteriorating schools need attention and funding-- vtdigger Vermont: March 29, 2024 [ abstract] The build-up to Town Meeting Day and the record failure of 30 school budgets have overshadowed an earlier, stunning report that has received only modest coverage: Vermont faces at least $6.3 billion in school construction costs over the next two decades — even more, if we don’t start putting $300 million per year into this right away.
An immediate question is: If taxpayers don’t support their local school budget, how likely are they to vote to spend even more on aging school buildings — even if the Legislature establishes a new school construction aid program that would cover part of the cost?
The comprehensive, 42-page, School Construction Aid Task Force Report presented to the House and Senate Committees on Education last month, provides a sobering picture of the condition of Vermont’s 384 school buildings and recommendations of ways to move forward, with the conclusion that “a paradigm shift is necessary.”
-- Opinion - Tom McKone Idaho Legislature Approves $2 Billion for Schools to Repair and Replace Aging Buildings-- Pro Publica Idaho: March 22, 2024 [ abstract]
School districts across Idaho will soon receive hundreds of millions of dollars to help repair and replace their aging buildings, thanks to a bill that cleared its final hurdle in the Idaho Senate on Thursday.
House Bill 521 will invest $1.5 billion in new Funding and redirect $500 million over 10 years for school facilities across the state. But critics say it still won’t be enough to address the years of neglect left from the state’s failure to fund school facilities.
Idaho school districts have for decades struggled to fix or replace their aging, deteriorating schools and build new ones to accommodate the state’s rapid growth. Over the past year, the Idaho Statesman and ProPublica have reported on how Idaho’s restrictive policies and the state’s reluctance to make significant investments in school facilities have led to students learning in schools with failing heating systems, leaking roofs, discolored drinking water and overcrowded classrooms.
Citing the stories, Gov. Brad Little called to make Funding for school facilities “priority No. 1” in his State of the State address in January. He proposed putting $2 billion toward school facilities over 10 years, or $200 million per year.
-- Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman NC public schools are testing for lead in drinking water with ‘once-in-a-generation’ funding-- WUNC North Carolina: March 19, 2024 [ abstract]
Walking into the Maureen Joy Charter School building is a little like stepping back in time. The lacquered wood floors creak as students walk to class. Sunlight streams across high ceilings. The school’s chief operating officer Samantha Amaral offers a tour of the building.
“It was built in 1910, so this is a historic building, and we love it,” Amaral says.
A black-and-white photograph hanging in the lobby shows a street view of the original school building in 1910, seemingly unchanged. Maureen Joy Charter School renovated the old Y.E. Smith public school building in 2012 before moving in.
“They redid all of the piping, all of the paint,” Amaral explained. “All that was left was the skeleton of the school.”
Amaral said she hopes that means the school doesn’t have to worry as much about lead in the pipes or asbestos in the paint, but given the age of the building, administrators still wanted to check.
More than half of North Carolina public schools were built before the federal government began regulating lead and asbestos in new construction in the 1980s, putting today’s students at risk for lead exposure. Lead in drinking water is a health risk to young children and can cause intellectual and developmental issues. Asbestos is a known carcinogen.
Now, with a large block of federal Funding from the American Rescue Plan and allocated by the state, every one of the roughly 3,100 public schools in North Carolina this spring will be able to test for lead and asbestos.
-- Liz Schlemmer 'Crumbling Schools': Lawmaker links poor Baltimore school conditions to lack of state funding-- WBALTV11 Maryland: March 15, 2024 [ abstract] BALTIMORE —
A state lawmaker who represents Baltimore City and oversees K-12 education Funding said she wants her colleagues to visit Baltimore City Public Schools campuses to see the conditions of the buildings.
Baltimore City Delegate Stephanie Smith, D-District 45, agrees that the issue is Funding and said some people need to see it to believe it.
"I just think we have to continue to make the case to our colleagues that our students are going to schools they wouldn't even want their pets to enter," Smith told 11 News Investigates.
-- Tolly Taylor New report finds solar on Pennsylvania K-12 schools has tripled in last decade-- Solar Power World Pennsylvania: March 14, 2024 [ abstract] In the last 10 years, Pennsylvania K-12 schools have nearly tripled the amount of solar installed, according to a new statewide report on schools’ solar uptake published by Generation180, a clean energy nonprofit. The solar capacity installed at statewide schools over the past 10 years grew from 14 MW to approximately 39 MW.
The new report, “Powering a Brighter Future in Pennsylvania, Second Edition,” examines the state of solar at K-12 schools, including how schools are Funding it, and local success stories. While a growing number of schools have seen the benefits of solar adoption, less than 2% of Pennsylvania’s 6,000 K-12 schools produce their own solar power, leaving a lot of potential for growth.
“All schools and communities in Pennsylvania — regardless of their size, geography or wealth — should have access to clean and affordable power,” said Shannon Crooker, Generation180’s Pennsylvania State Director. “We are helping schools across the state gain the cost-saving and educational benefits from generating their own clean power.” Generation180 provides free technical assistance to schools interested in exploring how solar energy would benefit them.
-- Kelly Pickerel Can Cleaner Classroom Air Help Kids Do Better at School?-- The Brink Massachusetts: March 07, 2024 [ abstract] When caregivers meet with teachers, they want all the details on how their children are doing in school: Are they making friends? What subjects do they need a little extra help with? Where are they excelling? But they’re probably not asking about something that could be having an outsized impact on their kids’ education: How’s the classroom air quality?
Boston University environmental health researcher Patricia Fabian has studied indoor air quality for more than 20 years and says the better the air in a school, the better kids perform: improved ventilation has been associated with reduced absences due to illness and higher scores on math and reading tests. Now, a new research collaboration between Fabian and Boston Public Schools (BPS) could lead the way in helping schools improve their indoor air quality.
Since 2022, Fabian has been working with the school district to study the quality of air in the city’s classrooms, leveraging sensors that were installed in more than 4,400 classrooms through $6.7 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds.
Fabian says there are relatively few standards for indoor air quality, despite a growing body of evidence to suggest that pollutant levels indoors may be significantly higher than outdoors. But the pandemic has reshuffled priorities, as the airborne transmission of COVID-19 called attention to the safety of enclosed, shared spaces and generated increased interest in, and Funding for, projects to implement or improve heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in aging public buildings, such as schools.
-- MEGAN JONES $150 million would fund school projects across the state " and be a signal to federal authorities-- WV Metro News West Virginia: March 04, 2024 [ abstract] 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.
-- Brad McElhinny Alaska’s education board sends a $500M wish list for construction and maintenance to lawmakers-- Alaska Beacon Alaska: February 29, 2024 [ abstract] 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.
-- CLAIRE STREMPLE ‘A perfect mess’: School construction needs in a chaotic budget year-- Mountain Times Vermont: February 28, 2024 [ abstract] 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.”
-- Habib Sabet and Ethan Weinstein/VTDigger Craven County schools presented with $15 million for new classrooms-- WNCT9 New Jersey: February 27, 2024 [ abstract] 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.
-- Jennifer Wagner ‘A moving target’: How does state school building aid work? And how much can the middle school project expect?-- Concord Monitor New Hampshire: February 24, 2024 [ abstract] 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.
-- Catherine McLaughlin Richardson ISD to close five schools, consolidate campuses due to declines in enrollment, funding-- NBCDFW Texas: February 23, 2024 [ abstract] 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.
-- Ben Russell Property-poor districts demand fairer funding for school facilities-- EdSource California: February 22, 2024 [ abstract] 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.
-- JOHN FENSTERWALD Wyoming Senate Axes $118M In Major School Construction Projects From Budget-- Cowboy State Daily Wyoming: February 22, 2024 [ abstract]
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.”
-- Leo Wolfson Arkansas governor commits to improving facilities for deaf, blind students-- News From The States Arkansas: February 14, 2024 [ abstract] Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday announced a “long overdue” plan to build new facilities to better serve deaf, blind and visually-impaired students at historic but dilapidated schools in Little Rock.
The disrepair of the Arkansas School for the Deaf and the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired was highlighted last fall when the governor and a group of bipartisan lawmakers toured the facilities, which are located about a mile west of the state Capitol.
“We will invest significant resources to build a new state-of-the-art facility on the current campus, combine administrative functions and provide additional high-quality instruction on a regional basis,” Sanders said. “And we’re going to prioritize student safety and happiness so that ASD and ASB will thrive as they were intended to right here in the heart of our capital city.”
Sanders said there will be further discussions about construction and Funding, and while there’s not yet a specific timeline for the project, she said the goal is to work as quickly as possible.
The state has received some estimates on the project, Sanders said, and the Legislature previously set aside roughly $30 million in 2022 for the schools.
-- Antoinette Grajeda Shapiro Administration Announces $75 Million In Public School Environmental Grants-- State of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania: February 12, 2024 [ abstract] Harrisburg, PA - Recognizing that students cannot learn, grow, and thrive without access to safe and healthy school facilities, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) today announced $75 million in grant Funding to help schools to make environmental repairs and improvements.
“Preparing and nurturing the next generation of successful Pennsylvanians starts with making sure all students have a safe, healthy environment to learn in,” said Secretary Dr. Khalid N. Mumin. “These grants help school districts make necessary upgrades and repairs to their buildings and learning spaces to ensure that our students and school staff have safe air to breathe, water to drink, and classrooms to learn in.”
Eliminating lead and asbestos along with other environmental contaminants in schools lowers cumulative exposure across childhood, leads to better cognitive and overall health outcomes for children, and increases the likelihood of academic and career success.
-- Taj Magruder ‘A perfect mess’: School construction needs may fall by the wayside in a chaotic budget year-- vtdigger Vermont: February 12, 2024 [ abstract]
In fall 2023, the leaders of the Milton Town School District unveiled the design for its new elementary and middle school.
The existing Milton Elementary School was first built in the 1950s to serve grades 1-6 and expanded piecemeal over the following decades, eventually becoming the district’s pre-K-8 school.
By 2020, the oldest parts of the building had long been showing their age. A perennial mold problem had plagued the school for decades, and the school boilers were on their last legs. Leaders said upgrades were sorely needed.
The initial cost estimate of almost $200 million 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.
The latest projections indicate that property taxes could increase statewide by an average of 20% next year. That figure, local and statewide school officials have said, is largely due to ballooning health care costs, maintenance and student mental health needs resulting in higher education spending, with less federal support available as a result of expiring Covid-era relief Funding.
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.
-- Habib Sabet and Ethan Weinstein Idaho Legislature Takes Up Bill to Help School Districts Repair and Replace Buildings-- ProPublica Idaho: February 09, 2024 [ abstract]
Idaho Republican leaders introduced a bill Thursday that would provide $1.5 billion in new Funding over 10 years for school districts to repair and replace their aging and overcrowded school buildings — a proposal they said would mark the largest investment in school facilities in state history.
The bill would create the School Modernization Facilities Fund, which districts could use for construction and maintenance needs. It would also provide money through an existing fund to help school districts pay off their bonds and levies, which are used to finance school facilities and district operating costs.
School districts across Idaho have for decades faced challenges to fixing or replacing their aging, deteriorating schools and to building new ones to accommodate growth. Last year, an Idaho Statesman and ProPublica series showed how the state’s restrictive school Funding policies and the Legislature’s reluctance to make significant investments in school facilities have challenged teachers and affected student learning. Some students have had to learn in schools with leaky ceilings, discolored water, failing plumbing and freezing classrooms.
During Gov. Brad Little’s State of the State address earlier this year, he announced he wanted to make Funding for school facilities “priority No. 1.” He proposed putting $2 billion toward school facilities over 10 years, or $200 million per year.
-- Becca Savransky - Idaho Statesman How can schools tap tax reimbursements for clean energy projects?-- K-12 Dive National: February 08, 2024 [ abstract] School districts can now access uncapped, noncompetitive and unlimited direct payment in lieu of federal tax credits to finance clean energy initiatives like solar panels, ground source heat pumps and electric buses.
These investments can result in reduced costs and air pollution and provide resilient infrastructure, said those supportive of the new initiative.
Known as the ”direct pay″ provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, the program allows tax-exempt entities like schools to receive tax-free cash payment for qualifying projects for the tax year their clean energy initiatives were put into service. This Funding can be combined with other revenue sources, such as grants and utility rebates, and covers projects that began service after Jan. 1, 2023.
-- Kara Arundel Richmond Public Schools hopes a new audit system and $16 million will help fix its ‘aging facilities’-- WRIC.com Virginia: February 07, 2024 [ abstract]
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond Public Schools recently rolled out a new facility audit system and a newly proposed budget to help address significant maintenance concerns — but it’s possible the Funding simply won’t be there.
From air conditioning to fire alarm issues — Several Richmond families have expressed concerns that their students’ classrooms are unsafe.
Richmond parent Adiel Chavarria, whose children attend Elizabeth Redd Elementary School, said his child became sick due to recent air conditioning problems.
“Kids and teachers stay in the school 100 degrees all day, all seasons,” Chavarria said.
However, Chavarria said Elizabeth Redd Elementary is not the only place he has heard of these concerns, with other schools throughout the city needing repairs.
“We have aging facilities — we’re just severely underfunded year over year,” said Dana Fox, Chief Operating Officer at Richmond Public Schools. “So it’s hard to stay ahead of it.”
-- Rolynn Wilson Fort Smith Public School Board approves district master plan to upgrade facilities-- Arkansas Democrat Gazette Arkansas: February 04, 2024 [ abstract] FORT SMITH -- The Fort Smith School District plans to spend almost $23 million in the next six years to update district facilities.
Joseph Velasquez, district construction project manager, told board members Jan. 22 a new, six-year plan has to be submitted to the state every three years.
Superintendent Terry Morawski said the plan needs to be submitted, but the projects don't have to be completed according to the timeline, if at all, if the district changes its mind for some reason.
Velasquez said projects remaining in the 2023-24 school year include underground roof drainage at Peak Innovation Center for $250,000; an art space at Peak for $800,000; roof and HVAC replacement at Kimmons Middle School for $3 million; roof replacement at Southside High School for $2.8 million; and roof replacement at Chaffin Middle School for $1.7 million.
He said a lot of the planned roof projects will be covered by insurance Funding due to hail damage, which is where the cost estimates originate. Velasquez said more definitive prices will be available when the contractors are hired.
-- Monica Brich Proposed State Funding Support for Priority School Construction Projects Outlined-- Connecticut by The Numbers Connecticut: February 04, 2024 [ abstract] In testimony provided to the state legislature’s Education Committee in recent weeks, the Department of Administrative Services has outlined eligible school building projects in Connecticut, including Priority List Projects in Bristol, Danbury, Hartford, Newington, Stamford and Waterford. The committee meeting was held in advance of the start of the legislative session, which begins on Wednesday, February 7.
DAS Commissioner Michelle Gilman noted that “projects for three high schools, three elementary schools, two middle schools, two magnet schools, and one Pre-K school. Five are renovation projects, three are categorized as “Extension/Alteration” projects, two are new school projects, and one is categorized as the purchase of a facility.”
Gilman explained that the “proposed Priority List includes an estimated total project cost of $583,320,021. If the legislature and Governor approve, the State’s maximum grant amount for these projects would be $470,235,824. In addition, there are two requests for reauthorization with an estimated project costs of $41,086,326 and a potential grant change of $39,032,010, along with a request for forgiveness of the unpaid balance of a grant due to the State for $202,538.”
-- Staff Writer FEMA Will Pay Schools Affected By Disasters for Energy-Efficient Upgrades-- Education Week National: January 31, 2024 [ abstract] School buildings that experience natural disasters are now eligible for federal Funding to install solar panels and other energy-efficient systems when they rebuild, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Tuesday.
Through the FEMA Public Assistance program, the federal government commits to covering 75 percent of the cost of rebuilding schools and other public institutions like hospitals following floods, tornadoes, and other storms.
With the new policy, schools can now include in their reimbursement requests the cost of solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, and other modern systems designed to improve sustainability.
Schools can take advantage of this Funding opportunity for any disaster declared after Aug. 16, 2022, the agency said in a press release.
The goals of the policy, according to the agency, include offering incentives for schools to help with the nationwide effort to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Schools and other facilities that install energy-producing systems can stay open and even provide power to surrounding communities in the event of an electrical outage, said Tish Tablan, senior program director at Generation180, an advocacy nonprofit that promotes clean energy adoption.
-- Mark Lieberman State Funds Earmarked For Construction Projects At Parsippany Schools-- Patch New Jersey: January 26, 2024 [ abstract] PARSIPPANY, NJ — The Parsippany-Troy Hills School District will be getting new state Funding to address critical facility needs.
The New Jersey Department of Education and the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) announced recently that $75 million would be appropriated to school districts across the state to assist with emergency construction and other capital needs.
“Every New Jersey student and school staff member deserves a space for learning that is safe, secure, and supportive of the highest educational outcomes,” said Dr. Angelica Allen-McMillan, Acting Commissioner of the Department of Education.
The Parsippany-Troy Hills School District will receive $167,152, according to the state's figures.
-- Vianella Burns Colorado to reduce indoor air pollution in schools, public buildings from wildfire smoke events through EPA grant-- US Enivronmental Protection Agency Colorado: January 23, 2024 [ abstract] DENVER – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to award $10,670,000 in grant Funding to nine selected recipients across the country to enhance community wildfire smoke preparedness. Of these recipients, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is anticipating a $1,895,705 grant to design a state-wide program for wildfire smoke awareness and preparation.
CDPHE will use the EPA funds to provide outreach, education, and training for local community partners on how to prepare for, and respond to, the public health threat of wildfire smoke. This includes leveraging the Clean Air for Schools program, which provides air cleaners and indoor air quality monitors to K-12 schools, where CDPHE will partner with local communities to develop response plans for wildfire smoke events. Some of the expected outcomes include Smoke Readiness Plans, providing technical training on ventilation and filtration strategies, preparing school buildings to serve as Community Cleaner Air Shelters, and enabling indoor air quality monitoring in public school buildings to understand wildfire smoke impacts and evaluate effective responses. With more than 880,000 kids enrolled in Colorado public schools, developing wildfire smoke preparedness programs improves indoor air quality and reduces public health risks for many students.
-- Virva Aryan Governor Hochul Announces $100 Million in Environmental Bond Act Funding Now Available for Clean Green Schools-- New York State Governor New York: January 23, 2024 [ abstract] Governor Kathy Hochul today announced $100 million is now available through the Clean Green Schools Initiative under the historic $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act. The initiative will allow for the advancement of construction projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help public schools improve environmental sustainability and decarbonize school buildings. Today’s announcement supports the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by 2050 and ensure at least 35 percent, with a goal of 40 percent, of the benefits from clean energy investments be directed to disadvantaged communities.
“Creating a safe and healthy learning environment is critical to providing our children the best education possible,” Governor Hochul said. “These investments will make our school facilities cleaner and more sustainable – and will have a tremendous positive effect on future generations of students.”
-- Staff Writer After years of neglect, $47 million renovation project completed at Northeast High School-- CBS News Florida: January 19, 2024 [ abstract] OAKLAND PARK - Talon Frazier has big plans, the Jr. ROTC student at Northeast High School will take flying lessons over the summer.
For now, he's thrilled to be going to classes in a brand new building that opened just days ago on his campus.
"It's a lot more comfy and refreshing to go here every day," he says. When I got here this was a vacant empty parking lot."
For years, the school that was opened in 1962, was a poster child for crumbling Broward schools with leaking roofs, mold and poor air conditioning.
It was one of the schools that was supposed to be renovated immediately after Broward taxpayers approved an $800 million bond issue in 2014, but through a complicated mixture of delays, mismanagement, skyrocketing costs, and state Funding cuts nothing happened.
-- Joan Murray Hamilton County Commission to consider more than $3M in school maintenance needs-- Chattanooga Times Free Press Tennessee: January 19, 2024 [ abstract] With officials hoping to make some progress on addressing a backlog of maintenance needs, Hamilton County commissioners are considering more than $3 million worth of school projects that include paving, security upgrades and more.
The request, which totals almost $3.7 million, would also cover boilers and chillers at several schools in addition to roof repairs. The panel will decide whether to fund those projects at its next meeting at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday on the fourth floor of the Hamilton County Courthouse, 625 Georgia Ave. Commissioners discussed the item during a meeting Jan. 10, with plans to vote on it the following Wednesday, but the panel's meeting was delayed a week because of inclement weather.
The Funding would come out of a $6 million pot commissioners withheld from the school budget last summer to lower ongoing Funding obligations to the district.
-- David Floyd Lakeside Union School District ‘Flipping the Switch’ on Energy Program-- Times of San Diego California: January 16, 2024 [ abstract] The Lakeside Union School District encourages the community to join in on the celebration as it “flips the switch” on its districtwide comprehensive Energy Infrastructure Modernization Program, encompassing energy efficiency improvements and new solar structures.
Marking a major milestone in the program and especially ringing in the new year, the event will take place at the District Office on Jan. 18 at 3 p.m.
“We’re incredibly proud to share this accomplishment with the entire Lakeside community,” said Board President Andrew Hayes. “This program ushers in a new era of energy resilience for our district. It will provide long-lasting benefits for our students and staff in the classroom and save general fund costs significantly, ensuring a secure future for the entire district.”
Launched in 2021, the program is a comprehensive effort to modernize antiquated infrastructure in the areas of HVAC, roofing, lighting, and other efficiency improvements while converting to renewable energy sources. The program allows the district to leverage various grants, incentives, and other one-time Funding from state and federal programs to alleviate capital budget pressure and meet state energy mandates.
-- Debbie L. Sklar Pine City School facilities in decline, reasons for referendum-- Pine County Minnesota: January 11, 2024 [ abstract] Over the past year, the Pine City School District has been diligently addressing critical challenges facing facilities and programs. It’s been almost two decades since the school has undertaken any significant building projects including maintenance. Now, after nine months of thorough examination, it’s evident that the school needs your support.
Areas of decline and need
The 1962 addition to the elementary school is sinking, causing substantial damage to the walls, floors, and plumbing. This affects 10 classrooms, the kitchen, the cafeteria, and restrooms. And there are large areas of roofing, wall panels, and code issues needing to be addressed in all buildings.
The district has an annual budget of nearly $300,000 for general repairs, but when a roofing project is nearly $1,000,000 there is a considerable Funding gap. In fact, the growing number of projects and those anticipated over the next 5 years are estimated to cost over $12.5 million for necessary building repairs. To keep pace with building needs and cover the costs of substantial projects like roofing and wall repairs, the school needs your help.
-- Troy Miller School board approves Facilities Master Plan-- thecabin.net Arkansas: January 11, 2024 [ abstract] The Conway Board of Education approved the 2024 Facilities Master Plan during its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday.
The facilities division of the Arkansas Department of Education Division of Elementary and Secondary Education requires all school districts across Arkansas to submit a master plan every other year.
The plan includes a list of the district’s buildings, the dates they were built, the square-footage of each and enrollment projections. The plan also includes a maintenance, renovation and repair schedule as well as a list of any possible future project where state Funding could be requested.
-- Jordan Woodson Hawaii Legislators To Tackle School Safety Issues From Broken Fire Alarms To Evacuation Plans-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: January 09, 2024 [ abstract] The recovery of Maui schools and students and expansion of fire prevention efforts on campuses statewide will be a top priority for the 2024 legislative session that begins next week.
Lawmakers also will grapple with educational problems carried over from previous years such as improving school transportation, repairing aging school facilities and reversing students’ learning loss from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rep. Amy Perruso said she’s worried about the Legislature’s ability to adequately fund the efforts as the state prepares to spend approximately $500 million on helping Maui rebound from devastating Aug. 8 fires.
“If we were going to have money adequately Funding public education, it should have happened last session,” Perruso said, pointing to the state’s $2 billion budget surplus in 2023.
-- Magan Tagami PSS secures $4.99M through school infrastructure program-- Saipan Tribune Northern Mariana Islands: January 08, 2024 [ abstract] The Public School System has secured a $4.99-million grant it will get over five years through the Supporting America’s School Infrastructure program, according to Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP) over the weekend.
Sablan disclosed in his e-kilili newsletter that this Funding, as the U.S. Department of Education announced on Thursday, is rooted in the concept of Minetgot, the Chamorro term for resilience, and focuses on three objectives: the creation of a comprehensive 10-year school facilities master plan, transitioning to a cloud-based maintenance system, and implementing a maintenance training program for district staff.
Sablan said the facilities master plan will address reducing emergency repair costs, ensuring modern safety standards, and increasing sustainability.
-- FERDIE DE LA TORRE We can do better.’ Idaho Gov. Little announces $2 billion in funding for school buildings-- Idaho Statesman Idaho: January 08, 2024 [ abstract] Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Monday announced a $2 billion investment in public schools over the next 10 years, a large contribution aimed at shoring up dilapidated infrastructure at schools across the state. Little said the investment, which he announced in his State of the State address, provides property tax relief that would also provide school districts with the ability to repair and replace their school buildings, citing reporting from the Idaho Statesman and ProPublica. Local school districts have long struggled to fix their dilapidated, aging school buildings, in part because of the high two-thirds voter approval threshold that school bonds require. Schools face leaking roofs, collapsing ceilings from water damage and failing plumbing, the investigation from the Statesman and ProPublica found. “We’ve all seen the pictures and videos of some Idaho schools that are neglected — crumbling, leaking, falling apart,” Little said. “In one school I visited, raw sewage is seeping into a space under the cafeteria. Folks, we can do better.” “As elected leaders, it is not just our constitutional obligation but our moral obligation as well to prioritize and strengthen public schools,” Little added.
-- Ian Max Stevenson Biden-Harris Administration Announces $47 Million in New Funding to Support School Infrastructure Investments-- U.S. Department of Education National: January 04, 2024 [ abstract] The Biden-Harris Administration announced eight new grant awards today totaling more than $37 million over five years under the Supporting America’s School Infrastructure (SASI) program and one new grant for $10 million over five years under the National Center on School Infrastructure (NCSI) program. This $47 million investment, issued by the U.S. Department of Education (Department), bolsters the capacity of states to support school districts in improving school facilities with the goal of more equitable access to healthy, sustainable, and modern learning environments for all students. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona will highlight this announcement during a visit to Virginia today with Ranking Member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
-- Staff Writer Virginia to get $5M to help with school infrastructure needs-- wtkr.com Virginia: January 04, 2024 [ abstract]
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Virginia is getting $5 million in federal Funding to help address infrastructure at schools, U.S. Education Sec. Miguel Cardona announced Thursday during a visit to Victory Elementary.
"All too often schools are the last places that get renovated or air handling systems or air conditioners are the first things to get cut in budgets," Cardona told reporters during his visit. "You know what? That's not acceptable."
Virginia is one of eight states to receive the Funding through the Supporting America's School Infrastructure program in the Dept. of Education.
The Funding will let schools assess infrastructure, hire staff and develop infrastructure systems, among other things.
While Virginia is receiving the Funding, Cardona acknowledged it's just a drop in the bucket.
"It's five million more than it was ever done at the Dept. of Education," he said. "What we're doing is recognizing that infrastructure needs to be part of the conversation when we're talking about student achievement, student equity."
-- Brendan Ponton House panel confronts ‘eye popping’ cost of school construction needs-- vtdigger Vermont: January 03, 2024 [ abstract] On the first day of the 2024 legislative session, state education officials presented lawmakers with the latest estimates for Vermont’s school construction needs — a whopping $6.3 billion in the next 21 years.
And that number, Agency of Education staff cautioned, is likely a significant underestimate.
Rep. Peter Conlon, D-Cornwall, chair of the House Committee on Education, called the figure “eye popping.” He signaled that his committee would make addressing school construction needs a priority this session.
The cost estimate came as part of a school facilities assessment ordered by the Legislature in 2021, which gathered baseline data on 384 school buildings in Vermont and translated the findings into cost projections for every district statewide. The Agency of Education expects to create a public dashboard with that data later this year.
From fiscal years 2000-2008, the state provided more than $280 million in construction aid to schools, but amid the Great Recession it suspended state assistance for such projects. This year, lawmakers will consider how the state could revive some Funding, though Conlon made clear that footing the entire bill was out of the question.
-- Ethan Weinstein Proposed Arizona House Bill could have impacts on school funding projects-- abc15 Arizona: December 29, 2023 [ abstract] PHOENIX — A proposed bill in the legislature could make it harder for Arizona school districts to fund new projects.
House Bill 2088, proposed by Republicans, Rep. Laurin Hendrix and Rep. Barbara Parker, said it would prohibit any businesses that give money for school bonds and override campaigns – that pass – from being able to bid on the projects that may happen.
For example, if a school district passes a bond measure to build a new school, the construction companies that donated money to the campaign would not be able to do the construction.
-- Elenee Dao State committee still saying maybe on state funds for Buckingham Elementary replacement-- OC Today Maryland: December 21, 2023 [ abstract] Maryland’s Interagency Commission on School Construction, or IAC, didn’t allocate any state Funding to Buckingham Elementary’s replacement project in the agency’s preliminary 2025 capital improvement plan budget, but this could change once the budget is finalized in May.
At a meeting over Zoom last Thursday, the IAC approved staff recommendations for preliminary allocations and planning approvals for the 75 percent authorization round of their 2025 capital improvement plan after hearing testimony from the leaders of several education agencies in Maryland.
Superintendent of Worcester County Schools Lou Taylor, State Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-38) and County Commissioner President Chip Bertino testified for Buckingham’s construction Funding.
-- Hunter Hine State lawmakers tout budget funding for school facilities-- Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus Pennsylvania: December 21, 2023 [ abstract] Today, House Appropriations Committee Majority Chairman Jordan Harris, D-Phila., hosted a news conference at South Philadelphia High School discussing school facilities Funding in the 2023-24 state budget.
The budget includes $175 million for school facility improvements.
Pennsylvania has some of the oldest schools in the country. The average school building is around 70 years old and was built when lead pipes and asbestos were standard building materials.
Discoveries of asbestos and other toxins have led to school closures across the Commonwealth, including seven Philadelphia schools in 2023 alone. In the same year, 100 schools statewide closed due to excessive heat.
Harris stated that he believes this Funding will help to address this issue that’s plagued Pennsylvania schools for a long time.
“This Funding is paramount to improving the health and safety of our educators, students and school staff, Harris said. “This major Democratic priority is a significant investment and critical step toward ensuring that receiving an education in Pennsylvania does not equate to sick or injured students, teachers, or staff. There is more work to do, and we intend to continue our work until every Pennsylvania school is a safe learning environment for our children.”
Harris was joined by members of the Philadelphia House Delegation, including state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Phila., and members of the House Appropriations and Education committees, including Education Committee Majority Chairman Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh.
Schweyer said this Funding will allow schools to properly address issues with their facilities.
“For the first time in nearly a decade, the General Assembly has recognized the need for Funding which allows school districts to address facility repairs and upgrades,” said Schweyer. “As a father of two in the Allentown School District, I have seen firsthand the need for Funding so schools can provide the safe and comfortable learning environments that parents expect, and children deserve.”
-- Staff Writer With $2B in unspent construction money, schools superintendent pledges to overhaul process-- Hawaii News Now Hawaii: December 21, 2023 [ abstract]
Hawaii’s school superintendent is promising to reorganize his department to deal with a huge backlog of school construction projects.
The pressure is coming primarily from lawmakers, but public school advocates think the priorities may be misplaced. At Thursday’s meeting of the Hawaii Board of Education, teachers union president Osa Tui told members they should be asking tougher questions of school executives.
“The integrity of the department, which is overseen by this board, is on the line as legislators become increasingly distrustful of what they hear from the Department,” Tui said.
A day earlier at the state Capitol, state senators grilled Superintendent Keith Hayashi over about $2 billion in unspent construction dollars, including nearly half a billion in dollars that could be lapsed — and taken off the books — after missing construction deadlines.
State Sen. Donna Kim said she was shocked that Hayashi didn’t learn about the lapsing projects until late November.
“It’s it’s crazy that you folks are not aware of like the billion dollars’ worth of projects that’s sitting there and you don’t have all the Funding,” Kim said.
Molokai and East Maui Sen. Lynne DeCoite said lawmakers can’t assume that projects they’ve approved and funded are making progress.
-- Daryl Huff Hirono bill would give $1B to federally impacted school districts-- Spectrum News National: December 20, 2023 [ abstract] WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, introduced legislation Monday that would devote $1 billion over the next four years for Impact Aid Construction Grants to ease the backlog of facility needs at federally impacted school districts.
A companion bill was introduced in the House by Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif.
“Federal Impact Aid provides critical Funding for federally impacted schools,” said Hirono, co-chair of the Senate Impact Aid Coalition, in a statement released on Monday. “But too often, that Funding is not enough to meet maintenance needs. By providing $1 billion for needed upgrades, this legislation will enable schools to address the significant backlog of school construction, repair and maintenance needs to help our students learn in a suitable learning environment.”
Under the Impact Aid Infrastructure Partnership Act, 25% of Funding would be made available via formula Funding to all eligible school districts. The U.S. Department of Education would disburse the remaining 75% as competitive grants with priority given to those school districts with acute emergencies in their facilities.
-- MICHAEL TSAI Rhode Island education council approves $1 billion in school construction projects-- WJAR10 Rhode Island: December 20, 2023 [ abstract] The Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education approved over $1 billion in new school construction projects across Rhode Island.
The Funding will go to 48 projects benefiting almost 25,000 students, including construction of seven new and like-new schools, according to Rhode Island Department of Education. This is the largest school construction approval in Rhode Island K-12 history.
“The council’s approval of these school construction projects sets the tone for prioritizing students’ year-round learning, while ensuring they are in state-of-the-art facilities,” said Gov. Dan McKee. “I commend their approval of these investments in Rhode Island students and future generations and look forward to seeing the positive impact of these new projects statewide.”
Notable projects include a new South Kingstown High School, two new PK-8 school in Providence, one new unified high school in Pawtucket and a new Mount Hope High School in Bristol-Warren, RIDE said.
-- Staff Writer Only 6 public schools will get ARP funding for refurbishment-- Marianas Variety Guam: December 19, 2023 [ abstract]
Only six schools will be refurbished under school refurbishment projects, instead of the districtwide approach originally intended.
“The school refurbishment projects, … the bid came in several hundred millions of dollars over the budget we had. So in order not to lose the Funding we do have through the (American Rescue Plan) I’ve made the determination to target specific schools in that project,” Guam Department of Education Superintendent Kenneth Erik Swanson told the legislative committee on education Monday.
The six schools identified by Swanson are George Washington High School, Oceanview Middle School, Agueda I. Johnston Middle School, Inarajan Middle School, Ordot-Chalan Pago Elementary School, D.L. Perez Elementary School and Tamuning Elementary School.
“That will leave (an) approximate balance of about $7 million for contingencies. If we don’t run into additional charges on these projects, we will likely add another school,” Swanson said.
“The range of estimates, building by building, is from $6 million to $20 million depending on the campus. High school campuses obviously are the most expensive,” Swanson added.
Reallocation changes for the projects have been submitted to the U.S. Department of Education.
-- Jolene Toves State committee recommends 163 schools for security upgrade grants-- New Hampshire Bulletin New Hampshire: December 18, 2023 [ abstract] A state committee has recommended that 163 public schools receive nearly $10 million in security upgrade grants, in the latest round of Funding to harden schools against school shooters and other threats.
The Security Action for Education (SAFE) program is a 2022 initiative that distributes state and federal Funding to school districts to help improve security measures, such as surveillance and door-locking mechanisms.
On Dec. 6, the Public School Infrastructure Commission recommended the grants to the 163 schools. That list is not final; it will need to be approved by the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee and the Executive Council.
The program is in its third round: In its first two rounds, the state distributed $3.9 million and $10 million, respectively.
This time, the state received 630 applications totaling $21 million and approved 262, with some schools receiving multiple grants.
Of the approved grants, 85 will go to projects to improve surveillance, 62 to emergency alert upgrades, and 115 to access control projects, which allow schools to fortify entrances and improve door locks.
-- Ethan Dewitt Community schoolyard opens at Bregy School-- The Philadelphia Tribune Pennsylvania: December 12, 2023 [ abstract] The F. Amedee Bregy School in South Philadelphia has a new community schoolyard.
The schoolyard, which was in partnership with Trust for Public Land (TPL), the School District of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Water Department and other local and national funders, was revealed last month.
“Our partnerships bringing green infrastructure improvements to local schools are always some of the most rewarding projects,” said Randy E. Hayman, Philadelphia Water Department Commissioner, in a statement.
“In addition to protecting our waterways and making improvements at Bregy, we are connecting with classroom teachers and students throughout the District with our Fairmount Water Works’ watershed curriculum, exponentially increasing the positive impact of our investments,” he said.
Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon and School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington Sr. celebrated the new schoolyard with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Scanlon delivered $425,000 in federal Funding for the project.
“Our children and families deserve safe spaces to play and gather within our communities,” Scanlon said.
-- Chanel Hill SBA Awards Money For School Construction, Renovation-- WV Public Broadcasting West Virginia: December 11, 2023 [ abstract] The West Virginia School Building Authority announced Monday $111,687,534 is headed to 19 counties for Fiscal Year 2024. This is the largest single year award from the SBA in more than a decade.
The money will be used to construct 10 new schools and perform major renovations on 13 existing schools.
“I am truly proud to vote for this historic investment in our schools, because it represents our unwavering commitment to providing West Virginia students with the best possible learning environment,” Gov. Jim Justice, as chairman of the SBA, said. “This Funding doubles down on our belief that every student deserves access to a high-quality education. These new and upgraded facilities will ensure our students have the resources and technology needed to succeed in the classroom and beyond.”
The biggest single award goes to Wyoming County for construction of the new Mullens PK-8 school. The school system will receive $15.7 million.
Six of the counties are receiving money for new school construction.
Berkeley County is receiving $8.3 million, but that is one of three annual payments for a total of $25 million for the construction of a primary and intermediate school.
-- Eric Douglas Schools press state lawmakers for more construction, renovation funds-- Potomac Local News Virginia: December 08, 2023 [ abstract] Stafford County Public Schools: “The Stafford County School Board hosted its second annual Legislative Summit on Tuesday, December 5, at Stafford High School. Attendees included Senator McPike, current Delegate and Senator-Elect Durant, and Delegates-Elect Cole and Milde. During the event, legislators were provided with information regarding the School System’s current legislative priorities and proposed bills aimed to support the burgeoning school system.”
“The Superintendent and School Board provided tangible ways to improve student outcomes, urging legislators to provide Stafford County with increased Funding necessary to support high expectations for student performance, provide a safe, positive learning environment, and provide better conditions to recruit, retain and develop staff. Additional discussion focused on the need for a reduction in the burden of unfunded mandates and inefficient government practices.”
-- Uriah Kiser The DOE Is Giving Up $465M In School Construction Funds. What Happened?-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: December 06, 2023 [ abstract] The state Department of Education plans to surrender $465 million that lawmakers had earmarked for school construction projects across the state, a move that will delay and possibly jeopardize Funding for new classrooms, play courts and athletic facilities.
That decision may make more money available for other state initiatives such as affordable housing or the Maui wildfire recovery, but that would come at a cost to Hawaii’s public educational system.
The move by the DOE to lapse so many capital improvement projects has upset state lawmakers who lobbied hard to secure state Funding for school projects for their districts, only to learn that Funding is about to slip away because the projects did not move forward in time.
“I don’t understand why this is happening,” said House Speaker Scott Saiki. “This is a big problem. If anything, DOE should come to the Legislature and say, ‘We can’t handle all of these projects for the following reasons,’ and just be honest about it.”
The House Finance and Education committees have scheduled a public briefing at 2 p.m. Thursday to question top officials in the DOE and the Department of Budget and Finance about plans to lapse Funding for the DOE projects.
-- Kevin Dayton Did new school facilities funding lower property taxes? It depends-- IDnews.org Idaho: December 04, 2023 [ abstract] Idaho school districts are reaping the benefits of a new state fund that helps them pay down bonds and levies, and many property taxpayers are seeing decreases in their bills.
Earlier this year, Idaho lawmakers adopted a sweeping property tax relief package, House Bill 292. The legislation provided tax credits to homeowners and created a new fund for public school facilities.
Districts are getting around $106 million from the fund, with most of the money going toward bonds, according to a model analysis by the Legislative Services Office. The numbers will be finalized in the coming weeks.
Many property taxpayers have already seen the savings on their bills, which started going out last month. Median-value homeowners in the West Ada School District, for example, had more than $100 come off their property tax bills.
But the relief will look different across the state, depending on a particular school district’s financial situation. For instance, taxpayers in eastern Idaho’s Marsh Valley School District will be paying roughly the same as before, after voters approved a supplemental levy in August.
Lawmakers are closely watching how districts use the money, to ensure it’s fulfilling its intended purpose: lowering property taxes.
-- Ryan Suppe New Jersey lawmakers edge closer to school construction fix-- New Jersey Monitor New Jersey: December 04, 2023 [ abstract] Changes to how the state constructs new schools edged closer to reality Monday after Assembly lawmakers approved a bill with amendments that would shed direct Funding for charter and renaissance school development in favor of a loan program.
The bill, sponsored by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex), would retool the long-troubled Schools Development Authority, requiring authority-funded projects in certain districts to meet model specifications while offering loans to fund remediation to charter and renaissance school facilities.
“We think that this is the best version of this bill that we’ve seen since discussion on the bill first started in the Assembly Education Committee a year ago, nearly to the day,” Jessie Young, legislative advocate for the New Jersey School Boards Association told the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
During a hearing held last December, public school advocates worried that allowing charter and renaissance schools to receive Schools Development Authority Funding through grants could leave public dollars in private hands if such a school closed. They noted that few charters own their buildings, and such closures are not uncommon.
The Schools Development Authority is responsible for capital improvements — including modernizations, renovations, and new construction — in 31 court-identified districts, which are typically low-income school districts, and funds similar work in other school districts, albeit at lower amounts.
Lawmakers have sought to retool the agency amid growing dilapidation in a broad portfolio of aging school buildings.
-- NIKITA BIRYUKOV PA Schools Could Soon be Powered by Sun as Solar Bill Advances to Senate-- bctv.org Pennsylvania: December 04, 2023 [ abstract] Bipartisan legislation that proposes the installation of solar panels in schools across Pennsylvania awaits a vote in the state Senate.
The Solar for Schools bill aims to combat climate change and invest in education. Fewer than 2% of Pennsylvania’s nearly 7,000 schools are powered by solar energy.
Mick Iskric is superintendent of Steelton-Highspire School District, which has a 42-acre urban school campus that serves more than 1,300 students from low-income families. He explained that, after partnering with McClure Company to install solar panels, the district now sees a monthly credit on its electric bill.
Iskric is convinced the legislation would be a game-changer for school districts in the Commonwealth.
“And then ultimately, all that savings, what we’re trying to do is get more Funding to offset our expenses and get more programming for students,” Iskric said. “So, the more money I save, the more support I can get directly into the classroom.”
According to Iskric, the district has achieved 100% reliance on solar power for its electricity and will save an estimated $1.6 million over the next 20 years.
-- Danielle Smith SC schools receiving $20M to upgrade safety, with more money requested for next year-- WCSC5 South Carolina: December 04, 2023 [ abstract] COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - Millions of dollars are headed to schools across South Carolina to bolster security and safety.
But it fell short of covering what districts reported they needed to ensure students and staff are safe, so the head of South Carolina’s school system wants to see more money put toward this focus next year.
Lawmakers allocated $20 million in the current state budget for school facility safety upgrades at the request of State Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver.
When the Department of Education opened up this pot of money for applications, it received nearly double that amount in requests from districts.
“While it might seem like a lot, really when you think about it at the state level and 77 school districts across the state, it dries out pretty quick,” South Carolina Department of Education Communications Director Derek Phillips said.
Last month, the State Board of Education approved a plan to distribute that money to more than 40 traditional school districts, along with several charter schools and the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Every district that applied for Funding received money, ranging from a few thousand dollars to $1 million, which is going to Marion County School District (Marion 10), Marlboro County School District, Laurens County School District 56, Darlington County School District, and Florence County School District 2.
“At the end of the day, the first priority is keeping our school staff and our students safe each and every day when they enter the school buildings,” Phillips said.
-- Mary Green Cost for fixing Duval school buildings could hit $3.9 billion, putting payment in question-- Jacksonville Florida Times-Union Florida: December 03, 2023 [ abstract]
The $1.9 billion slate of school repairs and construction that Duval County voters agreed in 2020 to help finance through a half-penny sales tax could end up costing $3.9 billion, school administrators now project.
The sticker shock is being compounded by a forecast that tax revenues earmarked to pay for the 15-year worklist could fall $1.4 billion short of the new final price.
Neither budget cuts nor tax hikes have been ordered to bridge the gap, and it’s not certain the new counts will be entirely accurate either.
But the twin forecasts underscore the administrative headaches the school system is facing trying to deliver all 180 separate projects, including building 28 new schools, in the school district’s master facility plan.
“We’re going to have to make some decisions in terms of Funding” for the work, Erika Harding, the district’s assistant superintendent for operations, told School Board members in a workshop last month. “And some of the projects are going to require some cutbacks.”
While it’s not clear how the board will respond, the forecasts will be “what’s driving future decisions and conversations,” School Board member Lori Hershey said after the board took up the subject recently.
-- Steve Patterson Plaskett: Territory to get $464 million to rebuild storm-damaged schools-- Virgin Islands Daily News U.S. Virgin Islands: December 03, 2023 [ abstract] The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded the V.I. Education Department two grants totalling $464 million to demolish and replace Claude O. Markoe Elementary School on St. Croix and Addelita Cancryn Junior High School on St. Thomas, according to a recent news release from the office of V.I. Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett.
The release said $140 million will be set aside for the Markoe project, and $324 million for the Cancryn rebuild. Both schools were damaged extensively during the 2017 hurricanes.
“These awards are for the prudent replacement standard which will be integral for improving our preparedness and resiliency against natural disasters. As with much of the Funding released to our territory for the territory’s rebuild, I and my team worked diligently to change the provisions of the Stafford Act which is used for rebuilding after U.S. disasters,” Plaskett said in the release. “My office made the convincing argument that the level of disaster in the Virgin Islands was exacerbated by the lack of federal Funding investment in our critical infrastructure prior to the storms, which made the effect of the hurricanes more profound.”
-- Staff Writer Eastwood to address aging facilities; enters state funding program-- Sentinel-Tribune Ohio: November 29, 2023 [ abstract] PEMBERVILLE – Eastwood Local Schools has started to address the future of its middle school and high school.
At its Nov. 20 meeting, the board of education approved a resolution of intent to participate in the Expedited Local Partnership Program with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.
Superintendent Brent Welker said the district was starting a fact-finding process to fully understand the scope and costs associated with new construction or renovation of the two schools.
“So we will be ready if our number is called,” he said Monday.
He said the district sent a letter of interest to OFCC in 2021, but at that time was far down the list for Funding. The district was bumped up in the last couple months due to completion of the elementary school portion of its master facilities plan.
Functionality and maintenance have become issues at both the middle and high schools, Welker said.
The high school was built in 1960 and added onto in 2000.
“We’ve kept it in pretty good shape,” he said. But finding replacement parts for the mechanical systems “is a big deal.”
The middle school was built in 1970.
There has been some interest in getting the middle school and high school under one roof but providing a 21st-century learning environment is a priority, Welker said.
-- Marie Thomas School districts work to meet requirements of Clean Buildings Act-- King 5 Washington: November 17, 2023 [ abstract]
PUYALLUP, Wash. — The Puyallup School District is one of many school districts across the state preparing to meet the requirements of the Washington state's Clean Buildings Act.
The district said the requirements accelerate the need for work already being pursued, but there are some challenges in regards to Funding. The district is hopeful voters will support its efforts.
Meanwhile, the Washington State Department of Commerce is offering one-on-one assistance and other resources to try to help building operators meet the requirements passed by legislators.
The Clean Buildings Act passed in 2019 and expanded in 2022. It is meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the state's largest buildings. The original legislation applies to buildings over 50,000 square feet, and requires them to evaluate energy use in the building, keep maintenance and operations plans, and make adjustments to buildings to reduce energy use if they are over target amounts. The expanded legislation applies to buildings between 20,000 and 50,000 square feet, and for now only requires benchmarking and maintenance and operations planning. There are some exemptions, including for manufacturing, agriculture and industrial buildings. In many cases, incentives, and financing help are available.
-- Erica Zucco Reed Delivers $877K for RIDE School Modernization Plans-- Warwick Post Rhode Island: November 16, 2023 [ abstract] WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jack Reed today announced a new $876,792 federal grant for the Rhode Island Department of Education – RIDE school modernization , preventing environmental health risks, improving maintenance, and planning long-term, under the Supporting America’s School Infrastructure Grant Program.
With this Funding, RIDE’s School Building Authority would increase necessary supports to assist local education agencies (LEAs) with improving building conditions and educational environments for students and teachers. Additional staff would coordinate energy efficiency and air quality audits, while aiding districts with procurement, technical assistance, and professional development.
Senator Reed helped the U.S. Department of Education recently launch the Supporting America’s School Infrastructure Grant Program to enhance the ability of state departments of education to address school facilities matters.
-- Rob Borkowski Gov. Murphy announces nearly $50 million in preschool funding for expansion, renovation-- News12 New Jersey New Jersey: November 10, 2023 [ abstract] Gov. Phil Murphy promises $51.9 million of federal money for New Jersey preschools.
The Murphy Administration said the money is going to 23 school districts to support 30 projects that will enable the creation, expansion and renovation of preschool facilities statewide. This is money that goes back to the American Rescue Plan that was passed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Murphy made the announcement Thursday while appearing at the teachers' union convention. In a statement, Murphy said the Funding will enable more districts to expand their capacity to offer full-day preschool programming to more students.
“Equitable access to early childhood education across the board is key to ensuring the long-term success of our children and our state as a whole. My administration will continue to work toward bringing free, full-day pre-K to every district throughout New Jersey,” Murphy said in statement.
-- Lanette Espy 3 things to know after Grand Rapids Public Schools’ $305M bond victory-- mlive.com Michigan: November 08, 2023 [ abstract]
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Families with kids in Grand Rapids Public Schools will find out next week what schools could close or be renovated during a special meeting, following overwhelming support for the district’s $305 million bond on Tuesday.
The bond plan aims to improve facilities and provide a better learning environment for students. GRPS is moving into the next phase of its ongoing campus restructuring plan. Funding from the bond will support an effort to consolidate and reorganize resources to “right-size” the district for a smaller student body.
Superintendent Leadriane Roby said the election results signaled a major vote of confidence from GRPS families, as the district works to serve its children in more effective, efficient and equitable ways and ensure students have the best educational experience.
The bond passed with 16,440 yes votes (74%) to 5,720 no votes (25%), according to unofficial election results from the Kent County Clerk’s Office.
-- Melissa Frick FEMA grants $53M to build temporary West Maui school-- Star Advertiser Hawaii: November 06, 2023 [ abstract] The Federal Emergency Management Agency has allocated $53 million in Funding to build a temporary school in West Maui, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz said today.
The temporary school in Pulelehua will replace King Kamehameha III Elementary School, which was located at 611 Front St. and destroyed by the Aug. 8 wildfires. It is expected to provide students and staff from the school with additional facilities to continue instruction as a permanent structure is designed and rebuilt, officials said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers separately announced today that it has awarded a $53.7 million base contract to Pono Aina Management, LLC, a Waianae-based Native Hawaiian company, to build the temporary school.
“The children of Lahaina have gone through a heartbreaking trauma, and the Corps of Engineers, the Department of Defense and our partners can now help the state bring back a bit of normalcy to these young lives,” Col. Jess Curry, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Recovery Field Office commander, said in a news release. “This school may be temporary but will stand as a reminder that despite the grief and loss, Lahaina’s children will have a space to continue to learn, to dream and to thrive. We are proud to be here for them in this moment.”
-- Staff Writer Should schools have more security? Voters in 5 N.J. districts asked to approve upgrades.-- nj.com New Jersey: November 06, 2023 [ abstract] Voters in five New Jersey school districts are being asked to approve more Funding for school security when they vote this Election Day.
The fiver security-related referendums are among more than 30 school district ballot questions that will be decided by local voters Tuesday. They include questions about approving school construction projects, hiring additional teachers, reducing the number of seats on school boards, and more.
The five school construction projects on the ballots total $57.15 million for school renovations and other upgrades in Millburn, Woodbury, Princeton, South River and Lakehurst, according to the New Jersey Schools Boards Association. If the projects are approved by voters, the total cost of the construction projects will be partially offset by $20.6 million in state aid.
Separately, the five security-related referendums add up to just over $4 million and appear to reflect a trend. Voters are being asked to approve the Funding as school districts in New Jersey and elsewhere continue to wrestle with safety considerations after high-profile school violence incidents — including the mass shooting that killed 21 people last year at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
-- Rob Jennings Advocates demanded $1.25 billion to make NYC schools more accessible. They got $800 million-- Chalkbeat.org New York: November 01, 2023 [ abstract] New York City plans to spend $800 million over the next five years to boost school building accessibility for people with physical disabilities, officials revealed Wednesday. That figure is far short of what advocates had demanded.
Fewer than 1 in 3 of the city’s public schools are fully accessible to students and staff with mobility impairments, according to a recent report from the group Advocates for Children. The organization previously called on the city to dramatically ramp up spending to $1.25 billion to ensure that at least half of buildings would become fully accessible over the term of the new capital plan, which runs from 2025 through 2029.
With many budget concerns on the horizon — including the expiration of billions of dollars in federal relief money and additional cuts to city agencies ordered by Mayor Eric Adams — accessibility Funding hewed closely to current levels.
The capital plan will increase Funding for accessibility from $750 million under the current five-year plan, which runs from 2020 through 2024, to $800 million in the new one, according to documents released Wednesday. Advocates contend that is not enough to keep the current pace because of inflation and rising construction costs.
“Given the decades of inadequate attention that preceded this investment, nearly two-thirds of City schools will still not be fully accessible by the time the construction funded by the current Capital Plan is complete,” Kim Sweet, executive director of Advocates for Children, said in a statement. “It is not acceptable to postpone compliance with [the federal Americans with Disabilities Act] for yet another generation.”
-- Alex Zimmerman Maryland Supreme Court declines to hear decades-old lawsuit over funding for City Schools-- WBAL TV11 Maryland: October 27, 2023 [ abstract]
BALTIMORE —
The Maryland Supreme Court declined to hear an almost 30-year-old lawsuit about Funding for Baltimore City Public School.
But the court case is far from over.
The lawsuit, first filed in 1994, involved a case named after parents of Baltimore students, who, at the time, argued that the district wasn't receiving the amount of Funding necessary to provide a "thorough and efficient" education for public school students as Article 8 in the state constitution requires.
For years, Maryland judges agreed with the parents, forcing the state to increase the amount of Funding for City Schools.
But after the recession in 2008, the increased Funding tailed off, and the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People took the Maryland State Board of Education back to court in 2019 with hundreds of millions of dollars in Funding on the line.
More recently, courts have ruled in favor of the state and against any additional Funding for City Schools.
The case reached the Maryland Supreme Court, which, on Tuesday, declined to take up the lawsuit. The case will now go to the appellate court.
Arielle Humphries, assistant counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, spoke with 11 News Investigates on Thursday, calling the decision to decline the petition a disappointment.
-- Tolly Taylor Seattle school board approves adding $5M to $79.8M school construction project-- The Center Square Washington: October 27, 2023 [ abstract] (The Center Square) – The Seattle School Board unanimously approved $5 million to increase the Montlake Elementary School modernization project’s budget to a total of $84.9 million.
East Seattle’s Montlake Elementary School modernization project is funded through the Building Excellence V (BEX V) Capital Levy. The levy rate for 2023 is set at 68 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for 2023 and is expected to generate $1.4 billion from 2020 through 2025.
Half of the $5 million in one-time additional Funding comes from the BEX V Capital Levy. The other half comes from the Buildings, Technology, and Academics/Athletics Capital Levy, which has a rate of 47 cents per $1,000 in assessed value.
-- Spencer Pauley Collins, Brown Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Expand Farm to School Program-- Senator Susan Collins National: October 25, 2023 [ abstract] Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the Farm to School Act. This bill aims to get more fresh, locally grown foods in schools across the nation by expanding the Farm to School Program for school-aged children through increased investment.
“The Farm to School Program plays an important role in providing nutritious food to students in Maine while supporting family farms in the community,” said Senator Collins. “This bipartisan bill would ensure that schools and non-profits in Maine and across the country continue to receive Funding to purchase local food for student lunches and implement innovative agriculture and wellness lessons.”
“Ohio farmers grow some of the best produce in the country and farm to school programs help connect students with those fresh foods,” said Senator Brown. “This legislation will increase locally grown foods in our school lunchrooms while strengthening farms and rural communities in Ohio and across the country.”
-- Staff Writer State funds projects in Lewis, Thurston counties to provide outdoor learning opportunities for children-- The Chronicle Washington: October 25, 2023 [ abstract] The state of Washington will fund $3.7 million in projects across the state in the coming years to provide students with additional outdoor learning opportunities.
The grant Funding, administered by the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) in partnership with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), includes several projects in Lewis and Thurston counties.
“With these funds, community-based organizations will partner with school districts to take learning outside for more than 40,000 Washington students,” state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal said in a Tuesday news release. “These programs provide students with opportunities to learn in meaningful and engaging ways where they can understand the unique context of their community. I’m grateful for the Legislature’s investment in this area and for our partnership with the Recreation and Conservation Office.”
The grant program was passed by the Legislature during the 2022 session to support public school students in kindergarten through 12th grade. In total, the RCO and OSPI received 111 applications requesting $15.3 million. Grant Funding was awarded to 27 recipients in 22 counties.
Here’s a breakdown of the projects in Lewis and Thurston counties that will receive Funding through the program:
-- Staff Writer Roanoke school renovations total $95 million across six projects-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: October 24, 2023 [ abstract] Renovations at two Roanoke schools are wrapping up, as $95 million worth of school construction continues across the city.
James Breckinridge Middle School used $6 million from coronavirus recovery funds for new band, orchestra and chorus chambers, which students now occupy, according to school board documents.
Federal relief money paid for most of the total $8.5 million renovation project, said Chris Perkins, chief operations officer for Roanoke City Public Schools.
“These are large projects that have only been available due to one-time Funding sources,” Perkins said during a school board workshop Tuesday night.
Morningside Elementary School is opening a new classroom wing, playground and parking on Nov. 2. That project cost $5.6 million, mostly using city debt service funds.
“Morningside is about the size of a postage stamp,” Perkins said. “But we were able to do a lot with a very small space.”
Looking toward 2024, Charles W. Day Technical Education Center will open Jan. 15, in time for the third nine-week grading period of the school year.
-- Luke Weir Ensuring safe and adequate schools for children is an investment in Nevada's future-- The Nevada Independent Nevada: October 23, 2023 [ abstract] Nevada is at a crossroads, and the topic of aging school infrastructure couldn't be more pertinent. We find ourselves discussing this issue daily from our workplaces and at education advocacy events. We discussed it during the 2023 legislative session.
Across our state, schools are either in dire need of immediate replacement or are on the brink of requiring such action. The urgency is palpable, especially in our urban districts such as Clark and Washoe counties, where some of our newer schools, which are less than 20 years old, are bursting at the seams.
We often talk about chronic absenteeism and teacher retention as crucial factors affecting our education system. However, it's rare to hear these issues tied directly to the conditions we force our children to learn in and our educators to teach in. Yet having a safe and healthy environment is not just important; it's fundamental to the success of our entire school system.
To understand the gravity of this problem, it's essential to recognize the limitations of the Nevada State Education Fund, also known as the Pupil Centered Funding Plan. This fund, unfortunately, does not cover capital projects. Instead, local school districts are required to raise money through capital bonds to finance major building maintenance and new facilities.
The sad reality is that some of our school districts and counties lack the population or tax base to afford such endeavors, as highlighted in a recent article by The Nevada Independent highlighting the challenges in White Pine County.
-- Felicia Ortiz - Opinion School Building Authority continues discussion about changing what can be spent on building schools-- WV Metro News West Virginia: October 23, 2023 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia School Building Authority continues to work behind the scenes on a possible change in the way school construction projects are funded.
The SBA’s Construction Committee met recently to continue discussions on possibly recommending a change in the current square footage allowance for projects.
The agency’s square footage allowance for building schools has been around $307 per square foot since 2019 but the actual cost to build schools these days is significantly more expensive after covid and inflation.
SBA Executive Director Andy Neptune said the agency is trying to determine a more realistic cost.
“We’re trying to find a comparable number that we’ll be able to work with because we’re faced with the fact that supplemental Funding is coming back to us,” Neptune said.
The SBA has had to add money to a number of projects in recent months because the original amount of money awarded wasn’t enough because of increasing costs due to inflation and other factors. The SBA has almost handed out enough in supplemental Funding to build another school, according to Neptune.
-- Jeff Jenkins Greenwich Board of Education OKs $118.6M capital budget including Central Middle, Old Greenwich schools-- CT Insider Connecticut: October 22, 2023 [ abstract] GREENWICH — After two board retreats and some revisions, the Board of Education has approved a fiscal year 2025-26 capital budget that is nearly $118.6 million.
The $118,590,000 budget includes funds allocated for projects including making schools Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, improving Greenwich High School’s cellular service and more.
The budget, presented at the board's Thursday night business meeting, also includes money for three projects the BOE approved interim Funding for — the new Central Middle School building, the Old Greenwich School renovation and replacing Hamilton Avenue School’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. At the Oct. 5 board retreat, some board members decided to keep the projects in the capital budget in case they do not end up getting funded by other town boards.
Blaize Levitan, the district's chief operating officer, said that the $2.2 million in the capital budget for Hamilton Avenue's HVAC system is $1 million less than what the board approved as interim Funding.
-- Jessica Simms N.J. doesn’t have long-term plans to fund school construction in Newark. Who will pay for it?-- Chalkbeat Newark New Jersey: October 20, 2023 [ abstract]
During the first week of school, temperatures soared into the 90s causing sweltering heat in some of Newark’s oldest buildings with no air conditioners and faulty water fountains.
Parents packed frozen water bottles for their children to cool off during the day while others wondered why some classrooms in New Jersey’s largest school system were unprepared to deal with high temperatures.
“No air conditioner in these schools is crazy,” wrote Jacquetta Thomas last month in a Facebook group after her grandson stained his polo shirt with blood due to a nosebleed caused by the heat. A handful of parents responded to Thomas’ post with their own concerns about hot classrooms and deteriorating conditions in city schools.
But this wasn’t the first time that Newark students dealt with uncomfortable conditions in city classrooms.
Newark’s public school buildings are among the oldest in the state, and Superintendent Roger León estimated last month that it would take more than $2 billion to fully repair and update them. The state is responsible for Funding school construction projects in high-poverty districts like Newark, but a judge in a long-standing legal case said the state has not created a long-term financing plan to support the work.
-- Jessie Gomez Construction of new Buckingham Elementary School paused due to lack of state funding-- WMDT.com Maryland: October 17, 2023 [ abstract] SNOW HILL, Md. – Due to the lack of state Funding for design plans, the Worcester County Commissioners voted on Tuesday to pause construction of the new Buckingham Elementary School.
Worcester County Government staff members completed an internal review of the Capital Improvement Plan and discovered an irregularity. It was then that they contacted school Board of Education officials, who confirmed that they had known since February 2023 that the state would not allocate any funds for the design or construction of the new school.
“The commissioners understand the concerns of parents and the community and remain committed to the BES project,” Commissioner President Chip Bertino said. “Before moving the project forward, however, it is incumbent upon the BOE to take the necessary steps to determine a path forward.
Bertino added that the commissions were not aware that no state Funding was available, even as plans continued moving forward.
-- Sarah Ash Rural Vermont schools fund school renovation projects-- WCAX Vermont: October 17, 2023 [ abstract] FRANKLIN, Vt. (WCAX) - Many Vermont school buildings are outdated and in need of upgrades. The state stopped Funding construction projects in 2007, so schools are left to figure out different ways to get their buildings up to snuff.
The Franklin Central School is home to 146 students in rural northwestern Vermont, and district leaders say it’s been a tight squeeze since the day the doors opened.
“They are all tucked right in there tightly, and there is no space for preschool. They share that room with music class,” Missisquoi Valley Supervisory Union Superintendent Julie Regimbal said.
The building was constructed in 1992 when the largest influx was 24 preschool students per year. The district is using $4.1 million of its $7.9 million federal pandemic funds to upgrade the building. They’re adding 6,000 square feet of new space and renovating an additional 2,000. The goal is to meet the basic needs of students who could benefit from some legroom, especially after the pandemic.
“This will allow for a dedicated preschool service classroom. We wanted more options for OT, PT and psychological services, but having preschool have its own dedicated space supports our youngest, more vulnerable students,” said Regimbal.
She says adding space for psychological services will be especially helpful for kids who are struggling, noting oftentimes students receive support in one room separated by dividers. The project will be completed by next fall.
Meanwhile, in northeastern Vermont, leaders say the 30-year-old Coventry Village school is bursting at its seams, too. Sarah Bathalon, who sits on the local school board, says the school currently has 137 students but held 150 at its peak.
“We need more one-on-one spaces, individual speech rooms, and special ed rooms. The ways we’ve taught have changed from 30 years ago,” said Bathalon.
-- Melissa Cooney A New (and Cheaper) Approach to Lead-Free Drinking Water in Schools-- Education Week National: October 16, 2023 [ abstract] States for years have required schools to test for lead in drinking water, even as administrators say the undertaking can be expensive, time-consuming, and stressful.
Now, Michigan is poised to lead the nation in adopting a new approach that experts believe will help schools address lead in water more quickly, effectively, and cheaply.
Both chambers of the Michigan legislature have passed “Filter First” bills that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign into law this week after allocating Funding for the program two years ago. The new laws will require schools and child care facilities to identify water fountains and sinks that are most heavily used, proactively install lead-eliminating filters at those locations, and then conduct tests to ensure the filters are working correctly.
This approach represents a major shift from most existing state laws regarding lead in school drinking water, which can be toxic and cause cancer and developmental challenges in children.
The federal government doesn’t require schools to test for lead, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency only requires that public water systems take action to address lead contamination when they find lead levels of 15 parts per billion or more.
But the American Academy of Pediatrics asserts that no level of lead in drinking water is safe to consume, particularly for children. And many states have set lower levels of lead at which they require action to remove the chemical element.
The focus on drinking water in schools is part of a larger nationwide effort to replace lead pipes, with help from the federal government. High-profile contamination in places like Flint, Mich., and Jackson, Miss., have drawn national attention to the problem in recent years.
-- Mark Lieberman State to fund Southington school project defeated at referendum-- My Record Journal Connecticut: October 12, 2023 [ abstract] Nearly a year after voters rejected a $17 million upgrade to sports facilities at Southington High School, the state has committed partial Funding for athletic field reconstruction, allocating $500,000 that will be matched by $206,663 in town funds.
Cheshire, meanwhile, received $500,000 to construct an outdoor “splash pad” on the west side of the Cheshire Community Pool, as well as upgrading a similar feature within the facility. The town is expected to contribute $364,303 for design and construction work.
The state money comes in the form of Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grants, and is specifically designated for “infrastructure improvements, such as road safety reconstruction projects, sewer and drainage upgrades, sidewalk and pedestrian safety enhancements, recreational facility upgrades, and other kinds of capital improvement projects,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a Sept. 29 statement announcing the Funding.
In total, the state will provide $24.5 million in STEAP grant Funding for 60 communities.
-- Peter Prohaska Howard's council and school board say they're not content with school construction funding process-- Yahoo News Maryland: October 11, 2023 [ abstract] Members of the Howard County Council and Board of Education expressed frustrations with recent changes in the county's school construction Funding priorities during a joint meeting Wednesday. Funding for construction and infrastructure projects is based on the facilities condition index, which serves as a ranking of Howard County public schools by building condition and has been especially prone to change in the last several months.
The council has been presented with three versions of the school system's capital budget request since May, which council member Liz Walsh said is a problem because it gives the impression that decisions have been made without reliable information and with no accountability to impacted community members.
"This, to me, is a farce," Walsh said. "There is no reliability, there is no accountability, there is no consistency across the numbers. The only thing that is consistent is that, year-by-year, the approved budget that comes here underinvests. ... We are never going to overcome any of this deficit by whatever device we choose if we do not actually follow through with what we put on these pieces of paper."
The Board of Education voted on Sept. 28 to fund renovations and additions for Oakland Mills and Dunloggin middle schools instead of previously scheduled full replacement buildings for those schools.
-- Thomas Goodwin Smith, Howard County Times Hawaii school board OK’s requests for bigger operating, facilities budgets-- Hawaii Tribune Herald Hawaii: October 06, 2023 [ abstract]
The state school board on Wednesday approved requests to the state Legislature for an additional $198.2 million for the Hawaii public schools’ operating budget and an added $273 million for capital improvement projects for next fiscal year.
State Department of Education officials who authored the requests said additional Funding for 2024-2025 is necessary to respond to myriad pressing issues — among them: catching up from last legislative session’s severe budget, covering inflation and collective-bargaining pay preventing and preparing for the possibility of an active implementing a new statewide strategic for the schools, and recovering from pandemic learning loss and the Maui wildfires.
Brian Hallett, assistant superintendent and chief financial officer in the DOE’s Office of Fiscal Services, said the gap between the operating budget the DOE was granted by the past Legislature and what the schools, students and teachers will need for next fiscal year is “extraordinary.”
“I don’t recall a budget so precariously positioned in terms of uncertainty following last year’s budget, with actually less funds and greater needs,” Hallett said during a presentation to the Finance and Infrastructure Committee of the state Board of Education.
-- ESME M. INFANTE MAP: How Much Voter Support Schools Need to Fix Their Buildings, by State-- Education Week National: October 06, 2023 [ abstract] Across the country, schools generally pay for major building upgrades by taking on debt through bonds that they pay back over a number of years. And in most of the United States, school districts need support merely from a simple majority of voters to pass those bonds.
But 10 states buck that trend, requiring more than a simple majority. School districts in those states have a steeper path to Funding large projects, whether the construction of new buildings or the replacement of an outdated HVAC system.
California requires 55 percent in favor; Missouri requires 57 percent; seven states require 60 percent; and one state—Idaho—requires support from a whopping two-thirds of voters. So even if a majority of voters in those states back school facilities bonds, it might not be enough.
Those 10 states collectively are home to 4,000 of the nation’s roughly 13,000 public school districts. They enroll 5 million students—roughly 10 percent of the nation’s total public K-12 enrollment.
-- Mark Lieberman Safer schools, new classrooms, pools: Lawrence Township’s plan of over $500 million takes shape-- Chalkbeat Indiana Indiana: October 05, 2023 [ abstract] An abundance of natural light flows through the art classrooms at Lawrence Central High School. Three floors above, students complete independent work in an open-space lounge.
And on another end of the building, crews work on the latest addition to the Lawrence Township high school: an indoor pool.
The renovations here are among the largest of the district’s massive facilities upgrade plan that has touched each of the district’s 17 school buildings. So far, it has pumped more than $500 million into new classrooms, new stadiums, bigger playgrounds, safety renovations, and more.
The district’s Blue Ribbon Facilities plan, which began in 2014, sought to upgrade buildings that are up to 55 years old by creating more classroom space to accommodate the district’s growing student population. The district has so far spent over $200 million on these upgrades. But in 2019, voters approved a $220 million ballot measure that turbocharged the district’s facility plans by Funding improvements at Lawrence Central, five other schools, and four early learning centers. The changes could be vital to ensuring students are engaged in school, a challenge in the post-pandemic era.
-- Amelia Pak-Harvey Schools officials ready to complete construction projects as soon as funding is in place-- The Register-Herald West Virginia: October 05, 2023 [ abstract] As soon as Funding becomes available, Wyoming County schools officials are ready to begin construction on several major projects – including a new school in Mullens, a multi-purpose facility for the Career and Technical Center, in addition to safety enhancements and other improvements at schools across the county.
All the projects are shovel-ready, with the exception of the new artificial turf football fields at both Westside and Wyoming County East high schools which have already been completed and are being used by students.
Total cost for all the proposed projects is nearly $34 million.
Funding sources will include a $20.1 million facilities bond sale approved by county voters in November, the West Virginia School Building Authority, local monies, among others.
Last year, the West Virginia School Building Authority halted Needs Grant awards as a result of soaring construction material costs and inflation.
-- Mary Catherine Brooks Middletown Public Schools sets goal of getting air conditioning into all facilities-- The Middletown Press Connecticut: September 28, 2023 [ abstract] MIDDLETOWN — The Board of Education hopes to receive Funding as part of their five-year capital improvement plan to start installing air conditioning systems in the older public schools.
Middletown was among districts statewide that dismissed students early during the heat wave earlier this month, when temperatures across the state swelled into the 90s.
Ninety percent of four of the city's 10 schools are air-conditioned, Director of Facilities Kevin Dion said, according to the Sept. 12 Board of Education meeting video. Older buildings, however, lack the duct work and capability necessary to install units quickly — or support a cooling system.
-- Cassandra Day Bibb County education board seeks state funding for Howard school renovations-- WGXA News Georgia: September 22, 2023 [ abstract] BIBB COUNTY, Ga. (WGXA) - The Bibb County Board of Education approved Funding at its meeting Thursday for renovations and upgrades at several District schools.
The Board voted to seek state capital funds for renovations at Howard Middle and Howard High Schools. The aging schools are part of the District's long-term facilities improvement plan. Additional Funding will come from a sales tax approved by voters in 2019.
Approval was also granted to revise capital Funding applications for completed renovations at Heritage Elementary, Ingram-Pye Elementary, and Lane Elementary. The changes reflect shifts in project scopes during the planning process.
Heritage's application was revised as roof, serving line, dishwasher, and HVAC upgrades were ultimately not completed. At Ingram-Pye, a similar shift occurred. At Lane Elementary, planned bus and car rider canopies were not finished.
-- JEFF COX New Worcester school construction projects detailed-- Ocean City Today Maryland: September 21, 2023 [ abstract] The Capital Improvement Program for the 2025 fiscal year was approved by the Worcester County Board of Education at their meeting Tuesday.
Facilities Planner Joe Price presented the program outline to the board, stating that every year they are required to submit a CIP to the State of Maryland Interagency Commission on School Construction. The six-year plan allows the commission to identify public school construction needs so they can move establish a reasonable schedule for Funding and implementation.
The program for the 2025 fiscal year included a summary of previously approved projects as well as requests for state construction Funding for ongoing projects, including Snow Hill Middle School/Cedar Chapel Special School roof replacement project, and design Funding for the Pocomoke Elementary School roof replacement project.
-- Remy Andersen Do K-12 Students Have a Right to Well-Funded School Buildings?-- Education Week National: September 19, 2023 [ abstract]
Nearly every state’s constitution includes a right to a free, basic education for all children. But what exactly do states owe every student?
That question is far from settled. Case in point: A school district in rural Washington state recently argued before the state’s highest court that a constitutional commitment to education includes adequate Funding from the state for school building improvements. The court didn’t quite agree.
This case might seem like a one-off local example of confusing technicalities in school finance. But it’s part of a longstanding and ongoing tradition of using the byzantine American judicial system to shape school Funding. And the verdict has implications that could reverberate well beyond Washington state.
The 400-student Wahkiakum school district on the state’s southwestern tip sued the state in 2021, arguing that it owes local school districts in low-wealth areas more financial support to keep their buildings safe and modern. But on Sept. 7, the Washington Supreme Court issued a unanimous verdict that sidestepped the district’s question. The court simply rejected the notion that the state bears sole responsibility for school facilities improvements.
The verdict was disappointing for Tom Ahearne, the lead lawyer representing the school district. He believes judges ignored the plaintiff’s argument that the state bears some responsibility for school facilities Funding, not necessarily all of it.
“What all nine of them agreed to do is not answer the question that was asked, answer a different question, and then let the legislature do something,” Ahearne told Education Week.
-- Mark Lieberman Lynn Officials Ask State For Help To Update 100-Year-Old School Buildings-- WBZ Massachusetts: September 19, 2023 [ abstract]
LYNN, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Officials in Lynn are asking the state for help to give its school buildings a long overdue update.
Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson and school officials urged members of the Joint Committee on Education on Monday to support bills that would overhaul the Funding model for the Massachusetts School Building Authority with the goal of getting major upgrades to school buildings.
The bills, called Acts Modernizing School Construction, are set to change the way schools are funded. The reforms would alter the state's school construction formula giving low-income students equitable access to modern buildings and double the money dedicated to school construction projects.
Lynn School Superintendent Evonne Alvarez said 41% of Lynn's school buildings are over a hundred years old. Another 26% of the buildings are between 71 and 100 years old.
"Those outdated infrastructures of our school buildings hinder the ability to provide 21st-century education," Alvarez said. "It sends a clear message to our students and community that equity is often mentioned but not taken seriously by a system that should be Funding equitable access to education."
She told the committee that the schools are in dire need of an upgrade as the decades-old buildings are negatively impacting students' education.
-- Staff Writer Lawmakers consider complexities in prioritizing school facilities funding-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: September 15, 2023 [ abstract] CHEYENNE — An inability to clearly defend which schools should be prioritized for state Funding has Wyoming lawmakers hesitant to forward the School Facilities Commission’s budget to the chamber floor.
The SFC has two remediation schedules. One is the condition schedule, which lists the physical quality scores of the buildings, and the other is the capacity schedule, which is related to the maximum number of students in a classroom.The condition schedule is reflected by both the facility condition score, which covers the individual components of the facility, and the facility index score, which scores the building as a whole.
Members of the Legislature’s Select Committee on School Facilities, during their meeting Thursday in Casper, expressed concern over not having a consistently prioritized list of school construction needs so that they could explain the budgeting process on the chamber floor. Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, explained that the FCI score failed to address the urgency levels of any specific issue within a school.
-- Hannah Shields Majority-Black school districts have far less money to invest in buildings " and students are feeling the impact-- CBS News National: September 14, 2023 [ abstract]
Cracked walls, mold, sewage backups, even the risk of electric shock. That's what students at Druid Hills High School outside Atlanta faced for years — and they wanted the world to see.
Chronic under-investment left school buildings and facilities there in disrepair. The problem got national attention after a video the students posted to social media went viral.
In the video, one student shows walls peeling from water damage. Another points to holes in the ceiling. One shows a sign warning students not to touch a metal pole in a classroom because of the risk of electrocution.
"This isn't really normal," said Harley Martz, a senior at Druid Hills who helped produce the video as a sophomore in 2022. "The bottom floor of our main building flooded … [students] had to relocate … and it was just very claustrophobic. I mean, those kids, I don't think they had class that week. I mean, it threw off just everyone's schedule."
As a new academic year begins, many students, like Martz, face barriers from the very walls of their school buildings, rather than their teachers or textbooks. A CBS News analysis of federal data found school districts with more Black students were able to invest far less money in buildings than majority-White districts — and often-unequal Funding practices by state governments can make the problem worse.
7 miles apart, a world of difference
Druid Hills High is part of DeKalb County Public Schools, a district where CBS News found one of the starkest examples of unequal school building investment. Between 2015 and 2020, the DeKalb County School District invested about $961 in its buildings for each student enrolled.
Jack Cole, now a senior at Druid Hills, said the impact of under-investment was clear to the students.
"It's like there's no drive to want to be there and learn if I don't want to be in school in the first place," said Cole.
But while their school building is crumbling, others nearby are new, modern and innovative.
-- CHRIS HACKER, AMY CORRAL, STEPHEN STOCK, JOSE SANC Dunwoody Springs Elementary School to undergo $9.3 million renovation project-- RoughDraft Atlanta Georgia: September 13, 2023 [ abstract] Fulton County Schools will use sales tax Funding for a $9.3 million renovation project at Dunwoody Springs Elementary School.
A total contract of $9.765 million, which includes $465,000 in a project contingency fund held by the school district, is on the Fulton County Board of Education’s consent agenda for its Sept. 21 meeting.
F. .H. Paschen, S.N. Nielsen & Associates LLC of Chicago, with regional offices in Atlanta and Savannah, will be awarded the contract when it is formally approved, according to the district’s Chief Operations Officer Noel Maloof.
The renovation will include new luxury vinyl tile flooring in the corridors and common areas, ceiling replacements, new fire sprinklers, lighting in the corridors and common areas. replacement of the emergency generator, HVAC modifications, and upgrades to portions of the existing building.
-- Bob Pepalis WA Supreme Court sides with state in suit over school building costs-- Seattle Times Washington: September 07, 2023 [ abstract] Out of options to fund repairs to its decaying buildings, a 400-student school district in one of Washington’s poorest counties launched a legal challenge against the state two years ago.
On Thursday, the Wahkiakum School District lost in a unanimous ruling from the Washington Supreme Court. Local taxpayers are still expected to share in the costs of maintaining and constructing school buildings, even if, like Wahkiakum, they haven’t approved a bond in 20-plus years.
But the debate over the state’s investment in school construction Funding costs will continue. While the opinion says the state isn’t required to cover 100% of basic school capital construction costs, it offers a legal path for school districts to challenge how much and where the state is currently chipping in.
“They’ve left the door open,” said Wahkiakum Superintendent Brent Freeman.
There is little reprieve for school districts that fail to pass a bond in Washington state, which are often the smallest and poorest. Without a bond, these districts are also locked out of qualifying for the state’s largest construction assistance program. Another state grant program, which is more flexible and is aimed at small school districts, hasn’t offered sufficient funds for substantive repairs. It was funded for about $100 million in the last legislative session.
-- Dahlia Bazzaz COLUMN: Is A/C the new ABC? As the country gets hotter, schools need upgrades-- The Hechinger Report National: September 06, 2023 [ abstract] Tempers get short. Test scores suffer. On the worst days, schools close, and students lose days of learning while parents’ schedules are disrupted.
Yorkwood Elementary in Baltimore, before it finally got air conditioning last year, was subject to closure by the district on any day the forecast hit 90 degrees by 10 a.m. And the number of those days has been rising over time.
“I remember one year we literally had seven [closure] days before we were able to have a full week of school because of the heat,” said Tonya Redd, the principal.
July 2023 was the world’s hottest month on record. And America’s schools weren’t built for this. According to a 2021 study by the Center for Climate Integrity, more than 13,700 public schools that did not need cooling systems in 1970 have installed — or will need to install — HVAC systems by 2025,based on the increasing number of very hot days during the school year. Total estimated cost: over $40 billion.
The good news is, there are many design and architectural innovations that can keep students, faculty and staff comfortable, while also creating healthier, greener and even more engaging places to learn. And there’s federal Funding to pay for it.
But, installing air conditioners without making other renovations, which is often the cheapest and most expedient option, raises a school’s fossil fuel consumption, ultimately making the problem of climate change worse.
Baltimore is an example of a district that’s had to rapidly upgrade for a changing climate. Six years ago, 75 out of its 140 school buildings, including Yorkwood Elementary, lacked air conditioning.
Now, that number is down to 11, according to Cyndi Smith, the district’s executive director for facilities planning, design and construction. “It has been a big challenge,” she said. “We have the oldest average-age buildings [of every district] in the state, going back to the late 1800s.”
-- ANYA KAMENETZ More Boston Public School buildings will start the year with air conditioning-- WBUR Massachusetts: September 05, 2023 [ abstract]
For the first time in its 146-year history, the Sumner Elementary School in Roslindale will begin the school year with air conditioning. The addition has already made a difference to teachers, many of whom are busy preparing and decorating their classrooms for Boston Public Schools' opening day on Thursday.
"In the past I would have to bring so much water because it would be so hot and humid without the air conditioner," said Meghan Welch, the school's principal.
The Sumner school building is one dozens of city buildings that BPS officials have been working to retrofit with window air conditioning units over the last two years, according to a back-to-school memo released last Wednesday.
The Sumner school building received classroom units in June. And as the first day of school nears, Welch is glad that students will be able to learn in a more comfortable setting, especially since temperatures in Boston can remain hot and sticky in early fall and can soar by late spring.
BPS is in the last stage of a $7 million effort boosted by COVID relief Funding to cool classrooms in some of its oldest buildings. The project is part of a larger plan called the Green New Deal for Boston Public Schools, aimed at improving the quality and sustainability of school facilities.
-- Carrie Jung District 91 clashes with tax commission over funding for new elementary school-- East Idaho News Idaho: September 01, 2023 [ abstract]
IDAHO FALLS — The path to building a new elementary school in Idaho Falls School District 91 has hit a major roadblock. It doesn’t appear the Idaho State Tax Commission is going to certify a voter-approved 10-year $3.3 million-per-year plant facilities levy.
Without certification, the school district cannot collect the $33 million in property taxes to build the elementary school. This is despite the measure winning a supermajority vote during May’s election.
At the heart of the issue is whether the school district can have multiple plant facility levies. The district says it can, and the state says it can’t.
As a result, the school district is taking the state to court.
Background on the issue
For the past several years, District 91 has been trying unsuccessfully to pass large general school bonds to fund renovation and build new schools to accommodate growth.
The latest large-scale attempt in November was a $250 million bond to build a new high school, two new elementary schools and do various renovations. It failed to receive the supermajority vote required to pass.
So, the district and its school board opted to take an unconventional approach. They asked voters for a plant facility levy for the construction of a single new elementary school through a lease-purchasing agreement. The vote for a plant facility levy only required a simple 55% percent majority to pass, as opposed to the 66.6% supermajority requirement for a general school bond.
-- Mary Boyle Polson schools build off positive momentum after voters approve bonds-- KPAX8 Montana: August 30, 2023 [ abstract]
POLSON - Students are back roaming the halls this week in Polson schools with classes officially back in session.
The school district is looking to build off momentum from last spring after passing two bonds at the elementary and high school levels.
“There’s a ton of energy and excitement to start the year for lots of reasons, and one of those factors is that we passed our bonds in the spring," said Polson High School Principal Andy Fors.
Polson voters backed their school district in a big way last spring approving two bonds, providing $40 million in Funding to drastically improve outdated school buildings.
“We feel the support of our community, and that’s a huge thing to know that we have people here that believe in what we’re doing and want to help us create a better environment for our students," Fors told MTN News "It goes a long ways to know that we have that community support."
-- Sean Wells Court ruling on Pa. education funding puts school infrastructure in spotlight-- Triblive.com Pennsylvania: August 27, 2023 [ abstract] As residents of Hempfield recently learned, the cost associated with school building projects can easily climb above $100 million.
For decades, school administrators could turn to what was known as PlanCon to pursue state Funding to help ease the local burden.
PlanCon — short for the Planning and Construction Workbook — was a set of forms and procedures school districts could use to apply for state reimbursement of large building projects.
That ground to a halt in 2012.
PlanCon has fallen by the wayside as a potential Funding source for new projects, but a recent state court decision has led to an upcoming series of fall hearings across the state, where school infrastructure once again will be a big part of the discussion.
When PlanCon was active, school districts underwent a lengthy process to enroll renovation and construction projects in the program in order to secure a percentage of reimbursement, but a backlog of projects waiting on those payments — estimated at more than $1 billion in the mid-2010s — ultimately led to a 2012 moratorium on new applications.
While partial state reimbursement for school construction projects has been happening in some form since the 1950s, PlanCon’s current form took shape in the 1970s, and the state has contributed more than $8 billion to the program since the late 1970s.
-- Patrick Varine Only 1 in 3 NYC schools are fully accessible to students with physical disabilities, report says-- Chalkbeat New York New York: August 23, 2023 [ abstract] Fewer than one in three New York City public schools are fully accessible to students with physical disabilities, according to a report released Wednesday by Advocates for Children that calls on the city to ramp up Funding for building upgrades.
With the city expected to release its initial five-year capital plan for schools in November, the group is pushing for $1.25 billion to more quickly address major gaps in building accessibility.
That Funding, which would run from 2025 through 2029, would allow roughly half of the city’s schools to be fully accessible according to the report, addressing a longstanding problem that has drawn criticism from parents and federal prosecutors officials alike. The City Council is slated to approve the capital plan in June, though it is typically amended twice a year thereafter.
Officials have made some strides in recent years, in part due to pressure from advocates who successfully lobbied the city to devote $750 million to the effort in the current capital plan, which runs from 2020 through 2024.
The city is on track to boost the share of fully accessible programs from about one in five schools to one in three under the current capital program, according to the Advocates for Children analysis. (The figures do not include certain alternative schools, prekindergarten programs, or charter schools. Nor do they include satellite campuses, as schools may have more than one location.)
-- Alex Zimmerman San Francisco Parents Are Increasingly Anxious About the Possibility of School Closures-- The San Francisco Standard California: August 23, 2023 [ abstract] San Francisco school officials may soon face up to a question that has long been taboo: Will the district close schools to keep the lights on?
The San Francisco Unified School District is poised to take the first step in that direction. Next Tuesday, administrators will ask the school board to approve a plan to develop criteria around potential school closures and mergers within a year, among other measures. The goal is to stabilize the cash-strapped district’s finances as it grapples with the end of pandemic-era aid.
The district said it has lost 4,000 students since the 2012-13 school year—with total enrollment now below 49,000—and anticipates losing another 4,600 by 2032 due to declining birth rates and other factors. As Funding is based on total enrollment and attendance, this is a grim prospect, as San Francisco Unified already expects to post a $37.6 million shortfall in the current school year.
“We are wrestling with many external factors that are beyond our control, such as declining enrollment, aging facilities, and staffing shortages,” Superintendent Matt Wayne said in a statement. “We have to change the way that we do business, which includes looking at our resources and aligning them with our student outcome goals.”
-- Ida Mojadad Local Officials Discuss Master Planning, Infrastructure, and School Maintenance in Meeting-- The Southern Maryland Chronicle Maryland: August 22, 2023 [ abstract] In a recent public meeting, various speakers discussed the development and master planning in their community, the differentiation between capital improvements and maintenance, collaboration between entities, and strategies to maximize Funding opportunities. This article aims to detail the key conversations from this meeting.
One speaker raised concerns about the lack of master planning within development districts, villages, and town centers. They stated: “We have done a very poor job about master planning.” The speaker suggested a more delineated approach, addressing roadways, water, and sewer. They acknowledged their limited success with small area master plans, expressing uncertainty about future developments.
Another speaker emphasized the relationships they have built and how they tackle planning by absorbing information and making the best plans possible. They mentioned working closely with George Erickson at MetCom and looking forward to a new relationship with Ms. Andre.
-- David M. Higgins II Mississippi's Education Facilities Revolving Loan Fund Invests Millions in School Infrastructure-- PR Newswire Mississippi: August 14, 2023 [ abstract] JACKSON, Miss., Aug. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Fund (EFRLF) is a new initiative passed by the Mississippi Legislature designed to support public education infrastructure. Specifically, the program makes funds available for school districts to pay down district debt, repair or renovate buildings, or build new Pre-Kindergarten or Career and Technical Education Centers across the state.
State leaders provided an initial allocation of $40 million to establish the EFRLF as an evergreen fund, meaning districts receiving these funds pay it back over ten equal annual installments at 0% interest. This money is in turn loaned out again each year providing a perpetual Funding source for schools.
Through this program, 61 local education agencies have been awarded financial support offered by the Revolving Loan Fund. In its inaugural year, funds have been awarded to a diverse range of districts across Mississippi, fostering an equitable approach to educational development. Examples of how the funds are being used include emergency road repairs, roof replacements, building new Pre-Kindergarten centers, and fixing bathrooms.
-- Staff Writer Escambia County schools undergo $22 million summer renovations, more upgrades planned-- Wear News 3 Florida: August 09, 2023 [ abstract]
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. -- The Escambia County School District has been making renovations to a number of its schools since the end of last school year.
With classes set to start back Thursday, maintenance crews were putting some eleventh hour finishing touches on various projects before the doors open.
The Escambia County School District director of facilities planning says these improvements were needed and there's more to come.
School officials tell WEAR News, renovations during summer break totaled about $22 million.
"We have a considerable amount of federal Funding that we're using to replace air conditioning and exterior envelopes -- windows specifically," Director of Facilities Planning Keith Wasdin said.
Wasdin says the money came from emergency relief funds designed for elementary and secondary schools. He says sales tax money is also being used to help fund the renovations.
-- Sha'de Ray WAPS' options for funding building maintenance-- Winona Post Minnesota: August 09, 2023 [ abstract] In 2021, Winona Area Public Schools’ (WAPS) architect identified about $63 million in deferred maintenance needs at local schools. The district’s $94 million referendum this April aimed to address some of that deferred maintenance, as well as remodel and upgrade facilities, but that referendum did not pass. While some citizens have expressed concern about the substantial amount of deferred maintenance the district has left unaddressed, others have argued that the district does not receive enough Funding to complete all deferred maintenance projects.
-- ALEXANDRA RETTER Four takeaways from City Council’s hearing on Philly’s crumbling school infrastructure-- WHYY Pennsylvania: August 03, 2023 [ abstract]
The School District of Philadelphia will begin developing a “master plan” to deal with its aging school facilities, something city officials have been asking for since at least March.
That’s what Superintendent Tony Watlington promised City Council’s Committee on Education during a Wednesday hearing exploring the option of creating an “independent school building authority.”
This “independent authority” would bond and oversee school buildings. It’s a pressing topic, as damaged asbestos caused several schools to close during the 2022-23 year.
It’s also a somewhat contentious idea. In May, Philadelphia Board of Education President Reginald Streater asserted that increasing Funding should be a priority, not creating a new entity.
Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, chair of the education committee, called for the hearings in April, citing the district’s apparent inability to handle its facility needs. If created, the independent authority would supervise building repairs and construction projects.
“The state of our school buildings is an emergency,” Thomas told Billy Penn. “The creation of an independent authority could help relieve the burden on the School District of maintaining facilities and in turn improve learning outcomes.”
-- Fallon Roth A look inside a $500 million in deferred maintenance repairs underway at Guilford County schools-- WFMY News 2 North Carolina: August 01, 2023 [ abstract]
GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — We've been talking about the nearly 2-billion-dollar bond and how it is paving the way to build new Guilford County Schools (GCS).
We even took a look inside at the new designs and what it takes to construct a brand-new school.
But what about the older schools left with problems needing to be fixed?
Bond money is also being used to make much-needed repairs.
Picture this: your home is 20-30 years old and at this point, it's time for needed repairs. You're going to need to replace the HVAC, and fix pipes, the roof, and windows, and the longer you wait, the more expensive it will be.
This is exactly what GCS is dealing with on a much bigger scale.
"As you can imagine a school district that has over 126 schools and 12 million square feet, it is very difficult to have that size of a Funding budget just for our operations and our capital," Deputy Superintendent of Business and Operations, Dr. Julius Monk said.
Without the right upkeep, it has created a lot of problems over the last few years.
-- Teyah Glenn, Hunter Funk Six new schools set to open in Prince George's County-- NBC Washington Maryland: July 31, 2023 [ abstract] Six new schools will open for the 2023-2024 school year in Prince George's County, Maryland.
The six schools include:
Drew-Freeman Middle School in Suitland
Hyattsville Middle School
Kenmoor Middle School in Landover
Sonia Sotomayor Middle School in Adelphi
Walker Mill Middle School in Capitol Heights
Colin L. Powell Academy in Fort Washington
In total, the schools created 8,000 new spots for students.
Funding to build the schools came from what's known as the Blueprint Schools Program, a public-private partnership used to accelerate new school construction in the county.
By partnering with the private sector, the county was able to build the schools in two-and-a-half years.
Each of the schools has science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) labs with 3D printers, etchers and robotics; a video production studio; smart boards in every classroom; voice amplification systems; parent resource rooms; state-of-the-art dance, choral, orchestra, drama and band rooms; state-of-the-art kitchens; art studios; multipurpose fields and more, school officials said.
-- Darcy Spencer and Gina Cook Virginia schools face critical deadline to utilize federal air purification funding-- WJLA.com Virginia: July 31, 2023 [ abstract] FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — Virginia public schools are facing a critical deadline Monday and are about to lose a ton of federal money.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced health officials to think differently -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) distributed $42 billion nationwide, including $62 million to Virginia as part of a HEPA Air Purifier Program, which entitles Virginia schools to air purification systems at no cost. However, only 61% of local schools have applied for cleaner air systems in classrooms. The federally funded program ends Monday at midnight.
7News spoke with the head of the National Parents Union about the lack of participation in this program by superintendents and local school districts.
-- John Gonzalez NH prioritizing ‘disadvantaged’ public schools in energy efficiency grant funding-- New Hampshire Bulletin New Hampshire: July 28, 2023 [ abstract] The state’s Department of Energy is giving economically disadvantaged public schools a better chance at accomplishing energy efficiency projects, as part of an effort to align itself with a federal directive from President Joe Biden.
A competitive matching grant program designed to advance projects in public and chartered public schools in small communities, the School Energy Efficiency Development Grant Program, known as SEED, was created with federal dollars in 2018. Since the program’s inception, four energy efficiency projects have been successfully completed in Hill, Lempster, New Boston, and Litchfield using $335,000 in grants. A fifth project in Berlin is underway.
The projects have resulted in a combined annual savings of more than $65,000, 335,945 kilowatt hours of electricity, and more than 5,200 gallons of heating fuel, according to the Department of Energy, which puts out a request for proposals annually. Schools can apply to use the Funding for insulation, lighting, weather sealing, appliances and equipment, retrofitting, and replacement of windows and doors.
Last year, the grant program changed its scoring criteria for the pool of federal energy efficiency money to tip the scale in the application process for less-advantaged schools, part of an effort to advance a federal environmental justice initiative by President Biden. A related public comment process in February explored how the department could improve grant accessibility and the application itself.
-- HADLEY BARNDOLLAR Virginia schools will get second chance to apply for construction grants-- Cardinal News Virginia: July 27, 2023 [ abstract] The Virginia Board of Education moved Thursday to open a second application period for School Construction Assistance Program Funding. About $85 million is still available for school divisions with plans for construction or renovation projects.
In May, the board approved 40 grants for projects in 28 school divisions. Those awards used about 80% of the $450 million allocated by the General Assembly in 2022 for the program.
The state received 119 applications for the grants this spring. Each was graded on a 100-point scale based on 11 criteria including building age and economic need.
Projects needed a minimum score of 65 to receive a grant for 10%, 20% or 30% of the project cost.
A second application period means schools that did not submit projects have another chance to do so. It also means that projects that didn’t meet the Funding threshold can reapply.
-- Lisa Rowan Cal Fire Grants To Fund Efforts To Protect School Campuses From Extreme Heat-- SFGate.com California: July 19, 2023 [ abstract] On days of extreme heat, schoolyards often turn from joyful sites of play to hazardous environments where asphalt particles fill the air and playgrounds overheat, giving children thermal burns.
With an understanding that extreme heat often disproportionately impacts California's children at school, Cal Fire is providing grants to convert pavement into green spaces, plant trees and other vegetation and create drought-tolerant natural areas on school campuses. It will also fund activities that help children connect with nature.
The first round of Funding, which includes $47 million in grants, will provide an implementation grant to a project in the San Francisco Unified School District and includes planning grants for schools in Contra Costa, Sonoma, Monterey, Santa Clara, and Alameda counties.
-- Staff Writer Brainerd schools anticipate $440k maintenance budget deficit by 2028-- Brainerd Dispatch Minnesota: July 17, 2023 [ abstract]
BRAINERD — As enrollment declines, Brainerd Public Schools will face a deficit of $444,000 in the 2028 long-term facility maintenance budget.
The school board approved the 10-year Long-Term Facility Maintenance expense and revenue plan at the July 10 meeting after a presentation from Marci Lord, business director.
The figures are based on student count, Lord said. If student count goes down, revenue goes down.
Brainerd Public Schools lost about 253 average daily membership during the 2021-22 school year, or the amount of students enrolled per day, which determines Funding for the district.
School Board member Kevin Boyles requested to see the exact number of students for further discussion at a future meeting.
“We’ll have to reprioritize, and look at projects, and reassess, and work with what we have,” Lord said.
-- Hannah Ward Illinois school coalition plans buildout of electric 'microgrids' with $15 million in grant funding-- WGLT.org Illinois: July 05, 2023 [ abstract] A new grant program from the U.S. Department of Energy is poised to send $178 million to American schools for energy efficiency and student health projects. One of the Funding recipients is a coalition of 20 Illinois school districts, led by a western Illinois district with just 300 students.
Williamsfield Schools Superintendent Tim Farquer says the long path to the Renew America's Schools grant started three years ago with just eight school districts. Those schools formed the “Bus to Grid” initiative.
“Just to try and help each other get Funding for electric buses, in particular,” said Farquer. “But in a way that supports the expansion of renewable energy.”
Over the years, Farquer and the coalition applied for a list of Funding opportunities to purchase electric buses and build charging infrastructure for schools around the state. Farquer says it's important to invest in preparing for a switch to electric, not just for environmental reasons, but also for the health of students who ride diesel buses every day.
“The numbers support the fact that we have more respiratory issues with kids and adults than we have in years past,” he said. “And emissions from diesel engines just have a tendency to agitate that.”
-- Collin Schopp Repair begins in 8 war-affected schools in Ukraine with EU funding-- Yahoo! Life International: July 05, 2023 [ abstract] The first construction work on schools damaged during the war started in Ukraine. The schools are being rebuilt within the framework of the project, financed by the EU and fulfilled by the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS).
Source: European Pravda, referring to official pages of the institutions
Details: The first stage of the project will focus on eight educational facilities in Kyiv, Chernihiv and Kharkiv oblasts, where nearly 20,000 schoolchildren are studying. Among them is Lyceum No. 4 in the settlement of Lozova in Kharkiv Oblast.
These schools have been damaged only slightly and do not need capital refurbishment; broken doors and windows, as well as damaged equipment, need to be replaced. Basements that will serve as bomb shelters will also undergo repairs.
It is planned to complete the repairs by the beginning of the new school year.
After these educational facilities, 28 more schools will undergo more capital refurbishment, including repairing damaged walls and ceilings, heating systems, and improving shelters in basements.
-- Ukrainska Pravda Biden- Harris Administration Announces $178 Million to Improve Health, Safety, and Lower Energy Costs at K-12 Public Sch-- U.S. Department of Energy National: June 29, 2023 [ abstract] WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), today announced the first round of selectees for the Renew America’s Schools grant program, a competitive award that will support the implementation of energy improvements in K–12 schools across the country. There are 24 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in 22 states that will share in approximately $178 million of Funding, enabling them to pursue diverse projects to lower energy costs, lower emissions, and create healthier, safer, and more supportive learning environments in their schools. This historic investment will directly benefit about 74,000 students and 5,000 teachers in 97 school buildings across America. DOE’s focus on public schools, which make up the second-largest sector of American infrastructure after transportation, supports President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda by promoting STEM education and workforce development, while creating well-paying jobs that stimulate local economies. The announcement comes on the heels on President Biden delivering a major economic address on “Bidenomics” – his vision for growing the economy from the middle-out and bottom-up, including by investing in American infrastructure.
-- Staff Writer England - School building collapse causing death or injury ‘very likely’ following years of underfunding, warns watchdog-- Yahoo Life International: June 28, 2023 [ abstract] A building collapse at an English school resulting in death or injury is “very likely” following years of national underFunding, a public spending watchdog warned in a damning report published on Wednesday.
Around 700,000 children in England are attending schools in need of major repairs, as “years of underinvestment” by the government have led to an overall decline in the condition of buildings, said the National Audit Office (NAO).
It added that despite the “critical” risks posed to the safety of pupils and staff, the government lacks enough information about the nation’s stock of school buildings to manage the issue.
NAO head Gareth Davies said that, despite assessing the possibility of building collapse or failure causing death or injury as “critical and very likely” in 2021, “the Department for Education has not been able to reduce this risk”.
A number of buildings have collapsed at London schools in recent years.
In 2021, 12 children and one adult were taken to hospital after a ceiling collapsed in a Year 3 classroom at Rosemead Preparatory School in Dulwich. A further 16 people were treated at the scene by paramedics.
-- Lydia Chantler-Hicks - Evening Standard Duck Valley Indian Reservation to receive $64 million for new school construction-- KUNR Public Radio Nevada: June 26, 2023 [ abstract] After more than five decades, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation will be getting a new school.
On Tuesday, June 13, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed a bill that makes an appropriation of $64.5 million to the Elko County School District to replace the Owyhee Combined School.
In a ceremonial signing in Carson City, Lombardo spoke of the significance of the Funding for members of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation.
“This opened the eyes to the rest of the government that the people in Owyhee, even though you may have never heard of the city, or the town or the tribe, they’re as important as everybody else,” Lombardo said.
Owyhee Combined School is located near the Nevada-Idaho border and serves around 300 students.
The decades-old building has deteriorated due to a lack of attention from the school district and its remote location. A boiler room, proximity to State Route 225 and bats living on the roof are all issues that school officials said are dangerous for students.
Tribal Chairman Brian Mason was fundamental in advocating for the legislation.
“With so many things challenging them on the reservation, everything is stacked against them, this is going to help. They'll have a reason to get up and go to school and succeed. Because it’ll be an adequate school and will have adequate teachers. It's just a big win,” Mason said.
-- Maria Palma With state funding approved, Holyoke is set to build a new middle school-- WAMC Massachusetts: June 26, 2023 [ abstract] After years of controversy in Holyoke, Massachusetts, construction of a new middle school is expected to start later this year.
The recent decision by the Massachusetts School Building Authority to reimburse Holyoke for over half the estimated $85.5 million price tag to build a new middle school means the final steps can now be taken locally to bring the project to reality.
“This means that it is time for Holyoke,” said Mayor Joshua Garcia, who thanked the directors of the authority and said the city’s financial team and the City Council worked together to agree on a plan for paying for the city’s share of the project.
“It’s been a long time coming. I want to say ten years or so that this community has been trying to understand the best path forward to meet the needs of our middle school-aged population,” he said.
In 2019, the city’s voters rejected a property tax increase to pay to build two new middle schools. Officials then began pursuing alternatives and settled on a plan for a single new school building.
The city will not have to go back to the voters because its $40 million share of the project can be covered through long-term borrowing, said City Treasurer Rory Casey.
-- Paul Tuthill Philadelphia teachers, officials press Pa. legislature on funding for school building improvements-- FOX29 Pennsylvania: June 23, 2023 [ abstract]
SOUTH PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia teachers are once again calling on Pennsylvania lawmakers to do something to help fix, repair and update aging buildings in the district. Legislation is working its way through the house, but teachers say Funding is needed now.
Earlier in the week, two key pieces of legislation made it out of the Pennsylvania House Education Committee aimed at investing in school improvements.
State Representative Elizabeth Fielder led a press conference Friday at South Philadelphia High School highlighting the bill.
"You can’t learn when you’re sweating to death, you can’t learn when you’re worried about eating," Philadelphia City Councilmember Mark Squilla stated.
-- Marcus Espinoza DODEA accepting students for first preschool overseas, looks to expand program-- Stars & Stripes DoDEA: June 20, 2023 [ abstract]
American 4-year-olds in western Japan will be able to go to school this fall as part of a new plan that could eventually benefit 6,100 children across the Department of Defense Education Activity, according to school officials.
M.C. Perry Primary School in Iwakuni is first in line to offer universal prekindergarten to U.S. military families stationed overseas, DODEA said.
All eligible “military-connected” children at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni who turn 4 on or before Sept. 1 may enroll in prekindergarten, according to a June 6 announcement posted on the school’s website.
The announcement says school begins at 7:55 a.m. Monday to Friday and students are dismissed at 1:30 p.m. every day except Thursday, when the day ends at 1:15 p.m. Education, health, nutrition, family involvement and social services comprise the program, according to the school’s website.
DODEA now is awaiting Funding approval to expand its preschool offerings.
President Joe Biden’s proposed 2024 budget includes $66.4 million in universal prekindergarten funds for students in 60 military communities served by DODEA schools worldwide, agency spokesman Will Griffin said in an email earlier this month.
-- JENNIFER H. SVAN DOE Program Provides Boost for 25 School Districts-- FacilitiesNet National: June 20, 2023 [ abstract] K-12 school districts were graded on the condition of their facilities in 2021, and the results were less than flattering.
“The 2021 infrastructure report card graded U.S. school facilities to be in D plus condition,” says Sarah Zaleski, program manager of the schools and nonprofits program at the Department of Energy (DOE).
Federal Funding for school districts is rare, but the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) changed that, directing $500 million in grant money as part of a $370 billion commitment for energy-saving projects and to fight climate change.
Despite the influx of BIL money, state and local governments aren’t always in position to fund school districts at levels to keep their buildings running at peak efficiency, so any extra money that’s added to the coffers to help with costly upgrades for systems such as HVAC and lighting is welcomed.
-- Dave Lubach Funding the 500: The unknown price tag of repairing Pa.’s deteriorating school facilities-- Pennsylvania Capital-State Pennsylvania: June 20, 2023 [ abstract] Crumbling wheelchair ramps. Closets converted into classrooms. Make-shift room dividers.
Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court President Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer’s February ruling declaring the state’s education Funding system unconstitutional painted a vivid picture — in words and photographs — of the challenges facing educators as they toil in a historically underfunded system.
Across its sprawling 786-pages, the Cohn Jubelirer ruling devoted nearly 10 pages to the condition of school facilities throughout the state. She also noted testimony from the plaintiffs in the case, who described leaking roofs, a lack of heating and air conditioning, and the need for mold and asbestos abatement.
“One teacher testified that “in [her] first grade classroom[,] you could see the sky. There was a hole in the ceiling . . . that you could literally look up and see the sky.”
Now policymakers have been tasked with literally filling that hole.
“It is not enough that the facilities in which students learn are ‘generally safe’ as Legislative Respondents contend,” Cohn Jubelirer wrote in her ruling, concluding that school facilities need to be “safe and adequate.”
As state officials and lawmakers begin the herculean task of fixing the Funding system for the commonwealth’s public schools, tackling how best to fund badly needed school facility maintenance, repair, and construction projects will be a major focus.
-- Cassie Miller Hamilton County school board decries last-minute change to maintenance funding-- Chattanooga Times Free Press Tennessee: June 17, 2023 [ abstract]
As their schools struggle with water leaks, crumbling sidewalks and sinking floors, members of the Hamilton County Board of Education have deep apprehensions about ceding control of $6 million that was reserved in their proposed budget for needed building repairs.
"This is not a compromise," school board member Ben Connor, D-Chattanooga, said during a meeting Thursday evening. "Compromises are when equal parties come together and they make a plan based on a discussion, and after that discussion, they come to an agreement. Compromises don't have ultimatums. They don't have threats. This is a political stickup. It's a political heist, and it was done on purpose."
Amid a windfall in new revenue under the state's new school Funding formula, the Hamilton County Board of Education intended to increase its spending on deferred maintenance from $2 million to $8 million in the proposed budget for the fiscal year that will start July 1.
However, the board voted 8-2 on a last-minute resolution Thursday to reduce the amount back to $2 million in favor of the county using that $6 million for a more substantial bond issuance — something county leaders say could actually allow them to complete building repairs at a quicker clip. Members Karitsa Jones, D-Chattanooga, and Larry Grohn, R-East Ridge, voted against the measure.
-- David Floyd Advocates Look for Budget Increases to Address School Infrastructure in Pa-- Erie News Now Pennsylvania: June 16, 2023 [ abstract]
HARRISBURG, Pa. (ErieNewsNow) - Many schools in Pennsylvania are decades, if not over a century, old. Hazardous school conditions are a growing concern among district officials, families and state lawmakers.
This week, Democrats and advocates pushed for more Funding to address Pennsylvania's aging education infrastructure in the state’s budget.
“We want a world class education system and in order to do that, the first thing you need to do is make sure that you have world class facilities for our students,” said Rep. Bob Merski (D-Erie).
How to keep Pennsylvania's youngest residents safe and healthy in aging schools – that's what Democratic lawmakers like Merski are emphasizing.
“Schools that have asbestos, schools that have leaky roofs, mold,” said Merski.
Merski, a former educator, knows firsthand the hazards and challenges for thousands of students and teachers.
“In my own experience in the Erie School District, I've taught in buildings that are over 100 years old. I've taught in buildings with leaky roofs. There were buckets on the floor at times until they could get up there and patch it,” said Merski.
New technology and innovative learning tools are placing additional strain on aging infrastructure.
“The educational technology has changed. So things that you don't see in the building, the wiring, the electricity, those things need to be upgraded to handle all of the new computers and all of the new wireless technology,” said Merski.
With a few weeks until the budget deadline, House Democrats and advocates are calling for a boost to make classrooms safer.
-- Brendan Scanland Budget Gap Puts Brakes On Public School Capital Improvement Projects-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: June 15, 2023 [ abstract] Key pieces of the Hawaii Department of Education’s newly approved six-year strategic plan will be delayed or deferred due to a $43 million budget shortfall.
The cuts will be felt despite a potential last minute injection of $55 million in discretionary funds for the department from Gov. Josh Green. That measure is still awaiting his signature.
The full extent of the budget gap dominated the state Board of Education meeting Thursday.
The department is still assessing where to make the cuts, but did not make a representative available for comment.
The strategic plan, only approved in February, was designed to revamp the public school system’s curriculum, teacher recruitment strategies and to update facilities.
A variety of line items did not make the cut in the Legislature’s approved budget, including Funding for parts of the weighted student formula — the department’s mechanism for Funding schools — secondary mathematics initiatives and English learner programs.
-- Allan Kew Rep. Schweyer and House Democrats call for more school construction dollars in state budget-- Lehigh Valley News Pennsylvania: June 14, 2023 [ abstract] HARRISBURG, Pa. - When school started at Francis Raub Middle School last August, Peggy Repasch complained the lack of air conditioning in the building put her daughter Zoey’s health at risk.
Raub was built in 1923 and doesn’t have central air or heat.
Zoey has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that can cause thick, sticky mucus in the airways and also cause those afflicted to sweat high amounts of salt out of their bodies, prompting dehydration.
House Democrats and education advocates call for more school construction Funding from the state
They are proposing $350 million dollars for facilities
Some Allentown School District buildings date back about 100 years
“The heat takes a lot out of you,” Repasch said. “How are these children learning in this heat?”
House Democrats and education advocates say those kinds of conditions need to be addressed across the state immediately.
-- Sarah Mueller Energy Upgrades in Schools Could Surpass $30 Million-- Bedford Citizen Massachusetts: June 12, 2023 [ abstract] Bedford Town officials are projecting expenses that could total more than $30 million, spread over several years, to pursue the goal of converting the four schoolhouses to energy net zero.
The most recent six-year capital plan targets the first step for fiscal year 2025: an allocation of $320,000 to replace the hot-water heaters at Bedford High School. Replacement of the Davis School roof, with a current estimated cost of $1,648,000, is inserted into Fiscal Year 2026.
One year later, the total exceeds $4 million, then surpasses $6.5 million in Fiscal Year 2028.
Taissir Alani, Director of Facilities for the schools and town, recently summarized the projects as part of a short- and long-range capital spending presentation to the School Committee.
“The cost really is a placeholder because as we get closer to the project, we reassess the cost and equipment,” Alani said in a recent interview.
And Amy Fidalgo, Assistant Town Manager for Operations, stressed that heating, ventilation, and roof replacements are likely to be “moved out to further years in the next iteration of the capital plan, which will be vetted by the Capital Expenditure Committee in the fall.
“Our ability to move these projects out a few Funding cycles is due to excellent preventative maintenance our facilities department is able to perform in order to extend the lifespan of many of these items,” she explained.
-- Mike Rosenberg SBA hands out $16 million for 13 school construction projects-- MetroNews West Virginia: June 12, 2023 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state School Building Authority handed out two rounds of Funding totaling close to $16 million during a Monday meeting in Charleston.
The SBA annually selects projects for Funding submitted by multi-county technical education centers and projects under the agency’s Major Improvement Project (MIP) category.
“We awarded seven different counties with the projects they had (MIP) and we awarded six of the multi-county statewide grants,” SBA Executive Director Andy Neptune told MetroNews following Monday’s meeting.
MIP Funding is going to projects in Wayne, Barbour, Monroe, Hardy, Calhoun, Tucker and Mason counties for approximately $5.8 million.
“These involve things like classroom additions, roof replacements, safety upgrades, exterior doors, safe school entries, things like that,” Neptune said.
There were requests from 15 counties for MIP Funding. Projects in Cabell, Webster, Monongalia, Pocahontas, Mingo, Randolph, Summers and Lewis counties will have to look elsewhere for Funding.
-- Jeff Jenkins Surplus provides unprecedented opportunity to build needed schools-- The Nevada Independent Nevada: May 26, 2023 [ abstract] This legislative session brings hope for improved education Funding in our state. Gov. Joe Lombardo’s proposed budget calls for an increase of $2 billion dollars in state appropriations for K-12 education over the biennium, and legislators are considering this critical proposal now. Nevada’s Economic Forum recently provided increased projection of $250 million in state coffers as well. However, even in this remarkable economic landscape, many school districts will continue to face longstanding and enormous challenges in meeting the needs of their students.
For the White Pine County School District, the persistent challenge is seen in our ability to construct new facilities. New construction may seem to be a vanity project to some or secondary to providing quality education to others, but neither is the case for our district. Though we have worked for years to address this, many of our facilities lack the essential characteristics necessary to serve our students and their families, retain qualified instructional staff and provide the safety and accommodation that any family would expect to have for their children.
Because we are a rural district, many readers may not know about the conditions our students and staff face throughout the school year, especially for two of our schools: David E. Norman Elementary School and White Pine Middle School. Both of these schools are housed in charming buildings that are full of state and local history. They are also, to put it simply, inadequate and concerning.
-- Terri Borghoff, Adam Young, Paul Johnson Alexander Henderson Elementary School to Receive $74M in Federal Funding-- St. Thomas Source U.S. Virgin Islands: May 25, 2023 [ abstract] Federal Funding in the amount of $74,155,208.06 will go to the Virgin Islands Department of Education on St. Croix for the replacement of the Alexander Henderson Elementary School, Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett announced Wednesday.
“I am very pleased that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continues to award grants to our local agencies to help with the resources needed to rebuild. This award to the V.I. Department of Education on St. Croix is to replace the Alexander Henderson Elementary School which was destroyed during Hurricane Irma and Maria. This award is for replacement to a standard that will be integral for improving our preparedness and resiliency against natural disasters moving forward.
-- Staff Writer Lawmakers seek more funds for school building-- Newbury Port News Massachusetts: May 22, 2023 [ abstract]
BOSTON — State lawmakers are pushing for more Funding and changes in policy to help local governments afford the rising cost of building new schools and renovating existing buildings.
A nearly $56 billion budget expected to be taken up by the Senate next week includes hundreds of millions in new Funding to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which reimburses cities and towns for a portion of the costs for new construction and school building renovation.
But lawmakers say more money is needed as persistent inflation continues to push up construction costs and eat away at existing state and local Funding for the projects.
State Sen. Barry Finegold, D-Andover, has filed several amendments to the budget related to school construction, including a request for an additional $100 million dollars for the building authority. He said there are a number of schools in his district in “desperate” need of renovation, but the problem is statewide.
“The cost of these projects is going through the roof,” he said. “We need to do everything we can to help schools with these high costs.”
Finegold said the authority recently increased the reimbursement rate to a maximum of $390 per square foot, but the average cost of construction has risen to about $600 per foot.
“So in theory, if a community is getting a 60 percent reimbursement rate from the state, it’s really actually about 20 percent less than that,” he said. “These buildings are very expensive, and the added costs are falling on these communities.”
To be sure, the Senate budget calls for increase the annual cap on grants awarded by the building authority by $400 million, raising the total cap to $1.2 billion.
-- Christian Wade School trustees look at building projects-- Nevada Appeal Nevada: May 21, 2023 [ abstract] The Carson City School District’s Facilities Master Plan Committee has made its final recommendations for building and maintenance needs. Superintendent Andrew Feuling said they will be considered during the Board of Trustees’ Capital Improvement Plan discussion Tuesday, May 23.
Projects are prioritized according to the district’s financial constraints while ensuring student and staff safety, health and comfort, educational program needs and energy and operational safety, Feuling told trustees May 9.
The Fritsch Elementary and Carson Middle school campuses are nearly 70 years old and Carson High is coming up on 50 years old. All district facilities are at least 30 years old, Feuling said.
“While we have to think about maintaining those facilities, while it would be nice to say we could replace all these eventually, with the property tax caps that are currently in place, it likely won’t go away and continues to squeeze Funding over time,” he said.
High schools being built in Washoe County now cost about $250 million, and Carson City can’t afford to do the same, he said. The district had the Funding to build Empire, Fremont and Mark Twain elementary schools between 1988 and 1992, but those dollars aren’t available today, he said.
Marty Johnson of JNA Consulting Group, the district’s bond consultant, said Carson City has a bonding capacity of a $25 million issuance this summer or fall with another $12.5 million available by 2027. There is $5 million remaining from its last bond.
The Facilities Master Plan document encompasses overall district projects at a cost of $3 million for assessments on its properties or ones to acquire in upcoming months. Examples include heating, ventilation and air conditioning needs for Carson High School, alarm systems and security camera refreshing or to purchase 10 acres of the former Lompa Ranch.
-- Jessica Garcia Colorado promises $70 million over 3 years, hopes to see 12 new facility schools open-- The Colorado Sun Colorado: May 11, 2023 [ abstract] Colorado passed a new law this spring intended to fix the facility school shortage by bolstering Funding and encouraging more schools to open.
The measure signed by Gov. Jared Polis last month will increase Funding for facility schools by nearly $19 million next year, then by $23 million in 2024 and $28 million in 2025. Lawmakers and legislative staff are predicting that four new schools will open in each of the next three years, which would mean a 40% increase in schools statewide.
“Facility schools” are specialized schools for kids who aren’t functioning well in traditional classrooms, often because of high levels of anxiety, depression and other behavioral health issues that are disruptive to learning.
The crux of the bill is a change in the schools’ Funding model. The state currently funds facility schools based on a daily per-student rate of $55, which hasn’t been enough money for schools, especially small ones, to keep the doors open. Facility schools also get tuition from school districts for students in special education. The tuition ranges this year from $75 to $348 per day.
-- Jennifer Brown Reimagining Schoolyards to Improve Health and Learning-- Public News Service National: May 11, 2023 [ abstract] On an 81 degree day last September, environmental city planner Sharon Danks went onto the playground at a California elementary school with an infrared camera. Grassy areas in full sun measured 83 degrees, but unshaded asphalt was 107 and rubber surfaces under an exposed play structure came in at 135. Asphalt shaded by tree canopy was more than 30 degrees cooler.
Danks, the author of Asphalt to Ecosystems, a book published more than a decade ago to guide the transformation of schoolyards, wasn't surprised at what she found. She and her colleagues had made similar measurements many times over.
But shade itself had gained heat that September with the announcement that $150 million had been set aside in the California state budget for a two-year program to fund school forests and green schoolyards at K-12 schools. The decision was driven by the need to protect the health of students as average temperatures in the state continue to rise.
The September 2022 heat wave in the West was the worst on record; temperatures soared above 110 degrees in multiple cities in California. In announcing the Funding for schoolyards, Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, noted that average temperatures across the state were projected to rise 6 degrees by mid-century.
As bad as things might look for Californians, warming trends are projected to be even more dramatic in other parts of the country. According to a peer-reviewed model published last year, by 2053 more than 100 million Americans will live in an "extreme heat belt" extending from Northern Texas and Louisiana borders to Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, with temperatures exceeding 125 degrees.
Most of the daylight hours that children spend outside are on school grounds. The simple act of planting trees on campuses is a powerful way to shield them from heat-related health problems.
-- Carl Smith, Governing Virginia Board of Education awards $365 million for school construction-- WDBJ7 Virginia: May 11, 2023 [ abstract]
RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - The Virginia Board of Education has awarded $365 million for school construction across the state.
28 school divisions will receive Funding for 40 projects, and many of them are located in central, southside and western Virginia.
Kathleen Jackson is the Chief Financial Officer of Roanoke City Public Schools.
“We’re super excited to hear that we were included in the list of awarded projects,” Jackson said in an interview Thursday afternoon.
At a time when construction costs are rising, she said it was a relief to learn that three of the five projects Roanoke City Public Schools applied for were successful.
“Just to give you an example, one of the projects we did receive Funding for is the replacement school, a new building, for Preston Park Elementary School,” she said. “We were looking at, potentially we would have to pause that project, because we wouldn’t yet have the money available to complete the next phases. We don’t have that issue any more, thanks to that grant.”
The General Assembly established the criteria, and the Department of Education ranked school divisions on their poor building conditions, commitment and need.
A community’s ability to pay and fiscal stress determined whether the award funded 10, 20 or 30% of a project’s cost.
-- Joe Dashiell Troy BOE discusses state funding for new buildings-- Miami Valley Today Ohio: May 10, 2023 [ abstract] TROY- The Troy City Schools Board of Education has received word the district is being offered state Funding towards the potential construction of multiple new buildings.
“It is exciting news,” District Superintendent Chris Piper said. “We are being offered Funding by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC).”
The OFCC Funding would cover approximately 42% of the state-recommended cost for mulitple buildings. Additional Funding could also be raised through passage of a levy.
“The state will support 42% of what they recommend,” Troy City Schools Board of Education President Sue Borchers said. “Once we get formal word that we are getting the Funding, we have 13 months to pass a levy, which is a very short time.”
“That means we have to get on the November ballot and/or the March Ballot,” she said, “so our window is as tiny as it can get.”
-- Matt Clevenger 3 Arkansas school districts to receive $17M for building costs-- Arkansas Democrat Gazette Arkansas: May 09, 2023 [ abstract] Three Arkansas school districts in which voters recently passed property tax increases for campus building projects -- only to see construction costs soar -- are getting some extra help from the state.
The state Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation Commission on Monday agreed to distribute to the Southside School District in Independence County, the Watson Chapel School District in Jefferson County and White County Central School District about $17 million to aid the districts in their construction of a new school and various school additions.
The vote of the three-member commission comes after Arkansas lawmakers earlier this year authorized the transfer of as much as $24 million from the state's Academic Facilities Partnership program to its Academic Facilities Extraordinary Circumstances account to supplement the Funding for seven projects in the three districts that had seen property tax increases.
-- Cynthia Howell Tribal community pushing for funding to replace school in ‘unacceptable’ condition-- Sparks Tribune Nevada: May 07, 2023 [ abstract] Owyhee Combined School Vice Principal Lynn Manning-John stood on the Nevada Capitol lawn Thursday in front of her students — her “babies” — from the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in northeastern Nevada, a community she grew up in and returned to after attending an East Coast college.
Teresa Melendez, a lobbyist and Indigenous organizer, guides a student from the Owyhee Combined School, located on the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in northeastern Nevada, before a press conference outside the Legislature on Thursday, April 27, 2023 in Carson City. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent)
The students, many wearing ribbon skirts and shirts, carried signs with a common theme: “don’t leave us behind.” Among them was her daughter, a senior at the school who was recently admitted to Tufts University, an elite research institution in Boston.
“We have produced some phenomenal kids out of Owyhee,” she said. “But I have to tell you, we do it in some really hard-to-describe conditions.”
-- Tabitha Mueller and Rocio Hernandez Biden-Harris Administration Announces $4.5 Million to Build K-12 Staff Capacity and Lower Energy Costs for Schools-- U.S. Department of Energy National: May 05, 2023 [ abstract] WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announces the Phase 1 Winners to share in the $4.5 million Energy Champions Leading the Advancement of Sustainable Schools Prize (Energy CLASS Prize), a competitive award promoting energy management in school districts across America. Twenty-five Local Education Agencies (LEAs) will each receive a $100,000 cash prize to establish, train, and support energy managers in their schools. These Energy Champions will develop projects and skills to lower energy costs, improve indoor air quality, and enhance learning environments in their communities. At the end of Phase 2, based on their performance, Phase 1 winners will be eligible for an extra $50,000 in Funding. Energy CLASS Prize funds have the potential to impact over 700,000 students, in 1,300 schools, across 19 states. As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, this Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law advances the Department’s mission to streamline investments in clean energy workforce development, which is critical to the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050 while creating jobs, building a pipeline for young people, and supporting workers and communities across this nation.
-- Staff Writer State releases $75M in funding for preschool construction; lawmakers question-- Hawaii News Now Hawaii: May 04, 2023 [ abstract]
After the state released $75 million to pay for the construction of new preschool classrooms last week, the Hawaii Department of Education compiled a list showing where the money would be spent.
But Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke — who is spearheading the state’s $200 million preschool expansion plan — said the list isn’t accurate.
“Oh, no. So that was a preliminary list,” Luke said.
The list included $20 million for the Kamaile Academy in Waianae to build 10 new classrooms and $6 million for Kapaa Elementary School on Kauai.
Sources said some of the schools were already expecting the money. Gov. Josh Green even sent out letters to state lawmakers informing them about preschool expansions in their districts.
In one letter to state Sen. Angus McKelvey of Maui, Green wrote that McKelvey’s district will see a total of $5 million in preschool construction at Kihei and Princess Nahienaena elementary schools.
“This investment in our keiki addresses barriers to child care so prevalent in our islands,” he wrote.
-- Staff Writer Some Texas districts to pay $5 billion in property taxes to fill funding gap at other schools-- abc13 Texas: May 01, 2023 [ abstract]
GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Cynthia Velazquez parks her car outside Central Middle School as she waits for her child to be released from school.
Velazquez said there are a few things that have changed at the school since she graduated from the Galveston Independent School District, but the decades-old building where her child goes could use more improvements.
"I went to this school. I've been here all my life, so I was born here and raised here, and I went to all the schools, and they were all good," Velazquez told 13 Investigates. "They have been upgraded, but it still kind of looks the same."
Galveston ISD said it could make more updates to schools or even build new ones and give teachers raises if only it could keep all of the millions in property taxes residents pay specifically for education.
In Texas, districts can only keep a certain amount of local property taxes per student. The rest is "recaptured" and sent back to the state.
If a district, like Galveston ISD, collects more than the basic amount it is entitled to per student, they are required to send the extra property tax collections to the state. The state then redistributes those funds to other districts that don't collect enough in taxes locally to fund their own enrollment.
Advocates say it's a way to ensure every student receives the same amount of basic Funding regardless of where they live.
-- Nick Natario and Sarah Rafique Tribal community pushing for funding to replace school in ‘unacceptable’ condition-- The Nevada Independent Nevada: April 28, 2023 [ abstract] Owyhee Combined School Vice Principal Lynn Manning-John stood on the Nevada Capitol lawn Thursday in front of her students — her "babies" — from the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in northeastern Nevada, a community she grew up in and returned to after attending an East Coast college.
The students, many wearing ribbon skirts and shirts, carried signs with a common theme: "don't leave us behind." Among them was her daughter, a senior at the school who was recently admitted to Tufts University, an elite research institution in Boston.
"We have produced some phenomenal kids out of Owyhee," she said. "But I have to tell you, we do it in some really hard-to-describe conditions."
The Owyhee Combined School is located on the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in northeastern Nevada, along the Nevada-Idaho border. Built in the 1950s, the school serves about 300 students. Administrators and teachers at the school described bat feces dripping from the ceilings, and old equipment making it impossible to consistently regulate classroom temperatures, among other conditions that they said have not been addressed by the school district, despite maintenance requests.
“No other school in the state of Nevada would have that type of condition acceptable to students,” said Manning-John.
-- Tabitha Mueller and Rocio Hernandez $180M for Schools, Small Businesses with Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation Grants-- New Jersey Business Magazine New Jersey: April 19, 2023 [ abstract] The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has fully committed the $180 million budgeted for the School and Small Business Energy Efficiency Stimulus Program (SSBP), aimed at helping schools and small businesses reduce their water and energy consumption and improve indoor air quality for children and small businesses. The program is closed and no longer accepting applications.
“Through the Schools and Small Business grant program, we are putting the health of our children first and ensuring small businesses have access to the tools they need to streamline energy and water use and improve indoor air quality in their establishments,” said NJBPU President Joseph L. Fiordaliso. “As we rise to the challenges of climate change and the ongoing pandemic, these grants will enable the direct benefits of cleaner facilities, as well as the economic boost in local labor needed to complete these projects, especially in underserved communities.”
“As one of the prime sponsors of the law that established the School and Small Business Energy Efficiency Stimulus Program, I am incredibly proud that it has been so successful,” said Senator Troy Singleton. “This program is providing the necessary Funding to allow these already cash-strapped businesses and school districts to upgrade their HVAC and plumbing systems, which will improve the air our residents breathe and the water they drink overall.”
-- Staff Writer Alabama Power, BOE partner for potential energy improvements-- The Clanton Advertiser Alabama: April 19, 2023 [ abstract]
Alabama Power and the Chilton County Board of Education are partnering to pursue a Renew America’s Schools grant for energy efficiency upgrades. Danielle Crowder of Alabama Power presented information about the partnership during the April 18 BOE meeting.
“Alabama Power is really excited to partner (with the school system),” Crowder said. “This grant program focuses on rural, disadvantaged communities, (those) school systems that have a high percentage of students that are eligible for free and reduced lunch.” Renew America’s Schools is a grant program through the U.S. Department of Energy. The Funding is specifically for energy efficiency improvements and addressing building-related health issues. At the national level, $80 million will be distributed in this Funding cycle.
-- Joyanna Love Proposed rural Maine regional high school threatened by lack of money-- The Piscataquis Observer Maine: April 17, 2023 [ abstract] Maine’s third attempt at a rural regional high school is in jeopardy if the four districts involved cannot get state help to pay for an engineering study.
The Maine Department of Education told superintendents from districts around Dexter, Guilford, Milo and Corinth last year they would have to fund pre-construction costs on their own, which would get them through a challenging site selection process. But the superintendents said recently that the state helped school districts in northern Aroostook County with such Funding for a similar attempt and should be more supportive. That project ultimately failed.
It’s an effort to pool resources as enrollments decline at most of the rural schools
The state-initiated pilot began about six years ago, and the districts in Piscataquis and Penobscot counties moved up the priority list after previous attempts in Houlton and St. John Valley in Aroostook County fell apart. If the ambitious project succeeds, the school that would serve several established multi-town districts would be the first of its kind in Maine. But the districts are stuck, and superintendents wonder why the St. John Valley project was able to access Funding early on to hire an engineering firm, while they cannot.
-- Valerie Royzman Almost 40 elementary schools have closed in rural north-central Pa. in the past decade. Here’s why-- Centre Daily Times Pennsylvania: April 07, 2023 [ abstract]
At least 38 elementary schools in north-central Pennsylvania have closed over the past decade, forcing students and staff to adapt to more crowded schools, longer commutes and larger class sizes. Some of the districts hardest hit by these closures, many in shrinking rural areas of the state, cited student population decline as a reason for shutting down schools.
Enrollment at the 55 districts Spotlight PA focused on declined by 11% over the past decade — outpacing a statewide decline of 8%.
But district officials and experts said there are also more universal reasons for these rural closures, from the flight of students from traditional public schools to charters to a lack of state Funding. All but five of the 55 school districts face per-student Funding shortfalls, some of which exceed $2,000, according to an analysis by Matthew Kelly, an education professor at Penn State who studies Funding policy. Kelly prepared the analysis as part of a landmark lawsuit that claimed the state is violating its constitution by underFunding poor school districts. Commonwealth Court recently ruled in favor of the challenge, though it did not prescribe a remedy for the issue or direct the governor and legislature to act in a specific way.
-- ASHAD HAJELA NC schools will soon be tested to remove dangerous levels of lead and asbestos-- The News&Observer North Carolina: April 06, 2023 [ abstract]
Thousands of North Carolina public schools will be tested in the next three years to try to remove unsafe levels of lead and asbestos that could endanger students. The state is using $150 million in federal COVID aid to expand a program that has allowed all 4,500 licensed childcare facilities to test and remediate unsafe levels of lead in their water. The additional Funding will allow K-12 public schools to also test their water taps. The money also will help schools and childcare facilities remove lead paint and asbestos.
“Overall, our objective is to identify and eliminate exposure to lead and asbestos hazards where North Carolina children are learning and playing,” said Jennifer Redmon, RTI International’s director of Environmental Health and Water Quality Program. The state Department of Health and Human Services is coordinating the program in cooperation with the state Department of Public Instruction and RTI International. A presentation on the new “Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids” program was made at Wednesday’s State Board of Education meeting. In 2019, Environment America gave the state an “F” for failing to get lead out of drinking water at schools.
-- T. KEUNG HUI AND ADAM WAGNER Five schools to become model green schools - Cyprus-- CyprusMail International: April 05, 2023 [ abstract] Five schools will become model green schools thanks to an investment programme focusing on sustainable energy in education, the education ministry announced on Wednesday.
Through a total investment of €2 million, these five schools are expected to become model green schools within eight months.
The five schools are Ayios Dometios gymnasium, Ayias Trimithias primary school, Dali primary school, and nursery schools in Aglandjia and Ayios Antonios.
More schools will gradually be inducted in the Pedia project, with €20 million in Funding allocated from the Thalia programme, the budget of which for green school investments amounts to €30 million.
A total of 162 schools from all educational levels applied for energy upgrades, of which 144 were eligible. All schools were evaluated and ranked, and five schools were selected to join the Pedia project.
This is an emblematic project for Cyprus, ministry general director Neophytos Papadopoulos said, adding that it will also be a point of reference for Europe.
-- Antigoni Pitta Province invests $37.6 to build new high school in Raymond - Canada-- Sunny South News International: April 05, 2023 [ abstract] Groundbreaking for the a new high school in the Town of Raymond is set to begin this summer.
Alberta’s Minister of Infrastructure, Nathan Neudorf, had more details to share regarding Budget 2023 and the Province’s announcement to fully fund the construction of a new high school in Raymond on Friday.
The Government of Alberta’s Budget 2023 has allocated $2.3 billion in the next three years to 58 school projects
including full construction Funding for 13 schools.
The Province’s investment will add nearly 25,000 new and upgraded spaces for students in the coming years.
The new school in Raymond will be located near Victoria Park, and has been approved for up to $37.6 million for the construction.
-- Erika Mathieu Coalition Calls for $100 million in 2024 Federal Budget to Protect School Children from Dirty Air-- Digital Journal National: April 04, 2023 [ abstract] Apr. 4, 2023 / PRZen / WASHINGTON -- Marking the 21st Annual National Healthy Schools Day (NHSD), a national coalition of parents, teachers, school professionals, and environment and public health groups have come together to call on President Joe Biden to include $100 million in his Fiscal Year 2024 budget request for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Air and Radiation/Indoor Environments Division to protect school children and personnel from unhealthy environments in schools and childcare facilities.
The coalition is also requesting inclusion of an additional $10 million for EPA's Office of Children's Health Protection to increase public health research services for children's environmental health.
"School building conditions have been neglected for decades," said national Coalition coordinator Claire L Barnett whose office hosts National Healthy Schools Day annually. "But schools and their communities can help by using US EPA's voluntary guidance on effective interventions. EPA has the authorizations and the proven programs to help schools address complex facility issues. When children have school-induced asthma, headaches, nausea, and bloody noses, attendance and test scores drop, families are extra-stressed, and health care costs rise. With robust Funding from congress, EPA can activate Biden's languishing Clean Air in Schools challenge with expanded national outreach and technical assistance to states and schools and communities. Congress could help lift standardized test scores and reduce health care costs if it appropriates $100M to EPA's office of air for school indoor air and $10M to EPA's office of children's health for research and health services."
-- PR Zen Department of Education Issues ESSER Extensions for K-12 Schools-- FacilitiesNet National: March 31, 2023 [ abstract] The U.S. Department of Education granted seven states and the District of Columbia additional time to spend down Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds from the first round of COVID-19 Funding.
The money, which goes directly to school districts, will allow certain districts to spend their ESSER funds through early 2024, or 14 months beyond the original deadline, according to a report on the K-12 Dive website.
Extensions were granted due to challenges the school districts are facing such as staff shortages, supply chain disruptions and reallocating funds reserved for nonpublic schools. Funding requests for projects have centered around purchases involving cleaning supplies, technology infrastructure and HVAC equipment.
-- David Lubach Michigan schools turn to COVID relief funds to upgrade aging buildings-- Chalkbeat Detroit Michigan: March 27, 2023 [ abstract] As many as 32 students crowd into classrooms originally meant for 22 to 24 students in the Crestwood School District.
Many of Crestwood’s buildings were built in the 1960s, said Youssef Mosallam, superintendent of the district in Dearborn Heights. But updates have been few and far between for the district’s needs, the superintendent said.
Then came a small fortune from the federal government: $24 million in COVID relief funds for the district of nearly 3,800 students. At least $8 million of the relief money is going to build 12 new classrooms in the district’s elementary schools, to reduce class sizes and to keep students spaced farther apart, he said.
Dozens of school districts across Michigan are also directing relief funds to rehab aging school buildings, some of which lack air conditioning or functioning heating systems. In rural Harrison Community Schools north of Mount Pleasant, Superintendent Judy Walton said that means heat may work in one side of a school building in the morning and the other side in the afternoon. The district hasn’t had the Funding to make updates for years, she said.
-- Lily Altavena RI leaders announce $10M to help schools cut energy costs-- WPRI.com Rhode Island: March 24, 2023 [ abstract] WEST WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Additional Funding is on the way for school districts across Rhode Island to help them reduce energy costs.
State leaders announced Friday another $10 million has been secured for the Public School Energy Equity Program, bringing the total budget to $20 million.
Officials said the Funding will allow schools to install building automation systems and upgrade their lighting, ventilation, heating and air conditioning systems.
Gov. Dan McKee said the money will help give students and teachers a better learning environment.
“Studies show that more comfortable classrooms lead to higher test scores,” he said.
The Rhode Island Department of Education also found in a 2017 study that by reducing energy consumption in schools, nearly $34 million could be saved statewide each year.
-- Joe Cortese, Allison Shinskey Kettering schools seek state help for long-term school building plans-- Dayton Daily News Ohio: March 22, 2023 [ abstract] KETTERING — The Kettering school district will seek state Funding for long-term improvements to buildings and facilities.
The district wants to apply for an Ohio Facilities Construction Commission program to help with long-range planning, citing a higher percentage in state Funding assistance than in previous years, said Kettering Business Services Director Jeff Johnson.
If the district is eligible for state money, the OFCC would assess its buildings at no charge and develop an agreement allowing Kettering “discretionary” decisions on projects, he said.
Kettering has not previously participated in the OFCC new building Funding program, which has helped many area districts — including Xenia, Fairborn, West Carrollton and Valley View currently — to construct new schools.
-- Nick Blizzard School Building Authority approves more extensions to some area school boards-- WV Metro News West Virginia: March 20, 2023 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state School Building Authority approved the extension of more time and Funding for the construction of schools across the state during its meeting Monday in Charleston.
The SBA gave the okay to supplemental Funding for schools in Wood, Mercer, McDowell and Hampshire counties.
The increasing construction costs attached to inflation have been the cause for delay in building new schools and providing updates to existing ones for a little over a year now.
Making adjustments on square footage allowances for the projects was a specific detail being discussed at the meeting, as the school board’s bids for the projects were being affected by inflation costs.
“That is a lot of the reason why these schools came back to talk to us today, because, when their bids came in they were higher than they thought, they were higher than the square footage allows for these projects, and so they have to look for some help,” SBA executive director, Andy Neptune told Metro News following Monday’s meeting.
Last year, voters approved over $60 million to Wood County Schools for the construction of three new schools along with making updates and expansions on others. The SBA additionally approved its $21 million commitment on Monday to go into Wood County School’s bond for the current projects.
-- Katherine Skeldon Tiny district with decaying school buildings sues WA state-- The Seattle Times Washington: March 12, 2023 [ abstract] CATHLAMET — It’s an unremarkable day at the Wahkiakum School District when a bathroom floods, rainwater drains from the ceilings and classrooms are cold enough that teachers pass out blankets.
From his office at the front of the high school, Superintendent Brent Freeman can hear kids from rival sports teams disparaging the building as they walk inside. His brain is an intimate catalog of the district’s various infrastructural failures and how to fix them. That is, when they finally get the money.
This 433-student district on the Columbia River hasn’t been able to pass a school bond — the main way that school districts raise money for building and repairing schools — for 22 years. And the state’s largest lifeline for school construction Funding won’t spare a dime unless they can pass one.
Frustrated by the perennial failure of school bonds, this tiny district is suing the state in a move that, if successful, could change the way school building construction is funded across Washington.
When a bond fails, there are slim options for school districts in the state. While large and wealthy districts like Seattle can run several school construction measures simultaneously, an increasing number of property-poor districts cannot get their measures over the hump. Districts like Wahkiakum are left scrambling for whatever patchwork of Funding they can find to prolong the life of deteriorating buildings.
“With so many of our systems, we are one rung away from total failure,” said Freeman.
-- Dahlia Bazzaz Resources available to fix Nevada’s crumbling schools, if political will is-- Las Vegus Sun Nevada: March 05, 2023 [ abstract] Nevada is working hard to repair its underperforming K-12 education system. With the new pupil-centered Funding formula championed by former Gov. Steve Sisolak and nearly $2 billion in new investment promised by current Gov. Joe Lombardo, bipartisan leadership is increasing the opportunities for Nevada’s K-12 students to succeed.
Unfortunately, the promise of a thriving K-12 education system cannot be fully realized until we remedy the troubling state of disrepair in Nevada’s classrooms and school buildings.
Within the first four days of the 2022-23 school year — when summer temperatures are still at or near their peak highs — two dozen Clark County public schools experienced entire-site air conditioning failures. Dozens more experienced partial failures.
All of that occurred less than 10 years after the Legislature granted additional bonding authority to the Clark County School District in 2015, leading to a $4.1 billion capital improvement plan that included replacements for several schools and modernization upgrades in others. Even with that infusion of money, far too many Southern Nevada children are being educated in buildings where air conditioners go out, rainwater runs in through the roof and the plumbing goes bad
-- Editorial Dexter Elementary HVAC problems heating up-- Roswell Daily Record New Mexico: March 03, 2023 [ abstract] A problem with the HVAC system at Dexter Elementary School has caused the school district to move everyone out of the building and is the subject of pending litigation, according to Dexter Consolidated School District Superintendent Heather Garner.
The fix also is expected to require additional state Funding of at least $1.5 million, she said.
“The crux of the issue is that it is nonfunctional,” Garner said about the heating-venting-air conditioning system installed in 2020.
Garner, who became superintendent in July 2022, said the exact extent and nature of the problems are being investigated and that the pending litigation prohibits her from discussing the problems in detail. She also said she could not identify the contractor by name.
-- Lisa Dunlap Why we can’t solve the climate crisis without schools " and teachers-- Los Angeles Times California: March 02, 2023 [ abstract]
When wildfire smoke blocked the sun and turned the sky orange above the San Francisco Bay Area in September 2020, Andra Yeghoian’s two young children, ages 3 and 5, were scared. And they had questions: What was going on? Was this normal?
Yeghoian did her best to explain and to comfort them.
“I can’t not talk about climate change with my kids,” she said. “It’s the same for teachers with their students.”
It’s a fascinating read, full of useful ideas for teachers, lawmakers, government agencies, school districts and kids. It was written by university researchers and staffers at a variety of nonprofits, advocacy groups and other organizations, with Funding from the Schmidt Family Foundation, which is backed by former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy.
The report’s basic argument is that schools are uniquely positioned to help solve the climate crisis.
California’s elementary and secondary schools have a huge physical footprint, covering 125,000 acres of ground and 730 million square feet of buildings. That means they’re prime spots for solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, electric buses and efficiency measures that can reduce the need for fossil fuels. The report estimates that K-12 public schools produce 9% of all carbon dioxide pollution from the state’s nonresidential buildings — not counting pollution from cars and buses going to and from schools.
-- Sammy Roth Democratic lawmakers announce legislation to invest in school facilities-- PA House Democrats Pennsylvania: March 01, 2023 [ abstract] HARRISBURG, March 1 – State Reps. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Phila., Robert Merski, D-Erie, Bridget Kosierowski, D-Lackawanna, and Tarik Khan, D-Phila., today partnered with state Sen. Tim Kearney, D-Delaware, to announce legislation addressing toxic school buildings in Pennsylvania.
Gathered outside the lieutenant governor’s office, Fiedler, Merski, Kosierowski and Khan said they plan to introduce legislation to fund the school construction program PlanCon to address the school facilities crisis in Pennsylvania. The lawmakers’ legislation would fund the maintenance program within the traditional PlanCon program for vital projects including repairs to roofs, HVAC systems, boilers, plumbing and electrical wiring.
Under the legislation, the lawmakers propose opening applications only to the new Maintenance Program created under Act 70 for a temporary 3-year period. After this period, the Department of Education would re-open the program for traditional PlanCon projects, with the Maintenance Program returning to its 20% share of available Funding.
The lawmakers announced they are also introducing another piece of legislation to address toxic school buildings. This legislation would make changes to the commonwealth’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to make it easier for public schools to submit applications for building improvements.
Their announcement comes on the heels of the Commonwealth Court’s ruling in the William Penn School District lawsuit, that Pennsylvania’s system of Funding public education is unconstitutional. The group of lawmakers stressed that in addition to the need for basic education Funding, the lawsuit highlighted school facilities issues.
“When a child is sitting in a classroom with peeling paint and asbestos, shivering because they’re too cold or has a nosebleed and a headache because they’re too hot, they can’t learn,” Fiedler said. “School buildings are a statewide educational and public health issue, and we need to start Funding them with that importance. The recent Commonwealth Court ruling provides the state an excellent opportunity right now to ensure all children can go to school in a safe building and pursue a quality education.”
-- Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler NJ's Universal Pre-K Goals Getting Jolt With $120M For Facilities-- The Patch New Jersey: February 22, 2023 [ abstract] MONMOUTH JUNCTION, NJ — The state will make $120 million in grants available to expand preschool facilities, which Gov. Phil Murphy says will bring New Jersey closer to his administration's goal of universal Pre-K.
The Funding will come from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 — a federal COVID-19 stimulus package. The New Jersey Department of Education will accept grant applications from regular operating districts (RODs) from March 1 to May 31. The number of awardees will depend on the applications received, according to a department spokesperson.
Since first campaigning for governor, Murphy has stated a goal to guarantee full-day, "high-quality" preschool education to all 3- and 4-year-olds in the state. The governor has shifted his administration's target date for universal pre-K during his time in office, but Murphy said in late 2021 that New Jersey would reach the goal in "2030 (at) the latest. I hope sooner than that."
-- Josh Bakan House passes bill allowing school districts to use state aid for the construction of pre-K facilities and safe rooms-- Arkansas Democrat Gazette Arkansas: February 21, 2023 [ abstract]
The Arkansas House approved a bill Monday that would allow school districts to use state Funding to aid in the construction of "safe rooms" and early childhood education facilities.
House Bill 1337, by Rep. Julie Mayberry, R-Hensley, received a vote of 53-15 with 15 lawmakers voting present. The bill moves to the Senate for further action.
Under current law, school districts may not use funds allocated through the Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities Fund Act to build "safe rooms" or prekindergarten facilities. A "safe room," as defined by the bill, is a building, space or other area designed to protect occupants from "a natural or manmade intrusion."
The Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities Fund Act establishes a partnership program under which the state is required to provide cash payments to school districts for eligible new construction projects based on a district's academic facilities wealth index.
Rather than relying on this state aid to build "safe rooms" and prekindergarten facilities, districts have to turn to grants, private donations or their budgets, said Mayberry.
Since schools are required to build "safe rooms," Mayberry said it is a "no-brainer" to allow districts to use money from the state's partnership Funding program for their construction.
-- Will Langhorne Approved Capital Improvement Program Adds New Schools, Advances Commitment to Student Success-- Fairfax County Public Schools Virginia: February 10, 2023 [ abstract] Fairfax County School Board unanimously approved an annual update to the capital improvement program (CIP) that includes continuing work on upgrading school facilities across the County, the building of three new elementary schools, and acquiring land to be used for a new high school during the School Board meeting on Thursday evening.
The new elementary schools and acquisition of land for a new high school will address current and projected overcrowding.
Other projects in the FY 2024-28 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) include three new and/or repurposed school facilities, the renovation of 25 schools in the renovation queue, and the relocation of modular buildings. Timelines for capital projects will be posted on project web pages on the FCPS website.
“The CIP is more than a plan for building and renovating our schools,” said Dr. Michelle C. Reid, Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools. “It expresses our values and priorities, chief of which is providing equitable access to high-quality public school environments for all students.”
The Fairfax County School Board adopted amendments to the CIP. One amendment is for staff to do a full scoping to determine if a boundary change, program change, or both are options to reduce capacity issues at Kent Gardens Elementary School. A second is to reallocate Funding for the design and planning of an Early Childhood Education Center in the Route 1 area.
The board will consider follow on actions to the CIP at the next meeting on February 23.
-- Staff Writer New tax credits help schools go green-- Environment America National: February 07, 2023 [ abstract] Schools play an essential role in every childs’ beginning – a place that should encourage a love of learning, foster personal and educational growth, while providing a safe and healthy environment to do so. Studies show that students even learn better in an environment free from air pollution, yet many schools still use diesel-burning buses and outdated energy systems. Luckily, with new federal Funding available through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Investment Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA), there are now more Funding opportunities than ever to update school transportation and energy systems, fostering the best learning environment possible for your students. Not only is this beneficial for the environment, but it will protect students from health risks while simultaneously saving your school district money.
Installing Solar Panels
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides substantial Funding of solar energy projects that can lower utility bills for school districts. Valuable savings that can be redirected to other school priorities. With the largest investment into clean energy and electrification ever seen in the country, the IRA makes going solar easier than ever, and for the first time, tax-exempt entities can directly take advantage of these incentives.
Prior to the passage of the IRA, schools were unable to directly take advantage of federal tax credits to support installation of solar panels. Now, at least 30% of the cost of a solar project and installation can be covered by direct pay tax credits from the federal government through 2032.
-- Grace Coates What an Idaho school funding lawsuit might look like-- IdahoEDnews.org Idaho: February 07, 2023 [ abstract] It is not inevitable that the Idaho Legislature will invite a school Funding lawsuit, but legislators appear at the present time to be heading toward provoking legal action. Three factors will play into a decision as to whether or not to sue the State for violating provisions of the Idaho Constitution: (1) whether the Legislature continues to disregard its constitutional duty to “maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools,” which means adequately Funding the instructional side of the public school system; (2) whether the Legislature complies with the Idaho Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling that the State has the primary responsibility for building, equipping and maintaining school facilities; and (3) whether the Legislature violates Idaho’s strong prohibition against using taxpayer money to support religious schooling.
-- Jim Jones - Opinion Holtville HS staff responds to complaints over aging facilities-- WSFA12 Alabama: February 03, 2023 [ abstract]
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Some parents at Holtville High School are speaking out over the desperate need for renovations at the aging campus.
The majority of concerns surround the school’s athletic facilities. WSFA received some images from the inside of the school’s field house showing a bathroom without a door and a hole in the floor where a toilet used to be.
Other pictures showed what used to be a shower that coolers have occupied for game day and a small closet-sized room being used to wash all of the clothes in the athletic department.
“I don’t think that it’s asking too much to try to get some help to get those things taken care of,” said Kevin Chavis, President of the Football Booster Club.
Athletic Director Jason Franklin is aware of the concerns, but said there is simply not enough Funding right now to make needed repairs.
“The area is just moving faster than Funding’s allowing,” Franklin said. “It’s a struggle daily to make sure that we’re providing the best we can for our athletes.”
School Principal Kyle Futral says the 5A school has 550 kids and growing, and students are operating inside a building that’s nearly 100 years old.
-- Ashley Bowerman Lawmakers push bill to require solar panels at New Mexico schools receiving state grants-- Carlsbad Current Argus New Mexico: February 03, 2023 [ abstract]
More solar panels could be coming to newly built public schools throughout New Mexico, after a bill to require the power source was advanced by lawmakers last week and awaits another hearing on its way to becoming law.
Senate Bill 60, sponsored by Sen. William Soules (D-37) would require public schools be outfitted with photovoltaic solar panel systems capable of providing energy needed by the school if constructed and receiving state funds after July 1, 2023.
The bill was passed by the Senate Education Committee Jan. 27 on a 4-2 vote and was sent to the Senate Finance Committee for a subsequent hearing and further action.
If passed, SB 60 would amend New Mexico’s Public School Capital Outlay Act to include solar systems as eligible for state Funding and require any school receiving grant assistance from the Public School Capital Outlay Fund include such a system capable of meeting the school’s energy needs.
Soules, who serves as chair of the Senate Education Committee, said during the hearing that the bill would help the state make progress toward its goals to limiting higher-carbon forms of energy like natural gas.
-- Adrian Hedden Gov. DeWine announces school safety funding for over 900 Ohio schools-- Dayton 247 Ohio: February 02, 2023 [ abstract]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WKEF) -- Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced on Thursday that the latest round of Ohio's K-12 School Safety Grant Program will provide state Funding support for physical safety and security upgrades to over 900 additional Ohio schools.
Governor DeWine made the announcement on Thursday morning while visiting Lakewood High School in Cuyahoga County, which is one of 945 schools receiving grants totaling $68 million as part of the program's fourth round.
In the coming weeks, a fifth round of Funding will be announced.
The Ohio General Assembly allocated $112 million for the fourth and fifth rounds of the grant program as part of House Bill 45, which was signed by Governor DeWine last month.
The investment more than doubles the program's initial allotment of $105 million from Ohio's operating budget and the American Rescue Plan Act.
"When we created the K-12 School Safety Grant Program, we expected that the need for Funding would far exceed the amount of money available, but I vowed to go back to the legislature and ask for more," said Governor DeWine. "Now, with the generous support of the Ohio General Assembly, I'm proud to announce that every single qualifying school that applied for a grant will receive Funding."
So far, $173 million has been awarded to 2,374 Ohio K-12 schools to assist with physical security expenses such as new security cameras, public address systems, automatic door locks, visitor badging systems, and exterior lighting.
Eligible schools may receive up to $100,000 per building.
-- Lydia Bice School Facilities & The Accumulation of District Space Since 2007-- Common Sense Institute Arizona Arizona: February 02, 2023 [ abstract] As state Funding for education has changed over the last 20 years, this report will take a deep dive into school facilities and capital Funding. While school capital facilities have typically relied on local Funding, Arizona has a School Facilities Oversight Board (SFB) to ensure each school district meets minimum building standards. Despite the creation of this board in 1998, local property taxes have continued to provide the majority of district school capital Funding. In fact, property taxes have constituted around 75% of total district school capital Funding since 2006. This local Funding is over and above the primary Funding source for maintaining state facility standards.
Over the past two decades, $6.1 billion in General Fund money has gone towards district school facilities through the School Facilities Oversight Board. At the same time, districts have raised and spent at least another $13.6 billion in local funds above the state Funding they received to maintain facilities. While public district schools do have the most students out of all school options in Arizona, other public school options do not receive capital Funding from SFOB. For example, in 2000, when this Funding began, charter school enrollment only made up about 5% of total public-school enrollment in Arizona. In the last 20 years, charter school enrollment increased to almost 20% of total public-school enrollment. The State does not directly provide dedicated capital support to Charter Schools, and Charter operators additionally cannot access a local property tax for bond support.
-- Kamryn Brunner & Glenn Farley ED Invites Organizations to Make School Infrastructure and Sustainability Commitments-- U.S. Department of Education National: February 01, 2023 [ abstract] In the U.S., accountability and Funding for school curriculum, buildings, and grounds primarily comes from state and local agencies. For this reason, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has limited authorities in the areas of school infrastructure, sustainability, environmental justice, and climate. Nevertheless, ED continues to think creatively about how it can spur action and build leadership capacity to make all schools healthy, sustainable 21st century environments that offer environmental sustainability learning. One way ED can grow these efforts is by inspiring school partner organizations and developing shared messaging across the nation for what makes a healthy and sustainable school.
Today, we are thrilled to invite national, regional, and local non-profits, foundations, businesses, and community-based organizations to share bold commitment(s) to advance school sustainability, encompassing infrastructure, health, environmental sustainability education, climate, and environmental justice in America. By May 31, we ask organizations and entities to complete an online form to share how they will advance at least one of these infrastructure and sustainability priorities:
-- Staff Writer How can surplus dollars benefit Texas schools?-- The Dallas Morning News Texas: January 31, 2023 [ abstract] The 88th Texas Legislature is dealing with an unprecedented budget surplus, and the number of people fighting for a piece of the $12.5 billion approved spending budget is quickly increasing.
However, billions of dollars worth of that surplus is money from within the Foundation School Program that was appropriated but never spent. We believe that money, which was designated for education, should stay in education. And some simple budgetary changes within the FSP could have lasting benefits for Texas school children.
The program is the primary source of state Funding for schools and includes two programs to fund school facilities: the instructional facilities allotment (IFA) and the existing debt allotment (EDA). Unlike the basic allotment, which funds maintenance and operations for school districts, the instructional facilities and debt allotments provide state support toward voter-approved bonds, which primarily go towards Funding facilities. Increasing the per-student amounts under those two allotments could help solve many ongoing issues that Texas public schools are struggling with.
-- Opinion - Leo Lopez and Ben Melson School district opens laundry facility for homeless students-- Westside Eagle Observer Arkansas: January 31, 2023 [ abstract] GENTRY -- While most parents and students take the wearing of clean clothes for granted, the opportunity to wash clothes for wear to school is not available to all. And now, the Gentry School District is stepping up to help those without access to washroom facilities access by equipping a room with a washer and dryer and making that facility available to homeless students and their families.
On Thursday, the school district opened Pioneer Partnership L, a laundry room equipped with a washer, dryer, detergent, folding tables, and WiFi, just east of the intermediate school. The facility is now available to homeless students and their families by simply speaking to a child's school counselor and obtaining a key. Once card readers, which are back-ordered, are received, access will be granted via the use of student IDs.
The location -- away from the high school and away from the classroom areas -- makes it possible for students to use the facility away from other students and classmates and without any embarrassment that could cause.
The facility was paid for with American Rescue Plan/Elementary Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to meet the needs of students classified as homeless by the school district. The district supplied additional Funding and work to prepare the laundry room and install the necessary electrical supply, plumbing and appliances.
-- Randy Moll What's the plan for building new Middletown schools? Picture gets clearer-- The Newport Daily News Rhode Island: January 30, 2023 [ abstract] The Town Council, the School Committee, the School Building Committee and a robust retinue of consultants met to drive toward a decision about Funding the future of Middletown’s public schools in the wake of a failed attempt at regionalization with Newport.
Middletown’s latest proposal calls for the issuance of $190 million in bonds to construct a combined middle-high school on the multi-use fields adjacent to Gaudet Middle School, of which the town estimates about $83 million would ultimately be reimbursed by the state.
Operating on a very tight timeline due to the impending expiration of some elevated RIDE reimbursement rates – which are still far lower than the 82% reimbursement RIDE was offering for the construction of a regionalized high school – the Town Council after hearing a presentation on both the preliminary design and the financials of the project instructed the consulting team and the School Building Committee to stay the course and continue developing the proposal.
-- Zane Wolfang 6 Lawsuits That Could Shake Up How States Pay for Schools-- Education Week National: January 27, 2023 [ abstract]
Do states provide adequate Funding to ensure all students can access a high-quality education? Do local taxpayers shoulder an unfair burden to provide money to schools? Are schools able to maintain operations as the cost of goods and services inevitably rises with inflation?
These are among the key questions driving ongoing lawsuits that could reshape how schools are funded in the states where they’re playing out, and reverberate elsewhere.
Far removed from the annual budgeting process, these Funding lawsuits challenge the underlying mechanisms that provide districts with those dollars.
They have proved an essential tool for public school advocates—including education lawyers, teachers unions, district leaders, and even parents—aiming to hold states accountable to their constitutional obligations to provide an adequate education for all. Courts that rule in the plaintiffs’ favor can pressure lawmakers to allocate resources they might otherwise fail to supply.
These cases often take years to resolve and play out behind the scenes of day-to-day school operations. But the litigation often represents a key turning point in the political fight for more equitable education Funding, said David Sciarra, who’s set to retire this month after 26 years as executive director of the nonprofit Education Law Center. He’s been at the center of numerous school Funding lawsuits, including the landmark Abbott rulings in New Jersey that set the stage for sweeping change across the state in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
-- Mark Lieberman Murphy announces $350M available for school construction projects-- NJBiz New Jersey: January 26, 2023 [ abstract] Gov. Phil Murphy announced Jan. 26 a $350 million pot of money will soon be available for high-priority school construction projects throughout the Garden State.
The Funding comes from Senate Bill 2944, which was signed during the budget process last summer and allocated $5.2 billion in surplus money for the newly created New Jersey Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund. The legislation calls for $350 million of that tranche to be appropriated for school facilities projects, emergent needs and capital maintenance in Regular Operating Districts (ROD).
Beginning Jan. 30, according to a statement from Murphy’s office, more than 550 RODs will be eligible to apply for grants. School districts will be eligible to receive at least 40% of eligible project costs.
“From day one, my administration has made it a priority to support and improve our public school system – and helping our schools implement critical facility projects is an important component of those efforts,” said Murphy. “This Funding demonstrates our commitment to strengthening our schools and cementing our legacy as a state that is dedicated providing every student with a high-quality learning environment.”
-- Matthew Fazelpoor VA Sen. Jennifer McClellan’s School Construction Funding Bill Passes Senate With Bipartisan Support-- Blue Virginia Virginia: January 23, 2023 [ abstract] RICHMOND, VA – Today, the Senate of Virginia passed Sen. Jennifer McClellan’s (D-Richmond) bill (SB 1408) with Sen. Jeremy McPike (D-Prince William) to allow any Virginia locality to fund school construction and renovation through an up to 1% increase in sales tax passed in a local referendum. The bill passed on a 26-10 vote with bipartisan support.
The bill is a recommendation of the bipartisan Commission on School Construction and Modernization, which McClellan chairs. Del. Jeffrey Bourne (D-Richmond) is the chief patron of companion House legislation (HB 2316).
Under current Virginia law, only 9 localities have the ability to propose referenda for local sales and use taxes for school construction: Charlotte, Gloucester, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Patrick, and Pittsylvania Counties and the City of Danville. McClellan’s bill would enable any locality to propose a local sales tax referendum for the sole purpose of school construction. A similar bill (SB 1287) from Senator Creigh Deeds (D-Charlottesville) adding the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County to the list also passed the Senate on a 27-10 vote.
“SB 1408 will provide a critical tool for localities to fund school construction and modernization,” McClellan said. “We must provide new Funding options for local school divisions to address Virginia’s crisis of crumbling schools. I’m pleased to see this bill pass the Senate with strong bipartisan support, and I urge House leaders to allow a full House vote on this bill from the bipartisan School Construction and Modernization Commission.”
More than 1,000 schools — more than half of K-12 school buildings in Virginia — are more than 50 years old, according to the Commission on School Construction and Modernization. The Commission estimates that the amount of Funding needed to replace these buildings is $24.8 billion. Many localities face significant challenges in raising sufficient funds to undertake these projects.
-- lowkell Philly schools are suing the city over a law it says could keep buildings from opening in the fall-- The Philadelphia Inquirer Pennsylvania: January 20, 2023 [ abstract] The Philadelphia School District on Friday filed a lawsuit against the city over legislation officials said could jeopardize the opening of some school buildings this fall.
The unprecedented move comes months after City Council passed a law designed to strengthen environmental conditions in the district by forming a public oversight board to determine standards and judge whether school buildings can safely house staff and students.
It also creates a public fissure between the school board and the city officials who established the board just five years ago after 17 years of state oversight. School board members are selected by the mayor and confirmed by City Council.
School board president Reginald Streater, who said he believed the litigation is the “culmination of decades of chronic underFunding,” noted that the district alone is authorized by state law to determine whether schools open or close, and that children struggle academically and socially when unable to access face-to-face learning.
-- Kristen A. Graham Cornwall-Lebanon may spend up to $136M to improve aging Cedar Crest school buildings-- Lancaster Online Pennsylvania: January 16, 2023 [ abstract]
Cornwall-Lebanon School District is poised to spend between $88 million and $136 million in capital improvements to its aging secondary school buildings on the Cedar Crest campus.
School board members, during the Jan. 9 workshop meeting, heard a recap of proposed renovation of the district’s middle and high school buildings from Superintendent Philip Domencic. Electric, plumbing, and mechanical updates are needed to both, he noted, not having seen major work since the mid-1990s.
A connector space between the two buildings is planned as well, providing classroom space during renovations as well as a variety of future uses. Construction will occur between March 2024 and June 2029, and the connector building will be constructed first.
Director of Business Affairs Jean Hentz proposed a financing plan that would take advantage of the district’s existing debt service practice. Currently, it pays $5.5 million in debt service on existing bonds. As those debt obligations phase out, Hentz said, any new loans or bonds issued to cover construction and the middle and high school could be “smoothed” in.
The district’s intent is to maintain the same or similar debt service payments to avoid major tax increases in the future, Domencic said.
Since 2016, no state Funding has been made available for school construction reimbursements.
-- John Duffy MetroHealth, Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District Expand Services for Students, Families and Staff-- MetroHealth Ohio: January 16, 2023 [ abstract] The MetroHealth System and Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School (CH-UH) District are proud to announce the opening of the new Heights Wellness Center at Heights High School and the significant expansion of health care services offered to the district’s students, families and staff.
The renovation and expansion of Heights High School’s health clinic and the addition of new health care services throughout the school district are possible because of a nearly $4.5 million state grant awarded last spring to MetroHealth’s School Health Program. In addition to the new Heights Wellness Center, the Funding will allow MetroHealth to expand services through its mobile unit that serves other schools in the CH-UH district.
MetroHealth and CH-UH officials celebrated with a ribbon cutting and open house on Tuesday, January 17, at the Heights Wellness Center at Heights High School (13263 Cedar Road Cleveland Heights, OH 44118).
“Our goal at the School Health Program is to increase access to health care to support student success in and out of the classroom,” said Katie Davis, RN, Executive Director, Community and Corporate Health at MetroHealth. “We are excited that this Funding has allowed us to build a physical space that can support the entire district – students, family and staff – to focus on both health and wellness. Being in the building allows our team to build trusted relationships with students and strengthen our partnership.”
-- Dorsena Koonce Sullivan school officials struggling with ESSER project timelines-- Johnson City Press Tennessee: January 16, 2023 [ abstract]
BLOUNTVILLE — Juggling may not be taught in Sullivan County Schools, but that doesn’t mean Sullivan County school officials aren’t learning to do it on the fly by sheer necessity.
They increasingly find themselves between the proverbial rock and a hard place when it comes to Funding capitol projects with federal COVID relief funds.
On one side are deadlines to use the ESSER or Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, on the other are costs spiraling upwards, sparse bids and bids with longer timelines than allowed by the deadlines.
It is to the point that the school district may consider additional capitol projects to use up the COVID funds before they evaporate because of the deadlines. Particularly difficult to get done in a timely manner are HVAC projects.
-- Rick Wagner Most Schools Burn Fossil Fuels for Heat. Here’s Why That’s a Problem-- Education Week National: January 12, 2023 [ abstract]
More than half the energy used in K-12 schools goes toward heating and cooling buildings. And more than 60 percent of school HVAC systems’ energy use is tied to on-site burning fossil fuels, the primary driver of climate change.
All told, emissions from HVAC systems in schools each year roughly equal that of 5 million gas-powered cars, and imposes on society at least $2 billion in costs.
These are among the takeaways from a new report published Thursday by sustainability nonprofits RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute) and UndauntedK12. The report synthesizes federal data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and other sources to highlight K-12 schools’ substantial carbon footprint, and outlines how schools can reduce that impact by prioritizing energy efficiency.
And one way to do that, the report argues, may be to take advantage of Funding opportunities available now to install HVAC systems powered by electric heat pumps.
Schools’ contributions to climate change are drawing greater scrutiny as the planet continues to heat up and governments around the world are slowly grinding into action to reverse its most devastating effects. HVAC systems have also entered the spotlight during the pandemic because of their role in preventing the spread of infectious disease.
Heating and cooling are among the biggest drivers of schools’ energy output, according to the report. Outdoor temperatures are becoming more extreme in both directions, which will only increase the pressure on schools’ HVAC systems—and hamper students’ learning experiences—in the coming years.
Right now, only roughly a quarter of schools use electricity for heating, and roughly one in 10 schools currently use heat pumps for heating and cooling, according to the report’s analysis of federal survey data.
-- Mark Lieberman From public lands to Montana classrooms-- Montana Free Press Montana: January 11, 2023 [ abstract] Just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, state Superintendent Elsie Arntzen issued a celebratory announcement that she’d accepted $46.3 million from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Her message came complete with a photo of a large novelty check made out to “Montana’s K-12 Schools” and emblazoned with the image of a remote state-owned cabin site in Sanders County.
“Our precious state trust lands are working for our most precious treasures — our students,” Arntzen said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “The money earned from our trust lands directly benefits all Montana’s public school students while easing the burden on Montana taxpayers.”
The celebration spoke to a line often repeated by politicians and conservationists about the role that public lands — and, more specifically, the money they generate — play in Montana’s public school system. For decades, activities such as natural resource development and livestock grazing have been touted as a boon for school Funding, producing approximately $50 million annually that state law earmarks for the benefit of students. It’s a source of financial support for public education that’s actually enshrined in the Montana Constitution, designed to channel dollars to classrooms in perpetuity.
But as with so many revenue streams in state government, the full story is far from simple. The $46.3 million Arntzen accepted last fall will eventually reach public schools across the state, but not before traveling a path that will take it through the Montana Legislature, which convened for the 2023 session on Jan. 2. In fact, lawmakers on a joint subcommittee tasked with overseeing Montana’s next education budget received a detailed briefing Monday on the various formulas and mechanisms in place to guide state dollars to local schools.
-- Alex Sakariassen Arizona Judge Delays Trial in Fight Over Education Funding-- U.S. News & World Report Arizona: January 07, 2023 [ abstract]
PHOENIX (AP) — A lawsuit over how much money Arizona's lawmakers allocate for school maintenance, buses, textbooks and technology won't go to trial next week, after a judge granted a request for a delay by the state’s incoming attorney general.
Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes said her office needs time to determine whether some or all of the claims can be resolved without a trial.
The trial was set to begin Monday. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dewain Fox approved Mayes’ request Friday and scheduled a status hearing for March 17, the Arizona Republic reported.
A group of school districts and associations representing school officials and teachers sued the state in 2017. They argued that the Legislature had shorted them billions of dollars in capital Funding for more than a decade.
The lawsuit sought a declaration that Arizona’s school Funding scheme was unconstitutional because it violated the “uniform and general” clause of the state Constitution. The state Supreme Court ruled in 1994 that it is the state’s responsibility to provide cash for new schools, major maintenance and things like textbooks. The Legislature began cutting that spending during the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
-- Associated Press Georgia offered schools money to test their water for lead. Most didn’t sign up. Why?-- The Telegraph Georgia: January 01, 2023 [ abstract]
Lead exposure can have serious health consequences for children, but only a fraction of Georgia schools have signed up for a free testing program. Advocates worry school leaders are worried about the cost and consequences of discovering lead in their water systems, which the state has not provided Funding to address. In July 2021, the Georgia Department of Education announced a new initiative to provide free Funding and resources for schools across the state to test their drinking water for lead. At its launch, the “Clean Water for Georgia Kids” program, administered by RTI International, a North Carolina nonprofit, aimed to test “up to 800” schools during its first year.
More than a year later, just 96 schools and day cares have enrolled in the program, and 82 have completed testing — a small fraction of Georgia’s more than 2,300 schools and 3,100 day cares. In a meeting on Dec. 8, Georgia’s state Board of Education voted to renew RTI’s contract for the testing program. The Georgia program’s underenrollment stands in stark contrast to the successes of the pilot program on which it was modeled. In North Carolina, from June 2020 to September 2021, RTI International succeeded in testing lead levels at every operating day care in the state. Schools were not included.
-- GAUTAMA MEHTA Mississippi schools look to solar power to cut costs. Districts say it’s working.-- Sun Herald Mississippi: December 29, 2022 [ abstract]
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.
-- JUSTIN MITCHELL Aging schools need facelift-- The Stokes News North Carolina: December 28, 2022 [ abstract] 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.”
-- Amanda Dodson Mississippi schools look to solar power to cut costs-- Mississippi Today Mississippi: December 21, 2022 [ abstract] 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.
-- Alex Rozier Stamford's Westhill and Roxbury school replacements will cost $387M. CT says it will pay $292M of that.-- Stamford Advocate Connecticut: December 21, 2022 [ abstract]
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.
-- Ignacio Laguarda COLUMN: There’s a lot of new federal money for greening K-12 education. This is how schools could use it-- The Hechinger Report National: December 20, 2022 [ abstract] 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.
-- Opinion - ANYA KAMENETZ With construction costs rising, Alexandria School Board approves 10-year capital improvement plan-- ALXnow Virginia: December 16, 2022 [ abstract] The Alexandria School Board approved its 2024-2033 Capital Improvement Program budget on Thursday night, paving the way for construction of new schools, swing space and significant renovations over the next decade.
After a series of work sessions and public meetings this fall, the Board approved the $461 million proposal, with $58.7 million to be used next year.
“It is critical that we give our students the best opportunity to succeed by providing optimal learning environments and the resources to support their well-being and academic achievement,” School Board Chair Meagan Alderton said in a press release.
The fiscal year 2024 CIP budget is $37 million less than last year’s approved proposal, although that’s only because the Alexandria City High School Project Funding.
In fact, development costs have risen sharply. The school system is contending with price jumps up to 200%, ACPS reported.
-- James Cullum Rio Rancho Public Schools in need of more than $378M to fix facilities-- KOB.com New Mexico: December 13, 2022 [ abstract]
RIO RANCHO, N.M. — Rio Rancho Public Schools recently completed its five-year Facilities Master Plan, and through that process, learned it would need more than $378 million to fix all of the district’s current maintenance and facility issues.
“The findings were, in order for me to get everything up to par, $10 million a year. Again, my budget’s $3 million, is what I get,” said Melanie Archibeque, executive director of facilities at RRPS. “The idea and the reality is, we can’t get that done in five years, because we don’t have the money.”
Rio Rancho High School needs the most work.
“Rio Rancho High School is the one with the most monetary needs, and that would make sense when you think of the age and the scale of that campus,” Archibeque said.
In case the district does receive Funding from the state, Archibeque said her office already submitted a plan to keep up with maintenance work, before it becomes an emergency.
“So we can see if something’s wearing out, we can know that the life expectancy is coming,” she said. “I call it controlled chaos. So if I know something’s coming in, it needs to be replaced, it’s going to be a priority depending on what it is.”
Most of that work would be scheduled during the summer when students are not in class, but again, that can’t happen without the budget for it.
-- Brianna Wilson Wyoming Legislators Asked To Triple Spending For Schools; Another $148 Million Requested-- Cowboy State Daily Wyoming: December 13, 2022 [ abstract] The Select Committee on School Facilities is recommending the Wyoming Legislature triple the state’s public school construction budget.
The select committee wants to add $148 million to the supplemental budget to fund inflation and major maintenance work, which includes another $117 million for school construction projects.
The state has $44 million in school projects on the books for the current biennium, so the $117 million more for projects would more than triple this cost to $161 million.
Inflation And Deflation
Inflation continues to be a major factor in the American economy and one of the most impacted sectors is construction.
When it comes to Funding school construction projects, the largest question the Legislature’s Appropriation Committee deliberated Tuesday morning was how much additional money to factor in for future inflationary increases.
Although there was a general consensus more money is needed to cover ballooning prices, a few legislators were skeptical that prices will continue drastically increasing into the future.
The School Facilities Division determined its inflationary numbers based on an anticipated 22.5% increase in total price of projects. Based on that figure, the Appropriations Committee recommended a lower $20.5 million budget supplement for inflation Tuesday.
The Appropriations Committee already included an inflationary component on the projects it approved last year, which was not factored into the figures presented Tuesday.
The new inflation Funding would cover projects that have already been approved but have not gone out to bid.
-- Leo Wolfson Maryland committee approves $210 million in funding allocations for school projects-- The Center Square Maryland: December 12, 2022 [ abstract]
(The Center Square) – A total of 101 school-related projects totaling $210 million have been committed for Maryland’s capital improvement project budget for fiscal year 2024, after a recent vote from a state legislative panel.
The Maryland Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) on Thursday approved the Funding allocations within the state’s capital improvement program, with the caveat the commitments represent 75% of the assumed $280 million earmarked.
The approvals came on the heels of statewide education officials submitting Funding requests for a myriad of projects, big and small.
Alex Donahue, acting executive director of the IAC, said requests that came in this fall far outpaced the anticipated pool of money. A total of 23 local education agencies (LEAs), in addition to the Maryland School for the Blind, submitted $840 million worth of Funding requests.
“This year’s CIP has been a challenging one to wrangle, as the needs across the state clearly are substantial,” Donahue said.
In his presentation to the IAC, Donahue said there is a reason the CIP Funding requests have been voluminous as schools grapple with assorted Funding issues.
“The CIP is the state’s most flexible school Funding program and can be used for almost any category of project,” Donahue said, pointing out the Funding bucket can be applied to new school construction, as well as renovations.
-- Dave Fidlin Why local leaders should champion ‘community schools’ to improve student, family, and neighborhood well-being-- Brookings National: December 12, 2022 [ abstract] By the time students poured back into schools this fall, the most disruptive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to have finally receded. But the lingering effects on children and learning are unfortunately still very much with us.
New data from the National Center for Education Statistics show that the pandemic erased more than two decades of progress in reading and math for 9-year-old students. The effect was most profound for students from low-income communities—exacerbating the pre-pandemic achievement gap between those students and their higher-income peers.
Outside of school, the pandemic also magnified long-standing geographic and racial inequities in economic opportunity and overall health and well-being. A 2020 report from the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) found that approximately 78% of high-poverty neighborhoods in the U.S.—communities of color in particular—were highly vulnerable to the pandemic’s economic impacts, including loss of jobs and income, compared to just 15% of low-poverty neighborhoods.
Federal relief Funding is helping states and localities address these challenges. Large cities and counties have committed a significant amount of their State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds toward projects in economically disadvantaged communities. And according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, over $9 billion has been allocated for K-12 education and related purposes, including after-school programs and programs for students’ emotional and mental health needs.
But money alone isn’t enough. Now is the time for local leaders to not only invest more in families and communities, but to invest differently. Given the intricate relationship between neighborhood well-being and school performance, championing and investing in community schools—a model focused on leveraging and coordinating the resources and voices of the entire community to support a thriving educational environment—could be one of the best ways for mayors and other local officials to confront both types of challenges.
-- Jennifer S. Vey and Juanita Morales School board wants more building aid-- Concord Monitor New Hampshire: December 11, 2022 [ abstract] Concord School Board members are urging state lawmakers to expand building aid after the district’s fourth-place ranking made the likelihood of state Funding for a new middle school low.
Last week, the Concord School Board voted 7-0 to adopt a resolution urging Gov. Chris Sununu and state legislators to add more funds to the State Building Aid Program, which offers grants to help New Hampshire school districts afford costly construction projects.
“Whereas the Concord School Board recognizes the importance of the New Hampshire Building Aid program for school districts and whereas the Concord School District understands that the cost of capital building projects falls heavily on local property taxpayers, we the Concord School Board support the expansion of the Building Aid Program, and urge our state legislators and the Governor to appropriate additional Funding for State Building Aid program,” the statement read.
-- EILEEN OGRADY State approves $30M toward new Finneytown middle and high school building
-- The Cincinnati Enquirer Ohio: December 09, 2022 [ abstract] The state approved $30 million toward a new Finneytown middle and high school project on Thursday. This is the second phase of the district's K-12 building project after Finneytown Elementary opened to students this fall.
The entire project will cost nearly $48 million total. The new building will be constructed at the site of the district's current high school and will serve students in grades 7-12. Finneytown Local School District superintendent Laurie Banks said she hopes the secondary campus will open in the fall of 2025.
"We are grateful to our community for their ongoing support and partnership in educating the students of Finneytown. We also appreciate the Funding the state has made available to support school districts in ensuring all students can learn in a safe, supportive environment," Banks wrote in a Friday email to The Enquirer.
"Learning environments matter and impact students, staff members, and the community," Banks wrote. "I am excited to see the impact of our new spaces unfold."
-- Madeline Mitchell NNPS launches new Capital Improvement and Facilities Master Plan Dashboard-- Newport News Public Schools Virginia: December 08, 2022 [ abstract] Newport News Public Schools has launched a Capital Improvement and Facilities Master Plan Dashboard to increase public visibility and accountability for the school division's capital needs and facilities master plan.
The dashboard presents cost and management data for school facilities. It gives the public a one-stop location for capital data for each school (year of construction, total square footage, program capacity and student enrollment). The online tool also identifies major renovation needs, facility conditions, and deferred maintenance costs.
The dashboard tracks the school division's progress on key initiatives identified by the NNPS Facilities Master Plan Steering Committee including safety and security enhancements, the replacement of learning cottages, maintenance projects deferred due to the lack of available Funding, and computer lab renovations. The dashboard gives users an in-depth, transparent look at facility needs through a variety of visualizations, including maps, charts and graphs. Â
"The new dashboard is a significant milestone in our long-standing efforts to provide greater transparency and accountability around NNPS school facilities. It provides insight on maintenance needs and the Funding needed to support the division's aging facilities," said Dr. George Parker, superintendent of schools.
-- Michelle Price Facing costly HVAC fixes, some school leaders want state officials to make accessing funding easier-- ctpublic.org Connecticut: December 01, 2022 [ abstract] More than 100 schools statewide have applied for a share of a $150 million state grant to improve school indoor air quality, ahead of the Dec. 1 deadline.
But to access that money, municipalities must provide matching grants. That’s left some schools with fewer resources feeling excluded, while other districts are struggling to find any avenue of relief for the enormous costs involved with upgrading or replacing an HVAC system in a school.
In Old Saybrook, the school district is installing air conditioning in three schools. The elementary, middle and high schools are situated between the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound on fairly marshy ground with a high water table.
“We have had days we've had to send everybody home, because the humidity was at a point where floors were slippery, walls were slippery, and it was very difficult for our staff and students,” schools Superintendent Jan Perruccio said at a public hearing Wednesday.
Then there are secondary costs: like reworking electrical systems in school buildings to provide enough power for the upgraded HVAC systems. In Old Saybrook, the district says the project cost across three schools is estimated at $7.2 million.
-- Sujata Srinivasan Texas Education Agency Updates School Safety Standards-- Brownwood News Texas: November 30, 2022 [ abstract]
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) updated the Texas school safety standards earlier this month to amend certain safety requirements for schools to follow.
“In light of recent events, ongoing public concern, and the charge by Governor Abbott, the Commissioner… is proposing §61.1031 to address school safety and ensure minimum school safety standards to address the safety of students and staff alike in our public schools,” said the TEA.
In the new standards, the TEA established modifications structurally and systematically for school districts to adopt. The TEA is also providing grant opportunities for school districts seeking Funding for the upgrades needed and schools must implement these plans for construction or modification during the 2022-2023 school year. August of 2023 is the deadline to have a contractor procured.
First, the TEA outlined structural requirements for school facilities to modify. The TEA outlined that if the school has a wall or fence, it must be at least 6 feet high and have unscalable measures to it. Or it must be 8 feet high. If it is gated, school districts must prevent the gate openings from being accessed from the outside without a key or system to unlock it.
-- Jacob Lehrer A New Federal Grant Will Fund Schools’ Energy Upgrades. Here’s What to Know-- Education Week National: November 29, 2022 [ abstract]
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced the first round of a new grant that will fund energy improvements in schools.
The Renew America’s Schools grant program provides a total of $500 million in Funding. The first round of grants will provide up to $80 million for schools to install energy efficient lighting and HVAC systems, improve the insulation of their buildings, switch to electric vehicles, and convert facilities to renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
The grant program was included in the $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that President Joe Biden signed Nov. 15. While it touches on key priorities of green building advocates, the grant falls far short of the $100 billion in new federal Funding for school infrastructure Biden originally proposed.
The Energy Department “is working diligently to deploy these critical funds so that schools can start turning infrastructure improvements into healthier learning environments and big cost savings, as soon as possible,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in a statement Tuesday.
Here’s what you need to know.
-- Evie Blad Proposal to tap endowment funds for school construction gains steam-- Idaho Press Idaho: November 22, 2022 [ abstract] BOISE — Lawmakers on a special interim legislative panel examining Funding for school construction in Idaho appear to be coalescing around a proposal to tap the state’s annual endowment payments to schools to create a new Funding stream for school facilities, partially relieving local property taxpayers in the process from bearing the full cost of repaying school bonds, as one piece of the solution.
Sen. Jeff Agenbroad, R-Nampa, presented a revised version of the proposal to the panel on Monday, and at the end of the meeting, when each member identified his or her top priorities among the ideas that have been laid out thus far, seven of eight specifically mentioned the endowment plan.
The lawmakers haven’t yet made any decisions. Second-most popular among the ideas they’ve discussed, according to their comments at Tuesday’s meeting, is a re-examination of the current two-third supermajority requirement to pass a school construction bond. Ideas range from amending the Idaho Constitution to lower that to 60%, to following Montana’s lead and requiring lower margins when more voters turn out to vote on the bond.
-- Betsy Russell Inflation-fueled construction costs continue to impact school projects in the Mountain State-- Metro News West Virginia: November 21, 2022 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state School Building Authority approved more than $10 million in supplemental Funding Monday for ongoing school construction projects in three West Virginia counties because of increasing construction costs.
The SBA has been dealing with the inflation-fueled construction cost increases for about a year and has even put on hold the Funding of any new projects.
SBA Chairman Brian Abraham said Monday’s move is part of a new temporary policy that allows for supplemental Funding. He said the money is only approved after the counties do some budget trimming with their project architects.
“The counties shared in the pain here,” Abraham told MetroNews. “It’s not simply providing extra money. This is after everything has been gone through and they still can’t meet their budget. The SBA is trying to keep these projects going.”
The SBA approved $2.2 million in supplemental Funding for the Central Elementary School project in Hampshire County, an additional $6 million for work at Frankfort Elementary School in Mineral County and nearly $2 million more for the Alderson Elementary project in Greenbrier County.
-- Jeff Jenkins East TN schools got $500 million in COVID-19 funds, and now they're spending it on much-needed repairs-- WBIR Tennessee: November 17, 2022 [ abstract]
KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — For decades, East Tennessee schools have struggled to keep up with the costs of maintenance.
Parents, students and teachers have complained about leaky roofs, crowded classrooms and outdated technology. The solutions often came with million-dollar price tags that districts simply can't afford.
Then, East Tennessee schools came into a windfall — more than $500 million in COVID-19 Funding. Here's how they spent it.
ALCOA CITY SCHOOLS:
Alcoa City Schools received about $3.9 million in ESSER funds, according to documents submitted to the Tennessee Department of Education.
The district said it intended to spend about $1.5 million on building upgrades at Alcoa Intermediate School, specifically on the roofing, walls and HVAC system.
It also wanted to upgrade radios and security cameras across the district, provide additional maintenance/custodial support and purchase the necessary equipment for sanitation and HVAC maintenance.
-- Grace King State seeks approval for $9.8 million in federal funds toward school security upgrades-- New Hampshire Bulletin New Hampshire: November 16, 2022 [ abstract] New Hampshire officials are seeking this week to distribute $9.8 million in federal funds to help boost school door-locking systems to mitigate threats.
In a request to the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee, Gov. Chris Sununu said the funds will be spread among 231 public schools and 18 nonpublic schools if approved. The committee will vote on whether to approve the grants on Friday.
The proposed funds are part of the state’s Security Action for Education (SAFE) program, launched this year to use federal COVID-19 relief aid toward school security upgrades.
Under a process set up this year, schools could apply for up to $100,000 in Funding for three categories of upgrades: access control, surveillance, or emergency alerting.
But all of the state’s proposed awards this week will go to access control projects, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education said Tuesday.
“Homeland Security determined that these access control projects were the most at-risk, and were the priority,” the spokeswoman, Kimberley Houghton, said.
-- ETHAN DEWITT New report analyzes school district plans to improve air quality and facility conditions-- USGBC.org National: November 14, 2022 [ abstract] On Nov. 14, the Center for Green Schools published new findings about how school districts are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically as it relates to investing federal relief funds to manage air quality and upgrade facilities.
The American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds (ARP-ESSER or ESSER III) represented an unprecedented federal investment in K–12 schools and a lifeline over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the case of school facilities. The Funding offered school systems a chance to address a critical backlog of deferred maintenance, needed equipment and infrastructure repairs, as well as upgrades to outdated building systems to improve health, air quality and comfort.
The report looks at how school districts across the country plan to invest that federal aid, with a focus on planned Funding for large-scale facilities related work. The analysis includes qualitative interviews with three school district facilities personnel and a quantitative analysis based on a data set of 5,004 school districts’ ESSER-III spending plans by the Burbio data service. The data set contained information from school districts from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, representing approximately 74% of public school students and roughly $83.1 billion in ESSER III funds. Access to the data set was generously supported by Carrier.
Major findings include:
-- Phoebe Beierle New schools emerging throughout Jacksonville thanks to half penny-- Duval County Public Schools Florida: November 14, 2022 [ abstract] With active construction underway on one full school replacement and design reveals held for three other full school replacements and one brand new school, the district is passing many milestones in its 15-year master facilities plan. These projects are funded by the half-penny sales tax approved by voters in 2020.
Besides moving forward with new school buildings, safety and security projects are in progress at 42 schools. Some safety and security projects have been delayed due to material shortages as well as the need to re-bid materials due to excessive costs. Even with these delays, all safety and security projects are on schedule to be completed in the three-year timeline as planned.
Revenue exceeds forecast but inflation offsets gains
Revenue from the half-penny funds the district’s master facilities plan. Through June 2022, the tax generated $172.44 million overall with about $149.4 million going to the district. Revenue is exceeding projections made when the tax was proposed. However, inflation of material and labor costs is offsetting the additional revenue.
State law requires that charter schools receive a portion of the Funding based on enrollment. The charter school share was $23.06 million through June.
-- Tracy Pierce and Briana Nelson-Canty Guam Education board adopts master facilities plan-- The Guam Daily Post Guam: November 10, 2022 [ abstract]
The Guam Education Board officially approved the master facilities plan for the Guam Department of Education but in one board member’s view, there’s no money for it.
“We are introducing and we are going to vote on and approve a master facilities plan, but, we don’t have any money for it,” GEB member Robert Crisostomo said during a recent board meeting.
While GDOE has $80 million left in federal relief Funding, it can’t be applied for this purpose, according to Crisostomo.
“But we can’t use the $80 million for facilities or earmark it,” he said as he moved to have the board adopt an amendment to the master facilities plan.
“If you’d like to entertain along with that an amendment with that to include earmarking $80 million for facilities, I think it would go a long way in solidifying our commitment to the community that we want our facilities built up," he continued.
And although board chairman Mark Mendiola was in agreement about committing the funds, he also said, unfortunately, it isn’t in the board's authority to do so.
“Mr. Crisostomo, that’s a great motion and I would love to support it, but, unfortunately, these are federal dollars, so we cannot,” the chairman said.
-- Staff Writer State to present building aid rankings this week-- Concord Monitor New Hampshire: November 06, 2022 [ abstract] The state Department of Education will share its ranked list of school districts who will be prioritized for building aid in 2024 and 2025 on Thursday, a decision that will impact the future of Concord’s Rundlett Middle School building project.
The state’s school building aid program reimburses a portion of a district’s construction costs. The Department of Education creates a ranked list of school districts that will get priority for Funding if it is approved in the state budget. The list will be presented to the State Board of Education at its Thursday meeting in Nashua, the Department of Education said Friday. Districts will be able to log in and see the results on the website.
The Concord School Board is responsible for deciding how to move forward after learning the results of the building aid decision, according to Superintendent Kathleen Murphy.
-- EILEEN OGRADY Updated LBUSD facilities timeline pushes HVAC projects forward by two years-- Signal Tribune California: November 03, 2022 [ abstract] The Long Beach Unified School District’s projected timeline for Measure E facility upgrades has been updated to prioritize Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) projects, according to information presented at the Wednesday, Nov. 2 board meeting.
Measure E is a $1.5 billion bond measure the district passed back in 2016 to fund repairs, technology, air conditioning and safety across school sites.
A shift in Funding due to the governor’s budget that allocated one-time state funds to school facilities projects as well as unused contingencies from past projects are some of the main factors that prompted rebaselining.
The new timeline proposes advancing HVAC-type projects at Charles A Buffum Elementary, Patrick Henry Elementary School, Herbert Hoover Middle School, Beach K-12 Independent Study, James Monroe High School and Benjamin Tucker Elementary by two years.
Other school sites such as Stanford Middle School, Minnie Gant Elementary School, George Washington Carver Elementary School, Tincher Preparatory School and John Marshall Middle School can only be advanced up to a year, as Executive Director of Facilities Development and Planning, David Miranda, stated it would not be feasible to start and finish construction in the span of two years.
-- BRIANA MENDEZ-PADILLA Committee receives preliminary report about condition of school district’s buildings as part of budget planning-- LJWorld Kansas: November 02, 2022 [ abstract] The committee tasked with coming up with budget recommendations for the Lawrence school district received some preliminary information about building conditions that will inform recommendations about potential school closures.
The Futures Planning Committee met for the fourth time Wednesday evening at district offices and received some aggregated cost estimates — totaling about $30 million — for improvements to the district’s elementary and middle schools. Larry Englebrick, the district’s chief operations officer for facilities and operations, said the district has been taking an in-depth look at the condition of its buildings, and while they are generally in good condition, facility needs and Funding must be planned.
“We look at available Funding, the facility needs, and then we have to balance what available Funding do we have each year based with the projection of when we’re going to hit specific building improvement needs and maintenance needs,” Englebrick said.
Englebrick said the district’s target is to have all schools at 80% overall condition — he said a brand-new building would be at 100% — and he provided an aggregated breakdown of what it would cost to attain that goal for the district’s 13 elementary schools and four middle schools. The cost to get schools to 80% condition was $16.92 million for the elementary schools and $12.32 million for the middle schools. A lesser number, the cost to return only the schools’ “priority systems” to 80% condition, was also given, and was $12.78 million for the elementary schools and $10.38 million for the middle schools.
-- ROCHELLE VALVERDE State Budget Review Subcommittee on Education hears from school superintendents on increasing construction costs-- Kentucky Teacher Kentucky: November 02, 2022 [ abstract] The Kentucky General Assembly’s Budget Review Subcommittee on Education heard from school superintendents about the struggle with rapidly increasing construction costs during their Nov. 2 meeting.
Chay Ritter, the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) director of the Division of District Support, said school districts typically issue bonds or pay cash to finance projects. The bonding capacity, or a district’s borrowing power, is impacted by interest rates, credit ratings and existing debit service. Due to its bonding potential, a district can have a gap in Funding that results in a project being built in phases over a longer time period, or a reduction in the project scope.
When construction is delayed, the costs may go up, Ritter said.
House Bill (HB) 678, passed by the legislature in 2022, accelerated construction projects by allowing a district to start new construction or renovation without the prior approval of KDE, Ritter said. The bill, a two-year measure that will expire unless the General Assembly takes further action in 2024, also allows a district to spend restricted funds on extracurricular facilities.
Currently, 150 of the Commonwealth’s 171 school districts are operating under HB 678.
“It saves considerable time and time is money in the construction business,” he said.
Ritter said several districts are either delaying or altering their construction projects due to the continued price increases, including:
-- Staff Writer Idaho leaders grapple with whether to allow impact fees for schools-- Idaho Press Idaho: October 31, 2022 [ abstract] The last time Kuna residents passed a bond to build a new school was in 2017. Since then, the city’s school district has grown by over 500 students.
It’s a common story in the Treasure Valley where districts are struggling to keep pace with the space needed to accommodate an influx of residents and their school-age children. Today, the Kuna School District is in the process of developing a bond that, if passed, would fund additional construction at Swan Falls High School, construction of a new elementary school, and other projects.
But some familiar with the issue think it is time to add another tool to the toolbox of education Funding: charging impact fees to new developments.
In Kuna, Superintendent Wendy Johnson estimates it would cost $26 million to build a new, 600-student elementary school. Even being able to collect $3 million in impact fees would help offset that cost, she said.
-- Erin Banks Biden-Harris Administration Announces $84.5 Million to Make Clean Energy Improvements and Lower Energy Costs for K-12 Sc-- energy.gov National: October 26, 2022 [ abstract] WASHINGTON, D.C.— The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), today released a Notice of Intent (NOI) announcing $80 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to make K-12 schools more energy efficient and lower their energy costs, including some of the nation’s highest-need schools. The Funding is the first tranche of the Renew America’s Schools grant program created by the infrastructure law to provide schools critical energy infrastructure upgrades.
Through the grant program, DOE will fund energy and health improvements in public K-12 schools across the country. Additionally, a new DOE prize program will help resource 25 high-need school districts with the training and tools needed to improve how their schools consume energy. Through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these investments will address the historic inequities of school facilities, reduce school energy costs, and improve health and learning outcomes for children and staff, while also supporting the promise of bringing good-paying jobs to the community.
-- Staff Writer Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation to award $96M grant to Hawaii Department of Education-- dvidshub.net Hawaii: October 26, 2022 [ abstract] MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII - The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC), using Funding from the Department of Defense (DOD) Public Schools on Military Installations (PSMI) Program, is set to award a $96 million grant to the Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE). The HIDOE will use this grant to replace Mokapu Elementary School, located aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH), in order to address the capacity and facility condition deficiencies that placed the school on the Deputy Secretary of Defense “Public Schools on Military Installations Priority List” at #33. This new facility will serve 975 military connected students in grades kindergarten through sixth.
The PSMI program, sanctioned by congressional authorization, provides Funding to construct, renovate, repair or expand public schools located on military installations to address capacity and/or facility condition deficiencies as priorities by a Secretary of Defense-approved prioritized listing. This program of assistance is available by invitation only, based upon a school’s placement on the prioritized listing and the availability of appropriations.
-- Staff Writer Equity on the horizon: Ohio legislators propose $600 million for Appalachian schools-- The Columbus Dispatch Ohio: October 24, 2022 [ abstract] While the future of school Funding in Ohio beyond 2023 is dependent on the next state budget, State Reps. Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville) and Shane Wilkin (R-Hillsboro) have crafted new legislation to increase equity in education in other ways.
The lawmakers' proposal, introduced earlier this month, would set aside $600 million to improve conditions for more than 58,000 students across 38 school districts in 18 Appalachian counties.
Known as the Accelerated Appalachian School Building Assistance Program, it would create a program under the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, the agency that oversees infrastructure projects for institutions supported by the state, which includes public K-12 schools.
“For too long, Ohio has prioritized investment in students from cities over students in rural areas,” Edwards wrote in a statement. “The introduction of this legislation sends a message to leaders in Columbus that it is time we deliver equitable school facility investment to Appalachian Ohio."
-- Ceili Doyle Millions of dollars in repairs needed at Asheville City Schools-- WLOS North Carolina: October 20, 2022 [ abstract] ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Asheville City Schools is working to address high-priority maintenance needs in several schools. Buncombe County’s School Capital Fund Commission has approved Funding requests for several projects that will now go before the Buncombe County Commission for final approval.
“We’re fortunate to have a lot of really nice buildings in our district, and we’ve tried to prioritize the ones that needed the most repair,” Asheville City Schools Executive Director of Operations April Dockery said.
The School Capital Fund Commission approved $5,341,805 for an extensive renovation of the Asheville High School and SILSA auditorium. Missing tiles in the ceiling and water damage marks are some of the most noticeable signs of need in the auditorium.
“It’s been in dire need of repair for many years now, and it’s kind of the heartbeat of our school system, and our community accesses that quite frequently,” Dockery said.
-- Andrew James DPS will close some elementary and middle schools due to declining enrollment-- 9News Colorado: October 19, 2022 [ abstract] DENVER — Denver Public Schools is set to close several elementary and middle schools to make up for a budget shortfall caused by declining enrollment.
The specific schools will be announced in the coming days, a district spokesperson said.
The school board approved criteria to close schools with fewer than 215 students, as well as schools with fewer than 275 students and a projected decline in enrollment.
In the next three years, the district expects to enroll 3,000 fewer elementary and middle school students, it said.
"Three thousand students may not seem like that many students, but to a budget where you’re receiving per-pupil Funding, that’s about $36 million," district spokesperson Scott Pribble said.
"We know that there are impacts and it’s heartbreaking and difficult work, but in order for the district to remain solvent, it’s work that needs to happen," he said.
The district said the budget shortfall means it cannot provide the same mental health supports, social and emotional services or specialized programming to schools with lower enrollment.
"We need to make sure that we can provide the same quality services to all our schools," he said.
The district said it will identify schools that are "failing to remain financially solvent" and move to close them.
-- Cole Sullivan Athens waits on state funding to begin construction of new high school-- WOUB Ohio: October 13, 2022 [ abstract]
ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Athens High School looks pretty worn and dated compared to other high schools in southeast Ohio, a fact not lost on parents.
A recent post in a Facebook forum for parents in the Athens school district mentioned visiting Logan High School for a soccer game and noted how beautiful the facility is.
Other parents chimed in with similar comments about how much nicer other schools in the area are and wondered when the new high school in Athens is getting built.
The answer: Soon (maybe).
It’s complicated. The district is waiting on state Funding to build the new school, and right now Athens is second on the state’s Funding list.
Athens Superintendent Tom Gibbs said he expects the district that’s first on the list will get funded in the next year. And then it will be Athens’ turn — unless another district cuts ahead in line.
To make sense of all this, it helps to understand how school construction in Ohio is funded.
School districts are ranked based on their perceived ability to pay for construction costs out of their own pocket. Districts that have less ability to pay are ranked higher and get a higher percentage of the construction costs covered by the state.
The ranking is done using a formula that considers the average property values in a district. Because the tax levies districts use to raise funds for school construction are tied to property values, the purpose of this formula is to make sure poorer districts get higher contributions from the state.
“The underlying objective is to create equitable facilities” among districts, said Dave Hayden, president of the Athens school board.
Property values are only part of the calculation. The state’s formula also considers the number of students in a district. So districts with lower property values and higher student enrollment are going to rank higher, and get a bigger Funding match from the state, than districts with higher values and lower enrollment.
-- David Forster Pee Dee school districts to receive over $20M for renovations, maintenance-- WMBF News South Carolina: October 11, 2022 [ abstract] MARLBORO COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) - Multiple school districts in South Carolina will receive millions in Funding to replace and renovate school facilities.
State Superintendent Molly Spearman and Marlboro County leaders will formally announce the allocation of $21 million to school districts in the Pee Dee on Wednesday.
Dillon County School District Four will receive $12 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funding and $3 million in state Funding to renovate and replace aging school facilities.
In April, the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDOE) commissioned a study of schools in the state’s poorest counties to help with deciding how much capital Funding would go toward disadvantaged schools. The review found that schools in Dillon Four, especially five elementary schools, were in need of modification and renovation. The schools have an average age of 73 years old with the oldest being East Elementary School which is almost 100 years old.
-- Staff Writer Two years of school capital projects ready for funding scrutiny-- Westport Journal Connecticut: October 10, 2022 [ abstract]
WESTPORT — Armed with an adjustable $92.4 million 10-year capital plan, the Board of Education is ready to move forward on the first two years
This is year one.
The board voted 7-0 last week to ask the Board of Finance for $83,906 to fund projects in the 2022-23 school year.
The projects exclude a building envelope evaluation for Long Lots Elementary, which has already been evaluated, and Coleytown Middle which was recently renovated. That leaves four other elementary schools, Bedford Middle School and Staples High School, which would get comprehensive studies.
The projects on this year’s list are:
a security and accessibility evaluation of half the schools in town.
an in-depth evaluation of Coleytown Elementary to see if it can be renovated.
a modified mechanical evaluation at Saugatuck and Bedford.
ancillary costs to wrap up the Coleytown Elementary School modular classroom project.
demolition of the modular classroom at Kings Highway.
HVAC work at Greens Farms and Kings Highway.
Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice said there are few items on the list that board members have not seen before. The total requested is less than originally penciled into the 10-year forecast.
-- Linda Conner Lambeck With an aggressive schedule, lawmakers will revisit school buildings debate-- Idaho Capital Sun Idaho: October 05, 2022 [ abstract] Legislators will begin taking a new look at an old dilemma Thursday: the question of paying for new school buildings.
A legislative “interim committee” will hold its first meeting to discuss school building construction issues. And the committee could be working on an aggressive timetable: The goal is to come up with some ideas by December — which could translate into bills for the 2023 legislative session that begins in January.
“Our intent is to make some progress in an area where we haven’t made some progress,” said Sen. Dave Lent, R-Idaho Falls, a co-chair of the 10-member House-Senate committee.
For years, not much has changed in the way Idaho builds schools.
The Legislature has long balked at putting state dollars into school buildings, passing on most of the cost to local property owners. Meanwhile, the Idaho Constitution makes it hard for school districts to bankroll buildings, requiring two-thirds voter support to pass a local bond issue.
Neither of those political realities have changed much over the years.
But political momentum could be building behind a change.
Since Idaho is sitting on a record budget surplus — and since legislators in September agreed to put an additional $330 million a year into K-12 — education lobbying groups have intensified their push for state Funding of facilities.
-- KEVIN RICHERT Leaky roofs and a looming deficit: The Anchorage School District is deciding how to spend $100M in one-time funding that-- Anchorage Daily News Alaska: October 01, 2022 [ abstract] The Anchorage School District is facing an important decision: how to spend roughly $100 million in one-time funds from the state while it contends with a significant budget deficit and the continued fallout from a failed school bond earlier this year.
“Everybody wants a piece of the pie,” School Board President Margo Bellamy said Wednesday.
The influx of cash is available to ASD at a moment when the district faces a $68 million budget deficit in the following budget cycle and persistent capital needs after the failure of this year’s bond — a roughly $112 million measure that was narrowly voted down and would have replaced school roofs, added secure entrances to elementary schools and rebuilt one school entirely.
-- Morgan Krakow State Superintendent Molly Spearman Announces $52 Million in Infrastructure Funding for Hampton County School District-- Walterboro Live South Carolina: September 30, 2022 [ abstract] PRESS RELEASE - Hampton, S.C. - State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman today announced the allocation of $52 million in state Funding to Hampton County School District to assist in the renovation and replacement of antiquated existing school facilities with safe, modern facilities to accommodate current and future county enrollment trends. The Funding is part of the $140 million under Proviso 1.92 of the General Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2022-2023.
In April of 2022, the SCDE commissioned independent facility studies of schools in the state’s poorest counties to aid in decision making for capital Funding appropriated by the General Assembly for disadvantaged schools. Hampton County is composed of ten separate schools and a career and technology center. Current enrollment of the county-wide district is approximately 2,455 students.
-- SCDE Communications Fed civil rights investigation raises major question: How do school buildings affect learning?-- Star News Online North Carolina: September 29, 2022 [ abstract] New Hanover County Schools is under investigation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for allegedly failing to provide adequate facilities at New Hanover High School – but decrepit facilities are a trend across the nation, experts say.
Originally built in the early 1920s, New Hanover High School over the decades received significant wear and tear with renovations and repairs not keeping pace, one parent alleged in a complaint to the Office for Civil Rights, especially in the wake of a 2014 school bond. The complaint alleged the district was discriminating against Black and Hispanic students because New Hanover has a majority Black and Hispanic student body, while the district's other high schools -- Laney, Hoggard and Ashley -- have majority white student bodies. Hoggard and Laney both received more Funding from the 2014 bond to renovate some academic facilities and build new gymnasiums.
-- Sydney Hoover Worcester BOE approves $142.5 million CIP plan-- Ocean City Today Maryland: September 29, 2022 [ abstract] The Worcester County Board of Education unanimously approved several capital improvements projects last week, along with a $142.5 million capital improvement plan (CIP) for FY24.
The CIP is a six-year strategic plan that identifies capital improvement needs across the district, while attaching to each project a timeline and a budget.
The district’s CIP includes planning and designing requests for Buckingham Elementary School and a design Funding request to replace the roof at Snow Hill Middle School/Cedar Chapel Special School.
The plan does not include any construction Funding requests.
The district in January finished work on a new roof at Pocomoke Middle School and is now in the process of constructing a 24,800 square foot addition at Stephen Decatur Middle School.
According to district officials, work is proceeding on time and on budget for a December completion.
-- Greg Wehner 14 Massachusetts vocational schools awarded $24 million to upgrade facilities, increase enrollment-- Fall River Reporter Massachusetts: September 27, 2022 [ abstract] WESTFIELD — The Baker-Polito Administration today awarded $24 million in Skills Capital Grants to 14 different high schools. Each school received awards between $1 million and $2.5 million, which will enable the schools to modernize labs and significantly expand student enrollment in programs that provide career education.
Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and Education Secretary James Peyser visited Westfield Technical Academy to make the announcement and visit with students exploring advanced manufacturing and culinary arts programs. The high school received more than $1 million to modernize its advanced manufacturing and electrical instructional labs. The school will also launch a Career Technical Initiative program, supported by this Funding.
The high schools receiving grants will make strategic investments over the next two years to grow their career education programs to provide more learning opportunities for both traditional high school students and adult learners, with several schools expanding their Career Technical Initiative (CTI) programs to offer more learning opportunities in the late-afternoon and evening. Over the next 5 years, today’s grant awards will directly impact approximately 10,000 students across 38 different programs.
The Funding for this round of grants was included in An Act Relative to Immediate Covid-19 Recovery Needs, passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor, which included $100 million in state resources to provide capital improvement grants to vocational high schools and public schools operating career and technical education programs.
-- Ken Paiva IPS hopes to keep school buildings that might close by lobbying legislature-- Chalkbeat Indiana Indiana: September 23, 2022 [ abstract] Seven Indianapolis Public Schools buildings would shut down at the end of this school year under the district’s proposed reorganization plan, which would make them available to charter school operators for the low cost of $1.
District officials, however, are betting on their ability to successfully lobby the state legislature to keep those closed buildings. Current state law says such buildings must first be offered up to charter schools or state educational institutions for a $1 sale or annual lease price.
The district’s Rebuilding Stronger plan, which the school board will vote on in November, is a sweeping shake-up of the state’s largest district that attempts to tackle declining enrollment figures, racial inequities, and looming financial instability.
The potential closure of seven school buildings comes five years after voters approved a referendum to pay for roughly $7 million in safety upgrades and construction for these specific sites and Sidener Academy for the Gifted, which would vacate its current building under the proposed plan. The Funding was a portion of an overall $52 million capital referendum, one of two referenda passed in 2018.
-- Amelia Pak-Harvey US public schools get a D+ for poor conditions, and experts say problems are getting worse. Here's what kids are facing-- CNN National: September 18, 2022 [ abstract]
When it gets too hot in Denver and Baltimore classrooms, students are sent home because their schools don't have air conditioning.
In Massachusetts, checking for rusty water leaking from a ceiling has become a "morning ritual."
In California, a school's cockroach infestation has gotten so bad that some students fear eating lunch.
While school infrastructure problems are a perennial challenge, national data and dismal stories from teachers suggest the crises are reaching an apex. Atrocious school conditions have even prompted some teachers this school year to go on strike.
"We're getting to a critical stage now," said Mike Pickens, executive director of the National Council on School Facilities. "The average age of a school building now is from 49 to 50 years" -- the highest in memory. Some schools date back to World War II.
But as schools get older and more desperate for repairs, the Funding gap for public schools keeps getting worse.
-- Christina Zdanowicz and Holly Yan, CHCCS Committee addresses funding needs to repair aging schools-- The Daily Tar Heel North Carolina: September 15, 2022 [ abstract] Some of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' facilities are in need of repair or replacement, as the CHCCS Finance and Facilities Committee discussed at its Sept. 13 meeting.
Rani Dasi, the CHCCS Board of Education vice chair, presented the findings of the Capital Needs Work Group, which was founded in 2021 and is composed of representatives from Orange County, Orange County Schools and CHCCS.
The work group’s goal is to develop a plan for dedicating funds and addressing the needs of school facilities, especially older ones.
The work group found that more than half of the schools in the county are over 50 years old, and many are in need of major repairs or total reconstruction.
The aging school buildings are expensive to maintain and can provide poor learning environments for children, the work group's presentation said.
“The latest thinking is that there's somewhere upwards of half a billion dollars that will be necessary to invest between the school districts in bringing those school buildings up to current standards,” Dasi said.
The work group also found that there are currently no standards or Funding for ongoing school maintenance, and that policies have not been developed for allocating money for these needs.
-- Eliza Benbow Connecticut pledges $150 million to upgrade school HVAC system-- Hartford Courant Connecticut: September 14, 2022 [ abstract]
Connecticut public schools will receive $150 million in state Funding to repair and upgrade aging heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Wednesday.
The newly formed Connecticut Public Schools HVAC/Indoor Air Quality Grant Program will supplement $165 million in federal COVID relief funds that school districts have set aside to improve air quality.
“COVID woke me up,” Lamont said at a press conference at Phillip R. Smith Elementary School in South Windsor. “Every teacher, every parent was saying, ‘Tell me about the ventilation of my schools. Can I get back to my school safely?’ And it just reinforced in my mind how important it is to make sure you have schools that are safe across the board from a public health point of view.”
State Sen. Saud Anwar, a pulmonary doctor, said that 10% of Connecticut’s teacher and student population has asthma and those respiratory problems are made worse by allergens, inadequate airflow and extreme temperatures.
-- Alison Cross and Stephen Singer Parents share advice on what helped their kids during past school closures-- Chalkbeat Colorado Colorado: September 12, 2022 [ abstract] Lending an ear, being patient with kids’ emotions, and ensuring kids don’t feel they’re at fault: Offering support like that will help children cope with school closures, according to Jeffco parents who have already been through them.
“I was trying to let him know, ‘we know you don’t like change but this new school is going to become home,’” Jamie Camp said she told her third grader as his school, Fitzmorris Elementary, faced closure in spring 2021 and he would have to move to a new school. “Be patient. They’re going to lash out. Our son did. That’s just them trying to process.”
The Jeffco school district is preparing to help thousands of students say goodbye to their elementary schools at the end of this school year. The board in November is expected to approve a recommendation to close 16 schools, nearly one in five of its elementaries.
In the past two years, the district suddenly closed two small elementary schools that leaders said were no longer sustainable. Now, in a more comprehensive plan, district leaders want to provide more advance notice as they reduce the number of small schools.
Chalkbeat talked to parents of children who attended the two previously closed schools about what worked, what didn’t work, and what advice they had for families facing closures now. Below read their thoughts, and answers to questions on parents’ minds.
Why does the district close schools?
Jeffco, like many other districts, has had fewer and fewer students for many years. That has left many schools with very few students. School districts, and in turn schools, get state Funding based on enrollment. Most of the schools recommended for closure have either fewer than 220 students or use less than 45% of their building’s space. The district says it provides these schools more money than their per-student allocation, but they still can’t offer the same programs that bigger schools with more students can afford.
-- Yesenia Robles Federal Investments in K-12 Infrastructure Would Benefit Students Across the Country-- American Progress National: September 08, 2022 [ abstract] School buildings across America are crumbling. According to a 2020 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), 54 percent of U.S. school districts need to update or completely replace multiple building systems in their schools.1 This crisis has only deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as in the face of record-breaking extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change.
Historically, public schools have been excluded from federal infrastructure legislation,2 despite representing the nation’s second-largest infrastructure sector.3 In one recent example—although funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) may be used to upgrade school facilities—the president’s requested $100 billion specifically designated for this purpose did not make it into the final version of the IIJA.4 So, while funds from the IIJA and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) are being used in part to improve school facilities—particularly for efforts related to school air quality, school buses, and energy efficiency—it is noticeably less than the outstanding needs.
As a result of decades of underFunding school infrastructure, national spending for K-12 school buildings falls short by an estimated $85 billion annually, as reported by a 2021 analysis from the 21st Century School Fund. Over the next decade, it would cost an estimated $1.1 trillion to modernize and replace obsolete school buildings and systems.5
-- Jamil Modaffari & Akilah Alleyne Questions Arise as Española School Buildings Age-- Rio Grande Sun New Mexico: September 07, 2022 [ abstract] As Española school buildings age, members of the Española School Board will need to make difficult decisions about what to repair or rebuild entirely, according to the state authority that doles out funds for school facility projects.
At a special school board meeting last Wednesday, members deliberated the status of several district schools and heard a presentation from the New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority which serves as staff for the Public School Capital Outlay Council, the group that manages Funding allocations for capital projects at schools requiring repairs and remodels.
School and state officials say decisions surrounding which buildings to address are further complicated by a 2018 legislation that changed the formula for how the state allocates project Funding for districts. The local match for Española Public Schools is now 80 percent for projects deemed eligible for funds, a roughly 40 percent increase from before according to the authority.
“There’s absolutely no logical way that districts like ours would be able to do that,” Board President Jeremy Maestas said of the 80 percent match during the meeting.
Public School Facilities Authority executive director Martica Casias said eight other school districts will be presenting to the Public School Capital Outlay Oversight Task Force, which oversees the work of the council and the authority on September 20 to make a case for reconsidering the 2018 formula.
Some districts are on the hook for over 90 percent of costs for capital projects, according to the authority, and not making Funding requests for needed projects as a result.
-- Jessica Pollard Venice CUSD #3 Awarded $26 Million For Emergency School Construction-- RiverBender.com Illinois: September 06, 2022 [ abstract]
VENICE - Venice CUSD #3 was awarded $26 million in Funding, provided by the Capital Development Board through an emergency school construction grant.
In September 2020, Venice Elementary School in Venice, Illinois was condemned due to structural issues. Students and staff attending Venice Elementary vacated the building, attending school virtually for the entire 2020-2021 school year.
“It was a difficult year,” stated Superintendent Cynthia Tolbert.
“We were not only dealing with the challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic and virtual learning, but the Board of Education was also trying to locate a temporary school to house students.” For the 2021-2022 school year, Venice Elementary school was in a temporary location at the Melvin Price Depot located in Granite City.
-- Cynthia Tolbert Wahkiakum schools' lawsuit seeking money for aging buildings presses on-- The Daily News Washington: September 06, 2022 [ abstract] CATHLAMET — A lawsuit to bolster how much state Funding schools get to repair buildings and upgrade security is once again a priority for Wahkiakum School District officials, who are hoping other districts and allies will join them.
As many of the Wahkiakum school buildings continue to fall further into disrepair, the lawsuit, filed in December, claims the Legislature has an obligation to ensure all schools get equitable Funding for building repairs regardless of average county income, Superintendent Brent Freeman said.
“There’s nothing about these buildings I don’t worry about,” Freeman said.
Whether building and security upgrades are included in all elements to be amply funded wasn’t immediately clear, Ahearne said.
In the years since McCleary, Freeman said what has became clear is that local taxpayers were burdened with the costs of getting better air quality systems, fixing faulty electrical wiring and upgrading roofs, floors and the like.
-- Sydney Brown What are Cleveland schools doing about buildings without air conditioning?-- Idea Stream Public Media Ohio: September 06, 2022 [ abstract] Ten Cleveland Metropolitan School District schools closed temporarily last week and shifted to remote learning due to high temperatures outside. All of those buildings have either no air conditioning, or only in parts of the building.
CMSD CEO Eric Gordon says the school district is looking to address the issue by using American Rescue Plan Act Funding to buy portable air conditioning units for those buildings. He says it won’t be a quick or cheap fix, considering some buildings will need electrical rewiring to support powering those units.
The other fix could involve complete rebuilding or renovation of those buildings in the coming years, but that will be dependent on Funding. Gordon said he was “very thankful” the school district did not have to use a “calamity day” this week, and instead could just move to remote learning because each student in the district has been provided with a computer.
But CMSD isn’t alone in dealing with high temperatures in the classroom. Every year, schools in Cleveland and across the country must either close or move to remote learning due to high temperatures making it difficult to learn.
More than a third of public schools in the U.S. reported having a fair or poor heating, cooling or ventilation system, according to a 2012-2013 report on school conditions from the National Center for Education Statistics. And the hotter it is in a classroom, the less students learn overall, and the worse people perform mentally in general.
-- Conor Morris Coeur d'Alene schools face quality of education pressures as the $80 million levy fails-- KREM2 Idaho: September 01, 2022 [ abstract]
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Multiple factors helped tank the Coeur d’Alene School District’s levy Tuesday at the polls, including an opposition campaign by the local Republican party, reports our partners from the Coeur d'Alene Press.
The school plant facilities levy, if passed by voters, would have provided the school district with an additional $8 million per year over 10 years to support safety and maintenance needs in school buildings.
It required a 55% supermajority to pass, but received just 50.27% of the votes in favor, which was slightly more than the nearly 50% who voted against the measure.
"The failure of the levy does not change the fact that the district has some security measures and deferred maintenance issues that need to be addressed," Coeur d'Alene School Board Vice Chair Casey Morrisroe told The Press on Wednesday. "We will need to look at other options."
If approved, the levy would have provided Funding to address more than $25 million in deferred maintenance projects, ranging from aging heating and cooling systems, roofs, water heaters and flooring to sound systems, alarm systems, door locks and security cameras.
"It’s unfortunate that the levy did not pass as the safety, security and maintenance needs of our buildings and district remain the same," Board Chair Rebecca Smith said.
-- Devin Weeks Remodel, build, grow: $380 million invested in school buildings across Rochester area over five years-- Post Bulletin Minnesota: August 31, 2022 [ abstract]
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.
-- Jordan Shearer Valley City school facilities in need of repair-- Valley News Live North Dakota: August 18, 2022 [ abstract] VALLEY CITY, N.D. (Valley News Live/NewsDakota.com) - The Valley City School board has moved away from the idea of building a new school due to the high cost of construction. Superintendent Josh Johnson said the focus shifted to repairing their existing facilities.
“Looking at the state of our facilities and explored building a new school, quickly recognizing over seven to eight months that through inflation, the cost of construction was not feasible for us to build new. We stepped back, took a refocus, and determined what it was that we would prioritize in our current facilities,” Johnson said.
He said the district plans to use about $3 million of COVID Funding and the rest of the proposal could be financed by increasing their building fund levy.
“Currently 12 mills up to 20 mills would be an additional ask of our taxpayers to support the immediate needs that we have in our schools,” Johnson explained.
-- Gretchen Hjelmstad For some students, back to school will mean better-ventilated classrooms-- NBCnews.com National: August 17, 2022 [ abstract]
When students at the Gallipolis City School District in southeast Ohio return from summer break, they’ll be sitting in classrooms with air cleaned and freshened by almost $4 million in refurbishments.
The district retrofitted once-inefficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at five of its schools, adding new equipment with higher rated filters, automation and ultraviolet irradiation.
For a district with about 2,000 students, it’s a sizable investment — paid for by the federal government with Covid relief Funding. School leaders hope it buys them peace of mind after two years of pandemic disruptions.
“Our students are behind … the least we can do is provide them, you know, a comfortable climate with good air quality,” district Superintendent Craig Wright said. “It helps reduce the spread. I think it helps increase the likelihood that we don’t have to use masks. Nobody likes to use a mask.”
The overhaul is one of many made to schools across the United States as part of an effort to dramatically cut the risk of infection from the coronavirus. They’re changes experts say could have broader benefits in reducing the spread of infectious diseases that can often sweep through schools.
Changes have not been uniform. Billions of federal dollars available to improve ventilation have yet to be spent. Surveys suggest some school leaders weren’t sure how they could access that money and experts are warning that some rural schools could be falling behind.
-- Evan Bush, Stephanie Gosk and Patrick Martin Your Kid's School Needs Better Ventilation to Help Keep COVID-19 in Check-- Time National: August 16, 2022 [ abstract] A cross the country, K-12 schools are starting their next year of classes in the middle of a COVID-19 surge. As the BA.5 Omicron subvariant drives thousands of reinfections, schools have largely put aside safety measures like mask requirements and physical distancing.
In response, some parents and experts are trying to improve ventilation in schools, since better air quality in buildings can reduce COVID-19’s spread and even improve other health outcomes. But, despite readily available resources—including millions of dollars in Funding from the federal government—many schools have not invested in upgrading their air quality.
“We know that ventilation is important to reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2,” says Dr. Catherine Rasberry, a scientist in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Division of Adolescent and School Health. Ventilation is highlighted throughout the CDC’s guidance for safe in-person learning during the pandemic. Improving it could cut down on school outbreaks and the interruptions they pose to families, as well as mitigate the risks of MIS-C and Long COVID in children—two long-term conditions that can result from a COVID-19 infection.
-- BETSY LADYZHETS SCS has ‘busiest summer’ for facility fixes-- The Sampson Independent North Carolina: August 13, 2022 [ abstract] Sampson County Schools started a major maintenance overhaul this summer, much of it federally funded, allowing them to fix some issues just in the nick of time, according to Mark Hammond, maintenance director. The school system is dealing with national shortages to bring significant benefits to local school children.
“There are a lot of big projects that we’re taking on,” Hammond stated. “This is by far the busiest summer that we’ve ever had.” This uptick in improvements is possible because of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds from the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress last year. “These are projects we wouldn’t normally be doing if we didn’t have that ESSER Funding,” he said.
No Republican senators supported the American Rescue Plan. North Carolina senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr both voted against the bill that has provided to this Funding.
All spending of ESSER funds must be tied to improving the air quality and improving environmental factors for schools, noted Maria Rose, Sampson County Schools Plant Operations Office Manager.
The major get under ESSER is roof replacements for ten schools. “Roofs are one of the most expensive parts of upkeep on a building,” Hammond said.
-- India K. Autry School Building Authority considers putting brakes on choosing any new school construction projects-- WV Metro News West Virginia: August 11, 2022 [ abstract]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state School Building Authority is putting the brakes for now on its annual meeting to fund school construction projects in the state because of the continued impact of high construction costs.
The authority decided Thursday to cancel its December quarterly meeting where those Funding decisions are normally made.
According to SBA Chairman Brian Abraham, the authority wants to take a wait and see attitude after seeing the impact of inflation on building costs during the past several months.
“It’s the smart thing to do,” Abraham said. He added the meeting could be rescheduled at some point.
The problem with prices has been growing in recent months.
“We’ve got a lot of needs and very little ability to award those projects. Our finances are weak and we’re trying to increase that with whatever we can and with what we have right now,” then SBA Executive Director, now state School Superintendent David Roach told MetroNews back in February.
The situation hasn’t improved.
The SBA decided Thursday to add funds to previously approved construction projects in Roane and Summers counties because of bids that came in millions of dollars over budget.
The SBA approved $4.9 million in supplemental Funding for Roane County and $3.6 million for Summers County. Both counties are building new middle schools.
-- Jeff Jenkins Summer is the time for school construction projects to get underway-- Alaska's News Source Alaska: August 09, 2022 [ abstract] ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - There are a lot of things that need to get done leading up to kids going back to school, but what a lot of people may not realize is on the last day of school in the spring, kids head out and maintenance workers go in.
“It gets fast — right now is the time we’re really pushing the pedal to the metal to get these projects done,” said Calvin Mundt, project manager for Capital Planning and Construction for the Anchorage School District.
Mundt’s team has been working on a retubing project where two of the school’s four boilers are getting an upgrade. Mundt said it’s part of a larger project that started three summers ago when the last small chunk of Funding from a 2017 bond allowed them to retube the boilers — a cost of $60,000 each — instead of having to replace them outright.
“If we were to replace each of those boilers, we would do so with a modern high-efficiency boiler — that would involve engineering and replacing all of the controls also, that’s about a million dollars a copy,” said the district’s acting Chief Operating Officer Rob Holland.
-- Ariane Aramburo and Mike Nederbrock Beshear: school flooding damages ‘probably’ over $100 million-- WFPL.org Kentucky: August 04, 2022 [ abstract] As eastern Kentucky grapples with the aftermath of historic flash flooding, key infrastructure like schools, transportation, power and water systems will take a long time to rebuild.
Some schools are acting as emergency shelters in the wake of the disaster and many districts have already announced delayed starts to the school year. In a news conference, Gov. Andy Beshear said the cost of rebuilding and repairing school systems in the region will be massive.
“When looking at schools, there’s two things: there’s damage assessments and when school is going to start. But school damages are in the tens of millions, probably over $100 million.”
Beshear said just the school cleanup costs in Knott County, one of the areas hardest hit by flooding, was estimated at over $1 million.
“We’ve been talking to legislative leaders and we’re all committed to providing Funding for our school system and working on a package like the SAFE Act in western Kentucky,” Beshear said.
-- Divya Karthikeyan NSBA interview with the Executive Director of the National Council on School Facilities-- NSBA.org National: August 01, 2022 [ abstract] Mike Pickens joined the National Council on School Facilities (NCSF) as executive director in 2021 after nearly 20 years at the West Virginia Department of Education, leading in facilities and transportation. NCSF is a nonprofit organization that represents state public school facilities officials, advocating for public school buildings that are physically sound, sustainable, and conducive to learning. The organization encourages federal investments and assistance to build state capacity and support high-need districts, a mission directly related to improving education, health, and the school environment, Pickens said. He spoke to ASBJ intern Bella Czajkowski about failing building systems and related issues, and how the council strives to foster healthy learning environments.
(This interview was edited for length and clarity. A video of the interview follows below.)
In addition to Funding, what are some other facilities challenges across the country?
The age and neglect of major building systems are taking a toll. In 2020, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that 41 percent of districts required HVAC systems upgrades or replacements in at least half of their schools. Twenty to 35 percent of all school districts had serious deficiencies in at least half of their roofing, lighting, or safety and security systems. COVID-19 has recently elevated the condition of public-school facilities into the national consciousness. School buildings with poor ventilation and air quality present special risks in the face of a highly contagious airborne virus. Poor indoor air quality has been a barrier to restoring full confidence in returning to in-person schooling. Strategic facilities planning and management could reduce the annual need for capital investment. But this progress against our growing deficit will not happen without systemic policy changes.
-- Staff Writer Other Papers Say: Plan to aid rural schools worthy-- The Columbian Washington: August 01, 2022 [ abstract] Modern school buildings support student achievement. But Washington’s reliance on local voter-approved Funding for public school building projects has left some students relegated to buildings that are outdated, cramped and potentially unsafe.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal wants to change that. He intends to ask state lawmakers to revamp the state’s Common School Construction Account, earmarking those public-land revenues for cash-strapped rural schools.
More details are forthcoming, but on its face it’s a good idea. It could bring the state closer to resolving the systemic Funding inequities between districts with different tax bases.
The funds, from timber sales and other revenues generated on Common School trust lands, are now used to augment locally funded school remodeling and construction projects. But historically, growing urban and suburban school districts have tapped a disproportionate amount of that money, even though the rural communities where the revenues are generated have a harder time raising local funds.
About 90 percent of public school construction and renovation is funded through local bonds and levies, Reykdal said. Revenues from public lands are a dwindling supplement to those local dollars. They accounted for just 1.38 percent of the total state and local funds for K-12 schools’ capital expenditures in fiscal year 2021, down from more than 3.3 percent a decade ago, according to Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction data.
-- Seattle Times Writer A request to invest in school safety, maintenance-- Coeur dAlene Post Falls Press Idaho: July 31, 2022 [ abstract] Yellow spray paint encircles large, jagged potholes in the Lake City High School parking lot.
"Once you start to get cracks, they just get worse and worse and worse," Coeur d'Alene School District Director of Operations Jeff Voeller said.
At Fernan STEM Academy, windowsills are warped, hand washing sinks are disintegrating and cooling towers are falling into disrepair.
"There are definitely some health and safety issues here," district spokesman Scott Maben said.
Crumbling sidewalks, rotting ramps, torn carpets, dilapidated heating systems, and entrances and schoolyards that need increased security are among the many items the district hopes to address with Funding from the school plant facilities levy that will go before voters Aug. 30.
If this levy passes muster at the polls, it would allow the district to collect up to $8 million per year for 10 years. If the full amount is not needed in any given year, less than $8 million will be levied.
The district has 40 buildings across 17 school campuses and four operational facilities. These facilities are, on average, 30 years old.
The backlog of deferred maintenance in these facilities exceeds $25 million. Without a dedicated and sufficient Funding source, the deferred maintenance cost will snowball, hitting a projected $68 million within five years and exceeding $101 million within 10 years.
-- DEVIN WEEKS 3 Things in the Senate Climate-Change Bill That Could Affect K-12 Schools-- Education Week National: July 29, 2022 [ abstract]
A sweeping new proposal to tackle climate change that’s gaining momentum on Capitol Hill includes Funding opportunities for schools to operate electric buses and improve air quality in buildings.
But the K-12 items are short on details so far, and represent only a tiny fraction of the proposed $369 billion spending package.
Senate Democrats say the legislation would help curb the devastating effects of climate change, reduce inflation, and raise taxes on corporations. The lawmakers announced the proposal with little prior warning after negotiating for more than a year over how to tackle the party’s many priorities, from child care and paid leave to health care and immigration.
But K-12 items that were part of those negotiations at times, like upgrading school facilities and establishing universal pre-K, didn’t make it to the proposed legislation. The bill, the “Inflation Reduction Act,” could be revised further and is not guaranteed to pass both houses.
Tucked away more than 600 pages into the 725-page bill are brief nods to K-12 schools. The total amount of grant Funding from which K-12 schools could benefit represents one-tenth of 1 percent of the overall proposed spending.
-- Mark Lieberman School district wants state to pay $5 million to replace LePera chiller system-- ParkerPioneer.net Arizona: July 27, 2022 [ abstract]
The Parker School Board has approved a bid from United Technologies to replace the chiller system at LePera Elementary School, contingent on the project receiving full Funding from the Arizona School Facilities Board.
At the board’s July 13 meeting, Assistant Superintendent Paul Olson said the bid was $5,062,486.
Olson said that, while the chiller unit itself was replaced a few years ago, the system’s pipes are wearing out.
“It’s a massive project,” he said. “They expect it may run into Spring 2024.”
While most of the schools in the Parker Unified School District have air conditioners for individual classrooms, LePera has a chiller system for the entire school. The major difference is that chillers are used for much larger facilities than air conditioners.
Olson said that, when LePera was built in the early 1970s, chillers were seen as the way to go.
Engineers had inspected the system in 2017 and had concluded it needed to be replaced, given its age. However, the School Facilities Board only agreed to replace the chiller unit itself. At the time, the estimated cost of replacing the entire system was $1.4 million.
Olson said a variety of factors, including inflation, have driven the price up.
-- John Gutekunst RPS approves 10 year long term facilities maintenance plan, but expects costs for projects to rise-- KIMT3 Minnesota: July 26, 2022 [ abstract]
ROCHESTER, Minn.-The Rochester Public School Board approved the district's 10 year long term facilities maintenance plan at its meeting on Tuesday.
RPS' Director of Finance and Technology John Carlson said there is an estimated $295 million dollars worth of projects for the next 10 years at 36 district buildings, which have an average age of 41 years old.
However, Carlson said record high inflation and supply chain issues have increased the estimated cost of future projects and that the district may have to cut back its Funding amount on some projects in the future.
RPS is required to submit a 10 year plan to the Minnesota Department of Education but Carlson said the district only needed to approve its plan to spend around $5 million dollars for the 2024 fiscal year.
"What you are really being asked to approve is the FY 24 pay as you go amount because that is the amount we need to turn in on these sheets and it will be on the pay '23 levy that you are going to have access to in Sep. and even at that time you have further chance to say, no we do not want to levy that amount but we can not get a number on the levy sheet until we approve the long term maintenance plan by July 31," Carlson said.
-- Alek LaShomb San Antonio leaders say more funds needed to secure schools after Uvalde tragedy-- San Antonio Report Texas: July 24, 2022 [ abstract]
After Texas’ deadliest school shooting happened in his district’s own backyard, Southwest Independent School District Superintendent Lloyd Verstuyft knows it is incumbent upon him and his staff to ensure every facility in the district on the outskirts of San Antonio is as secure as possible.
That involves upgrading security technology, assessing each of Southwest ISD’s 18 campuses, fixing any physical safety defects and providing emergency operations training to all staff members.
But all of that comes at a cost.
While the Uvalde school shooting hasn’t necessarily taught San Antonio school districts anything new about school safety, district officials say it has heightened their sense of urgency to solidify their security plans and highlighted the need for far more Funding to secure campuses.
Since the May 24 shooting, which killed 19 children and two teachers, Gov. Greg Abbott has directed state agencies to ensure schools are more secure and charged state Education Commissioner Mike Morath with outlining several actions school districts must complete before the start of the 2022-23 school year. Those actions include conducting safety audits of all school facilities, inspecting every exterior door, convening each district’s safety and security committee to review plans for emergencies like school shootings and training all staff, including substitutes, on safety procedures for their campus and district.
-- Brooke Crum Concerned about equity in schools? Reykdal says timber money is part of the problem-- The Olympian Washington: July 20, 2022 [ abstract]
Urban communities are “disproportionately” receiving K-12 Common School Trust Dollars, despite the trust’s revenue coming from timber harvesting in rural areas, and State Superintendent Chris Reykdal said his office wants to change that. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Reykdal held a press conference Tuesday — the first of nine OSPI has planned leading up to the legislative session in January — to outline their priorities for “transforming” public K-12 schools in the state. “We are a state that has to share in our interests,” Reykdal said. “Our kids deserve equitable opportunities to learn no matter where they are.”
The major challenge raised by OSPI is that the revenue being generated in rural Washington is “almost exclusively” ending up in counties such as King, Pierce, Spokane and even Yakima. Reykdal said that the Department of Natural Resources is responsible for managing a trust for public schools, which is primarily funded through timber harvesting. Agricultural lands and leases also fund that trust, but 50-60% of the money is generated from trees. Reykdal said that money, in turn, goes to the legislature, which decides how to appropriately fund the school system.
The Washington legislature puts that money towards the School Construction Assistance Program, OSPI’s largest capital budget program, which the state uses to match Funding when voters pass local school district bonds. But to pass a local bond for school Funding, 60% of voters in school districts must approve the bond issue and the accompanying taxes to support it. Even if smaller, less affluent communities can pass a bond, they might be “property poor” so the amount they are matched by the legislature isn’t always significant enough to transform schools, he said. Due to the declining revenue from the harvesting of timber, Reykdal said OSPI wants to “stop depending” on those funds for the School Construction Assistance Program.
-- SHAUNA SOWERSBY St. Louis Public Schools asks voters for more money as schools crumble nationwide-- NPR Missouri: July 19, 2022 [ abstract] In St. Louis and across the country, school buildings are in bad need of updates. The American Society of Civil Engineers does a regular report card of the country’s infrastructure, and in the most recent one, schools got a D+.
“A large portion of the system exhibits some pretty significant deterioration,” said Marsia Geldert-Murphey, president-elect of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Funding for school infrastructure has been a national problem for decades, she said.
“In the 1950s and ’60s, people were very willing to participate in building this amazing infrastructure that we have,” Geldert-Murphey said. “But it is now aged out, and we haven't been keeping up with the maintenance and the operations, and so we’re suffering for it.”
Those types of maintenance issues are especially prevalent in St. Louis Public Schools, where the district estimates the average age of buildings is 87 and many were built at the turn of the 20th century. As federal Funding for school infrastructure has stalled, districts like SLPS are asking voters to pass local bond measures to address decades of wear and tear.
-- Kate Grumke Hawaii Has $200 Million To Spend on Pre-K. Who Gets The Money?-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: July 15, 2022 [ abstract]
In March, Julie Kalakau determined which children would fill the seats of Sunshine School for the 2022-23 school year. When she was done, she realized that there were still enough applicants to fill two more classroom spaces, but her preschool was at capacity.
Hawaii faces a critical shortage of early learning centers. The problem was made only worse by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced some owners to permanently close their doors. A new law seeks to change this.
In a historic investment for early childhood education in Hawaii, Act 257 allocates $200 million for the construction, expansion or renovation of prekindergarten facilities across the state. The School Facilities Authority must spend the money by the end of June 2024.
The act advances the state’s ambitious goal of providing all 3- and 4-year-old students with access to preschool education by 2032, as laid out in Act 46. Currently, Hawaii only has the capacity to serve 50% of its students in that age group, and the burden of finding affordable, accessible child care primarily falls on middle and low-income families.
However, the details of construction have yet to be determined as the new law has ambiguous language that leaves open the question about what facilities are eligible for the Funding.
Sylvia Luke, the chair of the House Finance Committee who introduced the bill, promised the $200 million will fund the creation of 2,000 to 4,000 prekindergarten seats over the next two years.
“This is the starting point of aggressive preschool expansion,” said Luke, who is running for lieutenant governor.
-- Megan Tagami 7 Ways the Federal Government Shortchanges K-12 Schools-- Education Week National: July 12, 2022 [ abstract] The federal government contributes roughly 8 percent of the $795 billion that annually goes toward educating the nation’s 50 million children. In many cases, however, the federal share falls short of its self-imposed targets, shortchanging schools on everything from high-need students and special education to facilities and school meals.
This shortfall will persist without more vigorous and reliable federal intervention, argue the authors of a new report on Funding sources for K-12 schools.
Instead of asking school districts to rely on volatile state and local revenue, they say, the federal government needs to dramatically step up its investment in K-12 education and proactively establish Funding programs that help schools during economic downturns.
-- Mark Lieberman Crestview awarded state funding for new school building-- Morning Journal Ohio: July 08, 2022 [ abstract] The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) Thursday announced the approval of $55,643,416 for the district’s projected pre-K through 12 building. The total cost of the project is estimated at $63.23 million, with a local share of $7,587,738.
The project had been in the planning phases prior to COVID-19. At that point, the state put the Funding for such projects on hold.
Crestview voters passed the 2.84 mill levy for the new construction in May of 2019, which was to cover $5.2 million of the $43 million project. The Ohio Schools Facility Construction Commission was to cover 88 percent of the project.
As the pandemic began, Crestview continued to work with architects from Holabird and Root and BSHM to design the project. A new waterline to the school was built and now brings the school water from New Waterford.
-- KEVIN HOWELL ISBE distributes $30 million in state funding, to over 600 eligible applicants through School Maintenance Grants-- WAND Illinois: July 07, 2022 [ abstract] SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) – The Illinois State Board of Education has distributed the fiscal year 2022 School Maintenance Grants, totaling $30 million in state Funding, to over 600 eligible applicants.
According to the ISBE, grantees will be able to use the money to improve and maintain education infrastructure throughout the state of Illinois.
The School Maintenance Grant Program is a dollar-for-dollar state matching grant open to school districts, cooperative high schools, vocational centers, and special education cooperatives.
Eligible applicants are able to receive up to $50,000 to put toward completing proposed maintenance projects.
-- Staff Writer Moscow School District in Idaho to ask for help from state to construct new schools-- Yahoo News Idaho: July 07, 2022 [ abstract] Jul. 7—This story has been updated from its original version to correct the name of the Moscow elementary school that could be replaced.
The Moscow School District envisions one day building two new school facilities and it is hoping to receive financial assistance from the Idaho government to achieve that goal.
Moscow School District Superintendent Greg Bailey discussed this Wednesday during a monthly meeting with local county, city and education officials.
Bailey said the school board is working on submitting a resolution to the state asking the governor to spend some of Idaho's $1.3 billion in surplus money to fund K-12 facilities.
Bailey said he is hoping the school can use state money to eventually build two new school buildings to replace Russell Elementary and Moscow High School.
Russell Elementary, built in 1926, is the oldest school in Moscow. Bailey said remodeling the existing building would be too expensive. Moscow High School is not big enough to meet the education or parking needs of its students, he said.
Having additional Funding from the state may help the school district avoid having to ask voters to pass a bond to fund the new facilities.
"It's such a hard scenario in the state of Idaho to pass a bond because you have not only a super majority, but the state doesn't help support the Funding," he said.
If two new school facilities are built, they would likely be located on the edge of town where there is enough land to accommodate them. Bailey said that by his estimate, the district would need 60 acres to accommodate the schools.
"We really feel good about our community's support," he said. "This community's been great to us, but we're also saying that we've got to find some different ways to get some of this Funding done."
-- Anthony Kuipers, Moscow-Pullman Daily News Tennerton Elementary awarded $882,625 for additions and renovations-- 12WBOY West Virginia: July 07, 2022 [ abstract] BUCKHANNON, W.Va. (WBOY) — The Upshur County School District Thursday announced the approval of a Major Improvement Project for $882,625 in grant Funding for additions and renovations for Tennerton Elementary School.
The money was given to Tennerton Elementary by the School Building Authority, as part of a Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan to address the school’s critical needs.
The main renovations will go toward student safety with a new fire sprinkler system and a brand new Safe Schools entry, which school officials say will prevent unauthorized access to the school building.
“Having that Safe Schools entry where we can allow people to come into the school in a safe manner, not just be open to the classrooms when you come in the entrance that’s really important to us,” said Upshur County Schools Superintendent Sara Lewis-Stankus.
-- Joe Lint Schools getting roof relief-- The Sampson Independent North Carolina: June 29, 2022 [ abstract] Relief is finally arriving for Clinton City Schools in the form of much needed roofing repairs as part of another of their planned construction projects for this summer.
For the past few year CCS have been in dire need of these repairs, which totaled in the millions for full completion. According to school officials, this was a monumental task as the system is allotted no more than roughly $400,000 yearly for infrastructure repair to use on the schools. That changed this year due to needs-based capital Funding becoming available for CCS to access.
John Lowe, CCS executive director of technology and auxiliary services, detailed how this Funding came to be that helped jump-start their roof repair project.
“There are multiple avenues for school capital needs, predominantly funded in the state of North Carolina through the education lottery proceeds,” he said. “One of them is the Needs Based Public Schools Capital Fund. Up until this year, that particular fund was only for new school construction.”
“The General Assembly, however, voted and agreed in the current biennium budget to allow applications for repairs in that.” Lowe added.
Lowe went on to describe the rough shape their roofs are in.
-- Michael B. Hardison LAUSD Assigns Millions In Funding For 'Green Schoolyards'-- laist.com California: June 27, 2022 [ abstract] A years-long pandemic. A youth mental health crisis. School shootings. Kids and schools have a lot to deal with these days. Worsening extreme heat is yet another challenge to add to the list.
Last week, the board of the L.A. Unified School District (LAUSD) approved a $13 billion-dollar operating budget that includes Funding to help.
Some $58 million of those funds are slated to go towards outdoor education initiatives, as well as adding more green space to L.A.’s famously asphalt-heavy schoolyards — something advocates say is a long time coming.
“When we think about the places that we have created for students, which are schoolyards that are completely covered in asphalt…that's not conducive to creating an environment that is healthy for kids to learn and thrive,” said Robin Mark, the L.A. director for the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, which for years has worked with a coalition of community organizations to get more green space at L.A. schools.
She said more trees and greenery at schools is essential for building resilience in the face of the climate crisis: Southern California is increasingly experiencing more extreme heat. For example, Santa Clarita is projected to have 124 days above 90°F by as soon as 2035 if emissions aren’t curbed significantly to slow global heating this decade.
-- Erin Stone State official: school construction funding has ‘gone away’-- Buffalo Bulletin Wyoming: June 24, 2022 [ abstract]
CHEYENNE — For years, Wyoming’s school capital construction account was primarily funded by federal coal lease bonus revenues.
“Those have essentially gone away,” Senior School Finance Analyst Matthew Willmarth with the Legislative Service Office told the Select Committee on School Facilities at an interim meeting in Casper this week. “There is no revenue forecast to be collected from that revenue source.”
To help make up a portion of Wyoming’s deficit in school Funding due to disappearing federal coal lease bonuses, lawmakers in 2018 eliminated an $8 million cap on state mineral royalties that could be appropriated for schools.
Looking ahead, Laramie County School District No.1 is poised to get some money for its own construction projects.
The state Constitution allows for one-third of all state mineral royalties to be appropriated for Wyoming schools, but lawmakers enacted an $8 million cap on that allocation in the 1990s.
The 2021-22 biennium was the first in which a full one-third of state mineral royalties could be deposited into the school capital construction account without that cap, Willmarth said.
“That allowance of the full one-third to be distributed for school capital construction purposes means there will be about $45 million more this year,” Willmarth said.
-- Carrie Haderlie La Crosse School District Shifting to Solar Energy-- Government Technology Wisconsin: June 22, 2022 [ abstract]
As part of a district-wide push for increased sustainability, Northside Elementary/Coulee Montessori is the next school in La Crosse making the shift to solar energy.
With installation scheduled to begin later this summer, the school's roof will include a network of 292 solar panels capable of generating 20 percent of the school's energy needs. District administrators, elected officials and leaders of the project gathered Monday to celebrate meeting their Funding goal and announce future projects.
Leadership and staff from Solar on La Crosse Schools (SOLS) also attended the celebration event. The organization partners with the school district to coordinate fundraising efforts and to help strategize for solar installation.
"Schools use about 43 percent as much power as all of the office buildings in the United States, said Ben Golden, a member of the SOLS leadership team. "It's a great place to start when we're thinking about clean energy."
The projected reduction in carbon emissions created by the solar panels is equal to planting around 160,000 trees and will save around 7 million pounds of coal, Golden said.
Northside Elementary relies on a geothermal heating and cooling system, meaning it requires twice as much electric energy as other similar buildings. This made it a prime candidate for solar energy use, according to Mike Freybler, the energy and transportation manager with the La Crosse School District.
-- Abbey Machtig, La Crosse Tribune How COVID funding could help improve air quality in schools-- PBS News Hour National: June 17, 2022 [ abstract]
Many U.S. schools were in dire need of upgrades — burdened by leaking pipes, mold, and antiquated heating systems — long before the COVID-19 pandemic drew attention to the importance of indoor ventilation in reducing the spread of infectious disease.
The average U.S. school building is 50 years old, and many schools date back more than a century.
So, one might assume school districts across the nation would welcome the opportunity created by billions of dollars in federal COVID-relief money available to upgrade heating and air-conditioning systems and improve air quality and filtration in K-12 schools.
But a report released this month from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found most U.S. public schools have made no major investments in improving indoor ventilation and filtration since the start of the pandemic. Instead, the most frequently reported strategies to improve airflow and reduce COVID risk were notably low-budget, such as relocating classroom activities outdoors and opening windows and doors, if considered safe.
The CDC report, based on a representative sample of the nation’s public schools, found that fewer than 40% had replaced or upgraded their HVAC systems since the start of the pandemic. Even fewer were using high-efficiency particulate air, or HEPA, filters in classrooms (28%), or fans to increase the effectiveness of having windows open (37%).
-- Liz Szabo, Kaider Health News Lawsuit vs. AZ funding formula for school construction can go to trial-- tucson.com Arizona: June 15, 2022 [ abstract]
Arizona schools are entitled to get their day in court on their claim the state has shorted them by billions of dollars.
In a ruling released Wednesday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Daniel Martin rejected arguments by state officials and Republican legislative leaders that he has no right to rule on the legality of the formula they use to finance new schools and repairs for existing schools.
Martin said it’s clearly within the purview of the courts to determine if the state is complying with the constitutional requirements to maintain a “general and uniform’’ school system.
The judge also rejected arguments that he cannot review the claims first filed five years ago because the state has made adjustments to its capital Funding system.
“Accepting defendants’ arguments based on mootness would preclude courts from ever deciding whether Arizona’s capital finance system complies with the constitution,’’ Martin wrote.
“Because a case of this complexity always will span multiple years — and multiple legislative sessions — the Legislature can always pass some new law that nibbles around the edges of the system, and claim that the case is moot and unripe,’’ he wrote. “Not surprisingly, Arizona law does not support such a contention.’’
There was no immediate comment from legislative leaders.
The lawsuit, filed in 2017 by a coalition of public schools and education organizations, contends lawmakers have been shorting schools each year for the capital funds to which state law says they are entitled.
The cumulative loss to schools from failure of legislators to obey the Funding formula is now close to $6 billion, Danny Adelman of the Center for Law in the Public Interest, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, said Wednesday.
The issue’s roots date back to 1994.
-- Howard Fischer Cost to Replace City's Contaminated School Exceeds Funding-- usnews.com Vermont: June 13, 2022 [ abstract]
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Plans to replace the contaminated high school in Vermont’s largest city may have to be modified because the cost is $60 million higher than what the district can afford.
The Burlington School District has given the city a $150 million bond limit to pay for the construction of a new Burlington High School and Burlington Technical Center but the project is estimated to cost the district $210 million, the Burlington Free Press reported.
In March 2021, students were moved into a retrofitted former downtown Macy's department store about six months after school administrators closed the existing school because toxic industrial chemicals known as PCBs were found in the building and soil during renovations.
Last week, Superintendent Tom Flanagan and the school commissioners discussed options to address the $60 million gap, including finding more Funding sources and altering the design.
The board picked the design after hearing from the community. Construction is expected to cost $181.3 million and be completed in fall 2025, if voters approve it in November. Another $29 million is estimated to be needed to remediate and remove the existing building.
-- Associated Press Scranton School District plans $95M in repairs, renovations-- yahoo! News Pennsylvania: June 13, 2022 [ abstract] Jun. 13—After years of neglecting its buildings and being unable to afford repairs, the Scranton School District plans to invest $95 million through 2024.
Plans include a major renovation to West Scranton Intermediate School, repairs to heating and ventilation systems and upgrades to security. Federal COVID-19 Funding will allow the district to borrow less money and help shorten the time frame for work.
District leaders, who received a feasibility study last year identifying $300 million in repairs and improvements needed, are optimistic of the progress made so far.
"Decades of neglect can't be fixed overnight," said school Director Ro Hume, chair of the board's operations committee. "Every step forward we take puts our kids in a warm, safe, dry environment. The better the environment, the research shows, the more learning can take place."
-- Sarah Hofius Hall, The Times-Tribune Facility repair funding, rising insurance rates a challenge for New Orleans schools-- WWNO.org Louisiana: June 08, 2022 [ abstract] New Orleans’ public school district isn’t bringing in enough money to maintain aging school buildings that weren’t rebuilt or renovated following Hurricane Katrina, officials said Tuesday.
On top of that, the school system is also facing rising insurance costs amid an increase in unexpected hurricane or weather-related expenses.
District operations officer Tiffany Delcour said while the district has taken steps to cut costs and will continue to do so, they still need to generate additional Funding.
“It was assumed that the district would find alternative pots of capital Funding dollars to really deal with the half of the portfolio that did not have significant investment post-Katrina,” Delcour told board members as part of her monthly capital and facilities update. “I think we’re basically showing that it’s time to do that.”
Delcour said the gap between available funds to repair pre-Katrina buildings over the next 10-years and anticipated need is roughly $136 million.
-- Aubri Juhasz For New York Schools, Going Green Just Got a Little Easier-- JDSupra New York: June 07, 2022 [ abstract] In September of 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the allocation of $59 million to fund the Clean Green Schools Initiative. The program aims to advance clean energy efficiency solutions and clean energy to improve indoor air quality and reduce carbon emissions for schools designated as “high-need” by the New York State Education Department or schools located in disadvantaged communities.
The initiative, to be administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), offers a unique opportunity for designated underserved schools to improve their energy systems. In doing so, eligible schools will receive technical, financial, and human resource support to evaluate, plan for, and implement energy efficient solutions. In the long run, this will improve school environments and save money.
Program Breakdown:
The program is structured in two tracks – Track I for planning, Track II for installation.
The planning track provides Funding for the evaluation, planning, and facilitation of energy reduction projects, clean energy projects, and indoor air quality projects. Schools may use Track I Funding for professional services such as energy studies, on-site energy managers, and fiscal advisors. The services must be aimed at helping schools evaluate, plan and facilitate comprehensive energy reduction, decarbonization, environmental sustainability, and indoor air quality projects. Track I Funding may also be used towards planning a project associated with Track II. Participation in Track I is not a requirement for eligibility for Track II.
-- Harris Beach PLLC Is It Time to Reimagine the American Schoolyard?-- Next City Illinois: June 07, 2022 [ abstract] Harold Washington Elementary School in the Burnside neighborhood on the south side of Chicago got a new schoolyard in 2020. It features a running track, sports fields and playground equipment — but what Washington’s Principal Sherri Walker likes best are the little conversational groupings of rocks. “It’s so special for the older girls,” Walker says. “They don’t always want to play on the equipment or play sports — but they sit on those rocks and talk. It becomes a quiet space where they can sit and decompress.” In a year with so much stress and loss, especially in Chicago’s most underinvested neighborhoods, these spaces are invaluable.
Principal Walker’s schoolyard is part of a program called Space to Grow, which turns Chicago schoolyards into beautiful green spaces for play and learning using green stormwater infrastructure that also helps build climate resilience. The schoolyards include playground structures and sports fields, outdoor classrooms for nature-based learning, edible gardens and the conversation rocks or other quiet spaces the students at Washington like so much. Studies show that access to green space and outdoor play during the school day are associated with improved focus and academic performance. Daily connection with nature supports mental health. And, since Space to Grow schoolyards are also open to the community outside of school hours, the program’s benefits aren’t just limited to students.
It seems obvious that every student should have access to such a positive space, but there just isn’t enough money — or the will to prioritize spending — to replace the acres of asphalt that cover school grounds in many cities across the country. A 2021 report on the state of U.S. schools found that the country is underinvesting in school buildings and grounds to the tune of $85 billion per year. “Underinvestment in capital renewals of existing public schools as well as chronic underFunding of maintenance and repairs sadly remains the rule rather than the exception,” the report notes. And, as the report also points out, “inequity is hard-wired into public education infrastructure.” For example, in Chicago, the same Black and Latinx neighborhoods are subjected to the same type of disinvestment over and over again.
-- ROCHELLE DAVIS & GERALD W. ADELMANN Maintenance levy possible for Coeur d'Alene School District this summer-- KREM.com Idaho: June 07, 2022 [ abstract]
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A school plant facilities levy could soon be coming to residents in the Coeur d'Alene School District, as reported by our news partner, the Coeur d'Alene Press.
A swift timeline would be necessary to tackle a number of items on the district's deferred maintenance backlog, which is $25 million today and expected to grow to $68 million by 2027 if repairs are not made. The levy would establish a pool of funds for deferred maintenance projects and school safety needs, which at this time have no established Funding source. Deferred maintenance includes air heating and cooling system upgrades, roof repairs, paving work, replacing hot water heaters, new carpeting, drinking fountains, alarm systems and security cameras.
"We are just struggling all around, not only with facilities but with staffing," Coeur d'Alene Superintendent Shon Hocker said Monday during the school board meeting.
He recommended the board immediately move forward with the facilities levy rather than wait because the district's maintenance and operations levy will be up for a vote in March.
"I don't think we should go to our community asking for both at the same time," he said. "I think that's a lot to bite off for any community member and I think we need to be more specific. I also think that, in good conscience to our community, we can address some of these safety and maintenance challenges in our community earlier rather than later."
-- Devin Weeks $15M in infrastructure funding coming to Dillon County Schools: State Superintendent-- ABC15 South Carolina: June 06, 2022 [ abstract]
DILLON COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman announced Monday the allocation of $15 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds to Dillon School District Three and Dillon School District Four to both renovate and replace antiquated existing school facilities with safe, modern facilities to accommodate current and future county enrollment trends.
In April 2022, the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) commissioned independent facility studies of schools in the state’s poorest counties to aid in decision making for capital Funding appropriated by the General Assembly for disadvantaged schools.
The independent review of schools in Dillon Four concluded "the age and condition of the five elementary schools problematic toward long term educational use without significant modification and renovation."
The schools have an average age of 73-years-old with the oldest, East Elementary School, approaching one century of use.
With school facilities approaching 100 years of age, it is long overdue that the state provides financial support for counties like Dillon which cannot afford to build new facilities on its own,” said State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman. “With the influx of COVID-19 relief money and generous support of the General Assembly, we are pleased to be able to provide the additional Funding that these districts need to provide safe, state of the art facilities that students, families, and educators need and deserve.
The facility assessment team recommended consolidating four elementary schools into one new, modern elementary school, to be built on property centralized within the county.
Dillon Four has funds that can partially support the Funding for the new elementary school while $12 million in ESSER funds from the SCDE will allow for the full build out and ensure students have classrooms and a facility that are "safe and conducive to learning in the 21st Century," said a release from the department on Monday.
-- Julia Varnier N.J. is supposed to replace Newark’s crumbling schools. So far, it hasn’t.-- Chalkbeat Newark New Jersey: June 06, 2022 [ abstract]
Joshcelynne Henderson fondly recalls her childhood school in New Jersey with its green lawns, shiny playground equipment, and bright classrooms.
The elementary school she went to in wealthy Somerset County is a world apart from the one her children attend in Newark. Students there struggle to focus on hot days in classrooms without air conditioning, they couldn’t use the water fountains this year due to lead concerns, and at recess they dart across bare asphalt that serves as both playground and parking lot.
“These schools are old,” she said.
Indeed, the average Newark school building was erected more than 90 years ago, district officials say — more than twice the national average — and many suffer from leaky roofs, outdated boilers, and dilapidated restrooms. Rundown buildings can dampen students’ enthusiasm for school and, in some cases, impair their learning.
Now, Newark wants to modernize its aging schools — a dream which, in the past, has been dashed by inadequate Funding.
The district is looking to construct 10 new school buildings and undertake major repairs at more than 60 existing schools, according to an ambitious five-year capital plan, which the state approved in March.
-- Patrick Wall Design for Sharks’ new school nearly done; new bill could help fund construction-- Post Guam Guam: June 05, 2022 [ abstract]
The design for the new Simon Sanchez High School is 90% complete and a bill introduced Tuesday could help close the gap in Funding needed to see the project to fruition.
Simon Sanchez High School students have been waiting nearly 10 years for the new facility, the planning and construction of which has been hit by multiple delays including procurement battles, the COVID-19 pandemic, and environmental issues. As time lapsed, the cost of construction has increased, which means the $65 million Guam Department of Education has committed for the new high school campus now falls short.
GDOE estimated the cost for the new Simon Sanchez High School would be about $138 million.
“Right now, we are in design stage. While we are working on estimates, the final decision on what will be constructed depends on how much money is available,” said Superintendent Jon Fernandez.
The design was supposed to have reached the 90% target on May 26, but Fernandez has said it was a moving target.
The unforeseen discovery of endangered snails on almost 2 acres of the property forced Taniguchi Ruth Makio Architects to make modifications to the design in order to work around the snails' habitat. The modification resulted in the loss of 16 classrooms.
“We have scaled down but not for cost issues alone. We cut back the number of classrooms to more closely align with projected amount of students at SSHS. Luckily, this reduction helped us resolve the impact of the snails by allowing us to shift the school to avoid the area,” Fernandez said.
-- Jolene Toves Skyrocketing Building Costs Affecting W.Va. School Construction Projects-- WVpublic.org West Virginia: June 02, 2022 [ abstract] Inflated building costs are causing school construction projects across West Virginia to go back to the drawing board.
In April of last year, seven West Virginia counties (Mercer, Jefferson, Roane, Greenbrier, Mineral, Ohio and Summers) divided up $75 million in state Funding to either replace, renovate or relocate outdated school buildings.
But with rising construction costs, the state School Building Authority (SBA) estimates a 25 percent increase to fund those projects, maybe more.
SBA Director of Special Projects Sue Chapman said the authority is working to refinance bonds and get an additional $29.5 million to supplement project costs.
She said each school district will also have to pare down on their original construction plans.
-- Randy Yohe Zero energy schools due in Brickell, South Dade-- Miami Today Florida: May 31, 2022 [ abstract] Schools that are net zero energy ready are coming to Miami-Dade as local firm Zyscovich Architects has designed two middle schools in the county that would use technologies to lower energy consumption and costs.
Zero energy schools are “extremely energy-efficient buildings that produce as much energy as it uses over the course of a year,” a document from the US Department of Energy details. Net zero energy ready schools are designed and built so that on-site renewable energy can be installed later on with minimal disruption.
These buildings can cost 5% to 13% more than conventional schools, but in the long term savings could help cover other operational costs of equal importance. For instance, by annually saving on energy, school officials could redirect those operating costs to fund teacher salaries, a priority for state and local authorities.
“Many US school districts struggle for Funding and improving a school building’s energy efficiency can free up operational funds that may then be available for educational and other purposes,” says the department’s document.
-- Gabriela Henriquez Stoikow Lack of school impact fees costs Cape Region taxpayers-- Cape Gazette Delaware: May 27, 2022 [ abstract] As enrollment has increased in Cape Henlopen School District, so has a call for equity in the Funding of major school construction and renovation projects to house the growing numbers of students.
Since Beacon and Mariner middle schools opened in 2003, district enrollment has grown by more than 2,000 students, with the biggest increases occurring in the last 10 years, according to data provided by Assistant Superintendent Jenny Nauman.
In 2011, the student population was 4,845. As of Sept. 30, 2021, 6,078 students were enrolled, and as of May 19 enrollment increased to 6,265 students.
Along with this growth has come a burgeoning need for new schools. The Cape district has churned out a school a year for six years for a total construction cost of $212 million, according to data provided by Cape Director of Capital Projects Brian Bassett.
Love Creek Elementary opened in 2017 and cost $30 million; H.O. Brittingham Elementary opened in 2018 and cost $32 million, including demolition costs; and Rehoboth Elementary opened in 2019 and cost $33 million.
-- Ellen Driscoll Democrats Renew School Bond Push in $130 Billion Infrastructure Bill-- Bloomberg National: May 20, 2022 [ abstract]
Congressional Democrats are looking to invest $130 billion in the nation’s crumbling schools, partly by reviving a type of debt financing killed by tax reform during the Trump administration.
The Rebuild America’s Schools Act, which went to committee markup Wednesday, would establish a $100 billion grant program and authorize $30 billion of school infrastructure tax credit bonds, both aimed at high-poverty schools around the country where shabby infrastructure poses a health risk to students and staff.
The bill, introduced by Virginia Democrat Bobby Scott, marks a renewed push to pass school infrastructure Funding through a gridlocked Congress after a similar measure folded into President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act failed. Democrats argue schools desperately need repair, and federal Covid-19 stimulus should be used for emergency purposes, not long overdue projects.
The somewhat obscure securities would likely be embraced by investors in the $4 trillion muni market, and schools would get a new tool for borrowing. “Issuers like having flexibility, and this is a structure that has had a long history in the market,” said Jamie Iselin, head of muni fixed income for Neuberger Berman. “There is typically an investor for every type of security.”
The debt portion of the proposed bill would reauthorize tax credit bonds, or TCBs, for school construction purposes after former President Donald Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated them. Unlike tax exempt muni-bonds, which exclude interest from federal taxes, TCBs give a credit or payment to the issuer or investor.
-- Nic Querolo Governor DeWine Announces $4.8 Million for K-12 School Safety and Security Upgrades-- Mike DeWine Governor of Ohio Ohio: May 19, 2022 [ abstract] (COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine today awarded $4.8 million in grants to nearly 100 Ohio schools to help them improve the overall safety and security of their buildings.
Ninety-eight schools in 27 counties will implement safety upgrades with Funding from Ohio's K-12 School Safety Grant Program. Governor DeWine launched the program through the Ohio School Safety Center to help local schools with costly safety upgrades to their buildings.
“I care deeply about every child in Ohio, and this will help ensure that more students are learning in an environment where they can feel safe and secure,” said Governor DeWine. “Today's kids are tomorrow's leaders, and we applaud the school districts that are proactively looking for ways to protect both their students and staff."
Funds will be used to cover expenses associated with physical security enhancements such as security cameras, public address systems, automatic door locks, and visitor badging systems.
-- Staff Writer Capital Spending for School Districts is a Local Affair-- Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Tennessee: May 18, 2022 [ abstract] The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has released a report detailing the amount and types of capital spending for local school districts and an overview of the methods districts and local governments use to pay for capital and debt spending.
Spending for public school capital projects by both local school districts and their county and city governments totaled an estimated $2 billion in fiscal year 2019-20, including spending for land; building construction and renovation; related facilities like parking lots and athletic fields; as well as equipment like desks, chairs, playground equipment, and buses.
The bulk of capital spending on K-12 school facilities, and any related debt payments on loans, is paid from local revenues, including revenues from bonds and notes issued by local governments, adequate facilities taxes, and dedicated property taxes. The state supports capital spending for schools primarily through the state’s share of Basic Education Program (BEP) Funding for several components related to capital needs. State dollars allocated in fiscal year 2019-20 totaled $503 million for the BEP’s capital outlay, equipment, and technology components. (The BEP’s capital outlay component will be folded into the newly-approved Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) base Funding formula, which will be implemented in school year 2023-24. Equipment and technology components are to be split between TISA’s base, weighted, and direct Funding components.)
The report reviews the factors that can increase capital spending for schools, including student enrollment growth, classroom size limit, the age and quality of school buildings, and the cost of building materials and labor. The report’s focus on spending and revenue data from 2019-20 captures more typical spending patterns that occurred mainly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the large injections of federal emergency relief funds known as ESSER.
-- Staff Writer Commissioners discuss tax increase to fund MSCS request for millions to repair old buildings-- ActionNews5.com Tennessee: May 18, 2022 [ abstract]
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A recurring issue is the focus of a big financial ask to the county commission from Memphis-Shelby County school leaders.
Old, dilapidated buildings within the district are at the center of a multi-million dollar Funding request to county commissioners.
School leaders are proposing a $55 million capital improvement project budget for next year, that’s $33 million more than what is currently budgeted for this fiscal year.
The proposal was discussed during Wednesday’s Shelby County Commission budget committee meeting.
“Our students deserve to walk into a world class facility where they can learn, grow and compete globally,” said MSCS superintendent Dr. Joris Ray.
Within the district there are 33 schools that are 50 years or older.
School leaders told county commissioners Wednesday it’s time for much needed repairs, and, in some cases, it’s time to demolish some of the old buildings and start new.
There was a debate among commissioners about whether or not the county should consider raising taxes to fund the increased budget request.
Collierville residents, for example, voted to raise their taxes to help pay for their state of the art school building.
“The question here is if they’re willing to raise the taxes out in the suburb to fund their kids because they think that much of their kids, why can’t we do the same for our kids,” asked Commissioner Van Turner.
Superintendent Ray remained neutral on the subject of raising taxes to fund schools.
“I want to support anything it takes for our students to have the best facilities in the country. They deserve it,” said Ray.
-- Kelli Cook Lakota Schools will present facilities needs to public, provide tours-- journal-news.com Ohio: May 18, 2022 [ abstract] Some of the two dozen school buildings in Butler County’s largest school system are aging or increasingly inadequate when it comes to providing modern learning spaces for 17,000 students or even more in the future, said school officials.
Lakota Schools officials recently announced a series of public meetings to let residents and others learn more about not only the state of its 24 school buildings, but also what facility needs are projected in the coming years as the district’s two townships continue to grow.
A “master facilities plan” is essential for Lakota’s future, said district officials.
And while public input is being gathered — and many decisions remain to be made in the coming months — any replacement or upgrade of existing Lakota buildings will likely require asking residents to approve higher school taxes to supplement state construction Funding for projects.
But Lakota officials said no decisions as to the timing or size of a possible tax hike have been made.
“As we look to the future, it is crucial that we have a master facilities plan in place,” said Betsy Fuller, spokeswoman for Lakota Schools.
The work toward such a facilities plan actually started prior to the March 2020 onset of COVID-19 and was paused during the pandemic until recent months, though surveys of school parents, staff and others have been an on-going, periodic process.
-- Michael D. Clark What are needs-based school construction grants and who gets them?-- edNC.org North Carolina: May 18, 2022 [ abstract]
Last week, superintendents gathered at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to celebrate the distribution of almost $400 million in needs-based school construction grants.
Twenty-eight districts received grants, which will provide Funding for 42 projects such as new schools, renovations, and new classrooms, according to a DPI press release.
“Just as all students in North Carolina need an excellent teacher in every classroom, students and teachers need high quality schools in good repair that help support learning,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt in a press release. “These needs-based grants are an important boost for many districts and communities — and most importantly, their students.”
The grant distribution this year is the largest in the history of the needs-based public school capital fund, which has sent out $739 million in the last five years, Funding “60 new K-12 construction projects, including 33 new schools, eight new buildings, and the replacement of 44 existing schools,” according to the press release.
Here’s which districts received this year’s awards, what they’re being used for, and how much each district received. For example, Polk County Schools will receive $1.3 million for an addition to Tryon Elementary School, Warren County Schools will receive $24 million to build a new elementary school, and Mooresville Graded School District will receive $615,750 for renovations to two schools.
All of this raises a question: What in the world is the needs-based public school capital fund?
-- Alex Granados VALLEY CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS FUTURE FACILITIES OPTIONS DISCUSSED-- NewsDakota.com North Dakota: May 17, 2022 [ abstract] VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Valley City school board continues to move cautiously on whether the district should build a new school or repair their existing facilities.
During a public meeting on May 16th, superintendent Josh Johnson said the district it facing some tough decisions due to aging buildings and facility maintenance upgrade needs. He said the district it looking at the most cost-effective option for all school district stakeholders.
Johnson said under one option, the cost to build a new grade 7-12 structure is estimated at $55 million. He said the school district has $3 million in COVID dollars to use for a new building. He said if there was a referendum vote and it passed, the maximum allowed would be $40 million, but, he said the district would still be $12 million short for that proposed construction project.
During the meeting, someone asked if the remaining money could be made up using dollars from the state Legacy Fund. Rep. Dwight Kiefert said it was unlikely that lawmakers would reach a two-thirds majority to free up Funding for school district building projects, being there are other needs for those dollars across the state.
Johnson was asked about the school district’s priority for a new heating and cooling system, he had this response.
Johnson talked about how the school district can use their existing $3.8 million in COVID Funding and the timeline.
Johnson believes transferring existing technologies and furniture would not be a cost effective issue, if the school district built a new structure.
-- Steve Urness State legislature passes bill with $200 million for expanding preschool access-- MauiNow Hawaii: May 13, 2022 [ abstract] The Hawaiʻi State Legislature passed six bills that invest $220 million in education, with $200 million appropriated for the goal of expanding preschool access to all 3- and 4-year olds by 2032.
The $220 million is in addition to the $2.4 billion in the Department of Education’s most recent budget. The bills were sent to Gov. David Ige for his consideration.
The biggest chunk of the additional Funding is for the education portion of HB 2000. It appropriates $200 million to the School Facilities Authority to expand access to pre-kindergarten for eligible children. The funds may be used to construct new school facilities; renovate, improve and expand existing school facilities to increase pre-kindergarten student capacity; and any other costs to increase pre-kindergarten student capacity within the state.
In 2020, the legislature passed Act 46, which created a goal to expand preschool access to all 3- and 4-year olds by 2032. But there were two issues with meeting that goal: lack of preschool facilities and lack of a qualified workforce.
“Making big change such as providing preschool access for 3- and 4-year old keiki takes time,” said Rep. Justin Woodson, Chair of the House Committee on Education. “Last year, we adopted HB 1362 to create a stipend program for UH students to become early childhood educators. This year, HB 2000 provides an appropriation of $200 million to create appropriate spaces for these keiki to learn effectively. This investment lays the foundation for Hawaii’s children to succeed.”
-- Staff Writer California set to launch hundreds of community schools with $635 million in grants-- EdSource California: May 12, 2022 [ abstract] Next week, California will jumpstart a seven-year initiative to convert potentially thousands of schools into full-service, parent-focused community schools.
Approved a year ago by the Legislature, the $3 billion California Community Schools Partnership Program will be the nation’s most ambitious effort to create schools serving multiple health and learning needs of children. Community schools have come to be known as schools with “wraparound services.” The underlying assumption is that a holistic approach to education, particularly in low-income areas with unmet basic needs, creates the best conditions for children to thrive emotionally and academically. Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to increase the community schools program by $1.5 billion – 50% – in his revised 2022-23 state budget, which he released on May 13.
At its meeting next Wednesday, the State Board of Education is expected to approve $635 million in planning and implementation grants for 265 school districts, county offices of education and charter schools.
On the recommendation of the California Department of Education, 192 districts, county offices of education and charter schools will receive $200,000 two-year planning grants in the first round.
The other 73 districts, with at least some existing community schools, will receive implementation grants covering 444 schools; each school will receive over five years between $712,500 for schools with fewer than 150 students to $2.375 million for schools with more than 2,000 students. Schools serving at least 80% low-income children will receive priority Funding.
-- JOHN FENSTERWALD State Provides Grant for School Project Addressing Crumbling Foundation Concern-- CT NBC Connecticut: May 07, 2022 [ abstract] The state legislature passed a measure that'll provide additional Funding for the Windermere Building Project, aimed at addressing crumbling foundation concerns.
The measure lawmakers passed pertains to the school construction portion of the budget implementation bill.
Ellington Public Schools said the new measure increases the reimbursement rate from 55.4% to 70%. This will provide the school district with just over $9 million additional dollars than expected.
This higher reimbursement rate is expected to save Ellington taxpayers money.
"As Board Chair and former Windermere parent, I am thrilled with the progress we have made on this project in shaping it for the community. We appreciate the leadership of Mr. Greenleaf, who has a unique and extensive skill set in school construction projects, and many others who have worked to proactively address our facilities and we appreciate the State’s recognition of this ongoing concern,” said Board of Education Chair Jennifer Dzen.
The school district said the bill will make the project eligible for state Funding. They're planning to submit an application to the Office of School Construction Grants and Review for consideration.
The project also gets to move forward six months earlier than previously anticipated because of this new measure.
-- Staff Writer Philadelphia school district unveils website to track yearlong review of its aging infrastructure-- Philly Voice Pennsylvania: May 03, 2022 [ abstract] As the School District of Philadelphia determines the best use for each of its aging buildings, officials have unveiled a new website that will detail the state of each facility. The yearlong review process will allow district officials to make recommendations on how to improve the buildings' conditions and make them safer for students.
Each of the more than 200 buildings operated by the district will be scored on four key factors: facility condition, suitability for providing education, the weighted combined score of the first two factors and the utilization of each building. The recommendations will be presented to the Board of Education next spring.
The launch of the website follows years of concern over the crumbling conditions of some school buildings. In the fall of 2019, the district began its Comprehensive School Planning Review, which worked with a small subset of schools to determine the condition and best use of each school building.
That work, like much of the work the district has done to remediate asbestos and lead in its school buildings, was paused due to COVID-19. Now, after more than two years, officials have decided to expand that building review to include every school in the district.
The district will utilize $325 million in federal stimulus funds over the next four years to pay for improvements to facilities. The Funding is a portion of more than $1 billion in American Rescue Plan Funding the district is eligible to receive. It must be spent by September 2024.
-- Maggie Mancini Del. senator introduces legislation to set standards at school facilities-- WMDT Delaware: April 28, 2022 [ abstract] DOVER, Del. – Delaware Senator Stephanie Hansen filed legislation on Thursday to create the first uniform standards for evaluating the physical condition and air quality at more than 200 schools and other educational facilities operated by Delaware’s public school districts.
Currently, each of the state’s 19 school districts conducts its own internal needs assessments for school facilities with each district examining a different set of conditions at various frequencies based on its own standards. Officials say that when deficiencies are found, Funding requests from the districts for minor capital improvements valued at less than $1 million are submitted to the Department of Education before being collectively presented to the Joint Capital Improvement Committee.
Over the past decade, most capital improvement Funding has been allocated to major capital projects such as new school construction, with only $10 million to $15 million in state funds annually dedicated to minor capital projects statewide. This minimal Funding makes it difficult for individual districts to keep up with maintenance on school buildings. We’re told the total value of deferred minor capital improvement Funding requested by the state’s school districts is currently estimated at more than $1.1 billion, with nearly 50% of that cost coming from projects sought by the Christina and Red Clay Consolidated school districts alone.
-- Sarah Ash $13.5 million available to help Vermont schools upgrade air quality systems-- VermontBiz Vermont: April 27, 2022 [ abstract] Vermont Business Magazine As Vermont continues its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to build resilience for future challenges, schools across the state are investing in ventilation systems to improve indoor air quality and make classrooms healthier for students and staff.
This spring, the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) and Efficiency Vermont launched the second round of the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Grant Program, which makes $13.5 million of federal funds available to schools with qualifying projects, through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021.
This year’s effort builds on the success of a previous round of IAQ programming, which in 2020 leveraged $17 million in federal Funding to help 365 Vermont schools improve indoor air quality through HVAC upgrades and air quality monitoring. As a result, more than 62,000 students and 6,500 teachers now spend time in K-12 schools with improved HVAC systems that bring fresh outside air into the building. More than 140 companies, including contracted engineers and tradespeople, worked on these projects.
“Vermont’s experience with COVID-19 demonstrates how important indoor air quality is to student health, safety and ability to learn,” said Secretary of Education Dan French. “Air handling systems often come with high upfront costs, especially when buildings are older, as many of our schools are. This grant program, along with technical assistance from Efficiency Vermont, brings important upgrades to these systems within reach. Studies show that improving indoor air quality mitigates the spread of airborne viruses and leads to better health and education outcomes. This is an important measure that will have wide ranging benefits beyond COVID-19 mitigation.”
“Engaging so many schools and contractors within a short period of time, was a substantial undertaking”, French added. “With its statewide platform and decades of experience helping schools invest in energy efficiency upgrades, Efficiency Vermont has been a valuable partner in this undertaking.”
There is strong evidence that improving ventilation and filtration can slow the transmission of infectious diseases like COVID-19. The anticipated eligible projects under the program align with COVID-19-specific guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
-- Staff Writer Bowser’s vow of better middle schools falls short in poorest D.C. wards-- Washington Post District of Columbia: April 25, 2022 [ abstract] When Muriel E. Bowser (D) first ran for mayor in 2014, she vowed to be the “education mayor.” She would transform the city’s lowest-performing schools and tackle a problem that has long vexed District leaders: middle schools.
But seven years later, as she runs for a third term, her promises are still unfulfilled in the city’s poorest wards. While she has poured more money into these schools, families continue to abandon the system after elementary school, choosing charter schools and campuses in wealthier areas over their assigned neighborhood schools.
The middle schools serving the most low-income populations are struggling, and the challenges are most acute at the five middle schools east of the Anacostia River in Wards 7 and 8, according to an analysis of city data and interviews with more than 20 parents and education leaders. Despite Funding schools at unprecedented levels, the poor reputations of the five campuses in these wards persist — and standardized test scores show academic outcomes are still lagging far behind city averages.
-- Perry Stein DCPS approves resolution that will expedite construction process-- Messenger-Inquirer Kentucky: April 22, 2022 [ abstract] The Daviess County Public Schools Board of Education on Thursday approved a resolution that will speed up its building projects exponentially by removing the Kentucky Department of Education from the approval process for construction projects until June 20, 2024.
This resolution is made possible through House Bill 678.
According to the bill, which was signed by the governor earlier this month, the requirement for boards of education to receive approval from the state “to commence the Funding, financing, design, construction, renovation or modification of district facilities” will be suspended.
This will, the bill states, “provide for an expedited process for approval of district facility plans and the acquisition and disposal of property.”
Sara Harley, DCPS director of finance, updated board members on this bill earlier this week during a luncheon meeting, at which point she said this bill means the district will not have to go through the “extra hoops” of sending construction items to Frankfort before they begin. She also told board members about a situation the district is dealing with at this time that will be impacted by the resolution.
-- Bobbie Hayse School District of La Crosse considers consolidating schools as part of long-range facility planning-- WEAU Wisconsin: April 20, 2022 [ abstract] LA CROSSE, Wis. (WEAU) - The School District of La Crosse is holding a pair of public community listening sessions to discuss long-term facility planning for the district.
The upcoming sessions will highlight the District’s declining student population, aging facilities and work done on budgeting and operations to manage persistent shortfalls in Funding.
According to the District’s information page for facility planning, annual enrollment in the school district has declined by over 1,400 students in the past 20 years. The District cited lower birth rates over the past 30 years as a cause of the decline, and noted that each student brings in about $11,300 in revenue. In addition, La Crosse administrators expect the enrollment to continue to decline for at least the next five to 10 years. The most recent publicly-available open enrollment figures also show the school district losing more students to transfers than it is bringing in since 2018-19, with 2019-2020 seeing a net loss of 34 students to open enrollment transfer.
Aging facilities are also a concern of the School District of La Crosse, according to the District’s facility planning page. Some of the 15 buildings in operation are over 80 years old, with millions of dollars each year budgeted for maintenance and updates to keep the schools in compliance with federal and state standards. The District also said that La Crosse is the smallest school district in Wisconsin with two high schools, and that districts of its size typically have 10 or 11 buildings, not 15. The average age of the buildings used by the school district is 60 years.
-- Jimmie Kaska Howard County working to make overcrowded schools a thing of the past-- WMAR Maryland: April 19, 2022 [ abstract]
HOWARD COUNTY, Md. — Howard County leaders are making an investment in school construction to relieve classroom capacity and overcrowding.
County officials announced on Tuesday the details of a record school construction investment will create an additional 2,400 spaces for students by 2023.
overcrowded schools a thing of the past
Howard County working to make overcrowded schools a thing of the past
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By: WMAR StaffPosted at 4:09 PM, Apr 19, 2022 and last updated 5:54 PM, Apr 19, 2022
HOWARD COUNTY, Md. — Howard County leaders are making an investment in school construction to relieve classroom capacity and overcrowding.
County officials announced on Tuesday the details of a record school construction investment will create an additional 2,400 spaces for students by 2023.
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County Executive Calvin Ball’s proposed budget contains $105.9 million for school construction, the most in at least the past 20 years.
The Funding provides all the construction resources requested by the Board of Education and HCPSS, including the completion of High School #13 in Jessup, the Talbott Springs Elementary replacement, and the renovation and addition at Hammond High.
“Howard County is a premier place to live and grow, which is why families choose to raise their children here,” said County Executive Calvin Ball. “Through responsible management and strong partnerships, we can now invest more than $105 million in school construction during the next year, the highest amount in more than two decades. We are building facilities that will foster excellent environments for teaching and learning.”
The investment also includes over $30 million in total Funding for systemic renovations, including:
-- Staff Writer Wake wants to cut back on new schools to do more renovations. Here’s the updated list.-- The News&Observer North Carolina: April 15, 2022 [ abstract]
The Wake County school system could up the number of major renovations over the next seven years by cutting back on the number of new schools that will be built. The school board’s facilities committee backed a plan this week to include eight major school renovations and four new schools to the district’s rolling, seven-year building program. The new plan was presented after board members expressed concerns with prior options to fund seven new schools but only five major renovations in the next seven years. “Whatever schools get on the list today are going to need renovations,” said board member Jim Martin, chair of the facilities committee. “The schools that don’t get on the list are going to need renovations. If we’re not doing four to five a year, we’re falling behind.”
Under the new plan, major renovations will be done at North Garner Middle; Lockhart Elementary in Knightdale; Briarcliff Elementary in Cary; Brentwood Elementary, Athens Drive High, Washington Elementary and Ligon Middle in Raleigh; and Zebulon Middle.
The plan’s four new schools are a small high school in West Cary or Morrisville, an elementary school in Wendell or Zebulon, an elementary school on Poole Road in eastern Raleigh and an elementary school in northeastern Raleigh. But the plan is to permanently relocate Wendell Elementary’s students and staff to the new eastern Wake elementary school. The full school board will vote on the plan Tuesday to send to the Wake County Board of Commissioners. COUNTY DEBT LIMIT Funding for the district’s building program comes from a combination of bonds approved by voters and others approved only by the commissioners. Commissioners are expected to place the next school construction bond referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot.
-- T. KEUNG HUI Batavia school district could replace four elementary schools in new master facilities plan-- Shaw Local Illinois: April 12, 2022 [ abstract] Batavia school district officials have outlined the next steps of its “Building Our Future Together” master facilities plan, which may involve the replacement of four of the district’s oldest buildings, which are Alice Gustafson, J.B. Nelson, H.C. Storm and Louise White elementary schools.
According to Superintendent Lisa Hichens, a total of 90 community members attended the four engagement sessions held in February and March to present information to the community and gather feedback. The sessions touched on topics ranging from Funding options to new ways facilities could be modernized.
The final engagement session was held on March 24 at Rotolo Middle School, and focused on bringing together all the information from the previous sessions, according to meeting documents.
“People really needed us to explain in great detail why it was more fiscally sound and makes more sense to rebuild some of our schools rather than renovate,” Hichens said. “So even though this plan touches all eight schools, people needed to understand why rebuilding makes more sense at four of our schools.”
According to meeting documents, Alice Gustafson was the only one of the four schools that would be more costly to replace than renovate. The total renovation cost would be $169.2 million, opposed to a total rebuilding cost of $135.3 million for all four schools.
-- Jonah Nink Dept. of Energy releases RFI for K-12 schools energy upgrade program-- Building Design + Construction National: April 11, 2022 [ abstract] The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) released a Request for Information (RFI) to help decide how best to spend $500 million from the recently passed federal infrastructure law for K-12 public school energy upgrades.
The law makes available grants for energy improvements that result in a direct reduction in school energy costs, including improvements to the air conditioning and heating, ventilation, hot water heating, and lighting systems. Funding would also support renovation and repairs that lead to an improvement in teacher and student health.
Many schools are in desperate need of energy improvements, according to a DOE news release. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s 100,000 public K-12 schools a D+ in their 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure report.
-- PETER FABRIS NJ spending $200M to help crowded schools but has no long-term plan for most SDA districts-- northjersey.com New Jersey: April 11, 2022 [ abstract]
In the absence of a long-term Funding plan for the Schools Development Authority, the Murphy administration is tapping the state budget and money borrowed in the COVID-19 pandemic to build new schools to ease overcrowding in New Jersey's poorest communities.
The patchwork approach avoids adding new construction debt for taxpayers, who are already paying back more than $1 billion a year for money borrowed by the authority more than a decade ago. Gov. Phil Murphy named a leader responsible for securing a new round of multibillion-dollar borrowing for the agency four years ago, but a political patronage scandal derailed those plans.
For now, flush with cash and having no known plans for the authority's future, the state is taking its first significant step after the 2019 scandal to address longstanding problems in outdated and overcrowded schools.
The authority last week approved spending $200 million in new Funding — for the first time since Murphy took office in 2018 — to build new schools in Bridgeton, Elizabeth and Garfield. The state identified those locations as having "the highest priority needs" among the SDA districts, Chief Executive Officer Manny Da Silva said.
This new stopgap Funding is a small fraction of what's needed across the 31 SDA districts, which are among the poorest and most segregated in the state. The cost of high-priority projects — mostly to address overcrowding — in just half the SDA districts would be $1.97 billion, according to the Murphy administration's own "rough" estimate.
-- Dustin Racioppi Biden administration launches effort to improve school air quality-- K-12 Dive National: April 06, 2022 [ abstract]
COVID-19 brought to light many worsening issues in education and school facilities, among them poor indoor air quality due to older school infrastructure.
To begin to remedy that, Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday announced an action plan to put $500 million toward upgrading public school facilities to be more cost- and energy-efficient. The Funding is through the Build Back Better Act, a bipartisan infrastructure law passed Nov. 19.
The administration is also encouraging districts to use American Rescue Plan dollars toward improving their HVAC systems.
In mid-March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched the Clean Air in Buildings Challenge as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to improve ventilation in schools and other buildings.
A fact sheet on the EPA initiative outlines four steps:
Create an action plan by assessing indoor air quality and making plans for upgrades and improvements to related systems like heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
Bring in and circulate clean outdoor air into indoor spaces.
Enhance air filtration and cleaning via a central HVAC system and in-room air cleaning devices.
Engage local communities in an action plan to improve indoor air quality and health outcomes.
-- Anna Merod Arkansas school superintendents say funding is an obstacle in building facilities-- The Center Square Arkansas: April 05, 2022 [ abstract]
Fifty-eight percent of Arkansas school superintendents said in a survey a lack of state Funding is the top obstacle they face in financing school facilities in their district, according to a presentation to the Joint Education Committee.
Studies are inconclusive on whether academic facilities’ conditions impact student learning, but there is evidence that they can impact student health and student perception on safety, Jasmine Ray, a legislative analyst, said at a joint meeting of the House and Senate education committees.
A temporary advisory committee created through Act 801 in 2017 reported the total estimated capital needs for public school academic facilities in the state was more than $604 million.
Arkansas’ public schools receive most of their Funding for academic facilities through the state’s Academic Facilities Partnership Program. School districts and the state share the cost of facilities construction and major renovations through the program, Ray said.
Open enrollment public school charters are not eligible for the program due to not having a taxing authority, according to Ray.
The cost for public school facilities in Arkansas has risen over the years. In 2016, the Partnership Program allocated nearly $42 million annually for facilities Funding, but it is estimated that allocation will be as high as $70 million for fiscal year 2023, Ray said. Arkansas’ capital outlay expenditures per student has grown over the last several years from more than $1,000 per student in 2015 to more than $1,500 per student in 2019, she said.
-- Merrilee Gasser K-12 Infrastructure is Broken. Here’s Biden’s Newest Plan to Help Fix It-- Education Week National: April 04, 2022 [ abstract]
The Biden administration is offering new grant Funding and other resources to help school districts plan sorely-needed investments in the nation’s dilapidated school buildings and buses—though the offerings fall well short of schools’ needs.
The announcement comes just one week after the administration’s latest federal budget proposal, which does not include a previously proposed investment of $100 billion in grants and bonds for K-12 school infrastructure. Congress last year considered a similar investment as part of a broader infrastructure spending package, but lawmakers eventually excised public schools from their priority list as well.
This week the federal government announced new Funding that amounts to half of 1 percent of those proposals.
A Department of Energy grant program will funnel $500 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress last November for school districts to spend on priorities, including:
comprehensive energy efficiency audits and building retrofits,
HVAC and lighting upgrades,
clean energy installation, and
training for staff to maintain these improvements long-term.
Rural and high-poverty schools will get priority consideration from the agency.
America spends $110 billion a year on school infrastructure, but that hefty sum falls $85 billion short of the necessary benchmark to fully modernize school buildings nationwide, according to a 2021 report from a coalition of school infrastructure advocates.
Leaky roofs, moldy ceilings, flooded classrooms, suffocating heat, and overcrowded hallways are a fixture of the scenery for millions of America’s K-12 students, particularly in rural and low-income areas. Many school buildings that haven’t been renovated for decades can’t easily be upgraded because they weren’t built for modern equipment.
-- Mark Lieberman $470 million sought for Cumberland County school construction-- The Fayetteville Observer North Carolina: April 02, 2022 [ abstract]
A Cumberland County Board of Education committee voted on Thursday to ask the county for more than $470 million to replace and renovate schools over the next five years.
The board’s auxiliary services committee unanimously approved a resolution that says the board “has determined and found that both renovations to and replacements of existing school facilities are needed to meet the needs of our current and future student population.”
The resolution will go to the full board for consideration at its meeting April 12.
Joe Desormeaux, associate superintendent of auxiliary services, told the committee that if the board approves the resolution, it will be sent to county commissioners. He said school officials have discussed the issue with county officials.
Desormeaux said he thinks county officials understand the challenges facing the school system.
“It’s unclear what they will do,” he said.
The resolution says the county has options to provide Funding for the construction cost, including issuing bonds or choosing to provide some funds on a “pay as you go” basis. It calls on commissioners “to take all necessary steps, by the issuance of bonds or otherwise, to provide funds for the school system’s capital building needs.”
The anticipated $470.4 million in school construction costs assumes that the school system will get a $50 million grant to help pay for a new E.E. Smith High School. The facility is expected to cost about $95 million.
-- Steve DeVane Charles public schools to see increase in construction funds-- Southern Maryland News Maryland: March 30, 2022 [ abstract]
Charles County public school system is in line to see an increase in the state share in costs for future school construction.
During Monday’s board of education work session, Michael Heim, assistant superintendent of supporting services, and Steve Andritz, director of planning and construction, briefed board members on Funding for school construction.
The county is projected to see $22.89 million in Funding from the state’s Capital Improvement Program for fiscal 2023.
A grant will provides Funding for new school construction and renovation as well as major maintenance programs for existing facilities.
Costs of new school construction and certain renovation or addition projects are split between the state and local governments based on county wealth, but as Heim explained, those funds only cover actual building and improvements
“That [state Funding] does not include buying land, design cost or any of the technology, fixtures, etc.,” he said.
Charles County also saw a rise in its state share, which is based on county wealth, from 61% to 65%.
A new grant allowing the Maryland Stadium Authority to issue bonds for school construction projects is also set to provide more money for constructing educational facilities in the state.
The Built to Learn Act, which passed the Maryland General Assembly in 2020, came online with the passage of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future last year.
The law allows the stadium authority to issue revenue bonds to fund new construction projects which would be managed by the authority.
Charles County is expected to receive about $25.35 million in assisting three school addition/renovation projects.
-- Darryl Kinsey Jr. Advocates call on Mayor Adams and City Council to retrofit public schools with green infrastructure-- amny.com New York: March 24, 2022 [ abstract]
Elected officials, environmentalists, union leaders and other advocates gathered on the steps of City Hall Thursday to demand Mayor Eric Adams and the NYC city council retrofit public schools with climate friendly infrastructure.
The March 24 rally saw the coalition of advocates call on the mayor to plan to support carbon-free, healthy schools especially in lower income neighborhoods by Funding the Carbon Free and Healthy Schools (CFHS) initiative in this fiscal year’s budget plan.
The speakers highlighted how the initiative could simultaneously combat multiple priorities of city leaders, while also addressing the long term concerns of student health and wellbeing in public school buildings.
“The majority of the emissions from our city come from large buildings,” said Maritza Silva-Farrell, executive director of ALIGN, a leader of the Climate Works for All coalition to amNew York. “Public schools are some of the biggest polluters in the city. So we are talking about reducing emissions and ensuring that we actually meet our climate goals, and it is critical that these buildings have the Funding necessary to be upgraded and have the retrofits needed.”
NYC public schools are an average of 70 years old, and with aging infrastructure and a pandemic, students are being put in unnecessary risk of illness or injury. Many of these schools lack adequate heating, cooling and ventilation systems (HVAC), and also may still contain hazardous building materials like lead and asbestos.
-- Isabel Song Beer Equitable State Funding for School Facilities-- Public Policy Institute of California California: March 24, 2022 [ abstract] Key Takeaways
California’s K–12 school facilities require significant new and ongoing investments. Funding for facilities comes mostly from local sources, and depends crucially on local property wealth. The state provides some Funding for facilities through the School Facility Program (SFP), which usually requires local matching contributions. Does the SFP promote a more equitable distribution of school capital Funding? This report finds:
SFP Funding has disproportionately benefitted more affluent students and districts. Low-income, English Learner (EL), and Latino students have received less Funding than higher-income, non-EL, and white students since 1998. Per student state Funding has been highest in the districts with the fewest high-need students. →
Disparities are driven largely by modernization Funding—and partially addressed by hardship Funding. Higher-wealth and lower-need districts have received more Funding for modernization, one of three major SFP programs. Funding for new construction, a second major program, goes mainly to growing districts; it has been higher in lower-wealth districts, but also in districts with fewer high-need students. Funding for both financial and facility-based hardship—the third major program—has been significant enough for higher-need and lower-wealth students and districts to partially address disparities. →
Suburban districts have received the most SFP Funding, while Funding for rural districts has been “boom or bust.” Suburban districts received the most Funding per pupil and are the least likely to have received no Funding at all. Most districts that have received no SFP Funding are rural. However, higher levels of hardship Funding have kept average per student state Funding in rural districts comparable to Funding per student in cities and towns. →
Districts allocate Funding across schools in ways that reduce inequities across districts. Districts target more Funding to schools with higher shares of low-income and Latino students. However, within-district allocations generally have a small impact on across-district disparities. This suggests that focusing on which districts receive Funding may be more impactful than efforts to influence which schools within districts are targeted for facility improvements. →
State policies could improve the equity and efficiency of facilities Funding. Recently proposed changes—including a sliding scale for district contributions keyed to local wealth and/or need, prioritization of facility needs, and greater Funding for hardship cases—could help narrow Funding inequities. To make it easier for small districts with lower organizational and fiscal capacity to qualify for and receive Funding, county offices of education and/or the California Department of Education could provide greater technical assistance. Finally, improving current data on facility conditions would go a long way toward accurately assessing needs and targeting the schools and districts with the greatest need.
-- Julien Lafortune and Niu Gao, Joseph Herrera Kentucky superintendents receive update on SAFE funding for tornado-impacted districts-- Kentucky Teacher Kentucky: March 24, 2022 [ abstract] Leadership from the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) met virtually on March 24 with superintendents of districts impacted by the Dec. 10 and 11 tornados to encourage the districts to continue to request aid from the West Kentucky State Aid Funding for Emergencies (SAFE) fund.
Through House Bill 5, the state legislature provided $200 million to support districts, local governments and other agencies affected by the December 2021 storms and tornadoes. The bill appropriated $30 million to local school districts. The money may provide wraparound services, such as tutoring and mental health supports for students and families, and assistance with additional transportation costs. In addition, KDE can transfer a portion of the $30 million to the state School Facilities Construction Commission to help repair damaged school buildings.
KDE created a simple application for districts to submit their needs under the permissible uses of the funds. Districts can access the application on the KDE’s State Grants webpage. Requests for Funding should cover anticipated expenses through June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
So far, the department has received seven applications with nearly $7 million in requested funds.
KDE Associate Commissioner Robin Kinney reminded superintendents that there are two steps to request funds – the application process and a request for cash reimbursement after the application is approved.
“If you are a district having difficulty with cash flow … we have put a section on the application where you can share that with us so we can advance funds,” she said.
-- Audrie Lamb Beyond Fate: Funding Structure and Public Policy Mean Rural Schools Don’t Get Fair Share-- The Daily Yonder Mississippi: March 15, 2022 [ abstract] A New York Times Magazine article, “The Tragedy of America’s Rural Schools,” tells a story about the educational system in Holmes County, Mississippi, suggesting that the community has failed to provide adequate school facilities, that administrators and teachers have failed to provide sound educational programs, and that the schools have failed to serve their students. The article shines a spotlight on a single student in a single rural school district. There is benefit in turning on a spotlight. It’s important to use the national media to tell stories about Mississippi and the rural schools that serve one-fifth of students across the United States. However, a spotlight illuminates only part of the whole scene. Overhead lighting can reveal a bigger picture–in this case, revealing the impact of state and federal policies that fail to meet the needs of rural schools and the students they serve–including Holmes County, Mississippi.
School Funding policies are one of the biggest barriers to rural school success. The bulk of Funding for public schools comes from local property taxes. Rural populations, economies, and the presence of public lands (such as national forests) often yield lower property values, which in turn leads to Funding inequities for rural schools. In Mississippi, as in most states, millage rates are capped. Even if the local community wanted to, districts cannot raise the property tax rate beyond a certain level to increase school Funding, placing rural districts at an even greater disadvantage. Inequitable Funding can lead to lower teacher salaries and teacher shortages, limited school offerings, and under-resourced classrooms.
In Holmes County, the limited tax base means that school buildings are out of date and in need of repair. In 2019, the district sought voter approval for a bond issue that would have funded a new high school and freed up money currently going to facility maintenance to allow for a raise in teacher salaries. Nearly half the county turned out to vote, and the majority, 58%, voted to approve the bond issue–but a state law in Mississippi requires at least 60% approval of a bond issue. Other states, including Washington and Oklahoma, have similar requirements. Rules like these make it difficult for a local community to raise funds to provide adequate school facilities for their children–even when the majority of voters approve.
-- Devon Brenner Washington Legislature OKs funds for earthquake retrofits for older school buildings-- OPB.org Washington: March 14, 2022 [ abstract] An effort to jump-start the pace of earthquake retrofits to vulnerable, older school buildings in Washington has passed the Legislature unanimously. The Evergreen State has lagged behind other West Coast states and provinces in reinforcing schools to withstand strong shaking.
A report from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources last year said tens of thousands of Washington students attend class in buildings at high risk of collapse in an earthquake. Thousands more youngsters go to low-lying schools in the coastal tsunami zone.
Stanwood, Washington parent and PTA volunteer DaleAnn Baker was among a corps of citizen activists who successfully lobbied the Legislature to more than double state spending for earthquake retrofits, or in some cases, to pay most of the cost to relocate a public school out of the tsunami zone.
"The amount of Funding is significant and this is great,” Baker said in an interview Wednesday. “It is really showing that the Legislature wants to make a commitment to this effort."
Baker said her journey into activism began a few years ago when she realized the elementary school where she sends her two children was built in 1956, long before modern seismic safety codes. “How is it acceptable to require kids to attend school in a building that may collapse during an earthquake?” the aerospace engineer asked herself and others.
On Wednesday, the Washington Senate voted 49-0 to pass a supplemental state construction budget that includes $100 million for earthquake and tsunami safety upgrades to the most vulnerable schools statewide. The action to send the budget bill to the governor's desk followed a similarly lopsided 98-0 state House vote on Tuesday. The new Funding for school seismic safety retrofits represents a 150% increase over last year's level and a nearly eight-fold increase from just three years ago.
-- Tom Banse ‘Buildings don’t get any younger’: Pueblo school construction needs reflect statewide issue-- The Pueblo Chieftain Colorado: March 12, 2022 [ abstract] Aging K-12 schools in Colorado, including many in Pueblo, are in need of billions of dollars in Funding for construction and repairs.
The Colorado Department of Education estimates that over $18 billion is needed for school construction statewide. Included in that total is $84.8 million for construction in Pueblo School District 60 and $22.4 million in Pueblo School District 70, according to the CDE.
The average estimate of Funding required to meet Colorado school districts' construction needs is about $39.5 million.
“Generally, we know that there is not enough money going into school facilities to keep up with what’s being deferred,” said Dustin Guerin, CDE Statewide Facility Assessment Supervisor. “Without a big influx, the expectation is that the systems continue to age.”
“Buildings don’t get any younger,” he said. “They just keep aging and things keep breaking and needing to be replaced.”
-- James Bartolo State Launches Pilot Initiative to Increase Net Zero Energy Capacity in Schools-- Maryland Association of Counties Maryland: March 07, 2022 [ abstract] The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) announced the launch of the Decarbonizing Public Schools Pilot Program to expand the capacity of local education agencies (LEA) for managing energy data, reducing operating costs, and for inserting energy performance criteria into capital improvement planning.
The Decarbonizing Public Schools Pilot Program was developed by MEA and the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) to “foster LEAs’ long-term capacities for energy management and net zero energy (NZE) school design and construction, where the total amount of energy used is equal to or less than the amount of renewable energy created.”
Notably, the program provides $2 million in state Funding from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund to help local school systems develop and expand their capacity to address ongoing energy challenges and opportunities for controlling costs through data management, as well as adopting cost-effective net zero energy design considerations for public school portfolio planning.
“MEA has been helping make Net Zero Energy schools a reality, having recently supported three projects, including the Holabird and Graceland Park/O’Donnell Heights schools in Baltimore City and Wilde Lake Middle School in Howard County,” said Dr. Mary Beth Tung, Director of MEA. “Early lessons from these projects indicate lifecycle operating costs can be greatly reduced when sound energy management and design principles are incorporated early in project identification and design.”
A total of $2,000,000 is anticipated to be available for distribution to grant participants between AOI.1 and AOI.2. The amount awarded may vary depending on the quantity and quality of applications received.
-- Brianna January Springfield will seek state funds for school building improvements-- WAMC Massachusetts: February 25, 2022 [ abstract] New roofs, windows, doors among the projects proposed at several schools
Officials in Springfield, Massachusetts will seek state Funding next month for major repair projects at several school buildings.
Applications will be sent to the Massachusetts School Building Authority requesting state funds to pay for improvements to 10 Springfield schools – work that includes new roofs, replacement windows and doors, additional classroom space, and HVAC system upgrades.
The city is also looking for funds to study replacing three elementary schools with new buildings.
Over the last decade or so, Springfield has received about $700 million from the MSBA to upgrade or replace dozens of school buildings – some that were constructed in the 19th Century, said Pat Sullivan, the city’s director of buildings.
“It’s really remarkable what we have gotten done with this program,” he said.
Three brand new schools have been built. Construction is underway on a new elementary school in the Mason Square neighborhood.
The school building improvements have coincided with a leap in academic performance by Springfield Public School students. In a city with a high rate of childhood asthma it is important to have schools that are clean with good air quality, said Sullivan.
“It means kids are in the classroom longer, they’re not leaving because of an asthma attack,” he said. “If you maintain your buildings, it is going to have a ripple effect for a good outcome for the kids’ education and I think that is what we are achieving with this program.”
There is no dollar amount attached to the proposals submitted to the MSBA. Each project is evaluated on its merits and if approved then a budget for it is worked out.
Springfield has been successful in getting 3-4 projects per year greenlighted by the MSBA, said Pete Garvey, the city’s director of Capital Asset Management and Construction.
“There (were) 74 selected out of over 200 submissions (statewide for Funding) in the last round, so we are doing pretty good in terms of getting our fair share,” Garvey said.
He said the state funds typically cover between 60-80 percent of the total cost of a school repair or replacement project and the city borrows to cover the rest.
-- Paul Tuthill How MCSD wants to use state grants to improve buildings-- Montrose Press Colorado: February 24, 2022 [ abstract] For the 2022-23 fiscal year, Montrose County School District applied for two BEST grants: one to complete the phased rollout of improved security features and the other to upgrade the ventilation systems at multiple schools.
The Building Excellent Schools Tomorrow program was established in 2008 and has helped to fund billions in important capital improvement projects around the state. The revenue for the program comes from a large chunk of proceeds from state lands, as well as marijuana excise taxes and lottery profits.
The grants do not cover the entire cost of the capital projects, but the matching percentages can vary by district and year. The proportion of grant Funding to local Funding is determined by a formula that takes a multitude of factors into account, such as the district’s median household income and any current mill levies, according to the Colorado Department of Education website.
-- Anna Lynn Winfrey School renovations: RI leaders outline progress, future projects-- WPRI Rhode Island: February 16, 2022 [ abstract]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island leaders held a news conference Wednesday to highlight school construction projects that have been completed with a taxpayer-approved bond as they ask voters to approve another one this fall.
The Statewide School Construction Bond approved by voters in 2018 provided $250 million in upfront “pay-as-you-go” Funding to repair and replace crumbling school buildings across the state.
“The fact that we’ve allowed buildings to crumble is such a shame, but we’re not doing that any longer,” R.I. Department of Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said.
Infante-Green and Gov. Dan McKee on Wednesday released the 2022 School Building Authority (SBA) Report, Renewing the Dream, which they said describes the work being done to build high-quality facilities statewide.
Renewing the Dream is the SBA’s first report since 2017. Officials said it showcases 11 case studies on major renovations or full building replacements that have been completed, along with another six ongoing projects.
“We are continuing to make progress in providing every child in Rhode Island with modern school facilities where they can get an excellent education,” McKee said. “For too long, our Funding structures have left our most at-need cities and towns behind, but our entire state team is working tirelessly to change that. Together, we can give every student in Rhode Island the world-class schools they deserve.”
-- Melanie DaSilva School leaders advocate for school construction funds-- Bristol Herald Courier Virginia: February 14, 2022 [ abstract] Leaders of the Virginia Coalition of Small and Rural Schools continued to advocate for more Funding to repair and replace dilapidated schools statewide Monday.
Speaking during an education Funding press conference in Richmond, speakers from different state advocacy organizations urged the General Assembly to expand Funding for school buildings, behavioral health for students, greater teacher pay, revised Standards of Quality and literacy intervention.
For the coalition, which includes all of the public school divisions in Southwest Virginia among its 80 members, the theme of buildings is a familiar topic.
“Among the key issues and challenges our work seeks to influence is the urgency of finally addressing the ever-increasing number of crumbling and dilapidated school facilities,” Peter Gretz, superintendent of Fluvanna County Public Schools and vice president of the coalition, said. “We believe the ZIP code in which Virginia’s children are born should not be the deciding factor in whether or not they get to learn in high-quality, modern facilities designed to meet the instructional needs of the 21st century — a century we are almost a quarter of the way through.”
-- David McGee 5-Bill school modernization package provides Funding for Virginia schools-- Star Tribune Virginia: February 11, 2022 [ abstract] RICHMOND — The Virginia Senate today passed three bills to provide long-overdue Funding for school construction and modernization.
The three bills – SB 471, SB 473, and SB 481 – are part of a bipartisan package of legislation recommended by the Commission on School Construction and Modernization. Two other commission-recommended bills - SB 238 and SB 472 – already passed the Senate earlier this session.
More than 1,000 schools — more than half of K-12 school buildings in Virginia — are more than 50 years old, according to the Commission on School Construction and Modernization. The Commission estimates that the amount of Funding needed to replace these buildings is $24.8 billion. Many localities face significant challenges in raising sufficient funds to undertake these projects.
“These bills help ensure that schools across the commonwealth receive the Funding to make capital improvements they so desperately need,” said Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond), the chair of the commission. “Students need a safe place to learn, and they cannot learn if the school around them is crumbling. It’s time for Virginia to invest in addressing our crisis of school infrastructure. I’m honored to work with Sen. Stanley as we make bipartisan investments in our children’s future.”
-- Staff Writer Virginia lawmakers, school officials push for school construction funding-- WCYB 5 Virginia: February 09, 2022 [ abstract] BRISTOL, Va. (WCYB) — Leaky roofs, black mold, and crumbling buildings are just some of the issues facing many schools in Southwest Virginia.
The problem isn't new, and local lawmakers are pushing for change.
According to a recent survey by the Virginia Department of Education more than half of the state's public schools are at least 50 years old.
"It's widely known there is a $25 billion school facility crisis in the Commonwealth of Virginia," said Superintendent of Bristol, Virginia Schools Keith Perrigan.
It's a problem school officials in Bristol, Virginia know all too well. Some of their schools are more than 70 years old. Perrigan recently was in Richmond to help testify on behalf of rural schools.
"Southwest Virginia certainly needs to have a voice in Southwest Virginia and in Richmond in regards to school Funding and other issues," said Perrigan.
Del. Israel O'Quinn (R-Washington County), is sponsoring bills to help the school systems. One would take money from the state's literary fund and repurpose it for school construction.
-- Kristen Quon Byron Public Schools considers amping up its solar power usage-- Post Bulletin Minnesota: February 08, 2022 [ abstract]
BYRON — Byron Public Schools is looking into the possibility of increasing its dependence on renewable energy with the help of some new state Funding.
On Tuesday, the school board held a study session and met with Rich Ragatz, the vice president of business development for the company Ideal Energies. Although the board didn't make any decisions at the meeting, they discussed adding solar panels to the district's high school.
If the district does move forward with the project, they could do so in a couple different ways. Both options fall under the recently developed Solar For Schools Grant Program.
"Established by the state Legislature in 2021, the Solar for Schools Grant Program is designed to stimulate the installation of solar energy systems on Minnesota public schools," the Department of Commerce's website reads.
Byron became eligible for the Funding through an equation that took into account the school district's adjusted net tax capacity and its number of students.
One of the two programs would award the district up to $102,000. The district wouldn't have to pay for the installation or the materials and it would get a 40% discount on the energy produced by the panels for 20 years. After that, it would have full access to the energy they produce.
It would require approximately 5,000 square feet of space.
"You'll end up with about a $350,000 net savings over the life of the system," Ragatz said.
Another option, which is still be developed, would earn the district a given amount for each kilowat hour of power created through the panels.
-- Jordan Shearer Senator Kearney Pushes for More Funding for Schools, Looks to Revive PlanCon Building Program-- PA Senate Democrats Pennsylvania: February 07, 2022 [ abstract] HARRISBURG − February 7, 2022 – Senator Tim Kearney (D – Delaware/Chester), a member of the Senate Education Committee and newly-appointed Vice Chair of Appropriations, recently announced plans to restart the Planning and Construction Workbook Program, —A.K.A. PlanCon— the state’s program for Funding public school building construction and renovation, by finally appropriating Funding to allow the Department of Education to accept new applications from school districts.
“After nearly 10 years without any state Funding for our public school buildings, it is time for the legislature to do its job and address the Commonwealth’s school facilities crisis,” said Kearney. “Suburban, rural, and urban districts are all suffering from different challenges of aging infrastructure, from overcrowded classrooms to holes in the roofs, from broken heated systems to exposed and crumbling asbestos, every school district has unattended facilities issues while they work to address the other crises imposed on our education system.”
PlanCon allows school districts to apply for partial reimbursement for planning and construction costs approved by the PA Department of Education. Recently, the General Assembly passed Act 70 of 2019 to greatly simplify the application process and to create the Maintenance Program to cover critical system repairs and maintenance to existing school facilities, formerly ineligible costs. However, the legislature has not funded PlanCon since 2016 and placed a moratorium on new applications.
-- Staff Writer Rockland area school districts get funding for building renovations-- Courier-Gazette Maine: February 06, 2022 [ abstract] The Rockland area school district may be able to tackle a number of building improvements.
The Maine Department of Education determined $5.1 million in projects submitted by Regional School Unit 13 were eligible for the state’s school revolving renovation fund. The district submitted applications for 14 projects.
RSU 13 Business Manager Peter Orne said the beauty of the program is there is no interest charged on the borrowing, and one-third is written off immediately. He said the district would need to repay $3.5 million over 10 years.
The district has $250,000 in annual debt being paid off this year.
The spending will need to go before district voters for their approval. Orne said it would make sense to hold that vote on June 14 when the annual district budget is approved.
Projects would be undertaken at Oceanside High School in Rockland, Oceanside Middle School in Thomaston, Thomaston Grammar School, and South School in Rockland.
-- STEPHEN BETTS Ed Dept asked to extend deadline for school upgrades under relief funding-- K-12 Drive National: February 03, 2022 [ abstract]
Two of the three school buildings in Evergreen School District #50 in Kalispell, Montana, have aging air systems that provide poor ventilation and lack air conditioning. The district is setting aside about 75% of its Emergency and Secondary School Emergency Relief III funds for HVAC replacements later this year.
But even after a year of planning and designing for the upgrades and more than two years to go until the Sept. 30, 2024, ESSER deadline for obligating those funds, the timeline is making Superintendent Laurie Barron nervous.
In the best-case scenario, the project, which went out to bid this week, would finish before the start of next school year, with construction occurring over the summer to be less disruptive to student learning.
In the worst-case scenario, the district could fail to receive any acceptable bids, equipment could face shipping delays, and the project experiences a shortage of construction employees. The district would have to return any money not spent by the deadline.
"The money that has been put into schools to support us has been nothing short of what feels miraculous, right?," said Barron, whose 700-student, K-8 district sits about 40 minutes from Glacier National Park. "But with all the stipulations on it, there's that stress and anxiety of will we be able to expend it in the most appropriate and effective ways to benefit staff and students. And so, that's my concern."
-- Kara Arundel Expanded state grant program brings optimism for addressing capital needs-- The Warren Record North Carolina: February 03, 2022 [ abstract] Warren County Schools officials are optimistic that the expanded North Carolina Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund will help the school system address needs related to aging school buildings.
Superintendent Keith Sutton discussed the expanded program during the Warren County Board of Education’s Jan. 25 work session.
School facility needs have been ongoing topics of discussion for Warren County Schools officials. When an outside company evaluated school system buildings several years ago, the condition of the elementary schools was identified as a major concern because the buildings were constructed between 1957 and 1969.
The study gave several options in terms of renovations, additions and new construction to address the needs of the district’s elementary, middle and high school buildings. However, the cost of such work has been a barrier in moving any project from plan to reality.
According to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the North Carolina Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund was established by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2017 for construction of new public school buildings, with Funding to come from the North Carolina Education Lottery.
During last week’s school board work session, Sutton reported that the expanded grant fund program now covers additions, repairs and renovations in addition to new buildings. The NC Education Lottery remains the Funding source.
Sutton added that $395 million in Funding is available for grants in the fiscal year 2021-22 awards system.
The maximum grant that any school district could receive is $30 million for elementary schools, $40 million for middle schools and $50 million for high schools. However, Sutton noted that one district is not likely to receive the maximum amount for all three.
-- Luci Weldon Oklahoma gives out millions of medical marijuana tax dollars to education in new funding-- The Oklahoman Oklahoma: February 03, 2022 [ abstract]
Oklahoma recently injected millions of dollars in new Funding for hundreds of school districts with under-resourced facilities.
The state distributed $38.5 million in Redbud School Grants for the first time on Friday. Lawmakers created the program last year to put medical marijuana tax dollars toward districts and charter schools that earn below the state average in local taxes that support school buildings.
“It’s going to be huge for a lot of school districts and finally bring some parity," Rep. Kyle Hilbert said.
Hilbert, R-Bristow, was an author of Senate Bill 229, the legislation that established the grant program.
Oklahoma school districts earn an average of $330 per student from local tax sources for their building fund, which supports school facilities. Of the 540 districts and charter schools in the state, 337 fell below the state average in building fund revenue.
Redbud grants raise those districts' funds to the state average.
Although some received only a few thousand dollars, the majority of benefiting districts gained tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands in new Funding.
Lawton Public Schools had its building fund nearly double with a $2 million Redbud grant, the largest sum of any district in the state.
-- Nuria Martinez-Keel SB 238 Aims to Catalog School Building Age and Necessary Repairs in Virginia-- Dogwood Virginia: February 02, 2022 [ abstract] Across Virginia, more than 50% of schools—1,040 out of 2,005 that districts reported—are at least 50 years old. That’s according to the Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) 2021 School Building Inventory. If every school older than 50 on the list required a replacement, the estimate would exceed $24 billion.
Sen. Jeremy McPike, a Democrat who serves Manassas, Manassas Park, and part of Prince William County, sponsored a bill aimed toward regulating and monitoring school building maintenance. The legislation was recommended by the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, which in part determines school construction and modernization Funding needs.
Senate Bill (SB) 238 would require local school boards to report the age of each school building in their district—and the estimated cost to renovate them—to the VDOE. The bill notes that districts would need to complete the task “in a timely fashion,” but gives no deadline indications at the present time.
-- Amie Knowles A new report outlines a massive maintenance backlog for Idaho's public schools-- Boise State Public Radio Idaho: February 01, 2022 [ abstract] A new report estimates Idaho’s public K-12 school maintenance backlog to be at least $874 million while the state isn’t enforcing a law requiring districts to report their buildings’ needs.
A 2005 Idaho Supreme Court decision found the state legislature failed to meet its constitutional duty to sufficiently fund school buildings.
Lawmakers at the time boosted some Funding and required districts to regularly submit 10-year maintenance plans, which most schools don’t follow.
The report from the Idaho Office of Performance Evaluations released Monday estimates the backlog for school repairs to be at least $874 million to bring them up to a “good” condition.
Casey Petti, the analyst who wrote the report, said that figure is likely lower than the real deficit because of the lack of data available.
Rep. Steve Berch (D-Boise) said that number is eye-popping, considering lawmakers are on the cusp of passing a historic $600 million tax cut. State economists are forecasting a $1.9 billion surplus this year.
-- James Dawson What Education Secretary Cardona didn’t mention in his vision for education-- The Washington Post National: January 31, 2022 [ abstract] Education Secretary Miguel Cardona laid out four key priorities for U.S. public education in a major address last week, as many schools still struggle to keep teaching and learning on track during the pandemic.
Here’s how the Education Department listed Cardona’s priority areas:
“Support students through pandemic response and recovery. — Engaging families as core partners to educators — Addressing missed instruction through intensive tutoring, extended learning time, and other evidence-based practices — Increasing access to social, emotional, and mental health supports for all students — Encouraging every student to participate in at least one extracurricular activity.
“Boldly address opportunity and achievement gaps. — Increasing Funding for Title I schools and for IDEA in order to close gaps in access to educational opportunity — Providing every family the opportunity to start on a level playing field through free, universal pre-K and affordable high-quality child care — Investing in, recruiting, and supporting the professional development of a diverse educator workforce, including special education teachers, paraprofessionals, and bilingual educators so education jobs are ones that people from all backgrounds want to pursue — Challenging states and districts to fix broken systems that may perpetuate inequities in our schools.
“Make higher education more inclusive and affordable. — Providing targeted loan relief to student borrowers — Holding colleges and universities accountable for taking advantage of borrowers — Ensuring borrowers have loan payment options that reflect their economic circumstances — Making long term improvements to programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness and creating a strong Gainful Employment Rule so career programs aren’t leaving students with mountains of debt and without good job opportunities.
“Ensure pathways through higher education lead to successful careers. — Reimagining the connection between p-12, higher education, and workforce — Collaborating with the Department of Labor and Department of Commerce to invest in career preparation programs that meet the needs of today’s economy — Prioritizing grant programs that allow students to return to higher education or pursue career and technical education programs at any point in their lives and careers — Investing in colleges and universities that serve underrepresented groups and increase access to and Funding for programs like Pell Grants.”
There are several important issues on that list, but there’s one the secretary didn’t mention: the sorry state of many of America’s school buildings.
More than half of U.S. public schools need to update or replace multiple systems or features in more than half their buildings, and failure to address them could pose health and safety problems for children and adults, according to a 2020 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
-- Valerie Strauss Audit: $7.4 billion needed for California K-12 school repairs-- Courthouse News Service California: January 27, 2022 [ abstract] SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — To retrofit California’s crumbling classrooms, a new state audit released Thursday predicts voters will have to approve over $7.4 billion in bonds to pay for overdue safety and technological upgrades at K-12 schools.
The state auditor foresees a continued flood of Funding requests over the next five years from the state’s over 10,500 schools. To meet the growing need, the report says lawmakers will have to rely on voters to clear the backlog and keep the state’s decades-old modernization program solvent.
Created in 1998, the School Facilities Program is tasked with getting out program funds to schools looking to do things like fix plumbing, improve air conditioning systems or finish technological updates. Bond Funding can only be used on classrooms or other school structures older than 20 years and applicants must front at least 40% of the cost.
Schools have turned to the program with increasing regularity in recent years and the state began receiving requests it couldn’t fulfill in 2019. In less than three years, auditors claim the backlog has grown to $1.7 billion.
-- Nick Cahill Education advocates push for new way to fund school construction costs-- Idaho 6 News Idaho: January 26, 2022 [ abstract]
BOISE, Idaho — Some education leaders and lobbyists are advocating for a new way to fund school construction costs.
It's an issue that's been a conversation topic among education leaders and lawmakers since the '90s. Through this Funding method, a fee would be collected from new development and given to public school districts to fund new school buildings.
Education advocates say this would mean growth pays for growth.
Population Growth Impacts Public School Enrollment
Before the pandemic slowed in-person enrollment at many public schools, the West Ada School District was adding an average of 655 students per year.
fund school construction costs
Idaho State Capitol
By: Anna AzallionPosted at 1:59 PM, Jan 26, 2022 and last updated 8:06 AM, Jan 31, 2022
BOISE, Idaho — Some education leaders and lobbyists are advocating for a new way to fund school construction costs.
It's an issue that's been a conversation topic among education leaders and lawmakers since the '90s. Through this Funding method, a fee would be collected from new development and given to public school districts to fund new school buildings.
Education advocates say this would mean growth pays for growth.
Population Growth Impacts Public School Enrollment
Before the pandemic slowed in-person enrollment at many public schools, the West Ada School District was adding an average of 655 students per year.
Recent Stories from kivitv.com
“We’re growing in Star, we’re growing in south Meridian and we have some spots in Eagle that are definitely growing,” said Marci Horner, the planning and development administrator for the West Ada School District.
This growth impacts every area of life, including public school enrollment.
-- Anna Azallion What do Greenwich parents want money spent on? Fixing school buildings.-- greenwich time Connecticut: January 26, 2022 [ abstract]
GREENWICH — Parents across town put up a united front when it comes to proposed spending on capital school projects: They want Funding for work at Old Greenwich School, Julian Curtiss School and Central Middle School without any delays.
Speakers who support the Board of Education’s $30.3 million capital budget request dominated a public hearing before the Board of Estimate & Taxation’s Budget Committee on Tuesday night.
“The issues surrounding the school buildings are not being ignored — they’re being acknowledged and then dismissed,” said Bob Chaney, who has children at Central and Julian Curtiss.
“This indifference to what is happening to the students at our public schools in unacceptable and, quite frankly, embarrassing,” he said. “There should be a sense of pride in our public schools and a desire to want the schools to be the best Greenwich can offer.”
The proposed capital budget includes long-sought design funds for Old Greenwich and Julian Curtiss. The work had initially been budgeted at $1.8 million per school, but Board of Education Chair Kathleen Stowe said the requests were revised down to $1.5 million each.
The school board is also seeking $250,000 for a study to evaluate the structural integrity of Central. Concerns about the building have grown over the past year; meters have been installed to detect any problems with the building.
-- Ken Borsuk Memphis-Shelby County Schools moves on strategic plan, closing, merging schools under new district name-- commercial appeal Tennessee: January 25, 2022 [ abstract] Newly dubbed Memphis-Shelby County Schools, the district has started to make good on its proposed Reimagine 901 plan's facilities changes unveiled last spring, with the first major facility changes receiving required board vote Tuesday.
Shady Grove and Alton Elementary Schools will both close at the end of the school year, impacting about 600 students and their families and teachers. Other schools will relocate to new buildings.
Board members voted unanimously to change the name of the district and close and merge its schools as part of a consent agenda with more than 30 items. There was no board discussion during the business meeting.
The district's plan, unveiled last April, includes the school facilities plan as well as an academic plan, both impacted by the district's infusion of hundreds of millions of federal Funding in the three rounds of COVID-19 stimulus.
-- Laura Testino A Philly Council member wants the city to follow NYC’s model for fixing crumbling schools-- WHYY Pennsylvania: January 19, 2022 [ abstract]
Fixing Philadelphia’s crumbling — and dangerous — public school buildings has been a big item on City Council’s collective to-do list for years. But without a clear source of Funding and a system for tackling the $5 billion problem, plans have languished.
That could change if Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez gets her way with a piece of legislation she plans to introduce legislation on Thursday, the first day the council returns to session from their winter break. The bill would create a working group to investigate the possibility of a new school board building authority modeled after organizations created in New York City and other U.S. cities with underfunded school systems.
Quiñones-Sánchez said the authority would work to figure out the district’s building challenges in both the long and short term while giving the incoming superintendent the ability to “focus on education and academics for the district.”
The new authority would help school officials “get the millions we have budgeted for the school district on the ground and work done,” Quiñones-Sánchez said.
At this point, the district has more than five dozen of its schools under construction and billions of dollars of work in the planning phases as officials focus on remediating lead, asbestos, and other hazards that have long persisted within public school buildings.
-- Tom MacDonald SCSD1 considers 10-year facilities plan-- The Sheridan Press Wyoming: January 19, 2022 [ abstract] SHERIDAN — Sheridan County School District 1 officials approved a 10-year facilities plan Tuesday evening — looking ahead to regular repairs and enhancements to accommodate population growth and community interests.
SCSD1 Business Manager Jeremy Smith noted the 10-year plan is not required by the state but allows the school board to begin looking ahead at major maintenance and issues facing the district.
The state allocates Funding to school districts for facilities based on a formula that includes population, and Smith said SCSD1 can expect to receive about $8.6 million in facilities Funding over the 10-year period.
-- Staff Writer Jim Jones: The Legislature is violating its constitutional duty to Idaho’s public schools-- Magicvalley.com Idaho: January 14, 2022 [ abstract] Idaho has an historic $1.6 billion revenue surplus, much of which can and should be used to finally satisfy the Legislature’s constitutional duty to provide adequate Funding for Idaho’s public school system. Article IX, Section 1 of the Idaho Constitution commands that “it shall be the duty of the legislature of Idaho, to establish and maintain a general, uniform, and thorough system of public, free common schools.” This is one of the most important responsibilities of the State.
The Idaho Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that these are not idle words. Rather, the Legislature must provide sufficient Funding to properly operate our public school system. There can be no argument that the Legislature has failed to carry out this solemn obligation for many years. The issue was considered by the Supreme Court in a long-running case, titled Idaho Schools for Equal Educational Opportunity v. State, often referred to as the ISEEO case. The case was filed in 1990 and came before the Court on five occasions, producing five decisions.
In its second decision in 1996, the Court suspected that the State was not adequately Funding the instructional side of the education system and sent the case back to the trial court for further consideration of that issue. The Legislature did increase school Funding for a while but that did not last long.
In the third round of the litigation, the focus became the proper meaning of a “thorough system” of public schools. The Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that “a safe environment conducive to learning is inherently part of a thorough system of public, free common schools.” The Court said that further litigation was necessary to decide whether school facilities—buildings and fixtures—were being adequately financed by the State. The case was sent back to the trial court to find whether dilapidated school facilities were harming the work of educating our kids.
-- Jim Jones - Opinion State to provide additional funding to underserved school districts with $20 million investment-- The Center Square Rhode Island: January 14, 2022 [ abstract]
Underserved school districts in Rhode Island will be seeing an influx of Funding under the Facility Equity Initiative, Gov. Dan McKee said.
The governor announced in a news release that in working with the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) and with the Office of Energy Resources (OER) and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Opportunity (ODEO), the organizations will work to ensure communities receive an equitable share of $20 million from the 2018 school construction bond in underserved areas.
“This new Funding is an important step forward in providing every child in Rhode Island with a modern school facility where they can get an excellent education,” McKee said in the release. “For too long, our Funding structures have left our most at-need cities and towns behind, but my administration is working tirelessly to change that. We can give every student in Rhode Island the world-class schools they deserve.”
The Facility Equity initiative, according to the release, is designed to provide Funding to five districts that have the highest reimbursement rates. The initiative, which was first announced in October 2021, is a pilot program designed to direct Funding to districts that need it most.
Central Falls, Woonsocket, Pawtucket, Providence, and West Warwick school districts will receive a little more than $13 million in Funding that will benefit 11,000 students. Funding will be used to construct new science labs, media centers, and community rooms, the release says.
-- Brett Addleman General Assembly to Consider Expanding Eligible Costs for School Construction-- Maryland Association of Counties Maryland: January 13, 2022 [ abstract] Senators Katie Fry Hester and Guy Guzzone and Delegate Courtney Watson have pre-filed Senate Bill 40 and House Bill 68 to expand eligibility for State funds established by the Built to Learn Act.
Currently, systemic school construction projects — like repairing, replacement, or upgrading facility systems, such as HVAC unites, are only eligible for Funding under the Built to Learn Act if the projects total at least $4 million in cost. This minimum requirement was largely an arbitrary decision made during the the legislative process, but has proved to be one that a lot of smaller systemic projects will not meet, therefore disqualifying them from the Funding.
-- Brianna January Springdale (Ark.) school district seeks state funding to renovate 9 buildings-- American School & University Arkansas: January 12, 2022 [ abstract] The Springdale (Ark.) school district is hoping the state will allocate $60 million for several construction projects.
The Funding from the Arkansas Public Facilities Partnership would be earmarked for nine buildings the district wants to renovate, reports The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The partnership has said it will pay 58.4% of the construction costs; the district would be responsible for the rest.
Springdale is looking to update or replace some of its older buildings. The proposed projects:
• Jones Elementary --$5.9 million to replace the main building, constructed in 1959
• Elmdale Elementary -- $7.2 million to replace the main building, constructed in 1965.
• George Elementary --$1 million to replace the air conditioning and heat system.
• Westwood Elementary -- replace the main building, constructed in 1959 (cost estimate unavailable).
-- Brooke Just Bristol Virginia School Board to ask city to fund energy performance agreement-- Bristol Herald Courier Virginia: January 06, 2022 [ abstract] BRISTOL, Va. — The Bristol Virginia School Board unanimously agreed Thursday night to pay for an energy performance agreement but will first ask the city to help fund a costlier one.
The board heard a presentation from Energy Systems Group, an Indiana firm that is proposing to make improvements at Virginia High School, Virginia Middle, Van Pelt Elementary and the central office. The company offered two options. Scenario three would cost $4.09 million and is expected to generate $2.16 million in energy savings over 15 years. Scenario two would cost about $5.67 million, and it is expected to generate $2.16 million over 15 years.
With either plan, the School Board plans to commit $2 million in federal ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) Funding to offset some of the costs, bringing the cost for scenario two down to $4.48 million and scenario three to $2.55 million.
“The board agreed to definitely move through scenario three and gave me the authority to ask City Council about scenario two,” Superintendent Keith Perrigan said after the meeting.
Perrigan plans to ask to be included on the agenda for Tuesday night’s City Council meeting but — because the agenda already includes a presentation about potential school Funding from Davenport & Co., he isn’t sure whether there is time.
-- David McGee CA Expanded School Programs without Expanding Construction Funding-- California News Times California: January 04, 2022 [ abstract] If the Democratic leaders of the Legislature give way, the next state budget will allocate $ 10 billion of the estimated $ 30 billion surplus to repair and expand the facilities in the K-12 school district.
This Funding will have a major impact on the growing needs of buildings since voters broke $ 15 billion in kindergarten-to-high school and college bonds in March 2020.
However, the issuance of $ 12 billion of school bonds proposed for the 2022 vote could fail due to a parliamentary bill.
Phil Ting of D-San Francisco, chair of the Parliamentary Budget Committee, highlighted $ 10 billion in a parliamentary budget blueprint presented in December. Unspecified additional amounts will be sent to university and community college facilities, along with $ 10 billion for transportation projects.
Within the next few months, the method of distributing funds from transitional kindergartens to grade 12 will be through grants or whether it is tied to match local donations, as in current facility programs. Negotiated with the Senate and Governor Gavin Newsom. His version of this month’s 2022-23 budget. But parliamentary leaders wanted to make their broad priorities known now, Tin said.
It’s also unclear whether surplus funds will supplement or replace the $ 12 billion TK-12 and community college bond issuance proposed by Congress in June with the goal of placing them in front of voters next year. .. Mr Tin said a $ 10 billion surplus budget could replace school-building bonds in 2022. This is partly a timing issue and determines the probability that public debt will pass in a crowded state vote amid economic uncertainty. There is no decision to continue, Tin said.
-- John Fensterwald How state leaders can advance climate-resilient schools now-- EdSouce California: January 04, 2022 [ abstract] After several years of ongoing disruption from the Covid pandemic, wildfires and heat waves, California’s 6 million students and their parents know firsthand that far too many school buildings are not equipped to address our present challenges.
This is especially true for Black and brown children who face disproportionate climate change impacts and are more likely to attend school buildings in poor condition. With “hot school days” responsible for an estimated 5% of the racial achievement gap, one wonders how Gov. Gavin Newsom’s program to extend the school year deeper into the summer will cope with inequitable access to air-conditioning.
Leading superintendents across the country are delivering the message that our school infrastructure and our learning agenda must urgently address the climate crisis. For the first time, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona identified climate change as a threat to his department’s mission.
State leadership must respond by articulating a vision for how we ensure every school performs its most critical function — to provide safe and inspirational spaces for children to learn without disruption. A vision for California’s public school infrastructure in the form of a master plan or a road map such as that for early education and child care can align Funding streams to address extreme weather impacts and with the state’s goal of carbon neutrality. A master plan, for example, would guide all districts to eliminate fossil fuels as they undertake facilities projects while also installing on-site solar energy and energy storage systems and transitioning to electric school buses. It would also help county offices of education develop curriculums that would incorporate these clean energy investments as hands-on learning opportunities.
-- JONATHAN KLEIN AND LISA PATEL Lawsuit - Small WA districts hurt by relying on property tax-- The Fresno Bee Washington: December 31, 2021 [ abstract]
The lead lawyer in the lawsuit that forced Washington state to revamp public school Funding has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a small district, saying the state is failing students due to the poor condition of school buildings. “Public education is supposed to be the great equalizer in our democracy,” reads the complaint filed Tuesday in Wahkiakum County Superior Court. “Our state government’s failure to amply fund the Wahkiakum School District’s capital needs, however, does the opposite. It makes our public schools a perpetuator of class inequality.” The Seattle Times reports attorney Tom Ahearne is representing the Wahkiakum School District, which lies along the Columbia River and has fewer than 500 students.
The suit said Washington is violating the state constitution by failing to ensure all students learn in safe and modern school buildings. A decade ago, Ahearn was the winning attorney when the Washington Supreme Court ruled in the landmark McCleary case that the state was failing to uphold its state constitutional duty by amply Funding basic education for all students. That case upended many school districts’ reliance on property taxes, but stopped short of changing the Funding system for building construction and improvements.
-- Associated Press 100-years strong: History of century-old schoolhouses and how they are being used today-- The Daily Record Ohio: December 30, 2021 [ abstract]
Throughout the cities, townships and villages of Wayne, Holmes and Ashland counties there are dozens of schoolhouses that are 100 years old or more.
Each has seen hundreds of children come and go over the decades. And each school has a story to tell.
How are these century buildings being used today? Reporters from The Daily Record and Times-Gazette scoured the tri-county area to find out
Wayne County century schools
All four elementary schools in the Southeast Local School District were built more than a century ago, or very close, said Superintendent Jon Ritchie.
Ritchie said Mount Eaton and Fredericksburg schools were each built in the 1890s, and Holmesville and Apple Creek schools were each built in the 1920s. All four feed John R. Lea Middle School and eventually Waynedale High.
While there have been some additions and updates over the years, including to the roof and electrical wiring, Ritchie said, most of the schools have not seen any major renovations since their initial construction.
“I wouldn't say they've been renovated,” Ritchie said. “... It's not like you'd walk in and go ‘Wow, that's a new building.’”
The district will be getting a brand-new school in a few years. With the help of Funding from the Rover pipeline, a one-campus building that will house all Southeast students is planned for completion by August 2024, though the location for the new construction has yet to be determined.
-- Rachel Karas Kevin Lynch Grant Ritchey Several options, big decisions loom for funding school constructio-- EdSource California: December 29, 2021 [ abstract] If the Assembly’s Democratic leaders have their way, next year’s state budget will dedicate $10 billion out of a projected $30 billion surplus to repair and expand K-12 school districts’ facilities. The money would put a big dent in building needs that have grown since voters defeated a $15 billion bond for K-12 schools and colleges in March 2020. These include an immediate need to modernize school buildings to accommodate transitional kindergarten and community schools.
Yet the proposal could also derail a proposed $12 billion school building bond issue for next year’s ballot.
Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, who chairs the Assembly Budget Committee, highlighted the $10 billion in the Assembly budget blueprint that he presented earlier this month. An unspecified additional amount would go to university and community college facilities, along with $10 billion for transportation projects.
How the money for transitional kindergarten to 12th grade would be distributed — whether through grants or tied to matching local contributions, as under the current facilities program — would be negotiated in coming months with the Senate and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will propose his version of the 2022-23 budget early next month. But Assembly leaders wanted to make their broad priorities known now, Ting said.
-- JOHN FENSTERWALD Schools Face New Obstacles in Building Maintenance-- NBC Washington District of Columbia: December 22, 2021 [ abstract]
As more schools close again due to the spread of the coronavirus, the surge is raising new worries about an old problem: the condition of local school buildings.
A review of internal reports from leaders in D.C., Maryland and Virginia shows maintenance backlogs were a problem long before the pandemic began and remain a big concern as this semester ends.
Even before the omicron variant, Becky Reina says she felt more comfortable keeping her kids home than sending them back to the classroom this fall. The D.C. mom had too many concerns with air filtration in her kids’ school, among other issues.
“They don't have enough maintenance staff, they don't have enough cleaning supplies, they don't have enough people to maintain all of the infrastructure in these buildings,” she said. “And that's been a historic problem before the pandemic.”
A review of state and D.C. school building records found maintenance backlogs indeed predated the pandemic but have been especially difficult to tackle during it.
Keith Anderson, the head of D.C.’s Department of General Services, which oversees the District’s 117 school buildings, says the problem isn’t lack of Funding or staff.
“Construction and facilities maintenance comes down to two things: labor and parts,” he said. “Now what we are having issues with is getting the parts to complete the jobs.”
In Prince George’s County, a parent-teacher organization president said she regularly hears from maintenance staff asking for help getting the supplies they need.
“If the work order is put in and the workers can't get the supplies, then the building can start decaying,” Phyllis Wright said.
-- Scott MacFarlane Stamford slated to get 20% state funding for new Westhill School, but is it enough?-- Stamford Advocate Connecticut: December 21, 2021 [ abstract] STAMFORD — Two major school construction projects in Stamford recently received partial Funding from the state, but officials are hoping to receive even more money.
Of the two projects, the biggest is reconstruction of Westhill High School, a project estimated to cost $258 million, according to the state’s Department of Administrative Services. The current 50-year-old structure has had a variety of problems, including “major water intrusion items related to leaky roofs, windows, doorways and exterior facade,” according to schools Superintendent Tamu Lucero.
Plans are to build a brand new school on the same site, and then demolishing the existing building once the new one is complete. Lucero said the new school would be designed to be more student oriented, “promoting student autonomy and independence.”
The state has agreed to finance 20 percent of the work, or $52 million, according to a letter released late last week by the department.
-- Ignacio Laguarda School Building Authority of W.Va. expresses support for Upshur County’s plan to build new high school-- My Buckhannon West Virginia: December 18, 2021 [ abstract] CHARLESTON – A representative with the School Building Authority of West Virginia on Friday expressed support for Upshur County Schools’ plan to build a new comprehensive career-and-technical high school and renovate the current Buckhannon-Upshur High School into a reimagined middle school.
Ben Ashley, director of architectural services for the statewide Funding agency, said School Building Authority staff considers Upshur County Schools’ ‘Vision of the Future’ an “excellent project” and “fully supports [Upshur] county’s desire to pass a bond to address these facility issues.”
My Buckhannon contacted the SBA for clarification regarding the process for disbursing Funding to applicants after the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported Monday that the county had not been awarded $21 million in Funding they had applied for this cycle during an announcement of awards Dec. 13.
Ashley explained the decision was entirely a procedural one related to timing.
-- Kate Kuba State grants Fall River's Diman Voc-Tec $145 million in funding for new school-- The Herald News Massachusetts: December 18, 2021 [ abstract]
FALL RIVER — Diman Regional Vocational Tech High School crossed an important threshold in its effort to replace its current school building, with an announcement that it had secured more than $145 million in state Funding for the project.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority announced last week that it had awarded Diman a grant of up to $145,772,694 for a new school.
“Greater Fall River Vocational students will soon have a beautiful new space which will undoubtedly enhance and improve their ability to excel in the classroom,” MSBA Executive Director and Deputy CEO John McCarthy said in a press release.
Diman and the MSBA will next have to work out a Project Funding Agreement. This will determine the project’s exact budget and the conditions under which the district will receive its grant.
A school for the future:Diman's plans for a new building
School officials have placed the project’s total cost at about $293 million.
-- Audrey Cooney NEPC Talks Education: A Conversation About K-12 School Facilities and Infrastructure Spending-- Yahoo Finance National: December 15, 2021 [ abstract] Wed, December 15, 2021, 7:00 AM·4 min read
Key Podcast Takeaway: NEPC Talks Education offers insightful programming on a variety of significant education policy and practice topics for educators, community members, policymakers, and anyone interested in education.
BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In this month's episode of the NEPC Talks Education, NEPC Researcher Christopher Saldaña interviews Jeff Vincent, Julien Lafortune, and Kathleen Gebhardt about K-12 public school facilities and infrastructure. Vincent is cofounder and director of the Center for Cities and Schools at the University of California, Berkeley, where he studies how school facilities serve as both educational and neighborhood assets. Lafortune is a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, where he researches education finance, school capital Funding policy, and educational tracking and stratification. Gebhardt is a school board member in the Boulder Valley School District, as well as a director for the Colorado and National School Board Associations. She is also an attorney and adjunct professor teaching education law at University of Colorado Boulder and University of Denver. Saldaña, Lafortune, Vincent, and Gebhardt discuss K-12 school infrastructure spending and its impact on student outcomes. They also explore a model state K-12 school capital Funding program designed and implemented in Colorado.
Vincent explains that unlike school operating expenditures, funds for facilities such as a new school or building upgrades come largely from local revenues. In their recent article, How Much Does Public School Facility Funding Depend on Property Wealth?, Vincent and his co-authors examine how wide variations in local property values can result in students living in low-income communities having less adequate school facilities than students living in more affluent communities.
-- PR Newswire Elko County voters reject school construction bonds in special election-- Nevada Independent Nevada: December 14, 2021 [ abstract] Voters in northeastern Nevada shot down a ballot question proposing the Elko County School District take out $150 million in general obligation bonds for capital Funding projects after an extension of the existing “Pay-As-You-Go” Funding stream was voted down last year.
Nearly 60 percent of nearly 5,000 votes tabulated in the special election voted against the measure while 40 percent voted in favor of it, according to preliminary results released by the county clerk’s office. In the county of more than 52,000 people where more than 26,000 are registered to vote, 3,812 votes were cast by mail, with another 658 cast during early voting and 529 cast on Election Day. Other mail ballots postmarked by Tuesday but received later may be added to the total count next week.
The results dashed hopes for school district leaders, who had presented projects on a wish list during a previous school board meeting including updates to many K-12 schools and gymnasiums, a new elementary school in Elko, a remodel of a building from 1917 on the Elko High School campus and a career technical education facility for Spring Creek High School, among others.
“Preliminary results indicate voter disapproval of the bond issue needed to provide Funding for acquisition, construction, renovation, and equipping school facilities as provided by the Elko County School District’s Capital Improvement Plan,” the school district said in a Tuesday night statement. “The county will not certify results until a later date, but votes tallied so far point to a loss for Elko County students and the communities we serve.”
-- Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez Virginia School District Solar Project to Offset Electricity Needs-- Environment + Energy Leader Virginia: December 10, 2021 [ abstract] A solar power project will cut energy costs and offset nearly half the electricity needs for a Virginia school district.
The project will provide the Isle of Wight County Schools a 3.3 megawatt solar system, which is being implemented by Standard Solar. The solar project will be installed on the rooftops of seven schools and provide 4,252 megawatt hours of clean energy a year.
The project is part of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, the state’s plan to transition to 100% clean energy by 2050. Virginia ranks 11th in the county in solar energy installations, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
A report by Generation 180 says 89 schools in Virginia had implemented solar projects by 2019, with the number tripling between 2017 and 2019. Standard Solar will own and operate the Wight County systems.
“Incorporating solar energy is cost-effective and helps the environment while reducing energy expenses and funneling savings to resources that directly impact student success,” says Dr. Jim Thornton, division superintendent of Isle of Wight County Schools.
Schools have been active in making improvements regarding energy efficiency. Many efforts revolve around improving lighting systems in buildings and HVAC systems.
One such project for St. Joseph School District in Missouri is expected to save it $2.1 million over a 15-year agreement with Schneider Electric. Another at Jeanette City School District in Pennsylvania is expected to save $3.6 million in energy costs.
Larger scale renewable energy projects are proving more difficult. The Miami Herald reported that the Miami-Dade Schools are seeking 100% renewable energy by 2030, but without a big increase in Funding and cooperation from the local utilities.
-- David Worford "Storage Closets and Locker Rooms Being Used as Classrooms"-- Erie News Now Pennsylvania: December 09, 2021 [ abstract]
HARRISBURG, PA. (ErieNewsNow) - This week, testimony in the Pennsylvania public education Funding lawsuit highlighted serious issues facing schools around the Commonwealth.
Witnesses painted a grim picture of what a normal school day looks like for many students throughout Pennsylvania, and how the COVID-19 Pandemic made things worse.
Especially issues dealing with infrastructure like classroom space and capacity, ventilation systems, and more.
“We also heard a lot about facility issues in underfunded schools. Storage closets and locker rooms are being used as classrooms,” Deborah Gordon Klehr the Executive Director of the Education Law Center.
The Education Law Center and the Public Interest Law Center are the two law centers that filed the suit on behalf of the petitioners on Nov. 12.
“We heard about a section of a school where 125 young children have to share one toilet,” she added.
“Their facility-challenges predated COVID, but certainly have been exacerbated,” said Gordon Klehr.
Local superintendents agree public school Funding is inequitable throughout the Commonwealth.
“It's had a major impact on the district,” said Brian Polito, Superintendent for Erie Public Schools.
Polito says that non-English speaking students and students living in poverty are just a few populations that require more resources from the district.
Maintaining infrastructure and keeping schools warm during the winter also requires more Funding.
“We have challenges that many other school districts don't have, and yet we were spending less than 93% of school districts across the state,” said Polito.
-- Brendan Scanland Selectboard, superintendent mull capital projects as Sunderland Elementary School repairs mount-- Daily Hampshire Gazette Massachusetts: December 05, 2021 [ abstract]
SUNDERLAND — As the list of repairs and maintenance for Sunderland Elementary School increases, Superintendent Darius Modestow met with the Select Board last week to begin discussions about how to address them.
The group came away from the discussion determining that the Union 38 School District and the town will need to cooperate to evaluate their methods of Funding.
“We’re not solving this problem with the current setup and that’s my message tonight,” Modestow said. “The system in which we need to address these capital needs is broken right now. We’re not going to be able to address these needs in the current way we do things.”
Currently, the Union 38 School District’s budget does not include capital improvements. Meanwhile, Sunderland’s capital budget covers the entire town, but does not set aside any money specifically for the school. The discussion led to Select Board Chairman Tom Fydenkevez proposing that the district determine an annual maintenance cost so a designated capital fund can be created.
-- CHRIS LARABEE NYSED requesting flexibility to identify schools needing improvement-- Binghamton New York: December 02, 2021 [ abstract]
ALBANY, N.Y. (WWTI) — The New York State Education Department is requesting more flexibility in the process for identifying schools needing improvement.
New York State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa announced on December 1 that a public comment period has opened on a proposed waiver request to the U.S. Department of Education. This proposal is related to state accountability requirements under the Every Students Success.
Currently, under certain provisions of the federal ESSA, NYSED is required to report school district data from the previous school year, which qualifies them for Funding if they are identified as a school for improvement. NYSED is seeking to eliminate accountability indicator requirements to identify these schools as this designation in fall 2022 based on 2021-2022 school year results.
According to Commissioner Rosa and Board of Regents Chancellor Lester W. Young Jr., this waiver is being proposed as schools are still being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,
“The Department is committed to determining the most appropriate timeline and manner for re-starting the ESSA accountability system,” Commissioner Rosa said in a press release. “In a year that tested the resolve and ingenuity of our educators, we continue to work with identified schools to provide support models that encourage growth. Stakeholders may rest assured that even if USDE approves a waiver, the critical work to support our schools will continue.”
“New York’s schools continue to feel the impact of the pandemic and the unprecedented circumstances it has caused,” Chancellor Young, Jr. added.
-- Isabella Colello School Construction Work Group Makes Major Decisions on Funding and Assessments, but Work Remains-- Maryland Association of Counties Maryland: December 01, 2021 [ abstract] Among the decisions made were those involving the Revolving Loan Fund, cost share formulas, and school facilities assessments. These decisions come after months of meeting and deliberation.
The work group was created via legislation in 2021. It was tasked with evaluating multiple components of school construction projects and facilities conditions by the end of this year, but the process has been less than smooth.
Revolving Loan Fund
The work group was tasked with establishing and implementing the Revolving Loan Fund, which would allow local education agencies (LEAs) to forward fund school construction projects.
Among the decisions made, which Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner and MACo advocated for:
Increasing Funding for the program in the out years from the originally proposed $50 million, including an additional $20.0 million in FY 24, and additional $10.0 million in FY 25 and FY 26;
Priority should be given to counties that have not forward funded in recent years and that have limited debt capacity;
Require repayment with no interest within five years of loan disbursement: Allow waivers from the five-year limit to counties that have not received sufficient State Funding to repay the loans at the end of five years; and
To allow loan funds to also be available to support both Capital Improvement Program and Built to Learn projects.
-- Brianna January State panel makes recommendations for school improvements-- WDBJ7 Virginia: December 01, 2021 [ abstract] RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - A group of Virginia lawmakers focused on outdated and inadequate school buildings Wednesday, offering up recommendations to the General Assembly.
The Commission on School Construction and Modernization approved several recommendations they hope will free up more money for construction.
One would create a grant program with a dedicated Funding stream for school divisions that have difficulty financing improvements.
“We’ve got a huge problem,” said Del. Shelly Simonds (D-Newport News). “And there are going to have to be many many different solutions.
-- Joe Dashiell Bordentown Schools to Receive $60K in State Funds for Capital Maintenance Needs-- Tap Into Bordertown New Jersey: November 23, 2021 [ abstract] GARFIELD, NJ – Governor Phil Murphy today announced on Friday that $75 million in Funding will be distributed to school districts across the state to help meet emergent and capital maintenance needs, as well as address COVID-19 concerns to help schools ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for students. Because every school district in New Jersey will receive Funding, the projects will also support good-paying union jobs in all corners of the state.
"In order to ensure New Jersey remains the number one school system in the nation, we must ensure our schools have the tools they need for students to succeed," said Governor Murphy. "The funds we are announcing today are critical for making sure our schools remain safe and welcoming spaces for our kids and educators and for ensuring that our school buildings can meet the needs of the future. I am also proud to say that these projects will support union jobs throughout New Jersey."
-- Elizabeth Meyers New Hoboken High School Building Will Cost $241M-- Patch New Jersey: November 22, 2021 [ abstract]
HOBOKEN, NJ — A proposed new Hoboken High School building that was announced by the Board of Education a week ago Monday will cost as much as $241 million to build, NJ.com said in a story Monday.
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As first reported in Patch last week, the school board expects to bring their plans for the proposed school before the Hoboken Planning Board next month. The Funding may come up for a public referendum on Jan. 25.
NJ.com reported Monday that the school will be built at 1000 Jefferson St., the site of the current athletic field used by Hoboken High School. A new athletic field will be constructed on top of that new building. The new building will also contain a rooftop athletic field, an ice rink, and the long-promised city pool.
The current Hoboken High School building on Clinton Street would become the city's new middle school, NJ.com said. And the existing middle school, now held in a 110-year-old former high school in the center of town, would be turned into an elementary school. Read more about the plans in NJ.com here.
-- Caren Lissner State education department releases first version of construction priority list-- KINY Alaska: November 22, 2021 [ abstract] The Capital Improvement Project, or CIP, grant priority lists are used by the governor and the legislature to figure out school construction and major maintenance projects for capital budget Funding.
Department Facilities Manager, Tim Mearig, said that the department ranks the priority list using a set of evaluation criteria categories that are outlined in statute to help them figure how to rank projects.
"So it gives us certain parameters under which we can evaluate projects, the application itself that is used is set by the bond reimbursement and grant review committee, that is a statutory appointed committee that has responsibility for the CIP application, and that committee has defined a set of evaluation criteria that are used in assessing every application that's received, there is 16 different criteria, not all of which will apply to every project, but that can be used as they as they apply."
He said the criteria staff use is evaluative, an example he provided was that if there is an emergency nature to a particular project then that is evaluatively assessed. There are also calculated scores, like the age of the facility.
Mearig said some of the more common project requests from schools were for roofs.
-- Staff Writer Governor Murphy Announces $75 Million for Emergent and Capital Maintenance School Construction Throughout New Jersey-- State of New Jersey New Jersey: November 19, 2021 [ abstract] GARFIELD – As part of his commitment to ensuring a high-quality education for every student in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy today announced that $75 million in Funding will be distributed to school districts across the state to help meet emergent and capital maintenance needs, as well as address COVID-19 concerns to help schools ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for students. Because every school district in New Jersey will receive Funding, the projects will also support good-paying union jobs in all corners of the state.
“In order to ensure New Jersey remains the number one school system in the nation, we must ensure our schools have the tools they need for students to succeed,” said Governor Murphy. “The funds we are announcing today are critical for making sure our schools remain safe and welcoming spaces for our kids and educators and for ensuring that our school buildings can meet the needs of the future. I am also proud to say that these projects will support union jobs throughout New Jersey.”
All school districts will receive a portion of the $75 million, which will be administered by the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA). Of the $75 million, $50 million will be distributed to New Jersey’s 31 SDA districts and $25 million will be distributed to regular operating districts.
Governor Murphy was joined by Acting Education Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillian and Manuel M. Da Silva, Chief Executive Officer of the SDA. The Governor made today’s announcement during a visit to the Garfield School District, which will receive $853,224.
“School districts share our goal of providing students with healthy and safe learning spaces, which is especially crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Acting Department of Education Commissioner Dr. Angelica Allen-McMillan. “I commend Governor Murphy and the School Development Authority for the foresight in making this a priority in the budget.”
“We are committed to ensuring that New Jersey’s educational facilities best support the needs of students through healthy and safe learning environments,” said Schools Department Authority CEO Manuel Da Silva. “We are excited to continue our work through the administration of this grant program for ROD and SDA school districts, allowing them to make important and necessary improvements to their school facilities.”
“Today's announcement begins to move us in the right direction and sends the signal that New Jersey is paying attention to our schools’ outdated infrastructure,” said Senator Teresa Ruiz, chair of the Senate Education Committee. “While this will address some immediate projects, there is still much to be done to ensure all our students have a safe, suitable learning environment. We must understand that there is an immense need where school infrastructure is concerned. Therefore, there must also be discussion about investment in tangible short-term and long-term solutions.”
“Our students, even those from low-income or working-class neighborhoods, deserve the same opportunities, facilities and first-class classrooms that more affluent districts take for granted. Our parents need to be able not to worry about whether their child is getting an equal opportunity to achieve as their peers in other parts of the state,” said Senator Nellie Pou. “Indeed, the maintenance and, where needed, construction of new buildings, classrooms, chemistry labs, band rooms, audio visual studios or athletic facilities should be the same for every child in New Jersey, in order that we as a state live up to the letter and spirit of the words and the promise in our state Constitution, ‘provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient’ education for every child in the state.”
-- Staff Writer NC schools’ $12.7B in facility needs left out as Build Back Better plan slashes funding-- cbs17.com North Carolina: November 19, 2021 [ abstract] RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – The original version of President Biden’s Build Back Better infrastructure plan included $100 billion to modernize schools. That investment was scrapped during negotiations leaving states and schools to look for Funding on their own.
The Tar Heel state could have made use of the investments. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction reported about $12.8 billion was needed in facility repairs. It’s almost $5 billion more than the needs in the previous 2015-16 report.
Schools around the Triangle had millions of dollars worth of needs with:
$1.1 billion needed in Wake County,
$589 million needed in Cumberland County,
$489 million needed in Durham County.
DPI’s Five-Year K-12 Facility Needs Report noted renovations of existing buildings were responsible for 44 percent of the need. It said much of the costs were a result of deferred maintenance.
Broken down by grade level, elementary schools were the most in need with $2.2 billion needed in repairs according to the report. High schools were in need of $1.9 billion in renovations.
Plumbing, HVAC and electrical needs accounted for almost a quarter of needed renovations at $1.4 billion.
-- Judith Retana RCSD to receive $473 million for new classroom, building modernization program-- Rochester First New York: November 19, 2021 [ abstract] ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Rochester-area state lawmakers announced $473 million in Funding to update, upgrade, and modernize facilities within the Rochester City School District Friday.
Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed the Rochester School Modernization Program (RSMP) legislation into law, and state officials say it will be a nearly a billion-dollar investment to promote “an engaging, safe and improved environment for student learning in Rochester.”
Officials say this legislation will “increase access to equitable resources for RCSD students as well as create 1,000s of construction and infrastructure jobs in the region.”
“State-of-the-art learning spaces for our students, parents and facilities,” said RCSD Superintendent Lesli Myers-Small. “There are so many moments that give joy to a superintendent, seeing a scholar graduate, a kindergarten walk into the school for the first time. But when you have spaces that are new, engaging and exciting that further amplifies those feelings, not for me but for them.”
School Board President Van White also spoke saying to get to this point— phase III– took a massive effort with many people playing roles and advocating for this law to get signed.
“When these school buildings re-open, countless students will begin an exciting new phase of their education because this phase, like the previous phase, will provide our students with access to safer, efficient, and more effective learning environments,” said School Board President Van White.
-- Matt Driffill, Panagiotis Argitis, Christian Garzo Schools on Native lands say NY is neglecting maintenance-- WBFO New York: November 18, 2021 [ abstract] The school superintendents in upstate school districts who teach Native American children have joined forces to ask Gov. Kathy Hochul for a total of $60 million to pay for long-overdue maintenance for their school buildings.
One of the three schools on sovereign Native American territory is in the North Country, the Saint Regis Mohawk Elementary School in Akwesasne, near Massena.
The superintendents said the money the Native nation schools are allocated is far less than what other New York state public schools get. Dr. Stanley Harper is the superintendent of the Salmon River school district which includes the Saint Regis Mohawk school in Akwesasne near Massena.
Speaking from the elementary school auditorium stage last week, Harper said there’s no excuse for the way the state has treated the Native American schools.
“It’s wrong. It’s not fair. And by God, it’s wrong. And it’s wrong, that we were never provided the same resources to level the playing field for these students and to maintain these buildings,” he said.
The school leaders explained that other public schools in New York can raise money through a local referendum. But these schools are on Native territory and their buildings are owned by the state, not the local community. That means they must rely on Funding in the state budget to maintain them.
-- Celia Clarke State school board approves school closures in Lincoln, Hampshire counties-- MetroNews West Virginia: November 10, 2021 [ abstract]
HAMLIN, W.Va. — The West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) approved school closures and consolidations in Hampshire and Lincoln counties during its monthly meeting in Charleston Wednesday.
In Lincoln County, it is closures based on ongoing issues with structural problems in the schools. The board approved the closure and consolidation of Duval pre-K – 8 and Midway Elementary in Lincoln County.
Students from Duval have been reassigned to other locations due to structural concerns that closed the facility in July 2021, a release stated.
The county is pursuing West Virginia School Building Authority (SBA) Funding for the potential consolidation. While that process plays out, Superintendent Jeff Kelley has told the board they are focusing on safety.
He told the board Wednesday that county officials have developed three tiers on addressing the structural issues.
“What can we fix with our school-based folks, what can we fix with our county-based folks and where do we have to seek help outside of those two entities,” Kelley said.
In late October, the state school board heard more details about the structural issues in a report. Members of the state Board of Education approved the latest Special Circumstance Review of the school system conducted from Aug. 30-Sept. 3.
-- Staff Writer Jackson County School District working to find funding to improve school facilities-- WLOX Mississippi: November 04, 2021 [ abstract]
JACKSON COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) - The Jackson County School District is working to find Funding to improve school facilities. After the failure of last spring’s facility bond proposal, district officials moved forward with a detailed plan to address facility needs in county schools.
“The delay of moving forward with facilities was due to the pandemic this past summer and fall, but now it’s time to make improvements. A key part in this process is closely listening to our board members and the community as a team unit,” said Superintendent Dr. John Strycker.
The money would be used for repairs and improvements to facilities. In February, a $67 million bond project was presented to the school board detailing all of the upgrades and repairs.
However, the proposed plan was voted down, with 75 percent of residents voting against it.
Strycker said this new proposed plan will allow for the maintenance of facilities and also make up for tax revenue that will soon disappear. The Mississippi Coal Power Plant is going to be decommissioned, which means $6 million fewer annual dollars for the district in 2027-2028.
-- Staff Writer Parents push for help reopening flood-damaged Cresskill school-- northjersey.com New Jersey: November 02, 2021 [ abstract] CRESSKILL — More than 100 parents rallied on Monday outside the public library to push for help with reopening the district's middle/senior high school, which has been shut since the remnants of Hurricane Ida flooded the building.
The school sustained more than $19 million in damage from the storm.
About 1,000 sixth to 12th graders have now been out of school for a nearly 600-day period, stretching back to the beginning of the coronavirus shutdown.
"Our kids need help. Their school was destroyed," said Suzanne Joshi, a parent. "We are really starting to see the mental health impact on a lot of the kids."
Specifically, the parents want additional support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state and the county to expedite Funding, inspections and approvals for the complicated project. The rebuilding must comply with state Department of Education and fire marshal requirements.
There is some good news for students, who are scheduled to return to classrooms in a nearby parochial school next Monday. Two grades will return per day on a rotating schedule to St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church school in Cresskill on Nov. 8, Superintendent Michael Burke said.
-- Kristie Cattafi Lead testing programs launch in Georgia as CDC lowers lead level guidelines for kids-- WABE Georgia: November 01, 2021 [ abstract] A program to test water for lead at public schools in Georgia is underway. The test kits are free, and environmental advocates are encouraging schools to sign up. All licensed childcare centers in Georgia will be eligible for the program soon, too.
Lead is dangerous to children — even small amounts can affect their brains and nervous systems. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there’s no safe blood lead level for children.
The Georgia Department of Education program, funded by a federal grant, is meant to check sources of drinking and cooking water at schools in the state.
Jennifer Hoponick Redmon, Director of Environmental Health and Water Quality with the research group RTI International, which is distributing the test kits to Georgia schools, said lead typically doesn’t come from the water source itself.
“It can accumulate on the way to your tap from the distribution piping and building plumbing,” she said at an outreach meeting last week. “That’s why it’s so important to test at the tap, even if and when it’s tested at the water system.”
Redmon’s organization is sending out lead testing kits to any Georgia public school that requests them. The group will also provide training for people at the schools to collect the samples themselves then send them back to RTI for testing. The results will be posted publicly online.
The project doesn’t include Funding for addressing lead contamination if any is found. But Redmon said she doesn’t want that to deter schools from signing up.
-- Molly Samuel Maintenance of Prince George's Co. schools rated 66.5, 'not adequate,' 2nd to last in Md.-- WJLA Maryland: November 01, 2021 [ abstract]
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. (7News) — At dismissal time at Kenilworth Elementary school in Bowie Monday, parents were not pleased to hear their children’s 57-year-old school is one of only two in the state to rate poor for how the building is maintained.
“Poor isn’t good at all,” said one dad. Another adding, ”I’d like them to do better of course.”
Parents for the most part haven’t been allowed in school buildings to see for themselves because of the pandemic but state inspectors from the state’s watchdog commission on school construction visited 42 Prince George’s County schools as part of an annual maintenance assessment.
The results were presented to the County School Board’s budget committee recently by the Interagency Commission on School Construction.
The majority of schools were given a not sufficient rating on maintaining things like the HVAC systems, parking lots and playgrounds.
The IAC presenter summed up the report by saying , ”It appears that maintenance on average is simply not adequate.”
“To me that’s a huge concern because that means our students and staff are not working and learning in the most conducive environment,” says School Board member Raheela Ahmed.
She says an overworked staff in the second oldest buildings in the state simply isn’t keeping up with the workload.
“A lot of this could be attributed to deferred maintenance due to underFunding of our schools,” says Ahmed.
Shawn Matlock, head of capital programs for PGCPS agrees and says the answer is to build new schools as quickly as possible.
-- Brad Bell No Federal Infrastructure Money? Not OK, Says a Superintendent With Century-Old Buildings-- Education Week National: October 29, 2021 [ abstract] School district leaders who have dealt for years with a backlog of urgent maintenance and renovation needs for their school buildings were dealt a blow last week from the federal government.
A massive spending package still making its way through Congress likely won’t include federal Funding to improve school buildings, nearly seven months after President Biden proposed $100 billion in grants and bonds to fix the nation’s K-12 facilities. A White House framework for the investment package includes universal pre-K, teacher pipeline programs, expanded free school meals, and expanded access to home broadband for K-12 students—but nothing to improve the nation’s school buildings, many of which are in major disrepair.
That means the wait for the first substantial federal investment in school buildings since the Great Depression will be even longer for administrators like Andrew O’Leary, assistant superintendent of finance and operations for the New Bedford school district in Massachusetts. The district has 13,000 students—40 percent are Latinx, and more than 70 percent come from low-income families.
Five of the district’s school buildings were constructed more than 100 years ago, three were built before 1940, and 10 were built between 30 and 50 years ago.
Among the problems in the school’s oldest buildings, according to a facilities assessment prepared for the district in July by a contractor:
Exposed heating pipes and a buckling wood floor in the gymnasium
No sprinkler system
No mechanism for measuring air quality and ventilation
No elevator for two-story building
Basement spaces serve as cafeterias and gymnasiums because the buildings were constructed before those services were components of a traditional school day
Windows nearing the end of their useful life
Electrical system with insufficient capacity
Cracks and holes in the parking lot
Water leaking from outside into the walls
Sixty percent of the district’s buildings require moderate renovation, and 16 percent require extensive renovation, O’Leary said.
O’Leary had hoped to tap into federal Funding from the infrastructure plan to tackle some ambitious, long-needed facilities projects. Now he’s scaling back his ambitions.
-- Mark Lieberman Guest View: Does Virginia have the will to fix crumbling schools?-- heraldcourier.com Virginia: October 10, 2021 [ abstract] The school infrastructure crisis in Virginia is well-documented and longstanding. The most recent data provided by VDOE shows that the total cost to replace schools that are at least 50 years old, would carry a price tag of more than $25 billion.
Unfortunately, school divisions that serve high poverty communities are disproportionally represented in this data set. Furthermore, high poverty communities often have fewer local resources to address the issue as it is difficult, if not impossible, to increase local taxes on families who struggle to pay rent and receive free or reduced priced lunches. Funding streams and policy options exist in Virginia to begin addressing these issues. Resources are not the issue, it’s political will that’s in question.
A new study put out by the National Council on School Facilities and the 21st Century School Fund shows that the issue of crumbling schools is a nationwide problem. Unfortunately, the same report declares that Virginia is one of the worst states in the nation regarding state contribution to school infrastructure. The national average for state contribution for school capital expense and debt service in FY2009-2019 is 22%. Virginia does not come close to this average contribution while other states contribute over 50% of the expense.
-- Keith Perrigan Sandwich Schools Eyeing Potential $17.5 Million In Capital Needs-- The Enterprise Sandwich Massachusetts: October 08, 2021 [ abstract] Sandwich school officials may look to taxpayers for roughly $17.5 million to fund a long list of capital projects within the district.
About 20 items are listed on a draft capital projects list provided by the district, including a new roof for Sandwich High School and new boilers at both elementary schools.
Additionally, the district has included the renovation of the existing Human Services Building into the district’s new central offices, so they can be moved out of the former Henry T. Wing School, which is slated to be turned into senior housing.
The list also indicates a need for new flooring throughout the district, as well as renovation to the portable classrooms at both elementary schools.
Replacement of the boilers is listed as a priority for all three school buildings.
The possibility remains that some of the Funding for those projects could be secured through the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The boilers at the elementary schools are approaching end-of-life, being about 30 years old.
-- KATIE GOERS School Construction Priorities, Funding May Need Amending-- The Pilot North Carolina: October 08, 2021 [ abstract] To the surprise of no one who’s doing any building these days, the Moore County Board of Education may find itself needing to recalibrate its construction spending to absorb recent price spikes for everything from labor to supplies.
Earlier this year, the school board approved an extensive list of construction work over the next few years using money from several funds, including the sale of retired school campuses, the district’s regular lottery and local capital Funding, and federal COVID-19 relief funds.
The list totals about 45 projects, including new high school running tracks, roof replacements and utilities upgrades around the district. Those projects were compiled, in part, based on the amount of Funding coming available over the next few years.
But the school board learned this past week that those initial cost estimates stand to increase significantly. John Birath, Moore County Schools’ director for operations, said that worker shortages and increases in the price of materials stand to add a projected total of $2 million to the cost of projects that the school board had hoped to pay using pandemic relief and local capital Funding.
Based on progress so far with the first few projects approved this past spring, Birath estimated that future projects could run between five and 30 percent over the district’s initial cost estimates.
-- Mary Kate Murphy Council takes up lack of HVAC in schools-- The Bay State Banner Massachusetts: October 07, 2021 [ abstract] Boston City Council discussed plans to address the safety conditions of Boston Public Schools buildings and classrooms during extreme temperatures in a virtual meeting on Sept. 30.
Councilor at-large and chair of Boston City Council’s Committee on Education Annissa Essaibi George led the discussion between representatives from Boston Public Schools (BPS), the Boston Education Justice Alliance, Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH), and Councilors Ricardo Arroyo, Michael Flaherty, Julia Mejia and Michelle Wu.
Arroyo addressed the concerns of BPS students, teachers, and staff regarding the extreme temperatures in classrooms and school buildings and their effect on health and safety conditions in the schools. Essaibi George read a statement from Councilor Ed Flynn, who was unable to attend the meeting.
“I believe that we must ensure that our students learn in an environment that shelters them from extreme heat and cold, mainly in buildings that are temperature-controlled with proper ventilation and insulation,” Flynn wrote in his statement. “I urge that BPS look into Funding sources to retrofit our school buildings with HVAC systems so that our students, teachers and staff can learn and work in a healthy and safe environment.”
-- Molly Swanton Paterson gets one new school " as 17 are more than a century old-- NorthJersey.com New Jersey: October 04, 2021 [ abstract] PATERSON — About six blocks apart in Paterson’s Hillcrest neighborhood stand two buildings that reflect the disparities among the city’s school facilities.
On Union Avenue looms the $58 million Joseph A. Taub School, which opened its doors this past week to 800 Paterson students, offering state-of-the-art labs in the newest public school in New Jersey.
Meanwhile, over on James Street lingers School 19, which was built in 1896, making it one of five Paterson schools that date back to the 19th century and one of 17 that district officials say are more than 100 years old.
As local education officials celebrate the opening of the Taub building, they still face uncertainty over when Paterson can expect any additional state Funding to address longstanding problems with antiquated and overcrowded schools.
“The outlook is grim,” said Paterson Board of Education President Kenneth Simmons. “When I started on the board about 12 years ago, the state said we needed nine new schools."
-- Joe Malinconico With Democrats Divided, Advocates Push to Save Key Education Priorities in Biden ‘Build Back Better’ Plan-- The 74 National: September 30, 2021 [ abstract] The House will resume consideration of the $1.2 infrastructure bill Friday morning after Thursday night slipped away without a vote.
Negotiations that would secure moderate Democrats’ support of President Joe Biden’s separate social spending bill — the deal that progressives are waiting for in order to vote for the infrastructure package — are continuing.
“A great deal of progress has been made this week, and we are closer to an agreement than ever,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. “But we are not there yet, and so, we will need some additional time to finish the work, starting tomorrow morning first thing.”
Meanwhile Biden signed a continuing resolution Thursday night, avoiding a government shutdown and giving the Senate until Dec. 3 to work on the fiscal year 2022 budget. The president’s proposed budget includes significant increases for Title I, special education and community schools.
“There’s so much more to do,” the president said in a statement. “But the passage of this bill reminds us that bipartisan work is possible and it gives us time to pass longer-term Funding to keep our government running and delivering for the American people.”
Democrats, however, wanted to include language that would lift the debt ceiling, which the government will hit Oct. 18. Republicans voted against that plan.
With Congress tackling overlapping budget issues this week, advocates are most focused on saving President Joe Biden’s bold agenda for schools and families.
The proposed $3.5 trillion “Build Back Better” plan, which Biden says would lower costs that are “squeezing families month after month and year after year,” includes major increases for early-childhood education, teacher and principal preparation, school construction and community college. But Democrats don’t have enough support to pass it, even though they’re using a process known as reconciliation, which doesn’t require a single Republican vote.
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who along with fellow Democrat Krysten Sinema of Arizona is opposed to such sweeping legislation, made it clear in a statement Wednesday night that he can’t be convinced otherwise.
“Since the beginning of this reconciliation debate, I have been consistent in my belief that any expansion of social programs must be targeted to those in need, not expanded beyond what is fiscally possible,” Manchin wrote. “While I am hopeful that common ground can be found that would result in another historic investment in our nation, I cannot — and will not — support trillions in spending or an all or nothing approach that ignores the brutal fiscal reality our nation faces.”
The debate over the president’s agenda has revealed sharp divides among Democrats, while Republicans have held a united front against compromise proposals. Disagreement among Democrats is most obvious over the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was weighing whether to bring to a vote Thursday. Moderates have demanded a vote on the Funding for roads, bridges and broadband, while progressives have said they won’t support the infrastructure bill unless they first get a vote on the larger reconciliation bill.
-- LINDA JACOBSON Capital projects funding fix needed for school seismic upgrades-- Washington State Wire Washington: September 27, 2021 [ abstract]
The way Washington State funds capital improvement school projects is bottlenecking efforts to retrofit schools to protect students during earthquakes, even as hundreds of schools need pressing upgrades.
In June, the state Department of Natural Resources released a report which found that of the 561 school buildings examined across the state, 63% were high or very high priority for seismic retrofits. These schools pose a significant risk of collapse or trapping students and staff if they collapse due to an earthquake. The median building is expected to be 55% damaged, and a majority of the buildings will be unsafe to occupy.
Former Rep. Jim Buck (R-24th LD), spent more than $800 in postage sending copies of the report to nearly 2,400 school principals. In a letter to the Wire, he stated the following, which was written in August after the most recent seismic study was released:
“Washington’s seismic safety efforts are way behind the rest of the west coast. The state has known about the risk for years…our schools can’t wait for more studies, procrastination and excuses from our elected representatives. There can be no more mistakes like neglecting to include tsunamis in the scope of work.”
Buck stated that British Columbia has spent $1.9 million to address high risk seismic projects since 2017, California has spent between $8 to $12 million on retrofits between 1989 and 2018 in just the San Francisco Bay area, and in 2015 Oregon lawmakers spent $300 million to prepare schools. All three have spent significantly more than Washington State.
The June seismic study is the second phase of an ongoing project which started in 2017 following Funding from the Legislature, said Tyler Muench, policy and outreach coordinator for school facilities and organization with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Initial results were released in 2019, meaning the 2020 session was the first where Funding could be put towards retrofitting schools.
“That report came out and we were in a supplemental budget session, which as you know means there wasn’t as much money traditionally available,” Muench said.
-- AARON KUNKLER Huge school construction projects underway in the Dayton area-- Dayton Daily News Ohio: September 26, 2021 [ abstract]
More than $650 million in taxpayer-approved Funding in the Dayton area is going toward an unusually large number of school districts constructing new school buildings, moving into new buildings this fall, or preparing for new building projects.
The school facilities work ranges from a massive five-year, $158 million project at the Miami Valley Career Tech Center, to a tentative plan for a $7 million addition in Huber Heights, to an $18 million project in Oakwood that just renovated existing buildings.
Fairborn schools are in the middle of a large school construction project, and district treasurer Kevin Philo’s list of reasons why the multimillion-dollar investment is worthwhile echoed some other districts.
Philo cited 50-70-year-old school infrastructure that doesn’t fit with changing education and technology needs, adding that education itself if more important in a knowledge economy. He also cited competition, as people moving to the area a few years ago chose Huber Heights’ new buildings rather than Fairborn’s water leaks and lack of air conditioning.
And Fairborn officials cited two financial reasons. Philo said the interest rates they got last year (2.65%) were the lowest in 50 years, allowing Fairborn to get “more building for the money.”
-- Jeremy P. Kelley State budget allocates funds to demolish Napakiak school before it falls into the Kuskokwim River-- KTOO Alaska: September 26, 2021 [ abstract] The Lower Kuskokwim School District has received state funds to demolish the Napakiak school building, which sits on the edge of an eroding riverbank. Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed the state budget bill into law on Sept. 15, which includes $3.1 million for the project.
Napakiak’s principal said that the school is within 30 feet of the Kuskokwim River during high tide. The building needs to be removed soon to avoid it falling into the river. Superintendent Kimberly Hankins said that the district plans to demolish the building this academic year, but not right away.
“We need to move through a process of one, determining which route we’re going to take, and then putting together the demo package and going out to bid for that. So that takes time,” Hankins said. Hankins spoke with KYUK in early September before the Funding for the Napakiak school had been fully approved.
She said that the district hasn’t yet decided how much of the school building to demolish.
“If we did a complete demolition, then we would need more portable classroom space. But we are looking at the idea of a partial demolition and then continuing to access a portion of the existing building. But I won’t know much more on that until we actually get feedback from the architects and engineers,” Hankins said.
-- Greg Kim Added Jonesborough school cost could put strain on county’s school capital fund-- WJHL Tennessee: September 23, 2021 [ abstract]
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (WJHL) – Washington County’s Education Capital Projects fund is the likely source to fill a current Funding gap of $10 million for a new K-8 school in Jonesborough — which would leave less money for other school capital needs.
Each additional million dollars above the original $32.75 million estimate will cost around $46,000 annually for 30 years.
Washington County School Board members learned Sept. 16 the project would cost significantly more than originally thought. In a called meeting Sept. 17, the Washington County Budget Committee voted 3-0 with Jim Wheeler recusing himself to approve up to $10 million in additional Funding for the school.
If approved at Monday’s full Washington County Commission meeting, the payments would be added to a lease with the Town of Jonesborough, which is the borrower on the project.
Thursday, the school board learned the specific cost is, indeed, $42.75 million, meaning the county commission will consider adding $460,000 annually to the outlay.
School Superintendent Jerry Boyd told News Channel 11 earlier this week the capital fund is the best option for addressing the unexpected expense.
“We have that within the capacity of those funds, the board has expressed the support for certainly moving forward with the Jonesborough Elementary project and also with the realization that those funds will come from the education capital projects fund.”
-- Nick Dugan, Jeff Keeling Growing coalition pushes Lamont harder to fund air quality upgrades in local schools-- The CT Mirror Connecticut: September 23, 2021 [ abstract] A growing coalition of municipalities, teachers, school administrators and others challenged Gov. Ned Lamont Thursday to enhance state Funding to improve school air management systems as Connecticut grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.
The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and the state’s Council of Small Towns both objected this summer upon learning that existing school construction policy limits when state funds can be used to help towns pay for new ventilation, air conditioning and air quality control systems.
Thursday they were joined by the state’s two largest teachers’ unions — the Connecticut Education Association and AFT CT — the statewide associations for municipal school boards and for school superintendents, and CSEA-SEIU Local 2001, which represents teaching assistants in public schools.
“There is an overwhelming need for Funding from the state to municipalities and their boards of education to upgrade HVAC systems to ensure adequate air quality in public schools as Connecticut continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Joe DeLong, CCM’s executive director. “This dire situation cannot just be left to property taxpayers to shoulder the fiscal burden. … It is frankly bizarre that the state recognizes an end of life for a roof or a window but believes an air quality system never requires updates or replacement,” DeLong said.
-- Keith M. Phaneuf Niskayuna preparing to reopen school facilities to community-- Daily Gazette New York: September 23, 2021 [ abstract] The Niskayuna Central School District is working on logistical issues in order to open school facilities – the high school pool, for example – to the community.
The facilities have been closed due to the pandemic.
But working through those issues will take some time, said Matt Leon, a spokesperson for the district.
“We recognize what a valuable asset our facilities are to the community and we are glad to be moving toward greater use of them after such a long period,” Leon said.
Reopening school facilities was a topic of discussion brought up at the school board’s last meeting on Sept. 14.
“Not opening the pool is contrary or contradictory to what other schools are doing,” said Libbie Coccocia, who has two kids in the district.
She, like other speakers, brought up that the whole basis for Funding the pool was that it would be open to the public.
Student representative Vera Amirbekian said having the pool closed can affect the future of student swimmers, even some currently on the school teams. Amirbekian said 25% of the girl’s varsity team is on the Starfish Swim Club, while 50% of the boy’s team also participates in Starfish. She said being on the Starfish team allows the students to practice even more, but currently Starfish swimmers must travel 40 to 45 minutes to other pools to practice.
Other residents like Mark Schmidt said there are other benefits to having the pool open, including the additional fitness option available to residents.
-- Shenandoah Briere U.S. Facing $85 Billion School Facility Funding Gap-- Facilitiesnet.com National: September 23, 2021 [ abstract] Efforts to keep schools safe during a pandemic and continually aging facilities have public school districts drowning in deficits soaring into the billions for facility Funding.
A report, the 2021 State of Our Schools Report: America’s PK-12 Public School Facilities, projected that the U.S. faces an $85 billion shortfall in school facility Funding yearly despite spending $110 billion yearly on maintenance, operations, and capital construction.
The study attributes the gap to rising school construction costs, building inventory increases, and significant declines in facility expenditures.
The gap in Funding has grown dramatically since 2016, the last year of the report, when there was an annual gap of $46 billion in school facilities Funding. The pandemic’s impact only contributes to the crisis.
-- Dave Lubach Millcreek School Board rejects paying more than $12.1M for technical school renovations-- GoErie Pennsylvania: September 21, 2021 [ abstract]
A planned $34.4 million renovation of the Erie County Technical School isn't likely to happen.
Millcreek Township School Board defeated a resolution to proceed with the renovations by 5-4 vote Tuesday, for the second time in a week. A similar resolution failed by an identical 5-4 vote on Sept. 13.
All 11 school districts that send students to the school have to approve the project for work to proceed. All but Millcreek unanimously approved the project.
Bids submitted for the work expire Tuesday.
This week's resolution would have committed the Millcreek Township School District to pay 36% of the cost of the renovations, or more than $12.1 million. Capital projects at the tech school are funded based on assessed property value in each participating school district. Millcreek's property value is 36% of the total value of properties in the 11 participating school districts.
The latest resolution would have included the proviso that it would be the last time that Millcreek would fund capital improvements at the technical school under the current Funding formula.
-- Valerie Myers School Facilities Workgroup Considers Proposed Categories for School Facility Assessments-- Maryland Association of Counties Maryland: September 21, 2021 [ abstract]
The Workgroup on the Assessment and Funding of School Facilities had a substantive discussion on September 22, with conversation focusing on a proposed set of 9 categories on how to assess the condition of school facilities.
The Workgroup on the Assessment and Funding of School Facilities, created by 2021 legislation, held its third meeting virtually this week. The majority of the conversation focused on the Facility Condition Index (FCI) and educational facilities sufficiency standards along with under which categories the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) proposes to assess schools.
The meeting featured presentations from the staff of the IAC on a proposed set of 9 categories under which to assess Maryland schools, based on the FCI and sufficiency standards.
The subsequent discussion between workgroup members and IAC officials largely considered how shifting enrollment plays into the proposed 9 categories for assessment.
-- Brianna January Governor Murphy Announces Commitment to Universal Pre-K for New Jersey-- Governor Phil Murphy Office New Jersey: September 16, 2021 [ abstract] PALISADES PARK – Building on his commitment to expand early childhood education in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy today announced that the state will commit to providing universal pre-K to all families across the state over the next several years. Today's round of Funding establishes or expands high-quality pre-K programs in 19 additional school districts across the state. The Department of Education will develop a Strategic Plan that will sets a roadmap for further pre-K expansion throughout the state.
“Investing in early childhood education lays the foundation for a bright future for our early learners,” said Governor Murphy. “Our Administration is committed to ensuring that every New Jersey child receives a high-quality education starting with pre-K. While we still have a long way to go to achieve pre-K for all, today’s expansion further demonstrates our commitment to reaching as many students as possible.”
The Governor’s Universal Pre-K Strategic Plan, led by the Department of Education, will focus on the following:
Prioritizing districts and setting a timeline for expansion;
Ensuring students have appropriate facilities and quality programming;
Involving childcare providers and Head Start in planning to avoid displacing existing high-quality early learning centers;
Optimizing Funding streams, including federal funds from the federal Build Back Better Plan; and
Utilizing best practices from other states that offer expanded/universal pre-k programs.
In addition to vision for pre-K statewide, Governor Murphy announced 19 school districts have been awarded $17 million in pre-K expansion Funding for the 2021-2022 school year. This latest round of Funding was announced during a visit today to the Dr. Charles Smith Early Childhood Center in Palisades Park, which received $823,860 in state Funding.
-- Staff Writer Baltimore County Board of Education narrowly affirms support for replacing Towson, Dulaney high schools-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: September 15, 2021 [ abstract] Baltimore County school board doubled down Tuesday night on a plan to replace Towson and Dulaney high schools following a heated debate among the elected leaders, school system staff and community members.
School board members voted 6-5 in favor of amending a capital improvements budget request to the state in order to include the total replacement of the aging schools. Rod McMillion, Moalie Jose, Cheryl Pasteur, Erin Hager and Makeda Scott voted against the amendment. The student member of the 12-person board is not permitted to vote on budgetary matters.
Board members later voted unanimously to approve the amended budget request that is due annually to the state of Maryland in October.
Capital improvements to public school buildings are typically funded through a combination of state and county money. The board’s proposal will next head to the Maryland Interagency Commission on School Construction for consideration. Separately, county officials will consider Funding for the projects based in part on how much the state decides to award.
-- LILLIAN REED Major improvements to school facilities in Cheyenne unlikely-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: September 12, 2021 [ abstract]
CHEYENNE – Although Cheyenne has some of the oldest schools in the state, the chances of improvements being made anytime soon are rapidly drying up.
Nearly 30% of Laramie County School District 1’s facilities rank in the top 20 on Wyoming’s current list of schools in the worst condition. There is a need for building renovations, or even replacement, due to factors such as age, deteriorating quality, inability to keep up with classroom capacity needs and a lack of technological updates.
Assistant Superintendent of Support Operations Dave Bartlett said this isn’t likely to be remedied for many of the schools in the near future. Since 2012, there have only been 16 schools in the district high on the needs list that were addressed.
“It’s just because the Funding isn’t available that I can spend,” he said.
Hundreds of schools throughout the state require maintenance, though, which makes it less surprising that LCSD1 hasn’t renovated or rebuilt a large portion of its schools. But what’s more concerning to Bartlett is the clear decrease in the ability of state government to administer substantial and steady Funding to schools.
Whether that Funding be for educational programs or building facilities, the state budget is shrinking across all sectors.
A decade ago, the state’s biennium budget for school facilities would fund upward of 25 major renovation and construction projects across the state. In the upcoming 2023-24 biennium budget, according to Bartlett, it will most likely fund two.
-- Jasmine Hall $85 billion gap: 12 actions for improving health and safety of school facilities-- District Administration National: September 10, 2021 [ abstract]
U.S. schools face an annual $85 billion shortfall in facilities Funding, and schools that serve lower-income students face the biggest gaps, a new report finds.
Districts spend about $110 billion on maintenance, operations and capital construction each year. But they need $195 billion to meet health and safety standards, says the “2021 State of Our Schools Report” by the 21st Century School Fund, the International WELL Building Institute and the National Council on School Facilities.
Increased construction costs, building inventory increases and a sharp decline in facility spending since the Great Recession are driving this widening gap despite the efforts of communities and districts to upgrade their schools, the report says.
Back in 2016, the same report pegged the Funding shortfall at $46 billion.
“Unfortunately, while local districts are struggling with making facilities safe in a pandemic, they are faced with longstanding deficiencies in their aging infrastructure, which makes this very difficult,” said Mary Filardo, executive director, 21st Century School Fund and lead author of the 2021 report.
Nationally, local districts cover 77% of school facility costs, with only 22% coming from states. High poverty districts spent an average $3.8 million per school on construction from 2009-18 while low-poverty districts spent more than $5 million.
-- Matt Zalaznick Why Dems’ $82 Billion Proposal for School Buildings Still Isn’t Enough-- Education Week National: September 09, 2021 [ abstract]
House Democrats announced a proposal this week for $82 billion in federal grant Funding and a requirement for states to provide 10 percent in matching funds to improve the nation’s school buildings.
But schools nationwide will need far more than that to address worsening facilities conditions, two new reports emphasize.
The latest plan in Congress to fund school facilities comes as federal Democratic lawmakers are moving forward with a broad package of nationwide infrastructure investments. The dollar figure and shape of the school facilities component are likely to change before the bill passes, if it does at all.
Advocates hoped a bipartisan group of lawmakers would include Funding for schools in their narrow infrastructure investment package that’s currently working its way through Congress. Instead, they’re hoping to see Funding included as part of a Funding package that will move through lawmakers’ reconciliation process for budget-related items.
In the meantime, the needs are ever-growing, according to the new “State of Our Schools” report from a coalition of organizations including the National Council on School Facilities, the 21st Century School Fund, and the International Well Building Institute.
U.S. schools currently spend roughly $110 billion per year on facilities. The report, following up on a similar 2016 study, asserts that schools are collectively investing $85 billion less per year in building construction and improvements than would be needed to achieve full modernization. That number reflects a $25 million increase, adjusted for inflation, over the dollar gap identified in the 2016 report.
-- Mark Lieberman Annual Funding Gap for Making the Nation's Public School Buildings Safer, Healthier and Fit for Learning Balloons to $85-- Yahoo Finance National: September 08, 2021 [ abstract] New report from the 21st Century School Fund, the International WELL Building Institute and the National Council on School Facilities shows massive underinvestment in education facilities, identifies solutions to achieve healthier, more sustainable elementary and secondary schools.
NEW YORK, Sept. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The 2021 State of Our Schools Report: America's PK-12 Public School Facilities, released today by the 21st Century School Fund, the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) and the National Council on School Facilities, projects that the United States faces a shortfall of a staggering $85 billion in school facility Funding every year. Districts are spending about $110 billion every year on maintenance, operations, and capital construction – but the educational facilities standards for good stewardship necessitates nearly $195 billion. The rise in the nation's PK-12 gap has been brought on by increased school construction costs, building inventory increases, and a sharp decline in facility expenditures after the great recession.
All this exists despite extraordinary efforts on the part of local communities and states to deliver public school buildings that help protect the health and safety of the students, teachers and staff who walk through their doors every day.
-- PR Newswire Monday numbers: A closer look at the state’s school facility needs-- NC Policy Watch North Carolina: September 06, 2021 [ abstract] North Carolina has a nearly $13 billion backlog in new school construction and renovations, according to the 2020-21 Facility Needs Survey.
The backlog represents an increase of more than $4 billion over the $8 billion reported in the Facility Needs Survey five years ago.
Construction costs for new schools, as well as and additions and renovations to existing ones account for more than half — approximately $6.54 billion — of the costs identified in the 2020-21 survey.
Critics of state tax cuts have long blamed the state’s growing backlog on North Carolina lawmakers’ decision to redirect the 7.25% of income tax revenues from the Public School Building Capital Fund to fill budget holes during the 2008 Great Recession. In 2013, lawmakers eliminated the corporate tax transfer to the Building Capital Fund to pay for some of the cuts they made to the corporate and personal income tax rates.
It’s worth noting that North Carolina hasn’t held a state bond referendum for public schools since 1996. The $1.8 billion from that referendum was spent before 2005.
In small part, enrollment growth has spurred the need for more Funding to build schools. State education officials project a modest 2% enrollment increase in public schools over the next 10 years. Growth is projected to be greatest in grades K-8, while enrollment in grade 9-12 is projected to decrease.
-- Greg Childress Belpre BOE meeting focuses on state of school buildings, plans-- The Marietta Times Ohio: September 02, 2021 [ abstract]
BELPRE — Belpre City Schools had its first of many community meetings discussing the current state of both school buildings in the district, as well as future plans.
The public meeting was held Wednesday evening at Belpre Elementary School.
Community members sat through a presentation from Fanning Howey’s Executive Director Steve Wilezynski and Educational Consultant Tim Hamilton on one of the potential Funding options for renovations or a new school building, such as through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC).
“The school is the community. Our intent tonight and in our subsequent meetings is to just engage with our community and find out what their wants are, what they don’t want,” said Belpre City Schools Superintendent Jeff Greenley. “What their cautions may be so that at the end of the day, we can have a consensus on a facilities plan and we can move forward.”
Established in 1997, the OFCC is a state agency that provides school Funding opportunities for Ohio school districts, and participation with OFCC is a district choice.
By using the funds, OFCC is co-owner of the school and the state will co-fund projects based upon a district’s relative wealth in comparison to every other district in Ohio. The least wealthy districts are eligible for the highest amount of state Funding.
-- TYLER BENNETT Jacksonville school system turns to federal judge to get state construction funds-- Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette Arkansas: September 02, 2021 [ abstract]
The Jacksonville/North Pulaski School District is asking for federal court help in acquiring state funds for the court-ordered replacement of its Murrell Taylor and Bayou Meto elementary schools.
The effect could be the return of the state representatives as an active party in what is now the 38-year-old federal Pulaski County school desegregation lawsuit.
The Jacksonville district is alleging that the state's stand against Funding to the levels desired by the district "has exacerbated one of the remaining vestiges of segregation in this case by refusing to partner with JNPSD to remedy the unequal facilities in the District."
The district is seeking court permission to file what is called "a third-party complaint" against the Arkansas education secretary, who is Johnny Key, and the director of the state Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation, who is Tim Cain.
The purpose of the complaint -- if allowed -- would be to have a judge determine whether state officials must "heed this Court's orders and whether these orders should weigh in the balance of whether desegregation is a prudent and resourceful use of state funds."
Scott P. Richardson, an attorney for the Jacksonville district, sent the request for permission and a copy of the proposed complaint against the state to Chief U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr.
-- Cynthia Howell Governor Hogan Directs State Officials to Conduct Assessment of Ventilation and Air Filtration in School Buildings-- The Office of Governor Larry Hogan Maryland: September 01, 2021 [ abstract] On Tuesday, 31 schools in Baltimore Schools dismissed students early due to a lack of proper air conditioning.
The governor made the announcement at today’s meeting of the Board of Public Works:
“I know we are all pleased to see students returning to in-person instruction in every school system across the state. Unfortunately, this week, schools all over Baltimore City, including 31 just yesterday, had to dismiss students early due to the lack of proper air conditioning.
“It’s unbelievable to me that this is still happening after the Comptroller and I have worked together for the last six years to push to get every school air conditioned, and to provide record Funding for every school to be air conditioned, and our nonstop efforts to hold schools accountable.
“We were successful in requiring Baltimore City to reluctantly create a plan to finally bring air conditioning to all their schools, even against fierce opposition from legislative leaders. But in spite of them putting plans together, the work was not actually completed.
“We established a Healthy Schools Facilities Fund to provide additional state-funded grants to public schools specifically to make urgently needed emergency air conditioning and heating upgrades. Baltimore City returned the money to the state after failing to spend it on the improvements.
-- Staff Writer Weighing the pros, cons of a new Swampscott school building-- Wickedlocal.com Massachusetts: September 01, 2021 [ abstract]
After seven years of research, discussion, design and community meetings, Swampscott’s proposed district-wide elementary school will be put to a Special Town Meeting vote on Monday, Sept. 13. If approved there by a two-thirds majority, town voters will get the final say on the project in a special election in October.
The K-4 school, which will consolidate the town’s three elementary schools, is estimated to cost $98 million. The Massachusetts School Building Authority approved $34.3 million in grant Funding, bringing the town’s share down to $64 million. Town Meeting will vote on whether to raise property taxes via a debt exclusion override to cover that expense.
“This is the best financial choice for the town to ensure a modern, safe, and educationally appropriate school for all our elementary students,” said Sierra Munoz, who lives on Fuller Avenue and co-chairs the Swampscott Says Yes committee. “A ‘no’ vote would cost the town $34 million in state Funding and leave us with no plan to address our aging schools.”
The new school would be built at the site of the current Stanley School.
Meanwhile, not everyone in town supports the project.
-- Leigh Blander Holyoke schools to receive $5.5 million for roof repairs-- Daily Hampshire Gazette Massachusetts: August 26, 2021 [ abstract] HOLYOKE — The Massachusetts School Building Authority has approved up to $5.5 million in grants for Holyoke Public Schools to repair roofs on three of its elementary schools.
In an announcement Wednesday, the MSBA said that it had approved Funding for partial roof repairs at E.N. White Elementary School, Lt. Clayre P. Sullivan School and Maurice A. Donahue School. The “accelerated repair program” grants were part of $25 million in Funding the agency approved.
“The Accelerated Repair Program allows us to make critical repairs to more schools in less time,” state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg said in a statement. “By improving the learning environment for our children, the program also makes schools more energy efficient and generates significant cost savings.”
-- DUSTY CHRISTENSEN U.S. Secretary of Education tours Virginia school to see how federal relief is aiding safe reopening-- WRIC.com Virginia: August 18, 2021 [ abstract]
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC)- The country’s top education official toured a Virginia school to find out how federal coronavirus relief is helping students return to in-person learning and what more can be done moving forward.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona was joined by Gov. Ralph Northam and Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger at Glen Allen High School in Henrico on Wednesday.
Schools have benefited from various federal Funding streams during the pandemic. Most recently, the General Assembly approved $250 million from the American Rescue Plan Act for qualifying ventilation improvement projects in public schools. Funds will be distributed to schools based on projected enrollment with a minimum allocation of $200,000 per division. Localities will have to match the grant award to get the money.
While air quality improvements are an important COVID-19 mitigation strategy, some districts were hoping to use ARPA resources for long-overdue school construction projects, which the federal government has discouraged due to its spending deadline.
8News asked Secretary Cardona to respond to frustrations surrounding state and federal Funding restrictions, as some fear they will force school districts to pour money into buildings that need to be replaced entirely.
“I visited a school recently where they used the funds to get a better ventilation system, to get better airflow, to make sure students can enter safely but you’re bringing up an important issue. We shouldn’t stop here,” Cardona said. “Infrastructure is equity and we know that with the Build Back Better agenda, we’re on the path toward that.”
-- Jackie DeFusco Remembering the Rosenwald Schools-- The Philadelphia Tribune National: August 17, 2021 [ abstract]
As students start a new school year, this is a chance to honor the legacy of a group of schools that educated hundreds of thousands of Black children.
From 1913 to 1932, nearly 5,000 “Rosenwald schools” were built in 15 states, mostly in rural Southern communities. These schools were built specifically to educate Black children, and by 1928 one in three rural Black schoolchildren in the South attended a Rosenwald school. Their history, and the remaining school buildings themselves, are now being reclaimed and preserved.
The schools were named for their primary donor, Chicago businessman Julius Rosenwald. The son of German Jewish immigrants, Rosenwald was a clothier who became the president of Sears, Roebuck and Company. As a progressive philanthropist, Rosenwald believed one of the country’s most pressing social problems was the “Negro question,” and he supported the ideas and self-help doctrine of Tuskegee Institute President Booker T. Washington.
In 1912, Rosenwald was a member of Tuskegee’s board of trustees when Washington came to him to suggest donating funds specifically for building Black schools. Most Southern states provided little public Funding to adequately educate Black children, and many rural communities had no schools for Black children at all. Washington believed building schools that could provide traditional and vocational education for Black children would be a key method of “race uplift.”
After a successful test group of six Alabama schools, in 1917 Rosenwald established the Julius Rosenwald Foundation, and the School Building Program remained one of the foundation’s primary missions until Rosenwald’s death in 1932.
-- Marian Wright Edelman Millions of students returning to aging school buildings that could threaten their health-- WSET.com National: August 16, 2021 [ abstract] WASHINGTON (SBG) — As students head back to school for in-person learning this fall, a new national report reveals that schools across the country are in need of serious updates to their infrastructure. It's not just cosmetics: aging school buildings could pose a risk to student health and safety, and some say there's not enough Funding to fix it all.
Hundreds of elementary school students will head back to school at one building in southern Virginia. But a class of fifth graders has been relocated to the library for their first day, unable to even enter the classroom they were supposed to call their homeroom.
In that classroom, Inside Your World Investigates discovered damage being repaired by crews in the waning days of summer. The floor had caved in. An aging HVAC unit was pulled from the wall. The ceiling tiles were stained with a leak from the roof. It's not surprising that the room was in need of updates; the school was built in the 1930s.
Less than 20 miles away sits the nation's oldest public school building in use today. Bedford County's iconic New London Academy was built in 1795. Stepping inside is like entering a time capsule.
Classrooms still have slate chalkboards and decades-old heating systems. School leaders told us they're proud of maintaining the school after 225 years, and say it's clean and spacious enough for the student body, but improvements can always be made.
-- MARK HYMAN, LARRY DEAL, JOHN STANSFIELD and ANDREA Building improvement: Impact of penny tax, bond referendum visible in new Aiken County school facilities-- Aiken Standard South Carolina: August 14, 2021 [ abstract] Schools all over Aiken County are getting multi-million-dollar makeovers thanks to the penny sales tax and bond referendum that were approved by voters in the past.
The Funding for the construction updates comes from the Education Capital Improvements Sales and Use Tax that Aiken County residents voted to approve in November 2014, expected to raise $188 million, and a $90 million bond referendum that was approved in May 2018.
While many projects have been completed, current projects under construction include Millbrook Elementary School, Belvedere Elementary School, Hammond Hill Elementary School, Aiken Scholars Academy, North Augusta High School and Aiken High School.
“This is an extremely aggressive construction list. Typically, you’re not going to have a school district, especially one of this size, undergoing this many projects at one time,” said Dr. Corey Murphy, the school district’s chief officer of operations and student services.
“Because projects are interrelated, if you have so many on a bond referendum, everything has to come in on budget in order for the next project to go properly. If not you’re going to go over budget, so one thing can throw two or three other projects off.”
-- Shakailah Heard Millions of dollars being used for upgrades at schools across the region-- WSLS.com Virginia: August 12, 2021 [ abstract]
PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VA – Millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief money are going to local schools.
Replacing heating, ventilation and air conditioning units takes a lot of work.
“It was time for this project to occur and it was on our radar for some time,” said Rockbridge County Schools Director of Operations Randy Walters.
At Central Elementary near Lexington, crews had to shut down a road and bring in construction equipment to replace seven massive rooftop units — the entire system.
“We were spending maintenance money keeping the units going, making sure the air quality was appropriate for schools,” said Walters, who added this project alone cost $1.4 million and could be paid for with federal money. “Without the CARES Act money, it would be up to the School Board and the Board of Supervisors to come up with Funding for these projects.”
A U.S. Government Accountability Office report says about 41% of districts need to update or replace heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in at least half of their schools, representing about 36,000 schools across the country that need HVAC updates. Problems can lead to issues with indoor air quality problems, mold and in some cases, cause schools to temporarily adjust schedules.
n nearly all districts the office visited, security became a top priority. Some districts prioritized security updates over replacing building systems, such as HVAC systems.
But with COVID-19 relief money, schools can spend some of it on those upgrades. American Rescue Plan funds, as well as previous rounds of relief Funding, can be used to take immediate action to improve indoor air quality, such as the inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, replacement, and upgrading of projects in school facilities. This can include system upgrades, filtering, purification and other air cleaning fans as well as window and door repair.
“I think these are the original windows when the school was built,” said Kentuck Elementary School Principal Christie Dawson, showing us the outside of the school. “The window units certainly help with the cooling, but the noise level when you’re inside of a classroom. Elementary kids are easily distractible and so that distractibility is there with the noise.”
-- Jenna Zibton K-12 Organizations Strongly Urge Congress to Include K-12 School Facilities in Reconciliation Bill-- NAESP.org National: August 10, 2021 [ abstract] As Congress moves forward with negotiations on a budget reconciliation bill, NAESP and other national K-12 organizations are strongly urging the inclusion of at least $100 billion in direct grants and $30 billion in bonds for K-12 public school facilities—consistent with the Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in July 2020. K-12 infrastructure Funding was not included in the Senate bipartisan infrastructure legislation, however the reconciliation bill provides Congress with another opportunity to provide robust federal investments in America’s K-12 facilities.
The organizations’ letter draws attention to the decades of underinvestment in K-12 facilities and the resulting alarming health and safety risks posed to students and staff. A 2016 State of Our Schools Report found state and local governments underfund K-12 facilities by $46 billion annually. A GAO study further illuminates the scope of the problem: In about a quarter of all school districts, at least half of their schools needed upgrades or replacements to major building systems, such as heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, plumbing, or windows. The study also found 41 percent of districts need to update or replace HVAC systems in at least half of their schools. A leaking HVAC system or roof can cause water damage, exposing students and staff to mold or asbestos. Robust Funding for K-12 facilities would strengthen state and local governments’ capacity to address these pressing health risks, as well as others such as airborne polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
-- Staff Writer The link between educational inequality and infrastructure-- The Washington Post National: August 06, 2021 [ abstract]
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) recently introduced legislation calling for $1.43 trillion in federal Funding to support upgrades to school buildings and green infrastructure while making major investments in teaching and learning. As a former public school principal, counselor and teacher, Bowman understands firsthand the hardships that educators, families and youths have endured this year — and especially the underappreciated but powerful link between sustainable infrastructure and education.
Indeed, educational inequality has long been fueled by the inefficient physical structures of the school building, something the response to covid-19 exposed. While affluent parents donated resources and Funding to guarantee that their schools could implement covid-19 mitigation practices — notably mandatory masking and physical distancing — public schools that serve less-affluent, non-White children faced antiquated HVAC systems and windowless classrooms, making it difficult, if not impossible, to implement the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s covid-19 mitigation policies and practices.
Yet, while covid-19 certainly shed new light on health risks associated with substandard school conditions, the roots of the problem are much deeper. The racially biased policies and practices that elected leaders and public school officials that were implemented more than 100 years ago set the stage for underinvestment in public education and the wide variance in school facilities that serve White and non-White youths today.
Beginning in the late 19th century, the reliance on local Funding, coupled with desires to maintain racially separate and unequal schools, drove inequitable school Funding patterns.
In 1875, for example, Black families demanded that St. Louis officials provide a high school for Black youths. School leaders reluctantly complied and opened the first Black high school in a building previously condemned and closed because officials felt it was unsuitable for White youths. Black families raised concerns about the substandard conditions inside the building as well as the school’s proximity to a local lead factory that generated smoky, polluted air near the school.
School officials refused to listen. Half of the city’s Black children attended this school, exposing them to these toxins. In 1880, school officials allocated $39,330 per White school and $14,600 per Black school. These Funding differentials exacerbated educational inequality and generated substandard facilities for non-White schools.
-- Erika M. Kitzmiller and Akira Drake Rodriguez Feinstein, Padilla to Schumer: Infrastructure Package Must Include Funding for Schools-- Senator Dianne Feinstein National: August 05, 2021 [ abstract] Dear Majority Leader Schumer:
As you craft legislation that scales up the federal investment in our nation’s infrastructure, we urge you to include strong and robust Funding that will help states and school districts maintain, upgrade, and build new school facilities.
As Senators for the State of California, we represent more than 6.1 million children across approximately 10,378 public schools – both in urban and rural areas. We have visited classrooms and have seen firsthand how reduced investments in our public education system has led to overcrowded classrooms, teacher layoffs, and unacceptable learning environments for our children.
Many of our students are learning in old, outdated, and unhealthy classrooms. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, in particular, has shown us how important schools are for the health and wellbeing of our students, and their success. It has been reported that many schools are in dire need of improving their ventilation systems in order to mitigate the spread of viruses like COVID-19. However, these are not the only significant repairs that need to be made, as other environmental hazards – such as asbestos and lead—need to be addressed as well, in addition to technological improvements that create classrooms more conducive to learning in the 21st Century.
In 2018, the State of California conducted a needs assessment that found urgent and shovel-ready projects required an estimated $3 billion to move forward. We also continue to hear from local school districts how imperative it is to upgrade schools. For example, the Los Angeles Unified School District – which is the nation’s second-largest district—has identified that it needs $50 billion to address school facilities and technology needs.
-- Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla Students deserve better than to be left out of the infrastructure spending package-- The Hill National: August 05, 2021 [ abstract] Access to an equal and adequate education must include physical conditions that are conducive to learning and do not threaten basic health. This is a critical, longstanding racial justice problem. Congress’s infrastructure deal provides funds for many issues facing our nation, but it fails to address a glaringly urgent matter: national Funding for school infrastructure.
The lack of dedicated federal Funding for school capital needs has perilously impacted the education and welfare of our nation’s children, particularly students of color and low-income students, some of whom attend school in unsafe facilities with diminished learning opportunities. When our legislators return from recess and move toward budget reconciliation, they must take serious measures to correct this dire problem before our children endure even more negative consequences.
Over the years, school infrastructure problems have multiplied, especially in school districts that primarily serve Black students. In Baltimore, where about 76 percent of public school enrollment is Black, schools have closed because of unsafe building temperatures, both extreme heat and freezing conditions. In 2016, more than 85 of Detroit’s approximately 100 schools were closed because a teacher-led protest raised concerns about schools with rodents, roaches, mold, holes in walls and ceilings, and an unstable heating system. Two years later, the district was forced to shut off drinking water at its schools — where more than 80 percent of students are Black — when elevated levels of lead or copper were discovered in two-thirds of tested school buildings. And a 2020 report on the nearly all-Black schools in the Mississippi Delta describes buildings with inadequate plumbing, flooded hallways and crumbling walls, floors and ceilings.
-- Opinion - HAMIDA LABI AND MEGAN HABERLE School Board Looks to Use Leesburg Funds for Dozens of Facility Improvement Projects-- Virginia: August 04, 2021 [ abstract] The School Board will request that the Leesburg Town Council review potential projects for school facilities that would be paid for from developer proffers collected by the town.
In a meeting of the Finance and Operations Committee on Tuesday, board members discussed a list of projects that will be sent to council for approval. The proposed projects were recommended by school principals throughout the town.
The town’s Funding for school improvement was established in 2005, drawing from money paid by developers in proffers as part of a rezoning, to offset the impact of re-zoning on public facilities. The funds can only be used for existing school facilities, but the committee is also looking to see if the funds can be used for new projects, as opposed to only renovating existing facilities.The town’s proffer fund currently stands at $1.7 million.
One project on the list of proposals, a renovation of the Cool Spring Elementary School playground, has already gotten a green light from the town council to use town proffered funds.
-- Hayley Milon Bour Facing wildfires and pandemics, California must invest in ensuring clean air in schools-- EdSource California: July 29, 2021 [ abstract] After a year of prolonged school closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, California’s educators have been hard at work readying to open to full-time, in-person learning across the state.
Schools face falling enrollment and learning loss that will impact schoolchildren for years to come, making successful reopening essential to regain lost ground.
While Gov. Gavin Newsom expects 99% of schools to reopen to full-time in-person learning in August, schools may be derailed by an entirely different calamity threatening children’s access to a stable education: worsening wildfires due to climate change.
Wildfire smoke threatens children’s health. Breathing toxic pollution from wildfires is roughly 10 times more dangerous for children when measured against comparable air pollution from other sources.
The fine, inhalable particles found in wildfire smoke, called PM2.5, can cause increased emergency room visits for asthma and increased upper respiratory infections in children.
Long-term studies on wildfire smoke in children is currently lacking, but we know from data on firefighters that repeated exposure results in higher lung cancer rates and greater risk of death from heart attacks and stroke.
Before the pandemic, schoolchildren in California had started to miss an increasing number of school days due to wildfires. Schools close for evacuation or because they lack the protocols and infrastructure to keep indoor air quality safe during poor air quality days.
The state has increased infrastructure investments in schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic that could be beneficial for schools’ wildfires readiness as well, but substantially more Funding and support will be needed to help schools navigate the worsening threats of climate change.
Learning loss and lost school days are a growing problem in California, with counties like Sonoma seeing upwards of 40 cumulative days lost. Since the state began collecting data in 2003, wildfires have accounted for two-thirds of school closures through 2018.
-- ZOE LEW, LISA PATEL AND ERIKA VEIDIS Northam’s $250 million HVAC investment leaves education advocates underwhelmed-- Virginia Mercury Virginia: July 27, 2021 [ abstract] Gov. Ralph Northam wants to allocate $250 million in federal relief Funding for HVAC improvements in K-12 schools but education advocates and actual school system administrators want more equity in how the money is doled out and more flexibility in using it.
The investment in ventilation systems, a recurrent focus amid the COVID-19 pandemic, didn’t come as a surprise, said Chad Stewart, manager of education policy and development for The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis. But he and many advocates, including other members of the Fund Our Schools coalition, say they were taken aback by the structure of the proposal, which must be approved by the General Assembly in a special session next month.
“What’s unique, at least based on the details we’ve seen so far, is the complete lack of equity,” Stewart said. Many of the state’s school Funding programs are based on a division’s local composite index — a measure of its ability to afford education costs. But under Northam’s proposal, localities would be required to use their own rescue Funding required to match the state’s contribution, which would be calculated based on student attendance counts, for a total of $500 million.
In practice, the program would advantage large districts like Fairfax County while largely ignoring small, high-poverty districts without the same ability to pay, said Rachael Deane, director of the Legal Aid Justice Center’s JustChildren program. But for many local administrators, there’s an even more fundamental problem.
Since the start of the pandemic, Virginia schools have received more than $2.8 billion in federal aid earmarked specifically for public education. Divisions were given the flexibility to use that money for HVAC improvements, and many already have. In Richmond City, for example, there have been 47 completed upgrades since March of 2020, according to data from the state’s Commission on School Construction and Modernization. In Brunswick County, there have been 61, with another 189 still in process.
-- Kate Masters Lynchburg City Schools moves forward with $400K facilities study, expects preliminary results by fall-- The News & Advance Virginia: July 21, 2021 [ abstract] In an effort to better understand the current and future needs of its school buildings, Lynchburg City Schools is moving forward with a $400,000 facilities study.
At its Tuesday night work session, the Lynchburg City School Board unanimously voted to award the contract for the study to Dominion Seven Architects, a Lynchburg-based architectural and planning firm.
Lynchburg City Schools Superintendent Crystal Edwards said the results of the study will be used to inform the division’s future capital improvement projects, as well as attendance zones and placement of future schools.
Steve Gatzke, senior director of finance and operations for the school division, said city and school leaders began discussions about a facilities study last fall and were interested in three main areas of study: a facility condition assessment to review the physical condition of the division’s buildings, a demographics study to analyze the division’s attendance zones and enrollment, and a future of education plan that would predict what education in the city might look like in 20 years and how the division would get there.
Funding for the study will come from the division’s capital improvement plan that was developed by school and city leaders in the fall: $200,000 was budgeted as a line item in the five-year plan, and the remaining $200,000 will be borrowed from the more than $1 million contingency fund in the CIP and replaced by savings from several ongoing smaller projects, Gatzke said. The city owns the division’s buildings, he said, and funds Lynchburg City Schools’ annual capital improvement plan.
-- Jamey Cross San Benito High School projects costing $102 million near completion-- Benitolink.com California: July 21, 2021 [ abstract] Voters rejected a $30 million bond in 2020 and two measures with total Funding of $62.5 million were not enough to pay for construction, forcing the district to secure a bridge loan to keep construction moving forward.
San Benito High School is nearing completion of numerous construction projects, after overcoming a shortfall in bond money. The upgrades will settle a list of safety problems, improve technology and promote career education.
The entire project was originally funded through local bond measures G and U, plus state matching and grant funds for a total cost of $102.5 million, according to SBHS District Superintendent Shawn Tennenbaum.
The money saga began with two county ballot measures, G in 2014, and U in 2016. They spawned $62.5 million in bonds for facility repairs and upgrades. But in 2020 voters turned down Measure L, which would have raised $30 million to improve student safety by installing secure school entrances, fencing, cameras and a multipurpose cafeteria building for assemblies. If it had passed it would have added a 10th bond on every property owner’s tax bill.
The two bond issues allowed completion of 34 projects plus part of a science and robotics building. Measure G covered, for example, roof repairs and seismic safety upgrades. Measure U, which made local property owners responsible for repaying $60 million at $30 per $100,000 of assessed value of their homes over 30 years, funded new classrooms and better IT hardware among other projects.
According to the 2019 independent audit report of measures G and U, 14 unfinished projects remained, totaling $16.2 million in commitments.
-- John Chadwell Our public school infrastructure is set up to continue to fail | Opinion-- The Philadelphia Inquirer Pennsylvania: July 16, 2021 [ abstract] From the condo building collapse in Surfside, Fla., to the melting streetcar cables in Portland, Ore., to the collapse of the Texas power grid, the catastrophic state of America’s infrastructure has never been more apparent. These tragedies make national headlines, but we don’t need to look that far to find these dangers. Philadelphia is confronting its own catastrophic infrastructure crisis: public school buildings.
This crisis has dire consequences: a maintenance worker’s death from a faulty boiler explosion; a student’s lead poisoning; a career educator’s forced retirement because of her mesothelioma diagnosis after working in schools with exposed asbestos. Philadelphia’s schools are toxic and getting worse without proper maintenance and investment during the pandemic.
The School District of Philadelphia’s (SDP) past approach to infrastructure mismanagement means that its response does not match the severity of its chronic facilities’ issues. State Funding cuts eliminated construction reimbursements, and Pennsylvania is one of few states that lacks guidance for educational facilities. District layoffs of maintenance and custodial staff have severed critical connections bridging systemic facilities condition data to the lived experiences of those working and learning in that facility. The district maintains a stubborn resistance to engage the full range of stakeholders into planning and decision-making processes, creating costly outcomes like the Benjamin Franklin/Science Leadership Academy shutdown. These costs are borne by those inside and outside the facility, suggesting that we need a broader coalition of stakeholders involved, with governance, Funding, and accountability beyond city and district leadership.
-- Opinion - Akira Drake Rodriguez and Ariel H. Bierb School District Speeding Up Repair, Renovation Efforts-- The Pilot North Carolina: July 16, 2021 [ abstract] Moore County Schools is starting to make headway on its extensive list of overdue building maintenance projects thanks to COVID-19 relief Funding.
Those federal payouts will generally be limited to projects that deal with either improving air quality and sanitation or supporting outdoor activities. But in an indirect way they’ll allow the district to move toward a more ambitious goal: renovating and modernizing six elementary school gymnasiums around the county.
The school board’s spending plan for its Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds designates over $11 million to capital projects, including $5 million worth of a short-term capital priority list the school board approved back in February,
At the time the board planned to pay for those projects with funds coming in over the next year from the district’s normal capital revenue streams — the county commissioners and state lottery — as well as the proceeds from sales of the four old schools in Southern Pines and Aberdeen.
Parts of that plan, like new tracks at Pinecrest and North Moore and a new heating pump and ductwork at Robbins Elementary, will now be paid for with COVID-19 relief funds.
That leaves the district with $5 million to spend on other building projects. On Monday, the Moore County Board of Education roundly endorsed a plan to put that money toward renovating the gyms at Carthage, Cameron, Highfalls, Sandhills Farm Life, Westmoore and Vass-Lakeview at a total cost of $12.7 million.
-- Mary Kate Murphy Chicago unveils a $9.3 billion school district budget with a focus on reopening, repairs-- Chicago Chalkbeat Illinois: July 13, 2021 [ abstract] Chicago Public Schools unveiled a $9.3 billion proposed budget for the coming school year Tuesday that taps into federal stimulus Funding to power fall’s full reopening and chips in for repairs in the city’s aging school buildings.
The amount represents a 10% increase over last year’s $8.4 billion budget. It draws on $1 billion in federal stimulus dollars for the district’s Moving Forward Together pandemic recovery initiative and increased Funding for schools as they prepare to reopen five days a week in August. Spending on facilities is down about 11% compared with last year’s budget, which itself featured more modest capital expenses than in previous years.
Officials said spending across the budget prioritizes schools in high-need communities and those hardest hit by the pandemic. The district is getting about $2.6 billion from the two latest federal stimulus packages for schools, meant to be spread out over three fiscal years — pushing its total over three federal Funding infusions up to about $3 billion. Officials said they plan to spend the money over multiple years to keep initiatives such as Moving Forward Together going beyond the 2021-22 school year.
“In keeping with our commitment to equity, schools who need more will get more,” said Jose Torres, district’s interim CEO. He stepped in for former schools chief Janice Jackson eight days ago and did not work on the new budget.
Torres also said that school leaders will be able to direct additional dollars they receive to their campus needs as they prepare for a full reopening.
-- Mila Koumpilova Public Schools Capital Outlay Council awards southeast New Mexico schools-- Carlsbad Current Argud New Mexico: July 10, 2021 [ abstract] The Public School Facilities Authority released the Public School Capital Outlay Council's annual report for 2020, revealing awards and plans for future expansion of southeast New Mexico's public schools.
The Public School Capital Outlay Council (PSCOC) offers Funding to school districts planning construction or renovation of school buildings by matching the estimated cost of a project. Standards-based awards are for larger projects like new school campuses or major renovations, and systems-based awards fun smaller projects like roof and parking lot repairs.
The organization gave over $113 million in standards-based awards and $12 million in systems-based awards last year. Awards funded a new building for Chaparral Middle School in Alamogordo, which currently sits on unstable land and is prone to sinking. The new school with be capable of accommodating 658 students and is estimated to be completed in 2024.
-- Claudia L. Silva State approves $450 million in Ohio school construction-- the Intelligencer Ohio: July 08, 2021 [ abstract]
Just over $450 million for nine new Ohio K-12 building projects was announced Thursday by the state commission that oversees Funding of school construction, the second of two major spending packages for school construction and renovation as the coronavirus pandemic has eased.
The projects announced by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission include $117 million for Cleveland city schools, which will use the money to build two new pre-K through eighth grade buildings and a new high school, and to renovate a middle school. The Cleveland project includes $37.5 million in local Funding.
The money also will provide $103.2 million for Lancaster city schools in southeastern Ohio, including $56.8 million in local Funding, to build a new high school that will also house a career tech program.
Spending approved Thursday also includes $29 million for Metro Early College High School in Columbus, a K-12 STEM school that will move into a renovated Columbus middle school.
-- staff writer America’s schools are crumbling. Fixing them could save lives (and the planet)-- Hechinger Report National: June 28, 2021 [ abstract] Before the coronavirus pandemic made airflow a life-or-death issue, ventilation experts rarely tested the air inside schools. That was probably a mistake, said Kevin Thomas, the business representative for the union representing ventilation workers in the Seattle area.
“You don’t feel the CO2 levels going up, you just start to get tired,” said Thomas of Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 66, which represents heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) workers. “The temperature rises, and you just take off your sweatshirt.”
Similar findings have been recorded by HVAC experts across the U.S. — perhaps not surprising in a country where about 36,000 schools have ventilation systems in need of attention. But replacing aging ventilation systems with new versions of the same out-of-date technology won’t be enough, warned Tony Hans, an engineer specializing in green buildings.
“Most districts are still putting in HVAC systems that were invented and designed in the 1970s, and those are not going to get you to your health and wellness goals, or your carbon and energy-efficiency goals,” Hans said.
And the systems that regulate airflow are just one of the dozens of facility improvements Hans thinks schools are about to have a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to fix. He sees the anticipated influx of federal Funding through President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan infrastructure proposal as a rare chance for most districts in America to make their buildings both greener and cheaper to operate.
“It’ll be the last time they get to touch their schools for a major overhaul for 40 or 50 years,” Hans said. “This is the opportunity to really do it right.”
Judged by annual spending in public dollars, America’s K-12 school facilities are the second largest infrastructure expense in the country — only roads, rail lines and other transportation systems cost more — and repairing or improving them may offer a clear path to broad reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Taken together, school facilities emit about 72 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of about 18 coal power plants or 8.6 million homes, according to the climate advocacy organization Generation180.
-- LEVI PULKKINEN State building authority approves funding for new Crocker Elementary in Fitchburg-- telegram.com Massachusetts: June 24, 2021 [ abstract] The Massachusetts School Building Authority's Board of Directors this week approved a nearly $40 million grant for the construction of a new elementary school in Fitchburg.
The $39.7 million award, which the board voted for at its meeting Wednesday, will help the district replace Crocker Elementary School with a new, 116,000-square-foot school.
The replacement building will be at the same site as the current school, and serve first through fifth grade, according to the building authority.
-- Scott O'Connell LAUSD Board of Education approves resolution to improve, develop athletic facilities-- Los Angeles Times California: June 23, 2021 [ abstract] Coaches and principals in the Los Angeles Unified School District, get your sports wish lists together. The Board of Education approved a resolution Tuesday to use money from Measure RR to upgrade, modernize and develop athletic facilities at high schools across the district.
The measure was approved by voters this year and provides $7 billion to update school facilities.
District staff have been directed to return in 90 days with a plan for selecting and Funding projects.
Roosevelt High baseball coach Ray Ruiz put out a note that his school hopes an expansion of the football field and upgrade of baseball and softball fields will take place after a building comes down at the school in 2023.
-- ERIC SONDHEIMER Rutherford commission to enact School Facilities Tax-- WSMV.com Tennessee: June 23, 2021 [ abstract] MURFREESBORO, TN (WSMV) - The Rutherford County Commission voted to adopt a School Facilities Tax in lieu of the Rutherford County Development Tax at its meeting last week.
The change becomes effective July 1.
Under the Rutherford County Development Tax, Rutherford County currently imposes a tax on each residential development in the amount of $1,500. Beginning July 1, in lieu of the Rutherford County Development Tax, a School Facilities Tax of $1 per square foot will be assessed for each residential development project in accordance with the provisions of the County Powers Relief Act. Fifty percent of the School Facilities Tax must be paid prior to a building permit being issued and the remaining 50% must be paid prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
“The County Commission and I have worked to find solutions to adding revenue to offset the demands upon the public school system caused by population growth,” Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron said in a news release. “The County Powers Relief Act gives us the ability to do that by implementing a School Facilities Tax. Funds collected by Building and Codes for the purpose of this tax will be used exclusively for Funding capital expenditures for education.”
Ketron anticipates that with Rutherford County’s growth that an additional $6 to $8 million will be collected.
-- CHUCK MORRIS Why use the surplus for a tax cut when some Arizona schools are literally crumbling?-- AZcentral.com Arizona: June 20, 2021 [ abstract]
This year the state has the opportunity to address massive inequities in our education Funding system. We have an unexpected budget surplus, a large “rainy day fund” and a one-time influx of federal dollars.
Yet rather than choosing to live up to the Constitution’s demand that the state provide a “general and uniform” public school education for all Arizona children, our legislators are considering a tax cut that predominantly benefits only the wealthiest Arizonans.
It doesn’t need to be this way. Our state has a unique opportunity this year to address the unfairness of a system under which districts with high property wealth consistently get to spend 300-400% of what districts without that wealth can spend on capital needs.
We could responsibly provide districts with the resources to keep their facilities in good shape, to buy buses when they are needed, to enable all school districts to have up-to-date technology, quality air conditioners, walls that are not crumbling, and reasonable safety and security to protect our students and teachers.
Instead, our legislators are being asked to vote for a budget that continues to shortchange our children.
Rich schools can fund repairs. Poor schools can't
For so many years, the Legislature and the governor justified gutting capital Funding for schools on the basis that Arizona had to make difficult decisions because of the Great Recession. It is a fact that Arizona cut more school Funding during the recession than any other state.
And we have consistently ranked among the very bottom of states nationwide in our Funding of schools. Our districts are being asked to educate our kids using $5,000 less per child than the average state. Year after year, our school districts’ capital budgets were slashed up to 85%.
-- Opinion - Daniel Adelman and Josh Bendor $400-Million construction grant to be used for priority school upgrades-- WTNH Connecticut: June 14, 2021 [ abstract] WEST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — It’s more than a hundred years old and has served it’s purpose; Washington Elementary is now set to be torn down – making way for a brand new state of the art school.
“I’m sure that when it was built it was a great school, but it just doesn’t meet the needs and it needs to go,” said Neil Cavallaro, West Haven school superintendent.
It’s made possible thanks to a 400-million dollar construction grant for priority schools across the state. The bond chair state representative Dorinda Borer helped secure the 24-million dollar Funding.
“It has no elevator, the restrooms are in the basement, the stairs are roped off…it’s not a facility that is conducive to learning,” said Borer.
-- Ken Houston Education Secretary tells White House reopening schools is 'challenging for all'-- CNN National: June 14, 2021 [ abstract] US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona says there "is much work to be done" to continue the progress being made on school reopenings nationwide. He notes the biggest challenges include aging school buildings and ventilation, adequate transportation, and ensuring overall equity and access to education, according to a memo Cardona sent President Biden's Chief of Staff Ron Klain on Friday that was obtained exclusively by CNN.
The memo outlines Cardona's findings from visiting 10 schools across nine states and Washington, DC, to observe how districts were handling reopening more than a year into the coronavirus pandemic. In some cases, he suggested the $130 billion of American Rescue Plan Funding destined for schools could help districts address those challenges.
"I saw firsthand during my tour how difficult the school year has been for students, parents, teachers, and school staff," Cardona wrote. "Whether the school had just recently transitioned into a hybrid model or been fully open for months, the work has been challenging for all."
Since January, the number of public school districts offering hybrid or full-time in-person education has been on the rise, with more than 90% of K-8 schools open in April, according to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics. That does not, however, include high schools, which have reopened at a slower pace than elementary and middle schools.
That number is also not reflective of student attendance, which hovers just over 50% for fourth-graders and just over 40% for eighth-graders attending school fully in-person for the month of April.
In his memo to Klain, Cardona notes the racial and ethnic disparity in school enrollment, citing April 2021 data from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
-- Elizabeth Stuart Danville Public Schools solidifies infrastructure funding, introduces five-year plan-- Chatham Star Tribune Virginia: June 09, 2021 [ abstract]
DANVILLE Va. – The approval of the referendum regarding the 1 percent increase on local sales tax has been under scrutiny by some Danvillians since its announcement a couple of weeks ago. This tax is aimed at Funding the improvement of Danville Public Schools (DPS) infrastructure. It will not be applied to food, drugs or pharmaceuticals.
During the Danville School Board meeting held Thursday, June 3, superintendent Dr. Angela Hairston assured the Danville community of the importance of this new tax.
Board member Brandon Atkins was firm in his stance towards Funding Danville Public school infrastructure.
“This is an investment that needs to be done… people that haven’t been [to Danville] in a while are amazed by the current state of the city. We want people to feel this way about our public schools.” Atkins said. He is right that there is a need and duty of Danville to participate and support the facilitation of education. Superintendent Hairston further added to Atkins’s statement, “Most of our schools are 50 years old and do not meet the requirements needed for our students and teachers to succeed.”
There seems to be unanimity among Dr. Hairston and members of the school board for this raised tax.
-- Tom Dixon Federal funding restrictions could force Va. schools to spend millions improving buildings that should be replaced-- The Daily Progress Virginia: June 06, 2021 [ abstract] RICHMOND — Virginia schools received nearly $2 billion from the federal government in its latest round of COVID-19 relief Funding for public education.
But while current guidance allows that money to pay for pandemic-related improvements — including new HVAC systems, window repairs or replacing carpeted areas with tile — it strongly discourages new school construction, according to James Lane, the state’s superintendent for public instruction. Local administrators are worried those restrictions could lead to millions of dollars in spending on school buildings that should be replaced.
“Outside of teacher pay, I can’t imagine there’s a bigger need for public education in the state than school construction,” said Keith Perrigan, superintendent for Bristol Public Schools and president of the Coalition for Small and Rural Schools of Virginia. “So the fact that we may be forced into a situation where we put good money into old buildings is very frustrating for us.”
It’s an issue that’s become especially resonant as state legislators consider how to address years of underFunding in public school infrastructure. School construction is a perennial debate in the state’s General Assembly, but the most recent session led to the formation of a commission specifically tasked with studying the issue.
At a recent meeting, Lane presented new information on the state’s current building inventory — the first time data has been updated since a 2013 study ordered by then-Gov. Bob McDonnell. A survey of nearly every local division found that more than half of all school buildings are more than 50 years old (the state’s oldest facility was built 184 years ago, according to the Virginia Department of Education).
Eight years ago, VDOE estimated it would cost roughly $18 billion to renovate all schools more than 30 years old. The department’s latest survey now estimates it would cost the state more than $24.7 billion to fully replace every building more than 50 years old.
“When we surveyed school divisions, there were more than 1,000 buildings that met that criteria,” Lane told legislators. Some of those could potentially be renovated rather than fully replaced, he said. But a review of capital spending by local districts over the last decade indicated that renovations and additions were only slightly less expensive — and generally don’t last as long as a newly constructed facility.
“I would not assume you’d get the same longevity out of renovation as you would with a brand-new school,” Lane said.
-- KATE MASTERS After three-year delay, third phase of RCSD school modernization funding approved-- Democrat & Chronicle New York: June 03, 2021 [ abstract] After three years of delays, the state Legislature has finally approved the $475 million third phase of the Rochester Schools Modernization Program.
The vast renovation program will have lasted 20 years and cost about $1.2 billion by the time the last nail is hammered in. It was approved by the Legislature in 2007, and the first two phases are essentially complete.
The third phase, though, stalled in Albany in 2018 and 2019 before being overlooked during the pandemic in 2020. It recently passed in both the Assembly and Senate and awaits the signature of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Nine schools will be affected in phase three, said Mike Schmidt, the city school district's chief of operations.
Two, East and Monroe high schools, will receive relatively minor improvements after having featured prominently in previous phases. Monroe will get a new swimming pool and new windows, while East will get upgrades in the fine arts section and the athletics complex.
-- Justin Murphy Better Kentucky plan directs $127 million to fund school construction projects-- The Lane Report Kentucky: June 03, 2021 [ abstract] FRANKFORT, Ky. — Schools in 13 Kentucky counties are receiving a total of $127 million to fund construction and renovation projects as part of the Better Kentucky Plan, which will direct $1.3 billion to schools, expanding internet access and delivering clean drinking water and quality sewer systems across Kentucky.
The Kentucky School Facilities Construction Commission has voted to recommend Funding for projects in the following districts: Hart, Martin, Floyd, Boyd, Bellevue, Mayfield, Jackson, Grant, Breckinridge, Bath, Cumberland, Pendleton and Carter.
The Funding to build and renovate schools is part of the $1.3 billion Better Kentucky Plan, which will create 14,500 jobs while expanding broadband, delivering clean drinking water and building new schools. Gov. Beshear and Kentucky lawmakers reached a bipartisan agreement at the close of the 2021 General Assembly to invest federal relief funds in infrastructure.
The Kentucky School Facilities Construction Commission voted to make an offer of assistance to 13 school projects around the state. The school districts will receive the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds this summer, contingent on allocation by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
The ARPA money is being allocated as gap Funding. The state education commissioner needs to approve the offers and then the local school districts must accept or decline the offer.
Each school district in Kentucky must maintain a standing facilities plan. Those plans are prioritized at the state level by the School Facilities Commission. If one of the chosen school districts does not accept the allocated Funding, the funds will be applied to the next project on the state’s priority list.
The following school districts and Funding amounts have been conditionally approved by the commission:
-- Staff Writer Smithfield cuts funding for school capital projects-- The Valley Breeze Rhode Island: June 02, 2021 [ abstract] SMITHFIELD – The town has pulled all Funding for school capital improvement projects from the 2021-2022 budget, according to Town Manager Randy Rossi, who said he hopes federal and state COVID-19 relief funds will pay for needed improvements.
Supt. Judy Paolucci said she understands the difficult financial decisions made during budget season, and said while she does not hold it against town officials for making the decision, she does not feel it is in the best interest of the community and its schools.
“All this does is to put off needs to taxpayers in the future,” she said.
The proposed budget request for Smithfield schools was for $40,418,021, with $32,849,327 in town appropriation. Paolucci said the increase of $311,152 is a 0.96 percent increase in town appropriation from the 2020-2021 adopted budget. After rate decreases in dental and health plans brought $161,658 in savings this year, the district’s proposed budget is less than anticipated.
Paolucci said she’d hoped those savings would transfer over to capital improvements, which she said will “take many millions more to keep up with our middle and high school facility needs.”
-- Jacquelyn Moorehead Federal funding could help install fresh air units in local schools-- Salisbury Post North Carolina: May 28, 2021 [ abstract] SALISBURY – An unprecedented injection of federal Funding into local schools could be used to overhaul air systems across Rowan-Salisbury Schools.
The $66 million in federal COVID-19 relief the district is expecting must be used for offsetting learning loss and improving air quality in school facilities.
“One thing that we are working toward is updating our HVAC systems so we can bring fresh air into our classrooms,” Associate Superintendent of Operations Anthony Vann said. “Many of our systems are aged and they are not equipped to bring fresh air in.”
Vann said this is a once-in-a-lifetime block of Funding that will allow the district to make those improvements. He estimated the cost of currently needed air quality projects to be about $15 million, which would ensure air pulled into classrooms is fresh and stagnant air would be expelled. Vann said systems would have to be designed for each facility that needs an upgrade.
-- Carl Blankenship Joyce fights to make residents’ voices heard on neighborhood school closures-- Illinois Senate Democrats Illinois: May 25, 2021 [ abstract] SPRINGFIELD – After hearing from residents who felt helpless when Rich East High School closed their doors in 2020, State Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) passed legislation through the Senate Tuesday to prevent neighborhood schools from closing without public input.
“Closing a neighborhood school without public input can have serious consequences on the lives of students, families and educators,” Joyce said. “It’s important that residents have the chance to offer feedback on decisions that would impact their kids and the communities they live in.”
In 2019, District 227 was faced with the decision to close one or more of their three schools due to a lack of Funding, declining enrollment and aging facilities. The Rich Township High School District in Cook County voted to close Rich East High School, which served Matteson, Park Forest, Olympia Fields, Chicago Heights and Richton Park residents. This decision forced these students to move to either Rich Central or Rich South High Schools.
Joyce understood that many people in the community were upset by the closure and that Rich East families felt left out of the decision-making process, motivating him to introduce legislation to change the way school boards handle such decisions.
-- Staff Writer Roof of middle school gym to be repaired-- Payson Roundup Arizona: May 25, 2021 [ abstract] Such a deal.
The Payson school board last week happily accepted a great deal on roof repairs for the leaky Rim Country Middle School gym.
Five Oliver LLC offered to do the work for $111,000 — less than a third of the $329,000 high bid.
The state will pay most of the cost — except for $300. That’s the cost of the roof repair over a storage area, since the state will only foot the bill for the part of the gym actively used by students.
The contract underscores the value of competitive, sealed bids when it comes to getting stuff done. The other bids were $134,000 and $213,000.
Payson’s been cleaning up lately when it comes to sweet talking the state School Facilities Board into paying for long-deferred, increasingly urgent capital projects on the district’s four campuses.
A series of court cases more than a decade ago demonstrated unconstitutional differences between capital spending for rich districts and poor districts. A reluctant Arizona Legislature agreed to take on responsibility for directly Funding school construction and major repairs. But when the recession hit in 2008, the Legislature essentially stopped Funding district capital needs.
Since then, the state has shorted districts by $2 billion in the formulas for “District Additional Assistance,” which includes textbooks, technology, school buses and building repair and maintenance, according to the formula it agreed to in response to the lawsuits, according to the Arizona School Boards Association. As a result, only critical, health and safety repairs received Funding for years.
The state has resumed providing about 20% of the money promised for capital improvements, but hasn’t made much of a dent in the backlog of repairs.
-- Peter Aleshire Waco ISD panel proposes $375 million bond package with new Waco High, middle schools-- Waco Tribune-Herald Texas: May 24, 2021 [ abstract] Acommunity committee studying Waco Independent School District’s facility needs for a possible November bond election recommended a $375 million package Monday, listing a new Waco High School as the top priority.
The final meeting of the Community Advisory Committee, held remotely via Zoom, found a majority backing the construction of a new Waco High, new Carver and Tennyson Middle Schools, and a new Kendrick Elementary, as well as expansion of South Waco Elementary School, at a total estimated cost of $375 million.
The recommendations would mean closing Indian Spring Middle School and Alta Vista Elementary School.
Funding the bond issue would require an increase of 12.49 cents per $100 valuation in the district’s tax rate.
For the owner of an average Waco ISD home with a $117,499 taxable value, that would translate into an extra $146.76 in school taxes per year.
The committee considered five options for school facilities improvements, including one that would not change the district’s tax rate but rely on retiring old debt. None of the committee voted for that option.
The district’s current tax rate is $1.264 per $100 and supports a $165 million budget.
The committee’s recommendation will be presented to Waco ISD trustees at the board’s June 10 meeting, which starts at 6 p.m.
-- Carl Hoover The Compound Benefits of Greening School Infrastructure-- Center for American Progress National: May 17, 2021 [ abstract]
Across the country, more and more students are returning to their classrooms after what has been, for some, nearly a year of online learning. The school closures brought on by COVID-19 have underscored how critical the physical environment is to student well-being and educational success. And yet, for large populations of students—particularly those in communities with fewer resources and in Black, Latino, and other communities of color1—going back to school means going back to broken-down facilities with poor insulation and outdated ventilation systems.2
The deficiencies of school infrastructure have been exposed by the compounding crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and the record-breaking extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change. Last year, schools in Oregon burned in the worst wildfire season to date,3 and schools in Florida flooded after Tropical Storm Eta.4 In February, an extreme cold snap caused schools in Texas to freeze.5 According to a 2020 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), 54 percent of U.S. school districts—a bulk of which primarily serve students of color—need to update or completely replace multiple building systems in their schools.6 Without the funds to do so, these districts are increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and the exorbitant costs of rebuilding after it is too late. In 2016, for example, floods in West Virginia caused an estimated $130 million in damages to regional schools.7 In 2020, Hurricane Laura caused $300 million in damages to the Lake Charles public school system in Louisiana, with 74 of 76 schools in disrepair and more than half of the district’s 350 school buses inoperable.8
The urgency of investing in school infrastructure has never been greater, but, arguably, neither has the opportunity. The recent enactment of the American Rescue Plan by Congress—both through education funds and state and local fiscal recovery funds—will provide schools with an important down payment on the capital upgrades needed to address COVID-19.9 With this relief Funding en route, Congress should shift to providing long-term Funding to adequately and equitably update school infrastructure, equipping schools to withstand the disasters ahead and to participate in the clean energy transition.
In his American Jobs Plan, President Joe Biden called for the investment of $100 billion to upgrade and build new public schools.10 The prioritization of climate change throughout the plan underscores that this transformation of the public school system can and should work in tandem with the country’s transformation to a 100 percent clean future. By increasing spending on local school infrastructure needs, Congress would not only stimulate the economy but also advance climate change solutions and reduce the number of instructional days missed by students due to public health and environmental factors. Finally, federal school funds could begin to redress the deep infrastructure inequities that plague public school districts.
-- Elise Gout, Jamil Modaffari, and Kevin DeGood Roanoke County ponders sales tax increase for school construction-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: May 13, 2021 [ abstract] Three schools in Roanoke County need to be replaced, agree government leaders who met this week to compare ideas — including perhaps a 1% sales tax increase — for Funding at least $153 million of construction costs.
Time is of the essence, emphasized Roanoke County School Board members on Tuesday to the board of supervisors, as student needs continue to go underserved and construction costs spiral upward.
Supervisors initially questioned in February whether two of Roanoke County’s elementary schools — Glen Cove and W.E. Cundiff — really required expedited replacement, but the school board eventually made its case understood.
Glen Cove and W.E. Cundiff elementary schools are approximately 60,000-square-feet apiece, opened in 1971 and 1972, respectively, according to county documents. Concerns abound within the 50-year-old schools: classrooms are cramped and noisy, owing to their obsolete open floorplans; bricks are crumbling; plumbing is two decades past its life expectancy; and the electrical systems verge toward ancient.
Estimates put construction of a new, 76,000-square-foot Glen Cove Elementary School between $20 million and $32 million, documents said. For W.E. Cundiff Elementary School, the most recent estimate is between $24 million and $37 million for an 87,000-square-foot structure.
No doubt has existed that Roanoke County’s career and technical education school, the Burton Center for Arts & Technology, needs upgrading. The 89,000 square-foot building was first occupied in 1962, is aged in its infrastructure similar to the elementary schools, lacks capacity for students and exists in a floodplain of Salem, rather than being in Roanoke County.
Building a new, 176,000-square-foot BCAT could cost upward of $84 million, estimates said, and prices are skyrocketing upwards.
-- Luke Weir 5 new school buildings, 4 school closures proposed in Boston Public Schools capital plan-- Boston Herald Massachusetts: May 12, 2021 [ abstract]
Five new school buildings, four school closures and four major renovation projects are proposed in Boston Public Schools’ fiscal year 2022 capital plan released by the district on Wednesday.
“This is a big step in moving forward to provide to our students the facilities that they deserve,” said BPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius in a press briefing.
New schools will be built in Dorchester, Roxbury, Allston, East Boston and at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Allston, Cassellius and Nate Kuder, the district’s CFO, outlined in a capital budget and BuildBPS update announced during Wednesday’s school committee meeting.
Four schools, however, will be closing and two will be merging.
The Irving and Timilty middle schools will close in June 2022, Edwards Middle School will close in June of this year, and BPS officials are proposing to the school committee that the Jackson Mann K-8 School close in June 2022.
This is because standalone middle schools will be reconfigured into either K-6 schools or 7-12 grade schools under the district’s proposed plans.
Major renovations will take place at the Edwards, Irving, Timilty and McCormack middle schools. McCormack Middle School will merge with Boston Community Leadership Academy.
Major Funding is also proposed to go toward building repairs, technology and improvements in the arts and athletics.
The total proposal for fiscal year 2022 is $163 million, and Kuder said it’s too early to project the cost of the renovations, especially as sites for the new schools haven’t yet been selected.
-- ALEXI COHAN Damaged asbestos, peeling lead paint, and mold still in some Philadelphia schools, says teachers union-- Chalkbeat Philadelphia Pennsylvania: May 12, 2021 [ abstract] Dozens of Philadelphia public schools continue to have serious environmental hazards, including damaged asbestos, peeling lead paint, and mold, according to an analysis by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
The union’s report, based on inspections of school buildings and district records largely unavailable to the public, outlines the scope of facilities problems that plague Philadelphia schools, which have an average age of 70 years. In the report, union officials identified six main hazards in the city’s aging buildings: lead paint, lead in drinking water, asbestos, lack of ventilation, mold and roofing issues.
In a statement released Monday afternoon, teachers union officials urged the district to invest in facilities upgrades and remediate “toxic conditions” for teachers and students. They also asked for improved transparency about environmental hazards in schools.
Remediating the most pressing environmental concerns would cost about $200 million, according to the report, and simply maintaining all public school buildings would cost billions more. According to the district’s 2017 Facilities Condition Assessments, the district has a 25-year deferred maintenance backlog of needed work, which would cost an estimated $4.5 billion to complete.
Several Philadelphia City Council members asked Superintendent William Hite at a Tuesday hearing about his plans for fixing the district’s aging buildings. Hite said the district will spend $325 million of its $1.1 billion in federal stimulus Funding on facilities improvements.
-- Neena Hagen District 50 facilities board reviews upcoming projects-- Index-Journal South Carolina: May 12, 2021 [ abstract] New classrooms are coming to Mathews Elementary School, as Greenwood County School District 50 moves to put early childhood students into elementary schools.
On Tuesday, the board of directors for the nonprofit Greenwood Fifty School Facilities Inc. met to get an update on the finances and building projects in the district. The facilities group is a support organization for capital projects in the district, managing and selling bonds issued in 2006 to fund the projects.
Board Chairperson Debrah Miller said the nonprofit was responsible for the Funding behind building Westview and Brewer middle schools, along with renovations to Springfield, Lakeview and the career center, among other projects.
District 50 Assistant Superintendent for Business Rodney Smith filled the board in on its latest financial statements — a bond sale in April brought in $4.5 million. These funds were being used at the performing arts center, but with it completed some of the money will go into a capital fund while another portion is used on loan payments.
Auditors will be taking a look at the district’s books soon, Smith said. Last year the district got an unmodified opinion, the best they could receive. Administrators were able to give teachers a bonus, for dealing with the complications of teaching amid a pandemic.
“2020 was a great year for the district,” he said. “We added quite a bit to our fund balance.”
-- DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ Funding for school buildings gets traction amid pressing need-- NJ Spotlight News New Jersey: May 12, 2021 [ abstract] The condition of New Jersey’s school buildings is getting extra attention this year in State House budget hearings, as concerns mount about how schools, especially in the hardest-hit communities, will fare coming out of the pandemic at a time the state’s construction fund is drying up.
Gov. Phil Murphy has proposed an additional $200 million to tide existing projects over for another year and another $75 million to address the most emergent new needs. But as Monday’s Assembly Budget Committee witnessed, the reality remains that a far larger infusion of funds will likely be required — and possibly ordered by the court — to address the state’s deepening needs.
State Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly (D-Passaic) led the questioning and said the pandemic had exacerbated the needs in his home district of Paterson, where some schools are more than a century old and officials have struggled with the new pandemic-driven standards for air ventilation and social distancing.
“This has really showed, where you have buildings that are 100 years old and facing booming populations,” he said.
Manuel Da Silva, the head of the state Schools Development Authority, which oversees school construction in many of the neediest districts, was asked several times at the hearing to put a number on the estimated need for just the so-called emergent projects, let alone overall costs.
Da Silva promised the committee an estimate would be forthcoming, but also noted that the $33 million now committed in 11 emergent projects just scratches the surface.
“The numbers that we have approved is just a small percentage,” Da Silva said. “There is a significant need … but the Funding is the issue right now.”
-- JOHN MOONEY Twenty years of disruption in Boston’s public schools-- The Bay State Banner Massachusetts: May 12, 2021 [ abstract] In 2005, West Roxbury High School was split into four schools: Urban Science Academy, Media Communications Technology High School, Brook Farm Business and Service Career Academy and West Roxbury Academy, all operating as the West Roxbury Education Complex.
The move was part of one of Microsoft founder Bill Gates’ first short-lived forays into education reform — the Small Schools Initiative, which operated under the theory that students would fare better in smaller school communities.
By 2009, Gates had moved away from the idea, and the Funding his foundation provided moved into other initiatives. In 2019, the two remaining schools in the complex — West Roxbury Academy and Urban Science Academy — were closed, after the city’s Inspectional Services Department deemed the building unsafe. The schools’ student bodies were dispersed to other high schools throughout the district.
The twists and turns that led to the closing of the school are not uncommon in Boston’s public schools. In the last 20, the district has closed, moved, merged or reconfigured grade levels at 70% of its schools, according to research by Boston Latin Academy history teacher Jose Valenzuela.
Prompted by news that Boston Public Schools officials have decided to close the Jackson/Mann K-8 school next year, Valenzuela crowdsourced a list of 40 schools that have been closed or merged over the last two decades. In addition, he added in grade reconfigurations to document what he says is a pattern of disruptions to school communities.
-- Yawu Miller To Fix Crumbling Schools, Require an Audit First-- Bloomberg National: May 01, 2021 [ abstract] President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan promises to invest $100 billion to upgrade and construct new public schools. That represents a fraction of what schools need — or are likely to get — given other priorities.
After decades of neglect and delayed maintenance, about half of U.S. schools are in a state of “disrepair.” Overall, the U.S. is underspending on these facilities by an estimated $46 billion per year, according to the 2016 State of Our Schools report.
Given the chasm between the scale of the problem and the money available to address it in any of the proposed new federal measures, the Biden administration and state governments will need to triage the spending. When needs are this open-ended on infrastructure projects, there is always a risk that money will be misspent.
To ensure that the new education dollars go where they are most needed, the federal government should give states incentives to audit school facilities as a condition for receiving extra Funding, now and in the future. School facilities represent the second largest sector of public infrastructure investment, after highways — though the portion of federal, as opposed to local and state, spending on schools is a fraction of what it is for roadways.
-- Andrea Gabor State allocates $77M for construction projects in 24 school districts-- Arkansas Democrat Gazette Arkansas: April 30, 2021 [ abstract]
Twenty-four Arkansas school districts are approved to receive more than $77 million in state Funding for construction, expansion and replacement of academic-related spaces on 32 campuses in the coming 2021-22 fiscal year.
The three-member Commission for Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation on Thursday unanimously approved the state's share of Funding for the projects that range from a dining and kitchen expansion in the White County School District to an elementary physical education space/safe room in the Concord School District to a new elementary school in the Benton district.
The commission gave conditional approval to three additional projects, making those contingent on legislative approval next month for using money from a state restricted reserve fund.
Those projects include $12.8 million in state aid to go toward work at Pine Bluff High School and $15.3 million toward an addition at Springdale's Central Junior High School. The third conditionally funded project is renovation of classroom space in Western Yell County.
The growing 2,300-student Southside School District in Batesville is to receive about $23 million of the $77 million for a $32 million expansion of the elementary, middle, junior high and high schools, with the greatest expansion occurring at the high school.
-- Cynthia Howell Report: RI has invested $1.3B so far to repair, replace 163 school buildings-- WPRI.com Rhode Island: April 28, 2021 [ abstract]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) " Rhode Island has so far invested $1.3 billion in modernizing school buildings across the state, according to a new progress report.
The report, released Wednesday by R.I. Treasurer Seth Magaziner, highlights the progress the state’s School Building Task Force has made regarding renovations and repairs.
In 2018, the task force developed a plan to increase state Funding for school construction, with a focus on enhancing educational spaces, health and safety, early childhood education, and career and technical facilities.
In the years since the Funding was approved by voters, 163 school buildings have been lined up for repair or replacement across 22 of the state’s 36 districts. Of those, 12 projects have already been completed while several others are currently under construction or scheduled to break ground before 2022.
“Every child deserves to go to school in buildings that are warm, safe, dry and equipped for 21st-century learning,” Magaziner said.
Magaziner called the progress report “encouraging.” He said this level of new school construction is significantly higher than historical norms and well distributed across multiple school districts.
The report showcased the brand-new East Providence High School, which is currently the state’s largest school construction project.
The previous building, which was built in 1952, was deemed one of the lowest-quality high school buildings in the state.
-- Sarah Doiron, Molly O'Brien Trumbull County school district hopes to renew levy for building maintenance-- WKBN Ohio: April 27, 2021 [ abstract]
CHAMPION, Ohio (WKBN) – The Champion Local School District is asking voters to renew a permanent improvement levy ahead of the May primary.
If it passes, the Funding will be used to help maintain the high school and bus garage buildings.
Champion recently replaced the elementary and middle school buildings with a brand new facility, but the high school is approaching 75 years old.
Money generated from the levy will be put toward maintaining the roof, pavement, windows and doors, along with the heating and ventilation systems.
-- Nadine Grimley Lovejoy Elementary School Will Close Due to Budget Concerns-- NBCDFW Texas: April 26, 2021 [ abstract]
Students and teachers at Lovejoy Elementary School are preparing to say goodbye to their campus.
School board members told parents they had no choice but to close, due to budget concerns.
Parents weren't willing to accept that news so easily.
“We’ve been working on plans to keep these kids safe for a year, and now you’re going to take them and put them in two schools and pack them in like sardines? It raises a lot of concerns," parent Mary Dickinson said.
Lovejoy is a rather affluent area in Collin County. That's one of the things board members said was hurting the district. Home prices are rising so high that young families with young children aren't moving in.
The district is also hurting from a change in Funding model under Texas House Bill 3, which is reducing its income.
The Senate is also debating a change that would prohibit Lovejoy from charging tuition to students out of the district. It all means less money to operate.
-- Wayne Carter 'Need to haves' vs. 'nice to haves:' Greenwich forum to focus on school spending-- greenwich time Connecticut: April 24, 2021 [ abstract]
School Funding has become a hot issue in town because of the need to make emergency repairs at North Mianus School after a flood and ceiling collapse.
The League of Women Voters of Greenwich and the PTA Council will host a forum on the issue called “Fixing Greenwich Public Schools’ Infrastructure: The Plan and the Cost” via Zoom at 7 p.m. April 29.
The panel will include Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones; Board of Education Chair Peter Bernstein; Dan Watson, the school district’s director of facilities; Sean O’Keefe, the district’s chief operations officer; and Board of Education Vice Chair Kathleen Stowe.
The discussion will focus on Funding improvements in the public schools as well as the process for setting priorities for projects. A question-and-answer session will follow.
Questions can be submitted and registration can be submitted at www.lwvgreenwich.org/. The discussion is free and open to the public.
League President Sandra Waters said the school’s master facilities plan will be discussed.
“Many (residents) do not understand what the facilities master plan is, what the district sees as high priorities and how much implementation will cost,” Waters said. “Some are already differentiating between its ‘need to haves’ and the ‘nice to haves,’ presumably to reduce the latter. The league encourages the public to be informed about what the plan includes, why and to make a personal determination about whether the work is necessary.”
The Board of Education recently sought $8.1 million from the Board of Estimate and Taxation for the emergency repairs at North Mianus. But the BET, in a contentious vote, reduced that amount to $2.1 million and pledged to approve additional funds after the Board of Education calculates a final price tag for the work.
-- Ken Borsuk Ohio funding allocations will result in $336 million in school construction-- American School & University Ohio: April 22, 2021 [ abstract]
The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) has approved more than $154 million in state Funding for school construction projects in six Ohio school districts.
Combined with $181 million in local Funding, these projects represent more than $336 million in public construction work, the commission says.
“OFCC is excited to partner with these districts to build high-quality, flexible learning environments that support their community’s vision for educational success,” says OFCC Executive Director Cheryl J. Lyman.
The local districts have already secured funds though bond elections; the state's share will enable them to move forward with the projects.
-- Mike Kennedy SCS proposes building 5 schools, closing about 15, adding on to 13. Here are details-- Commercial Appeal Tennessee: April 19, 2021 [ abstract] Shelby County Schools wants to "reimagine" its footprint in Shelby County with a plan that proposes building five new schoolsand closing about 13 to 15 others, mostly through consolidation.The plan proposes additions to at least 13 existing schools.
The plan, unveiled for the first time in a presentation to district board members Monday, includes phases of work to take place over the next 10 years, through 2031. Capital projects require Funding and approval from the county commission, which is scheduled to see the plan during a meeting Wednesday.
New schools are proposed for Frayser, Orange Mound and Raleigh, as well as Grahamwood and southeast Shelby County and include many K-8 and a 6-12 school models, meaning the new buildings will combine grade levels as they also combine communities of schools.
-- Laura Testino School Building Authority has more money for Monday’s decisions on school projects-- WV Metro News West Virginia: April 18, 2021 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state School Building Authority will decide Monday which school construction projects from across the state will get part of the Funding in this year’s “needs grants” program.
The SBA is coming to the table with more money that originally thought. When 30 county school superintendents appeared before the authority with their projects last month it was believed there was approximately $51.4 million available for Funding but now that’s been bumped up to approximately $75 million.
SBA Director of Architectural Services Ben Ashley said SBA Executive Director David Roach, the authority’s finance staff and finance committee were able to sweep accounts, take money left over from other projects and make some other moves to increase the amount available.
“We know that the need coming out of the first year of the CEFP (Comprehensive Education Facilities Plan) is tremendous and we’ve worked really hard to make sure we have as much money to address that as we can,” Ashley said.
Every 10 years each county school district is required to submit new CEFPs, which lays out their priorities for facility projects for the next decade. The counties have completed and submitted their plans during the past year and this is the first time projects associated with those new plans are before the SBA for Funding.
“So everybody that’s brought a project has brought their best project,” Ashley said. “Authority members have some really, really tough decisions to make.”
-- Jeff Jenkins School officials: Westerly district's properties well maintained-- The Westerly Sun Rhode Island: April 10, 2021 [ abstract] WESTERLY — Routine and preventative maintenance occurs in the town's five public schools on a daily basis and about $2.9 million worth of capital projects have been completed since April 2019. That's part of the message school officials are delivering as they try to counter claims the schools are not properly maintained.
It's a public relations effort that Superintendent of Schools Mark Garceau said is critical as the Town Council begins its deliberations on the proposed 2021-22 town and schools budget. The finance board has recommended a modified-level Funding approach (about $200,000 more than current) to the proposed schools budget. If the Town Council accepts the recommendation, it would be the second year in a row that the appropriation of local tax dollars to support the education budget was either level funded or nearly level funded.
Some members of the Town Council, the finance board and residents espouse what Garceau calls "a false narrative."
-- Dale Faulkner U.S. Department of Education Releases "COVID-19 Handbook, Volume 2: Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students-- US Department of Education National: April 09, 2021 [ abstract] Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) released the COVID-19 Handbook, Volume 2: Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students' Needs to provide additional strategies for safely reopening all of America's schools and to promote educational equity by addressing opportunity gaps that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
Building off of Volume 1: Strategies for Safely Reopening Elementary and Secondary Schools, which focused on health and safety measures that schools can use to successfully implement the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) K-12 Operational Strategy, Volume 2 of the Handbook focuses on research-based strategies to address the social, emotional, mental-health, and academic impacts of the pandemic on students, educators, and staff, such as how to address any potential anxiety or depression some may face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and nearly a year of remote learning.
"There is simply no substitute for in-person learning," said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. "But as schools reopen their doors, we must also make sure that we are meeting students' social, emotional, physical, mental-health, and academic needs, and addressing gaps that existed before—and were exacerbated by—the pandemic. This is an opportunity for us to not only reopen our schools safely, but to make sure our education systems are truly serving all our nation's students."
Today's release is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's broader effort to provide states, districts, schools, and communities with the resources and support they need to return to in-person learning safely and quickly, and achieve the President's goal of reopening a majority of K-8 schools within the first 100 days of the Administration. Volume 2 identifies strategies states, districts, schools, and communities can use when implementing Funding they have received from the American Rescue Plan, which invests $130 billion in safely reopening schools, sustaining their safe in-person operation, and addressing the impact of COVID-19.
-- Staff Writer Senators bet on sports gambling to fund NC school construction-- The News & Observer North Carolina: April 07, 2021 [ abstract]
A group of state senators are betting that sports gambling could be their answer to Funding school construction.
On Wednesday morning, Sens. Jim Perry, a Kinston Republican, and Paul Lowe, a Winston-Salem Democrat, filed Senate Bill 688. If passed, it would authorize sports gambling on professional, college, electronic and amateur sports or any other events approved by the NC Education Lottery Commission.
The lottery commission’s profits go to education. Under the bill, the commission would collect an 8% tax on the monthly adjusted gross revenue of gambling companies, sending half of the revenue to a fund that would promote job growth and economic development.
“I’m in a poor area,” Perry told The News & Observer Wednesday. “I have two Tier 1 counties and while I’m thankful for the money available through the lottery — they’ll let you forgo five years of your lottery funds to get some advance money, so to speak, to help with your schools — but that’s still not enough.”
Tier 1 counties are the state’s most economically distressed areas.
-- DANIELLE BATTAGLIA Gillibrand, colleagues reintroduce Impact Aid Infrastructure Act-- NYC360 National: April 05, 2021 [ abstract] WATERTOWN — U.S. Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N.Y., alongside Sens. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and Tina Smith, D-Minn., recently reintroduced legislation to provide $1 billion in supplemental Funding for school infrastructure construction grants through the Impact Aid program.
The act builds upon the American Rescue Plan by providing additional Funding for K-12 schools for necessary improvements to respond to COVID-19. The Impact Aid Infrastructure Act would provide competitive and formula grants for school infrastructure projects, including school construction and facilities upgrades, in more than 1,200 federally impacted school districts across the country.
“Federally impacted school districts are in desperate need of resources to create a safe environment for students, teachers, and staff,” Sen. Gillibrand said in a prepared statement. “The Impact Aid Infrastructure Act will provide critical aid to these school districts to make long overdue repairs and renovate their facilities to meet public health guidelines.”
-- Staff Writer Schools facilities improvements" How much could it cost?-- The Yellow Springs News Ohio: April 04, 2021 [ abstract] If the Yellow Springs school district opts to build a new $35 million combined K-12 school, how much would it cost individual taxpayers to fund it?
Alternatively, what would it cost taxpayers to fund $12 million in renovations to both the Mills Lawn and McKinney Middle/Yellow Springs High School campuses?
At a community outreach forum on Wednesday, March 17, local district leaders and the district’s architect consultant, SHP of Cincinnati, shared various tax options for Funding school facilities improvements.
A portion of the forum focused on what SHP’s Shea McMahon called, “assigning real world costs and real millage impacts … to the plans we’ve been discussing throughout.” A future article will cover other aspects of the meeting.
It was the third online public forum hosted by the district and SHP in less than a month. Two advisory groups also have been weighing facilities options, and a community survey is being conducted, all leading to the superintendent’s goal of making a final recommendation to the school board next month. Previously, district leaders have said they hope to put a measure on the November 2021 ballot.
According to options presented at the meeting, the tax measure may combine an income tax increase with a property tax bond levy.
In one scenario, a mix of 0.5% income tax and 6.73-mill property tax would finance the construction of a new $35-million K-12 building on the middle/high school campus on East Enon Road.
-- Megan Bachman Study says Alaska is underfunding maintenance of schools-- KDLL Alaska: April 02, 2021 [ abstract] The state of Alaska should be spending more on building maintenance for its K-12 schools, according to a recent study from the Institute of Social and Economic Research.
Institute research professor Bob Loeffler authored the study. He said it’s part of the institute’s ongoing analysis of Alaska’s revenue and fiscal issues.
"Right now, our level of Funding is not sustainable," he said. "And our schools will degrade if we spend the money we’re spending now. We need to spend more.”
Loeffler looked at capital projects across Alaska districts between fiscal years 2000 and 2020. Whereas many district expenses fall under a district’s operating budget, large capital projects are funded by a combination of bonds and state grants.
The National Council on School Facilities recommends spending 4 percent of a state’s schools’ current replacement value on capital projects. That’s the amount it would take to build a facility again in today’s prices.
Alaska’s current replacement value for its almost 500 K-12 schools is $9.4 billion. Per National Council guidelines, Alaska should invest $374 million each year on school capital projects.
What Alaska actually spends, Loeffler found, is $249 million — 2.6 percent of its current replacement value.
-- SABINE POUX Lynn Legislators File Bill to Spur New School Construction-- Lynn Journal Massachusetts: April 01, 2021 [ abstract] State Senator Brendan P. Crighton, Representative Dan Cahill, and Representative Peter Capano have together filed legislation that will update the state’s outdated and inequitable school construction formula. Since 2004, this formula – which determines state aid for school construction projects – has remained stagnant, disproportionately affecting the education of students in low-income communities across the state for almost two decades. HD.3667/SD. 2172, An Act Modernizing School Construction reforms the state’s school construction formula so that all students and teachers have access to safe and healthy environments in high-quality school buildings.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed glaring inequities in the condition of school buildings across the state. Overcrowded buildings, obsolete HVAC systems, and other unsafe conditions hinder students and teachers from engaging safely and productively in their classrooms. Now more than ever, state Funding is vital in order to renovate these decrepit buildings and construct new ones to help ensure all children have access to the same quality of education, regardless of income level.
-- Staff Writer How schools fit into Biden’s infrastructure push-- Politico National: March 29, 2021 [ abstract]
HOW SCHOOLS STACK UP IN BIDEN’S INFRASTRUCTURE PUSH: President Joe Biden this week will unveil new details about his plan to inject trillions of dollars into the nation’s infrastructure — including an effort to upgrade or replace crumbling school buildings. Biden will outline his proposal during a speech on Wednesday in Pittsburgh.
— Biden said during his press conference last week that schools would be a focus of his infrastructure push, lamenting the state of some of the nation’s classrooms: “How many schools where the kids can't drink the water out of the fountain? How many schools are still in the position where there's asbestos? How many schools in America we're sending our kids to don't have adequate ventilation?”
— Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), the chair of the House education committee, told state education leaders last week that he expects schools will be part of the infrastructure bill. “Usually it’s just roads and bridges, but we have a commitment that education — school construction — will be part of it,” Scott said at the Council of Chief State School Officers' Legislative Conference.
— Scott’s proposal — the Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act — passed the House last July as part of Democrats’ sweeping infrastructure bill, H.R. 2 (116). The plan calls for $100 billion in direct federal grants, distributed using the Title I formula that targets Funding to low-income school districts. It also includes another $30 billion in interest subsidies on bonds that states or school districts issue to pay for school construction.
-- MICHAEL STRATFORD Relief funds could help clear the air for Iowa students-- We Are iowa Iowa: March 26, 2021 [ abstract]
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — The third round of federal relief money for schools is headed to Iowa. Schools across the state are set to get $775 million dollars. According to the Iowa Department of Education, 90% of the money will go to school districts.
The rest will benefit state-level education.
"With Iowa's schools open for learning, this new round of Funding will provide critical support to address current needs and plan for the future," said Ann Lebo, director of the Iowa Department of Education, in a press release.
Schools have two options when it comes to how to spend the money, as long as it's pandemic-related.
"The latest rounds, the last couple really are designed to have districts focus on students and what they can do to come out of the pandemic," said Coy Marquardt, associate executive director of the Iowa State Education Association.
One area of focus for a number of schools across the metro has been improving ventilation systems to increase airflow and filtration. While that could have long-term benefits, projects can be complicated and expensive.
-- Jon Diaz Sandwich Selectmen Host Heated Debate About School Boilers-- The Sandwhich Enterprise Massachusetts: March 26, 2021 [ abstract] After a lengthy and sometimes contentious discussion, members of four town and school boards decided not to decide about replacing outdated boilers in two Sandwich schools.
More specifically, the board of selectmen—which hosted the combined meeting of the school, finance, and capital improvement planning committees Thursday, March 25—deferred a decision about how to replace the 30-plus-year old boilers.
“My personal feeling is that we’re in no position to move this decision tonight,” said Selectman David J. Sampson, summing up the feelings of the selectmen and members of the finance committee.
Michael J. Miller, chairman of the selectmen agreed.
“We just don’t have enough information to defend this to the taxpayers” at the May Town Meeting, he said.
The selectmen deferred a decision—and possible presentation to taxpayers—until the fall.
What that means, however, is that the town could lose an offer from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), a state organization that helps municipalities with Funding and oversight of large school building projects.
-- TAO WOOLFE Kingsport school officials unveil almost $68.7 million 10-year capital plan-- Times News Tennessee: March 23, 2021 [ abstract] KINGSPORT — Kingsport City Schools officials unveiled a nearly $68.7 million, 10-year capital plan to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen in a joint work session between the city board and school board on Tuesday.
The largest single chunk of the $68.689 million in proposed spending, $18 million, would go to refurbishing, renovating and modifying the current Sullivan North High/Middle School into the new Sevier Middle School in time for an August 2023 opening.
That is $2 million less than the $20 million the city paid Sullivan County Schools for the North building, over which the city is to gain control in June.
The Funding also would pay for converting the current Sevier into the new Jackson Elementary by August 2024, but Superintendent Jeff Moorhouse said the plan would literally touch most every school in the system, including the replacement of existing lighting with more energy-efficient lighting in most schools and a roof replacement at Dobyns-Bennett High School.
-- Rick Wagner School construction talks stall as Murphy urges return to in-person learning-- Politico New Jersey: March 23, 2021 [ abstract]
Talks between Gov. Phil Murphy’s office and legislative leadership about plans for the nearly-broke Schools Development Authority have stalled, according to the SDA chief.
Authority CEO Manuel Da Silva told lawmakers on Tuesday that prior to the pandemic, Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin had been engaged in discussions about the future of the SDA and how to go about Funding the agency responsible for construction in some of the state’s neediest school districts.
When Covid-19 gripped the state, those discussions understandably took a backseat, Da Silva said.
Still, as Murphy — who’s seeking reelection this year — continues to urge schools across New Jersey to reopen for in-person learning, and has expressed a desire to see all schools operating in classrooms in some form by the fall, conversations about the SDA have not picked up with the same urgency.
“As we stand right here — or sit right here — I can't tell you where those discussions are at, I'm not sure,” Da Silva testified at a virtual hearing of the Joint Committee on the Public Schools.
Many school buildings in New Jersey are crumbling, poorly ventilated and overcrowded, but the SDA and the state have no thorough accounting of the overall needs.
-- CARLY SITRIN Funding approved for Jasper FEMA safe room-- Newton County Times Arkansas: March 22, 2021 [ abstract] The Jasper School District has been notified by the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management that the school district's application for federal funds to construct a community safe room on the Jasper campus has been approved. Dr. Candra Brasel, school district superintendent, informed the board of the approval Monday night, March 15, at its regular monthly meeting.
Notification was received via a letter dated March 9. The Hazard Mitigation staff at FEMA Region 6 completed the review of the school district's grant application and Funding was obligated on March 2. The grant awards the school district $981,618.20 or 75% of the project cost. That would leave the district's non-federal share at $327,206.07. The project was estimated to cost $1,308,824.27, but actual cost estimates have not been secured through formal architect planning and the bidding process.
The school district applied for Funding based on the need of a safe room for 624 people at the Jasper K-12 campus. This reinforced structure would be available as a safe gathering place for students and staff in case of a tornado or other emergency during the school day, but would also be available to the community during after school hours.
-- JEFF DEZORT WYOMING SENATE ADVANCE ASK TO MAKE DISTRICTS PRIMARILY RESPONSIBLE FOR SCHOOL FACILITY COSTS-- Oil City News Wyoming: March 19, 2021 [ abstract]
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Senate passed a resolution on Friday that would put a question before voters to amend the Wyoming Constitution to transfer responsibility for school facilities construction and maintenance off of the state’s shoulders and onto school districts.
“We’ve got a problem,” Sen. Charles Scott (Natrona County) said. “Our school capital construction system that we’ve had can no longer work because the principal Funding source, which was coal lease bonuses, is gone and is not going to come back. We all know that.”
“We’ve got to do something different.”
Senate Joint Resolution 04 would put a question on the ballot asking voters to amend the Constitution such that the primary responsibility to provide school facilities would be reverted to school districts.
“This is the best I could come up with because it switches the principal decision making to the voters of the local districts whose taxes will go up if they pass the bond issue,” Scott said.
He said that the benefit of the proposal is that voters would be asked to approve expenditures for local school facility construction and maintenance: “If you vote for it, your taxes will go up.”
“How much taxes go up and how much we have to pay for equalization is unknown,” Scott said.
The proposed amendment would require the legislature to establish law for public school capital construction that would be subject to the following:
-- Brendan LaChance County superintendents propose project ideas to WV School Building Authority-- 13News West Virginia: March 15, 2021 [ abstract]
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — 30 county school superintendents are making their pitches to the West Virginia School Building Authority over the next two days. They’re asking for millions of dollars in grant Funding for school construction projects.
Cabell County Schools Superintendent Ryan Saxe was one of the first presenters asking for up to $10 million toward a new Meadows Elementary.
“In Cabell County we have a long standing tradition of working well with the School Building Authority and being able to modernize and build our buildings across our school district,” Saxe said.
He said the money coupled with local dollars would help build a more modern school.
“I think the possibilities for this site are absolutely endless. It is going to provide a world class learning experience for our students,” Saxe said.
Kanawha County Schools Superintendent Tom Williams made his first-ever pitch to the SBA. The proposal is to renovate and add-on to the Cedar Grove Middle School facility and transition it to Cedar Grove Elementary while sending the middle school students from Cedar Grove to Dupont.
“We have too many facilities in Kanawha County,” Dr. Williams said. “We keep losing students so we need to start paring down our facilities.”
There is a meeting Tuesday night in Cedar Grove. The board will hear input from the community and decide if it will move forward with the plan. Williams said the timing isn’t ideal, pitching to the SBA before the school board vote, but there was no way around it.
“I made the pitch. If they decide not to do it then that means another county will have the opportunity to get some money,” he said.
-- Nicky Walters Is Wyoming's school funding model about to fail?-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: March 14, 2021 [ abstract]
SHOSHONI – Annie Good and her co-teacher have made their fifth grade classroom a homey space for their 33 students. The room is in the south wing of the sprawling K-12 education complex in Shoshoni, a town of 649 people.
The $49 million school building, up the road from the abandoned storefronts downtown, can make visitors look twice, said Christopher Konija, Shoshoni’s police chief, who is also town clerk and treasurer.
“It’s like looking at two different worlds,” he said. “To me, the school – what it looks like and what it represents – shows the potential for Shoshoni.”
State spends big on K-12
The state-built, modern building is just one brick-and-mortar example of how Wyoming has poured its mineral wealth into its school system ever since the state Supreme Court heard a series of cases – starting in 1980 – challenging the equity and adequacy of school Funding in Wyoming. In 1995, the court found that legislators were, indeed, responsible for budgeting enough money to fund a ”quality” education for all Wyoming children. And though such findings are not uncommon nationally, the result in Wyoming has been to make it the biggest spender per student in the Mountain West and one of the biggest in the United States.
-- Kathryn Palmer Colorado Dems propose raising local property taxes to more equitably fund schools-- The Gazette Colorado: March 13, 2021 [ abstract]
Property owners in some Colorado school districts would see gradual tax increases over the next two decades, ultimately generating hundreds of millions more each year for K-12 education, under a bill backed by Democrats in the state legislature.
The bill is an effort to correct a longstanding problem in Colorado school Funding, that taxpayers in different school districts pay wildly different rates and the state is on the hook for making up the difference.
The result is that K-12 education now takes up more than a third of the general fund, crowding out other priorities from roads to human services even as Colorado funds schools well below the national average. The bill would shift more of the cost to local taxpayers and free up state money, potentially allowing total education Funding to increase.
“The end goal is to make sure we’re fixing the broken system we have where some school districts have a lot of local support and others do not,” said state Rep. Daneya Esgar, co-sponsor of the bill and chair of the Joint Budget Committee. “The whole idea is to provide a more equitable way to fund schools.”
Superintendent George Welsh of the Cañon City school district said the proposal would create a more even playing field for districts. Taxpayers in his district already pay the maximum.
-- ERICA MELTZER Wolf Administration Promotes Free Testing For Lead In Drinking Water For Schools And Child Care Programs-- State of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania: March 09, 2021 [ abstract] Harrisburg, PA - The Wolf Administration today advised all schools and child care programs in Pennsylvania of the Voluntary Lead in Child Care and School Drinking Water Testing Program, which will provide $1.74 million from a federal grant for testing lead in drinking water.
Governor Tom Wolf first announced the Funding from the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act in February 2020 as another component of his Lead-Free Pennsylvania plan to address lead across the commonwealth. Earlier this week, the departments of Education and Human Services sent direct communications to eligible facilities to advise them of the availability of Funding and how to access it.
“Testing the water of thousands of child care centers and schools will give us a benchmark of the work we need to do next for removing lead from water and protecting our children,” Gov. Wolf said.
The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) launched the Pennsylvania Voluntary Lead in Child Care and School Drinking Water Testing Program at leadfree.pa.gov. Eligible schools and child cares can receive free water lead testing and related training and technical support.
-- Lyndsay Kensinger Aging county facilities, school needs among budget topics-- Wilkes Journal-Patriot North Carolina: March 02, 2021 [ abstract] Replacement of aging county government buildings was among issues discussed by the Wilkes County commissioners in their first fiscal 2021-22 budget work session on Feb. 25.
The board received data showing how Wilkes County’s demographics are changing and how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted low income Wilkes residents, plus data comparing Wilkes with peer county governments in Funding education and other needs.
Commissioner Keith Elmore said the Wilkes board built a jail, converted former bank office buildings into a law enforcement center and ag center and built a culinary center at Wilkes Community College in recent years. He said the commissioners upgraded high school facilities and built four middle schools before that.
“It seems to me there may have been some neglect. We’ve got 50- to 70-year-old buildings” for the Wilkes Health Department, Wilkes Department of Social Services and other county government departments, he said.
“I would love to see us address these buildings and conditions and maybe combine our health department and social services” so citizens can have one location for addressing many basic needs. Elmore said new facilities are needed to replace the Wilkes County Office Building.
He recommended starting with cost estimates. Elmore added that the commissioners have been good stewards of county finances and the county has a good fund balance.
When he was in the health department building to be sworn in as a Wilkes Board of Health member, said Elmore, “it was obvious to me that it’s not really conducive to work.”
-- JULE HUBBARD Yellow Springs considering several options for new school building(s)-- Springfield News-Sun Ohio: February 27, 2021 [ abstract] Yellow Springs is working toward a decision on what to do with its school facilities.
Three state-funded proposals and one proposal without state Funding are being considered by a Community Advisory Team, which includes parents, administrators and community members. The Community Advisory Team will decide on which plan to submit to the Yellow Springs Board of Education in April.
The district says the current school buildings do not currently meet its needs.
The cost of the options are between $31 million and $34 million before reimbursement of about 26% of the cost through the state, said Terri Holden, the district’s superintendent.The district says it will know the cost by the end of April.
If the district chose to use state funds, it will need a new school levy. Holden said during a meeting with the public on Feb. 18 if state Funding is chosen, a ballot initiative would likely be put on the November ballot.
-- Eileen McClory Interagency Commission on School Construction Adds State Funding Recommendation for Hammond High School, Fully Funds Hig-- Scott E's Blog Maryland: February 22, 2021 [ abstract] Today Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced that the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) increased its state Funding recommendation for Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) priority construction projects by nearly $8 million dollars, bringing the total state Funding recommendation to $28.6 million out of a requested $40.3 million.
“Ensuring the completion of these three critical school construction projects is a top priority of my administration,” said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. “While I am encouraged that the IAC increased its recommendation of State support for our school construction efforts, fully Funding the requests for High School #13 and Talbott Springs, there is work left to do to secure the remaining state requested Funding for the Hammond High School project.”
The adjusted IAC recommendation elevated the Hammond High School Renovation and Addition project from a B local planning status and a C Funding status, both to A statuses, adding $5.37 million of prior year appropriations for recommended state Funding out of a requested $14 million to the project after recommending no state Funding to support the project in December. Additionally, the IAC state Funding recommendation for the Talbott Springs Elementary School Replacement project increased by $2.6 million through prior year appropriations, fully Funding the $8.2 million in requested state Funding. The $15 million state Funding request for High School #13 was recommended by IAC to be fully funded in December. Final approvals on Funding levels for projects in the FY2022 capital budget will be made by IAC in May.
-- Staff Writer CARES funds bring cleaner air to Divide schools-- GeorgeTown Gazette California: February 15, 2021 [ abstract] 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.
-- Kathleen Mendenhall ‘Warming more than just bodies’: School gym hosts Camden’s unhoused amid winter freeze-- WHYY New Jersey: February 15, 2021 [ abstract]
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.
-- April Saul School districts encouraged to use funds to improve air quality-- WLTX19 South Carolina: February 12, 2021 [ abstract]
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.
-- Jenna Kurzyna Roanoke School Board postpones capital improvement plan vote over equity concerns-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: February 10, 2021 [ abstract] 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.
-- Claire Mitzel Bethlehem ponders future of 3 elementary schools needing $40M in upgrades-- lehighvalleylive.com Pennsylvania: February 09, 2021 [ abstract]
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.
-- Sara Satullo Supreme Court Asked to Order NJ to Fund School Construction -- New Jersey 101.5 New Jersey: February 07, 2021 [ abstract]
TRENTON — School Funding is back before the state Supreme Court, which has been asked by the Education Law Center to order Gov. Phil Murphy and the Legislature to provide more money for school construction by the end of June.
School construction in the 31 mostly urban districts covered by the Abbott vs. Burke series of lawsuits must be paid for and managed by the state under a 1998 court ruling. The program is continuing some previously approved work but hasn’t had money to take on new projects in about six years.
The Education Law Center filed its most recent motion on Jan. 28.
“We’ve been trying to get the Murphy administration to step up and deal with this without having to get the court involved. Our preference would be to keep the court out of this,” said David Sciarra, the ELC’s executive director. “But to no avail. We’ve just been unable to get them to move on this, to kind of ask the Legislature for a specific amount of Funding and put it on the table.”
“We’ve made every effort, is all I can say,” Sciarra said. “We’ve tried. We’ve bent over backwards to try to get cooperation from the administration, from the Legislature, and just have gotten nowhere. So, we’ve asked the court to step in.”
The law center went to the Supreme Court a year ago with a similar request, but it was dismissed as premature in anticipation that funds would be included in the 2021 state budget.
-- Michael Symons Gillibrand: 'COVID has highlighted the inequities' in school system-- Democrat & Chronicle National: February 02, 2021 [ abstract] The federal government would commit $130 billion to help public schools make capital improvements under new legislation described this week by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
The Funding would address a concern that school officials have raised repeatedly since the start of the pandemic: adapting ventilation systems and other physical building improvements can be expensive, and schools cannot bear the cost themselves.
The money would not be restricted to projects related to COVID-19, though, but could pay for an array of facility upgrades.
"COVID has highlighted the inequities that have been part of our school system for too long," Gillibrand said Tuesday.
The bill has 25 Democratic co-sponsors in the Senate. Gillibrand said they hope to see it folded into an omnibus stimulus spending plan.
-- Justin Murphy School modernization bill passes Senate, but funding must follow-- WDBJ7 Virginia: February 02, 2021 [ abstract] RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - The Virginia Senate has passed a bill to help school districts repair outdated buildings, but finding enough money for a statewide solution remains a major challenge.
The measure from Sen. Bill Stanley (R-Franklin Co.) creates a Public School Assistance Fund that would receive money from state, local and private sources.
Lawmakers warn the price tag for school repair and replacement could exceed $15 billion.
“And it’s about time that this General Assembly understand that we have a huge multi-billion dollar problem in front of us, that has to be solved now,” Stanley told members of the Senate.
-- Joe Dashiell Battle over NJ funding for schools in poorest districts is back in court. Yet again-- NJ Spotlight News New Jersey: February 01, 2021 [ abstract] A four-decade legal battle over public school Funding has landed back in the New Jersey Supreme Court, with a prominent watchdog group accusing state officials of again ignoring a constitutional mandate to repair and replace aging and shoddy school buildings in many of the state’s poorest communities.
The motion filed by the Education Law Center (ELC) on Friday claims that since 2014, neither the governor nor the Legislature has provided any additional money toward the court-required Funding. That has left the Schools Development Authority (SDA), the state agency tasked with compliance in this matter, virtually broke and unable to initiate any of the dozens of “urgently needed” construction projects it identified in 2019. The solution ELC seeks is that the court order state officials to come up with a spending plan by June 30.
“It’s too bad we have to regularly go back to the Supreme Court to make the state fulfill its obligation to provide a thorough and efficient education to our students,” ELC Executive Director David Sciarra said in an interview Friday. “Unfortunately, this administration has been no different in this regard than its predecessors.”
The lawsuit cites the SDA’s own report from last year, which noted there are 18,000 students “who don’t have the seats they need” in overcrowded schools, as well as 7 million square feet of school space in poor districts that is more than 90 years old.
-- IAN T. SHEARN Coons, colleagues seek $130B funding boost for local school infrastructure-- Dover Post Delaware: February 01, 2021 [ abstract]
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, joined Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, and 24 of their colleagues in introducing the Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act last week.
With school districts facing increased costs, aging school infrastructure and an urgent need to alleviate crowded classrooms and ensure adequate fresh air ventilation to help reduce COVID-19 transmission, the bill would invest $130 billion in modernizing classrooms across the country and would help schools upgrade their physical and digital infrastructure.
“As we continue to grapple with the COVID-19 crisis, it is critical that we invest in the safe and sustainable reopening of our schools,” said Coons. “This bill prioritizes the needs of our students and educators, the safety of our school buildings, and jobs in communities throughout Delaware and the country — creating opportunity while helping our schools overcome the challenges of the pandemic.”
Crumbling, outdated school infrastructure makes it tougher for students, teachers and staff to safely return to school for in-person instruction. Comprehensive school modernization planning is a critical component of helping post-pandemic K-12 schools become stronger and more sustainable than before the COVID-19 crisis.
The Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act will provide $100 billion in formula funds to states for local competitive grants for school repair, renovation and construction. States will focus assistance on communities with the greatest financial need, encourage green construction practices and expand access to high-speed broadband to ensure that all students have access to digital learning.
-- Staff Writer School Building Authority begins review of school projects from 30 counties-- MetroNews West Virginia: February 01, 2021 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It will once again be a very competitive process to see which county school systems get some of the $51.4 million available from the state School Building Authority in Needs Grant Funding.
The SBA has received information on proposed projects from 30 counties totaling $248 million. The deadline to submit projects was last Friday.
SBA Director of Architectural Services Ben Ashley said nine of those counties are seeking Funding for new schools which is nearly triple those type of requests when compared to recent years. Ashley said that tells a story about the kind of shape some school buildings are in.
“There’s a lot of facilities out there that are just old and in need of replacement,” Ashley told MetroNews Monday. “Many of them have gotten to the point where it’s just not worth sinking a whole bunch of money into fixing them up.”
Summers County is one of the county’s seeking Funding. Superintendent David Warvel said his county needs money for a middle school addition to the existing Summers County High School.
“We’d like to get 15 classrooms, a gymnasium and a cafeteria,” Warvel said.
-- Jeff Jenkins Brown seeks $130 billion funding boost for schools-- Sidney Daily News National: January 29, 2021 [ abstract] WASHINGTON, D.C. – With local school districts facing increased costs, aging school infrastructure, and an urgent need for schools and classrooms to alleviate crowded classrooms and ensure adequate fresh air ventilation to help reduce COVID-19 transmission, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, D-OH, joined Sen. Jack Reed, D-RI, and Senate Democrats in introducing the Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act. The bill would invest $130 billion in modernizing classrooms across the country and would help schools upgrade their physical and digital infrastructure. This Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act builds off of Sens. Brown and Reed’s Rebuilding America’s Schools Act of 2019 and the School Building Improvement Act of 2017.
Crumbling, outdated school infrastructure makes it tougher for students, teachers, and staff to safely return to school for in-person instruction. Comprehensive school modernization planning is a critical component of helping post-pandemic K-12 public schools become stronger and more sustainable than before the COVID-19 crisis. A June 2020 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that over half (54 percent) of school districts nationwide need to update or replace multiple systems in their schools, such as heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), or plumbing.
“Ohio students deserve to go to school in a safe environment that helps them learn and grow,” said Brown. “For years, state and federal governments haven’t provided the necessary investment in our school districts that are now put under further financial strain by the current pandemic. We must invest in our public schools and help them meet the needs of the whole child and the communities they serve.”
U.S. Representative Bobby Scott, D-VA, the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor Committee, introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
-- MELANIE SPEICHER 'We have the money to do it' | Maryland gets over $1 billion for schools as debate continues over reopening-- WUSA9 Maryland: January 25, 2021 [ abstract]
MARYLAND, USA — Schools and universities across Maryland will receive a combined $1.17 billion as part of the pandemic relief package passed by Congress in late December.
According to a spokesperson for Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the money can be used to improve school facilities ahead of reopening and to address learning losses for students.
In total, Prince George's County Public Schools will receive $122 million while Montgomery County Public Schools will receive $112 million.
The announcement came as debate continues in Maryland over whether to reopen schools for hybrid in-person learning.
Last week, Gov. Larry Hogan pushed for schools around the state to open their doors by March 1st.
"There is no public health reason for school boards to be keeping students out of schools," he said. "It is abundantly clear that the toll of keeping students out of school far exceeds any potential risk of having students in school where they belong.”
During the announcement, Hogan pointed to other areas in the country that have compelled teachers to return to schools. In Chicago, the governor said, pay has been cut off for teachers refusing to come back to classrooms. He added that South Carolina has threatened to take away licenses for teachers who make a similar decision, while Ohio will only offer vaccines to instructors in school systems that commit to continuing or beginning in-person learning.
"If school systems do not immediately begin a good-faith effort to return to the classrooms, we will explore every legal avenue at our disposal," Hogan said. "The time has come to get all of our kids back into the classroom and to reopen our schools.”
School districts receiving this federal Funding can put the money toward repairs and improvements, including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems projects to improve indoor air quality in school facilities.
Among the groups targeted to address the learning, losses are low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care.
-- Tom Dempsey Roanoke County School Board maps out ambitious plan to replace outdated buildings-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: January 22, 2021 [ abstract] Frustrated with how long it will take under the current capital improvement program to renovate and replace outdated school buildings, the Roanoke County School Board on Thursday envisioned an accelerated model that would involve back-to-back — and simultaneous — construction projects.
But first, the school board will need to convince their counterparts on the board of supervisors, who hold the purse strings.
School board members want to start building a new Burton Center for Arts and Technology in 2023 and a new Glen Cove Elementary and W.E. Cundiff Elementary in 2024. To do that, they need Funding.
“We agree that we have three that are well past their prime,” Chairman Don Butzer said. “So basically what we’re going to the county for is asking to move up the Funding on the Burton Center ... and we would be asking the county to use whatever other Funding mechanisms they have to accelerate the two elementary schools to 2024.”
“We’ve certainly kicked it down the road long enough,” Tim Greenway said.
The school board has spent the past several years attempting to negotiate with the county to speed up infrastructure improvements. The county agreed in December 2019 to increase its annual debt issue by 20%, from $10 million to $12 million. School projects are eligible for the funds in two of three years in the cycle.
-- Claire Mitzel Schools planning capital improvements, more with new COVID-19 relief funds-- The Daily Times Tennessee: January 22, 2021 [ abstract] With more money and fewer restrictions on the second round of federal COVID-19 relief Funding, all three local school districts are planning to spend at least some on capital improvements.
The coronavirus relief act signed into law Dec. 27, 2020, includes $54.3 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, referred to as ESSER II.
School directors are awaiting details but have previewed their plans based on the information they have received so far.
Blount County Schools Director Rob Britt expects to present a plan for the district’s $7.5 million to the school board at its February meeting.
BCS plans to focus the Funding on three areas: learning loss, health and safety, and facilities for deferred maintenance, Britt emailed The Daily Times this week.
-- Amy Beth Miller $2.2 billion to be allocated to school districts, charter schools across Pennsylvania-- TRIB Live Pennsylvania: January 15, 2021 [ abstract]
Additional federal money is being allocated to school districts across the state to help with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday said he is dedicating $2.2 billion in federal stimulus funds to K-12 school districts and charter schools.
The money can be used to support food programs, make technological improvements, address learning loss among students, make repairs to school facilities and to improve indoor air quality.
“All schools have been affected by the covid-19 pandemic, and I commend school communities for rising to the challenge to combat the toll it has taken,” Wolf said in a news release. “This extra Funding is critical to help schools meet the unique needs of educating students at this time while keeping school buildings safe when students return to the classroom.”
The funds are available through the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER II, which Congress passed in December. In all, $54 billion was allocated to school districts across the country through the package.
Allocations already are determined for each school across the state based on a formula that considers the number of low-income students served by school facilities. Still, officials must apply for funds through the state Department of Education’s website before they receive monthly payments.
-- MEGAN TOMASIC School Committee approves $15 million five-year capital plan-- Dartmouth Week Massachusetts: January 13, 2021 [ abstract] On Jan. 11 the School Committee unanimously approved a $15 million capital improvement plan for infrastructure upgrades at the Dartmouth Public School district over the next five fiscal years.
The full five-year plan includes some big-ticket items like $4.5 million for a new roof for the high school and $2.5 million for new windows at Potter and DeMello Schools, as well as restoration or replacement of doors, windows, flooring, and fields, and a $350,000 tech infrastructure upgrade.
School Business Administrator Jim Kiely discussed the plan with committee members at the meeting, noting that the town has been “very helpful” in Funding pandemic-related improvements and has already allocated “a significant amount” of CARES Act money to school buildings.
In fiscal year 2022 the district plans on spending around $1.8 million, $300,000 of which will go towards HVAC upgrades.
More than $200,000 will be spent on each of three different projects: a flooring replacement project that Kiely said has been ongoing for around a decade, new AV and lighting systems for the high school auditorium, and replacing grease traps in the schools’ kitchens.
-- Kate Robinson St. Louis Public Schools Will Close 8 Schools, Sparing 3-- St. Louis Public Radio Missouri: January 12, 2021 [ abstract] St. Louis Public Schools moved forward with a plan Tuesday night to reduce the number of schools in the district, deciding to close at least eight schools but giving three other schools a reprieve.
The city’s school board voted 4-3 after more than two hours of debate to close a smaller list of schools than it considered late last year.
The closures are an effort to put more Funding toward support services and academics, rather than facilities costs, as the district continues to lose students and operate half-empty buildings.
Six schools will close after this school year: Clay, Dunbar, Farragut and Ford elementary schools; Fanning middle; and Northwest High School. Cleveland High School will close, but the building it’s in will continue to house Central Visual Performing Arts High School. Carnahan High School will be converted to a middle school.
The list could grow to nine. The historic Sumner High School will be considered for closure in March, giving time for Harris-Stowe State University to finalize a plan to support the school. Sumner opened in 1875 as the first high school for African Americans west of the Mississippi. Harris-Stowe is a historically Black college.
-- Ryan Delaney Putnam County school district unveils plan that would close schools, build new ones-- News 4 Jax Florida: January 11, 2021 [ abstract]
PALATKA, Fla. – The Putnam County School District last week proposed an aggressive plan to “revitalize” school facilities in the county.
School officials propose closing down five schools -- two of them more than 75 years old -- in Putnam County at the end of the current school year and build nine new schools over the next 10 years. There are 18 total schools in the district.
“By rightsizing the district and eliminating excessive buildings, PCSD would qualify for special facilities Funding from the state to construct new state-of-the-art facilities,” the district said in a press release.
The proposal would require a bond referendum that would have to be approved by the school board.
The goal is to consolidate and build safer and more energy-efficient schools.
The proposal got mixed reactions on social media. Some said the plan would allow the district to replace older buildings in the county and prepare for growth. Others said closing the schools and consolidating would lead to issues.
-- Travis Gibson California schools struggle to pay for ventilation upgrades, key to safely reopen campuses-- EdSource California: January 08, 2021 [ abstract] Upgrading ventilation systems is a key way schools can reduce the spread of the coronavirus when campuses reopen, but some districts in California are finding the cost of those upgrades to be insurmountable.
Some districts have recently been able to upgrade their HVAC systems using local bond money. Some hope that the Legislature will place a multi-billion bond on the 2022 state ballot to provide new money for school facilities. Others are hoping President-elect Joe Biden will push through infrastructure legislation that includes money for schools. But few Funding streams are guaranteed, and they may not be sufficient to cover the regular inspections and stringent filter replacements that HVAC systems require.
Because the coronavirus is primarily spread through air droplets, teachers unions and state authorities are urging schools to improve their indoor air quality by installing modern air filters or air purifiers, or replacing their outdated heating, cooling and air ventilation (HVAC) systems entirely. But the costs can exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the region, the condition of the existing buildings and the size of the school.
“After roofing, it can be the most expensive project for a school,” said Joe Dixon, retired facilities chief for Santa Ana Unified and a consultant who helps school districts with facilities projects. “But ventilation is important. It keeps kids’ minds fresh, it keeps them healthy. It’s a big issue for any district.”
The state does not keep records of the ventilation systems in California’s 10,000 public schools or which schools might need additional support in Funding their HVAC.
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a $2 billion plan to reopen schools, beginning as soon as February for younger students and gradually phasing in older grades. His plan, which is optional for schools but includes incentives to participate, calls for widespread testing, contact tracing, masks and other safety measures, including ventilation upgrades.
While ventilation improvements are not required under Newsom’s plan, research shows that well-ventilated, clean air can lessen the spread of the coronavirus as well as other contaminants, including wildfire smoke, dust and air pollution. Clean air can also improve students’ academic achievement, reduce absenteeism and boost health overall for students and staff, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
-- BETTY MÁRQUEZ ROSALES AND CAROLYN JONES Baltimore County school board seeks money to replace Towson, Dulaney high schools after removal from proposed capital pl-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: January 06, 2021 [ abstract]
Members of the Baltimore County Board of Education railed against a proposed capital plan during a Tuesday night meeting, decrying school officials’ removal of projects to replace the aging and increasingly overcrowded Dulaney and Towson high schools.
But in a 7-2 split, with two abstaining, the board voted to add the two replacement projects back to the Funding request.
Replacing Dulaney and Towson have been in the school system’s construction plan for years, but some board members said that re-adding them to the fiscal 2022 Funding request could knock other schools in need down the list.
The proposed capital budget presented Tuesday evening included a request for almost $63 million to build a replacement Lansdowne High; planning money for an addition to Dundalk High that would add up to 650 seats for additional students; and roof replacements at Randallstown and Parkville high schools.
-- TAYLOR DEVILLE Bristol Virginia schools installing air-cleaning systems-- Bristol Herald Courier Virginia: December 30, 2020 [ abstract] BRISTOL, Va. — Air inside city schools should be cleaner and safer when classes resume next month, thanks to a $450,000 investment in purification systems.
Contractors for Energy Systems Group are completing the installation of more than 330 Global Plasma Solutions needle point bipolar ionization devices in the heating and cooling systems of the city’s four elementary, middle and high school. The project, which is expected to be 99% effective in killing the novel coronavirus and many other airborne pathogens, was funded by federal CARES Act dollars.
“It has been a good project,” Superintendent Keith Perrigan. “Having buildings as old as ours, ventilation and air quality have always been a concern. If there is anything good that came out of COVID, it’s been this. Typically we wouldn’t have had money available to do this project. Because CARES Act Funding was available, we’re able to do it.”
The School Board approved the project at its November meeting and much of the work occurred during and following the Thanksgiving break. Work is now nearly complete in all buildings, Perrigan said.
-- David McGee Fight for school construction funding to continue in General Assembly-- NBC29.com Virginia: December 29, 2020 [ abstract] ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - 20th District Senator Bill Stanley is hoping a third time’s the charm. He’s bringing back legislation that would help improve outdated schools across the commonwealth and he says 2021 might just be the year the General Assembly says yes.
“I’m going to keep putting these bills in until they get passed,” Stanley told WDBJ7 this week.
His goal is straightforward, to ensure that students in rural areas and inner cities receive the same education as students in more prosperous regions like Northern Virginia.
“Children in the first and second grade in Loudoun County are being taught computer coding.” Stanley said, “Students in Lee County are in a building that was built around the time of World War I, only have one electric outlet in their classroom, so they can’t even get a white board or a computer into those classrooms. So we need to make sure that everybody receives the same educational opportunity and the same education.”
-- Joe Dashiell Fight for school construction funding to continue in General Assembly-- NBC29.com Virginia: December 29, 2020 [ abstract] ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - 20th District Senator Bill Stanley is hoping a third time’s the charm. He’s bringing back legislation that would help improve outdated schools across the commonwealth and he says 2021 might just be the year the General Assembly says yes.
“I’m going to keep putting these bills in until they get passed,” Stanley told WDBJ7 this week.
His goal is straightforward, to ensure that students in rural areas and inner cities receive the same education as students in more prosperous regions like Northern Virginia.
“Children in the first and second grade in Loudoun County are being taught computer coding.” Stanley said, “Students in Lee County are in a building that was built around the time of World War I, only have one electric outlet in their classroom, so they can’t even get a white board or a computer into those classrooms. So we need to make sure that everybody receives the same educational opportunity and the same education.”
-- Joe Dashiell Judge: NM funding system for school building projects unconstitutional-- Albuquerque Journal New Mexico: December 29, 2020 [ abstract]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A state judge in Gallup has ruled that New Mexico’s current system for Funding and facilitating brick and mortar projects and other big ticket items in school districts is unconstitutional and he is ordering state officials to come up with a system that is fair to all students.
The ruling, issued by 11th Judicial District Court Judge Louis E. DePauli Jr. on Tuesday, says the Zuni and Gallup-McKinley school districts have shown that the capital outlay system in place is not uniform or sufficient, which goes against constitutional requirements.
“The trial evidence established that property-wealthy districts can spend millions and millions of dollars to build physical facilities over and above the (Public School Capital Outlay Act) adequacy standards for physical facilities that property-poor districts can only dream about, all the while bypassing the utterly complex and tortuous process of applying for and receiving ‘grant assistance…'” DePauli said.
He also found that the “present statutory scheme itself creates and allows substantial disparities among school districts in capital outlay Funding.”
Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, said she needs more time to study the judgment, but believes the state should appeal the order.
“I see things in the ruling that don’t describe accurately what the state has been doing for the past decade on capital outlay,” Stewart said. She did not immediately elaborate on the inaccuracies.
Rep. Patty Lundstrom, D-Gallup, on the other hand, said the Legislature should change the capital outlay Funding system for public schools in the upcoming 60-day legislative session.
“I am very willing and ready to work on getting this corrected as the judge has directed,” said Lundstrom, who is also chairwoman of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. “It is my area of the state that has seen this disproportionate formula.”
-- Shelby Perea and Edmundo Carrillo U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich Lauds Inclusion Of Ventilation System Improvements For Elementary, Secondary Schools-- Los Alamos Daily Post National: December 26, 2020 [ abstract] From the Office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich::
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich introduced similar legislation, the Keeping Schools Safe Act, to improve indoor school air quality
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is lauding the inclusion of Funding directed to improve air ventilation systems in elementary and secondary schools in the emergency COVID-19 relief package.
Sen. Heinrich has been championing the effort to provide Funding for elementary and secondary schools to improve indoor air quality using proven technologies and reduce the transmission of COVID-19.
In October, Heinrich introduced the Keeping Schools Safe Act, and has been working with educators from districts across New Mexico during the pandemic to create safer indoor environments in schools.
The emergency COVID-19 relief package provides $82 billion in Funding for colleges and schools, including support for HVAC repair and replacement to mitigate virus transmission and reopen classrooms.
“If we follow the science, we can make pragmatic changes and use proven, innovative technologies to create safer learning environments now and into the future,” Heinrich said. “I’m pleased we were able to secure Funding for elementary and secondary schools to improve air quality and ventilation – putting them one step closer to safely reopening.”
-- Carol A. Clark COVID relief deal includes billions for schools to improve ventilation, address learning loss during the pandemic-- Mass Live Massachusetts: December 22, 2020 [ abstract]
The $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus deal approved by Congress includes billions for elementary and secondary schools, including dollars to help with improving ventilation and air quality during the pandemic.
A total of $54.3 billion has been secured for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. This will send formula Funding to states and school districts so they can respond to the coronavirus crisis.
Those dollars can be used for school facilities repairs and improvements, like heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems projects to improve indoor air quality, as well as addressing learning loss among students, including low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness and children and youth in foster care.
Like schools across the country, districts in Massachusetts have been working to improve HVAC systems so students can safely learn in classrooms. In Worcester, city officials continue to work on a $15 million project to upgrade both school and city air systems. Students in the district, which is the second-largest in Massachusetts, remain in remote learning.
-- Melissa Hanson Aging facilities top of mind for schools’ boss-- Moscow-Pullman Daily News Idaho: December 17, 2020 [ abstract] Moscow School District’s superintendent urged local legislators to support revising state rules concerning fundraising for new school facilities in a regular meeting of the district board of trustees Wednesday.
State Reps. Caroline Troy, R-Genesee, Brandon Mitchell, R-Moscow and State Sen. David Nelson, D-Moscow, attended the virtual meeting and heard from the district and suggested legislative priorities in the coming session scheduled to convene in January.
Moscow Superintendent Greg Bailey encouraged the legislators to consider ways to help the district replace aging facilities. Bailey said the youngest building in the district is more than 50 years old. He said it is difficult to pass a bond that would finance the acquisition or construction of new schools because state law requires the support of a supermajority of local voters to pass such a measure.
“The State of Idaho is really difficult to pass a bond — it’s one of the only states that asked for a supermajority and has very limited Funding support from the state level,” Bailey said. “We would really like to see something occurring that would help us entice our community into supporting a bond.”
Bailey asked that legislators consider submitting legislation that would either reduce that supermajority requirement or allow the district to raise money for new facilities some other way.
-- Scott Jackson How The Biden Administration Can Focus On Education In The First 100 Days-- Forbes National: December 17, 2020 [ abstract] Furthermore, the incoming Biden Administration should fulfill its campaign promise to prioritize updating school infrastructure, not only to improve student learning environments, but also to create thousands of construction jobs to aid economic recovery. Before the pandemic, one-third of America’s schools were in need of repairs or upgrades to major systems, such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Covid-19 has increased the urgency of these repairs, especially of ventilation systems, so students and staff can be safe in school buildings. The president-elect should work with Congress to immediately reintroduce and pass the Rebuild America’s Schools Act, which will provide $100 billion for school infrastructure, as well as propose a permanent federal school infrastructure Funding stream in his first budget request. These investments will create and sustain thousands of jobs, aiding in the nation’s economic recovery and helping to lessen the unemployment crisis. At the same time, these investments can help schools reduce carbon emissions and improve sustainability.
-- Scott Sargrad Westerly targets refinancing of bonds as way to address school capital improvement needs-- The Westerly Sun Rhode Island: December 15, 2020 [ abstract] WESTERLY — Members of the Town Council unanimously approved a motion allowing Town Manager J. Mark Rooney to move forward in refinancing general obligation bonds in an effort secure additional Funding to help meet the school district's capital improvement needs.
During a joint meeting between the Town Council and School Committee on Monday evening, Rooney said refinancing two bonds issued through Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corporation in 2011 would allow the town to reduce its interest rates considerably. The effort would not extend the length of the bond, he said, but would create an estimated $125,000 to $135,000 in savings per year over that time, or an upfront savings of approximately $1.8 million.
The exact savings would depend on the terms of refinancing and interest rate secured. There are currently 10 years remaining on the existing bond debt.
-- Jason Vallee WV School Building Authority giving Hampshire County $24M to consolidate elementary schools-- Charleston Gazette-Mail West Virginia: December 14, 2020 [ abstract] Hampshire County will close five elementary schools and build three new schools for those students, now that the state School Building Authority has pledged to chip in.
The Authority’s board voted Monday to provide the Hampshire school system $24 million over the next three years. That, combined with roughly $18.8 million the district is planning to borrow through selling bonds, is planned to fund the work.
Authority Executive Director David Roach said his agency’s usual December disbursement of tens of millions of dollars in school construction and renovation money is being postponed until April. He said that’s because the pandemic slowed counties’ development of their required new long-term school facilities plans.
But Hampshire successfully urged the agency to go ahead and promise to approve its Funding request. Earlier this year, Hampshire voters approved raising their property taxes to pay down the debt for the new schools, and the district argued a delay to April would interfere with moving forward.
Roach said he expects the Authority to still have $51.4 million to distribute to other counties in April.
-- Ryan Quinn Henrico School Board approves $100.1-million CIP funding request-- Henrico Citizen Virginia: December 11, 2020 [ abstract]
The Henrico School Board is requesting more than $54 million to renovate and expand the school system’s two Advanced Career Education centers, as part of its $100.1-million capital improvement program for Fiscal Year 2021-22, which will begin July 1.
The ACE centers currently offer courses in 36 industries, from automotive technology to landscaping, practical nursing to veterinary science, hotel catering to radio broadcasting and journalism. They are designed to train students for jobs in fields they can enter upon graduation.
Board members unanimously approved the CIP during their Thursday work session; it now will advance to the Henrico Board of Supervisors for consideration during that board’s coming budget process.
School Board members previously this fall had emphasized their desire to expand the ACE programs, particularly after plans for a third ACE center (at Glen Allen High School) fell through when some of the $37 million that had been earmarked for that project in the 2016 bond referndum was applied to other school projects.
-- Tom Lappas How deteriorating schools fuel the inequality crisis amid COVID-19-- PBS Newshour National: November 25, 2020 [ abstract]
Yvette Alston-Johnson was seething when she got the news. Children in Paterson, New Jersey, would not be allowed to go to school in-person this fall, while many of their peers in predominantly white and affluent suburbs would return.
Alston-Johnson attended Paterson public schools, as did her five children, and she has watched the buildings fall steadily into disrepair over the years. She is now the primary caregiver for her grandson Rayahn, who is in eighth grade at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Educational Complex, where close to 90 percent of students are Black or Latino.
“I feel like we get the short end of the stick,” said Alston-Johnson, who is 54. “We’re always last in line when it comes to our schools and money.”
“It’s cold in those buildings in the winter and then the A.C. doesn’t work in the summer; there’s mice running around,” she added. “If they did more upkeep on the buildings, the teachers would have been able to teach them in the buildings.”
Paterson, which serves mostly low-income families, has struggled to find the money to repair its buildings. Now, like districts across the country, it is seeing the spread of the coronavirus expose a crisis of crumbling and dilapidated school buildings brought on by decades of underFunding and neglect. The consequences are especially dire for Black and Latino children and for low-income children of all races. Schools serving these students were much more likely to remain closed this fall, in part because old buildings were deemed unsafe for both children and teachers during the pandemic. The fallout has left families scrambling for child care and students struggling to keep up with remote learning.
-- Bracey Harris, Meredith Kolodner, Neal Morton 10 new schools, additions and more: Williamson County School approves 2020-26 5-year plan-- Community Impact Newspaper Tennessee: November 17, 2020 [ abstract] As the county continues to grow in population, Williamson County Schools is planning for how it will expand capacity over the next several years.
During the WCS Board of Education meeting Nov. 16, the board unanimously approved a five-year plan for Funding requests through 2026. The 2020-26 plan includes $429.35 million in future Funding requests for projects that will be completed from fall 2021 to fall 2027.
“Every year, we present to the county commission our five-year projection of what we believe we need to do to address growth. It includes new building construction, building expansions, buses, maintenance—those big-cost items—as we grow,” WCS Superintendent Jason Golden said.
The bulk of the plan include $305 million in Funding for new schools to add capacity for additional students throughout the district. Future projects include six new elementary schools, three middle schools and a new high school, according to the project plan. Additions and renovation for existing schools are also included in the plan and are expected to cost roughly $78 million.
Projects to be funded this school year include additions to Summit and Ravenwood high schools, which will add 22 classrooms and an expansion of the cafeteria at each school. Those projects are slated to be complete in fall 2022.
-- Wendy Sturges Hart District to Receive $70 Million from State for School Facilities-- scvnews.com California: November 13, 2020 [ abstract] The California Office of Public School Construction is recommending to the State Allocation Board for the William S. Hart Union High School District to receive $70 million to be spent on capital projects.
In 2016, California voters approved Proposition 51, which asked for $9.1 billion to be spent on new construction and modernization for public schools across the state. The $70 million represents the money the Hart District applied for shortly after the proposition had been passed.
The District will pay off the lease revenue bonds secured to complete the construction of Castaic High School, and look to move forward with other improvements to various campuses that had been put on hold while waiting for appropriate Funding.
-- HART SCHOOL DISTRICT Funding Sought For School Districts Hurt By Tornadoes-- WHIO7 Ohio: November 10, 2020 [ abstract]
OHIO — Nearly a year and a half after multiple tornadoes ripped through the Miami Valley, local school districts are still hurting.
The property damage left districts with the loss of tax money because valuations dropped. So now two state lawmakers are trying to fix the problem with special financial help from the Statehouse.
Rep. J. Todd Smith, R-Farmersville and Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton introduced HB 480 to provide districts with some much needed relief. The bill provides a total of $1 million of state tax money to be shared among districts that qualify to make up for the loss of property valuation. The Funding is limited to districts that suffered losses from natural disasters on May 27 and 28, 2019.
Hearings on the bill opened Tuesday in the Ohio House Finance Committee. “Memorial Day 2019 was a dark day for Ohioans when 20 tornadoes hit our state in a 24 hour period,” said Rep. J. Todd Smith. There were more than 4,500 properties damaged that night and the dollar value estimated at $1 billion, according to Smith.
The money would come from a fund that had been created earlier by the legislature to help pay for natural disasters. The new legislation would permit an allocation to school districts for loss of tax valuation. Rep. Plummer said the money is badly needed by districts and would be put to a good use. "It could pay for those counselors we need for mental health in schools. The wrap around services we have been pushing for. When you lose taxes you lose services.
-- Jim Otte California voters pass most school construction bonds, parcel taxes on ballot-- EdSource California: November 06, 2020 [ abstract] While voters statewide likely defeated Proposition 15, which would raise taxes on commercial property to increase Funding for schools, voters in dozens of districts agreed by wide margins to raise their own taxes to support local schools.
A preliminary review of local school initiatives shows that at least 39 out of 60 districts passed school construction bonds and 11 out of 14 approved parcel taxes. The bond measures, which would raise $13 billion for new construction and renovation projects, included $7 billion for Los Angeles Unified, the state’s largest district. It received 78% of the vote; school districts’ general obligation bonds require a 55% majority vote to pass.
Although 4.5 million provisional and mail-in ballots have yet to be counted as of Thursday, the winners include Oakland Unified, with 77% support for a $735 million bond and Pasadena Unified’s $516 million measure, which 62% of voters supported. The four districts whose bonds lost are Maricopa, Wasco Union, Calaveras and the 129-student Dehesa School District in San Diego County, which proposed a $3 million bond.
-- JOHN FENSTERWALD Wisconsin Voters Approved 84 Percent Of School Referendums In Election-- wpr.org Wisconsin: November 06, 2020 [ abstract] The U.S. presidential race at the top of the ticket might have drawn the most attention in Tuesday's election, but further down the ballot, 41 Wisconsin school districts had a lot of money at stake.
Of the 51 school referendums on ballots around the state, 43 of them — or 84 percent — got voters' approval.
In each of the 41 districts, voters either approved or rejected school referendums in two categories: operational, or requests for money for day-to-day activities and programming, and capital projects, which were for borrowing money for renovations, new facilities or other building improvements.
Ten districts had referendums for both operational expenses and capital projects.
The largest requests came from the Madison Metropolitan School District, which asked for $317 million in capital improvements — including high school renovations and a new elementary school — and another $33 million phased in over four years to support operations. Madison's operational referendum is recurring, meaning that the school district asked to raise the maximum amount of money it can bring in through a combination of property tax and state Funding beyond the years listed in the ballot question (in Madison's case, 2024-25).
Both referendums passed with more than 75 percent of the vote, in an election with record turnout in Madison and Dane County.
-- Madeline Fox LCS' capital improvement plan could bring renovations, new elementary school building-- 13News Virginia: November 05, 2020 [ abstract] LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) -- There are big plans in the works for Lynchburg City Schools; the school board approved a capital improvement plan for the next five years.
Plans in the proposal include big-ticket renovations and potentially a brand new elementary school. The fate of those plans now rests with the city for approval and Funding.
One of the projects LCS lists as a top priority for the next few years is Sandusky Elementary School. Steve Gatzke, the Senior Director for Finance and Operations at Lynchburg City Schools, said an aging roof and HVAC system top the list of issues identified with the building.
"We are going to have to upgrade the electrical, we are going to have to put a new roof on,” he said.
A new elementary school on Sandusky’s property is on a long list of projects LCS wants to tackle over the next five years. Also making the list; renovations and gym additions to Linkhorne and Paul Munro Elementary Schools.
“The mechanical systems, the electrical systems and everything are at the end of their useful life,” Gatzke said, “So the longer we put off doing renovations, what's referred to as deferred maintenance, the more expensive it gets."
-- Hannah McComsey Voters approve school bonds statewide in Rhode Island-- WJAR Rhode Island: November 04, 2020 [ abstract]
CRANSTON, R.I. (WJAR) — Voters across Rhode Island have given school districts the green light to move forward with some major projects.
Bond proposals in Providence, Cranston, Warwick, Burrillville and Newport passed, totaling more than $456 million.
In Providence, as of Wednesday afternoon, an overwhelming majority of voters passed the $140 million bond.
The district had made a 10-year commitment to invest up to $400 million in school infrastructure.
Funds will be used to ready the former St. Joseph's Hospital site that will eventually house preschool through eighth grade students.
In Cranston, close to 90 percent of voters, as of Friday afternoon, approved the $147 million bond.
The Funding will be used for renovations and improvements to a number of schools, including a new HVAC system at Cranston High School West and a new Gladstone Elementary School.
"I am so grateful from all of the support we've received," Superintendent Jeannine Nota-Masse said in an interview with NBC 10 News Wednesday.
The average age of Cranston's 23 schools and close to 30 buildings is nearly 70 years, the superintendent said.
"Maintaining all of those buildings has been challenging," Nota-Masse said.
The building that houses part of Cranston High School East and administration turned 100 last year.
-- ASHLEY CULLINANE Voters Pass Most Of $3.7 Billion Dallas ISD Bond Package-- CBS DFW Texas: November 04, 2020 [ abstract]
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Voters passed most of the state-record $3.7 billion bond package for Dallas ISD on Election Day to help improve school infrastructure.
With 100% precincts reporting, $3.5 billion of the Funding initiative was passed, setting a record the largest school bond ever in Texas.
The bond was divided into five propositions. Propositions A and B were passed, while C, D and E were not.
A majority of the funds, more than $3.2 billion, fell under Proposition A, which goes toward 14 replacement schools and upgrades and repairs to others. The 14 replacement schools include Atwell Academy, Hall Elementary School, Peabody Elementary School, Dallas Environmental Science Academy, Longfellow Middle School, Marcus Elementary School, DeGolyer Elementary School, Geneva Heights Elementary School, Hexter Elementary School, Reilly Elementary School, Kiest Elementary School, Urban Park Elementary School, JQ Adams Elementary School and Pease Elementary School.
-- Staff Writer Alsea voters narrowly favor school construction bond measure-- Albany Democrat-Herald Oregon: November 03, 2020 [ abstract] The Alsea School District, by a margin of 14 votes, may have secured Funding for renovations and facility additions through a ballot measure in the general election.
Measure 2-129 asked voters whether the district should issue $2.1 million in general obligation bonds, with the money being repaid from property taxes. Affected property owners would pay an additional $1 per $1,000 of assessed value until the bond is repaid.
Based on unofficial Benton County election results as of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, 299 voters were in favor of the measure, while 285 were against it.
The money would pay for new instructional spaces, a weight room with after-hours community access and a covered bus waiting area as well as a remodeled shop facility, lunchrooms, restrooms, bus repair facility, track and more.
-- Nia Tariq A glimpse inside Foust Elementary, a school deemed too dilapidated to fix-- WFMY2 North Carolina: October 28, 2020 [ abstract]
GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — WFMY News 2 got a tour inside a Guilford County school that an outside agency said is beyond repair: Foust Elementary School.
Under the $2 billion dollar master facilities plan that Guilford County Schools announced last year, Foust Elementary is set to be knocked down and rebuilt along with 21 other schools.
The rest of the 100-plus schools in the district will undergo repairs & renovations.
The Funding of the complete overhaul is dependent on two items on the ballot right now: a $300 million dollar school bond, and a quarter-cent sales tax.
The district is hoping voters check ‘yes.’
"To me that's a no-brainer we have to vote yes," Foust Elementary Principal Nicholas Dixon stated. "That investment we'll see the return investment for many, many years to come."
Principal Dixon and Head Custodian Benny Rivera showed us the wear and tear around the building that was constructed in 1965.
"These walls are not stable they actually move at times," Dixon said of the pod classrooms. "They shake, and you can hear everything going on in the other room which is not conducive to a good learning environment."
"Sometimes you have to turn the heat off, or turn the AC off because the water leaks," Rivera explained.
-- Jessica Winters COVID-19 costs, lack of inspections, add to schools’ capital funding needs-- AZ ED News Arizona: October 28, 2020 [ abstract] Arizona school district leaders say money spent to update school ventilation systems this summer and other costs to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when campuses re-opened is just one example of how a lack of inspections by the Arizona School Facilities Board has added to their ongoing capital Funding needs.
“An important part of coming back to school safely is having good working HVAC systems that are able to move air from the outside to inside so that stagnant air that could be infected with coronavirus isn’t suspended for extended periods of time,” said Chris Thomas, general counsel and associate executive director of Arizona School Boards Association.
Yet not a single Arizona school was inspected to make sure there was proper ventilation before in-person classes began this school year, because the Arizona School Facilities Board, the agency required by state law to inspect all district school buildings, had paused inspections as the pandemic began in March, The Arizona Republic reported.
This leaves “schools susceptible for these ventilation failures which makes it more likely the virus will spread in schools,” Thomas said.
-- LISA IRISH Lafayette Parish School Board: Tax renewal essential to facility improvements, eliminating 'portables'-- Lafayette Daily Advertiser Louisiana: October 28, 2020 [ abstract]
Lafayette Parish residents will be deciding on Election Day whether to renew a 5-mill property tax that produces about $11.7 million a year for school construction, maintenance and facility improvements.
The tax, which comes up for renewal every 10 years, is set to expire in 2021, and Lafayette Parish School Board members say the school system is counting on voters to renew it Tuesday.
"With the economy the way it's been and the uncertainty we're facing, the loss of this revenue would be devastating to the school district," Board President Britt Latiolais said.
This money has been used for facility improvements, capital projects and self-funded construction like recently added covered pavilions at elementary schools and classroom wing additions at nine schools across the district.
"We're working hard," Latiolais said. "We're trying to spend the taxpayers' money in a smart way."
Facility Funding crucial to replacing 'portables'
These construction dollars are essential to the board's mission to eliminate the need for temporary classrooms at Lafayette Parish schools, now and in the future, board members said.
Adding the new permanent classroom wings has reduced the need for portable buildings by about half since 2016, board member Justin Centanni said. Just over 200 classrooms remain in portable buildings, compared to about 400 in 2015, he said.
"That doesn't happen overnight," Centanni said. "It's not all of them, but it's half of what it used to be."
-- Leigh Guidry Trying to force state to build schools in poorest districts, advocate says COVID-19 does not absolve it of responsibilit-- NJ Spotlight News New Jersey: October 22, 2020 [ abstract] As Education Law Center heads back to court to force compliance with Abbott v. Burke decision, issue overshadowed by scandal-racked Schools Development Authority.
Early this year, there was an ambitious plan taking shape behind the scenes in Trenton to create a $7 billion bond initiative — $4 billion for court-mandated school construction projects and $3 billion to replenish the state’s crumbling, lead-contaminated water infrastructure.
Then COVID-19 hit, tax revenues tanked and the good intention became another casualty of the pandemic, according to Senate President Steve Sweeney, who shared the unpublicized plan with NJ Spotlight News on Wednesday for the first time.
Pandemics and fiscal crises notwithstanding, David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center (ELC), is about to haul Gov. Phil Murphy and the Legislature back into court to comply with a long-standing state Supreme Court order to build and renovate school buildings in the state’s 31 poorest districts and bring them up to par with the rest of the state.
“They can’t simply ignore it. They’ve got to find the Funding,” Sciarra told NJ Spotlight News. “We are not going to walk away from this.”
-- IAN T. SHEARN City Receives $151 Million From State For New Norwalk High School-- Patch Norwalk Connecticut: October 09, 2020 [ abstract] NORWALK, CT — Stressing that the new school will meet the needs of 21st Century learning, state and local officials Friday announced the $151 million grant that will pay for most of the new Norwalk High School.
The total cost of the planned 330,000-square-foot building, which will house both Norwalk High School and P-Tech, is expected to be about $189 million, $38 million or so will come from city coffers.
Construction will not begin on the school until 2021 at the earliest, and it will take well over a year to build.
"This school is 49 years old, and it was modeled after a prison," said state Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff about current Norwalk High School. Duff, who was instrumental in securing state Funding for the school, is a graduate of Norwalk High School. "It does not meet the standards of 21st Century learning."
-- Alfred Branch To safely reopen schools, we have to talk about indoor air quality and ventilation-- EdSource California: October 05, 2020 [ abstract] As counties across California look to reopen schools for onsite instruction, education and public health officials need to ask themselves a very important question: Have we made sure all schools and classrooms have adequate fresh air ventilation to reduce coronavirus transmission? If the answer is no, students and staff will get sick.
Some help emerged from Sacramento last week: the Governor signed Assembly Bill 841, which will tackle a slice of this. The bill creates the School Reopening Ventilation and Energy Efficiency Verification and Repair Program, directing upwards of $600 million in energy efficiency Funding to test, adjust and repair heating, air conditioning and ventilation (HVAC) systems in public schools over the next three years.
Our public school facilities are on the front lines of this pandemic. Physically closing school buildings in March was a necessary and swift tool for “extreme” physical distancing to combat Covid-19. We were instructed to keep space between each other and to sanitize frequently touched surfaces and our hands regularly. Six months into this pandemic, we’ve learned a great deal about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and how it transmits. We now know this virus can spread through the air.
With an airborne virus, the absolute riskiest places for groups of people are indoor environments that have very poor fresh air ventilation. This describes thousands of public school classrooms across California.
To reduce risk of spread when someone with Covid-19 enters the school building, school districts are being advised to increase levels of surface cleaning, ensuring frequent hand washing for students and staff, conducting daily symptom screening, requiring mask wearing, employing space utilization to physically distance students and staff, and ensuring higher levels of indoor air ventilation and filtration. Local school leaders are devising protocols and operations plans for each of these mitigation measures to their best of their ability. Researchers in the healthy buildings program at Harvard note in their risk mitigation guidance to schools, “Although it is unlikely that any given school will be able to incorporate every recommendation, we want to emphasize that these strategies work together as part of a multi-layered plan to reduce exposure and limit transmission of Covid-19 in schools.”
-- Jeff Vincent - Commentary Minnesota school district rejects, and then reconsiders, state's guidelines for reopening amid pandemic-- StarTribune Minnesota: October 02, 2020 [ abstract] A rural school district southwest of the Twin Cities has become the first to test the limits of the state’s guidelines for school reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board of Sibley East Public Schools voted last month to shift from hybrid to in-person instruction for all students — rejecting the recommendations of the district’s superintendent, state education officials and the state’s virus-count metrics for reopening as the number of local cases rose. Board members said they were following the wishes of a majority of parents, who are struggling to balance work with their children’s complicated schedules, and trying to help students who can’t log on in areas with spotty broadband connections.
But the move was short lived. Under pressure from the state Department of Education and advice of the district’s attorney, who warned that defying the state could prompt a legal battle, lost Funding and fines or jail time for school board members, the board held an emergency session and reversed its vote. Sibley East’s reopening lasted exactly one week.
-- Erin Golden ‘Just untenable’: Calls mount for improvements at South Lake Elementary-- WTOP Maryland: October 02, 2020 [ abstract]
Parents, teachers and local religious leaders turned out at an elementary school in Montgomery County, Maryland, to call for construction of a new school, which they say is desperately needed.
Members of Action in Montgomery, a community advocacy group, stood outside the building that was riddled with problems, from overcrowding to infrastructure and even rodents, as WTOP reported over the summer.
South Lake has almost 900 students, which is well over the original building capacity, and is home to the most Black and Latino students of any county elementary school. It also has the highest number of children who are participating in free meal programs.
“It’s just untenable to think that a school that’s filled with Black and brown children is going to be passed up,” said Daniel Xisto, pastor at Takoma Park SDA Church, directly to the county council. “They need to be woken up.”
Back in May, county lawmakers voted unanimously to delay South Lake’s new school construction by a year, with a completion date of September 2024, despite Montgomery County Public Schools’ recommendation to prioritize the school in the county’s Capital Improvements Program.
The Montgomery County school board recommended that the council reverse their decision and put the school back on track for a September 2023 completion.
County Council member Craig Rice chaired a session of his Education and Culture Committee last month to revisit the issue. A plan is on the table to rearrange and front-load fiscal year Funding to accomplish that goal.
All committee members agreed during their meeting that South Lake needed to be prioritized, including Rice, who said that South Lake “certainly rises to the top.”
-- Ken Duffy New Mexico senator seeks better air quality in US schools-- The Press of Atlantic City New Mexico: October 01, 2020 [ abstract] SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich introduced a bill Thursday aimed at improving air quality in schools.
The Keeping Schools Safe Act would include $1 billion in Funding for ventilation and air quality monitoring. It also would mandate the creation of coronavirus-specific technical guidance for heating, ventilation and air condition systems.
School districts across the country are struggling to balance the health risks faced by educators at risk for COVID-19 with parents’ and children’s needs for in-person learning. The challenges are unprecedented, Heinrich said.
“That is why I am introducing this legislation to provide elementary and secondary schools with Funding to improve air quality and ventilation – putting them one step closer to safely reopening,” the New Mexico Democrat said.
Heinrich does not have any Republic co-sponsors for the bill. It could join a number of COVID-19 relief bills that have stalled in the Senate.
On Thursday, the White House backed a $1.6 billion counter-offer from Republicans on a $3.4 trillion aid package passed by the House in March.
Heinrich’s bill focuses narrowly on air quality and supports in-person learning, a priority of President Donald Trump. It also would give final grant-making authority to the U.S. Education Department.
-- CEDAR ATTANASIO AP Gainesville School District gets approval for 90/10 grant to build new FEMA storm shelter-- Ozark County Times Missouri: September 30, 2020 [ abstract] Twelve years and two more attempts after the Gainesville R-V School District was first approved for a FEMA grant to build a storm shelter “safe room,” the district was notified last week that a new 90/10 grant for a shelter has been approved.
The structure should become a reality sometime in the next 30 months, said Gainesville superintendent Justin Gilmore, who called the government Funding the “Cadillac of grants.”
The school district’s 10 percent portion of the $2,274,240 FEMA project amounts to $227,000. Gilmore said last week there also will be additional costs related to finishing out the hardened structure to prepare it for the district’s everyday use and its primary role as a storm shelter for the school district’s students and staff members as well as residents within a half-mile radius of the school.
Six months is allotted for the design period, he said. Gainesville’s first storm shelter grant was approved by FEMA in 2008, but at that time, the school board added other improvements to the shelter plans, and to pay for the whole project, the district asked voters to continue its current tax levy at the time, which was $3.49 per $100 assessed valuation. Voters turned down that levy-extension request by 34 votes, and the grant expired. It is believed that the 2008 grant, like the 2020 version, required a 90/10 “match,” meaning FEMA would provide 90 percent of the cost of the shelter and the district would pay 10 percent. (The Times could not immediately confirm whether the 2008 grant was a 75/25 or a 90/10 matching grant, but former school board president Steve Rackley said Monday his recollection was that it was 90/10.)
When voters rejected that 2008 request to continue the $3.49 levy, which had been approved in 1994 with a sunset clause, it was allowed to drop to $3.03. After another decrease occurred, the Gainesville School District’s tax levy dropped to its current $2.75 per $100 assessed valuation, the lowest in the county – and the lowest allowed by the state.
Since then, several attempts have been made to increase the school district’s tax levy, but voters have turned down all ballot proposals.
-- Sue Ann Jones Legislature doubles funds to support air quality in schools-- Mountain Times Vermont: September 30, 2020 [ abstract] After the $6.5 million that was initially allocated by the state to improve air quality in schools throughout Vermont was quickly claimed, Vermont House approved an increase to $11.5 million then the Senate proposed a further increase to $13.5 million.
The program was created to improve ventilation and air filtration systems in support of safer school environments. The total amount needed to address HVAC in public schools as a mitigation measure for Covid-19 is estimated to be in the range of $12-18 million, according to the Vermont School Board Association (VSBA).
The money has come at a convenient time for the Windsor Central Unified Union School District (WCUUSD), which was already in the process of purchasing and installing an HVAC system for The Prosper Valley School before such Funding was announced.
(TPVS was closed in the fall of 2018 after mold was discovered and hasn’t been reopened.)
WCUUSD had allocated $100,000 toward a HVAC system and $30,000 for deep cleaning at TPVS, but will likely not need to use all of that Funding. When the project was put up for bids in July, the winning estimates totaled just $71,000. And TPVS received a grant from the state for $14,000 toward the HVAC system.
Additionally, Woodstock High school received $54,000 toward a $55,000 make-up air system.
But a timeline for reopening TPVS is still undetermined.
-- Polly Mikula Study of Baltimore County high school buildings calls for $1.2 billion in renovations and expansions, but not rebuilds-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: September 30, 2020 [ abstract]
A study of construction needs at Baltimore County’s 24 high schools has concluded that none of the buildings require replacement, but should collectively undergo renovations and expansions that could cost up to $1.2 billion.
County board of education members heard a presentation Tuesday night on the findings of the study, which was conducted by the consulting firm CannonDesign. The county and school system hired the firm to develop construction priorities for a joint Multi-Year Improvement Plan for All Schools by assessing capacity concerns, educational equity and the condition of facilities.
The recommendations are nonbinding, meaning elected officials could face tough decisions soon on how to fund the projects and whether to prioritize high schools for renovations and expansions as ranked by the consultants.
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., a former teacher, called the report’s findings “dire” and called on the state to provide additional Funding relief.
“As the report pointed out" Olszewski said, “there’s absolutely no way this gets done without the state being a part of it.”
CannonDesign ranked each high school according to need using a score that was based 35% on educational equity, 32% on facility condition and 33% on capacity concerns. The score’s weighting is based on 22,000 responses to a county-wide community survey.
-- LILLIAN REED Massachusetts School Building Authority to sell $395M-- The Bond Buyer Massachusetts: September 29, 2020 [ abstract]
The Massachusetts School Building Authority intends to sell $395 million of Series 2020C taxable senior dedicated sales tax reFunding bonds competitively on Wednesday.
PFM is the financial advisor; Mintz Levin is the bond counsel. Greenberg Traurig LLP is disclosure counsel.
Maturities will run through 2043. Scheduled closing is Oct. 8.
Moody’s Investors Service rates the bonds Aa2. S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings rate them AA-plus and AAA, respectively.
The state legislature created the quasi-independent authority in 2004 to overhaul the process of Funding capital improvement projects in public schools statewide. State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg oversees a seven-member board of directors, which meets six times a year to approve projects.
Since 2004, MSBA has made $14.7 billion in payments to cities, towns and regional school districts.
In addition, the authority has completed final audits of 1,167 projects, totaling more than $18.7 billion in submitted costs.
Authority initiatives include a collaborative procurement program aimed at saving school districts money on furniture buy purchasing in bulk together with other districts. Working with the nonprofit, Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium, manufacturers have indicated a willingness to provide deeper discounts.
-- Paul Burton Rise in COVID cases already causing school building closures across Minnesota-- MinnPost Minnesota: September 25, 2020 [ abstract] Elizabeth Shockman reports for MPR: “Three weeks into the new academic year, COVID-19 cases are already causing some K-12 districts across Minnesota to close their school buildings and send teachers and students into quarantine. More than 350 of the more than 2,000 schools across the state have already had an instance of at least one student or staff member contract the virus. In some instances, there have been multiple cases at those schools.”
Meanwhile, Josh Verges writes for the Pioneer Press: “Students in several large Minnesota school districts are heading back to class after starting the year learning from home because of the coronavirus pandemic. Nine of the state’s 50 largest districts began the school year with every grade in distance learning, according to a Pioneer Press review of plans posted online. Two of those districts — Mounds View and North St. Paul – Maplewood – Oakdale — since have invited some or all of their students back part-time. Osseo Area and St. Louis Park will join them next week with part-time in-person instruction. And Roseville Area and Robbinsdale have plans to start reopening school buildings next month.”
The Star Tribune’s Libor Jany says, “U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump’s daughter and a top White House adviser, made a surprise visit to north Minneapolis Thursday as part of a Midwest tour to highlight what Republicans say is growing lawlessness in Democratic-controlled cities. … Thursday’s event featured the testimony of one law enforcement officer, Matt Hagen, a Hennepin County sheriff’s deputy and president of the state Fraternal Order of Police. Hagen said that police were feeling besieged and that calls in Minneapolis to cut their Funding would only undercut law enforcement’s ability to fight crime.”
WCCO-TV also reports: “Some people trying to get a flu shot this week are being turned away. With COVID-19 concerns and regular flu season warnings, health care providers say they’re seeing an unprecedented demand for flu vaccines.”
Aaron Lavinsky and Erin Adler write for the Star Tribune: “Minneapolis police faced off with about 100 people gathered Thursday night in downtown Minneapolis to protest local and national issues. The demonstrators began their rally near the federal courthouse and then marched to several sites around downtown. Among their grievances were the lack of charges in Breonna Taylor’s March shooting death by police in Louisville, Ky., as well as Thursday morning’s clearing of a homeless encampment in Peavey Park, in south Minneapolis.”
The AP’s Scott Bauer reports: “Wisconsin’s daily count of COVID-19 cases hit its second-highest total to date on Thursday, while the seven-day average topped 1,900 for the first time. To date, Wisconsin has seen more than 108,000 positive cases of the coronavirus and 1,265 deaths, the state Department of Health Services reported. The 2,392 new cases reported Thursday was second only to 2,533 new cases reported less than a week ago on Sept. 18. The seven-day average was 1,939. That was nearly three times the seven-day average of 665 a month ago.”
-- Brian Lambert Task force set to address ‘school capacity crisis’-- The Observer News Florida: September 24, 2020 [ abstract] Taking their case to Hillsborough County commissioners this month, school officials warned of an “imminent school capacity crisis” without a concerted effort to secure buildable sites for new schools in high-growth areas.
In the move to create a Public School Siting Task Force, school officials reported in south Hillsborough County alone the need to build 31 schools over the next 15 years to keep pace with residential growth.
The school district owns one site on Bishop Road that could accommodate two schools, but County officials have ruled against a necessary finding of consistency due to a lack of Funding to upgrade substandard roads.
Therein lies the rub, according to Chris Farkas, the school district’s chief of operations, who at a recent school board meeting essentially acknowledged that in south Hillsborough County, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack to find sites that are large enough to site schools and have adequate access roads.
Meanwhile, a projected need for two new schools per year, on average, has been identified for the area, amounting to 19 elementary, five middle and seven high schools overall.
This comes on the heels of two new schools opening in the area this school year — Jule F. Sumner High School in the Balm/Riverview area at 10650 Balm Road, and Belmont Elementary School in the Belmont Community, west of U.S. 301 in the Greater Riverview/Ruskin area.
-- LINDA CHION KENNEY Commissioners Approve State Capital Improvements Program for St. Mary’s County Public Schools-- The Southern Maryland Chronicle Maryland: September 23, 2020 [ abstract] LEONARDTOWN, MD – The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County voted unanimously to authorize Commissioner President Randy Guy to sign a letter of support for an increase of $8,167,000 to the St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS) FY2022 – FY2027 State Capital Improvement Program during their regular meeting Tuesday. Sept. 22. This Funding is for the improve school buildings and to conduct scheduled maintenance.
The request covers several projects through 2027, including the limited renovation of Mechanicsville Elementary School, an HVAC systemic renovation at Town Creek Elementary School, the modernization of Lettie Marshall Dent Elementary School, a partial roof replacement at Great Mills High School, an HVAC systemic renovation at Piney Point Elementary School, a roof and HVAC systemic renovation at Green Holly Elementary School, and an HVAC systemic renovation at Chopticon High School.
The life cycle replacement of building components is tracked through the SMCPS Comprehensive Maintenance Plan for Educational Facilities. It involves close coordination between the Department of Capital Planning and the Department of Maintenance. These capital needs are outlined each year in the Educational Facilities Master Plan. As facility conditions change, projects and time frames are adjusted accordingly.
-- St. Mary's County Public Information Office Maury County Public Schools facilities will require more than $300 million in coming decades
-- The Daily Herald Tennessee: September 21, 2020 [ abstract] Maury County Public Schools will require more than $300 million in ongoing repairs and maintenance over the next 20 years, according to a newly revised report of the public school system’s facilities.
In 2016, and again in 2018, the Maury County Commission gave the school district a total of $32 million in bonds to fund necessary repairs to the public school system. The Funding was based on the the results of a system-wide inspection of its facilities carried out by EMG, now Bureau Veritas, a company specializing in testing, inspection and certification.
Now, at five-year mark of the program, Bureau Veritas has again reviewed the school district’s facilities with the added analysis of the structural integrity of the MCPS facilities and campuses.
The report has identified $370,000 worth of safety issues at the public school district, $3,175,500 in needed repairs to the integrity of the school facilities, $88,800 in accessibility, $5,500 in environmental improvements, $4,861,700 in modernization and $113,339,900 in major repairs and improvements to the life cycle of the school district’s buildings.
-- Mike Christen Councilors: School debt burden worries many-- Gloucester Daily Times Massachusetts: September 18, 2020 [ abstract] With a bottom line now attached to Gloucester's proposed combined elementary school project, the question stands: Will taxpayers be able to afford the added costs during a pandemic?
Based on what he has heard from residents, Councilor at-Large Jamie O'Hara doesn't seem to think so.
"I'm having great pains on how do we justify constructing basically an $80 million school which is, if you will, a luxury item," O'Hara said at combined School Committee and City Council meeting earlier this week. "We have existing schools."
He noted that many of his constituents who have raised concerns are unemployed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
"She is afraid," O'Hara said, explaining that one senior resident had expressed worry about trying to live in a city she loves when she can't afford to and is not able to work.
If Gloucester residents approve the debt exclusion on Nov. 3, the city projected that Gloucester homeowners will pay 20 cents per $1,000 valuation to cover the almost $40 million of expenses to combine East Gloucester and Veterans' Memorial elementary school in a new building. For example, the owner of a $500,000 home would pay $100 more in taxes a year.
The Massachusetts School Building Association has agreed to grant no more than $26.9 million toward Funding the construction project, which has a total estimated cost of $66.7 million.
John Dunn, the city's chief financial officer, has requested a loan order of $4.2 million to cover the cost of renting space for Veterans Memorial students and staff after their school is demolished and before the new school opens, relocation of the Mattos ball field, and the demolition of East Gloucester Elementary School building and resulting work.
-- Taylor Ann Bradford DCPS Superintendent reports half cent sales tax would mean almost $2 billion for schools-- FirstCoast News Florida: September 18, 2020 [ abstract]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Diana Greene says the half cent sales tax would mean almost $2 billion for maintenance and repairs and some of the district's crumbling schools.
“Our average school age is about 62 years old, so they would garner Social Security," Greene said.
Duval County schools are, on average, the oldest in the state.
Greens said some buildings aren't able to get basic WiFi because they were built more than a hundred years ago.
“I can’t tell you how many times we have to reach principals on our walkie talkie system because their cell phones do not work in the building," Greene said.
Cracked floors, crumbling walls, and old technology are some other issues plaguing county schools.
“Some of our schools have so many of what we call technical issues, such as HVAC, electrical, and plumbing that it would be cheaper for the district to build a whole new school," Greene said.
Duval County Public Schools produced a video to show issues inside schools. They say state Funding cuts in 2009 and 2010 for renovation, maintenance, and construction have left them deep in the hole.
“Sandalwood High School, our largest high school serving close to 3,000 students, has over 40 portables on their campus," Greene said.
The half-cent tax would remove the portable and replace them with brick and mortar buildings.
“It means something to our communities," Greene said. "They want great schools in their communities, and they want facilities that look they we all care about education for our children”
People in Duval County will be able to vote on the referendum this November.
-- Dawn White Trump Administration Announces Nearly $13 Billion In Aid For Puerto Rico-- WAMU 88.5 Puerto Rico: September 18, 2020 [ abstract] Puerto Rico is being promised nearly $13 billion in federal disaster Funding to repair its electrical and education infrastructure three years after Hurricane Maria’s devastation and six weeks before the presidential election.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to award two separate grants to help rebuild Puerto Rico’s electrical grid system and educational facilities, the White House announced Friday.
“Today’s grant announcements represent some of the largest awards in FEMA’s history for any single disaster recovery event and demonstrate the Federal Government’s continuing commitment to help rebuild the territory and support the citizens of Puerto Rico and their recovery goals,” the White House statement said.
Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm in September 2017, killing at least 3,000 residents and essentially destroying an electrical system that was already unreliable. Parts of the island remained without power for almost a year.
When asked why he had announced the plans 46 days before an election, and not in the aftermath of the devastating storm three years ago, President Trump blamed Democrats and said, “We’ve been working on it for a long time.”
The White House said $9.6 billion in federal Funding will help the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority “repair and replace thousands of miles of transmission and distribution lines, electrical substations, power generation systems [and] office buildings,” and make other improvements to the grid.
-- Rachel Treisman The cost of reopening schools amid a pandemic? IBO projects NYC will need an extra $32M a week.-- Chalkbeat New York New York: September 17, 2020 [ abstract] How much more will it cost for New York City schools to reopen their buildings amid a litany of new health and safety mandates and additional staffing needs?
An estimate from the city’s Independent Budget Office, released Thursday, puts the weekly price tag at $31.6 million for staffing, cleaning, and coronavirus testing, among other expenses. Conducted at the request of Councilman Mark Treyger, the IBO analysis found that that these costs fall on multiple city agencies — not just the education department.
“It’s possible that some of the costs can be reimbursed with future federal packages or any other type of aid that might be available,” said Sarita Subramanian, supervising education policy analyst with the IBO. “I think the point we were trying to make is that these are costs that, up front, the city will have to find Funding for in some way.”
The actual costs are in flux as the city continues to change course, delaying the start of in-person school for most students. At the same time, families are still opting into fully remote learning and teachers continue to get medical accommodations to work from home. But the IBO offers a first look at the financial toll of reopening city school buildings during the coronavirus pandemic and as the city faces a $9 billion deficit over two years. Potential state budget cuts could further strain city coffers — though the state canceled plans to withhold some money from districts at the end of this month.
The education department questioned the IBO estimate. And on Thursday morning, as Mayor Bill de Blasio announced another delay in the reopening of school buildings, he told reporters that the city will spare no resources to ensure a safe reopening, saying “it’s a budget priority” and the city will make “cuts and changes if that’s what it takes.”
-- Reema Amin and Sam Park School Building Authority awards $7 million for school projects-- MetroNews West Virginia: September 14, 2020 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state School Building Authority approved roughly $7 million in Funding for a dozen school construction and maintenance projects during a meeting Monday that originated in Charleston.
The SBA annually awards grants from its Major Improvement Projects (MIP) and Three Percent Grants categories.
“There were a lot of security and HVAC projects,” SBA Director of Architectural Services Ben Ashley said. “They are all dealing with the present issues. They’re not always the major new, big projects, big additions but a lot of time they address some critical needs in counties that really need some help.”
Projects in Calhoun, Kanawha, Lincoln, Preston, Randolph, Upshur and Webster counties received approval in the MIP program. The most expensive is a $1 million addition and renovation project at Ruthlawn Elementary near Charleston in Kanawha County.
“They propose to build a exploratorium STEM-style classroom space to eliminate the need for two portable classrooms. That’s an exciting project for Kanawha County,” Ashley said.
-- Jeff Jenkins Marion's school repair budget is drying up-- Ocala Star Banner Florida: September 07, 2020 [ abstract]
Robert Knight, the school district's facilities director, knows the clock is ticking when it comes to mounting maintenance costs of aging school facilities.
Marion County Public Schools has 7 million square feet of space inside of 47 school campuses and dozens of district offices throughout a county the size of Rhode Island.
Marion County needs $553.9 million in the next five years to renovate and repair all of its facilities. But during that time, through 2024-25, the district anticipates it will only collect $208.7 million to pay for those projects.
That means it will receive only 28% of that needed Funding, according to Knight's five-year work plan, which he sends to the state each year.
“Fifty percent of our schools are 60 years or older,” Knight said on Friday. “And two-thirds of our schools are 30 years or older.”
It’s time for many roofs to be replaced, in some cases for a second time, and many schools have air conditioning units that are on the brink of failure because they have reached the outer limits of use.
“The rule of thumb is that most air conditioning systems last between 20 and 25 years,” Knight said. “That’s the same for a roof. One thing that impacts the lifespan is how much maintenance we can do along the way.”
-- Joe Callahan As the school year begins, Alaska school administrators worry low enrollment could impact state funding-- KTOO Alaska: September 04, 2020 [ abstract] Between online learning and in-person classes, students throughout Alaska are back in school.
And with many families opting out of their regular schools, administrators are concerned about low enrollment and the reduced state Funding that could follow.
It may be up to lawmakers to come up with a solution.
This school year is off to an unprecedented start, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt normal operations.
Whether students are back in the classroom depends on where they live and what families are comfortable with. And many aren’t yet sure what that means.
“Parents are just uncertain or unsure of how this school year will go. And they want some certainty,” said Shawn Arnold, Superintendent of the Valdez City School District. He says that uncertainty has convinced a number of parents to take their children out of schools. Many are turning to home-school.
“We’ve lost about 20 plus students to other home-school programs,” said Arnold. “And then we had about 60 students transfer from our classrooms into our home-school program that we have here in Valdez.”
For a district of less than 1,000 students, those numbers are significant.
The amount of money a student’s home district gets from the state for correspondence students depends on which program they enroll in.
Financially, there is a lot at stake. State Funding of public schools is tied directly to enrollment. Students are counted during a four-week period that begins at the end of September. Generally, more students means more Funding. Factors like school size, cost-of-living, home schooling, and students with special needs also impact the amount of money districts receive.
-- Abbey Collins D-Y latest district to air HVAC concerns amid pandemic-- Cape Cod Times Massachusetts: September 02, 2020 [ abstract] SOUTH YARMOUTH — Teachers in many districts have expressed concerns over the ability of aging school ventilation systems to provide adequate air circulation to curb the spread of the coronavirus when they and their young charges return to their classrooms.
In the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District, the condition of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems in its six schools has become a cliffhanger.
System inspections at the schools were finally conducted in mid-August, but the district has not yet received the results.
That concerns the teachers, according to union president Michelle Dunn, who said adequate air circulation is a key factor in the decision to return to school.
Without the inspection reports, “I think it would be really hard for the School Committee and the administration to tell the community their students and their teachers should go back to buildings that may not be safe,” she said.
If shortcomings are found, the district would have less than two weeks to get them addressed, Dunn said.
The Dennis-Yarmouth district includes four schools that were built more than 50 years ago.The Ezra H. Baker Innovation School underwent an extensive renovation not long ago.
But the old and inadequate HVAC systems in Mattacheese Middle School, Nathaniel H. Wixon School and Marguerite E. Small Elementary School have been well documented for more than five years in the district’s applications to the state for Funding to cover renovations or building replacement.
Mattacheese and Wixon are in the process of being replaced by a new school building. Both were built in the late 1960s.
-- Christine Legere MPS maintenance ramps up during school shutdown, but still plenty of repairs left to do-- Montgomery Advertiser Alabama: August 18, 2020 [ abstract]
With a one-time boost in Funding for capital improvement projects from the Legislature, the Montgomery Public Schools' maintenance team has been able to complete projects at a faster pace with students out of the buildings since March.
Set to receive $32 million through Gov. Kay Ivey's education bond passed earlier this year, the district is putting the money toward updating a high school's HVAC system, repairing roofs at multiple schools and constructing the new Booker T. Washington Magnet High.
The district also received about $6 million for capital improvement needs through the Education Trust Fund — a significant shortfall from the about $14 million that was expected. The decrease comes as a result of the pandemic, with the trust fund budget largely fueled by revenue from income and sales taxes.
"They’re moving quickly — the shutdown and the virtual (learning) for the first nine weeks has helped us," Director of Operations Chad Anderson said.
At Jefferson Davis High School, Anderson said they are beginning the next phase of updating the school's heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. The goal, dependent on when students return to the building, is to have the project completed by the end of the school year.
More:Gov. Kay Ivey proposes $1 billion bond for school improvements
"It will be on a control system where we can manage it, so it will be a lot more efficient and better on the equipment," he said, adding that the new system will allow his team to be more "proactive than reactive."
-- Krista Johnson Districts struggle with mounting COVID-19 costs-- 10 WJAR Rhode Island: August 13, 2020 [ abstract]
COVENTRY, R.I. (WJAR) — At a school committee meeting Thursday, Coventry superintendent Craig Levis said the district is looking for ways to pay for pricey improvements that will make schools safe for students and staff to return in one month.
"There's no money in the bank to pay bills," Levis told NBC 10 News. "So, how can you go and purchase the things we need to get into the schools?"
Levis estimates it will cost his district $5 million to outfit his schools for the pandemic, needing $1.6 million alone to hire additional nursing and cleaning staff, and another $400,000 for cleaning supplies.
"We've received nothing in terms of COVID-19 money," Levis said. "If asked today, could I open schools safely? I would say no. And I think other people recognize this, giving us more time to plan, but we need Funding desperately."
School committee members agreed. Some expressed frustration with the lack of help from the state.
"It's talk out of one side of your mouth," said Coventry School Committee member Lucas Murray. "We want to open schools and get everyone in, but we're not going to fund it."
"There are enormous expectations on us to put significant safety measures in place for students and employees," said School Committee member James Pierson. "There is no Funding and there is abysmal guidance from the state."
Levis said the district is expecting to receive a $700,000 chunk of the $50 million in federal CARES Act money that Gov. Gina Raimondo earmarked for schools. So far, he said they've seen none of it.
-- DANIELLE KENNEDY Funding for school facility improvements a requirement for safe reopening-- EducationDive National: August 13, 2020 [ abstract]
Before the pandemic, the U.S. Government Accountability Office estimated a stunning 41% of America’s school districts needed to replace or update heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in at least half of their schools — representing 36,000 schools nationwide.
During the coronavirus pandemic, these building systems have become essential in helping to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, yet the focus has been on masks, cleaning, spacing of desks and other steps. School facilities also require attention, and right now, they are not ready to welcome back students, teachers and staff.
Public health experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Harvard School of Public Health; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and others have emphasized the need for bringing in outside air and improving ventilation and filtration to dilute and avoid circulating particles containing the virus.
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) also released guidance for schools to reduce the risk of spreading airborne pathogens while meeting indoor air quality standards that support the health and performance of students and staff. Readying these building systems, along with the physical distancing requirements, are among the most challenging issues school leaders face.
An immediate injection of federal Funding for school repairs is critical for reopening. School facilities are historically funded through local governments, which are already facing extreme budget challenges. School districts, especially those in disadvantaged areas, need support for these upgrades in order to prioritize health and safety.
-- Elizabeth Beardsley, Scott Brown, Mary Filardo and Hillsborough drops school reopening plan under state pressure-- Tampabay.com Florida: August 13, 2020 [ abstract]
TAMPA — Hillsborough County school officials were up against a deadline.
State officials had instructed them to revise their reopening plan, or lose millions in Funding. The School Board’s vote to start the year with four weeks of virtual lessons to lessen the chance of coronavirus infections didn’t meet state expectations. Plus thousands of teachers and more than 200,000 students were in limbo.
So on Thursday, superintendent Addison Davis announced a new timetable: The school year will begin Aug. 24 with all-virtual instruction. Then, for those who choose it, in-person school will begin a week later.
“Everyone has been frustrated, let’s just be very clear,” Davis said at a news conference after explaining some of the mechanics of the new arrangement. But, he added, “we’re here for children and we’re also here to protect the working conditions of adults.”
The decision ends weeks of uncertainty, as some in the community pushed for in-person school while others warned that Hillsborough’s coronavirus levels made school unsafe.
Davis said he tried to negotiate a middle ground with state officials. He asked if he could open in phases for students with learning disabilities, homeless and migrant children, and schools with a history of poor student test scores.
He was unsuccessful in those attempts. Education commissioner Richard Corcoran’s July 6 reopening order called for schools to offer in-person instruction by the end of August. And, as Davis explained it, state officials did not want inconsistency from one district to another.
So the district administration changed its plan. How could Davis do that without scheduling a meeting of the School Board, which then would have had to deliberate in public?
Davis said an attorney advised him the move did not require a vote because the board on July 23 had okayed a plan to reopen in-person schools on Aug. 24. The state approved that plan.
The state never accepted a revised proposal adopted by the board on Aug. 6 to delay physical school openings by four weeks.
-- Marlene Sokol and Jeffrey S. Solochek ‘It’s a lot more cleaning’: School custodial staff members prepare for schools to reopen-- FOX13 Utah: August 07, 2020 [ abstract] SALT LAKE CITY — Some of Utah's school districts will begin the school year online, others will be offering a hybrid schedule, and some will open fully in person.
Both the Canyons and Granite school districts are offering in-person classes five days per week. This means deep cleaning will be done much more often.
“Every school will have enough PPE and enough cleaning supplies to last throughout the entire year,” Granite School District spokesman Ben Horsley said.
The Granite School District has spent about $1.5 million, with an extra $400,000 in Funding available to pay for COVID-19 related expenses. The district is also receiving close to $4 million in federal CARES funds and has received mask and supply donations from the state.
The district is making some of their own cleaning supplies and has hospital grade disinfectant for deep cleaning, but they can’t do it alone, Horsley said.
“Keeping everything clean is obviously a shared responsibility, that’s why students and teachers are going to be asked to wipe down their area about once an hour,” he said.
-- Sydney Glenn Udall, Heinrich Introduce Impact Aid Infrastructure Act To Boost School Infrastructure Projects Amid COVID-19-- Los Alamos Daily Post Bureau of Indian Education: August 06, 2020 [ abstract] WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), to introduce the Impact Aid Infrastructure Act (IAIA), which provides $1 billion in supplemental Funding for school infrastructure construction grants through the Impact Aid program.
IAIA provides competitive and formula grants for school infrastructure projects, including school construction and facilities upgrades, in school districts with high percentages of children with military parents or children living on Indian lands.
With these grants, school districts would have the flexibility to focus on their specific renovation and repair needs, which could include changes to help protect the health, safety, and well-being of students, teachers, school leaders, and school personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Federal Impact Aid is critical for New Mexico, where many school districts receive Funding from the program because they serve the large number of federal military installations and Indian lands in the state.
“The COVID-19 crisis has brought our country’s existing education inequality into plain sight,” Udall said. “Many local public schools located near military bases, national labs, national parks, and Indian reservations in New Mexico and across the country have faced unique barriers to adequately Funding important facilities projects for decades. These same school systems are now struggling to retrofit their campuses to make them safer for reopening because of budget shortfalls and decades long maintenance backlogs. This investment is long overdue but, now more than ever, we cannot turn our back on school safety.”
-- Carol Clark Winooski school campus redesign to be funded by $57.8M federal loan-- VTDigger Vermont: August 06, 2020 [ abstract] A $57.8 million redesign of the Winooski School District’s campus will be entirely funded through a federal loan and will save taxpayers millions, according to district officials.
The loan comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Rural Development program which provides affordable Funding to develop “essential community facilities in rural areas,” according to the agency.
The loan comes with a 2.25% interest rate, according to Anthony Linardos, Vermont and New Hampshire State Director for USDA Rural Development.
Winooski district officials tout that taxpayers will save an estimated $11 million over time because of the low-interest loan, according to an Aug. 5 press release.
The $57.8 million loan is the largest single facilities loan the agency’s rural development branch has invested in Vermont, Linardos said.
“We had a recent $50 million loan to the Rutland Hospital, which at the time was the largest loan we had done, but now this investment is $57.8. million, which makes it the largest in our state, he said. “And just to put that in perspective, Rural Development invests about $200 million annually in Vermont, through different programs.”
Emily Hecker, a spokesperson for the school district said this program is unique because most Vermont schools would go through the Vermont Bond Bank to secure a loan for capital projects like the one in Winooski.
But the USDA loan, which is a 30-year loan, provides a much lower interest rate than that of any Vermont bond, she said.
The new campus has been in the works for the last two years, but construction only started about a month ago, Hecker said.
-- Sawyer Loftus GAO report: Two-thirds of nation's schools lag on accessibility-- Education Dive National: July 27, 2020 [ abstract] Dive Brief:
According to a report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, two-thirds of school buildings don't provide adequate access for students and staff with disabilities and often have physical barriers instead, such as steep or no ramps and doorknobs that require twisting wrists.
The most common areas in which the federal agency observed accessibility barriers included restrooms, interior doors and classrooms.
While about 70% of districts had large renovations, small upgrades or accessibility evaluations planned in the next three years, many cited lack of adequate Funding as a challenge.
Dive Insight:
The report also found districts identified other projects that kept buildings functioning as priorities, such as roofing and heating. Additionally, it suggested that in the rush to make schools safe and secure in an era of gun violence, schools sacrifice accessibility improvements and often inadvertently make schools unsafe and insecure for students with disabilities.
The report was released on the 30th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), a 1990 civil rights law prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities in schools, workplaces and other areas of public life.
-- Naaz Modan
Majority of public schools have physical barriers that limit access for people with disabilities: Report-- WBAL National: July 24, 2020 [ abstract] A new report published on Friday revealed a majority of public schools across the United States have physical barriers that potentially limit access for individuals with disabilities.
Nearly two-thirds of public schools contained things like inaccessible door handles, steep ramps, playground barriers and door vestibules that limit accessibility, the report said.
"According to our national survey, an estimated 63 percent of school districts have barriers that may limit access for people with disabilities in a quarter or more of their school facilities," the report published by the Government Accountability Office said.
"Additionally, we estimated that 17 percent of districts nationwide—enrolling over 16 million students— have one or more schools that are not typically attended by students with physical disabilities due to the number of barriers," it continued.
"Sadly, this GAO report shows that 30 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law, its promise has yet to fully be realized," House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott said in a statement, responding to the report.
In the report, schools cited Funding constraints as the main reason for not improving facilities' accessibility, although it said an estimated "70 percent of school districts have some plans to improve the physical accessibility of their school facilities" in the next three years.
However, with states facing potential budget shortfalls due to COVID-19, there could be more roadblocks for schools looking to improve accessibility.
ABC News previously reported that states could be looking at an estimated $615 billion budget deficit over the next three years, according to projections by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities -- an estimate that could be particularly problematic for schools in low-income areas that more heavily rely on state funds compared to Funding from local property taxes.
-- SOPHIE TATUM Schools rush to make air quality improvements before classes resume, get 100% project funding-- Burlington Free Press Vermont: July 23, 2020 [ abstract]
WILLISTON - Hot off another run to Home Depot, Williston Schools Facilities Manager Lyall Smith apologized for his slight tardiness and explained they are constructing a plexiglass enclosure around the front desk of Allen Brook School, the town's pre-K through 2nd grade elementary.
Plexiglass is hard to come by these days.
Smith's brisk stride down the long, colorful hall of Williston Central School is full of intention and only interrupted by brief stops to show new hand sanitizing stations, water fountains functioning as bottle fillers only, to explain the uses of disinfectant sprayers or to answer questions from workers.
Much of the work Smith and his crew are doing to keep students and staff safe when school resumes involves construction and physical changes to the facility, but some of the work is largely unseen.
He is tasked with slowing the invisible air transmission of virus particulates by making upgrades to the ventilation systems of the two schools serving pre-K through 8th grade students.
Air quality improvement is a major component of readying schools for in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"There is growing evidence that this virus can remain airborne for longer times and further distances than originally thought," according to the Environmental Protection Agency. "In addition to close contact with infected people and contaminated surfaces, there is a possibility that spread of COVID-19 may also occur via airborne particles in indoor environments, in some circumstances beyond the 2 m (about 6 ft) range encouraged by social distancing recommendations."
-- April Barton Congress urged to provide billions of dollars to fix crumbling school buildings that pose threat to safety-- Washington Post National: July 22, 2020 [ abstract]
A coalition of dozens of education and civic groups are asking Congress to provide billions of dollars in emergency Funding to repair aging, crumbling school buildings that are an obstacle to the safe reopening of schools during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
BASIC, or [Re]Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition, said in a letter (see below) sent to congressional leaders that there is an urgent need for $10 billion to be targeted to at least 14,000 schools in the highest-poverty communities that are in the poorest physical shape.
“The children and staff returning to schools serving low-income communities are far more likely to be in old and severely deteriorated buildings that are woefully unprepared to operate safely during this health crisis,” the letter says. “Many of these schools in high-poverty communities educate children from families who are essential workers. … These schools and communities are often where broadband and virtual schooling are most deficient.”
The condition of America’s school buildings and the threat that failing systems pose to health and safety have been given little attention in the national debate about how to reopen schools for the 2020-2021 academic year during the pandemic.
According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report released last month, more than half of all U.S. public schools need to update or replace multiple systems or features. And it said failure to address poor mechanical, plumbing, electrical, roof, windows and other systems and components could pose health and safety problems for everyone inside.
The report said that heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems were the ones most in need of repair, affecting at least 36,000 school buildings nationwide. Guidance for safe reopening of schools from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that ventilation systems should work properly.
-- Valerie Strauss State develops tiered health advisory system to help determine educational reopening plans-- Wiscasset Newspaper Maine: July 20, 2020 [ abstract] AUGUSTA — Governor Janet Mills announced Friday through a news release a series of steps her Administration is taking to assist and support school systems across Maine as they consider whether and how to return to in-classroom instruction this fall. Each of these actions aims to provide essential support to promote a safe return for children, teachers, and school staff.
To that end, the Governor announced Friday the Maine Department of Education, in close partnership with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), has updated its “Framework for Returning to Classroom Instruction” to include health and safety precautions that all schools must follow if they decide to return to in-classroom instruction to ensure the safety and well-being of students and staff.
The Governor also announced that these science-based protocols, which follow national best practices and include the use of face coverings and physical distancing, will be financially supported by up to $165 million in Federal CARES Act Funding that she has authorized to be distributed to school systems across Maine.
Further, Governor Mills also announced that her Administration will provide school superintendents and school boards with public health guidance in the form of a three-tiered health advisory system to assist them in making decisions about whether and how to bring students back to the classroom.
-- Staff Writer Biden launches ‘roadmap’ for reopening schools as Trump calls for return to the classroom-- WCSJ News National: July 17, 2020 [ abstract]
As back-to-school time inches closer and the debate over how --or if-- students should return to classrooms this school year rages on, former vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden laid out his “roadmap to reopening schools safely,” Friday afternoon, calling on Congress to provide an influx in Funding to help get students back into the classroom.
“Everyone wants our schools to be open. The question is how to make it safe, how to make it stick. Forcing educators and students back into a classroom, into areas where the infection rate is going up or remaining very high is just plain dangerous,” Biden said in a video released along with his plan.
The former vice president laid out five areas of focus in his roadmap, including insuring schools have the Funding needed to allow for in-person learning for students, calling on Trump and Senate Republicans to allocate the $58 billion for local school districts to stabilize public education that was included in the House-passed HEROES Act.
Biden also calls for an additional $30 billion emergency Funding package to “ensure schools have the additional resources they need to adapt effectively to COVID-19.”
“This package should include Funding for child care providers and public schools — particularly Title I schools and Indian schools — for personal protective equipment; public health and sanitation products; custodial and health services; and alterations to building ventilation systems, classrooms, schedules, class size, and transportation,” Biden’s plan stipulates.
-- MOLLY NAGLE and JOHN VERHOVEK, Federal Pandemic Relief Should Focus on Fixing Schools, Advocates Say-- The Daily Yonder National: July 16, 2020 [ abstract] Classrooms with poor ventilation, busted light bulbs, and limited space for social distancing. Broken pipes, bad internet connections, and teachers with no personal protective gear.
These are some of the problems in American education that could be fixed as part of Covid-19 relief Funding, say three advocates of focusing pandemic relief on infrastructure improvements in public schools.
U.S. Representative Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi 2nd), Laura Jimenez of the Center for American Progress, and Mary Filardo of the 21st Century Schools Fund were part of a roundtable discussion about federal infrastructure Funding. The July 10 panel was moderated by the Rural Assembly and the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative.
Thompson said Funding from the $1.5 trillion infrastructure package called the Moving Forward Act should prioritize communities with persistent poverty and those that have been historically underserved.
“They should get catch-up money for those years of being underserved,” said Thompson, who, on July 2, voted to pass legislation.
Thompson said internet access is another priority. Nearly two-thirds of the schools in his congressional district lack adequate internet access.
“Virtual learning is nonexistent,” he said.
-- Isabelle Lee Lowell schools’ ventilation systems remain a concern-- The Sun Massachusetts: July 15, 2020 [ abstract]
LOWELL — The aging heating and cooling systems in Lowell Public School buildings have been objects of School Committee discussions for years. So how will they hold up in a pandemic where air circulation has implications for virus transmission?
“If you want me to sit here and tell you that I think all our schools are going to be running with proper ventilation and heating, I won’t,” said Rick Underwood, district operations and maintenance director. “We haven’t had it in five years.”
During an in-person meeting on Wednesday, members of the School Committee asked about these systems, as part of a larger discussion of the district’s re-opening plan for this fall. The district is required by the state to submit plans for in-person, hybrid and remote learning scenarios by the end of the month.
Underwood said the Department of Public Works works hard to maintain the buildings, but is underfunded.
“I also know we have a superintendent who last year flat out said to the city that, hey, if these buildings aren’t ready for school we ain’t starting,” Underwood said. “I’m confident he’ll do the same thing this year if we aren’t safe in those buildings. I’m very confident this administration will do what’s needed whether it’s pressure or to put their foot down. I know the city will be doing everything that they can.”
School Committee member Bob Hoey said he has seen improvement in city maintenance under City Manager Eileen Donoghue.
Mike Dillon, also a member of the School Committee, said actually improving maintenance would require more staff. “Mr. Underwood was too nice about it,” he said. “Our HVAC systems are crap,” he said.
While school custodians clean buildings and replace in-building air filters, larger school building maintenance projects fall to the city — a division of labor that has been tense in recent years.
In 2018, Lowell High experienced closures due to gas leaks in the heating system. Later that year, a study faulted the city for not applying for Funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority for years.
-- ELIZABETH DOBBINS Texas classrooms can stay closed this fall without losing state funding if local health officials order it-- The Texas Tribune Texas: July 15, 2020 [ abstract] Local public health officials will be able to keep Texas schools closed for in-person instruction this fall without risking state education Funding, a Texas Education Agency spokesperson confirmed to The Texas Tribune on Wednesday.
Last week, the state's education agency released an order requiring schools to open their buildings to in-person instruction five days a week for all students who want it. The order gives districts a transition period of just three weeks at the start of the year to hold classes virtually and get their safety plans in place before allowing students back on campuses. After the three-week transition, districts that stay entirely virtual would risk losing Funding.
But TEA officials confirmed Wednesday they would continue to fund school districts if local health officials order them to stay closed, as long as they offer remote instruction for all students.
Gov. Greg Abbott told a Houston television station this week that the state would ease up on stringent reopening requirements, as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations skyrocket across Texas, and would give school districts more flexibility to stay virtual for longer than three weeks. Public health officials warn that reopening school buildings in areas with a lot of community spread will exacerbate the virus’ impact on those communities.
-- ALIYYA SWABY ‘Living or learning’ " School ventilation becomes major issue for reopening possibilities-- Clark County Today Washington: July 15, 2020 [ abstract]
CLARK COUNTY — Another, much more center-stage, factor has emerged in the struggle to understand the novel coronavirus, and it’s all about ventilation.
On June 15, New York Times (NYT) reporter Donald McNeil Jr., who has covered pandemics for decades, explained that what the U.S. and the world is learning is that COVID-19 can be caused by aerosol transmission of droplets hanging in the air for hours. Even with masks.
Now, as Washington state public schools, and schools here in Clark County strategize on how to safely reopen in the fall of 2020, air flow and strong circulation of fresh air is becoming a point of disagreement.
On June 20, the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and state Superintendent Chris Reykdal, released a video explaining expectations for school districts. Among other things, he stated that many activities of students moving around and using school supplies would happen as normal.
“What makes this tolerable in the world of public health is that we have other metrics that we’re using, other measures,” Reykdal said. “We’re wearing our face coverings, we’re washing our hands, we’re frequently cleaning, we have good ventilation in our schools, and it’s a short duration, these contexts that are within six feet.”
Specifically, the comment regarding ventilation has created the aforementioned disagreement. In many cases on Facebook, educators across the state and across the county have refuted Reykdal’s statement, citing their own experiences with the opposite.
Radon and asbestos, poor air flow, unclean water stations, lead, unreliable HVAC systems, no opening windows and a lack of Funding to remedy such issues are among the reasons cited.
-- Jacob Granneman As schools prepare to reopen, the gap between 3 and 6 feet is feeling hard to bridge-- Boston Globe Massachusetts: July 12, 2020 [ abstract]
When Governor Charlie Baker released guidelines for reopening schools, one measure seemed to come out of left field: In an effort to get as many students as possible back into their classrooms this fall, he would allow schools to practice only 3 feet of social distancing instead of the standard 6 feet, sparking a passionate debate across the state.
Teacher unions adamantly oppose the idea, calling it “a path of disaster.” Many parents are up in arms, and some districts, such as Boston and Lexington, have already rejected the lower standard.
“It’s really anxiety-provoking,” said Sharita Fauche, a co-director of the Collaborative Parent Leadership Action Network, whose children attend Brooke Charter School in Mattapan. “For parents who have really abided by the shelter-in-place advisory, you are now exposing your kids to other kids by sending them to school, and you don’t know what the safety practices of those other kids are in their homes.”
President Trump stepped into the fray last week, demanding school districts nationwide resume in-person classes for all students five days a week or lose federal Funding, adding more pressure on Massachusetts districts to relax social distancing.
Meanwhile, a growing number of infectious disease experts and pediatricians support Massachusetts’ lower social-distancing standard because it is combined with other safety measures, such as requiring masks and having all desks face forward. They argue that the risk of children getting the coronavirus is low, while the academic, social, and emotional harm they would incur by staying out of school is far greater.
The swirling debate over social distancing exemplifies how difficult it will be for local districts to reopen school buildings after the pandemic forced their closure in March, especially in convincing a nervous public that everyone will be safe. A Suffolk University poll recently found almost half of white parents and 60 percent of Black and Latino parents doubted schools would have adequate safety measures.
-- James Vaznis With Social Distancing, Schools Should Be Safe to Reopen This Fall, Experts Say-- U.S. News And World Report National: July 10, 2020 [ abstract] Kids should be able to safely return to reopened schools this fall, resuming their studies with little risk that they will contribute to the COVID-19 pandemic, some infectious disease experts argue.
The scientific evidence so far indicates that children do not tend to spread the novel coronavirus between themselves, nor do they appear to regularly infect adults, a new editorial in the journal Pediatrics claims.
"Generally, the younger you are, then the less likely you are to transmit to other children or adults," said editorial co-author Dr. William Raszka Jr. He's a pediatric infectious disease specialist with the University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine, in Burlington.
"With precautions, schools should reopen," Raszka said.
The upcoming school year became a political football this week, with President Donald Trump threatening to cut federal Funding for schools that do not fully reopen in the fall.
But the drive to reopen schools is supported by mounting epidemiological evidence that kids don't appear to play a major role in the spread of COVID-19, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, in Baltimore.
"We have seen schools open in places like Denmark and Finland without a problem, and day care centers have been open for essential workers throughout the pandemic," Adalja said. "It will be important for schools to develop a plan for dealing with cases and allowing for social distancing, but we are causing harm to a whole generation of students who are not able to be educated adequately."
Not all medical experts share this view, however.
-- Dennis Thompson Congress' next fight: Reopening schools-- Politico National: July 09, 2020 [ abstract]
Congress’ push to deliver its next coronavirus relief package is facing a massive new hurdle: the national fight over reopening America’s schools.
President Donald Trump’s demands for in-person education this fall — despite a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in dozens of states — has emerged as another partisan flashpoint in Washington, with both parties split over the path to restoring normal life in the U.S. with the coronavirus still largely unrestrained.
The terms for expansive Funding for education will now likely to be a central component of the next $1 trillion-plus package, along with soon-to-expire jobless benefits and additional stimulus checks. While the federal government can’t set procedures for local school districts, Republicans and Democrats are eager to use the package to help shape how the nation reopens schools for millions of students.
“Everyone wants to see schools open,” said Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, whose own proposal would provide federal grant money to help schools reopen. “The unfortunate thing is that the president doesn’t use the word ‘safely’ in front of ‘opening.’ And I think that that’s the key.”
Trump’s closest allies, meanwhile, are downplaying the dangers of the virus for school-age children, with Freedom Caucus member Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) declaring Thursday that “the risk is extremely low that anything will happen to them” if they don’t have underlying conditions. He said the risk would also be low for school staff under the age of 60.
As Congress begins to assemble its next package, Senate Republicans are considering incentives for schools to fully reopen safely, according to a GOP aide. Republicans in both chambers are also demanding liability protections for schools that reopen full time and have begun to float a special school voucher that would give parents “flexibility” with their federal education dollars — an idea that’s likely to be a nonstarter for Democrats.
-- SARAH FERRIS and MARIANNE LEVINE Baltimore County to develop master plan for school construction, but question of state funding lingers-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: July 03, 2020 [ abstract]
While central Maryland school officials debate whether students will return to school buildings this year, Baltimore County’s school system is seeking public input on construction priorities for its Multi-Year Improvement Plan for All Schools.
Responses collected between July 1 and July 15 will be used to develop a long-term plan prioritizing school construction projects, with final recommendations split into two phases: high schools first, then elementary and middle schools.
The survey asks respondents to weigh in on which factors should be considered when determining priorities for school projects, such as capacity relief, cost and facility condition. Respondents also are asked to rate their support for relief measures at overcrowded schools, including redistricting, new construction and consolidating underutilized schools to repurpose surplus school buildings.
A master plan for high school capital projects is expected in September, and any Funding for those projects will be requested in Baltimore County Public Schools’ fiscal 2022 capital budget. Funding for future elementary and middle school projects would be requested in 2023.
The school system has hired consulting firm Cannon Washington Inc. to assess capacity concerns, educational equity and the condition of facilities.
-- TAYLOR DEVILLE Michigan school leaders support reopening plan, but still have worries-- Detroit Free Press Michigan: July 03, 2020 [ abstract]
Local school leaders like the plan announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to reopen Michigan's classrooms in the fall, but they still have worries about dollars and distancing.
"The plan is outstanding and I want to thank her for all her hard work on that committee," said Kenneth Gutman, superintendent of Walled Lake Consolidated Schools. "I think it's a great plan. Is it doable? It really comes down to Funding."
Whitmer announced Tuesday that she and state legislators had agreed on $256 million in additional Funding for schools for the 2019-20 fiscal year, which ended June 30.
"We are thankful for the budget solution that was reached on the 2019-20 budget as this will allow us to prepare for school in the fall," said Eric Edoff, superintendent of L'Anse Creuse Public Schools. "There is still concern about the budget for the 2020-21 school year, however, as our ability to sustain necessary safety protocols will require enhanced and stable Funding."
The new fiscal year for schools began Wednesday.
"It would have been nice to hear clear Funding and spending plans for the ’20-21 school year as the possibility of transitioning to online learning would result in additional costs for the district," said Lincoln Park Public Schools Superintendent Terry Dangerfield.
-- John Wisely Napa school district advised not to pursue bond funding measure this November-- Napa Valley Register California: July 03, 2020 [ abstract] The Napa public school system’s next appeal to voters for more Funding appears to be at least two years in the future.
A survey sponsored by the Napa Valley Unified School District has revealed tepid support for a bond measure to build and upgrade facilities were it to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. In a report shared with the NVUSD board last week, a potential $398 million property-tax levy reviewed by 625 likely voters garnered “definite” or “probable” support from 47.6 percent of respondents, well below the 55 percent approval required for school bond measures in California.
The study indicates that 43.3 percent of people interviewed would “definitely” or “probably” vote against additional school Funding this fall. (Another 9 percent were undecided or declined to give an opinion, according to the report.) Authors of the report pointed to lingering skepticism of NVUSD’s ability to manage its finances effectively or to fairly apportion new Funding among schools – saying nothing of the sudden financial crises triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and the economic slowdown resulting from shelter-at-home orders.
Given such roadblocks, staff members with True North Research, the Encinitas firm that conducted the survey, called on the Napa school district to hold off on a vote until at least 2022 and bolster public support for a Funding boost in the meantime.
“We do not recommend that the District pursue a bond for the immediate opportunity of the November 2020 ballot – there are simply too many challenges to address effectively in a short period of time,” the report stated. “Rather, a longer and more deliberate path of community/stakeholder engagement and communication to build awareness, understanding, and ultimately consensus around the District’s facility challenges and their connection to student achievement is advised.”
-- Howard Yune Minnesota schools face uncertainty amid a pandemic-related budget crunch-- Star Tribune Minnesota: June 27, 2020 [ abstract] Minnesota school districts scrambling to prepare for an uncertain academic year are tallying the millions of dollars they'll have to spend — and that they could lose — as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are laptops and software and wireless hot spots to buy, in case classes again need to move online. If students return to school in person, there's also a long list of purchases to make buildings safe: sanitizer and hand-washing stations, plexiglass barriers, extra classroom supplies so students don't have to share.
Social distancing requirements may necessitate additional bus drivers to ferry smaller groups of children and more custodians to keep buildings clean.
Meanwhile, with some families assessing the risks and considering online school programs, home schooling or other options, school district leaders are worried about declining enrollment — and a related drop in revenue.
State government, which provides the largest share of school Funding, is facing a $2.4 billion deficit. And with the economy on shaky footing, passing local Funding levies to make up for the budget gaps will be a challenge.
Ask superintendents in districts of all sizes what they expect their budget to look like in a year and they all agree: They just don't know. Making any single plan is impossible, because an announcement on whether schools will reopen, remain closed or implement a combination of in-person and distance learning isn't coming until the last week of July.
"The picture is kind of cloudy right now," said Jeff Drake, superintendent of Fergus Falls Public Schools.
-- Erin Golden Massachusetts School Building Authority charts social path with $1.5B sale-- The Bond Buyer Massachusetts: June 26, 2020 [ abstract]
The Massachusetts School Building Authority has scheduled the state's first municipal social bond issuance, a nearly $1.5 billion negotiated sale in two tranches.
The authority will hold retail and institutional offerings Monday and Tuesday, respectively, for $350 million of Series A tax-exempt new-money bonds, and $1.095 billion of Series B taxable reFunding bonds.
“I am very excited that our team at MSBA will be the first bond issuer in Massachusetts to use social bonds to fund public school projects throughout our state," said state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who chairs the authority's seven-member board.
The social bond labels stems from use of proceeds to finance and refinance public schools, based on the benefits of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education.
“MSBA is a mission-driven organization committed to insuring that our kids have access to the 21st century learning environments that will help them succeed. These bonds will create opportunities and invest in positive social change.”
Social bonds fund projects that address or mitigate a specific social issue and/or seek to achieve positive social outcomes, according to International Capital Market Association guidelines.
"The social bond market aims to enable and develop the key role that debt markets can play in Funding projects that address global social challenges," the association said.
-- Paul Burton Newark braces for budget crunch when schools reopen amid coronavirus-- Chalkbeat Newark New Jersey: June 25, 2020 [ abstract] School districts are already feeling the pain as the pandemic batters New Jersey’s economy, yet they are bracing for even more hurt this fall if state aid gets slashed while expenses swell.
Newark, home to the state’s largest school system, is a prime example of the vise tightening around district budgets. Last month, a projected $10 billion revenue shortfall forced Gov. Phil Murphy to scrap the Funding boost he had promised districts, leaving Newark with $36 million less than it was banking on for the coming school year. This month, the state delayed its monthly aid payment to districts, forcing Newark to take out a $25 million loan to pay its bills.
Newark also has yet to receive its slice of the $310 million in coronavirus relief money that Congress approved for New Jersey schools three months ago. And it has been waiting weeks for the state to issue guidance for reopening schools in September, which will help districts plan for pandemic-related costs such as masks, laptops, and sanitizing supplies.
A full picture of the pandemic’s financial fallout won’t emerge until the fall when the state budget is finalized and school reopening costs are tallied. But Newark officials have already had to make some tough choices, including whether to cut coaches’ stipends or classroom aides’ paychecks.
“My decisions are very, very difficult,” Superintendent Roger León told the school board last month. “There isn’t an endless pit of money.”
Even before the pandemic struck, Newark faced a budget squeeze. It receives significantly less aid than it is owed according to the state’s school-Funding formula, and with rising teacher salaries and plans to open two new schools this fall, it had to raise taxes and reduce spending on supplies and services by nearly $20 million to balance its budget for the 2020-21 school year.
-- Patrick Wall WCPS: No new schools built for the next 10 years-- Herald-Mail Media Maryland: June 23, 2020 [ abstract] Washington County Public Schools officials said there is no money available to build new schools in the county, at least for the next 10 years.
The Washington County Board of Education unanimously approved its 2020 facilities master plan during a teleconference meeting Tuesday night. Though the plan calls for critical maintenance work in several schools, it doesn't include the building or modernization of any new ones.
The lack of limited Funding is due, in part, to the Washington County Board of Commissioners' decision to cap the amount of money allocated for the school district's capital improvement projects to $4 million per year for the next 10 years.
"With the Funding in place over the next 10 years, we don't see a window where they'll be an opportunity to do that," said Jeffrey Proulx, the school system's chief operating officer. "There likely will not be any new schools in Washington County, at least for the next 10 years."
Though the state typically gives the county between $8 million and $10 million per year for capital construction school projects, it now will be difficult for the school system to match that amount, school officials said. Without a local match, the county won't have the ability to use the state's share of the money.
The state pays 79% of the construction costs, while the county pays the remaining 21%.
But the county alone pays for school furnishings, equipment, design and architecture. Those costs are not covered by state funds.
"In this educational master plan ... there are no new schools in Washington County," Superintendent Boyd Michael said. "I think it's important to relate, and know how our schools are going to quickly age.
-- Sherry Greenfield Payson schools hit the repair jackpot-- Payson Roundup Arizona: June 19, 2020 [ abstract] Timing’s everything.
So the Payson school board last week celebrated a progress report on $1.5 million worth of school upgrades — approved before COVID-19 cast its long shadow over state finances.
The projects came after Gov. Doug Ducey and the Arizona Legislature at the beginning of this fiscal year finally made a big down payment on school capital improvement money withheld since the onset of the recession a decade ago.
Payson hired an outside consultant to study the district’s capital needs. The price tag for deferred capital improvements came to $12 million — including key security improvements needed to make the campus more secure in case of an outside threat — including an “active shooter.”
The state doubled Funding for school capital improvements this year, but once COVID-19 hit, lawmakers adopted a “skinny” $12 billion budget, with much less money for school improvements. Lawmakers were reacting to projections by the State Legislative Budget Committee that the once-hoped-for $1 billion surplus this year could turn into a $1 billion deficit, thanks to a dramatic drop in sales tax revenue during the shutdown.
Fortunately, Payson got its study on the high-priority improvement list last year and scored big when the Arizona School Facilities Board approved Funding for the current fiscal year.
In addition to the state-funded projects, the district took advantage of the shutdown to use other grant funds to completely remodel the cooking facilities used by the culinary arts program and make major upgrades to the facilities for the auto-shop program.
-- Peter Aleshire CCSD to issue $400M in bonds for new buildings, fix aging schools-- Las Vegas Review-Journal Nevada: June 17, 2020 [ abstract]
The Clark County School District has been approved to issue $400 million more in facilities bonds to help fund new buildings as well as address the maintenance needs of its aging schools.
The request was approved Wednesday by the Oversight Panel for School Facilities, a state-mandated independent oversight panel, as part of the district’s 10-year authorization to issue bonds first granted in 2015.
Approximately $1.7 billion in bond revenue has been generated since, according to a district presentation, but with $1.3 billion spent and another $280 million under contract, the remaining revenue proceeds are around $85 million.
The district recently refocused its facilities priorities on the maintenance and renovation of existing schools rather than the addition of new ones, with a revision to its Capital Improvement Program in November that stressed the need to address an estimated $6 billion in maintenance needs particularly affecting 290 schools that are over 20 years old.
The National Council on School Facilities found that CCSD should be investing approximately $90 million per year to catch up on deferred maintenance, according to the Facilities Panel presentation. The district also estimated in November that an additional $86.7 million per year was needed for school preventive maintenance.
“For many years, preventive maintenance of buildings, equipment, and sites has been postponed due to lack of Funding in the operating budget,” the presentation said. “The lack of investment in maintenance upkeep has created deferred maintenance and continually increases the burden on the capital improvement program.”
-- Aleksandra Appleton San Diego Unified Has Plan For Reopening Schools, But Needs More Funding-- KPBS California: June 16, 2020 [ abstract]
After months of school closures, the San Diego Unified School District on Tuesday evening approved a plan for reopening amid the ongoing pandemic.
It’s still far from certain, however, whether the district will have the money it needs to fully implement the plan.
Under the plan, unanimously approved by the board during a virtual meeting, students will have the option to be on campus for full school days with social distancing and smaller class sizes. Students whose families have health concerns or are not comfortable returning to school would have the option of distance learning. A hybrid model will also be available.
“The outline we’re sharing with the board today emphasizes flexibility,” Superintendent Cindy Marten said. “We know parents want to have both on-campus and online options.”
The district, however, has only secured enough federal and state Funding to keep schools open for half of the 2020-2021 school year.
“Our preference would be to have it for the full year,” said John Lee Evans, president of the school board. “Worst case scenario, for the second half of the year, we would have to revert back to distance learning.”
Tuesday’s meeting started with an hour of public comment from parents. The commenters were divided between those who urged the district to reopen schools and those who said it was too early for students to return to campuses.
“It is imperative for the general educational and emotional well-being of the 121,000 San Diego Unified School District students that normal classroom instruction be resumed immediately,” wrote one member of the public.
Others were more reluctant to reopen schools.
-- Joe Hong Erie schools use virus aid to hold off custodian cuts-- GoErie.com Pennsylvania: June 14, 2020 [ abstract] District needs all its current maintenance staff for another year for cleaning due to COVID-19, superintendents says.
Pandemic-related federal Funding is giving custodians at the Erie School District a one-year reprieve from job cuts.
The district will use nearly $1 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to continue to pay all of its approximately 85 maintenance employees for another year.
As part of its state-mandated financial improvement plan, the district had planned to cut 13 jobs from its maintenance staff to save $1 million in 2020-21.
The district is keeping those 13 positions — three building engineers, who supervise maintenance, and 10 custodians — for the new academic year.
The district needs all the custodians to ensure its 16 school buildings and other facilities are cleaned and sanitized in accordance with federal and state guidelines for curbing the spread of COVID-19, Erie schools Superintendent Brian Polito said. The schools are reopening for students Aug. 31 following the statewide shutdown that started in March, though distance learning will continue as well in a hybrid instruction plan.
The district will use $994,000 in federal coronavirus aid to pay the 13 maintenance employees for a year, covering the $1 million expense that the district had planned to eliminate by cutting the 13 jobs, Polito said.
The $994,000 is part of the $6.8 million in federal money the school district is receiving through the the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. The district is spending $2.6 million of the $6.8 million to buy computers for all its 11,000 students for distance learning required due to the pandemic.
-- Ed Palattella Schools crunch numbers with COVID-19 impacts in mind-- Mail Tribune Oregon: June 12, 2020 [ abstract] Between COVID-19-related closures, expected Funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and as-yet undetermined action by the Oregon Legislature, school district leaders who are trying to pass a budget for the upcoming school year have more than a few unanswered questions.
“It’s kind of crazy, the number of things that are just left undone as we’re trying to work through these times,” said Bret Champion, superintendent of the Medford School District.
Local school officials, like others across the state, are working to finalize their preliminary proposal even as they wait for more information from state officials on what Funding will be available.
In the short term, the financial impact of COVID-19 on the Medford School District’s budget has been less than severe, amid the logistical challenges of remote learning during the school closure.
The district saved on some costs this spring, including substitute services, facilities supplies and labor — to the tune of $1.4 million. With a projected increase from the state to the general fund next year, Medford officials don’t expect to see an immediate budget impact from the pandemic.
According to the proposed budget, Medford plans to draw $2.078 million from its $11.953 million in general fund reserves, in a few one-time expenditures, two of them driven by COVID-19.
-- Kaylee Tornay Schools need an additional $116 billion to reopen facilities safely, the AFT says-- American School & University National: June 11, 2020 [ abstract] The American Federation of Teachers says the average school will need an additional $1.2 million, or $2,300 per student, to open its doors safely in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
A report prepared by the teachers union, “Reopening Schools During a Time of Triple Crisis: Financial Implications,” argues that federal lawmakers must provide significant Funding to ensure school buildings can reopen with health protections and learning layouts in place for students and educators.
The AFT says schools nationwide will need an additional $116.5 billion for instructional staff, distance learning, before- and after-school care, transportation, personal protective equipment, cleaning and health supplies, health staffing, custodial and cleaning staff, meeting children’s social and emotional needs and additional academic support for students.
Without the additional support, school buildings will stay shuttered, the AFT says.
-- Mike Kennedy Minneapolis school board approves 2020-2021 budget and five-year capital plan-- Star Tribune Minnesota: June 09, 2020 [ abstract] After a year filled with fierce debate over the school district’s future and a move to distance learning, the Minneapolis school board approved a balanced budget Tuesday night that assumes the coming year will be free of such disruptions.
The board also approved a $427 million capital plan that calls for sweeping improvements to district infrastructure over the next five years.
Minneapolis Public Schools’ 2020-2021 budget projects $860 million in revenue and $885 million in expenses. District leaders said they will fill the gap by reallocating money from other fund balances to help cover expenses. The budget includes $369 million for school-by-school allocations — $7 million less than the previous year — and about $416 million for the district’s central office, which supports services such as transportation, facilities, nutrition and community education.
“We have a responsibility to our children. This budget, in my opinion, is the fiscally most sound budget that I have ever had the opportunity to look at or read,” board member Kimberly Caprini said.
The approved budget ensures predictable staffing in all schools and factors in an estimated enrollment decline of 900 students.
Revenue projections did not account for any potential changes in the state Funding formula because of COVID-19. Pandemic-related risks, such as increased tech costs for distance learning, were not factored into the 2020-2021 budget.
The board approved the budget on a 6-3 vote, with members KerryJo Felder, Bob Walser and Nelson Inz voting against it.
-- Ryan Faircloth Report: Public schools need major building repairs-- Finance & Commerce National: June 05, 2020 [ abstract] The majority of U.S. public school districts need to make major building repairs in at least half of their schools, yet many districts are unable to pay for updates or have postponed them to improve security in case of a shooting, according to a federal report.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office on Thursday released a study that was the agency’s first on the issue since 1996.
Based on a survey of hundreds of districts, the report found that many are left on their own to pay for building repairs but often lack the necessary dollars, leaving them stuck with aging buildings that can pose health and safety risks.
At one Michigan school visited by the agency, an engineer has to stay on site to make sure the boiler, which dates to the 1920s, doesn’t build up pressure and explode, the report said. A school in Rhode Island said parts of its ventilation system are nearly 100 years old.
The report found stark disparities based on wealth. Districts in poorer areas spend $300 less per student on capital costs than do wealthier districts. Schools in more affluent areas can often call on local taxpayers to add money for building updates, the study found, while schools in poorer areas are more likely to rely on limited state Funding.
Congress called for the study in 2019 legislation, but it’s being released as Democrats revive a push for new federal money to improve schools. A bill proposed by Democrats last year calls for $100 billion to help repair aging schools.
Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, said the report provides “clear, irrefutable evidence” that Congress needs to act quickly.
-- Associated Press To Reopen Our Schools Safely, Pennsylvania Needs Congress' Help | (Opinion)-- Patch - Pennsylvania Pennsylvania: June 04, 2020 [ abstract]
In the months since COVID-19 closed our schools, educators, parents, and students did a tremendous job transitioning from classrooms to kitchens and living rooms across Pennsylvania. Teachers continued teaching, and students continued learning — at a distance.
This is far from the perfect way to educate our students. It's not easy to teach in this environment, and the challenges so many parents have had juggling work, home, and kids during this crisis were truly without precedent.
We need to get our kids back in school. Educators and administrators are already planning for what that will look like. We still have a lot of work to do, but one thing is clear: Our schools will need federal help to reopen safely.
That is why the Pennsylvania State Education Association is joining educators, parents, and community leaders to urge Congress to invest $175 billion in our nation's schools, colleges, and universities. This investment will provide Pennsylvania with enough Funding to close the revenue shortfalls K-12 schools and higher education are facing and reopen safely.
-- Rich Askey When the waters rise, how will we keep schools open?-- The Hechinger Report Louisiana: May 23, 2020 [ abstract] CHAUVIN, La. — Izzy Allen, 13, has watched gas stations and grocery stores close. She’s seen vines grow over abandoned homes while other houses have been lifted on stilts, ten or fifteen feet off the ground. She remembers that her father, a shrimper, used to have to inch his boat carefully away from the dock behind their house so as not to hit the bayou’s narrow banks. The land has disappeared at such a rapid clip that he can pull it out easily now, even when another boat is passing behind his.
The eighth grader can also remember each of the kids she began school with back at Boudreaux Canal Elementary School. “All the teachers, all the kids, knew everybody’s name,” she recalled on a recent Friday afternoon. But that school closed after she finished first grade in 2013, a victim of declining enrollment after relentless flooding and job losses drove families from the area. The elementary she went to next, Upper Little Caillou, had replaced another nearby school that had shuttered for the same reasons a few years earlier.
Lacache Middle School, which Izzy currently attends, sits along the bayou on one of the lowest-lying tips of Louisiana’s Terrebonne Parish. Every year, she loses classmates who move farther inland or to Texas. It’s a scenario playing out across coastal Louisiana and in other areas of the country vulnerable to floods and storms that are worsening because of climate change. As sea level rise drives more and more to people seek higher ground — a phenomenon sometimes known as “climate migration” — those who remain will be increasingly left to make do with less. Hampered by school Funding formulas based on property tax dollars and student enrollment, these schools are already being forced to cut teaching positions and scrimp on materials and technology. Schools farther inland, meanwhile, are under pressure to accommodate arriving students — forced to increase class sizes and provide support for transient students who lose learning time with each move.
With at least 6,444 schools serving almost 4 million students located in parts of the country at high risk of flooding, it’s a set of challenges that’s only going to become more common. At Lacache, the question is already pressing: When families start leaving the areas on the front lines of climate change, what kind of education — and future — remains for those who stay?
-- SOPHIE KASAKOVE Most California school districts plan to open in the fall. Here’s how it would work-- Los Angeles Times California: May 20, 2020 [ abstract]
Most public school districts in California are planning to reopen campuses on their regular start dates in late August and September — but the new normal amid the coronavirus outbreak will likely include masks, daily school sanitation and smaller class sizes to maintain six feet of distance, state Supt. of Instruction Tony Thurmond said Wednesday.
Also, some school districts will likely offer a combination of in-person and distance learning, something parents have asked for, Thurmond said.
But the new safety accommodations will require more Funding, Thurmond said during a news conference Wednesday, almost a week after the governor’s May budget revise slashed about $19 billion from schools over the next two years.
“We believe that our school districts cannot reopen safely if they have to implement these kinds of cuts,” Thurmond said, echoing the governor’s plea for additional federal aid for schools. “We need to maintain all that we have in our educational sector, and we’re going to need to be able to do more.”
California schools have been closed since mid-March due to the coronavirus crisis, disrupting the education of 6.1 million students. Educators have scrambled to provide distance learning for students and have attempted to provide computers and internet access to an estimated 1 in 5 students without digital access. However student needs have not been met evenly, especially in small and rural districts and those serving students from low income families.
Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom said schools could physically open as early as July.
Thurmond said the state was not mandating when schools would open and that the state Education Department was working with public health officials, school leaders and workplace safety experts to compile guidelines for how to do so safely.
-- SONALI KOHLI Six urban California districts say proposed budget cuts will set back restarting school-- EdSource California: May 19, 2020 [ abstract] Los Angeles Unified and five other urban California school districts collectively enrolling about 1 million students warned Monday that “unrealistic” Funding cuts proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in his revised budget would force them to delay reopening of schools this fall.
“Reopening our school campuses will require more — not fewer — resources to ensure and sustain proper implementation of public health guidance and the safety of all of those involved. Cuts will mean that the reopening of schools will be delayed even after State guidance and clearance from public health officials is given,” superintendents of the districts wrote in a three-page letter, dated May 18, to legislative leaders.
The letter comes less than a week after Newsom released his May budget revision that would cut Funding for school districts by about $7 billion. That proposal includes a cut of $6.5 billion in general Funding through the Local Control Funding Formula, which directs additional Funding to high-needs students — low-income, foster and homeless students and English learners. That 10% reduction would be the first cut in the formula since its passage seven years ago. Signing the letter were superintendents of the state’s three largest districts, Austin Beutner, L.A. Unified; Cindy Marten, San Diego Unified and Christopher Steinhauser, Long Beach Unified, as well as Vincent Matthews, San Francisco Unified; Kyla Johnson-Trammel, Oakland Unified; and Jorge Aguilar, Sacramento City Unified.
-- JOHN FENSTERWALD NYC School Construction Chief Reopens Projects, But Awaits Stimulus Funds-- Engineering News-Record New York: May 11, 2020 [ abstract] With students and faculty at home during COVID-19, it's an optimal time for work on school construction projects – only if needed federal Funding is received in a timely manner, New York City's School Construction Authority president and CEO said May 7.
"This is a good time to get [school] construction done,” Lorraine Grillo said during an online Q&A presented by the New York Building Congress. “But with the current [COVID-19 pandemic], there is a cash flow crisis in the city. If the federal government could come through, we could do exactly that and get things done." The agency awaits federal stimulus Funding.
“While it will spur the economy on, it will have real positive effects for the city. We are hoping the feds will come through,” Grillo said.
The $2 trillion federal stimulus package—called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act—was signed into law March 27. It can benefit engineering and construction firms, and their client companies, through provisions for small-business loans and tax breaks.
It was not immediately clear how much stimulus money New York City officials were seeking.
In late March, the Authority "paused" 670 projects, according to agency spokesman Kevin Ortiz. Construction has resumed on five schools so far in the city—projects that total $302 million, he told ENR.
-- Stephanie Loder Panel kicks in funding for school building projects across Arkansas-- Arkansas Democrat Gazette Arkansas: May 08, 2020 [ abstract]
Plans for a new high school in Pocahontas, a new elementary school in Bryant, and a new elementary and middle school in Bentonville are among the construction and building improvement plans to receive $64.7 million in state aid.
The three-member Arkansas Commission for Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation on Friday allotted the state aid to 68 projects in all, including 41 that were proposed for the current fiscal year but for which the state didn’t have money at the time.
The newly approved Funding is the state’s share of the cost of the local district building projects — a percentage of the total project cost. The state’s share is determined by a district’s student enrollment and its local property tax wealth, with wealthier districts qualifying for smaller percentages of state building aid.
The financial aid for school buildings is the result of Arkansas’ Academic Facilities Partnership Program. Lawmakers created the program in 2006 to modernize public schools in response to a state Supreme Court decision that had declared Arkansas’ public schools inequitable, inadequate and unconstitutional.
-- Cynthia Howell Citing economic hit from coronavirus, Gov. Hogan vetoes legislation to improve Maryland schools, allows Pimlico bill to -- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: May 07, 2020 [ abstract]
Citing the massive hit on Maryland’s economy from the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Larry Hogan on Thursday vetoed several pieces of high-profile legislation that required additional spending ― including a sweeping overhaul of the state’s public schools and a Funding increase to address inequities at historically black colleges and universities.
The Republican governor, however, allowed legislation authorizing a rebuild of the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore to become law without his signature.
“The General Assembly passed a number of bills worthy of consideration, but COVID-19 has caused sudden and unprecedented economic turmoil," Hogan said in a statement. “The impact from COVID-19 on state and local budgets, on small businesses, and on struggling Marylanders is devastating and is potentially worse than anything since the Great Depression.”
Hogan’s vetoes ― which include legislation that would provide Funding for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and to fight crime in the city ― were met with swift condemnation from legislative leaders.
-- LUKE BROADWATER and PAMELA WOOD Can California schools put safety measures in place in time to open early? Many district leaders skeptical-- EdSource California: May 04, 2020 [ abstract] The unexpected announcement that California schools could resume as early as late July or early August was met with immediate pushback and raised more questions than answers for school districts, teachers and parents.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s suggestion to reopen schools — aimed at mitigating the learning loss resulting from school closures that began in mid-March in response to the coronavirus pandemic — means some schools would start the school year earlier than usual.
There are concerns that schools will not have enough time and Funding to stagger school schedules and create social distancing and related health plans to keep students and staff safe if campuses are reopened in late July or early August.
Reopening schools would be part of the second — and next — of four phases of returning life to normal, Newsom said. He offered no details about how an early start to the school year would work, how it would be paid for or phased in by counties where public health officials would have the final say on conditions for reopening schools.
Organizations representing school boards and school administrators said their members were caught off guard by Newsom’s announcement, leaving them unprepared for the complaints and questions they received.
“This, by far, generated the biggest reaction of anything the governor has said at his noon press conferences about education,” said Edgar Zazueta, senior director of policy and government relations for the Association of California School Administrators. “People hang on every word the governor says, and though that was not his intent, parents interpreted what he said as a mandate for an early school start, so now we had to respond to a different set of expectations.”
-- DIANA LAMBERT AND JOHN FENSTERWALD Des Moines Schools’ Superintendent Calling for Federal Money Due to COVID-19-- 13WHO Iowa: April 28, 2020 [ abstract] DES MOINES, Iowa — The superintendent of the Des Moines Public School District is joining the call for Congress to financially support public school districts in future coronavirus legislation.
Dr. Tom Ahart and 61 other superintendents from across the country have written a letter to the U.S. House and Senate calling for $175 billion in an educational stabilization fund.
The letter highlights the drop in local and state revenue caused by the pandemic at a time when schools have launched home-based learning and are providing free meals along with other services.
The superintendents also urged additional support for disabilities education, Title I programs, technology, and school infrastructure.
The letter says the Funding would help fuel summer programs, keep teachers on the job, narrow the digital divide, and more.
Dr. Ahart says this COVID-19 crisis shows that schools provide much more for students that what is taught in the classroom.
-- Staff Writer Mitch McConnell: Fort Campbell Middle School construction to move forward-- Courier Journal National: April 28, 2020 [ abstract] Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office announced Tuesday construction on the Fort Campbell Middle School is moving forward.
The more than $62 million to build the school was one of the hundreds of military spending measures allocated in the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019. The Funding was later delayed.
A Tuesday release from McConnell's office said he "consistently pressed Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on the importance of this project to families of servicemembers stationed at Ft. Campbell and urged him to restore the Funding."
-- Sarah Ladd Wisconsin Voters Approve over 90 Percent of Referendums-- Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Wisconsin: April 28, 2020 [ abstract] Voters across the state emphasized their commitment to Wisconsin students and teachers by approving more than 90 percent of school district referendum questions on the ballot in the recent spring election. Overall, 48 school districts had a total of 57 referendum questions up for vote in the election, which took place on April 7, 2020. Voters approved 52 of those referendums.
The additional Funding approved by voters will aid school districts in improving mental health services, increasing access to technology, adding additional resources, help cover rising operating costs, upgrade outdated facilities and other renovation projects, and more.
-- Staff Writer Fort Bend ISD trustees approve $108.1M in construction, renovation projects including new Riverstone elementary school-- Chron.com Texas: April 27, 2020 [ abstract] At the April 20 school board meeting, Fort Bend ISD trustees approved approximately $108.1 million in Funding for a long list of 2018 bond construction projects, many of which would normally would have to wait for summer thanks to COVID-19 campus closures.
The list included design plans for a new $32.3 million Riverstone-area elementary school to be built in Sugar Land near Elkins High School. Last December, trustees Trustees approved a contract with Huckabee Architects to prepare construction documents for the new Riverstone area elementary school included a project budget of $32,282,486. The design for the new elementary school is a “repeat” of designs used to build Patterson Elementary School with a few modifications. This new elementary is being built to alleviate overcrowding at Commonwealth Elementary and Sullivan Elementary and is scheduled to open in the spring of the 2022-23 school year.
Trustees also approved fine arts department upgrades, renovations and additions totaling roughly $67.3 million at a number of different campuses. The project list includes $16.2 million for a new fine arts addition plsu other renovations and a new
-- Kristi Nix Virus not stopping Chandler school building projects-- SanTan Sun News Arizona: April 27, 2020 [ abstract] The COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped Chandler Unified School District officials from moving ahead with using bond money to finance several new construction projects.
During a meeting April 8, the district’s Governing Board authorized spending about $5.3 million in Funding from a 2019 voter-approved bond meant to finance a number of capital improvements on Chandler Unified’s 42 school campuses.
Though the ongoing public health crisis has been generating much uncertainty about the future financing of cities and schools, CUSD is finding a way to move forward with a number of projects already budgeted in a $291-million bond passed overwhelmingly by voters last November.
Grant Hamill, a financial advisor for Stifel Nicolaus, recently told the Governing Board the national bond market has been plagued by a lack of liquidity that’s resulted in fewer investments and a supply-demand imbalance.
But a recent injection of liquidity by the Federal Reserve should improve market conditions in the coming weeks, he added, and restore the confidence of investors.
“We do think the market is starting to thaw out a little bit and it’s becoming a little less volatile,” Hamill said.
-- Staff Writer Despite future state funding concerns, Leander ISD funds first phase of Tarvin Elementary School construction-- Community Impact Newspaper Texas: April 23, 2020 [ abstract] The Leander ISD board of trustees voted at its April 23 remote meeting to spend a total of $20,407,839 to begin building a new elementary school and to make security and HVAC upgrades.
The biggest portion of the money, $11,142,202, will fund the first phase of construction for Tarvin Elementary School. Set to open in August 2021, Tarvin will help relieve overcrowding at the nearby Parkside Elementary School and address enrollment increases from the Palmero Ridge housing development, according to LISD.
Elexis Grimes, the only trustee to vote against Tarvin’s Funding, and President Trish Bode expressed concerns about coronavirus effects on new home construction. Both pointed to Reed Elementary School, which is at approximately 50% capacity, according to LISD.
Jimmy Disler, LISD’s chief facilities and operations officer, said he contacted large residential developers in the district who said they did not expect a significant drop in new home sales.
Disler said delaying Tarvin’s construction would cost an additional $2 million per year. He added that elementary schools well under capacity will be hosting pre-K instruction, which is expanding from half-day to full-day instruction in August.
-- Brian Perdue Gov. Greg Abbott keeps Texas classrooms closed for remainder of school year-- The Texas Tribune Texas: April 17, 2020 [ abstract]
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday that public and private school classrooms will remain closed for the remainder of the school year to avoid quickening the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
The decision, made with the advice of doctors and health officials, came alongside a series of executive orders intended to slowly reopen the state economy, relaxing restrictions on retail businesses, doctor's offices and public parks.
"The team of doctors advising us have determined it would be unsafe to allow students to gather at schools for the foreseeable future," Abbott said.
The Texas State Teachers Association applauded a decision that "removes uncertainty for hundreds of Texas communities and, health experts say, will help slow the spread of the coronavirus. ... Meanwhile, teachers will continue to work with their students to provide lessons and activities — remotely — as they have been doing for several weeks."
TSTA President Noel Candelaria also urged the state to continue fully Funding school districts and require them to keep paying hourly workers such as custodians and food service workers.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath will provide school districts more details soon, Abbott said. "[Texas Education Agency] fully supports the governor's actions and continues to work closely with districts across the state to ensure students are getting what they need: meals, dedicated efforts to keep kids feeling safe and connected during these times, and support so students can continue to learn and grow academically," the agency said in a statement.
Until late March, when Abbott ordered schools statewide to shut down until at least May 4, local districts were making their own calls on whether to close.
Early reports of community spread in Texas prompted many school administrators to extend their spring breaks. As more districts closed, educators asked state officials to scrap mandatory statewide academic exams, and began trying to line up laptops and Wi-Fi hotspots to make sure vulnerable students would be able to participate in online schooling.
-- ALIYYA SWABY Schools repair backlog from last recession still not cleared out-- The Mountaineer North Carolina: April 17, 2020 [ abstract]
Haywood County Schools is still digging out from a backlog of repairs put off during the last recession a decade ago.
“We have a lot of things failing,” said Associate Superintendent Trevor Putnam. “This has created a windfall of items that must be replaced all at the same time.”
The school system will once again ask county commissioners for $900,000 for repairs and major maintenance projects to continue playing catch-up across its 15 campuses in the coming school year.
But the school system’s request to the county was crafted back in February, before the coronavirus crisis was wreaking economic havoc with another recession now on the horizon.
The Funding pot for repairs and maintenance was ravaged by austere recession-era budgets — decreased to only $200,000 a year from 2009 to 2013. It was gradually increased over the next few years, hitting $900,000 this school year.
“The HVAC wasn’t replaced, the phones weren’t replaced, the roofs weren’t replaced and so now the full bill is coming due,” Putnam said.
Putnam warned that the school system continues to put off much-needed paving, especially at Pisgah and Tuscola high schools.
“They both have lots that need repaving bad,” Putnam said. But it would cost $500,000 and take away from other needs, so “we are just patching them and limping them along for now,” he added.
-- Becky Johnson Sales tax hit could affect school construction-- Herald News Massachusetts: April 15, 2020 [ abstract] BOSTON -- Several public school projects around Massachusetts have delayed construction amid the coronavirus pandemic, and the emergency’s full financial impact on the state agency that helps funds most of the work remains unclear.
Massachusetts School Building Authority officials said Wednesday that the organization will face some budget strain because of the widespread economic downturn, but MSBA Chief Financial Officer Laura Guadagno believes the agency is well-poised to weather the storm.
“For fiscal year 2020, there should not be too big of an impact because we have a pretty strong cash position. I think that will carry us through fiscal year 2021,” she said during a meeting conducted via videoconference. “We’re in a pretty strong cash position to at least maintain operations at current level for the near future.”
In Fall River, the city is in the midst of building a new Durfee High School at a cost of $263 million. In March, Fall River Superintendent Matthew Malone said the project was continuing as planned. But on April 6, union carpenters on the job there from North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters stopped working over concerns about safety during the coronavirus pandemic.
Durfee project manager Adam Keane said construction of the school was still scheduled to be completed in May 2021 and open for students at the start of the 2021-2022 school year.
The MSBA, a quasi-public organization that helps fund local and regional school capital projects, has a dedicated Funding stream from one penny of the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax. Through March of fiscal year 2020, Guadagno said, the MSBA had received about $703 million in that Funding, the highest amount over the same span in recent years.
-- Chris Lisinski Governor vetoes state funding for school bond reimbursements-- KHNS Alaska: April 14, 2020 [ abstract] Last week Governor Mike Dunleavy signed off on the legislature’s budget for fiscal year 2021, but not before making a number of line-item vetoes to their spending plan. The governor eliminated the legislature’s appropriation for school bond debt reimbursement.
For years, communities across Alaska used reimbursements from the state to help pay off bonds used for building and maintaining public school facilities. In 2015, the state stopped reimbursing new school bonds, but continued to help pay off debt from past bonds. Since then, Governor Mike Dunleavy has cut state Funding to pay off old bonds as well.
Last week the governor vetoed all state support for municipal school bond debt reimbursement, but he expects to replace the money with federal support. At a press conference, he said the vast majority of the money he vetoed will be replaced with Funding under the federal CARES Act.
“When it comes to the school bond debt reimbursement, these are things that are being impacted by the virus and the ancillary closure that we had to do for the economy, so all of these impacts are affecting these various programs and services,” Dunleavy said.
Last month the U.S. Senate passed the CARES act, a $2.2 trillion bill to alleviate damage the coronavirus is inflicting on the economy.
Some of that money will end up in Alaska, but exactly how much is unclear.
Sara Hannan represents the Upper Lynn Canal in the state house of representatives. She is not sure that money from the CARES act can be used to help cover municipal school bond debt.
-- Henry Leasia REPORT: Northam wants to amend casino bill in order to fund school construction-- Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia: April 12, 2020 [ abstract]
Gov. Ralph Northam is proposing an amendment to legislation that would allow casinos by referendum in Virginia, in order to help fund school construction statewide.
The governor had until midnight Saturday to act on bills sponsored by Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and Del. Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, to allow five economically challenged cities — Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond — to hold a public referendum for residents to decide if they wanted a privately owned casino to operate there.
Northam wants to assign the state’s portion of new tax revenue on gaming to fund public school construction statewide, according to Carter Hutchinson, deputy policy adviser, who spoke with the Herald Courier on Saturday. Two other amendments are minor technical language changes.
“The governor is going to amend that provision of the bill that says roughly two-thirds of the [tax] revenue goes to the general fund,” Hutchinson said. “He is going to amend that language to designate the Funding go to school construction, renovation and repairs. The language is going to be relatively broad, given the revenue from the casinos won’t start coming in for at least a couple years, probably more.”
-- DAVID McGEE Arizona schools closed for the rest of the school year-- azcentral Arizona: March 30, 2020 [ abstract] Gov. Doug Ducey has extended the closure of all Arizona schools through the end of this school year.
In a joint statement Monday with Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman, Ducey wrote that the decision was made to align with guidance from the federal government.
"These efforts are crucial, and we recognize that schools are making every effort possible to continue providing instruction during closures," they wrote in the statement.
On Friday, Ducey signed legislation to allow students to finish the school year from home.
The plan mandates that schools offer classes in an alternative format, presumably online, so students could finish out the school year from home. It also includes provisions to ensure seniors in high school graduate.
Some districts have posted online material, and teachers are reaching out to parents and students with work.
Other measures outlined in the new law:
"Provide flexibility" to schools in delivering education to special education students.
Allow public schools to continue to pay employees if they agree to work from home or take a reassignment, if necessary.
Allow schools to use Funding from this school year for summer school.
Require the state Board of Education to revise graduation requirements for the 2019-2020 school year.
-- Lily Altavena Rutherford County's school funding projects face delays because of 'uncertain times'-- Daily News Journal Tennessee: March 30, 2020 [ abstract] Plans to build an elementary school in southeast Rutherford County and an addition at La Vergne Middle by August 2021 may be delayed because of the coronavirus-impacted economy.
"We'll take that wait-and-see approach," Rutherford County Schools Director Bill Spurlock said Monday about a week after the County Commission Health & Education Committee postponed votes on his requested projects for August 2021. "In times like we are in currently, we have to look at alternatives."
Spurlock said his Board of Education may have to revise the district's $510 million building plan for a district adding over 1,000 students per year and depending on 153 portable classrooms. The plan for 2021 includes a $47.1 million elementary school on the southeast side near Epps Mill Road and Interstate 24 and a $21.4 million addition at La Vergne Middle.
-- Scott Broden Jacksonville district aid short, judge told-- Arkansas Democrat Gazette Arkansas: March 24, 2020 [ abstract]
The Jacksonville/North Pulaski School District will fall out of compliance with a federal desegregation order to replace the Murrell Taylor and Bayou Meto elementary schools because of a lack of state aid, a district lawyer has said.
Scott Richardson, an attorney for the Jacksonville school system, told U.S. District Chief Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. late Friday that the state's Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation has declined to fully fund the district's request for aid for the replacement schools.
Richardson also told the presiding judge in the long-running Pulaski County school desegregation lawsuit that state officials do not appear to care about the district's potential for violating the court order.
While the district can still appeal the Funding decision to the state facility division's three-member commission, Richardson said he doesn't expect success.
"Thus, JNPSD anticipates that the State of Arkansas's official position will remain that this Court's order that JNPSD replace Taylor Elementary and Bayou Meto Elementary will have no meaning for the State," Richardson wrote.
"The State's refusal to participate in replacement of Taylor Elementary and the full replacement of Bayou Meto Elementary," he continued, "likely means that JNPSD will be unable to comply with the Court's order; that is, that JNPSD will fall out of compliance with the District's desegregation obligations because of the action of the State. This also, the State appears unconcerned about."
The dispute with the state over construction Funding comes at a time when the Jacksonville/North Pulaski and Pulaski County Special school districts are preparing for a July hearing before Marshall on whether the two districts have met their desegregation obligations in the 37-year-old lawsuit and can be released from further court monitoring.
-- Cynthia Howell FCC: Schools and libraries may open their Wi-Fi networks for public use during closures-- KRCR National: March 23, 2020 [ abstract] WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Communications Commission confirmed Monday, March 23 that schools and libraries closed due to the coronavirus pandemic may open their Wi-Fi networks for public use.
The announcement would allow schools and libraries to provide connectivity to their communities without fear of losing their E-rate Funding, the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition said in a press release.
"We leave it to individual schools and libraries to establish their own policies regarding use of their Wi-Fi networks during closures, including hours of use, and we remind all parties that health and well-being are paramount and to follow any applicable health and safety guidelines, including those on social distancing, as may be set out by relevant federal, state, local, and Tribal authorities," the FCC said in a public notice.
-- LISA LIBRENJAK School construction funding lauded by Towson legislators, as session in Annapolis ends early-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: March 20, 2020 [ abstract]
Chris West, who represents the Towson area in the Maryland Senate, said he was exhausted by the end of session.
Maryland’s legislative session, normally 90 days, is tiring enough under the best of circumstances for lawmakers and others who descend on Annapolis, but West said, the work needed to get relief to Marylanders who have been and will be hurt by the spread of the novel coronavirus, along with the decision to shorten the session by about three weeks, required long nights and weekends.
“I left exhausted, but with a very renewed confidence that the government of Maryland is working in a united fashion in the best interests of its citizens,” West said.
West, a Republican, was not the only lawmaker from the region impressed with the General Assembly’s quick pivot.
“They say each session is different, but this was extraordinary,” said Del. Cathi Forbes, a Democrat.
Lawmakers wanted to “work together to blunt whatever was going to come next,” she said, and “It was amazing to be a part of that.”
-- CODY BOTELER Everett Schools bond asks to replace elementaries, upgrade high schools-- Tribune Washington: March 04, 2020 [ abstract] EVERETT — Everett School District officials hope the third time will prove a charm in their attempt to pass a capital bond.
The $317.4-million bond measure on the April 28 ballot would replace three elementary schools, modernize buildings at Everett and Cascade high schools, upgrade classrooms at Jackson High and add 58 classrooms across eight other schools.
It comes on the heels of a similar bond proposal that twice failed in 2018 to reach the required 60 percent supermajority voter approval.
This measure differs from the 2018 proposal by asking to replace the elementary schools in lieu of building a fourth high school and buying land for a new elementary.
If it passes, the end result is the school district tax rate will lower from $4.87 to $4.78 per $1,000 of property assessed value, because existing bonds will have been paid off by 2021.
Owners of a home valued at $400,000 would pay $1,912 per year — $36 less than they are currently paying.
“Our goal is to keep a stable tax rate over time,“ said Kathy Reeves, a school district spokeswoman.
If the bond measure fails, tax rates would initially decrease but then rise steeply and continue to rise and fall erratically, Reeves said.
Because capital construction costs are not included in state basic education Funding, bonds are the only tool available for school districts to raise money for big-ticket projects.
“These needs do not go away and they cost more if they are delayed. Our population will continue to increase, and buildings will continue to age,” said Reeves.
-- ADAM WORCESTER Alaska school needs require collaboration-- Anchorage Daily News Alaska: February 28, 2020 [ abstract] Over the past decade, Alaskans across the state voted for new or improved schools with the expectation that the state would pick up 60%-70% of the cost. Residents of 15 boroughs and six cities made these investments, believing the state would abide by its statutory commitment to contribute substantially to construction costs. The state did so for many years, consistent with its constitutional responsibility to “establish and maintain a system of public schools.” Unfortunately, 50% of the state’s share was vetoed for fiscal year 2020, passing that cost to local governments — and ultimately to local taxpayers.
A bill — House Bill 106 — is also being considered by the Legislature that would extend the existing five-year moratorium on new school bond debt for another five years. If it passes, an effective option for school construction and major maintenance will be taken off the table. If it doesn’t pass, there is little likelihood that program would be used, since there isn’t the trust in place that the state would fund its portion.
Local governments recognize that school bond debt reimbursement is “subject to appropriation,” but also agreed to these investments in good faith. To maintain trust in government, that commitment should not be abrogated. And we can all agree that the state shouldn’t balance its budget on the backs of local governments.
Twenty-one cities and boroughs currently have school bond debt, with payments of almost $100 million this year. Their ability to take on half of the state’s share of school bond debt is limited by a variety of factors, including local tax caps, limited tax bases, insufficient cash reserves, etc. Where taxes can be raised, local taxpayers are less likely to approve increases for bond debt than they are for new and improved schools. To complicate matters, this unanticipated cost comes at a time when other support for local governments, such as Community Assistance and capital project Funding, are being reduced.
-- Opinion - Nils Andreassen Rising costs force a Plan B for school construction project-- Portland Press Herald Maine: February 24, 2020 [ abstract] PORTLAND — In the face of increasing construction costs, school leaders are rethinking how to renovate/rebuild Lyseth, Longfellow, Presumpscot and Reiche elementary schools.
In Novemer 2017, voters approved a $64 million bond to renovate the four schools, but 2½ years later, it appears that an additional $39 million is needed to complete the work as planned.
The Portland Board of Education was scheduled to have a workshop to talk about options Tuesday, after the Forecaster’s deadline. The Districtwide Advisory Building Committee will meet Thursday to review how to scale back the projects to meet the bond amount.
Harriman, the architecture and engineering firm hired to design the school renovations, estimates the project would now cost $105 million, well over what school leaders had expected.
The advisory committee will look into ways to pare back the plans, said school board member Sarah Thompson, co-chairman of the committee.
The Lyseth project, nearing completion, has already been scaled back. Even if similar changes are made to plans for the other three schools, the cost would drop only to $85 million and more Funding would still be needed.
-- MICHAEL KELLY St. Johns County School District adds 5,000 hurricane shelter spaces-- The st. Augustine Record Florida: February 24, 2020 [ abstract] The St. Johns County School District has added more than 5,000 shelter spaces to local schools with $1.2 million in state Funding.
The additional shelter spaces were added to Pacetti Bay Middle and Switzerland Point Middle schools as part of a two-year shelter retrofit project funded by the Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program and the Hurricane Shelter Deficit Reduction Program.
The programs are part of the Florida Department of Emergency Management and provide millions of dollars in grant Funding for retrofits, inspections, and construction or modification of building components designed to increase a structure’s ability to withstand hurricane-force winds and flooding.
“What this agreement does is it gives us an avenue to create additional shelter seats, and it lets our schools become more robust and resilient,” said Paul Rose, executive director of facilities and operations at the school district. “It provides additional protections for our facilities whether we use them for a shelter or not.”
In all, 5,141 additional hurricane shelter spaces and 133 additional special needs hurricane shelter spaces were added to the schools, which required upgrades to the schools’ windows and doors in order to make them more resistant to hurricane-force winds and flying objects.
-- Christen Kelley Adelman, Bendor, O’Grady: Neglect of Arizona schools’ capital needs violates Constitution-- Glendale Independent Arizona: February 17, 2020 [ abstract] School districts all over Arizona are challenged today by aging schools and inadequate funds to repair or replace them. This is a major problem for our educators and for the children they teach --- and it is a violation of the Arizona Constitution, which requires the state to maintain a “general and uniform” system of public schools.
We’ve faced this problem before. In the 1990’s, a school district’s ability to have decent buildings, textbooks, and computers depended almost entirely on whether it could pass bonds and overrides. Kids in districts with little property wealth or with voters who wouldn’t pass bonds were left behind. After years of litigation, the Arizona Supreme Court held that this system violated the Arizona Constitution.
As a result, the Legislature eventually enacted legislation called Students FIRST to fix this problem. Students FIRST provided money to fix the disrepair that had built up over the years, take care of buildings going forward, build new schools in growing districts, and buy “soft capital” items like textbooks, computers, and buses.
Unfortunately, the state has broken the promise of Students FIRST. It eliminated a “building renewal” program designed to give schools funds to take care of their buildings, and replaced it with a bureaucratic grant program with paltry Funding that is only available after a building system --- like a roof or air-conditioning unit --- has failed. The state also ignored its statutory duty to inspect schools; slashed Funding for textbooks, computers, and buses; stopped updating its facilities, security, and technology standards --- used to determine Funding; and made the program for new school construction a shadow of its former self, providing too little Funding and delaying what Funding there was until after districts were already overcapacity for years.
-- Opinion House passes $2.2B school construction bill in big bipartisan vote-- WBALTV11 Maryland: February 14, 2020 [ abstract]
ANNAPOLIS, Md. —
The House of Delegates passed legislation Friday to increase school construction Funding by $2.2 billion over five years.
Delegates approved the Built to Learn Act by a 128-6 vote, sending it to the Senate, where there is also bipartisan support. The bill also has the backing of Gov. Larry Hogan.
"I think it's telling how important this bill is on both sides of the aisle," House Speaker Adrienne Jones said.
"Money does matter; money matters," said Delegate Matthew Morgan, a Republican who represents St. Mary's County's District 29A.
There was an unusual House debate for legislation that's nearly universally supported. The discussion centered on clarifying how school construction money will become available.
"It raises concern for the 17 counties that are bundled together when using this historic 10-year average of school construction, because what you have done in the past 10 years is no reflection of what you are going to need in the future 10 years," said Delegate Susan Krebs, a Republican who represents Carroll County's 5th District.
"The old way of business is not going away. You act like we are going to get rid of the way we've done school construction in the state for decades. We are not. That program is still going to be in place," House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Maggie McIntosh said.
-- David Collins State Lays Out Plans for School Construction Projects, But No Funding-- NJSpotlight New Jersey: February 13, 2020 [ abstract] In court over the state’s stalled school construction program, the Murphy administration has quietly moved ahead in at least identifying the next priority projects, two dozen of them in 18 districts.
The Schools Development Authority (SDA) in late January approved its latest strategic plan, listing 24 projects facing the most-dire needs due to overcrowding and building age.
There is no money in place to pay for them, the subject of a lawsuit filed in November as part of the landmark Abbott v. Burke school equity litigation. Representing schoolchildren in 31 low-income, urban districts, advocates have contended the state has failed to live up to its commitment under Abbott rules to provide adequate school facilities.
But the Murphy administration in its first response brief filed this week said the strategic plan meets at least one of the demands in the complaint, and it’s next up to the Legislature to provide the necessary Funding.
“While the State recognizes that additional Funding will be needed for the projects identified in the new Statewide Strategic Plan, it has alerted the Legislature to that need and, with that new Statewide Strategic Plan now in place, the State is positioned to move forward,” reads the brief filed by Deputy Attorney General Donna Arons.
David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center (ELC), which is leading the litigation, said in an interview this week that it looks like the administration has deferred to the Legislature, but it hardly addresses the issue.
-- JOHN MOONEY Virginia lawmakers push funding for school construction-- WCYB Virginia: February 13, 2020 [ abstract]
BRISTOL, Va--Leaky roofs, black mold, and crumbling buildings are just some of the issues facing Bristol, Virginia public schools.
On Thursday, a special coalition brought attention to the issue in Richmond.
Superintendent of schools, Keith Perrigan said the schools are in desperate need of help.
"What we know is there is a school facility crisis all across, not just the Commonwealth, but really across the country," he said.
Some of the schools in Bristol, Virginia were built during World War II. The newest school in Bristol, Virginia is Van Pelt Elementary, and is nearing 50 years.
Perrigan said the state hasn't helped in keeping those schools maintained.
"For the last 10 years the state has not provided localities with any Funding to help take care of maintenance of schools to offset the cost for debt service," he said.
Two bills, one sponsored by Del. Israel O'Quinn, R-Washington, and another by Sen. Todd Pillion R-Abingdon are aiming to help fix the problem.
The proposal would take money from the state's literary fund and move it to a school construction fund.
-- Kristen Quon Baltimore County schools to use $14.2 million in state funding to address cooling, heating issues-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: February 12, 2020 [ abstract] The Baltimore County Board of Education voted Tuesday night to accept $14.2 million in state Funding for temporary air conditioning and heating units at seven public schools, but can’t say if the systems will be installed before temperatures heat up again.
“We will try” to install the systems by summer, but “there are so many unknowns at this point, it’d be wrong for me to give an exact date,” said Pete Dixit, executive director of school facilities.
The money, disbursed to the school system from Maryland’s Interagency Commission on School Construction’s Healthy School Facility Fund, is matched by $16 million in county funds announced in October to cover the full cost of the vertical temporary air conditioning systems that will be installed at Dulaney, Eastern Technical and Lansdowne high schools, the Western School of Technology, Bedford Elementary School, Catonsville Center for Alternative Studies and Campfield Early Learning Center.
Campfield was originally not included in then-$13.4 million Funding plan approved by the IAC panel in September.
Also part of the plan, two steam boilers will be replaced at Hampton Elementary School.
-- TAYLOR DEVILLE New 10-year plan to address schools’ building needs-- Times West Virginian West Virginia: February 07, 2020 [ abstract] FAIRMONT – Administrators of Marion County Schools are preparing the next 10-year plan, to help guide the county and each individual school through the next decade of academics.
Officially known as the Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan, the 10-year plan focuses on school facilities in each county, said Randy Farley, superintendent of Marion County Schools. The School Building Authority and the West Virginia Department of Education require each school district to have a CEFP, in order to receive Funding for projects that need to be completed.
Right now, the board is wrapping up phase one of drafting the CEFP and almost ready to move on to phase two.
“If you don’t have that plan in place, you can’t apply for funds from the School Building Authority or some other places,” Farley said. “Phase one includes doing an assessment of the previous plan, which we have completed, getting committees to work on sections of the plan and to write the information on utilities and square footage and all the requirements that they ask about for our facilities currently.”
Mary Jo Thomas, president of the Marion County Board of Education, said the board and the school administration work with school personnel, parents and community members to find out what needs are most important in each school. That information is then included in the 10-year plan. She said the needs assessment is important because it takes into account such aspects as the current age of each school building in Marion County.
-- Eddie Trizzino Springfield council OKs request for state repair funds for 13 schools; Gerena tops the list-- MASS Live Massachusetts: February 04, 2020 [ abstract]
SPRINGFIELD — For the third year in a row, the city is listing the German Gerena Community School as its top priority for renovations and repairs, but says 12 other schools are also in need of work.
On Monday night the Springfield City Council authorized “statement of interest” applications to the Massachusetts School Building Authority to start the process for securing state Funding for renovations at the 13 schools.
Ward 1 City Councilman Adam Gomez said he is glad Gerena is the top priority and hopes it will remain that way until all of the necessary repairs are completed.
“I’m committed to making sure every avenue possible to complete the Gerena renovations are supported by the City Council,” he said.
Any money awarded will go toward installing a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system; completing the build-out of classrooms; and supplementing recent projects and investments.
Gerena has been plagued for two decades with flooding and mold. Recent work has focused on tunnels connected to the school, including floor remediation, drainage pumps and motors, and entrance safety upgrades. Other recent improvements at Gerena include a new roof, upgraded boiler and indoor playground.
-- Elizabeth Román Crumbling schools: How Southern New England is addressing the problem-- NBC 10 Massachusetts: February 03, 2020 [ abstract]
FALL RIVER, Mass. (WJAR) — From drafty windows and outdated heating systems, to asbestos tiles and leaky roofs, it’s no secret that schools in Southern New England are aging rapidly.
The older the school is, the higher the chance it needs critical and costly repairs.
NBC 10 News dug deeper to find out whether these repairs are being made to school buildings and who's fronting the bill. Our first stop was James Tansey Elementary School in Fall River, a school that dates to the 1950s.
According to documents obtained by NBC 10, the school building is one of hundreds in Southern New England that has had numerous issues over the years.
The district noted those issues in a Statement of Interest sent to the state that reads in part: “During a four-year period from 2004 to 2008 numerous issues with no heat situations occurred, sometimes resulting in school closures or delayed starts.”
The superintendent also pointed out problems with the windows.
"The Lack of operable windows in some classrooms and no air conditioning becomes a deterrent for end of school year productivity and also beginning of year functionality, not to mention all summer programs," the superintendent wrote.
Ken Pacheco is the chief operating Officer for Fall River Public Schools. He explained that with aging buildings and a lack of Funding from local communities, districts can only do so much.
“What normally happens is we do the day-to-day repairs, and we're reactive instead of proactive due to finances," Pacheco said.
Despite financial issues, James Tansey Elementary School recently had a makeover complete with new windows, doors and a boiler.
Pacheco said those upgrades wouldn't have been possible without help from a state agency called the Massachusetts School Building Authority, or MSBA.
"If we had to borrow $3 million for this project ... We have a $10 million project at Samuel Watson Elementary School. We have a $6 million project at Resiliency Prep School. We have a $4 million project at the Stone School at Westall. All of those projects and then $263 million at Durfee High School -- we'd have to close everything else down in the city just to run the school department," he explained.
Like many other communities in Bristol County, Fall River has relied on the MSBA to help fund or reimburse essential repairs.
-- TAMARA SACHARCZYK EPA targets lead contamination in Georgia schools, homes-- Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: February 03, 2020 [ abstract] Georgia schools have received a grant of $1.1 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to identify sources of lead in drinking water at schools or child care facilities.
The Georgia Department of Education will use the funds for testing in high-risk communities across the state.
Georgia was one of 22 states that received a failing grade on protecting students from lead in water at school, based on data in a 2019 report from Environment America, a group of environmental advocates. In Atlanta, water sources at 25 of 60 schools tested had lead above 15 parts per billion, the level at which the EPA recommends remediation.
There is no amount of lead that is safe for children. Exposure can lead to lowered IQ, damage to the brain and nervous system, slow growth and behavioral problems in young children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Few states have provided Funding for lead testing through school drinking water programs. A 2017 bill in the Georgia Senate that would have required school water testing died in the House. It was reintroduced in the last legislative session.
In 2018, the EPA introduced the Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated Health Impacts. Part of that includes a proposed rule that would require water systems to take drinking water samples from the schools and child care facilities they serve. The grant announcement came just days after the EPA held a public meeting to discuss the cleanup of lead-contaminated soil at 66 properties in the Westside neighborhood of English Avenue.
Of 124 samples taken in the neighborhood, more than half have shown lead concentrations above the risk levels set by the federal agency.
-- Nedra Rhone Tabernacle to move elementary students to Olson Middle School-- Burlington County Times New Jersey: February 03, 2020 [ abstract]
TABERNACLE — The township school board voted Monday night to move some of its elementary school students into the middle school next school year, an effort officials say will cut costs as the district loses state Funding.
The move will go into effect on July 1, and second- through fourth-grade students classes will relocate across the street from Tabernacle Elementary to Kenneth Olson Middle School. The measure passed by a 6-3 vote.
“That was probably the hardest decision any of us up here have had to make so far,” Board President Megan Chamberlain said at the meeting. “Not every one of us agreed, and I’m OK with that, because every option we had on the table stinks.”
“To have a different opinion on what stinks worse than the other is everybody’s prerogative. I do not begrudge any of my board members. It all stinks, and I hope none of you out there would begrudge any of us our opinion.”
According to estimates from the district, the move would save between $196,000 and $241,000 and help avoid staff layoffs and cuts to extracurricular programs.
Pre-K, kindergarten and first-grade classes will remain in the front wing of Tabernacle Elementary, and the back of the school would be closed, operating on a no-occupancy setting that maintains minimal heat and air-conditioning to avoid mold.
Because of low enrollment, there is enough room at Olson for four of each class from grades 2 to 8, board of education member Victoria Shoemaker previously told the Burlington County Times.
Tabernacle’s two schools serve just over 700 students, according to state data. The township sends students to Seneca High School, which is part of the Lenape Regional district.
The district estimates that it will lose about $2.6 million in state Funding over a period of seven years. Due to changes in the state’s school Funding formula, aid to districts with shrinking enrollment or changing demographics is being phased out over seven years and being redistributed to growing districts, which had previously been underfunded.
The idea of consolidation has been met with mixed reactions from families, some of whom wished the district took more time to research the option.
-- Gianluca DElia Public school advocates keep up pressure on legislators calling school construction ‘priority’-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: February 02, 2020 [ abstract]
RICHMOND — State legislators say they want to make fixing Virginia’s crumbling public schools a “priority.”
Last week at the Capitol, they heard a few bills proposing ideas for how the state can assist localities to upgrade or replace schools, some of which date to before World War I. They’ve become familiar with the stories about ceiling tiles falling, mold, rainwater leaking through roofs and into classrooms, and broken HVAC systems prompting schools to close for days at a time.
“I just think we need to insist upon this becoming a priority,” Del. Delores McQuinn , D-Richmond, told a panel of superintendents.
The school executives described a list of problems preventing them from providing a quality education for students, and they asked the state to step up to provide Funding for school construction.
“We don’t have the ability locally to put additional Funding into our school infrastructure,” said Bristol Schools Superintendent Keith Perrigan.
Del. Israel O’Quinn, R-Washington, introduced a bill to revive a pre-recession fund to provide grants to school divisions to help curb costs for school construction. It would shift money from the Literary Fund into this fund.
The Literary Fund provides loans for school construction projects. School officials — especially those from the more impoverished districts — say it’s hard for them to tap into that pool of money. They’d prefer grants over loans. And before shovels go into the ground, they need to hire a firm to design a school, and they say they can’t use Literary Fund loans on that aspect.
-- Amy Friedenberger City seeking more funding for school building repairs-- The Lowell Sun Massachusetts: January 31, 2020 [ abstract]
LOWELL — The city is preparing to submit requests for state Funding for repairs to 14 school buildings, according to City Manager Eileen Donoghue.
A memo submitted to City Council on Tuesday lists 21 boiler and roof projects at Bartlett, Butler Middle, McAvinnue Elementary, Moody Elementary, Murkland Elementary, Robinson Middle, Shaughnessy Elementary, Wang Middle, Daley Middle, Greenhalge Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, McAuliffe Elementary, Rogers and Pawtucketville Memorial Elementary schools.
Donoghue said repairs to the district’s aging buildings are needed.
“We had a big building boom in the 90s and now all these systems are spent,” she said.
The requests come as the city moves forward on projects submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, or MSBA, last year. The City Council referred a $13.6 million loan order to a Feb. 11 hearing on Tuesday. The loan would fund building improvements at six schools: Bailey Elementary, Daley Middle, Greenhalge Elementary, McAuliffe Elementary, Rogers and Sullivan Middle.
“It’s allowed us to meet some needs we would otherwise be unable to meet financially,” said Alex Magee, assistant to the city manager.
The city anticipates approval for these projects by the MSBA on Feb. 13 and April 15, though approval for the loan is needed earlier in order to begin work, according to a memo.
The city anticipates the MSBA will reimburse the city for 79% of the cost. Work is expected to begin in late-spring or summer and wrap up before next winter.
-- ELIZABETH DOBBINS Colorado's infrastructure is struggling and our children may be the most affected-- The Denver ABC7 Colorado: January 30, 2020 [ abstract] DENVER — The American Society of Civil Engineers released a voluntary report on Colorado’s state infrastructure, and 2020 barely passed with a C- grade.
“Our infrastructure is in mediocre condition and requires attention,” Peyton Gibson with the American Society of Civil Engineers, said.
Drinking water, hazardous waste, transit, roads, and solid waste all received a C- grade, the report shows.
Perhaps the most shocking aspect of the report is our school infrastructure, which was graded at a D+. The report states school facilities have needs far greater than budgets, which has resulted in a $14-billion Funding gap.
“Fourteen billion dollars is obviously a lot of money. On the other hand, we are looking at a $700 million capital improvement program and we educate 10% of the students in the state,” Tim Reed, director of facilities for Jefferson County Schools, said.
Reed said Colorado schools are getting older and more crowded.
Jeffco School's median age is 50 years old.
“We have some this year that are turning 60 years old and even some that are 70 years old,” Reed said.
Two years ago, voters approved a bond to improve infrastructure at Jeffco schools. It had been about 16 years since such a bond was passed
-- Jessica Porter Rising rents, falling enrollment: San Jose district plans to close two schools-- East Bay Times California: January 28, 2020 [ abstract] Despite protests by parents, students and neighbors, a San Jose Evergreen School District advisory committee has recommended the closure of Laurelwood and Dove Hill elementary schools after years of declining enrollment and budget shortfalls anticipated to reach $12.5 million in the district.
The Evergreen School District consists of 18 schools that serve about 11,000 East San Jose students in kindergarten through eighth grade. District enrollment has significantly declined in recent years — and the district expects the trend to continue as more of its families move out of the area because of the Bay Area’s rising cost of living.
“I know that this situation is very personal for our families, but I am a superintendent of 18 schools and I do need to advocate for our entire district and our overall health, which will ultimately allow us to be able to provide high-quality programs and world-class education,” Evergreen Superintendent Emy Flores said in an interview.
Since its peak enrollment of 13,400 students during the 2005-06 school year, the number of students attending district schools has declined 20 percent, which equates to a loss of nearly $28 million in state Funding, according to district figures. Over the next five years, the district projects it will lose another 1,300 students — or $12.1 million in state Funding.
-- MAGGIE ANGST Are your kids safe? Reports show mold, toxic chemicals in some schools go unaddressed-- 13WLOS North Carolina: January 27, 2020 [ abstract] ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Chipping lead-based paint, water-stained ceilings and mold-like substances in the water fountains. Those are just a few risks jeopardizing the health and safety of students in mountain schools.
A News 13's investigation uncovered some of these violations go on for years. While the immediate concerns get fast tracked, News 13 found it’s not uncommon for some health and safety concerns to get cited year after year. While the inspections are mandated by the state, no one holds schools accountable for making the repairs, and News 13 found cutbacks in maintenance Funding just add to the problems.
As buses arrive and students make their way to classrooms, most parents trust schools will not only improve their minds but make their health and safety a priority.
Environmental health inspections, mandated by the state, are done in all schools
There is someone inside school hallways, learning more about the health and safety of these buildings’ students spend half their year in.
-- Jennifer Emert Maryland county executives testify in favor of school construction bill-- WTOP Maryland: January 23, 2020 [ abstract]
County executives from eight Maryland jurisdictions — including Prince George’s and Montgomery counties — traveled to Annapolis to testify in favor of a school construction plan.
The Built to Learn Act would pump $2.2 billion into new school buildings and renovation projects. Some of the Funding would come from bonds issued from the Maryland Stadium Authority.
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks reminded lawmakers that the announcement of the Built To Learn Act in November took place at a Prince George’s County school that was undergoing emergency renovations.
“Half the building was being held up by large hydraulic jacks,” she said.
Alsobrooks said it is critical that children go to school in “state-of-the-art buildings that are warm in the winter, cool in the spring and summer and structurally sound.”
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich told members of the House Appropriations Committee that his county is the 14th-largest school district in the nation, with 165,000 students.
“Parents expect that kids are not going to be sitting on desks or on the furniture in the science labs. That they’re actually going to be in chairs, and that there’s going to be room for them,” Elrich said.
-- Kate Ryan 'If we had fair funding, our schools wouldn’t be in such disrepair': 3 takeaways from meeting with SDL's superintendent -- Lancaster Online Pennsylvania: January 22, 2020 [ abstract]
Overseeing 11,000 students on a daily basis requires great balance.
That’s particularly the case considering most of those students come from low-income households and about one-fifth are English language learners.
That’s one of the significant challenges facing leaders of Lancaster County’s largest school district: determining which services to provide, and which to cut, with a limited amount of resources.
School District of Lancaster Superintendent Damaris Rau and school board President Edith Gallagher both described how they deal with the struggles the district and its students regularly face, as well as what makes the district special, during an interview Tuesday with the LNP | LancasterOnline Editorial Board.
Here’s three takeaways from the conversation.
School Funding
Lancaster is facing a potential $10 million budget deficit this upcoming year. To close it, administrators and school board members are contemplating raising taxes, program cuts, increasing class sizes and leaving vacant positions unfilled.
But Rau and Gallagher suggest the district wouldn’t be in this position if the state offered more support.
Rau said only 8% of the state’s Funding to the district goes through the basic education Funding formula. Enacted in 2016, the formula accounts for objective measures such as enrollment and poverty. But only new money since the 2014-15 school year flows through the formula, leaving districts in need behind.
“If we had fair Funding, our schools wouldn’t be in such disrepair,” Rau said.
-- ALEX GELI Ahead of School Construction Hearing, Officials Lament Funding Squeeze-- Maryland Matters Maryland: January 22, 2020 [ abstract] Ahead of a hearing on a multibillion-dollar plan to fund backlogged school maintenance and construction projects in Maryland, delegates heard Tuesday from officials on the frontlines of school construction struggles.
Strengthening the state’s school infrastructure is a top priority in both chambers, and the House Appropriations Committee will consider a bill on the plan Thursday afternoon.
The question is not if the school construction proposal will pass, but whether legislators should consider tweaking the proposal, said House Appropriations Chairwoman Maggie L. McIntosh (D-Baltimore City).
“This is House Bill 1 – and that means the bill is going to pass. And we can amend it, but that means it’s going to pass,” she told school leaders and her committee.
The bill would allow the Maryland Stadium Authority to issue up to $2.2 billion in bonds to fund school construction projects in the state, in addition to the state’s annual capital Funding. A companion measure is cross-filed as Senate Bill 1 and is certain to pass out of that chamber.
Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) has also introduced a bill authorizing $2.2 billion in Stadium Authority bonds, though the measures differ in other ways.
-- Danielle E. Gaines EPA awards Utah $434K for testing lead in schools, childcare facilities-- KSL.com Utah: January 22, 2020 [ abstract] SALT LAKE CITY — The Environmental Protection Agency awarded Utah's environmental quality department $434,000 to pay for lead testing of the water of Utah schools and childcare facilities, officials said Tuesday.
Officials at the Utah Department of Environmental Quality said administrators for public and charter schools, Head Start programs and licensed childcare facilities have until March 31 to apply for federal grant money to cover lead testing in their schools. Grants will be awarded in order of applications filed. All results must be made public, and private schools aren’t eligible for the program.
“We are committed to providing all Utah children with safe drinking water. Schools and childcare programs that test their buildings for lead reduce children’s risk of exposure and ensure a lead-free learning environment,” Marie Owens, the department’s drinking water director, said in a statement.
The money allocated to Utah is from the EPA’s Lead Testing in School and Child Care Program Drinking Water Grant program. According to the federal agency, about $43.7 million in Funding was delivered to various states, territories and tribes. The program focuses on Funding for lead testing in schools throughout those areas.
-- Carter Williams On New Era Road: A Rosenwald School’s Decline-- Americus Times-Recorder Georgia: January 22, 2020 [ abstract] New Era Road is a study of contrasts. It once led to a sizeable community; now vacant houses reflect long-term economic changes and the challenges of rural preservation. New Era Road once had two schools within one mile of each other. The brick school, built with public Funding for local white children, is now a single-family residence. A wooden school, built with a combination public and private funds for African American children, sits vacant between a small Baptist church and the New Era Substation. This school, known as Shady Grove, impresses even in advanced neglect. It is also a “Rosenwald School,” the last of its kind in Sumter County.
What is a Rosenwald School?
Rosenwald Schools developed in response to the unequal public education in the early twentieth century. After Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of segregation, the racial gap in public spending widened until white schools received, on average, twice the annual allocation as black schools. Allocations for school buildings could be even more unequal. In the early twentieth century, white schools in Georgia received 90% of the total allocations for educational infrastructure. The lack of public support left black parents, students, religious institutions, and philanthropic organizations to close the gap though a “second tax” of private monetary and in-kind donations.
-- Nichole Buchanan Representative Udall's Bill for Funding School Capital-- prescott eNews Arizona: January 22, 2020 [ abstract] STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – Representative Michelle Udall (R-25) has introduced HB 2679, legislation that would make significant changes to improve how the state funds school capital. The bill would eliminate the School Facilities Board (SFB) and assign its duties to the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) and a School Facilities Oversight Board. Additionally, the bill specifies that building renewal would be funded both through a formula distributed to schools on a per student basis as well as a state grant program for larger expenses.
“After years of unsuccessful efforts to fix the problems within the Schools Facilities Board, and given its most recent audit, it’s clear that big changes are necessary,” said Representative Udall. “It is time to eliminate the board and entrust the responsibility of building new schools and approving repairs to an agency that has a track record of efficient grant management and building oversight.”
The School Facilities Board was created to help ensure schools were built and repaired in a timely, efficient manner so that all Arizona students could attend schools that met a minimum set of standards.
-- Lynne LaMaster Tucson schools struggle to maintain facilities as governor proposes restoring $371M in funding-- Tucson.com Arizona: January 19, 2020 [ abstract] Gov. Doug Ducey is proposing a full restoration of flexible Funding for K-12 education after more than a decade of Arizona schools scrambling to maintain roofs, heating and cooling, plumbing, electrical, and other critical facilities needs.
The executive budget, released Friday, restores $371 million in additional assistance, flexible Funding for district and charter schools that can be used for capital expenses like building improvements, curriculum and textbooks, although a number of districts have had to use some of that Funding to supplement staff salaries as well.
But even with the restoration of additional assistance funds, which has been increasing since the governor released his five-year plan in fiscal year 2019 to restore it, Tucson-area school districts say they have a lot of catching up to do after years of state-level cuts.
If approved by the Legislature, the restoration would give Tucson’s largest school district millions more in additional assistance Funding for next school year. Without the reductions, Tucson Unified would have received an additional $6.3 million this year.
While the increase would help, it’s not enough to make up for years of scarcity, TUSD officials say.
-- Danyelle Khmara A fallout of recession-era cuts, Pittsylvania County Schools facing maintenance needs-- Go Dan River Virginia: January 16, 2020 [ abstract]
CHATHAM — Before the economic recession in 2008 and 2009, Pittsylvania County Schools were setting aside about $700,000 annually for maintenance needs.
Budget cuts during the recession limited those funds. Maintenance needs have not received anywhere close to that amount since then, which is why county school facilities have so many issues.
“You’re kind of putting Band-Aids on things to get by,” said Mike Hutson, director of maintenance for the school division.
At their budget committee meeting Thursday night, members of the Pittsylvania County School Board and division staff agreed on a final list of budget requests for the upcoming fiscal year, which reinstates $300,000 per year for maintenance costs.
The final list includes more than $4 million in requests, compared to just $2.7 million in projected allocated state funds. If the state Funding stays level, that leaves a $1.3 million shortfall the school division will be requesting from the board of supervisors.
While the county’s four high schools have undergone renovations in the past few years, the middle and elementary schools are older, with many having significant maintenance needs. Many of the buildings have roofs and heating and air conditioning systems that already are running well past expected lifespans, with some of the roofs even beginning to leak.
-- Caleb Ayers Dept. of Education Says it Has Completed School Maintenance Projects Across Territory-- The Virgin Islands Consortium National: January 16, 2020 [ abstract] The Department of Education said Thursday that as part of the year-round maintenance of its schools, it has completed work on important projects in recent months, with several more projects critical to the quality of the school environment expected to be completed by June.
According to D.O.E. Territorial Project Engineer Alan Fleming, the department’s Operations Division “is continuing to work to improve the conditions at our schools, using Funding from the Public Finance Authority, Office of Insular Affairs and other local Funding made available to us.”
ST. THOMAS-ST. JOHN DISTRICT
According to D.O.E., last October, an ADA-compliant ramp/sidewalk was installed at the Addelita Cancryn Intermediate and Junior High School, which is temporarily being housed on the Lockhart Elementary School campus, in order to accommodate wheelchair-bound students. The ramp/sidewalk connect the area of the Lockhart campus used by Cancryn to the modular units on the school grounds.
Fleming said the project was completed within a two-week period by local contractor Do Right Construction and was paid for with $28,498 in Funding from the Public Finance Authority.
Joseph Gomez Elementary School will soon have a refurbished basketball court fit for students to enjoy outdoor activities. A playground covering will be installed over the outdoor court and new court surface installed over the concrete base currently in place. Fleming said the job is out to bid and is expected to be completed before the close of the school year.
-- Staff Writer ‘Let’s Get It Fixed’: County Wrestles Over School Conditions-- The Pilot North Carolina: January 16, 2020 [ abstract] Moore County Schools in 2016 first compiled an inventory of facilities and improvements repairs needed across its 20-plus campuses.
That list, which included all expenses for the district’s schools anticipated over the next 20 years, exceeded $70 million when John Birath, Moore County Schools’ operations director, initially presented it.
Since then, five aged and problematic school buildings have been removed from that list because new schools are being built to replace them. Despite that, the schools still project about $73 million in renovations, replacements and major repairs at the remaining schools over the next two decades.
The Moore County Board of Commissioners dedicated part of a daylong retreat on Wednesday to reviewing how the schools have used maintenance and capital funds in the past, and whether the county has funds available to allocate to some of those impending costs.
“Additional local funds have not been appropriated, identified and set aside for the need. They haven’t gone away, the needs continue. We chip away, as you saw, with the elements and items we can within our current Funding, but over the next 20 years there are still $73 million dollars in needs,” said Birath.
-- Mary Kate Murphy Dept. of Education to Continue Facilities Master Planning Sessions to Guide New Schools Construction-- The Virgin Islands Consortium U.S. Virgin Islands: January 15, 2020 [ abstract] The New Schools Construction Advisory Board, comprised of Virgin Islands Department of Education professionals and other V.I. residents, will continue work on a Facilities Master Plan for a period of six months beginning January 15 at Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School that will guide the construction of new public schools expected to be built in the territory over the next 5-10 years. A similar meeting will take place January 21 on St. Croix, D.O.E. has announced.
The federally mandated Facilities Master Plan will establish the use of building standards and scope of work for all Department of Education facilities that will be constructed. Planning sessions are expected to continue through June, with periodic community workshops as milestones are reached.
D.O.E. said the planning sessions follow a series of public meetings the Board held last October to update residents on the work it had been doing since January 2019 and to gain the community’s input on the building of schools—an opportunity made available through Funding from Congress following the 2017 storms.
-- Staff Writer Virginia bill seeks to allot additional school construction funding-- WCYB Virginia: January 15, 2020 [ abstract] BRISTOL, Va. — Some officials say Virginia, and the nation, has a school construction crisis. A local lawmaker is proposing a fix.
"Most of the schools we have in southwest Virginia were built during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, some even earlier than that," Delegate Israel O'Quinn (R-Abingdon) said.
O'Quinn is looking for alternative ways to fund school improvements and updates in what some school officials call a construction crisis.
"The state is not going to be able to solve that problem on their own, localities obviously can't solve that problem on their own," Bristol, Virginia Schools Superintendent. "It's going to take partnerships whether it's public/private partnerships or partnering with the USDA or partnering with the housing authority on grants."
-- Olivia Bailey Buildings, improvements on the horizon for El Dorado Schools-- El Dorado News-Times Arkansas: January 14, 2020 [ abstract]
El Dorado School District has two new buildings on the rise, as well as a few other projects in the next six years.
Superintendent Jim Tucker discussed the district’s 2020 six year master plan of facilities at the El Dorado School Board meeting Monday, which includes a new Barton Jr. High and a new elementary school to replace Yocum.
“Mr. Tucker noted that while these buildings have been very well-maintained, they are aging and will need to be replaced in the coming years,” said Katie Sandifer, digital media and marketing manager for the district, in an email to the News-Times.
Tucker said in an email to the News-Times that a portion of the current junior high would be razed with the rest used as a new location for the district’s Alternative Learning Environment Program and for Adult Education.
“If we are able to build two new schools they could possibly be located at the old high school location and the property north of the new high school on either side of Bob Watson Drive,” Tucker said in the email.
Three projects that have been submitted to the Arkansas Department of Education for partner Funding include replacing portable buildings with permanent construction at Hugh Goodwin and Northwest elementary schools, replacing the HVAC system at Northwest and replacing the roof on the Barton cafeteria.
Tucker said the projects will proceed even if partner Funding isn’t granted. He also said these projects were the next in line for completion.
-- Siandhara Bonnet Hamilton County School Board has final say on facilities study recommendations-- WRCBtv Tennessee: January 14, 2020 [ abstract]
MGT Consulting Group, a private firm, has recommended that 11 schools shut down in the latest version of a facilities study; however, those recommendations may shift before the final recommendation in March.
Once the final recommendation is given, it's up to the school board to make decisions based off of that recommendation.
Action is needed to improve Hamilton County Schools that have been neglected for years, according to District 8 Hamilton County School Board member Tucker McClendon.
"We're at a point where we are at a facilities crisis. The average age of our buildings is creeping up to nearly 50 years old and so we have to do something," said McClendon.
MGT's latest recommendation suggests closing 11 schools, following an original plan that suggested closing 15 schools.
"Everything from not closing down Brainerd, to not closing down Lookout Mountain, but adding a vocational school, making sure that we open seats to our magnet schools," said McClendon.
This plan will cost $869 million. MGT's final recommendation will come in March. Then it's up to the Hamilton County School Board to lay out a plan for facilities until 2030.
"Take that plan and really look at it and see what we want to do with the community on our end even more and from there we will lay out a course of action for 10 years," said McClendon.
District 3 School Board Member Joe Smith says the decision to close schools is up to the school board not MGT.
"That final product, whatever that looks like, is going to have to be voted on and approved by the school board," said Smith.
Smith says the board will continue to find a solution for everyone.
"It's critical that we continue to get feedback from the community," said Smith.
As for Funding these changes over the next 10 years, McClendon says that they're going to have to get creative and not just look to the county commission for Funding. He says they will have to look at state legislators for help as well.
-- Jake Chapman & Claudia Coco State again rejects study funding for North Attleboro High renovation-- The Sun Chronicle Massachusetts: January 07, 2020 [ abstract] NORTH ATTLEBORO — For the third time in recent years, the state has rejected the town’s request for financial help to plan for renovating the high school, but school officials are not giving up.
Superintendent Scott Holcomb told the school committee Monday that if they “double down” and keep applying for Funding, he thinks the state will eventually approve the request.
He said he believes North Attleboro “is on the cusp” of being approved.
Holcomb said the state did not give him a detailed explanation for why North Attleboro was turned down, only that the “acuity of need” among other school departments across the state was greater.
A spokeswoman for the state School Building Authority could not be reached for comment.
There were 61 applications, or statements of interest, to the authority for Funding to help pay for feasibility studies, but only 11 were approved.
-- JIM HAND Our View: Maine communities confront difficult questions surrounding old schools-- Central Maine Maine: January 05, 2020 [ abstract] The last time the state offered Funding for new school construction and major renovations, in 2016, 75 schools, all well past their prime for safely and comfortably housing students, filed applications. After 14 months, just three of the projects were approved.
For Saco, whose project finished fourth — and out of the money — that meant no relief was on its way, and the elementary classes now being taught in portable and makeshift classrooms would remain there.
Now the school district must decide whether to wait and see if they’ll have more luck in the next round — whenever that comes — or to ask residents to foot the entire bill, as Portland did in 2017.
That’s a decision dozens of districts around the state could face in the next decade, and one that not only affects students, parents and teachers, but all taxpayers — and the very way of life in many communities.
According to Pine Tree Watch, the average Maine school was built between 1950 and 1960, so many have already reached the end of their 40- to 50-year life. Constructed before modern building codes, many are also not accessible to all students.
Without Funding to renovate or replace these schools, districts have been forced, for years now, to turn trailers, hallways and closets into classrooms. They’ve dealt with cold rooms and backed-up sewage, the result of a lack of modern electric, plumbing and heating systems.
-- Editorial What is Kingsport's long-term school facilities plan?-- TimesNews Tennessee: January 05, 2020 [ abstract] KINGSPORT — Kingsport City Schools hasn’t completed Phase 1 of a three-phase plan to build new schools and improve existing ones, but the Funding already is running thin.
“Our average building is right at 70 years old,” Assistant Superintendent of Schools Andy True said at a recent school board retreat.
One of the buildings that will be retired in Phase 1 is Jackson Elementary, built in 1927. Some of its classrooms still have remnants of fireplaces.
The KCS plans on rezoning some areas of the city to help equalize available classroom space and numbers of students.
“We’re going to have to start shifting kids to where teachers are,” Superintendent Jeff Moorhouse said.
-- RICK WAGNER Over $63 million in disaster funding coming to impacted districts-- dailycomet.com Florida: January 02, 2020 [ abstract] TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Ron DeSantis last week announced that Florida has been awarded an additional $63.2 million in federal disaster Funding through the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) to restore educational programs in counties affected by Hurricane Michael. The $63.2 million in Funding includes $44.2 million under the Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations (K-12 Restart) program, $2.6 million for postsecondary education, and $6.3 million for Emergency Impact Aid.
“Since day one of my administration, we have used every resource at our disposal to ensure Northwest Florida completely rebuilds from Hurricane Michael,” said Governor DeSantis. “I’m grateful that we have been able to work with Secretary Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education to secure these additional funds that will provide much needed relief to local students and families who deserve to return to normalcy after Hurricane Michael. For the many families, educators, and schools who are still recovering from this storm, I can assure you that we are working every day to make sure you and your community recovers.”
“As Panhandle communities continue to rebuild after Hurricane Michael, these additional funds help ensure students, teachers, and school leaders have further support to return to normalcy after the devastation of Hurricane Michael, helping these communities rebuild safe and healthy learning environments,” said Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran.
-- Special to The Star Schools seek March $195 million bond proposal-- DownTown Newsmagazine Michigan: December 27, 2019 [ abstract] Birmingham Public Schools Board of Education approved ballot language for a $195 million bond proposal to appear on the March 10 ballot to provide Funding to address facility needs and Funding enhancements through 2026.
At the board's meeting on December 11, the board determined capital improvements were needed and approved the ballot language for the bond proposal, which if approved, they said, would leave the annual debt millage at or below the debt millage of 3.8 mills levied in 2019.
Among the major features of the bond proposal are building and site enhancements and improvements to every school within the district; high school athletic field enhancements; Midvale preschool and senior center site improvements; purchase of school buses; security system and technology enhancements; and critical infrastructure improvements,including HVAC, roofing, plumbing and electrical.
“We have spent a significant amount of time researching the capital needs of our district over the last year,” auperintendent Mark Dziatczak said. “The importance of these potential improvements to our facilities for our students cannot be underestimated. Critical capital needs to major infrastructure systems will ensure that our facilities are dry, safe and comfortable for our students, staff and community.
-- Lisa Brody Corvallis schools have busy construction schedule in 2020-- Corvallis Gazette-Times Oregon: December 26, 2019 [ abstract] Construction of new buildings at Lincoln and Hoover elementary schools. A major renovation and expansion at Garfield Elementary School. And the first phases of renovations at Crescent Valley High School and Cheldelin Middle School.
All of these projects — and more — are scheduled to begin in 2020 as part of the Corvallis School District’s $200 million facilities bond.
Approved by voters in May 2018, the bond includes Funding for projects including upgrading schools to modern seismic standards; building new secure entrances at some schools; adding dedicated cafeterias at most elementary schools that didn’t already have them; adding career and technical education spaces at secondary schools; and adding permanent classrooms to district elementary schools to eliminate the need for modular classrooms.
Garfield Elementary School
Kim Patten, director of facilities and transportation for the district, said work will begin at Garfield before school lets out for the summer. Contractors will be doing site preparation on the school’s field so that crews can move three existing modular classrooms and place eight additional modulars there to house students during construction, which will continue through the 2020-21 school year.
“Half the school will be in modulars,” she said.
According to Patten, the project will include construction of a new wing of classrooms near the gym, major renovations to the classrooms on the north side of the building’s east wing, and a redo of the school’s main entrance and office area. The renovation projects will continue inside the building through the year, which is why so much of the school will be in modular classrooms.
Signs of ongoing work will be present throughout the year, with temporary walls to keep students away from construction, a temporary main entrance and office in a vacant classroom, a construction fence on one side of the school’s blacktop, and modular classrooms two rows deep on the field.
“It’s going to feel a lot different here come September,” Patten told the Gazette-Times during a tour last week of the planned construction.
The modular classrooms will fill the view of anyone looking out the back of the school, said Dale Kuykendall with the Wenaha Group, the district’s project management firm for its bond projects.
Patten said even the school’s garden will have to be removed to make way for modulars, although she said the district is committed to rebuilding it. However, she added, the cafeteria and gym shouldn't be affected by construction, and most of the school’s blacktop and playground should still be available. The school’s parking lot expansion should be completed over the summer.
-- Anthony Rimel For Small, Rural, Crumbling " and Closing " Classrooms, New School Bond Rules Could Be Big-- Lost Coast Outpost California: December 18, 2019 [ abstract] The foul odor had invaded almost every classroom. It was late March 2017, and Burnt Ranch Elementary was teetering on disrepair. The heating and ventilation systems were so unreliable that educators and staff in the small Trinity County school had been warming up frigid classrooms with portable heaters. Water leaked through the light fixtures, spilling onto the floor.
Kathleen Graham, the superintendent and principal, knew something had to be done, but raising the money through local bonds – California’s main driver of school facilities Funding – was next to impossible for the single-campus, 100-kid district. The alternative wasn’t much better: Competing with larger, better financed and more amply staffed districts for a piece of a state bond passed in 2016, a process that involved navigating California’s byzantine School Facilities Program.
But as winter became spring in rural Northern California, Graham recalled, the need only became more pressing. “Our buildings,” she said, “just went off the charts with mold.”
Health and safety cases like Burnt Ranch have become top-of-mind as California voters weigh a new statewide school bond that would generate $15 billion for schools, community colleges and universities. Proposition 13, slated for the March ballot, would not only raise much-needed Funding for maintenance and construction, but also end the first-in, first-out application system for state bond money that disadvantages small, poorer and rural schools.
-- Ricardo Cano Hammond High, Talbott Springs Elementary construction projects are back on the table-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: December 18, 2019 [ abstract]
Three months after the fate of two Columbia school construction projects hung by a thread, the school board voted Dec. 17 to officially keep them on track.
For nearly a decade, a renovation at Hammond High School and a new Talbott Springs Elementary — which began as a renovation — have been on the Howard County Public School System’s list to be completed.
The school board voted 6-0 to keep the Hammond High and Talbott Springs Elementary projects, along with the opening of high school 13 in September 2023, on track in the school system’s annual capital budget. Board member Kirsten Coombs was not present for the vote.
Before the vote, the school board, Superintendent Michael Martirano and central office staff discussed the implications of putting the two projects back on the priority list with concern that Funding will not be provided for each year of the projects simultaneously. Audience members gave a small round of applause when the vote went through.
-- JESS NOCERA School roof moving forward since state assistance not OK’d-- telegram.com Massachusetts: December 13, 2019 [ abstract] CLINTON - With unofficial word that Clinton Middle School did not make the cut for money in this year’s batch of Mass. School Building Association Funding, the roof project is moving forward.
Voters had approved money at the last town meeting to repair the roof, but officials chose to put off doing the major repairs while waiting to hear if a renovated or new school was approved for the state for Funding.
Superintendent Steven Meyer said he contacted the MSBA Monday and was told that while the official list would not be out until the end of the week, Clinton’s project would not qualify. Meyer said he was told 61 schools applied, and 11 were invited to get Funding this cycle.
The town can reapply between Jan. 8 and April 8.
Since the town meeting, Town Facilities Manager Russ Karlstad patched the roof, but Monday he redid his capital priority list to make sure the roof resurfacing gets done this spring.
Once a project makes the MSBA Funding list, it qualifies for up to 70 percent reimbursement, depending on the project, but it takes about five years before a project is complete. So the roof project will go ahead this year, school officials said.
-- Jan Gottesman Los Altos School District purchases 10th school site-- Los Altos Town Crier California: December 12, 2019 [ abstract] Capping off a years-long process, the Los Altos School District has bought nearly a dozen acres of land in Mountain View for a 10th school site.
The district finalized the purchase of 11.65 acres at the corner of California Street and Showers Drive Dec. 11. Federal Realty sold the district the land for $155 million. Much of that cost is being offset with Funding from the city of Mountain View and the sale of unused development rights. The district expects the final net purchase price to be under $30 million.
“I’m delighted. It’s been a lot of work, it’s been a tremendous effort on a lot of fronts,” said Randy Kenyon, the district’s business director. “Our community has said we need another school site and we’re seeing that consummated. It’s exhilarating to finally come to the end.”
DETERMINING SITE’S USE
Although the district now officially owns the land, a number of decisions remain, including how to use the site. The district has not yet chosen what will be built on the parcel.
This spring, the district and Bullis Charter School announced a proposed 10-year agreement that called for moving Egan Junior High School to the 10th site and giving the charter school the bulk of Egan’s campus.
After outcry from district parents at the prospect of moving Egan, the district tabled the proposal and embarked on a community engagement process to gather feedback on long-term facilities for the charter school. Some of the proposals community members discussed involve placing either Bullis Charter or a district school on the 10th site. The district’s board of trustees is expected to receive a final report on the community engagement process in January.
“Our board has to eventually decide how we want to use the property,” Kenyon said. “That, I think, is obviously somewhat dependent on what the outcome of the long-term location for BCS turns out to be.”
-- Zoe Morgan Valley Unified board approves Frenchville site for proposed regional school, sets stage for public vote-- Bangor Daily News Maine: December 12, 2019 [ abstract]
MADAWASKA, Maine — The Valley Unified Board of Directors on Tuesday evening ratified the recommendation of a site selection committee to proceed with a Frenchville site for a proposed regional school.
The board voted 7-2 for ratification. Two of SAD 27’s three Valley Unified board members, Gary Sibley Jr. and Toby Jandreau, voted against the ratification.
Joined under the umbrella of the Valley Unified Regional Service Center, the three school administrative units, or SAUs, of SAD 27, SAD 33 and Madawaska School District have worked together to address the declining enrollment and rising costs in education.
Last year, the state authorized Funding the Valley Unified effort up to $100 million for a new St. John Valley educational facility that would replace three high schools and serve students from Grand Isle to Allagash.
Residents of the member communities will need to vote to approve the final project, and the Maine Department of Education will need to OK plans moving forward. The VU board will send results of the ratification vote as well as straw poll results to the Department of Education, which will ultimately decide whether the school regionalization process will move forward.
-- Jessica Potila and Morgan Mitchell New Norwalk High School To Be Built Largely With State Funds-- Patch - Norwalk, CT Connecticut: December 09, 2019 [ abstract] NORWALK, CT — A new Norwalk High School is slated to be built at the site of the current school on Calvin Murphy Drive in Norwalk, and 80 percent of the Funding for the new project will come from state coffers, according to officials.
The new facility will measure 337,000 square feet and house 2,000 students from three educational programs, the high school, an expanded P-Tech Middle College (formerly known as Norwalk Early College Academy) and the Norwalk Visual and Performing Arts Academy. Approximately half of the 2,000 students will be from P-Tech and the performing arts academy.
The plan was announced Monday during a press conferenet at Norwalk High School, attended by state Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff; Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling; Director of the state Office of School Construction Grants & Review Konstantinos (Kosta) Diamantis; Norwalk Schools Superintendent Dr. Steven Adamowski; State Reps. Lucy Dathan, Travis Simms, and Chris Perone; and local Board of Education members, members of the Norwalk Common Council, and other local officials.
-- Alfred Branch Roanoke County proposes new borrowing model to speed up school renovations and construction-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: December 07, 2019 [ abstract] Roanoke County is considering a proposal to increase its annual borrowing by 20% to fund school renovations and replacements requested by the school board.
The Roanoke County School Board wants to renovate two elementary schools simultaneously within the next three years, but needs the board of supervisors to approve the Funding for those renovations.
School administrators identified nine schools as outdated, and renovating or replacing them could take 20 years to complete under the current borrowing system.
The board of supervisors approves funds for school building projects through its “10-10-10” debt management system. Under the terms, borrowing for county and school projects is capped at $10 million annually. School projects are eligible for the funds in two of the three years in the cycle. The third year’s amount goes toward the county government’s capital projects.
The school division put its last $20 million allotment toward the Cave Spring High School renovation now under construction. This year is a county borrowing year, and the money has been earmarked for the replacement of a flood-prone general services building.
The new Funding proposal presented at a joint meeting Tuesday would increase the debt issue to $12 million annually. Assistant County Administrator Rebecca Owens said the Funding could move up the school system’s projects by several years, or sooner if they also dedicate year-end savings to construction costs.
The new plan would require an annual incremental increase of $200,000 each from the county and the school budgets starting July 1, 2020. The plan allows for more Funding without raising taxes, Owens said.
-- Alison Graham Hogan proposes $3.8B for school construction over 5 years-- Education Week Maryland: December 06, 2019 [ abstract] ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Gov. Larry Hogan proposed allocating $3.8 billion for Maryland school construction over five years and a separate measure to increase accountability in academic performance during a news conference Thursday, as education Funding is expected to be a top issue in the upcoming legislative session.
The Republican said his school construction proposal would be a record amount to cover all Funding requests from Maryland's local school districts.
A separate proposal is aimed at giving local communities greater say over how to turn around failing schools. A local school board would create a committee to develop a plan, which could involve changes to curriculum, budget, schedule, staffing or professional development. The committee would be comprised of local residents with experience in education, youth development, management and finance.
“With both of these announcements today on record Funding and these accountability measures, we are reaffirming our commitment to increased investment for our schools and classrooms, more accountability for parents, teachers and taxpayers and most importantly, better results for our children,” Hogan said.
-- Staff Writer Shelby County owed suburban schools millions for capital projects. Here's the plan to fix the problem-- commercial appeal Tennessee: December 05, 2019 [ abstract] A Funding backlog resulted in Shelby County owing millions to its suburban school districts for capital improvement projects, making it difficult for those districts to plan for large projects and potentially driving up costs.
On Monday, county officials may approve a plan they hope will rectify the problem.
The new plan — yet to be formally proposed to the Shelby County Commission — would still tie Funding between Shelby County Schools and the suburban municipalities, but create a consistent schedule for Funding to be disbursed.
When Shelby County Schools receives money from the county, the commission gives a proportional amount to the municipal school districts, an amount determined largely due to attendance.
Currently, if the county’s largest school system doesn’t draw down the funds it has been allocated in a timely manner or doesn’t use all the money it has been given, the suburban districts might get their payments late or not at all.
But in the new model, which will likely be proposed in an add-on resolution Monday, each district will receive 85% of its total share of funds in monthly installments.
-- Katherine Burgess Baltimore mayor plans to use budget surplus for school construction-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: December 04, 2019 [ abstract] Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young plans to use the city’s projected budget surplus to help fund a massive school infrastructure plan, his spokesman said Wednesday.
The mayor’s pledge comes roughly a month before the General Assembly session begins. The first bill expected to be introduced by lawmakers in Annapolis would dramatically increase Funding for public school construction.
The plan — dubbed the “Built to Learn Act” — would send $2.2 billion more to Maryland counties to help pay for renovating and building schools. To access those funds, local governments would also have to kick in some of their own money.
Spokesman Lester Davis said the mayor plans to spend the projected $34 million budget surplus to help fulfill the city’s contribution to the plan. The anticipated local share for Baltimore is $39.5 million, with the state then providing about $400 million.
The surplus allocation “gets us 90% of the way there to meeting our match on this groundbreaking legislation,” Davis said.
-- TALIA RICHMAN Court orders all construction stopped at Cardiff School-- Encinitas Advocate California: December 04, 2019 [ abstract] Construction has halted on the new Cardiff School as San Diego County Superior Court ruled in favor of the Save the Park and Build the School opposition group’s complaint.
Earlier this year, Save the Park filed a lawsuit against the Cardiff School District alleging an inadequate environmental impact report (EIR) for the Cardiff School rebuild. The lawsuit contends that the EIR failed to adequately evaluate the impact of the school project, which “completely overhauls the design and appearance of George Berkich Park, which is an important and well-loved community resource.”
On Nov. 18, the Cardiff School District received a ruling from the court that granted a preliminary injunction and made certain other legal findings on Save the Park’s claims regarding compliance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and “taxpayer waste”; the allegation that the district “breached the accountability requirements set forth in Measure GG by constructing improvements not authorized by Measure GG”, the $22 million bond measure Funding the rebuild that was approved by nearly 66 percent of Cardiff voters in 2016.
-- KAREN BILLING Dead mice, crumbling concrete: Education reform won’t fix the sorry state of some schools-- Boston Globe Massachusetts: December 03, 2019 [ abstract] LYNN — Step into Kaitlyn Lausier’s basement classroom, and years of financial neglect in this once-prospering city can be seen everywhere: the long fluorescent tube lights, the bare brick walls, the flaking radiator that warns in English and Spanish not to touch its scorching sides.
Students have been burned by these iron-ribbed heaters at Pickering Middle School, where cramped underground quarters like Lausier’s have been pressed into service to relieve overcrowding.
Gateway cities like Lynn, midsize urban centers whose lower property values are a draw for lower-income households, are slated to be among the big winners in the sweeping school-Funding reform bill signed into law last week by Governor Charlie Baker. Such districts are expected to see millions in fresh spending from the new law — a down payment meant to reverse yawning student achievement gaps fueled by years of underinvestment.
But Lausier’s basement classroom alone shows just how far Lynn has fallen behind. And even as city officials celebrate passage of a law that will dramatically increase spending on students, they must face a sobering truth: The extra money will probably do little to address Lynn’s tumbledown schools, complicating efforts to improve services to its surging ranks of low-income students.
One of Lausier’s most pressing concerns, for instance, emanates from an adjoining room that she said houses the century-old school’s ductwork.
“I would like to have that room cleaned out so it doesn’t smell like dead mouse in here all the time,” she said.
Hailed as a transformational overhaul of the state’s outmoded school-Funding formula, the so-called Student Opportunity Act is poised to pump an additional $1.5 billion into school districts across Massachusetts over the next seven years. It specifically targets disadvantaged students in poorer urban districts like Lynn’s.
“This legislation is about making sure that every kid in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, regardless of where they live, where they go to school . . . has the opportunity to get the education they need to be great,” Baker said when he signed the bill at English High School in Boston.
-- Malcolm Gay and Meghan E. Irons Lakota school officials mulling entering state funding program for new schools-- Journal-News Ohio: December 03, 2019 [ abstract] LIBERTY TWP. —
Lakota school officials are considering telling the state they intend to build new schools through a process that could see a statewide program fund a portion of costs.
During a work session Monday evening the Lakota Board of Education discussed an option allowed through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) that could eventually pay an estimated quarter of the funds needed to build any new schools or upgrade existing buildings.
But nothing has yet been decided, board members emphasized, especially whether Lakota would later commit to staying in the state process by fulfilling the state stipulation of also asking local taxpayers to pay for the remaining school building costs through a tax hike.
-- Michael Clark Students become school boiler-room sleuths to assess climate change risks-- The Conversation New York: December 01, 2019 [ abstract] In the fall of 2012, New York City received the brunt of an unprecedented storm. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, also referred to as Superstorm Sandy, the stock market closed for two days. Some of the city’s subway tunnels, including six under the East River, flooded and were out of service for several days.
New York City public schools closed down. A week after the storm, 86 schools remained closed and 24 were so badly damaged that they were ultimately relocated.
Sandy left an impact and raised awareness that the city was indeed vulnerable to the effects of extreme weather and climate change.
In the aftermath, Funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration allowed Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, the National Wildlife Federation, the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay and New York Sea Grant to create the Resilient Schools Consortium (RiSC).
This in-school and after-school education program teaches students in Grades 6 to 12 about climate change, resiliency and vulnerability. More importantly, it is designed to centre youth voices and to support youth action for their schools, city and wider communities.
-- Jennifer Adams, Alexandra Gillis, and Brett Branco Sarasota Schools to establish hurricane shelter in Venice-- Herald-Tribune Florida: November 25, 2019 [ abstract] A new hurricane shelter is coming to serve residents in Venice and throughout South Sarasota County.
The Sarasota School District has announced that the state has awarded a $1 million grant to the district to add Taylor Ranch Elementary School as a shelter location, in addition to Funding hardening at Fruitville and Gulf Gate elementary schools and North Port High School.
The district will use the money to retrofit Taylor Ranch throughout 2020, making it the 12th general-population hurricane evacuation center in the county, according to a press release from the district.
“We are thankful to our state and local emergency management partners for assisting Sarasota County Schools with Funding and resources needed to ensure the safety and security of evacuees at schools that serve as hurricane evacuation centers,” said the school district’s interim chief operating officer Jody Dumas.
Venice residents had limited options for shelters during Hurricane Irma, and city officials ended up opening the Venice Community Center for residents seeking shelter. City officials have subsequently said the community center’s proximity to the Gulf of Mexico makes it an unsuitable shelter location.
The improvements at Taylor Ranch will provide space for up to 1,280 evacuees.
-- Ryan McKinnon FEMA OKs $52M to rebuild Herbert Hoover High; more money could be on the way-- Charleston Gazette-Mail West Virginia: November 22, 2019 [ abstract] The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved spending roughly $52 million to rebuild Kanawha County’s Herbert Hoover High School, whose students have been in trailer classrooms for more than two years.
FEMA employees told the state’s representatives in Congress and the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management on Friday about the grant.
Chuck Smith, the Kanawha school system’s facilities planning executive director, said bids have already been requested from companies to do site preparation, like removing trees and moving dirt, at the new location. The new school will sit off of Frame Road, between the Elkview exit of Interstate 79 and U.S. 119.
In September, Kanawha schools Superintendent Ron Duerring said he hoped construction would begin in November or December. Smith said the site preparation bids are due Dec. 4, but he doesn’t expect the work to begin until early January.
The FEMA Funding represents three-quarters of the estimated $70 million total cost of construction. If that Funding level holds, the state will have to provide the remaining $18 million.
-- Ryan Quinn Facilities funding needs to be part of conversation-- Moscow-Pullman Daily News Idaho: November 21, 2019 [ abstract] When I was running for office in 2018, I frequently talked about improving education at all levels in Idaho. People all over Benewah and Latah counties consistently told me that they wanted to improve K-12 education and asked that the state pay a larger and fair share for education, especially for facilities.
Since I have been in office, I have tried to stay part of the education conversation and paid special attention to education efforts. I was pleased that Governor Little set up the “Our Kids, Idaho’s Future” K-12 education task force this summer and I was especially excited about the recommendations it recently submitted.
School facilities is the one topic I wish the task force would have acted on. We have a dysfunctional facilities Funding mechanism in the state. Requiring almost 100 percent of Funding from local property taxes with a 2/3-vote requirement might have worked 50 years ago but it’s not functional now. Rural Idaho has a huge amount of old buildings that are at and beyond the end of their life. And those communities often do not have the property tax base or the clear community willingness to fund with property taxes.
High-growth areas like Ada and Kootenai counties face a continuous need for new facilities and a bond failure puts them in a crisis with significant school overcrowding. The legislature has a responsibility to find a solution to Funding school facilities in today’s economy and today’s school children. We need a new system that works well for public schools, both traditional and charter schools. Idaho needs a solution that doesn’t drive vulnerable local property owner’s out of their homes to keep schools open. I don’t know the answer but we need to make this conversation a priority.
-- Opinion Prince George’s County Eyes New Approach To Upgrading Its Public School Buildings-- WAMU Maryland: November 18, 2019 [ abstract] The buildings that make up Prince George’s County Public School system could use some work — $8.5 billion worth, according to the system’s CEO, Monica Goldson.
According to an analysis, the school system’s aging structures need to be renovated and rebuilt, but schools are making do for now, Goldson says, by increasing classroom sizes or using mobile units. Goldson says the need is particularly acute in middle schools, which have a 2,000-seat deficit that’s only getting worse.
“If you’ve gone for years just doing a patchwork of replacement, you get to a point where you realize that honestly and truly, to have the building function effectively, you’re going to have to do total replacement,” she said.
But there was one problem — the math to fund new school buildings just didn’t add up.
Prince George’s County Public Schools get about $170 million a year from the state and county for capital Funding, but the need is almost three times that amount. It also takes a long time to do the kinds of significant repairs needed at certain facilities.
Goldson says the traditional route (a district builds schools through allocating budgeted money or using reserves, borrowing the funds or a combination of those) the system has taken has yielded only three new school buildings in the last few years.
“We realized at this rate, schools won’t get replaced over a very long period of time. So we’re looking at using a non-traditional route,” she said.
-- Kavitha Cardoza Report: Rural Arizona Schools Struggle with Lack of Funding-- Public News Service Arizona: November 18, 2019 [ abstract] COTTONWOOD, Ariz. — Out in Arizona's wide-open spaces, dozens of rural school districts are struggling to serve their communities and often are challenged just to keep the doors open.
A recent report by The Rural School and Community Trust found rural schools in Arizona and across the country struggle with inadequate Funding, changes to the communities they serve and providing educational opportunities for all of their students.
The report found Arizona's rural school graduation rates are among the lowest in the country. Wes Brownfield, executive director of the Arizona Rural Schools Association, said the biggest struggle for many districts is to fund and maintain school facilities.
"If I've got a high school with 80 kids in it, first of all, I have to provide the same services as if I had 800 kids," Brownfield said. "When a school building is built, there's money to build the building, but there's never money included in preventive maintenance.”
He said other recurring problems include low teacher and staff salaries, transportation costs, and the "hollowing out" of living standards for middle-class rural families.
The report said about 50,000 of Arizona's 1.1 million public- and charter-school students attend rural schools. Outside of the state's three main cities, rural schools are found in Arizona's pine forests, arid deserts and vast reservation lands.
Brownfield said the expansive distances can wreak havoc on school bus systems.
-- Staff Writer Superintendents set to make their pitches before state School Building Authority-- MetroNews West Virginia: November 17, 2019 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. — School superintendents from more than two dozen counties will make their best pitches before members of the state School Building Authority Monday and Tuesday in the latest round of NEEDs grant Funding.
The SBA could have as much as $50 million to hand out in school construction projects. There will be lots of projects to choose from.
Each superintendent has 10 minutes to talk about their projects. In past years the SBA has favored projects that come with local Funding.
Fayette County has had a multi-year school facilities that has been backed by the SBA. This year the county is seeking more than $20 million for a new regional school at Meadow Bridge that will include grades Pre-K through 12. Fayette County does not any local funds to go with the project. Superintendent Terry George will make the county’s presentation Monday.
The Funding request from Brooke County is just more than $500.000. Superintendent Jeff Crook will seek Funding for a new wastewater treatment plant at Brooke Intermediate South School. The county does have $25,000 in local Funding.
-- Jeff Jenkins Crumbling Classrooms: A Look Inside MPS Schools & the Millions It Will Take to Repair-- Alabama News Network Alabama: November 14, 2019 [ abstract] Two hundred million dollars in deferred maintenance… That’s just the estimate for Montgomery Public Schools, but one board member said that number could actually be higher. Unusable classrooms, faulty heat and A.C. units… and numerous schools that need new roofs.
Now, we’re taking you inside the schools to see these issues up close.
It is no secret that Montgomery Public Schools is facing major infrastructure issues…and it’s not something school leaders try to hide.
But when you actually go inside the schools, you may be shocked to see just how bad things are. Sidney Lanier High School’s façade will stop you in your tracks…there’s a reason its called ‘The Castle.’ But some things inside the building may stop you in your tracks too… and for all the wrong reasons.
“We could very easily spend 200 million or more, to get us where we need to be,” Chad Anderson, Executive Director of Operations for MPS said.
And that’s across the entire school system. Anderson is responsible for school maintenance and figuring out how to pay for a long list of needs: “If we get more money or we don’t, we’re going to tackle it as quickly as we can. It’s just with more money, we can take bigger bites out of things.”
Anderson said around 30 of the 52 school roofs need to be replaced…and Sidney Lanier is at the top of that list. There are classrooms that are completely unusable because the roof has been leaking for years: “The biggies, like Lanier, Jeff Davis, those big schools that are in that upwards of 1.5 million to 2.5 million dollars, those are things that we just don’t have the Funding for in the district right now.”
-- Samantha Williams SCS lead testing renews call to address $500M deferred maintenance list-- Fox13 Tennessee: November 12, 2019 [ abstract] SHELBY CO., Tenn. - There are now 35 Shelby County Schools that tested positive for traces of lead in some of its water sources.
Part of the problem may be the age of the pipes in these older facilities. SCS Superintendent Dr. Joris Ray said one of the schools testing positive for lead is 100 years old.
"We have over half a billion dollars in deferred maintenance and I'm going to do something about it," said Ray.
School board members say the Reimagine 901 Plan would tear down older schools, possibly ones dealing with lead issues, and build new ones in its place
FOX13 asked board members where they would get Funding for the new facilities.
"New money will, of course, be an ask, and that we'll be asking county commissioners as well as other Funding, but we're excited we're looking forward to it. When you talk about building something new people don't fight you on money. They want to see our school districts do better, they want to see new schools," said Dr. Althea Greene, SCS Board member.
Since the testing is mandatory by the state, FOX13 also reached out to members of the Shelby County Delegation about the recent test results and the push for new buildings.
-- Kirstin Garriss Colorado districts aren’t getting enough state money to maintain schools and attract teachers. So they’re turning to loc-- Colorado Sun Colorado: November 08, 2019 [ abstract] The newest part of Fowler Jr. & Sr. High School is actually pretty old – about 45 years old.
Like seven other rural districts in Colorado, Fowler School District set its sights on tapping the state’s BEST Grant program to help fix its three schools, but to do it, Fowler would first need a $4.9 million bond to provide the local match required by the state grant.
Fowler, a sprawling district east of Pueblo with close to 400 students, is one step closer to building that replacement school after its bond measure passed Tuesday.
“It’s exciting that our community was on board with the plans that we have in trying to keep Fowler schools performing at the levels that everybody expects us to,” Superintendent Alfie Lotrich said.
The newest part of Fowler Jr. & Sr. High School is actually pretty old – about 45 years old.
Like seven other rural districts in Colorado, Fowler School District set its sights on tapping the state’s BEST Grant program to help fix its three schools, but to do it, Fowler would first need a $4.9 million bond to provide the local match required by the state grant.
Fowler, a sprawling district east of Pueblo with close to 400 students, is one step closer to building that replacement school after its bond measure passed Tuesday.
“It’s exciting that our community was on board with the plans that we have in trying to keep Fowler schools performing at the levels that everybody expects us to,” Superintendent Alfie Lotrich said.
Read more education stories from The Colorado Sun.
Five other districts that pitched a BEST Grant-related bond to taxpayers this year succeeded: Eaton School District RE-2, North Conejos School District RE-1J, Yuma School District 1, Trinidad School District Number 1 and Lake County School District.
Weld RE-5J Johnstown-Milliken School District’s ballot measure asking for $139.9 million did not pass.
School districts statewide asked for 31 tax measures for various purposes ranging from replacing school bus fleets to rebuilding schools; 19 passed, according to the Colorado School Finance project.
The Colorado Building Excellent Schools Today Grant Program, or BEST, is a rich potential Funding pool for school construction in rural districts, but districts must kick in a percentage of their projects’ cost to access the state dollars.
It’s not yet certain how much money will be available for BEST Grants this coming year, according to Kathleen Gebhardt, chair of the Colorado Department of Education’s Capital Construction Advisory Board, who said the legislature has to decide on the dollar figure the state will contribute. The grant pool is funded by a number of sources, including marijuana taxes and excess lottery revenue.
In 2018-19, districts submitted 52 grant applications asking for a total of $882 million, and the grant program dispersed $433 million for projects, Gebhardt said. This year, the state received 58 grant applications asking for a total of $825 million, and the program doled out $401 million.
-- Erica Breunlin Holyoke mulls next steps on school building projects-- Daily Hampshire Gazette Massachusetts: November 07, 2019 [ abstract] HOLYOKE — After voters rejected a tax override to build two new middle schools in Holyoke on Tuesday, the city’s next steps remain unclear.
If approved, the Proposition 2½ debt-exclusion override would have allowed the city to fund approximately $54 million of the approximately $130 million middle schools project, with the remaining $75.8 million coming from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, or MSBA. But the ballot question failed by a margin of almost 2 to 1, putting the MSBA Funding in jeopardy.
Mayor Alex Morse said in the coming days, his office will meet with Stephen Zrike, the receiver and superintendent of the school district, and others to figure out next steps. Morse said they will not immediately assume an MSBA partnership is off the table.
“We’re going to put our heads together in the next few days and try to figure out a path forward with a recognition that we need to do something and hoping that the MSBA will want to continue to partner with us,” he said.
-- DUSTY CHRISTENSEN Following defeat in school construction funding vote, Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse declares the fight is ‘not over’-- MASS Live Massachusetts: November 06, 2019 [ abstract] HOLYOKE - Mayor Alex Morse on Wednesday responded to the defeat of a Funding plan to construct two middle schools by declaring the fight for quality public education in Holyoke must continue.
“I want to be clear: the fight to ensure that every student in Holyoke Public Schools has access to a high-quality education in a safe, state-of-the-art facility is not over," Morse said in a statement Wednesday morning.
“In the wealthiest country on earth, it pains me that we have to fight, oftentimes against each other, in our quest to ensure that all of our students have the educational facilities they deserve. Our kids deserve the same opportunities as kids in the wealthiest parts of this country,” he said. “This isn’t the case now and we shouldn’t accept this as our reality. It’s unacceptable.”
Voters on Tuesday solidly rejected a debt-exclusion ballot question that would have raised property taxes to pay for Holyoke’s share of the construction of two new middle school buildings.
The total project had a projected price tag of $132 million, and the state would pay for 60 percent of it, or around $75 million.
Roughly 64 percent of the vote, or almost 2 of every 3 voters, rejected the plan.
In a statement posted to Facebook, school officials said they will “... continue to work closely with the Building Committee, MSBA, and the public to explore opportunities to realize the educational vision of the Holyoke Public Schools.”
-- Patrick Johnson Maryland lawmakers pledge $2.2B for school construction-- WBALTV11 Maryland: November 06, 2019 [ abstract] FOREST HEIGHTS, Md. —
Maryland Democratic lawmakers are making new promises to build and renovate public schools, promising to come up with a plan to find more than $2 billion for school construction in the upcoming legislative session.
State lawmakers, led by outgoing Senate President Mike Miller, joined Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks at Forest Heights Elementary School on Wednesday to announce the $2.2 billion Build to Learn Act.
The proposal is being made public less than two months before state lawmakers head back to Annapolis. Lawmakers talked about school construction and the Kirwan Commission recommendations.
Miller said he wants to make Maryland the best in education once again.
"We can get back to No. 1, but it's going to take some hard work, and it's going to take some strong effort, some tough votes. These people behind me -- the caucus members, the House and the Senate -- are prepared to make the tough vote," Miller said.
The House will introduce a bill to approve the Funding when the legislative session begins in January.
"Every second we delay Funding that will modernize school buildings, we deny our students an opportunity for a brighter future," House Speaker Adrienne Jones said.
-- Tim Tooten White Bear Lake voters approve state's largest successful school bond measure-- Star Tribune Minnesota: November 06, 2019 [ abstract] Voters in the White Bear Lake school district Tuesday approved a $326 million bond to fund construction projects across the district — the largest successful school bond referendum in Minnesota history.
The district expects enrollment to surge by about 2,000 students over the next decade, and school leaders are planning renovations and upgrades in every school building.
The bond also will fund the construction of a new elementary school in Hugo and allow the district to combine its split-campus high school into a single, expanded facility.
White Bear Lake was one of more than 30 school districts that asked voters to approve bond issues and take on debt for major construction projects, while more than 40 districts sought voter approval to renew or increase their local operating levies.
In another closely watched race, Worthington, Minn., voters approved three measures that will fund the construction of a new intermediate school and an addition to the high school, addressing longstanding problems with overcrowding in the southwest Minnesota district’s buildings.
Approved were bonds totaling nearly $34 million for the construction of the intermediate school and a separate plan that would allow the district to refinance $14 million to fund an addition to the high school.
The vote was the latest in a long series of school Funding elections for the community, which has become larger and more racially diverse in recent decades because of population growth from immigrant groups — including a large number of unaccompanied minors from other countries.
Since 2013, Worthington voters rejected five proposed bond issues. The most recent referendum was in February, when a bond issue failed by 17 votes.
-- Erin Golden Teacher’s union: Connecticut schools are “falling apart”-- The Hour Connecticut: November 05, 2019 [ abstract] Mold. Heat. Cold. Dust. Rodent droppings. Asbestos.
These are a few of the hazards faced by students and teachers in Connecticut, according to the Connecticut Education Association, which announced the results of a survey of more than 1,200 teachers from 334 schools about environmental hazards in classrooms Monday.
According to the union, 74 percent of teachers who responded reported experiencing “extreme” hot and cold temperatures in their classrooms; 48 percent reported “damaged walls, ceiling tiles, carpeting, or vents;” 39 percent said they had “experienced mold and mildew problems;” and 30 percent “reported rodent dropping in their classrooms,” among other concerns.
Approximately 53 percent of those surveyed “reported environmental conditions in their classrooms that are not conducive to teaching and learning,” according to the report.
CEA officials called for a greater effort to address the environmental issues in Connecticut schools in the release.
“We must take action to ensure the health and safety of everyone in our public schools,” said CEA Executive Director Donald Williams. “This is not just a Connecticut problem. Nearly half of public school buildings across the country have poor indoor-air quality, and teachers have the highest rate of asthma among non-industrial occupations.”
“Devastating cuts to our school budgets ultimately undermine staff, students and critical programs, and now we are also seeing a direct impact on building facilities and maintenance,” said Williams. “As buildings get older, more repairs are needs and budgets need to include adequate Funding to keep them in working order, free from toxins and other hazards that can cause health concerns for our children and teachers.”
-- Ben Lambert Schools struggle to keep up with building needs-- Minot Daily News North Dakota: November 02, 2019 [ abstract] Williston’s new fire hall has a modern kitchen, while food must either be delivered or cooked on a hot plate for students at one of the city’s elementary schools for lack of a kitchen.
“When a city decides to build a fire hall, they don’t need 60% of the district to vote,” said Alexander Public School Supt. Leslie Bieber. “They don’t have to ask permission. Whereas we do.”
The Williston example was cited at the Western Dakota Energy Association conference in Minot Thursday during a panel discussion that highlighted the challenges in Funding school buildings.
The difficulty in passing bond issues to maintain and upgrade the state’s school buildings to meet codes and accommodate enrollment growth was a concern of a panel of three superintendents and a Williston legislator.
“The ability to pass a bond has become an issue statewide,” said panel moderator Aimee Copas, executive director of the North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders. “School leaders and communities are struggling with this from corner to corner – north, south, east and west – around our state.”
In North Dakota, 48 districts don’t even have a building fund, she said.
“So we have districts all over the state that are dealing with overcrowding issues – sometimes districts that are dealing with buildings that are 50 to 80 years old that they’re trying to keep afloat,” she said. “They’re really struggling with getting to the 60% supermajority.”
Garrison was cited as an example of a school district that has gone to voters multiple times and never quite reached a 60% majority.
-- JILL SCHRAMM Sharon High School could get $50mil state grant-- Wicked Local Sharon Massachusetts: October 30, 2019 [ abstract] SHARON - Ahead of a Nov. 4 Town Meeting on the matter, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has approved a grant of up to $50 million for a new Sharon High School.
The MSBA’s Board of Directors voted on Wednesday, Oct. 30 in favor of a possible $50,042,540 state contribution to the project, which is estimated at $163 million. The school district and MSBA must next enter a project Funding agreement - which outlines the specifics of the work and the necessary steps for the town to receive the money.
The town has been taking part in a feasibility study of its high school for the past year, determining that replacing the current structure with another on the same site would be the best solution. Per a state release, the proposed building would be 240,204 square feet, accommodating an enrollment of 1,250.
“Upon completion, this project will provide a new, 21st-century learning environment for students in Sharon,” said State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg in a statement. “Our goal is to create the best space to deliver the district’s educational commitments and goals.”
-- Mike Gleason Demolition and modernization of some schools in USVI to start by summer 2020, D.O.E. says; residents encouraged to atten-- The Virgin Islands Consortium U.S. Virgin Islands: October 29, 2019 [ abstract] St. Croix residents – parents, students, educators, employers – are urged to attend V.I. Department of Education (V.I.D.O.E.) meetings this week. The workshops are meant to shine light on the lengthy process of recovery from tens of millions of dollars in storm-damaged schools and facilities. During the process, Virgin Islands schools are expected to reach, or exceed, national school facilities standards long met in the states.
This week’s public meetings on St. Croix will be held:
Tuesday, Oct. 29th at the Juanita Gardine Elementary School auditorium from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 30th at the St. Croix Central High School cafeteria from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
“We want the community to come out and to be a part of the process,” said V.I.D.O.E. Chief Operating Officer Dr. Dionne Wells-Hedrington.
Ms. Wells-Hedrington, the department’s operational-side expert, and Chaneel Callwood-Daniels, who leads the V.I.D.O.E. schools’ architecture project – sat down with the VI Consortium to lay out an ambitious plan that, if successful, would see virtually every school in the territory rebuilt, better than ever, in the coming years.
New Schools
“Our desire is to build new schools,” said Ms. Wells-Hedrington. “When we are asked how many schools do we want to replace: all … That is our position going forward,” she said. “Every one,” added Ms. Callwood-Daniels.
And how likely is that? “Will we get all? We are not sure,” Ms. Wells-Hedrington said.
In March 2020, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to announce a round of disaster recovery grants that should include school construction Funding. As FEMA goes about work, the V.I.D.O.E. “… has been working on getting us ready and prepared for what FEMA says to us,” Ms. Wells-Hedrington said.
By the summer, demolition, critical repairs and modernization of some existing buildings could begin, based on FEMA’s edicts, with the input of a local School Construction Advisory Board.
The Board, which has 20 members in the St. Croix District and another 20 members in the St. Thomas-St. John District, is taking public feedback from St. Croix tomorrow and Wednesday. “We are doing this in tandem along with FEMA,” Ms. Wells-Hedrington said.
New construction would have to meet or exceed school construction standards found stateside. “… Not just up to (the VI) Code, but providing our students with really rich, nourishing learning environments,” Ms. Wells-Hedrington said. Schools like Arthur Richards Junior High School in Frederiksted or Addelita Cancryn Junior High on St. Thomas would never look the same.
-- Staff Writer Massachusetts House passes education funding reform bill-- Wicked Local Harvard Massachusetts: October 28, 2019 [ abstract] Rep. Kate Hogan, D-Stow, voted with the House last week to unanimously pass landmark education Funding reform legislation that will invest an additional $1.5 billion over seven years in the commonwealth’s public schools.
This scaling up of available state resources, designed to reach students most in need and more accurately reflect 21st-century costs of education, will provide a steady boost in Chapter 70 aid to Maynard Public Schools while making available a slate of new Funding for special education transportation, classroom innovation and school building projects.
“This historic bill was borne out of years of work around the table and a steadfast commitment to our students. It is our responsibility as lawmakers to ensure all of our students can access our state’s top-tier educational opportunities at their local public school,” said Hogan. “I am proud of how this legislation will support Maynard educators in bringing equity, innovation, and achievement into every classroom. This critical work is the cornerstone of our community and the backbone of the commonwealth.”
-- Staff Writer Schools Have Lost $16B in Capital Funds Since the Great Recession. Those Buildings Are in Trouble " & That Means Problem-- The 74 National: October 28, 2019 [ abstract] The aging school buildings of Arizona’s Glendale Elementary School District were no match for the late summer monsoons of 2016. With foundations made brittle after years of prolonged water damage, flooding seeped in. A structural engineer feared that walls would give way.
School leaders scrambled to find new spaces for nearly 1,500 students until outside contractors could remediate waterlogged walls and floors and reinforce foundations in two buildings. Some students were shuttled to another school in the district; others were sent to a neighboring town.
Superintendent Cindy Segotta-Jones didn’t want to make the students relocate. But with aging buildings desperately needing repair after years of underFunding, she had no choice. “You can’t tell me that it doesn’t impact their learning when they’re in a different environment,” she said. “These disruptions are not fair to children.”
America’s schools, many built in the late 1960s and early 1970s, are due for a major overhaul after decades of inadequate Funding made worse by the 2008 recession. These old buildings are only getting older — in Glendale, where some schools date to the 1940s, drainage problems make them vulnerable during the rainy season and aging air conditioners frequently conk out as temperatures soar to 115 degrees.
-- LAURA MCKENNA South Bend school leaders face prospect of closing buildings, including a high school-- South Bend Tribune Oregon: October 21, 2019 [ abstract] SOUTH BEND — With the budget projecting a loss of nearly $17 million next year, South Bend school leaders say drastic adjustments will have to be made across the district, including closing schools and asking city residents to approve additional tax support.
“I’m pretty sure you will have to look at closing a high school,” Budget Director Jenise Palmer told the school board during its Oct. 14 meeting.
School Board President John Anella later said “buildings have to be closed,” as the the district’s K-12 school buildings “were built for 23,000 to 24,000 students” and now only 16,000 are enrolled.
“That’s a huge physical presence,” Anella said, “that is not being fully utilized.”
Officials have used the term “rightsizing” and continue to say “nothing is off the table” when it comes to Funding issues that stem from declining enrollment and property tax caps.
But no one is giving much detail or talking about which school buildings may close in the future.
School board member Oletha Jones said the conversation on school closures needs to be a top priority. The potential closing of a high school, she said, “should be the kind of topic and question we start posing to community members now.”
-- Allie Kirkman The 3 Democratic front-runners now have education plans-- The Intercept National: October 21, 2019 [ abstract] Sen. Elizabeth Warren released a wide-ranging education plan Monday, pledging to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into public schools if she wins the presidency, paid in part through her proposed two-cent tax on wealth over $50 million. Warren’s plan is infused with her broader campaign themes of reducing corruption and fraud; she backs measures like new taxes on education lobbying, limiting the profiteering of tech companies that sell digital products to schools, and curbing self-dealing within charter schools.
And it builds on some of her earlier campaign proposals, like pledging to appoint a former public school teacher as education secretary, supporting schools in teaching Native American history and culture, and expanding early learning opportunities for infants and toddlers.
In May, fellow Democratic hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders’s own education plan sent shockwaves when he endorsed the NAACP’s call for banning for-profit charter schools and holding nonprofit charters to the same transparency and accountability standards as traditional public schools. In her new plan, Warren joins Sanders in embracing these positions.
Warren goes further than Sanders in calling not only for a for-profit charter school ban, but also extending the ban to any nonprofit charter that “actually serve[s] for-profit interests.” Warren said she would even direct the IRS to investigate nonprofit charters for potential tax status abuse and recommends referring “cases to the Tax Fraud Division of the Department of Justice when appropriate.”
On the subject of school infrastructure, Warren also goes beyond her two top rivals in outlining how she would improve aging facilities.
Sanders’s plan pledges to “fully close the gap in school infrastructure Funding to renovate, modernize, and green the nation’s schools” but doesn’t offer details. Biden pledges to include Funding for school buildings in a larger federal infrastructure bill but doesn’t estimate how much that investment should be. (Republican Sen. Susan Collins managed to defeat a measure to boost federal investment in school buildings last time the nation authorized significant infrastructure spending through the 2009 stimulus.)
Warren’s education plan commits to at least $50 billion in additional school facility Funding, and notes that some of her other plans include funds for school modernization and repair, like the lead abatement grant program in her environmental justice package, and money for retrofitting and upgrading buildings in her clean energy plan. The need for school infrastructure investment is substantial: A 2016 report estimated the nation underfunds school facility needs by $46 billion each year.
-- Rachel M. Cohen State approves schools’ payment to city to cut middle school project tax burden-- Daily Hampshire Gazette Massachusetts: October 20, 2019 [ abstract] HOLYOKE — The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has approved a plan that would commit $1 million annually to the city by Holyoke Public Schools to help lower the potential taxpayer burden for the two proposed middle school buildings.
Jeffrey Riley, the commissioner of the state agency, sent a letter to Mayor Alex Morse and school district Receiver and Superintendent Stephen Zrike on Oct. 17 that outlines several legal Funding avenues for the commitment by Holyoke Public Schools that do not affect net school spending requirements set by the state.
Voters will decide on Nov. 5 whether to approve a debt-exclusion override that would increase property taxes by an estimated 68 cents per $1,000 in property valuation for up to 30 years, the life of the proposed project’s bond. The tax increase was calculated on the assumption of the school system committing the $1 million annual contribution to the city, according a statement from the city.
“My approval is contingent upon the issuance of debt for the middle school building project and shall remain in effect during the period that such debt is outstanding,” Riley wrote.
The project for two 550-student middle schools would receive up to $75.8 million in Funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, or MSBA, and the override would cover the remaining $54 million estimated to fund the project. Voting “yes” would send the project to the City Council, which would vote on issuing a bond. Voting “no” would mean the city would decline the state money and wouldn’t build the new schools.
-- MICHAEL CONNORS Maricopa County bonds and overrides: 26 school districts ask for local taxpayer money-- azcentral.com Arizona: October 16, 2019 [ abstract] Dozens of school districts in Maricopa County are asking voters for more money in November.
Some schools need security upgrades. Other district leaders say they need funds to build new schools. Some are asking for taxpayer money to keep teacher salaries competitive.
The Nov. 5 election is with mail-in ballots. In 2017, the first year all school ballot measures were conducted by mail, all 27 bond and override measures passed. Voters can either drop their ballot in the mailbox or return them in-person to a voting location.
What are bonds and overrides?
Bonds and overrides affect local property taxes. School districts do some of the math in estimating the impact on voters' taxes and provide that in the voter pamphlets, which can be found on the Maricopa County School Superintendent website.
A bond may be issued by public school districts to pay for longer-term projects, such as building new schools, renovating existing ones or investing in technology and transportation infrastructure. Voters approve the sale of bonds to raise money for these projects.
An override can increase a district's classroom budget by up to 15% for seven years, though the last two years are used for phasing out the override. This is why school districts typically ask voters to renew existing overrides in their fifth year, to avoid a phase-down.
The two types of overrides districts are asking for this year are:
Maintenance and operations overrides, the most common type of overrides which are used for operational expenses such as teacher salaries and student programs.
District additional assistance overrides which supplement capital Funding and typically fund technology, books and other equipment.
-- Lily Altavena Toxic PCBs linger in schools; EPA, lawmakers fail to act-- ABC News National: October 16, 2019 [ abstract] At first, teachers at Sky Valley Education Center simply evacuated students and used fans to clear the air when the fluorescent lights caught fire or smoked with noxious fumes. When black oil dripped onto desks and floors, they caught leaks with a bucket and duct-taped oil-stained carpets.
Then came the tests that confirmed their suspicions about the light ballasts.
"Sure enough ... it was PCB oil," said Cynthia Yost, who was among teachers who sent pieces of carpet and classroom air filters to a lab. Tests found elevated levels of the toxic chemicals, used as coolant in the decades-old ballasts that regulated electrical current to the lamps.
Millions of fluorescent light ballasts containing PCBs probably remain in schools and day care centers across the U.S. four decades after the chemicals were banned over concerns that they could cause cancer and other illnesses. Many older buildings also have caulk, ceiling tiles, floor adhesives and paint made with PCBs, which sometimes have been found at levels far higher than allowed by law.
Yet the Environmental Protection Agency has not attempted to determine the scope of PCB contamination or assess potential health risks, in large part because of lack of Funding, political pressure and pushback from industry and education groups, according to dozens of interviews and thousands of pages of documents examined by The Associated Press.
-- TAMMY WEBBER AND MARTHA IRVINE, ASSOCIATED PRESS School construction costs increasing; SBA makes corresponding move-- MetroNews West Virginia: October 14, 2019 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Proposed school construction projects that members of the state School Building Authority will hear about next month will include a recently approved provision that raises the square foot construction cost.
Members of the SBA approved the increase in September. SBA Director of Architectural Services Ben Ashley said the move follows a pattern of higher school construction costs.
“We’ve had projects bid over the last year or so that have been over our dollars-per-square foot Funding allowance,” Ashley said. “With that in mind and looking at the construction cost indexes in both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, we are finding an upward trend.”
So as architects hired by county school boards prepare projects for their Nov. 18-19 presentations before the SBA they are working in the higher allowed costs, Ashley said.
“We don’t necessarily use this standard as setting the budget but we ask counties to set the budgets and then make sure it doesn’t exceed this fair cost that we’re establishing around the state,” Ashley said.
-- Jeff Jenkins Beacon Hill Roll Call: Looking at local senators’ votes on Student Opportunity Act-- Beacon Hill Roll Call Massachusetts: October 12, 2019 [ abstract] THE HOUSE AND SENATE - Beacon Hill Roll Call records the votes of local senators from recent Senate debate on the the Student Opportunity Act that invests $1.5 billion, mostly in the form of Chapter 70 Aid for local school districts, in the state’s public K-12 education system over the next seven years. There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week.
MORE MONEY FOR SCHOOL BUILDING PROJECTS (S 2350)
Senate 38-0, approved an amendment raising from $602 million to $800 million the annual Funding cap that the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) is allowed to spend on school building and renovation projects. The quasi-independent government authority’s job is to fund capital improvement projects in public schools across the state. According to its site, “The MSBA strives to work with local communities to create affordable, sustainable and energy-efficient schools across Massachusetts.”
“We can’t expect our students to succeed in the 21st century when they’re attending schools built to serve students in the 1950s, which is why it’s crucial that we give the hardworking staff at the MSBA the resources they need to evaluate and finance more projects,” said the amendment sponsor Sen. Barry Finegold (D-Andover). “The increase to the cap will allow the MSBA to spread more dollars across the commonwealth and address the demand for potential projects. With a potential downturn in the economy on the horizon, we need to authorize these projects now so that we create jobs and get these projects off the ground while we are able to do so.”
(A “Yes” vote is for the amendment.)
Sen. Michael Brady Yes Sen. Paul Feeney Yes Sen. Marc Pacheco Yes Sen. Michael Rodrigues Yes
-- Bob Katzen Millions being poured into WUSD infrastructure-- The Wickenburg Sun Arizona: October 09, 2019 [ abstract] Wickenburg Unified School District expects the dust to settle with the solar panel project being constructed in the Wickenburg High School parking lot, but the district has plans for work in the pipeline at each of its four schools.
“The contractor is claiming to be done with the whole thing on Nov. 8,” said Dr. Howard Carlson, WUSD superintendent, at the Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce Education Committee meeting Sept. 25. “That clears the way for the Webb season.”
The first performance at Del E. Webb Center For the Performing Arts, which shares the parking lot with WHS, is slated for Nov. 7 with The Bellamy Brothers.
The solar panel project is completely funded and will be maintained by APS as part of its Schools and Government Program. More than 300 schools have had solar systems installed through the program and has provided students a chance to learn about renewable energy.
Vulture Peak Middle School is in line for at least two projects. The most pressing is an emergency project through the Arizona School Facilities Board. This board was created in 1998, and AZSFB is a cabinet-level, state-government agency managing nearly $300 million in state Funding appropriated for K-12 school district facilities. A 10-member board meets monthly to grant Funding for new school construction and to renew existing school facilities, according to its website.
The trees at VPMS have grown into the septic tank system at the school on Vulture Mine Road, and using the toilets has become an issue. An engineer from AZSFB visited the site last week.
“They’ll be designing it,” Carlson said. “Then they will put it out to bid to be repaired. SFB considers it an emergency so that will move much quicker. It is coming pretty quick, and that’s a good thing.”
The school district filed a lawsuit in September 2015 against EMC2 Group Architects; Caruso Turley Scott; Hess-Rountree; Ricker, Atkinson, McBee, Morman and Associates; and others for professional negligence, breach of contract, and indemnity in reference to the construction of Festival Elementary School in Buckeye.
The district claimed “the school is experiencing issues due to design defects, including but not limited to structural movement of school buildings, separation of walls, cracking of walls, structural movement of the slab, damage to the roofing system, damage to the stucco system, and other issues …”
-- Shawn Byrne Vineyard residents upset after Alpine School District runs short on school construction funding-- Fox13 Utah: October 07, 2019 [ abstract] VINEYARD, Utah — Alpine School District may not be able to not keep promises made to taxpayers during the 2016 bond election.
It comes after $387 million in property taxes were allocated to build or renovate a dozen schools.
Emily Bean settled in Vineyard with her husband and three kids under three last year.
“We were sure this was going to be an elementary school soon. With our planning, we thought we should be golden. It will be built by the time our kids are ready to go to kindergarten,” Bean said.
The elementary school site near Bean’s home was said to be one reason why the district needed $387 million. Three years later, the bond is an estimated **$58 million short.
“It’s crazy. It’s pretty ridiculous they ran out of money,” said Kim MacMurdo, mother in Vineyard.
District spokeswoman Kimberly Bird admits the district may not build the Vineyard school or another proposed in Eagle Mountain next year. Two other communities face elementary overcrowding in Saratoga Springs and Lehi.
“We recognize that Vineyard is a high-growth area. We recognize that they, too, are bursting at the seams and we need to do something about them and about their particular school situation. I believe it will happen. It’s a matter of priority and when,” Bird said.
FOX13 dug into expense reports and learned the district was over budget in every construction phase: $10.4 million in phase 1, $35.4 million in phase 2 and $34.7 million in phase three.
-- HAILEY HIGGINS SCA chief on overcrowding: We're doing the best we can-- The Riverdale Press New York: October 06, 2019 [ abstract] They’ve heard what he had to say, and they’re already at work making schools better.
The city’s School Construction Authority was the target of a new study commissioned by Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz Jr., which outlined 10 specific steps he believes will correct overcrowding at more than 650 city schools.
The problem, according to the construction authority? Diaz never came to them for input, and authority chief Lorraine Grillo has some serious issues with what the borough president concluded.
Of the more than 1,750 schools in the city, more than 38 percent of them are over capacity, according to Diaz. That’s because, more often than not, elementary and middle schools are zoned to include too many students — which the school must accommodate — leaving a rather big crowd for students to stand out in.
Diaz offered 10 recommendations including leasing more classroom space and using better models to predict future student populations at schools.
Yet, the authority already is working on those suggestions — even before they were made, according to an agency spokesman. The city has more than 200 “transportable units” — temporary trailers serving as classrooms — with plans to remove 35 percent of them. The agency always looks ahead five years, and maintains leases for more than 300 locations for classroom space.
“We do demographic studies every year,” Grillo said. “Projections are based on birthrates. We get information from city planning on rezoning. Other elements combined to put into our projections, which go out five years and 10 years.”
Yet those projections were a sticking point for not only Diaz, but also for P.S. 7 Milton Fein School principal Miosotis Ramos. Diaz called the authority’s current process for projecting the number of seats schools would need in the future as “antiquated,” and often incorrect, partially because communication between the construction authority and other city agencies involved in neighborhood development is poor.
“We have a system here that’s been in existence since the SCA took over the capital planning process,” Grillo said. “We have a system in place, we work with the DEP, department of buildings, housing. We have a very good relationship with everybody.”
Still, though, Ramos believes inaccurate projections can affect Funding the school receives, even if the difference in the number of students seems small.
-- KIRSTYN BRENDLEN One of the final two sites for regional school in The County may not meet state criteria-- Bangor Daily News Maine: September 27, 2019 [ abstract] FORT KENT, Maine — One of the sites eyed for a new high school serving several Aroostook County communities might not be big enough for the project, and could affect two prominent community organizations.
The proposed St. John Valley educational facility in Fort Kent would replace three high schools and serve students from Grand Isle to Allagash. But the developable acres on that parcel are not even connected, leaving splotches of land scattered throughout the area that Valley Unified would not be able to use — and the lots in one section already house buildings and businesses.
The Fort Kent site is one of the two remaining from the original 46 considered in the region to house the Valley Unified Regional Service Center. The state last year authorized Funding up to $100 million for a new facility that would replace three high schools and serve students from Grand Isle to Allagash. Residents of the member communities and Maine Department of Education will need to approve the final project.
Joined under the umbrella of the Valley Unified Regional Service Center, Madawaska School Department, and school administrative units 27 (Fort Kent) and 33 (Frenchville) have worked together to address the declining enrollment and rising costs in education.
It is unclear what the configuration of the Fort Kent site means for its viability as a potential school site going forward, or what it might mean for the remaining site in Frenchville. Those involved say they are just following the selection process as it’s laid out currently to see where it leads.
-- Morgan Mitchell Maryland Mulls $50M Pilot Program to Assess School Construction Projects-- The Washington Informer Maryland: September 25, 2019 [ abstract] ANNAPOLIS — A proposal to assess school construction projects in Maryland based on need may be conducted through a $50 million pilot program.
A work group comprised of Maryland state, county and school officials met Wednesday but didn’t determine specific details on the plan, but a draft outlined the pros and cons of implementing the program.
The good: Priority Funding would maximize limited state and local resources, promote sufficient facilities for every child and allow taxpayers to monitor and evaluate the program.
The bad: School systems with the greatest needs, such as Baltimore City, could receive the lion’s share of Funding.
Del. Marc Korman (D-Montgomery County) made that point last month with the group and reiterated it Wednesday.
“What is the value of ranking all the schools if you’re only going to solve the top three?” he said. “The pilot program is really going to deal with a small number of problems. You can create some negative situations among all the jurisdictions.”
State Sen. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), also a member of the group, said a statewide assessment fits best, especially when some data already exists.
“It’s going to have the same score, but it’s just cutting the data,” he said. “The data will be available.”
Some of the figures would be based on a colored chart based on categories such as red, which represents number one, as the highest priority with immediate needs such as asbestos, electrical hazards and mold. Green represents number nine would be the lowest ranking for school and other buildings “that are within the expected life cycle and do not require replacement.”
-- William J. Ford Perdue leads push to build safer schools-- WJBF Georgia: September 25, 2019 [ abstract] AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – When 1.7 million Georgia students started the school year last month, the mood was much more somber than it has been in the past, says U.S. Senator from Georgia David Purdue (R).
“Bulletproof backpacks and lockdown drills are now part of our children’s daily routine,” says Purdue. “It is every parent’s worst nightmare.”
As a response, Sen. Perdue has taken bi-partisan action alongside Sen. Doug Jones (D) from Alabama, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to introduce a bill before congress establishing federal Funding for an information clearinghouse designed to study best practices for school security and design.
Sen. Perdue and his fellow senators are calling this “The School Safety Clearinghouse Act,” and, hopefully, it will be an answer to the pervading question of whether the nation’s students will be safe each morning when they leave home.
The School Safety Clearinghouse Act takes its inspiration from the redesigned school building in Newtown, CT, that arose from the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary.
Reflecting on this for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Sen. Perdue quoted Jay Brotman, the lead designer of the newly rebuilt Sandy Hook Elementary building.
“A lack of access to quality school-design information” is one of the greatest hurdles keeping local school officials from making informed decisions about safety.
-- Richard Adams BONNEVILLE SUPERINTENDENT WANTS THE STATE TO HELP PAY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE-- Idaho Ed News Idaho: September 23, 2019 [ abstract] IDAHO FALLS — The superintendent of East Idaho’s largest school district wants the state to shoulder more responsibility in Funding K-12 infrastructure.
“That’s a big part of the problem here,” Bonneville Superintendent Scott Woolstenhulme told EdNews in a recent interview.
Woolstenhulme’s call for a change in infrustructural Funding comes weeks after Bonneville voters rejected the growing district’s $42.7 million request for patrons to bankroll construction of a new elementary school and upgrades to Bonneville and Hillcrest high schools.
It’s also the first-year superintendent’s answer to minimizing the district’s growing tax burden on local property owners — and reducing friction between the district and a local opposition group.
Bonneville’s Aug. 27 request for upgrades — and the school board’s subsequent approval of a $2 million emergency levy — sparked a local tax battle in the growing district. Compounding the controversy is the news that Bonneville will hold off hiring a deputy superintendent in order to fund a secretive $191,000 payout to its former superintendent.
Opposition group D93 Citizens decried the district’s past actions as ill-advised, expensive and excessive.
“We are the highest taxed of Idaho’s 10 largest school districts,” said the group’s spokeswoman Hallie Stone.
-- Devin Bodkin Chariho School Committee to continue discussion on school consolidation-- The Westerly Sun Rhode Island: September 23, 2019 [ abstract] WOOD RIVER JCT. — The exploration of school consolidation will continue at Tuesday’s Chariho School Committee meeting.
Members will be asked to approve and appoint members to a School Facilities Subcommittee and approve the new subcommittee’s mandate.
The subcommittee will look into the feasibility of consolidating some of the district’s schools and whether that would make the district eligible for Funding under the Rhode Island Department of Education’s ‘newer and fewer’ initiative. The incentives, which encourage fewer school buildings and newer schools, are included in a $250 million school improvement bond. Approved by voters in 2018, the bond funds additional state reimbursements for capital improvement projects.
The idea of eliminating one or more of Chariho’s four elementary schools has been greeted in the past with stiff opposition. Superintendent of Schools Barry Ricci said the district was reexamining the possibility at the request of committee Chair Ryan Callahan and that the research was in the preliminary stage.
“I think it's too early to know if there will be resistance, as there is no plan yet,” he said. “The chair is interested in doing due diligence given the availability of financial incentives that may not be available in the future.”
-- Cynthia Drummond District report finds campuses need almost $700 million in upgrades-- Los Angeles Times California: September 20, 2019 [ abstract] Glendale Unified schools need nearly $700 million worth of repairs, upgrades and improvements, according to a report issued last week by district staff.
The school board held a special meeting to discuss the remaining balance of Measure S, which was approved by voters in 2011 and generated in total $270 million in general obligation bonds for facility improvements.
“This is a preliminary look at our school needs, so we are really looking at it from … a helicopter view or bird’s-eye view,” said Hagop Kassabian, the district’s director of planning and development.
While Glendale Unified still has about $44 million left in unallocated Measure S dollars and is projecting $26 million in future Funding from sources such as developer fees and state monies, talk of a possible new bond measure and parcel tax arose.
“Looking at these numbers, it seems like we need a $1-billion bond or something to make this happen,” board vice president Armina Gharpetian said.
“We have a lot of needs and wants and must-haves, but we need to narrow it down to whatever is left now,” she added.
Kassabian presented a report that includes a price tag of roughly $683 million in upgrades for all 32 of the district’s campuses.
-- ANDREW J. CAMPA Removing lead from water would be priority in proposed school construction bond-- EdSource California: September 17, 2019 [ abstract] The first significant state Funding to test and remove lead from drinking water in California’s schools is included in a state construction bond that will appear on the March 2020 ballot if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the bill that the Legislature passed on Friday.
The proposed $15 billion bond for preK-12 and higher education would set aside $150 million in priority Funding to test for lead and replace water fountains and other sources with high levels of it. Schools that require more extensive lead removal efforts, such as replacing a contaminated water line, could seek supplemental Funding of up to 10 percent of the value of a school renovation project covered by the bond. The state would pick up 60 percent of the cost.
Until now, “there has never been a comprehensive plan for lead remediation, only for identifying the problem,” said Eric Bakke, legislative advocate for the California School Boards Association, who pushed for including the money in the original version of Assembly Bill 48, authored by Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach. “The issue has been on my radar for years.”
Both houses of the Legislature passed the bill on Friday, the final day before adjourning for the year, following a week-long negotiation with Newsom’s staff. Newsom has until Oct. 13 to sign it.
-- JOHN FENSTERWALD Anne Arundel schools superintendent submits proposed $209.1 million capital budget-- Capital Gazette Maryland: September 11, 2019 [ abstract] At Wednesday’s school board meeting, Superintendent George Arlotto introduced a $209.1 million capital budget, including Funding for nine major school projects.
The recommendation includes projects on the design of a new west county elementary school and Old Mill Middle School South.
This budget is $43 million more than the 2020 fiscal year budget, including $3 million for design of an elementary school near the Two Rivers community, $4 million for a feasibility study and design of a new Old Mill Middle School South.
Other items of nearly $139 million are for the construction of Edgewater Elementary School, Tyler Heights Elementary School, Richard Henry Lee Elementary School, Quarterfield Elementary School, Hillsmere Elementary School, Rippling Woods Elementary School and Old Mill West High School.
-- NAOMI HARRIS Gov. Newsom, lawmakers strike deal on $15 billion education construction bond-- EdSource California: September 11, 2019 [ abstract] After intensive down-to-the-wire negotiations, legislative leaders and staff from the governor’s office have agreed on legislation to place a $15 billion preschool, K-12 and higher education construction bond before voters in March 2020.
The $9 billion that will go to K-12 will be slightly less than Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach, had proposed with Assembly Bill 48, but the distribution of the money will be significantly different.
School districts have been clamoring for more state Funding, since money from the last state bond has been spent or committed. In return, as part of the deal, the California Department of Finance and the staff of Gov. Gavin Newsom got a major concession: an end to the first-come, first-served process of allocating state building assistance. In its place will be a system that will push small districts needing financial help and low-income, low-property wealth districts farther ahead in line for a larger share of state dollars and give priority to districts with pressing facilities needs, including removing lead in water and reducing seismic hazards.
With the Legislature set to adjourn at midnight Friday, the revised bill was posted late Tuesday, barely meeting a mandatory 72-hour window for a public review before a bill can be voted on. That left key school groups scrambling to examine the lengthy bill’s details.
However, Eric Bakke, legislative advocate for the California School Boards Association, said he is pleased there will be a school construction bond on the March ballot.
“This agreement signifies school facilities is a priority to the Legislature and for this Administration, which is a win for our students and our local communities that invest in school facilities,” he said. “Access to the program has been difficult for many school districts, so we appreciate the reforms focused on low-wealth communities and the additional supports provided to small school districts.”
-- JOHN FENSTERWALD State committee talks K-12 school construction, major maintenance funding-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: September 11, 2019 [ abstract] CHEYENNE – Lawmakers held preliminary discussions Tuesday in Casper regarding legislation that could transfer funds to an account used for capital construction and major maintenance needs for school districts statewide.
With the decline of federal coal lease bonus revenues, the challenge for state legislators and local school administrators has been to find revenue to fill that gap for building projects.
In recent years, lawmakers have broadened revenue sources for K-12 school capital construction by directing investment income to a school major maintenance account and depositing one-third of state royalties on school lands to a mineral royalties account. But the Legislature will still have some work to do during its next session.
Matthew Willmarth, senior school finance analyst with the Legislative Service Office, told members of the Select Committee on School Facilities on Tuesday in Casper there is no mechanism to transfer those funds to the School Capital Construction Account. That would require legislation or a budget bill footnote, he said.
In addition, he said, state royalties on school lands are accrued throughout the fiscal year, but the entire revenue is not received July 1, which is when the fiscal year starts.
Investment income is generally not calculated until up to 90 days after the end of the fiscal year, and that creates a cash flow problem, Willmarth said.
-- Steve Knight Howard school construction projects face delays because of county funding shortfall-- Baltimore Sun Media Maryland: September 10, 2019 [ abstract] Construction of a new Talbott Springs Elementary School and an addition to Hammond High School will be delayed by at least three years in the most recent Howard County school system’s capital budget, it was announced at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
Howard Schools Superintendent Michael Martirano said he lowered the capital budget request for fiscal 2021 from $135.6 million to $56.01 million because of “anticipated county Funding levels," after meeting with Howard County Executive Calvin Ball.
“My proposal reflects the conversation with the county and what the school system will receive,” Martirano said.
The $135.6 million projection was based on the school system’s long-range master plan.
Budgeted projects for the upcoming fiscal year being maintained are new construction of the 13th county high school in Jessup, slated to open in September 2023, and a new boiler at Hammond Middle School.
Last year, the county funded $54.6 million of the school system’s $92.3 million capital budget request, a shortfall of about $37.7 million.
County government anticipates Funding between $41 million to $48 million of the school system’s $56.01 million budget request this year, said Holly Sun, the county’s budget administrator. The remaining dollars will come from the state, which is expected to be around $10 million, according to a schools spokesman.
This “preliminary projection is in line with [the county’s] historical trends, based on existing revenue structure and based on the debt capacity," Sun said.
“While people would want 100% [of the capital Funding] to go to the school system, in reality you cannot have that."
-- Jess Nocera Not just old age: Sealed asbestos, inadequate space create big hurdles for Hingham Foster School-- Wicked Local Hingham Massachusetts: September 10, 2019 [ abstract] Hingham this year submitted its third statement of interest for state Funding to rebuild or renovate Foster School. The town has been denied Funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority for the last two years and will find out in December if the third time is the charm in regard to getting state help.
The Journal looked into what is wrong with the school and where it falls short on Massachusetts standards. We found that age is not the only issue with Foster:
Sealed asbestos in pipes and under tile raises cost of repair and rebuild
There is asbestos in some of the steam pipes in the basement and crawl spaces of the school, according to the FY 2019 statement of interest sent to the MSBA from the town. The steam pipe distribution system has been failing at an increasing rate due to corrosion.
Hingham cannot repair the pipes without first removing the asbestos.
Director of Business John Ferris said there is asbestos under tile, in caulking around windows at the school as well. Ferris said it is encapsulated, sealed, covered and safe.
The town has taken care of asbestos in just under 5,000 square feet of classroom flooring and 15,000 square feet of flooring throughout the rest of the school, according to Foster School’s Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act report.
As of the 2017 report, the school still had to address asbestos in plaster walls throughout the building, floors in stairwells and storage rooms, and the boiler room.
The report removal priority does not exceed a hazard ranking of 3, which requires the asbestos to be removed, enclosed, encapsulated or repaired to correct damage.
-- Amy McKeever Group supports bond for school Buildings, Renovations, Infrastructure, Capacity, Safety-- Press & Guide Michigan: September 09, 2019 [ abstract] A coalition seeking approval of a Funding bond for the Dearborn Public Schools said property owners will not see an increase in the 4.82 millage rate because of the proposal.
A breakfast presentation, held Sept. 9 at Park Place Catering, 23400 Park, Dearborn, by a coalition of community and business leaders explained the BRICS bond – which would target Buildings, Renovations, Infrastructure, Capacity and Safety.
Speakers included Citizens for Dearborn Schools Co-Chairs Maria Dwyer and Hussein Mohamed Hachem, Dearborn Mayor John O’Reilly, Jr., state Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D–Dearborn), Dearborn school board member Mary Petchlikoff and Dearborn Public Schools Supt. Glenn Maleyko.
The Nov. 5 millage proposal would generate $240 million in Funding. The two-part bond would provide $86 million in the first three years, and the second series would provide $154 million in the fourth through sixth years. If the millage is approved, construction could begin in the spring of 2020.
Proponents say if the millage passes, residents will not pay more in taxes because the millage rate will stay the same, while enabling the district to address needed infrastructure updates and repairs, security and safety improvements, and repairs and replacement of lighting, boilers, restrooms, roofs, windows and technology infrastructure.
The school district has 34 buildings covering 3.2 million square feet and serves 20,700 students. The average building age is 65 years, with 12 buildings older than 90 years. Duvall Elementary and Salina Intermediate schools were built in 1921, and soon will reach the century mark.
-- Sue Suchyta McConnell vows to help Kentucky school delayed by wall funding shift-- Click Orlando Kentucky: September 09, 2019 [ abstract] Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would defend Funding for a new middle school in his home state of Kentucky after it was selected as one of the military projects the Trump administration will delay in order to fund border wall construction.
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced on Tuesday the list of projects impacted by the Funding move, which would shift a little less than $1.8 billion from projects in 23 states and three US territories. The middle school was slated to receive $62.6 million in February 2020.
"Senator McConnell recently talked to Secretary Esper regarding the issue and is committed to protecting Funding for the Ft. Campbell Middle School project," a spokesman for McConnell said in a statement.
The school is to be located on Fort Campbell, which covers 105,000 acres partly in Tennessee and partly in Kentucky. The base is home to the Army's fifth largest military population, including members of the 101st Airborne Division, known as the "Screaming Eagles."
The Kentucky Republican voted to support Trump's national security declaration in March, which allowed the President to use military Funding for border wall projects.
-- Caroline Kelly and Jim Acosta, CNN State formula helping replace schools in certain communities, but not others-- Boston 25 Massachusetts: September 09, 2019 [ abstract] Back to school means new classmates, new teachers and, for some students, new buildings.
Across Massachusetts, 10 brand new public schools opened this academic year and many more are in some phase of construction. 25 Investigates Ted Daniel examined state data to determine why some communities have been able to get shiny new state-of-the-art facilities and others - despite crumbling school buildings - have not.
Massachusetts has a system like no other in the country when it comes to Funding school construction. Everyone pays for it. A penny of every dollar collected under the sales tax goes directly to Funding public school projects.
"We have created what we believe is probably the best system in the country right now," said Jack McCarthy, Executive Director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), the agency that allots state dollars to school construction projects. "The greatest thing for us is our source of revenue. We don't need to rely on an appropriation each year. That helps us plan."
The formula used to determine which construction and renovation projects get funded is based on a set of established priorities, adds McCarthy. The list includes: structural integrity, present or future overcrowding issues, loss of accreditation, outdated HVAC systems, replace or add to obsolete buildings.
According to McCarthy, the process was created to level the playing field between wealthy and distressed communities.
"It's very measured and very prescriptive, but we feel that it leads us to finding the most urgent and needy buildings," said McCarthy.
-- Ted Daniel , Patricia Alulema Too stressed or too cheap? How to assess a locality's ability to pay for improved schools-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: September 07, 2019 [ abstract] When Pulaski County adopted a historic 13-cent real estate tax increase in 2018, the locality identified itself as one both willing and able to fund a major school capital project.
Pulaski County voters stepped up to generate the revenue necessary to build a new middle school. Through their passage of the November 2017 referendum, county residents voiced a desire to do more.
In some localities, it’s simply a matter of political will. But for those in economic distress or with low property wealth, it can be impossible.
But it is challenging to assess a locality’s ability to pay for school construction projects, differentiating between those who are unwilling and those who are unable. This isn’t something Virginia measures. There’s little need, given that localities are largely on their own for building and renovating school facilities, regardless of their wealth.
Funding formula flaws
Still, a number of measures can help to provide insight to a locality’s capacity to fund capital projects.
Local property taxes account for the bulk of revenue in most localities, making it an important indicator of their ability to pay. But that figure doesn’t always tell the full story, said Hamilton Lombard, a demographer with the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.
-- Casey Fabris Achieving fair funding for school modernization in California: a case study [VIDEO]-- EdSource California: September 06, 2019 [ abstract] EdSource examines the challenges that an urban, low-wealth school district in California faces modernizing its schools. Fresno Unified, the state’s 4th largest district, is struggling to repair aging buildings while student and community needs for air-conditioned lunch rooms, health centers and gymnasiums go unfunded. Fresno Unified ‘s assessed value per student is about a fifth of the statewide average. That puts it at a disadvantage with wealthier districts in floating larger construction bonds that are eligible for matching state Funding. Finance and research experts suggest ways to reform the system.
-- JOHN FENSTERWALD Gov. Newsom, lawmakers still negotiating K-14 construction bond-- EdSource California: September 06, 2019 [ abstract] Negotiations over the next few days between the Newsom administration, the Department of Finance and legislative leaders will determine whether there will be a California state bond for K-12 and community college construction on the March 2020 ballot, as well as the size of the bond and how the money will be distributed. One possibility is a combined bond for K-14 and higher education that contains less money for schools and community colleges than originally proposed.
With Funding from the $9 billion bond that voters passed in 2016 either already spent or committed, Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach, proposed Assembly Bill 48, with the full support of education groups like the California School Boards Association. The bill called for two bonds, the first for $13 billion in March, followed by a bond of undetermined size two years later.
The Legislature must pass a bill by the last day of the session on Sept. 13 and the governor must sign it within 30 days of receiving it, to put a measure on the March ballot. But the bill was sent last week to the Senate Rules Committee to provide time to negotiate the details with Newsom’s staff and the Department of Finance.
None of the parties involved in the talks would comment on the negotiations and the coalition of school groups that have been following the progress had not seen wording of an amended bill on Wednesday. Eric Bakke, legislative advocate for the California School Boards Association, confirmed that discussions have continued with the hope of reaching terms for the March ballot.
-- JOHN FENSTERWALD Low-Income Students Are Returning to Dangerously Hot Schools-- talk poverty National: September 05, 2019 [ abstract] This week marks the last of the first days of school. In some school districts, classes have already been in session for several weeks, and they’ve been hot ones. Teachers are bringing fans from home and schools are closing because temperature control is too challenging.
Alex, a teacher in the Bay Area, says conditions in her school have been particularly bad this year; many buildings in the region are not designed for high heat, thanks to the historically temperate climate. Her classroom doesn’t have openable windows, so she uses a fan to try to suck air in from the cooler hallway, but it’s not enough.
“Students will ask to go to the bathroom more often just to get into the hallway where it’s cooler,” she told TalkPoverty. She said the heat makes students feel sluggish and unfocused, a problem particularly acute for young women in her class who struggle with body image, and stay tightly wrapped up even in high temperatures. “I also notice that I tend to run out of energy a lot faster on hot days.”
Not ideal for a high school teacher trying to keep order in a classroom of 16-year-olds, even one who loves her job and is passionate about education.
This is a problem that’s only going to get worse due to the confluence of rising temperatures thanks to climate change — average temperatures in the U.S. could increase by as much as 12 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 and have already risen several degrees since 1900 — and declining school Funding. Schools that don’t overheat today are going to in the future.
Education budgets were cut deeply during the Great Recession and some states haven’t returned to their pre-Recession Funding levels; capital spending across the country hasn’t recovered to pre-recession levels either. As a result, schools that urgently need temperature control updates along with other infrastructure improvements face an uphill struggle to increase their budgets.
-- S.E. Smith District asks community to invest in aging facilities-- White Bear Press Minnesota: September 04, 2019 [ abstract] WHITE BEAR LAKE — The average age of school buildings in the district is 50 years.
The district’s proposed $326 million bond referendum, which will be on the ballot this fall, will provide updates at all district schools, a new elementary school in Hugo and a renovated, one-campus high school.
Taking care of district building upgrades is the responsibility of the community, according to Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Tim Wald. The state provides Funding for teaching and learning, but building quality is the decision of the community.
“All school facilities are entirely the responsibility of the community, so if we are going to build a new school, that becomes our community’s responsibility,” Wald told a group gathered at last week’s White Bear Rotary Club meeting. The district has systems in some schools that are 50 to 70 years old. It hasn’t built a new or renovated secondary school since 1974.
“At some point you have to ask the taxpayers, are we ready to invest in our facilities?” he noted.
The bond referendum was also put forth due to growing enrollment. The district projects that more than 2,000 new students will move into the district during the next 10 years due to housing growth. The growth will be 25% higher than current capacity. New homes in the northern part of the district and turnover of homes in the southern part of the district will both contribute to the growth.
“The students are coming, and we have to be ready for them,” Wald noted.
-- Sara Marie Moore Maryville City Schools considers larger classes, new school, traveling teachers among options for growing enrollment-- The Daily Times Tennessee: August 31, 2019 [ abstract] Maryville City Schools administrators can see the squeeze coming, with enrollment expected to rise by more than 800 students in the next 15 years.
They expect to need larger classes at the junior high and intermediate schools in two years, based on current projections.
Even raising the average class size from 25 to 28 students, Maryville Junior High School is expected to exceed its capacity for serving students in grades eight and nine in the 2025-26 school year.
School officials don’t expect the city to have Funding for a new school until at least 2027, when the annual debt service begins to decline.
However long-term plans will impact short-term decisions.
Right now MCS is considering for next summer student and faculty bathroom additions and renovations at Sam Houston Elementary, which opened in 1952. But if the district plans to eventually switch that to a school for older students, it doesn’t make sense to build those restrooms to serve the smallest kids.
If the district wants to build a new school for older students, it likely will need to look outside the current city limits for a parcel of land that is large enough. Land acquisition and annexation will take time and money.
-- Amy Beth Miller State Spending on School Buildings Down Sharply Since Great Recession-- Education Week National: August 30, 2019 [ abstract] States' spending to build, upgrade, and equip school buildings has fallen over the last decade, exacerbating budget challenges many schools already face, an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds.
Thirty-eight states cut school capital spending as a share of their overall economy between 2008 and 2017, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau.
"As a share of the economy, state capital Funding for schools— for example, to build new schools, renovate and expand facilities, and install more-modern technologies—was still down 31 percent in fiscal year 2017 compared to 2008, when the Great Recession took hold," Michael Leachman, senior director of state fiscal research at the progressive think tank, wrote in a blog post. "That's the equivalent of a $20 billion cut."
At the same time, spending on K-12 education in general continues to lag in many states, Leachman said, creating additional challenges for schools struggling to keep up with changing academics and facilities needs.
The analysis comes as national debates put a spotlight on school resources. The majority of spending on school facilities comes from local sources, like property taxes, but some lawmakers and educational administrators have pushed for expanded Funding from other sources.
President Donald Trump has discussed a broad infrastructure plan to overhaul the nation's bridges, roads, and railways. And groups like,the [Re] Build America's School Infrastructure Coalition, or BASIC, have pushed for lawmakers to include school facilities in any plan they eventually greenlight. (The coalition wants $100 billion over the next decade to be set aside for schools, Education Week's Denisa Superville wrote last year.)
-- Evie Blad Cain is selected school-facilities division director-- Arkansas Democrat Gazette Arkansas: August 27, 2019 [ abstract]
Timothy E. Cain will start work Sept. 3 as director of the state's Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation after serving for the past four years in administrative roles at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
Cain, 52, a chemical engineer by training, was selected for the new role by the three-member Commission for Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation.
As division director, Cain will oversee facility and transportation programs intended to ensure adequate and safe school campuses and school buses. One of the main functions of the division is to evaluate school construction, addition and repair plans for their eligibility for partial state Funding.
He succeeds Brad Montgomery, who left the division chief's job earlier this summer.
Arkansas Education Secretary Johnny Key, who is also chairman of the facilities commission, called Cain an experienced engineer and public servant.
"Mr. Cain will be an excellent addition to the team, as we work to transform Arkansas to lead the nation in student-focused education," Key said in announcing Cain's selection.
-- Cynthia Howell Critics challenge independence of experts reviewing St. Paul school construction woes-- Twin Cities Pioneer Press Minnesota: August 26, 2019 [ abstract] Superintendent Joe Gothard is shrugging off criticism over the membership of an external review team digging into overspending on St. Paul Public Schools facilities.
The Pioneer Press reported in May that expected costs for 18 building renovations had grown by $179 million in just two years and that district officials failed to line up appropriate Funding.
In response, Gothard put project planning on hold and called for a group of experts to review what went wrong and recommend changes in facilities management. Their report is due in October.
Critics charge, however, that the cohort has too many ties to the district and is not sufficiently diverse to produce a fair assessment of the district’s failings.
City councilmember Jane Prince last week encouraged Gothard to add women and people of color to the all-male, all-white team of experts.
“My experience is that a diverse and representative committee with deep experience can help to build taxpayer confidence in the process you are now undertaking,” she wrote.
-- JOSH VERGES Decaying school facilities pose health risks to students, staff-- Education Drive National: August 26, 2019 [ abstract] Dive Brief:
Crumbling school buildings pose health threats to students, including lead exposure, mold and water damage, and pests, according to an article published by New America, a centrist think tank. These issues not only affect the health of students, but also contribute to negative academic outcomes and increasing absenteeism, research indicates.
Some of these issues are being considered at the federal level: A 2014 studyby the National Center for Educational Statistics indicated that 24% of schools across the nation were in fair or poor condition, while national studies released this summer revealed lead-based paint was present in half of K-12 schools tested and lead-contaminated drinking water was present in more than one-third of schools buildings tested. The Rebuild America’s Schools Act now under consideration would provide $100 billion in school infrastructure money, while other pending legislation may provide Funding for early-childhood education facilities.
School and local leaders are ultimately responsible for providing safe schools that are conducive to learning and can look for grants and other Funding sources to improve conditions, the report said. Teachers and staff members can make sure facilities are clean, free from clutter and properly ventilated — though in extreme cases, teachers have gone on strike to draw attention to health hazards at their schools.
-- AMELIA HARPER Councilmembers Mercer Rigby & Jung to Introduce Legislation Raising the School Facilities Surcharge on Developers to a r-- Scott E's Blog Maryland: August 23, 2019 [ abstract] Announced via press release:
Councilmembers Mercer Rigby & Jung to Introduce Legislation Raising the School Facilities Surcharge on Developers
Ellicott City, MD (August 23, 2019) – Howard County Councilmembers Christiana Mercer Rigby and Deb Jung will introduce legislation in September that would raise the School Facilities Surcharge on newly-constructed residential units in Howard County. This authority was enabled by the Maryland General Assembly earlier this year through legislation introduced by Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary.
“Looking to the future, our public infrastructure projects must be adequately funded in Howard County,” said Mercer Rigby. “We are taking the opportunity to raise the School Facilities Surcharge, bringing Howard County in line with neighboring jurisdictions and Funding school construction at the level we need.”
“We need to use every means available to fund school construction,” said Jung. “Howard County has had one of the fastest growing school systems in the state for the past 10 years, and there is an anticipated shortfall of tens of millions of dollars in capital Funding every year. An increase in the School Facilities Surcharge will help fill that gap and provide relief for our overcrowding crisis.”
-- Staff Writer School board OKs 5-year plan, applies for construction funding-- Cherokee Tribune & Ledger-News Georgia: August 23, 2019 [ abstract] CANTON — The Cherokee County Board of Education has approved multi-year goals as a district and for each of its 40 schools and centers, and has started the process of getting state financing for new school construction projects.
Next year, the school district will begin its new five-year strategic plan, titled “Blueprint.” The 2020-2024 plan was developed over about eight months with input from staff, parents, students, community partners and volunteers.
The plan, approved by board members Thursday, states a new vision for the district: “Together, we will prepare the emerging generation to confidently rise up to limitless learning potential and success.” There are also updated core beliefs, focusing on “rigor, relevance and relationships”:
-- Shannon Ballew Wasserman Schultz says school spending cuts fail kids-- The Floridian Florida: August 23, 2019 [ abstract] Kids are back in school across the country, but according to The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the public schools’ children are going back to have endured record state-level spending cuts.
Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) highlighted five education points and facts that question Florida’s education system.
According to Wasserman Schultz:
School capital spending has been cut by 71%
K-12 Funding is more than 20% below the most recent pre-recession levels.
There are 3,500 teacher vacancies
Florida ranks 46th in the nation for average teacher pay
Florida ranks 43rd in the U.S. for per student spending
-- Javier Manjarres jonetta rose barras: Back to school and the same old story?-- The DC Line District of Columbia: August 22, 2019 [ abstract] A few weeks after the DC Council voted, with enthusiastic guidance from Chairman Phil Mendelson, to disapprove the DC Public Education Master Facilities Plan 2018, Mayor Muriel Bowser sent a letter indicating her “disappointment” with the legislators’ decision to reject the plan. She was equally dissatisfied that their July 9 disapproval resolution was attached to legislation naming the newest Ward 4 middle school in honor of famed African American journalist Ida B. Wells. Consequently, Bowser chose not to sign that act rather than veto it.
In Bowser’s view, the facilities plan — or MFP in Wilson Building parlance — provided critical analysis that will help officials “address schools with over- and under-utilization” while also enabling the city to “more efficiently prioritize and allocate capital Funding, better utilize the DC Government’s real estate assets, and make better use of available resources in our growing public education system,” she wrote in her July 26 correspondence.
Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn, who developed the MFP, also pushed back against criticism by council members and others who asserted that the document didn’t provide important information, including solutions that would address the problems revealed in the collected data. “The District was fully compliant with the law as the [MFP] met the required provisions,” he told the The DC Line through a spokesperson soon after the council’s rejection.
“In moving forward, the District will submit supplements to the plan annually,” added Kihn, noting that additional data related to school quality and family/student demand will be collected through EdScape Beta, a new system with which Kihn and Bowser have become enamored.
The responses from Bowser and Kihn are illustrative of what ails DC school reform: too much talk, insufficient action and nauseating government intransigence. Mayoral control of public education was supposed to provide clean and clear lines of authority, establish a solid political buffer, create stability, and use smart innovations to fuel the system while producing improved student outcomes. None of that has occurred.
It may be the start of the new school year. But issues of the past still haunt the District’s multibillion-dollar public education system.
-- jonetta rose barras Indiana lawmakers look for ways to pay for school tornado shelters as interest grows-- RTV6 Indiana: August 16, 2019 [ abstract] INDIANAPOLIS — As interest grows among Indiana schools in building tornado shelters, state lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are looking for ways to help schools pay for the structures.
Call 6 Investigates found Indiana has no laws in place requiring schools to have tornado shelters, nor does it have any requirements for newly constructed schools to include a storm shelter.
Since our story aired last month about the lack of tornado shelters in Indiana schools, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security has received several phone calls from schools interested in building a tornado shelter.
FEMA grants are available, and the application process opens on October 1, according to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
“We have received several calls from schools expressing interest, and IDHS Mitigation is working with them to educate them on the program and the application process,” said Ashley Steeb, public information specialist with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. “We will also be providing them with technical assistance in forming their projects and completing their applications for submittal.”
Schools have to come up with a 25% match, which can run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to more than a million dollars.
Even though this federal Funding is available to build tornado protection for students, most Indiana schools have not applied for the money.
Senator Eddie Melton, D-Gary, is looking for ways to help schools make that 25% match.
-- Kara Kenney School Board to lobby lawmakers for capital funds-- Ocala StarBanner Florida: August 16, 2019 [ abstract] Members float lobbying for a state cellphone tax. For decades, state has taxed landlines to pay for capital needs at universities, colleges and K-12 districts.
School Board members plan to lobby state legislators for more capital dollars to cover new construction and maintenance. One idea: Ask the lawmakers to add a cellphone tax.
For nearly 50 years there has been a tax on landline phones, cable television and electricity to pay for school capital needs. That program, called Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO), has paid state universities, colleges and K-12 school districts billions of dollars through the decades for new construction and maintenance.
But the fund is shrinking because there are fewer landline phones and cable subscribers statewide and more energy-efficient products, especially air conditioners.
The School Board is discussing this lobbying effort because half of Marion County’s schools are more than 50 years old. Air conditioning systems are failing, new roofs are needed, and officials fear they may never catch up on routine maintenance if the state doesn’t begin ponying up more PECO dollars soon.
Marion County Public Schools received only $896,000 in PECO maintenance funds in 2018-19 and will receive nothing in 2019-20. The money is used for 47 campuses that serve 43,000 students.
The crisis means that 82 percent of the School District’s list of projects for the next five years is unfunded. The district will only have $76.4 million, all from a local capital property tax, of the $429.7 million needed to renovate and maintain its campuses and dozens of district offices through 2024.
And now the district is faced with spending $21 million on costly repairs of aging administrative buildings or using that money to build a new office complex. The board believes that it makes financial sense to build a new complex.
Robert Knight, the district’s facilities director, said that the board must find a new Funding source because “it’s clear the state does not intend to be a major player when it comes to (capital) Funding.”
Knight said the district has gotten no money from the state for new construction in a decade and very little ($5 million in 10 years) for maintenance.
-- Joe Callahan County schools’ CIP projects at $181M. How many pertain to equity?-- Charlottesville Tomorrow Virginia: August 13, 2019 [ abstract] Within the next three years, Albemarle County Public Schools aims to conduct a middle school facility planning study as well as consider adding one additional elevator to its two-story buildings as part of the division’s $181 million capital improvement plan projects.
The middle school facility planning study and elevator projects will cost about $500,000 and $4.2 million, respectively, according to the division’s records.
Rosalyn Schmitt, the school system’s chief operating officer, said the county’s middle schools haven’t been part of previous capital Funding because they had enough capacity. But that’s shifting.
Schmitt said Jouett and Henley middle schools are “having looming” capacity issues, and “they will be overcrowded.” Henley houses nearly 900 pupils, compared with Walton Middle School, which has 350. Having a crowded school has an impact on offerings, she said.
“There’s parity,” she said, adding that there needs to be a conversation on middle schools to make sure the division has equitable opportunities for students.
The study could begin in fall 2020. Funding for the study is being requested for fiscal year 2021. A consultant will be hired to conduct the study, which could take nearly a year, with the hopes of getting stakeholders and community engagement.
“We anticipate the study will come up with recommendations, and the schools will consider those recommendations,” Schmitt said. “It may be projects. It may be grade level configuration.”
-- BILLY JEAN LOUIS Oakley to decide fate of four school parks-- East Bay Times California: August 12, 2019 [ abstract] Oakley City Council will decide on Tuesday whether to cut Funding for maintenance of four parks at local schools.
After 18 months of discussion with the Oakley School District, city staff has recommended the city discontinue spending $150,000 annually for the maintenance of four parks on school district land. The parks include those adjacent to Oakley, Gehringer, Vintage Park elementary schools and O’Hara Park Middle School.
A message on the city’s website said: “The item on the City Council agenda is NOT to close parks, it is about accountability and ensuring that these taxpayer funds are being wisely used.”
The affected parks date back some three decades before the city was incorporated. That’s when the school district, which owned the land, allowed for the parks to be developed adjacent to their schools. In turn, the county established an agreement with the school district to provide money for the parks’ maintenance. After the city’s incorporation, the county agreement was transferred to the city and renewed in 2002, according to the city staff report. Money to maintain the parks came from developers’ park dedication fees.
-- JUDITH PRIEVE Limited capital dollars concern School District-- Ocala StarBanner Florida: August 10, 2019 [ abstract] The district will have only $8.6 million to maintain 47 schools and district offices in 2019-20. The district maintains 7 million square feet of space countywide.
Education advocate Narvella Haynes knows firsthand how a faulty air conditioning system can disrupt a classroom, even if it is only for a few hours.
Haynes, who teaches social skills and motivation to children in the private sector, was working with Howard Middle School students about two years ago before school as part of the YMCA Youth Achievers program. All of a sudden, the school air conditioning system stopped cooling appropriately.
Haynes said as the room heated up, the students couldn’t stay on task.
“It impacts their minds,” said Haynes, who serves as the School Advisory Council president at Evergreen Elementary School. “When it is hot, they can’t focus.”
Haynes said AC repairmen were called that morning and, after several attempts, the problem was repaired.
Such AC problems are becoming more likely these days as 65% of the county’s campuses are 30 years old or older. School officials are concerned these aging schools will soon need many upgrades, such as air conditioning fixes.
The problem is that state Funding is not keeping up with those needs.
Marion County maintains 47 school campuses and dozens of district offices totaling 7 million square feet of space. This year, the district will have only $8.6 million for basic repairs, including air conditioning repairs and upgrades.
Marion County needs $429.7 million in the next five years to renovate and maintain its 47 campuses and dozens of district offices. But during that time, through the 2023-24 school year, the district anticipates it will only collect $76.4 million to pay for those projects. That includes $19.7 million that was assigned to projects in 2018-19 and rolled over into the 2019-20 budget because they were not finalized.
That means the district has a $353.3 million deficit to finance the five-year work program, which includes air conditioning replacements, new roofs and school renovations.
-- Joe Callahan Tolleson opens new high school with state facilities funds-- Cronkite News Arizona: August 09, 2019 [ abstract] The Arizona School Facilities Board helps fund new school buildings and renovations in Arizona to relieve outdated and overcrowded classrooms throughout the state.
Since 2000, the board has used their funds to help build more than 320 new schools, according to Kerry Campbell, the deputy director of operations for the board.
The board budgeted $80 million for building renewals and $75 million for new school facilities for fiscal year 2020.
School districts apply to be awarded money from the board for building projects which include renovations and repairs, upgrades to building systems, and infrastructure costs.
Schools that apply for new facilities schools are not always awarded money from the board. Campbell said many schools instead use bond money to pay for a new school while others use funds from bonds and the board, which often completely finances schools in rural Arizona, according to Campbell.
The board’s demographer looks ahead eight years to analyze population growth, helping to determine whether a new school is in a district’s future.
“If during that eight-year period it looks like they may have more students than they have capacity for, then they would qualify for new school facilities Funding,” Campbell said.
-- Abbagail Leon Indiana doesn’t require schools to have tornado shelters-- RTV6 Indiana: July 31, 2019 [ abstract] SALEM — Summer may be winding down, but as the school year winds back up, Call 6 Investigates has learned K-12 students in Indiana are vulnerable when it comes to tornadoes.
Indiana has no laws or building codes in place requiring tornado shelters in your child’s school, nor does Indiana have any rules requiring newly constructed schools include a storm shelter.
Most Indiana schools do not have basements, nor do they have tornado shelters or safe rooms in place, leaving children to hunker down in interior hallways and rooms.
Call 6 Investigates has learned federal Funding is available to build tornado protection for students, but most schools have not applied for the money.
Elementary school creates tornado safe room
Across the rolling corn fields of southern Indiana, tornadoes are common.
The footage of the deadly 2012 tornado that hit a Henryville school resonated with mother of two Nicole Purlee.
“It was terrifying,” Purlee said. “These are our babies, these are our kids.”
Purlee lives in Salem, which is 19 miles from Henryville.
Her two children attend classes at Bradie Shrum Elementary in Salem.
She doesn’t worry much about her children’s safety during tornadoes, because the school installed a state-of-the-art tornado safe room.
-- Kara Kenney Local school board adopts 10-year plan for facilities maintenance-- Redwood Falls Gazette Minnesota: July 30, 2019 [ abstract] Each year the Minnesota Department of Education requires schools submit a 10-year facilities maintenance plan. That plan outlines the projects each school district plans to do over the next decade to help sustain the buildings and grounds for the district.
Tom Anderson, Redwood Area School District director of finance, presented the most recent local plan to the Redwood Area Board of Education during its July 22 meeting.
According to Anderson, school districts have the ability to levy funds to do maintenance projects, with up to $380 per pupil unit available.
However, not all school districts are able to collect the full amount, as the Funding available is based on the average age of all of a school district’s facilities. Those that are less than 35 years old receive a lower amount. In addition, the full allocation does not just come from the levy. The local funds are equalized with state aid.
Anderson said about 73 percent of the Funding comes from the levy, with the rest being covered by the state. With the addition of the new Estebo Career Development and Training Center, the average age of the local facilities will drop, said Anderson, which means for a while the district will experience a slight drop in the facilities maintenance Funding.
-- Troy Krause NC Gov. Cooper pushes to bring $41.5 million to Robeson County schools-- WMBF News North Carolina: July 25, 2019 [ abstract] North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper visited the Public Schools of Robeson County on Thursday to look at the challenges rural school districts face.
He toured St. Pauls Elementary School where he pushed for a school construction bond that would allow voters to guarantee Funding for new buildings and renovations across North Carolina.
The governor’s office said the $3.5 billion bond would provide Robeson County with $16 million more for school construction.
Cooper said $41.5 million in guaranteed funds for school construction would go to the Public Schools of Robeson County compared to the legislature’s budget which only provides $25.5 million with no guarantee that projects would be completed.
“Students across North Carolina deserve safe, updated classrooms, particularly in areas like Robeson County that are still recovering from natural disasters,” Cooper said. “The legislature’s budget didn’t do enough for our schools and offered no guarantee any school construction would be completed. We must do better.”
-- Staff Writer Hartford, Tolland get extra help in school construction bill-- the ctmirror Connecticut: July 22, 2019 [ abstract] The General Assembly voted in special session Monday for a bill that provides Funding for the state’s share of local school construction projects, effectively rewards Hartford for closing several schools and ends reimbursement bonuses for intra-district diversity magnet schools.
The measure passed 30-1 in the Senate and 93-35 in the House, where a majority of Republicans opposed the bill, primarily over a provision that will raise the reimbursement rate for renovations to several Hartford schools from 80 percent to 95 percent.
Local school construction in Connecticut is partly reimbursed by the state on a sliding scale based on a community’s wealth, and the bill approved Monday provides $160.5 million to pay the state’s share of eight projects in seven communities.
The reimbursements generally range from 10 percent to 70 percent for new construction and 20 percent to 80 percent for renovations, with bonuses increasing the reimbursements to 85 percent under some circumstances.
-- MARK PAZNIOKAS and KATHLEEN MEGAN OP-ED: LESSONS OF NEWARK’S SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION SUCCESSES, MISTAKES-- NJ Spotlight New Jersey: July 17, 2019 [ abstract] The state could have built almost twice as many schools for Newark kids if it followed the model of one of the city’s charter schools.
It’s perhaps one of the saddest open secrets that Newark children have routinely been cheated out of their constitutional right to Funding for safe, adequate school facilities; a recent report by TAPinto Newark underlines that fact yet again.
It’s been nearly 20 years since our state’s highest court — rightly — declared that kids in cities like Newark have a constitutional right to learn in adequate school buildings. Twelve billion dollars and almost two decades of greed, graft and mismanagement later, the state has fallen short on this promise in just about every imaginable way.
TAPinto Newark’s well-researched report found that the state routinely exceeded its own cost-per-square-foot rules by almost four times the state limit in Newark.
The most egregious offense is not in the basic compliance question of whether the state followed its own rules (though that should be taken seriously), but rather the fact that Newark kids have desperately needed those funds and the state could have built more schools if the dollars had been spent more wisely.
-- Opinion - KYLE ROSENKRANS School board declares emergency, discusses future Richmond school-- The Daily Independent California: July 15, 2019 [ abstract] The Sierra Sands Unified School District board of education declared its own proclamation of emergency during a special meeting Thursday night. The declaration comes after the district conducted its initial survey of facilities districtwide to assess the damage caused by first the July 4 magnitude 6.4 earthquake and the 7.1 that followed on the night of July 5.
“Initial assessments indicate that it will be necessary to contract out for repair and replacement services in order to ensure school sites are ready for occupancy by the start of the 2019-2020 school year,” said district business director Pam Smith.
Smith said that by adopting its own emergency, the district could proceed under the California Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act to immediately replace or repair any public facility without adopting a plan or giving any bids.
“It’s going to be millions of dollars but it’s not going to be as bad as we thought,” Smith said.
The board also adopted a supporting ordinance to submit a form to the California Office of Emergency Services for non-state agencies since cost-sharing under California and federal regulations are issued at a county level. Those designations will be for the County of Kern and will cover all affected jurisdictions and Special Districts within the county.
Board member Tim Johnson asked whether the district would qualify for support or Funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.
-- Jack Barnwell WV School Building Authority funds project requests based on rankings, recommendations-- WVNews West Virginia: July 14, 2019 [ abstract] CLARKSBURG — Each year, the West Virginia School Building Authority funds project requests around the state based on rankings and recommendations from the SBA staff.
This year, $4.9 million in Funding was available for West Virginia SBA Major Improvement Project grants.
Harrison County Schools’ proposal to move Lost Creek Elementary School to the South Harrison campus was approved by the SBA, and the county school board was awarded a $1 million Funding request for the Major Improvement Project.
The project was one of the seven in the state that received Major Improvement Project grant Funding, according to Ben Ashley, SBA director of architectural services.
“The project is going to improve the environment for Lost Creek Elementary students,” he said. “The old building needs a lot of work, and we want what is best for the students in our state.”
Jefferson, Kanawha, Pendleton, Pocohontas, Wayne and Webster counties also received SBA grant awards. Ashley said 29 school districts applied for state funds.
Ashley said the SBA tries to maximize Funding for county school systems, using everything it can to improve education facilities.
“When a project is first submitted, it is usually a part of the Comprehensive Educational Facility Plan, or CEFP, which is a plan submitted to the state and updated every 10 years,” Ashley said. The next plan due to the state is in the spring of 2020.
Each proposal is evaluated by SBA staff, and projects are prioritized based on multiple criteria.
-- Kailee Gallahan Maryland House Speaker Urges Support For More School Funding-- WJZ13 Maryland: July 13, 2019 [ abstract] GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — Maryland’s House speaker is urging her colleagues in the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland to make a robust education Funding plan its top priority.
Speaker Adrienne Jones spoke Saturday at the caucus’s unity breakfast.
She is asking the 50-member caucus to make a Funding plan to implement a state commission’s recommendations the No. 1 priority for the next legislative session, or however long it takes.
Jones, a Democrat, also is asking the caucus to put its weight behind the passage of a bill to add $2 billion in additional school construction over the next decade.
-- Staff Writer NO FUNDING IN SIGHT TO REPAIR NEWARK’S CRUMBLING SCHOOLS-- NJ Spotlight New Jersey: July 11, 2019 [ abstract] Buildings in cash-strapped district have leaky roofs, damaged walls, peeling paint, old electrical systems, missing sinks and toilets.
Newark’s school buildings desperately need fixing. Yet, despite a longstanding court order that the state replace Newark’s crumbling schools, no help is on the horizon.
In 2016, New Jersey’s education and school construction agencies offered to pay for urgently needed repairs in certain school districts. The projects had to address school conditions that could cause “imminent peril to the health and safety of students and staff.”
This was exciting news to Newark officials, who knew the district’s schools were in serious disrepair. They catalogued the most egregious problems: falling roofs, obsolete fire alarms, faulty heating and cooling systems, broken windows, and deteriorating doors. Ultimately, they asked the state to fund more than 150 projects at an estimated cost of $311 million.
Nearly a year later, the state responded. The education department approved just 11 projects in Newark — a fraction of what district officials said was needed to make their buildings safe and sound.
-- Patrick Wall State lawmakers fail to approve hundreds of millions in funding for RCSD-- WHEC New York: July 10, 2019 [ abstract] ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — The students of the Rochester City School District are again caught in the middle of a bitter back and forth between adults.
This time, the arguing has delayed the third phase of the $1.4 billion School Modernization Act which is intended to upgrade schools, athletic fields, pools and technology for the students of RCSD.
Each phase of the Modernization Act requires state approval of the allocation of more money. Phase I is complete, Phase II is nearly finished and Phase III was set to begin this summer. It will be the most expensive yet at $615 million but state lawmakers went home for the summer without approving it.
As for who is to blame, there seems to be a lot of finger pointing going on when it comes to that question.
Most schools in the City of Rochester were built more than 75 years ago. Many buildings and facilities are crumbling, antiquated and not offering city school students the same experience their suburban counterparts get. That's why the modernization plan was put into place back in 2011.
Nearly two dozen schools have been rehabbed so far but Phase III is the biggest undertaking yet.
"Schools No. 2, No. 4, No. 6 and Schools No. 22, No. 10 and 54 are left to be renovated," explains Allen Williams, chair of the School Modernization Board.
-- Staff Writer Norfolk students filmed a report about their crumbling school. Administrators ordered it deleted.-- The Virginian-Pilot Virginia: July 03, 2019 [ abstract] The state of Maury High School, built in 1910, isn’t really a secret.
District officials took state legislators on a tour of the building last fall and begged for more Funding, showing where parts of the auditorium ceiling collapsed and where a classroom floor caved in like a sinkhole. They showed peeling paint and pointed out extreme temperature swings from room to room.
The issues may be well-known, but they still persist.
“I think (students) deserve having a better building than what they currently have,” said Douglas Deutsch, a recent graduate of the school.
That’s why Deutsch and a friend in his broadcast news class decided to highlight the school’s conditions. For the last Commodore News broadcast of the school year, Deutsch and Jalen Rogers filmed areas of the school in disrepair, giving outsiders an inside look at the conditions.
“We figured it was kind of like pointing out the obvious,” Deutsch said. “We didn’t know it was going to cause controversy.”
The report was posted in late May. Within days, administrators ordered the removal of the video from Commodore News’ YouTube channel. Their segment on the facility and the entire broadcast, which featured other news stories, was deleted; a broken URL is all that remains.
The deletion surprised Deutsch, who said he and Rogers put a lot of effort into the video and tried to “keep it as objective as possible.” Deutsch said he doesn’t know what administrators found problematic with the video, which featured an interview with a teacher who attended the school as a student and who talked about the history of the building. Maury is the third-oldest continuously operating school in Virginia and the oldest high school.
A district spokeswoman said “the students did nothing wrong.” The school’s principal and the district’s executive director of secondary schools reviewed the video after it was posted and “collaboratively made the decision” to take it down, said Khalilah LeGrand.
“This incident involves a personnel matter, and the school division is unable to comment further,” LeGrand said in a statement. “As the division is currently engaged in the educational planning process, which includes evaluation of facilities, we continue to evaluate how to equitably address the issues of many of our aging school buildings.”
-- Sara Gregory Williamson tax committee explores new ways to fund school buildings-- Tennessean Tennessee: July 03, 2019 [ abstract] The Williamson County Commission Tax Study Committee discussed briefly an alternative Funding mechanism that could distribute dollars to capital projects, or new school construction, for example.
After the committee approved Tuesday an 11-cent property tax increase, which will also be considered by the full commission July 8, it briefly discussed the implications of raising the county’s adequate facilities tax.
County Commissioner Tom Tunnicliffe, 7th District, and concerned constituents, have taken a closer look at the structure of the county’s adequate facilities tax, which was devised by a private act in 1987.
Currently, the county does not tax new commercial construction in the county’s six municipalities.
However, some residents and Tunnicliffe are posing the question, “Why not?”
“Why are the residents maxed and the commercial space in the cities charged zero,” Tunnicliffe said.
“I just wanted to get the discussion out there and see if there is any interest in carrying it forward. I am new to the commission, so tell me why it’s a bad idea.”
The county’s adequate facilities tax is structured under the Williamson County Private Act of 1987, Chapter 118, which gives the county authority to tax new residential and nonresidential development. The maximum rate allowed for nonresidential development is $2, while the maximum rate for new residential development is $1 (both per gross square foot).
-- Kerri Bartlett Kuna School District employees work to make school districts statewide eligible for impact fees-- Idaho Press Idaho: July 02, 2019 [ abstract] In an effort to accrue more Funding for the school district and mitigate the financial burden placed on Kuna’s residents, the Kuna School District board of trustees and other employees have drafted a resolution that may eventually result in school districts statewide becoming eligible to receive impact fees.
While the process to make this happen is difficult, the resolution itself is relatively straightforward: They are simply seeking to change a definition in Idaho law. Currently, the law asserts that impact fees may go to benefit “public facilities,” including water supply production, wastewater collection, roads, flood control, parks, law enforcement and more — but excludes public school facilities.
The trustees are hoping to add the words “public school facilities” to the legal definition of “public facilities” in Idaho. Of the 29 states that have enacted impact-fee-enabling legislation, only 13 allow impact fees to serve school districts. Idaho is not one of those states.
Before impact fees could be utilized by school districts, however, the resolution must first be presented at a convention held in November by the Idaho State School Boards Association, during which school board members must vote to put the issue in front of the Idaho Legislature. It would then be crafted into a bill, which the legislature would have to pass into law.
Next, if it were to be passed by the legislature, the school district would have to work with local entities to discuss the fees and how they would be collected.
The goal of the resolution is to help fund the school district, mitigate the property tax burden of Kuna residents and create a method that encourages growth to pay for growth, according to Adam Bell, the district’s budget and finance manager, and Joy Thomas, vice chair of the Kuna School District board of trustees.
“Currently, we do not have a mechanism for growth to pay for growth,” Bell, who drafted the resolution, said. “This allows for housing coming into the community — that’s impacting our community and adding to our school numbers — to pay a portion of their fair share without it financially overburdening the current taxpayers.”
-- Jordan Erb Governor Carney Signs $863 Million Capital Budget to Complete 2019 Legislative Session-- Delaware.gov Delaware: July 01, 2019 [ abstract] DOVER, Del. — Governor John Carney on Monday signed the largest infrastructure package in Delaware history, capping a 2019 legislative session that included action to invest in Delaware’s highest-needs schools, fix roads and bridges, raise the age to buy cigarettes, ban single-use plastic bags, and make it easier for all Delawareans to vote in elections.
Highlights of 2019 Legislative Session:
Opportunity Funding: $75 million/three years for English learners, low-income students, and new mental health supports in schools
Infrastructure: Record $863 million capital budget will invest in clean water, new roads and bridges, affordable housing, colleges and universities, and economic development projects
Plastic Bag Ban: Ban on single-use plastic bags will help protect Delaware’s environment, wildlife and communities
Tobacco 21: Raising the age to buy cigarettes to 21 will prevent younger Delawareans from smoking, improve the health of young Delawareans, and reduce health care costs
Early voting: New law allowing in-person voting up to 10 days prior to an election seeks to increase voter participation
Medicaid Waiver: New reinsurance program seeks to lower costs for Delaware families who get health insurance on the exchange
Safe storage: New law requires safe storage of firearms around children
The $863 million Fiscal Year 2020 capital budget signed by the Governor on Monday will fund new school construction, preserve open space and farmland statewide, invest in new drinking water infrastructure, and provide new Funding for Delaware’s colleges and universities. Delaware’s capital budget also includes $425.3 million for the Transportation Trust Fund – part of a six-year, $3.2 billion plan to fix roads and bridges statewide through 2025.
“We are investing in the future of our state – improving schools for all Delaware children, fixing roads and bridges in every Delaware community, and responsibly managing taxpayer dollars so we’re prepared to keep investing where it matters most,” said Governor John Carney. “Our work with members of the General Assembly is paying off. Graduation rates are up, unemployment is down, and our state is on sound financial footing, just two years after climbing out of $400 million budget deficit. But we have plenty of work ahead to make sure that all Delaware families have an opportunity to participate in Delaware’s success. That’s why we’re investing in high-needs schools, in clean drinking water, affordable housing, open-space, and rural broadband infrastructure – to give more Delaware families a real shot to succeed in the Delaware of the future.”
-- Office of the Governor Johns Hopkins Report Offers ‘Devastating’ Findings for Providence Schools, Sparking Talk of State Takeover-- The 74 Rhode Island: June 26, 2019 [ abstract] Grim. Painful. Heartbreaking.
Those were the words that Rhode Island leaders used to describe a brutal assessment released Wednesday of public schools in Providence, the state’s capital and largest city. The 93-page report, requested by newly appointed Rhode Island Commissioner of Education Angélica Infante-Green and compiled by experts at Johns Hopkins University, points to dire academic results and widespread fears about unsafe classroom conditions.
In an atmosphere of disappointment and uncertainty in Rhode Island, the review may also trigger the most drastic reaction in the education playbook: a comprehensive takeover of Providence schools by the state.
In a late-morning press conference Wednesday, Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo — who has pushed for additional education Funding and an expansion of the state’s public pre-K program — remarked that while she knew the situation was bad, the findings of the report were nevertheless “shocking.”
“The report showed me it’s much worse than I realized,” she said. “It’s beyond just low test scores. It’s the basics that educators and students don’t even feel safe in their schools. A culture has developed where kids don’t feel safe, teachers don’t feel supported, and real learning isn’t happening. I’m upset and angry for the generation of kids who have suffered the consequences of this broken system.”
The report touched on issues ranging from curricular quality to labor relations, collecting frank critiques from dozens of district employees on the learning and working conditions in schools serving 24,000 students.
It has already triggered deeply felt responses. Authors described multiple teachers breaking down in tears about the chaos and lack of support their students endured; several Johns Hopkins reviewers did the same when confronted with the district’s crumbling infrastructure.
-- KEVIN MAHNKEN Worcester school roof replacements, other projects in region approved by MSBA board-- telegram.com Massachusetts: June 26, 2019 [ abstract] The Massachusetts School Building Authority, the state agency responsible for helping public school districts with the cost of renovating and replacing schools, approved a bevy of local projects on Wednesday, including five in Worcester.
The authority’s board of directors invited planned roof replacement projects at Burncoat Street Preparatory School, Tatnuck Magnet School, Vernon Hill School and Worcester East Middle School into the MSBA’s Accelerated Repair program. It also accepted a boiler replacement project at Lincoln Street School into the same initiative.
Worcester has relied on the Accelerated Repair program, which provides Funding for school roof, window, door and boiler replacement projects that can be completed within 18 months, to help it afford dozens of building upgrades over the past decade. The school district has used the initiative to replace windows and doors at roughly four schools a year since 2012. Beginning this year, the school department is shifting its focus to roof and boiler replacement projects.
“We’re really revisiting all the needs we have across the district” after the completion of the door and window replacement campaign, said the Worcester schools’ chief financial and operations officer, Brian Allen. “It’s not just the Accelerated Repair projects. We’re looking at other projects as well.”
The latter plans, which have been laid out through 2023-24, include things like bathroom renovations, floor repair, deferred maintenance and other improvements at dozens of schools.
-- Scott OConnell How will charter schools be incorporated in facilities plan?-- News4JAX Florida: June 24, 2019 [ abstract] JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - How charter schools will be incorporated in a plan to overhaul public schools was a topic of conversation at a Duval County School Board meeting Monday morning.
The Duval County School Board held a workshop and was presented with a proposal from Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene on how to include the county’s charter schools in Duval County Public Schools' Master Facility Plan.
The plan would cost the school district about $1.9 billion and would involve replacing, renovating and consolidating the state’s oldest schools. The School Board is asking for a half-cent sales tax referendum to pay for the plan, and on Monday, Greene discussed a proposal on how the school district could incorporate charter schools into the revenue brought in by the tax.
The guiding principles of the plan include safety and security upgrades, removing classroom portables, reducing the number of schools through consolidation, removing FCI backlog (cost of repairs needed at schools) and reducing the age of facilities.
Greene pointed out that it is more expensive to provide safety and security updates for public school than it is charter schools. She also said portables have to meet more guidelines at public schools including having covered walkways from the school to the portables, which charter schools are not required to have.
She said the covered walkways are an additional cost to the school district, and because of Funding, not all portables already have the covered walkways.
It was also pointed out that the age of the 31 charter schools in Duval County, on average, is much younger than that of public schools. The average age of Jacksonville’s public schools is about 44 years old, the oldest in the state of Florida.
Greene said most charter schools in Duval County have been opened within the last 10 years.
-- Elizabeth Campbell Hundreds of school repairs across Arizona delayed for more than a year, audit find-- azcentral.com Arizona: June 21, 2019 [ abstract] More than 100 facility repairs at Arizona schools took longer than a year to complete, potentially posing health and safety risks to students, according to a June 2019 audit of the state's School Facilities Board.
In the report, the Arizona Auditor General's Office investigated the state's Building Renewal Grant Fund, which is managed by the School Facilities Board.
The School Facilities Board, a nine-member voting board appointed by the governor, distributes tens of millions of dollars allocated every year by the state Legislature to the Building Renewal Grant Fund for critical school repairs.
Schools apply for grants to fix everything from leaking roofs to outdated cooling systems.
Problems at the SFB included delayed building renewal projects, an unclear procurement policy and undisclosed conflicts of interest by a majority of board members, the audit found.
The amount of Funding the agency receives to send to schools for building repairs has more than doubled, to $76 million in budget year 2019 from $29 million in budget year 2016, according to the SFB's audit response.
But the number of full-time employees the agency is budgeted for has not kept up: It had 14 in 2019, plus two outside consultants, compared with nine employees in 2016.
Paul Bakalis, SFB's executive director, wrote in a letter responding to the audit that his agency is not "sufficiently staffed for a robust and growing workload."
-- Lily Altavena $13 billion state bond for school construction targeted for 2020 California ballot-- EdSource California: June 20, 2019 [ abstract] Legislation to put a $13 billion school construction bond on the state ballot next year and a second bond in 2022 moved forward this week with strong support overall from the education community — and a vague promise by the bill’s author to address concerns that state building aid to school districts isn’t equitably distributed.
With $9 billion in state Funding from the last state bond, in 2016, either spent or committed, Assembly Bill 48 received unanimous approval of the Senate Education Committee after a short hearing on Wednesday. But important details remain to be fleshed out before the full Senate votes later this summer and Gov. Gavin Newsom has yet to give his opinion of the proposed amount and other aspects of the bill. The size of the second bond also hasn’t been determined. School construction bonds that voters passed in 2002, 2004 and 2006 ranged from $10.4 billion to $13.1 billion.
Under the state school construction program, the state supplements the cost of construction projects that school districts and community colleges fund with bonds raised through local property taxes. The state pays half of the cost of a new school and pays for 60 percent of the cost of renovating a school or college campus.
AB 48 would include preschool facilities in next year’s next bond, and the bill’s author, Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach, who chairs the Assembly Education Committee, confirmed Wednesday that $500 million would be set aside for charter school construction — the same as in the 2016 bond, Proposition 51. There also would be money to fix water systems contaminated by levels of lead violating federal standards. But where the rest of the money would go hasn’t been set. If Prop. 51 is a guide, however, $10 billion would likely go to K-12 districts and $3 billion to community colleges.
-- JOHN FENSTERWALD NC school boards could lose their power to sue counties for construction money-- The News & Observer North Carolina: June 19, 2019 [ abstract] North Carolina school boards could lose the ability to sue county boards of commissioners to get more money for school construction projects.
The state Senate’s budget plan would remove the lawsuit threat that school districts have used over the years to try to get commissioners to increase the amount of money for building and renovating schools. This comes after state lawmakers already voted last year to remove the ability of school boards to sue counties for more money to operate schools.
Now both county governments and school boards are lobbying state lawmakers as they work out a compromise budget. The House had not included the new limit on school boards in its budget.
“Counties have an obligation by statue to provide Funding for school construction,” Kevin Leonard, executive director of the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, said in an interview Wednesday. “It’s not like they’re not going to do it.
“Leaders in county government have to provide the facilities that are needed for the county. It’s not up to the school board to decide that.”
But school boards are warning that the loss of the lawsuit threat could put students at risk by not giving schools the leverage to get Funding for needed facilities.
-- T. KEUNG HUI School Building Authority hands out $6 million for school projects-- MetroNews West Virginia: June 17, 2019 [ abstract] The state School Building Authority handed out more than $6 million in Funding Monday for a handful of school construction projects in West Virginia.
The agency had $5 million to allocate under its Major Improvement Projects (MIP) program and just more than $1 million as part of its three-percent grant program.
Both Harrison and Kanawha counties received $1 million MIP grants.
Kanawha County will use its grant for a $3.5 million renovation project at Alum Creek Elementary School, SBA Director of Architectural Services Ben Ashley said.
“They are combining the two buildings with a hallway. They’re moving the office to the front of the school to better process the visitors separately from the students. They are removing a portable classroom and make it one safe facility,” Ashley said.
The $1 million grant going to Harrison County will be part of a $2.5 million impacting Lost Creek Elementary. Ashley said the school will be moved to West Milford where it will use an unused wing of South Harrison Middle School plus a classroom addition to create a new school.
“They’ll be able to house a new school there in its own wing,” Ashley said.
Other MIP grants went to Jefferson, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Wayne and Webster counties.
-- Jeff Jenkins Duval County Public School proposes $1.9 billion master plan to fix aging schools-- Fox30 Florida: June 12, 2019 [ abstract] JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Duval County School District revealed a new master plan Tuesday aimed to fix aging schools in the district. The “bold” plan includes the construction and renovations of dozens of schools, totaling at approximately $1.9 billion.
In January, Action News Jax reported DCPS had the oldest school buildings in the state. The Assistant Superintendent of Operations said the district was working to maintain these buildings with a lack of Funding.
Collaboration of expert research and community feedback, Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene presented her recommendation for a master plan to the school board Tuesday.
Her statement said in part, “It is a collaborative vision that represents the hours of tireless work from staff as well as the passionate input from our community. It also reflects what I truly believe is a better future for our children and for our community."
The four main highlights of the proposal include construction, consolidation, reduction, and safety enhancements.
-- Elizabeth Pace Fund Our Facilities Coalition announces legislation to invest $85 million in school building repairs-- The Philadelphia Sunday Sun Pennsylvania: June 07, 2019 [ abstract] The union leaders and legislators who comprise the Fund Our Facilities Coalition met on May 29 at Richard Wright Elementary School to announce legislation sponsored by State Sen. Vincent Hughes that would invest $85 million to make critical repairs to Philadelphia’s school buildings.
The dollar amount in Hughes’ companion bills –- SB 555 and SB 556 –- represent exactly half of the $170 million the coalition has said is needed to address immediate health and safety concerns, and to ensure every Philadelphia school building is safe, clean and healthy.
Funding for SB 555 would come in the form of a $125 million grant from several Commonwealth special funds with outstanding balances. SB 556 calls for a $125 million grant that would be funded from the current state budget surplus. With each bill, Hughes proposes directing $85 million to the School District of Philadelphia; $30 million to 134 school districts throughout the state with a significant number of students experiencing poverty; and $10 million to the remaining public schools in the state.
“We are in a position to fix a critical structural need and we cannot afford to lose this opportunity to provide thousands of teachers, students and school staffers with a healthy, safe environment each day,” Hughes said. “The investments I am proposing would help fund the critical maintenance and repair and provide those conditions. We must act now and repair the unhealthy and unsafe conditions for the future of our students and our education system.”
-- Staff Writer Sonoma County schools superintendent testifies before House on wildfire impacts, asks for increased recovery funds-- The Press Democrat California: June 05, 2019 [ abstract] The Sonoma County schools superintendent appeared before a Congressional committee Wednesday, urging for more federal Funding for schools and mental health resources for students and staff affected by wildfires.
Superintendent Steve Herrington testified on the financial, emotional and physical impacts the 2017 wildfires had local schools and children during a U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor hearing on schools’ response and recovery in the wake of natural disasters.
“In my 46 years as an educator, I have responded to numerous floods and earthquakes. But I have never seen a natural disaster take such a toll on an educational community as did the Tubbs fire,” said Herrington, who testified alongside education officials from Florida, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, places that are recovering from typhoons or hurricanes.
Herrington asked lawmakers for portable structures that schools can use after fires, more time for districts to spend recovery grant funds and for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse schools that set up community shelters. He also urged the committee to create federal standards for school disaster response, as well as guidelines for reopening campuses after wildfires.
“You need to reopen schools as soon as possible because it gives children a sense of security,” Herrington told the committee.
His requests appeared to resonate with committee members, who followed up his testimony with questions about how schools made up for lost time and how other western states can prepare schools for wildfires.
“As climate change continues to intensify, the federal government’s responsibility to provide school communities with resources to recover from natural disasters is more important now than ever before,” said Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, committee chairman and delegate of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Insurance companies paid Sonoma County schools over $7.1 million to cover losses and damages after the 2017 wildfires.
-- SUSAN MINICHIELLO Windle says it could take years to implement county school renovations-- The Outlook Alabama: June 01, 2019 [ abstract] All buildings in the Tallapoosa County School System need some type of renovation and it’s going to take a long time to finish those projects due to Funding, according to superintendent Joe Windle.
Windle presented a $34 million wish list to the Tallapoosa County Commission in March which listed renovations and projects from a facilities assessment. He said if the county commission will reaffirm the 1-cent sales tax devoted to schools for 25 to 30 years the school system can secure $25 million in long-term financing for the renovations and capital projects.
Q. What are the specifics of the $34 million wish list for county schools?
A. That wish list was based on the facilities assessment that was completed by Goodwyn Mills Cawood, which did a complete assessment of our facilities across the county system. We used their estimate and then our own judgment because we’ve been looking at these facilities for 10 years now and really our capital plan has been a wish list because we did not have the Funding to fund the (projects) that are on our list, especially new construction and major renovations. In the capital plan, which requires a Funding source, all of our Funding sources were unknown. But with the passage of the 1-cent sales tax for education in May of 2015 we began to dig our way out of the financial difficulties that we were in.
For example, (Reeltown Elementary School’s building) is over 90 years old. We have over 500 students in that building. It’s heated by a boiler producing steam heat and is the oldest active boiler system in a school in the state of Alabama.
One of our gyms is over 60 years old, another of our gyms is over 50 years old and both of those gyms are competitive gyms and the only gyms on that particular campus. (Reeltown’s band room) originally was a canning plant.
-- Gabrielle Jansen Years of inadequate funding have left many school facilities neglected-- Education Drive National: May 31, 2019 [ abstract]
- Many students in Virginia and other parts of the nation are attending school in substandard or even dangerous conditions because of a lack of Funding for maintaining, updating, or building school facilities, the Washington Post reports. A 2013 study found that it would require more than $18 billion to renovate schools more than 30 years old in Virginia alone, and a 2014 federal study indicated that 53% of the nation’s schools were in need of repairs and upgrades. Estimates for addressing these school facility needs range from $197 billion to $542 billion.
- Schools that are not properly maintained or replaced can contribute to health problems in students and teachers, impact attendance rates at the schools and interfere with a student’s ability to learn. Neglected schools also impact student and teacher morale and are often indicative of equity issues, with schools in more affluent — and white communities — often better maintained than in low-income, minority neighborhoods.
- Some states and cities are increasing Funding for school capital projects by raising local taxes or diverting more state Funding to school construction. But some bond referendums have failed, and the additional funds that are made available are inadequate to meet the need. Some school districts are pursuing public-private partnerships to help address the issue and, at the federal level, Congress is considering investing $100 billion over a 10-year period to rebuild public schools.
-- AMELIA HARPER School officials advocating for construction grant re-establishment-- My Journal Courier Georgia: May 28, 2019 [ abstract] Several school officials are advocating for the re-establishment of a grant that would help fund school construction projects. For some, this is a chance to get money that was promised in fiscal year 2004 before the grant was discontinued.
Jacksonville District 117 Superintendent Steve Ptacek has been working with a group of superintendents advocating for the state to honor the final school construction grant made in 2004.
“Jacksonville was on the priority Funding list for fiscal year 2004,” Ptacek said. “That list was never funded.”
According to Ptacek, the list created for Fiscal Year 2004 had 52 underlined schools, meaning those schools were on the previous 2003 list, but were not funded due to lack of funds.
“Jacksonville was on the fiscal year 2003 list and moved to the 2004 list with a priority placement,” Ptacek said. “If they are going to fund the grant, they need to honor their commitment to the schools on that list first."
-- Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree State funding delayed for years? Warren County district looks at other options for building new schools-- Journal-News Ohio: May 25, 2019 [ abstract] A slowdown in state Funding for new school buildings won’t be a deterrent in plans being developed by the Franklin Board of Education.
On Monday, the board voted to move forward with a new building project through the state’s Expedited Local Partnership Program, which allows the project could be done in phases with the local share of Funding being used up front to begin or do smaller projects until the state Funding is available through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.
District officials were told April 3 that the Classroom Facilities Assistance Program would not be able to assist Franklin schools for until 2027 with its estimated $120 million project for new or renovated buildings.
A Journal-News review of state records recently showed that a jump in school districts winning voter approval of local school Funding projects last year combined with uncertainty surrounding future state Funding from Ohio’s pending biennium budget, which must be approved by June 30, has forced OFCC officials into a slowdown.
“It’s simply a matter of more demand than available Funding,” said Rick Savors, spokesman for the OFCC, said at the time.
-- Ed Richter Children can't learn in a bad environment. Duval County PS explains massive building maintenance backlog-- CBS47 Florida: May 14, 2019 [ abstract] The Duval County School District says Funding cuts led to a nearly $2 billion shortfall that's needed to renovate the oldest schools in the state.
Action News Jax told you last week when DCPS passed a half-cent sales tax proposal to fix the aging schools.
Now they need help from Mayor Lenny Curry and City Council to make this special election happen in November.
More than $200 million is needed to pay for a massive maintenance backlog.
Parents wanted to know how we got to this point — Action News Jax Courtney Cole went to the school district for answers.
"Children can't learn in a bad environment where a school is decaying. They need to take care of it,” said Annette Defeo.
Defeo told Cole she just moved here from New Jersey.
When Cole explained the half-cent sales tax proposal to Defeo, she said if it means helping the kids, bring it on!
-- Courtney Cole K-12 advocates join calls for infrastructure spending-- Journal Star Illinois: May 14, 2019 [ abstract] SPRINGFIELD — A group of K-12 education representatives on Tuesday added to the chorus of calls for a statewide capital infrastructure bill that goes beyond road and bridge projects.
At a Capitol press event, the group detailed infrastructure needs at school districts across the state, appearing in front of poster boards with images of outdated and dilapidated Illinois school facilities. They did not, however, give any suggestions as to how the revenue for capital infrastructure projects could be raised.
“I think our role is to show that the need exists across the state pretty widespread, and then show the most effective and efficient ways that we could use the money to enhance educational opportunities,” said Brent Clark, executive director of the Illinois Association of School Administrators. “I think our big job is to rely on the General Assembly to determine the revenues to fund a capital bill.”
In a budget proposal packet distributed by Gov. JB Pritzker in January, K-12 deferred maintenance needs were estimated at $9.3 billion. The state has not passed a capital projects bill since 2009.
Superintendents at the news conference detailed 100-year-old buildings, excessive use of mobile classrooms and crumbling facilities that schools don’t have the Funding to correct.
Brian Ganan, superintendent of Komarek School District 94 in North Riverside, said his district’s building was constructed in 1936 and has significant infrastructure issues.
-- Jerry Nowicki Only six school districts poised to receive state approval for school facility projects-- WhatsUpNewsp Rhode Island: May 13, 2019 [ abstract] The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), on Tuesday, will determine Funding levels for the six school districts that applied for aid from the $250 million school facilities bond approved by voters last fall.
The bond issue was in response to a RIDE report that rated every Rhode Island public and charter school, most schools not meeting adequate standards. The report said it would cost more than $2.2 billion to bring the state’s schools to an adequate level, and more than $600 million just to bring all schools to a safe level.
Initially six districts applied, and all are being recommended for approval to RIDE’s Council on Elementary and Secondary Education, which meets Tuesday.
Notably absent from the first group is Newport, whose Rogers High School was rated among the worst facilities in the state, a replacement candidate. City officials are facing what they believe will be a rebuilding project of upwards of $100 million, plus debt service. Newport officials are actively trying to engage Middletown officials in discussions of a possible merger of the two high school systems. Middletown’s High School was rated poor by RIDE.
There will be a second round of grants in the fall, with school districts vying for what remains of the $250 million bond. Some officials, from other districts, seem confident the state will continue to seek additional referenda to help improve school facilities.
-- Frank Prosnitz Shelby County owes suburban schools millions for capital projects. Here's what's causing the delay-- commercial appeal Tennessee: May 08, 2019 [ abstract] Shelby County’s six suburban school districts are owed millions of dollars by the county for capital improvement projects, district and county officials have confirmed. The financial system intended to keep spending equitable between all Shelby County’s public schools has also resulted in an almost two-year Funding backlog.
Superintendents have said the inconsistent Funding makes it difficult to plan for large projects or forces them to stretch out improvements, making projects longer and potentially more expensive.
Germantown Municipal School District Superintendent Jason Manuel said the district hadn’t received the full amount of Funding owed to them for the past two fiscal years. Currently, the district is owed about $5.2 million, he said.
-- Corinne S Kennedy With $8.5 billion work backlog, Pr. George’s schools look to public-private partnerships-- The Washington Post Maryland: May 05, 2019 [ abstract] Prince George’s County is on track to become the first jurisdiction in the United States to use a public-private partnership to build and maintain several of its public schools — a move officials say will speed construction and decrease the system’s estimated $8.5 billion maintenance and construction backlog.
The decision comes amid increasing frustration about aging schools in the populous Washington suburb and growing discussion in Maryland surrounding public-private partnerships, which are being used to build the Purple Line light-rail system and which Gov. Larry Hogan (R) wants to use to build toll lanes on the Capital Beltway and Interstate 270.
Christian Rhodes, chief of staff to interim Prince George’s schools chief Monica Goldson, said the county wants to hire a private company to manage construction of five to seven new schools this fall.
By removing the bureaucratic hurdles typically involved in school construction — including several procurement processes — and giving one company a contract to build multiple schools, construction costs should decrease, proponents of the idea say.
The private company that the school system selects will design the building and finance its construction; county and state Funding, including for payments to the contractor, will kick in once students are in the building. The schools will have to meet the same safety and code regulations as all school system buildings.
Officials say the schools will be built 14 years faster than if the school system was running the process, and at an estimated 15 to 20 percent lower cost. The locations for the schools — some new and some replacing existing buildings — have not been determined by the school system.
-- Rachel Chason OP-ED: NOW IS THE TIME TO FUND SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION-- NJSpotlight New Jersey: May 02, 2019 [ abstract] As the governor moves to re-staff the SDA, he must find committed, experienced professionals who can manage large-scale public-building programs or design and construction of school facilities.
The Schools Development Authority, or SDA, has been in the news lately. But as politicians argue over control of the agency, the state’s constitutional obligation to provide and fund safe and adequate school facilities remains in full force and effect.
New Jersey’s school construction program has its genesis in the 1997 ruling by the state Supreme Court in the landmark Abbott v. Burke school-Funding lawsuit. In that ruling, the Court found that students in the state’s high-poverty, racially isolated, urban districts were consigned to “dilapidated, unsafe and overcrowded” school buildings, many of which were in a “grave state of disrepair.” After years of inaction by lawmakers, the Court ordered the state to “finance the construction and renovation” of needed building improvements to give students safe and adequate environments in which to learn.
-- David Sciarra Juneau city manager warns of property tax hikes if state ends school bond debt reimbursement-- KTOO Public Media Alaska: April 30, 2019 [ abstract] Shifting costs for school maintenance debt could result in an increase in property taxes in many communities, and the City and Borough of Juneau is not happy about it.
The Alaska Legislature is debating potential cuts to school bond debt the state has historically paid for.
Juneau City Manager Rorie Watt explained at a committee meeting of the Juneau Assembly on Monday that Juneau may owe up to $23 million more than planned if the state decides to stop paying its portion of debt for school infrastructure permanently.
The city would have to pay $7.1 million this year alone.
“So we don’t know on Funding of school debt if we’re going to get the House version, the governor’s version, the Senate version. And we don’t know if it’s this fiscal year, every fiscal year moving forward,” Watt said.
Watt said that if the state decides to shift the costs onto municipalities, Juneau residents can expect to see local property taxes increase between 4.5%-14% over the next several years.
Watt and other municipal leaders across Alaska have accused the state of reneging on its commitment to fund up to 70% of school bond debt.
“We want to make the best financial decision in the way that’s the least impactful to our taxpayers and citizens, but we don’t know if the state is going to honor that program,” Watt said.
-- Adelyn Baxter A Camp Pendleton Elementary School Receives $47.5 Million Federal Grant-- Military.com California: April 27, 2019 [ abstract] The Fallbrook Union School District will receive more than $47.5 million in federal Funding to address problems with its capacity and aging facilities at Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary School, located on Camp Pendleton.
Those funds come from the Department of Defense Public Schools Military Installations Program, which bases the allocations on a priority list developed by the Secretary of Defense. The law provides funds to build, repair or expand public schools on military installations "to ensure the children of service members are learning in safe, modern, and efficient facilities that meet the local standard."
"I am thrilled to announce that the Fallbrook Union School District is being awarded nearly $50 million for critical upgrades to the Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary School..." said Rep. Mike Levin, (D-San Juan Capistrano) who represents the congressional district where the school is located. "Students deserve safe and healthy learning environments, and I am glad to see the Defense Department invest in our district and address these much needed repairs."
The existing school was built in 1954 for a student population of 361, but the campus is outdated and the student body has outgrown its space. It now enrolls about 772 students, according to the California School dashboard, and many students attend class in relocatable units.
-- Deborah Sullivan Brennan, San Diego Union-Tribune Santa Rosa School Board wants county to help fund new school-- nwfdailynews.com Florida: April 26, 2019 [ abstract] MILTON — Santa Rosa County School District officials want the county to impose impact fees up to $5,000 on each new single-family home built in the fast-growing county to pay for new schools.
Superintendent of Schools Tim Wyrosdick said its half-cent sales tax that generates about $7.6 million annually fails to generate enough revenue to buy land and build new schools. During a presentation to School Board members Thursday, he said from 2017 to 2025 the county will grow by 30,000 people and add 1,500 students.
“We have maximized use of the half-cent sales tax,” Wrysodick said. “There is zero state Funding for new school construction.”
However, convincing county commissioners to impose impact fees likely will be a hard sell.
“We have concerns about impact fees putting a strain on our growth and stifling our economy,” District 5 Commissioner Lane Lynchard said. “We have questions and we need answers before we move forward.”
District 2 Commissioner Bob Cole did not hold back his feelings.
“I am totally, totally against it,” Cole said. “They’ve heard citizens cry for impact fees. They need to be held accountable on the half-cent sales tax that they already asked residents to give them.”
However, District 3 Commissioner Don Salter said he would consider Wyrsodick’s proposal.
“I understand they’ve maximized all their potential Funding,” Salter said. “Everybody agrees that we got to have quality schools for our children.”
-- Kevin Boyer and Duwayne Escobedo Sioux City school district hails extension of 'SAVE' sales tax for school facilities-- Sioux City Journal Iowa: April 26, 2019 [ abstract] SIOUX CITY -- The top administrator for the Sioux City public school district on Friday hailed passage of long-awaited state legislation aimed at extending a revenue source the district has tapped to build more than a dozen new schools.
"We celebrate passage of the SAVE legislation in the Iowa Legislature, and look forward to the governor signing this extension of the penny sales tax for school infrastructure into law," Sioux City superintendent Paul Gausman said in a statement.
"We have worked diligently to exhibit responsible use of this Funding, and the extension, once signed into law, will allow us to continue to use this long-term alternative to property taxes for school facilities and make further investments in school safety, 21st century technology, STEM and CTE (Career and Technical Education), science labs, and fine arts facilities."
The Iowa House on Thursday night gave its approval to SAVE, short for Secure an Advanced Vision for Education, which would extend the 1 percent sales tax until 2051.
-- Dave Dreeszen 40 school districts score $103M in state building funds-- Arkansas Democrat Gazette Arkansas: April 25, 2019 [ abstract] Forty Arkansas school districts will receive $103.7 million in state Funding for 56 campus construction, expansion and system replacement projects in the coming 2019-20 fiscal year.
The three-member Arkansas Commission for Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation on Wednesday unanimously approved state Funding for the individual projects for districts as large as Springdale, Little Rock, Benton, Cabot, Fort Smith and Arkadelphia, and as small as Earle, Bay and Maynard.
The West Memphis School District is in line to receive the largest amount of state Funding in this first year of a two-year Funding cycle. The district is scheduled to receive $11.2 million from the state for a new West Junior High School and $11.2 million for a new junior high to replace East and Wonder junior highs.
The newly approved Funding is the state's share of the cost of the local district building projects -- a percentage of the total project cost. The state's share is determined by a district's student enrollment and its local property tax wealth, with wealthier districts qualifying for smaller percentages of state building aid or even no state building aid.
-- Cynthia Howell County seeks action on school construction funding during special session-- WBALTV11 Maryland: April 25, 2019 [ abstract] TOWSON, Md. —
Baltimore County officials are making a last-minute plea for additional school construction money.
County leaders want Gov. Larry Hogan to permit lawmakers to take up a school construction bill during next week's special session. Some called the idea a longshot to have lawmakers add a school Funding bill to an agenda that has just one item to elect a new speaker of the House.
"Too many of our schools are aging. Too many of our schools are rundown," Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski said. "As the Legislature prepared to convene for a special session, I believe we have an opportunity to step up and do right by our children."
County officials said the right thing is more money to help replace rundown schools like Dulaney, Lansdowne and Towson high schools. It's money Baltimore County thought was on the way until a bill designed to secure the Funding failed in the state Senate.
"This was Baltimore County's most important priority. In fact, it was the county executive's only priority, and it was such a shame that it didn't get passed," state Sen. Chris West said.
The lack of state Funding put pressure on the county executive and Board of Education to make good on promises to build new high schools.
"It is vital that we have provide equitable, safe and healthy learning environments for each and every one of them," said Kathleen Causey, president of the Board of Education.
-- Tim Tooten Duval County Public Schools discusses how to fund nearly $2 billion to repair, replace schools-- Fox30 Florida: April 23, 2019 [ abstract] Duval County has some the oldest school buildings in the state — and citizens could be responsible to help pay for repairing and replacing them.
District leaders are now discussing Funding alternatives to property taxes, to come up with the $1.95 billion needed for the work.
Action News Jax reporter Courtney Cole spent the afternoon at a workshop with the Duval County School board, where they Funding options were discussed.
Dr. Diana Greene, superintendent of schools for Duval County, said there were two options:
imposing a sales surtax (i.e. the half-cent sales tax)
or
a millage increase (also known as property taxes)
All school board members were in agreement that they wiykd like to go the half-cent sales tax route.
A half-cent sales tax would generate $1.3 billion over a 15 year period.
"This is our opportunity to take a stand, to stop talking about what needs to be done and actually make it happen,” said Lori Hershey, the Duval County Public School board chairwoman.
-- Courtney Cole Proposed Legislation Could Be A Boon For Public Facilities-- Facility Executive National: April 22, 2019 [ abstract] Something good could happen as a result of congressional action. A recently introduced bill would provide a $5 billion boost for the construction and rehabilitation of government-owned buildings. The Public Buildings Renewal Act (S. 932), if passed by Congress, will open up tax-exempt financing for public buildings — many of which are in dire need of salvaging and/or improving.
Bill sponsors say the bill will encourage public-private partnerships for construction projects, lower the cost for taxpayers, and incentivize investors. It would also create jobs and provide an economic boost.
Many government facilities which heretofore have been ineligible for federal tax-exempt Funding could get significant attention because of the bill. Eligible facilities would include the following:
- an elementary or secondary school;
- facilities of a state college or university used for educational purposes;
- a public library;
- a courthouse;
- hospital, health care, laboratory or research facilities;
- public safety facilities; or
- offices for government employees.
-- Mary Scott Nabers Federal funds would target school repairs-- Sentinel & Enterprise Massachusetts: April 17, 2019 [ abstract] FITCHBURG -- Federal infrastructure Funding that is in the works could help the district address school building needs, 3rd District Congresswoman Lori Trahan told city and school leaders Tuesday.
The Rebuilding America's Schools Act proposes a $100 billion investment in school infrastructure through grants and bonds. It was approved by the House Committee on Education and Labor, on which Trahan sits.
"The school rebuilding part is geared toward schools like this in communities like Fitchburg," she said Tuesday at South Street Elementary School, the first stop of an infrastructure tour of her district.
Superintendent Bob Jokela suggested South Street Elementary as a focus of where federal school building infrastructure money could be used.
Other school buildings, like South Street, are older and are need in repair too.
"These schools are 60- to 70-years-old and they could go any time," he said.
Mayor Stephen DiNatale mentioned how Funding could be useful for cleaning up asbestos that is often found in older buildings.
"This money he would allow us to be proactive," he said.
-- Mina Corpuz CCSD approaching event horizon for school maintenance repairs-- Las Vegas Sun Nevada: April 14, 2019 [ abstract] For homebuyers who like vintage houses, there’s nothing quite like coming across one that’s been lovingly maintained.
Otherwise, headaches can abound in the form of Frankensteined wiring, wheezy air conditioners, rust-eaten plumbing and other problems that can quickly wreck a budget.
Old school buildings are no different, and that’s a major problem for the Clark County School District. As pointed out in a top-to-bottom study of the district’s operations last year, CCSD hasn’t had an overall plan for predictive, preventive or routine maintenance for its 360 school buildings. Rather, the district has simply been addressing problems as they’ve occurred.
The result: CCSD is facing $6 billion in deferred maintenance costs. And in the meantime, far too many Southern Nevada children are being educated in buildings where air conditioners go out, rainwater runs in through the roof and the plumbing goes bad.
To her credit, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., has partnered with a Republican colleague, Todd Young of Indiana, to introduce a bill that would help CCSD and districts nationwide deal with their infrastructure needs. The proposal, called the Public Buildings Renewal Act, would allow districts to enter into public-private partnerships to replace old buildings with new schools.
But while Cortez Masto’s bill might help CCSD make some progress, far more Funding will be needed to catch up to the problem.
-- Editorial Key local school issues put focus on state funding fight-- Dayton Daily News Ohio: April 14, 2019 [ abstract] Seven local school districts – most of them in wealthier communities — are asking for additional levy or bond Funding in the May 7 election, at the exact moment state legislators are debating how to fairly revamp a state Funding model that draws criticism from schools on all sides.
The question is how to build a Funding model that is fair to Ohio taxpayers and students in a poverty-wracked urban district, as well as the wealthy suburban district with no real commercial base, and the rural district with few students but miles of farmland.
Beavercreek schools Treasurer Penny Rucker has worked everywhere from Columbus and Dayton to Upper Arlington and Beavercreek and said “there’s no utopia,” as every district has hardships of one type or another.
“Other task forces studied the fairness and equity of Funding schools, and I’ve heard people say one Funding formula won’t do it,” she said. “You almost need five or six different formulas for all of the variables of the 600-plus districts and their dynamics. We’ll see what this group has, and we’ll try to work with it.”
Beavercreek, Bellbrook, Lebanon, Oakwood, Piqua, Tipp City and Valley View schools are on the ballot for additional tax money. All but Piqua rank in the top 20 percent of the state when it comes to the median income of their residents.
-- Jeremy P. Kelley California plan for school construction bonds sparks debate for reform-- EdSource California: April 12, 2019 [ abstract] For the past few years, a small group of advocates for equitable school construction has been examining how school districts with small tax bases and low-income families can get a bigger share of state Funding to upgrade school facilities.
Now, they say, there is an opportunity to make that happen.
On Wednesday, the Assembly Education Committee took the first step, by passing Assembly Bill 48, toward placing two K-12 and community college construction bonds of as-yet undetermined size before voters in 2020 and in 2022. Before the vote, representatives of many education groups and school districts voiced support.
The committee’s chairman, Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach, is championing the move, citing a huge unmet need for upgrading and building schools. Three years ago, voters passed Proposition 51, a $9 billion bond, of which $7 billion was earmarked for K-12 districts, but all of that money has since been divvied up.
The issue is timely because while the state spends billions to support the operations of K-12 schools, building construction is funded largely by bonds through local property taxes. A new plan to ask the public to support a bond to pay for school construction is prompting discussion on just how the money should be allocated.
The biggest question is whether the state should change the current “first-come first-served” system of matching grants to districts to one that targets money to the neediest districts.
Advocates for reform want the next bond issue to ensure that all California students have access to safe, up-to-date, fully equipped schools and classrooms, regardless of where they live. They want the Legislature to do for facilities Funding what it did for districts’ operating revenue seven years ago when, prodded by former Gov. Jerry Brown, it passed the Local Control Funding Formula.
-- JOHN FENSTERWALD Newport News officials outline proposal to fund school maintenance projects-- Daily Press Virginia: April 12, 2019 [ abstract] The Newport News School Board and City Council plan to meet Tuesday to discuss two proposals to close the gap between the school division’s approved operating budget and the overall city spending plan.
The proposed city contribution to the division’s budget next year includes $110.9 million in the general fund — the amount the city provided in the current budget — and just under $10 million in debt service for payments on school construction projects.
The general fund falls about $2.4 million short of the school division’s Funding request to operate the 27,000-student school system for the fiscal year that starts in July.
The school division’s budget, without any cuts made from not receiving more city Funding, comes in at $315.7 million — $197.4 million from the state, $113.3 million from the city, $3.1 million from the federal government and $1.8 million from other revenue sources.
It’s $10.7 million, or 3.5% , more than the current year, most of which is due to an additional $8.7 million in state revenue.
-- Jane Hammond and Josh Reyes New high schools to be delayed after state bill fizzles, Baltimore County executive says-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: April 10, 2019 [ abstract] After a $2 billion school construction bill stalled in the Maryland Senate at the end of the 2019 legislative session, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. said new school buildings on the county’s wish list will be delayed at least a year.
“There is no plan B,” Olszewski said Tuesday, the day after Sine Die, the last day of the legislative session.
“I am disappointed that we did not get the school construction Funding that was so desperately needed,” Olszewski said. “It’s unfortunate our students will not have the school facilities that they deserve as a result of the legislation’s failure.”
In recent weeks, Olszewski came out in strong support of the Build to Learn Act, a bill introduced in the House that would have authorized more than $2 billion in 30-year Maryland Stadium Authority bonds for school construction.
The county executive toured Lansdowne High School last week to draw attention to the aging school and bolster public support for the bill.
Lansdowne is not the only school advocates want to rebuild. Community members at Towson and Dulaney high schools, like Lansdowne, have said for years that the problems with those facilities — brown water, sinking foundations, overcrowded classrooms and more — are too dire to repair or renovate.
County officials have estimated the cost of building new high schools at more than $100 million each — a cost Olszewski said would be hard to swallow for Baltimore County, which is facing down a nearly $81 million deficit next fiscal year.
-- Libby Solomon Wisconsin voters again improve spending increase for schools, but some large building projects rejected-- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Wisconsin: April 10, 2019 [ abstract] Wisconsin voters in April continued a years-long trend of approving higher spending on schools in local district referendums.
According to Wisconsin Policy Forum report, voters approved referendum questions totaling $783 million. Total borrowing requests on school district ballots statewide reached $1.2 billion, with voters turning down some of the largest individual ballot items.
Voters approved 45 of the 60 questions on this year's ballot.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum report shows a 15 percent drop in approval ratings compared to last year when voters said yes to 90% of referendums on the ballot. Even so, 2019 ranked as the third-highest approval year since revenue caps were created in the 1993-94 school year.
"To get large numbers like these, you probably need a lot of things to happen at once," said Jason Stein, research director at the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
Factors such as the economy and interest rates often indicate how the public will vote on school spending. A recent Marquette University Law School survey showed that voters felt it was more important to spend on schools than to lower property taxes.
Much of the support was found in increases for basic district operations, such as teacher salaries, school maintenance, transportation and classroom spending. Districts have said that state-imposed spending caps and Wisconsin's school Funding formula have caused them to turn to local voters to approve higher spending.
-- Margaret Cannon Today’s school construction problems aren’t rooted in the Whitman administration, ex-commerce secretary says-- NJ.com New Jersey: April 04, 2019 [ abstract] It has become a practice in New Jersey political circles to place some responsibility for the current issues at the School Development Authority and the state’s fiscal challenges on Governor Christie Whitman. It is important for responsible policy makers, citizens and journalists to resist these bald attempts at revisionist history.
In 1998, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in the Abbott v. Burke casethat the state must provide 100 percent Funding for all school renovation and construction projects in special-needs school districts. According to the court, aging, unsafe and overcrowded buildings prevented poor children in those districts from receiving the “thorough and efficient” education required under the New Jersey Constitution.
In response to a court mandate, the Whitman Administration and the legislature enacted the New Jersey Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act on July 18, 2000, launching the School Construction Program. Full Funding for approved projects was authorized for the 31 special-needs districts, known as ‘Abbott Districts.’ In addition, grants totaling 40 percent of eligible costs were made available to the remaining school districts across the state.
Besides responding to a Supreme Court ruling, Governor Whitman was also motivated by a strong desire to improve the educational opportunities for the state’s most vulnerable populations. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority was tasked with operationalizing the School Construction Program. The Governor also appointed two of the state’s most respected public sector managers to head up the task: The late Caren Franzini and Beth E. Sztuk, both seasoned and respected public sector executives.
-- Opinion - Gualberto Medina Olszewski tours Lansdowne High to drum up support for state school construction funding bill-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: April 01, 2019 [ abstract] In Lansdowne High School, students enter cramped classrooms through too-narrow doorways. They drink bottled water because the taps run brown. They dodge supplies outside the library and cafeteria, stacked in the hallways because there is nowhere else to put them.
The cafeteria runs too cold — except when it is too hot. Floors crack as the building’s foundation settles. And with its five level changes in the hallways, according to Principal Ken Miller, students with disabilities cannot attend Lansdowne High at all.
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. said during a tour of Lansdowne High on Monday that the school needs a new building, and he called on state lawmakers to help pay for it by passing a school construction Funding bill currently pending in the Senate.
“We’re here to tell a story,” Olszewski said. “The need is great, the county’s ready to do our part, we’re ready to put up our 50 percent, but we need the state to be a partner.”
On the tour, Miller showed Olszewski, who was accompanied by interim school superintendent Verletta White and a group of elected officials, problems the school faces. He said staff work hard to keep the focus on academics, despite “obstacles.”
“It is a challenge, but it’s just something that we have to deal with,” Miller said. “And obviously if we had a new facility it would alleviate those obstacles and make things a little easier. But we just keep focused on the goal, which is the academics and the success of our students.”
“We have amazing teachers and we have amazing students as well doing great things,” White said after the tour. “We’re going to continue to do those great things. But we need the time, the space, the place and a facility that’s conducive to learning in order to keep that momentum going.”
-- Libby Solomon Some districts can’t afford school safety money that comes with strings attached-- Albuquerque Journal New Mexico: March 31, 2019 [ abstract] The Legislature set aside millions of dollars to ramp up school safety, but some school districts in the state can’t afford to accept the money.
That’s because of expensive contingencies placed on the Funding.
Districts must pledge a certain percentage of their own budget, called a match, and must pay offsets, money owed to the state from past appropriations, before being awarded school security dollars.
Quemado Schools, a small rural district in Catron County, was one of the districts that couldn’t afford to take on the obligations attached to the state Funding.
David Lackey, superintendent of Quemado Schools, told the Journal that if he accepted the awards, his district wouldn’t see any additional Funding.
Rather, he explained, the legislative dollars would have gone toward about $110,000 in offsets in Quemado.
“Zero dollars would come into the school district,” Lackey said.
And had they accepted the state money, the district would still have been locked in to spending its own money toward security.
“Ultimately, the match and the offset committed the district to too much money,” Lackey said.
-- SHELBY PEREA Moore County Schools Searching For Ways to Cover Construction Shortfall-- The Pilot North Carolina: March 29, 2019 [ abstract] While Moore County Schools spends the next few weeks identifying nearly $2.7 million in cuts to three new elementary school construction projects, the school board will try to find ways of covering that shortfall.
The board discussed the conundrum in a special meeting on Friday morning, 10 days after the county commissioners asserted that they don’t plan to provide Funding for the schools beyond the $103 million financed through general obligation bonds that voters approved last May.
On March 5, the commissioners approved a $2.7 million cost overrun on the new elementary school on Morganton Road that will replace the current Southern Pines primary and elementary schools. Though the four new 800-student elementary schools slated to open between now and 2021 are very similar, their ultimate price tags are proving to be unpredictable. That’s due in part to variances in the amount of work involved in preparing each site for construction, but the school board is placing most of the blame on inflation.
“All of these overages are not because we didn’t do a proper estimation,” said board member Ed Dennison, who recalled vigorous debate between the school board and commissioners over the 4 percent annual inflation projection included in determining each project’s budget and the overall bond amount.
“All of the overage is because the inflation rate went up higher, really, than we were allowed to use when we did our proposal.”
-- MARY KATE MURPHY Audit: poor accounting, mismanagement contributed to confusion over RPS capital funding-- Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia: March 28, 2019 [ abstract] Inaccurate books. Poor communication. Misused money.
All hampered city and schools officials during the past five years and contributed to confusion over the amount of construction and maintenance money available to Richmond Public Schools during last year’s budget process, according to a report issued this week by the city auditor.
The audit doesn’t match Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney’s description of a financial house in order at recent town halls where he’s selling a tax increase, thrusting the survival of his pitch to raise the real estate tax rate from $1.20 to $1.29 per $100 of assessed value further into question.
Most Richmond City Council members have said they won’t support the increase, but Stoney’s spending plan, including $19 million he has proposed for RPS maintenance projects such as HVAC and roof repair, depends on it.
Kimberly Gray, the 2nd District councilwoman and a frequent critic of Stoney, seized on the auditor’s findings as evidence that the city and school system hadn’t properly handled the money they already have.
“We cannot afford to have this level of waste and the lack of accountability,” Gray said.
Auditor Lou Lassiter’s analysis began at the council’s request after city and school officials clashed last year over how much remained in the school system’s maintenance and construction budget.
Council members thought RPS had a certain amount of money. The school system said it had far less. Months later, after purportedly balancing the books, Stoney’s administration announced different figures altogether.
-- Mark Robinson Engineering reports reveal extent of earthquake damage at Eagle River schools-- Anchorage Daily News Alaska: March 28, 2019 [ abstract] The Anchorage School District has released engineering reports detailing the extent of damage at Gruening Middle School and Eagle River Elementary by the Nov. 30 earthquake.
The reports prepared by Anchorage firm BDS Architects include an analysis of damage as well as options (and cost estimates) for repairing or replacing the facilities, both of which have been closed since the quake. According to the firm, Eagle River Elementary will cost about $12.1 million to repair and add code and building improvements, while Gruening repairs and upgrades will cost about $23.3 million.
The district and Anchorage School Board have already endorsed fixing both facilities, with the bulk of Funding expected to be reimbursed with state and federal emergency funds. An upcoming $59 million bond before Anchorage voters includes $4 million for earthquake repairs and Funding for a new roof at Eagle River Elementary.
At Eagle River Elementary, most of the worst damage occurred in the gym, which has serious wall damage. At Gruening, shifting steel columns caused broken block walls, the roof is dislodged from the walls in two places, the east stairwell has shifted and there are cracks in the masonry throughout the building. Both buildings also need seismic upgrades.
-- Matt Tunseth No funding for $174M plan to cut classroom trailers in Prince William-- Inside Nova Virginia: March 28, 2019 [ abstract] Despite agreeing on a plan to reduce the number of classroom trailers at Prince William County schools within the next decade, leaders still have not identified a source to cover the expected $174 million cost.
County Supervisor Frank Principi, D-Woodbridge, said he was frustrated by the lack of Funding for the trailer plan.
“We’re losing the opportunity to get [the plan] in fiscal year 2020,” noting the board of county supervisors wants to have the budget done by April 30.
Principi is one of three supervisors working with three school board members on a joint committee created two years ago to discuss capital needs — like school additions and new school construction.
The committee voted in October to approve a plan to eliminate the 206 portable trailers used as classrooms at 44 schools. The plan could be added to the school division’s 10-year capital improvement program, which accounts for all new school construction, expansions and other projects. In total, the plan proposes to add an additional 133 new classrooms to the school division’s construction plans.
Safety and improved student performance are some of the reasons to build new schools or additions to get students out of trailers, Principi said. Without another Funding option, the county’s tax rate may have to be increased in fiscal year 2021 if the two boards are serious about eliminating trailers.
-- Emily Sides Shelby board of education could soon face big decision on school construction-- Mansfield News Journal Ohio: March 26, 2019 [ abstract] SHELBY - The board of education might have to make an important decision very soon regarding school construction.
In May, Shelby school officials should learn if the state will provide money for construction of a new school, as long as they can come up with their local match.
After a third bond issue failed in November, the district proposed to the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission that it believed it could finance its share of the cost of the project without having to go back to voters.
The solution was not possible before November because money from the Rover Pipeline had not been confirmed.
Since then, the OFCC has put Shelby on a list of eight districts to receive money possibly when it becomes available.
"Seven of the eight schools have passed bond issues," said David Conley, who provides municipal advisory services for the district. "They're waiting until May because there are other schools on the ballot who could leapfrog schools on the list."
In other words, the Funding is no sure thing.
"There's nothing that's written in stone," Superintendent Tim Tarvin said. "The hope is that the OFCC will notify school districts who are going to receive money in May. They'll take those schools to the July commission meeting."
-- Mark Caudill Work continues towards Austin ISD school consolidations, budget fixes-- Community Impact Newspaper Texas: March 24, 2019 [ abstract] Austin ISD is facing a significant budget shortfall: As district enrollment has dropped by roughly 5,000 students over five years, annual pressures felt through required recapture payments to the state have increased.
After approving a budget with a deficit of over $28 million last summer, AISD Chief of Business and Operations Nicole Conley Johnson said the district could face a $65 million deficit for fiscal year 2019-20 if cost-cutting measures are not taken and no additional state Funding is given to the district. However, that projected deficit would be significantly lower if state lawmakers pass school finance reform during the ongoing legislative session, she said.
Additionally, both the district’s financial staff and budget stabilization task force, a group of citizens formed by the district to evaluate the budget, have presented possible cuts and savings that could mitigate a deficit in the future.
One idea presented by both groups included closing or consolidating schools to better use district resources. While the schools involved have yet to be determined, trustees in February approved a timeline that outlined what the process will look like.
“It’s the estimation of this trustee that schools must close,” District 2 trustee Jayme Mathias said at a Feb. 26 board meeting. “We’re continuing to spread less and less students over the same number of facilities or an increasing number of facilities.”
-- Nicholas Cicale and Jack Flagler A look inside Greenport School as district prepares Capital Improvement Plan-- The Suffolk Times New York: March 22, 2019 [ abstract] 1,600 cracked floor tiles.
That’s a portion of what the Greenport Union Free School District’s proposed $27.1 million bond project, or Capital Improvement Plan, would fix. The project, first proposed last February, would transform and refurbish multiple parts of the school.
Three options are currently in play for the project. A second option would eliminate Funding for a turf field and lower the bond cost to $24.9 million. A third option would also eliminate field repairs and tennis court repairs and cost $22.2 million.
The Suffolk Times conducted a guided building walk-through with Superintendent David Gamberg and maintenance mechanic Charles Mosher to review the physical parts of the school that require updates.
At previous school board meetings, some community members criticized the district for not being explicit enough on where the bond money would go. The plan would raise the tax levy a minimum of roughly $410 for the average Greenport homeowner, based on the third option of $22.2 million.
The majority of the money for the project will be generated by bond sales. An additional $25,000 will be appropriated from the Capital Reserve Fund.
-- Kate Nalepinski New Haven Community Schools seeks $25M bond to upgrade schools-- The Voice Michigan: March 22, 2019 [ abstract] New Haven Community Schools will ask voters this spring to approve a $25 million bond proposal that would allow the district to remodel and upgrade its facilities.
School officials are hoping to obtain Funding to complete a slew of projects aimed at bringing the district up to date and improving the students’ learning environment. Proposed projects include updating technology, enhancing school security, replacing school buses and improving school sites, playgrounds and athletic facilities.
“This is a win-win proposal for our students and the New Haven community,” school board President Sue Simon said. “I also believe a successful bond will attract new families to New Haven and have a positive effect on homeowner property values.”
If approved, the current tax rate is projected to increase by .9 mills, costing the average taxpayer an additional $32.40 per year. The district would sell the bonds in two phases, one in 2019 and the other in 2024, in an effort to reduce interest costs.
“If approved by voters, the bond proposal will help assure that our schools and school facilities support 21st century instruction and learning,” Superintendent Barbara VanSweden said. “In addition to financing updates of New Haven’s schools, the bond proposal funds will be used to enhance student safety by constructing secure school entrances, to update technology and related infrastructure, and to replace school buses as they wear out.”
-- Katelyn Larese Trump's border wall money may come at expense of schools for military kids-- Reuters DoDEA: March 20, 2019 [ abstract] WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Defense is proposing to pay for President Donald Trump’s much-debated border wall by shifting funds away from projects that include $1.2 billion for schools, childcare centers and other facilities for military children, according to a list it has provided to lawmakers.
The Pentagon gave Congress a list on Monday that included $12.8 billion of construction projects for which it said funds could be redirected. Around 10 percent of the list relates to educational establishments and includes school buildings for the children of service members in places like Germany, Japan, Kentucky and Puerto Rico.
The move comes as a surprise given the Trump administration’s oft-touted support for the sacrifices made by military families and suggests the White House’s desire to build a wall on the border with Mexico outstrips nearly all other issues.
However, of the $1.2 billion in projects related to education, approximately $800 million worth are far in the future, and those funds could readily be used for wall construction and replaced later.
The Pentagon told Congress that just because a project was listed, it “does not mean that the project will, in fact, be used” as a Funding source to build sections of the border wall.
Trump earlier in March asked for $8.6 billion in his 2020 budget request to help pay for his promised wall on the U.S-Mexico border to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking. It drew swift criticism from Democrats.
-- Mike Stone Amherst councilors hear from public on school building plans-- Daily Hampshire Gazette Massachusetts: March 19, 2019 [ abstract] AMHERST — Before she began teaching at Wildwood School several years ago, Kristen Roeder never got sick with pneumonia. Since Roeder’s been at the elementary school, which has been the subject of air quality complaints, she’s been afflicted with the illness four times.
At Fort River School, a leaky roof caused a portion of the ceiling in Nicole Singer’s art classroom to collapse over a kiln. Nevertheless, she said children still appreciate coming to art class where there are four walls as opposed to the elementary school’s open-air classrooms.
“I want to see students enjoy the rest of the building the way they do the art room,” Singer said.
Roeder and Singer were among more than 20 teachers, parents and residents who packed into a room at Town Hall Monday evening to offer testimony to the Town Council about the conditions of the two 1970s-era school buildings in advance of the council’s April 1 vote. That vote will determine whether statements of interest are submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority seeking Funding to replace both Wildwood and Fort River.
The proposal the council would be endorsing is still being refined, but is expected to be different from the one voters narrowly approved in November 2016 but which was unable to muster support from Town Meeting.
-- SCOTT MERZBACH Maryland House of Delegates passes $2.2B school construction bill-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: March 19, 2019 [ abstract] The Maryland House of Delegates has overwhelmingly passed legislation to provide $2.2 billion in school construction Funding — on top of current school projects — by fiscal year 2020.
The Build to Learn Act, sponsored by House Majority Leader Del. Kathleen Dumais, a Montgomery County Democrat, passed by a 133-3 margin late Monday.
“Students should have a good learning environment, no matter their zip code,” House of Delegates Speaker Michael Busch said in a statement.
This bill authorizes $2.2 billion in 30-year Maryland Stadium Authority bonds for school construction. Local educational authorities must give priority to older schools with significant facility deficiencies, those with high concentrations of students in poverty, and overcrowded schools, lawmakers said.
The Democratic-backed legislation is a larger version of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s Building Opportunity Act, which would authorize the Maryland Stadium Authority to issue up to $1.8 billion in revenue bonds, backed by annual payments of $125 million from the Education Trust Fund beginning in fiscal 2021, to be used for public school construction projects in the state.
-- Luke Broadwater Senate backs interim committee on school construction, maintenance-- Idaho Press Idaho: March 19, 2019 [ abstract] The Senate just voted 26-7 in favor of a resolution to set up an interim committee to study Idaho’s methodologies for public school construction and maintenance in Idaho, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Winder, R-Boise, said is a continuing problem that the three years of study of Idaho’s school Funding formula didn’t address, because it wasn’t within that panel’s purview. Idaho requires school district patrons to vote by a two-thirds supermajority to raise their own property taxes to pass a bond to build a new school. Voters also must approve tax levies for facilities improvement and maintenance.
-- Betsy Russell Keno cash for NH school building aid passes Senate-- Seacoast Online New Hampshire: March 15, 2019 [ abstract] CONCORD -- The state Senate unanimously approved a bill Thursday that would increase full-day kindergarten Funding, remove Keno revenue from the equation and restore school building aid.
Senate Bill 266, sponsored by Sen. David Watters, D-Dover, would shift the state’s Keno gambling game revenue away from kindergarten and toward school building aid, as well as draw an additional $15 million from the state’s education trust fund to help municipalities more fully cover the cost of full-day kindergarten.
Thursday’s 24-0 vote on Senate Bill 266 comes two days after dozens of communities voted at town meeting whether to allow Keno in their communities.
Barrington was among the local towns that voted against Keno Tuesday, while Northwood voted yes and joined a number of area communities that have already approved it, including Somersworth, Rollinsford, Hampton, Seabrook, Newmarket, Milton and Epping.
-- Kyle Stucker Once slated for closure due to low enrollment, turnaround at Francis-Stevens yields new challenge-- The DC Line District of Columbia: March 15, 2019 [ abstract] DC Public Schools plans to resolve an impending over-enrollment problem at School Without Walls at Francis-Stevens by increasing Funding and creating three new classrooms, school system representatives said at a recent community meeting. The need to do so marks a turnaround at the Ward 2 school, which was re-envisioned in 2013 after being targeted for closure because of too few students.
Community members began pushing months ago for the city to meet the need for additional funds and space, attracting attention from the DC Council and three local advisory neighborhood commissions, including ANC 2A (Foggy Bottom/West End).
“We cannot wait until August when children show up to then try to hire teachers who fit in with the culture and the standards that we have enacted,” Walls parent Julian Wright said at a DC Council public roundtable on Feb. 12. “At that point, there will be no one in the pool.”
An unusually large influx of students from its two feeder elementary schools contributed to over-enrollment in the sixth-grade class at School Without Walls at Francis-Stevens for the 2019-20 school year, principal Richard Trogisch told ANC 2A last month. The school is expecting 17 students from Ross and 16 from Thomson — which, when combined with Francis-Stevens’ own fifth-grade class of 40, far exceeds the 50 sixth-graders the school is currently equipped to handle.
-- Jake Maher Editorial: Rural school districts deserve assistance to get construction funding-- Yakima Herald Washington: March 14, 2019 [ abstract] Like many rural schools built during the Depression era, Harrah Elementary in the tiny Mt. Adams School District was always more Doreatha Lang shabby than art deco chic. As decades passed, so, too, did the usefulness of the building, though generations of students admirably pressed on and endured the crumbling classrooms, lately getting some instruction in a musty bus barn and portables with iffy heating.
But then, what option did the district have?
Mt. Adams’ enrollment fluctuates but never rises to four figures and, with much of its land tax-exempted because it falls on the Yakama reservation, there’s little tax base (1,894 registered voters, at last count), so passing a construction bond or levy wouldn’t raise enough funds if it passed, which it never did.
Grim, folks. Grim as “The Grapes of Wrath,” released a scant two years after Harrah Elementary’s construction in 1937.
Yet, there is celebration in this tight-knit community southwest of Yakima. Through state funds from the School Construction Assistance Program, as well as some clever financial finagling by capital budget whiz Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, Harrah has scrimped and saved and checked under the couch cushions and come up with the $27 million needed to break ground on a new facility that will be more conducive to learning and less so to hypothermia in winter months.
So, a happy ending, right?
In a way. But Honeyford’s crafty Ways & Means Committee maneuvering that last year enabled Mt. Adams and three other small, rural districts proceed with construction was merely a one-off.
Now comes the hard work of passing legislation that will ensure that districts with little tax base and lots of abject poverty — whose chances of reaching a 60-percent “yes” vote on bond measures seem as likely as the Sonics returning to Seattle — will be able to replace dilapidated structures and give students the resources they deserve.
-- The Yakima Herald-Republic Editorial Board County Commission passes half-cent sales tax for school facilities, safety-- The Cullman Times Alabama: March 12, 2019 [ abstract] The Cullman County Commission has passed a half-cent sales tax increase that will go toward improving the safety and facilities of the Cullman County School System.
The tax, which will last for 15 years, will go toward facility improvements and additional safety measures on the campuses of Cullman County Schools, said Cullman County School Superintendent Shane Barnette.
Barnette attended the County Commission's meeting Tuesday morning after a resolution to request additional Funding was passed at a special called meeting of the Cullman County School Board.
"We feel like it's time that we invest in the students of Cullman County," he said to the commission.
Barnette said some of the security measures will remain confidential to the general public, but there is a plan for an integrated camera system across the county, along with new keypad locks and fencing and the possible hiring of additional school resource officers.
Cullman County Commission Chairman Kenneth Walker said most of the school system's security comes from the Cullman County Sheriff's Office, so any additional security measures at the schools would have been paid by Cullman County taxpayers even without the half-cent tax increase.
"If we hadn't have done that, it would have come out of the general fund anyway," he said
-- Tyler Hanes Proposed bill to help fund school construction supported by County Commission-- Clarksville Now Tennessee: March 12, 2019 [ abstract] The Montgomery County Commission voted this week to support a bill that would create additional Funding for the construction of schools in Clarksville-Montgomery County.
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The Montgomery County Commission voted this week to support a bill that would create additional Funding for the construction of schools in Clarksville-Montgomery County.
The decision to support the bill was unanimous with a vote of 21-0.
House Bill 124 (TN Local Education Capital Investment Act), sponsored by Rep. Jason Hodges of Clarksville, would provide Funding for “rapid growth school districts” in need of assistance with school construction.
“Clarksville is growing at a tremendous pace right now,” Hodges said. “Communities are having a really tough time keeping up with the growth, especially for schools. ”
Enrollment growth in the district continues to rise at a 30-year average of approximately 654 students per year, according to a study by the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS) based on 2017-2018 enrollment data.
The study says capacity at the elementary school level continues to be strained throughout the district, which requires the construction of new schools to avoid overcrowding. Middle school capacity is currently at a ‘critical’ level across the district with little room to absorb additional growth.
Hodges said new schools can cost upwards of $25 million to construct, a price tag that becomes unsustainable for local governments. These costs have led to property tax increases and higher vehicle registration fees for citizens.
-- Nicole June After 82 years, Mt. Adams School District poised to finally build new elementary school-- Yakima Herald Washington: March 09, 2019 [ abstract] A long-awaited replacement for the 82-year-old Harrah Elementary School building in Mt. Adams School District is close to becoming a reality, with Funding nailed down and a land purchase in negotiation.
If all goes to plan, the new school will be built on 70 acres of farmland adjacent to the east town limits and will house students from kindergarten through eighth grade.
“They’ve been anticipating this for years, so it’s really exciting,” Superintendent Curt Guaglianone said of the community. “During our board meeting when we announced it — when the board says, ‘Yes, we’re purchasing this land. Yes, we’re going to build this school’ — we had three people in tears. ... Community members just didn’t think it would ever, ever, ever happen.”
Finding the funds
The community has tried for 30 to 40 years to raise the funds to build a new school, Guaglianone said, but has never been successful. While the roughly 900-student district is the second largest in the state geographically, it has a small tax base. Much of the land in the district is tax-exempt as part of the Yakama reservation.
“We have more miles and acreage than any other than one district in the state, but yet our tax base is the lowest,” he said. “The tax burden falls on a very small number of people and that’s because we’re on federally impacted land… (so) the federal government has taken land off of our tax rolls.”
Because of this, the district has struggled to raise the bond or levy money necessary to fund the construction of a new school. In the last year, the district ran two bond measures for the cause, for $4 million and $3 million respectively. But the district didn’t get the required 60 percent support from voters. The number of registered voters in the district was 1,894 in 2018.
-- Janelle Retka Illinois schools hungry for capital-program funding-- WRAL.com Illinois: March 09, 2019 [ abstract] NEW BERLIN, ILL. — Outside the wide, well-lit hallways of the New Berlin Elementary School, there's a roomy expanse of school district-owned farmland, and to the south of that, the problem that farmland might one day solve.
The junior-senior high school, first built just after World War I, has been cobbled together with five additions, the latest of which was a half-century ago. The oldest section's electrical grid won't support air conditioning. The cramped cafeteria hosts so many lunch periods they nearly collide with breakfast and dinner.
It stands in stark contrast to the pre-K to 5th grade center, a gem built in 2009 for $14.5 million, subsidized, on paper, by a state contribution of $5 million from an innovative, 20-year-old school-construction grant program. But the state hasn't funded it in a decade and New Berlin, 18 miles (29 kilometers) west of Springfield, waits for its promised $5 million, reluctant to invest in long-term solutions for the problematic high school.
"There is an opportunity cost," New Berlin School Superintendent Adam Ehrman said in the grade school. "It's $5 million of our money that we've had to continue for 10 years to put into this building that we've not invested into the market. Students' education can't always wait."
The new governor, Democrat J.B. Pritzker, has proposed a multibillion-dollar state construction program. Educators such as Ehrman have a suggestion for where to put a chunk of it.
-- JOHN O'CONNOR, AP Political Writer Colorado considers giving full $58M in marijuana tax dollars to school infrastructure-- Education Drive Colorado: March 08, 2019 [ abstract] In many school districts, facility needs are met primarily from local Funding and are often funded by property taxes. However, this Funding method can create inequities between rich and poor areas, leaving many lower-income districts with facility needs that are left unmet. Colorado tried to address the issue by funneling portions of certain taxes on marijuana into its BEST program, which serves to help districts who need it most. But now, it's considering increasing that Funding as the state struggles to meet more facility needs than it can handle.
Colorado is one of many states that has elected to use “sin taxes” to fund education needs. Sin taxes have a long history in the U.S. and are often seen as a way to make “undesirable behaviors” help pay for public needs. In the past, sin taxes have been imposed on items such as alcohol and tobacco and on behaviors such as gambling. Many states use lottery Funding, which is often classified as a sin tax, to fund education. And in recent years, as more states have legalized marijuana, taxes on these sales have been used to fund educational activities ranging from school construction to preschool education.
-- AMELIA HARPER Brookline debates bundling of school building projects-- Wicked Local Brookline Massachusetts: March 07, 2019 [ abstract] Stronger together or better apart?
That is the question Brookline residents considered at Tuesday night’s Select Board meeting, discussing whether to “bundle” and include two school building projects on one debt exclusion question for the May election.
More than 40 residents turned out to share their thoughts on the debt exclusion questions for the Driscoll and Baldwin school building projects. The two projects, along with a renovation/addition project at the Pierce School, are part of the town’s three-pronged solution to overcrowding in public K-8 schools.
On May 7, Brookline voters will likely be asked to fund the Driscoll and Baldwin projects via debt exclusion overrides. However, community members disagree on whether to bundle the overrides on one question or ask voters to consider them separately.
Town Meeting member John VanScoyoc presented an open letter signed by more than 190 residents, calling for a separate vote on the two overrides. To bundle the two would be undemocratic, he asserted, as it would take away voters’ ability to judge each capital project on its own merits.
“The obvious problem with bundling is that it denies voters their one and only opportunity to express themselves separately on the Funding essential to each individual school project,” VanScoyoc said.
Fear that one project might fail is not a strong enough justification for bundling, he said.
“Suffice it to say that Baldwin is more controversial than Driscoll,” former Selectman Dick Benka said at the meeting. “The hope with bundling is that Driscoll would pull Baldwin across the finish line, but that if you give separate choices for the two projects, Driscoll could pass and Baldwin could fail.”
The Baldwin site has not been without controversy, facing land use restrictions and concerns from some residents, who claim the project will have an adverse effect on the neighborhood.
-- Abby Patkin New report: Legislation to address NC’s school building crisis would only begin to address school facility needs-- NC Policy Watch North Carolina: March 06, 2019 [ abstract] North Carolina lawmakers are debating two proposals that would direct state money to fund long overdue public school construction needs, but both fall short of offering sustainable solutions for the state, according to a new report from the NC Justice Center. Ultimately, rolling back tax cuts made in the last several years could completely address the state’s school building needs without undermining Funding for education.
“Where students learn matters for their educational outcomes,” said Kris Nordstrom, Senior Policy Analyst with the Justice Center’s Education & Law Project and co-author of the report. “Leaving children to learn in unhealthy, unsafe environments will have a negative impact on their well-being now and in the future as well as our state’s educational goals.”
North Carolina has a massive backlog in needed investments such as school construction and repairs, the report said, across a range of projects in communities facing very different demographic and fiscal challenges. Rapidly growing populations in some urban parts of the state drive needs for construction, while economically struggling communities lack the tax base to fix aging and dilapidated school buildings.
-- Rob Schofield Rep. Bobby Scott: Trump Drama Shrouds $23B Schools Disparity-- The Washington Informer National: March 06, 2019 [ abstract] The controversial blackface and sexual assault scandals that have rocked the Virginia leadership and the drama that regularly surrounds President Donald Trump simply act as distractions, said Rep. Bobby Scott.
Those distractions lead the media and others to take their eyes off what’s vital to everyday life, particularly for African Americans, said Scott, chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor.
The Virginia Democrat highlighted two important bills he recently spearheaded that’s received little or no attention.
His committee voted this week in favor of the Rebuild America’s School Act that would provide about $100 billion for school infrastructure and Scott and his colleagues also advanced the Paycheck Fairness Act which toughens penalties that businesses face for gender-pay disparities.
“The first thing we have to do is focus on the issues,” Scott said. “We can’t spend all of our time talking about [the scandals] and not talking about equity in education. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be able to succeed in life if denied an opportunity of an education [and] that such an opportunity is a right that must be equal for all.”
The congressman’s comments and the advancement of the Rebuild America’s School Act come as a new report revealed that white school districts receive $23 billion more in Funding than non-white districts despite serving the same number of students.
-- Stacy Brown APS may divert $3M for maintenance costs-- Albuquerque Journal New Mexico: March 05, 2019 [ abstract] ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque Public Schools, one of the largest school districts in the country, with nearly 145 schools and over 80,000 students, now has a financial plan to maintain facilities for another year after voters recently rejected the mill levy/bond package that included maintenance money for the district.
But APS higher-ups Scott Elder, chief operations officer, and Tami Coleman, chief finance officer, anticipate that up to $3 million will have to be tapped from the operational fund – the pot of money that pays for things such as teacher and staff salaries, and day-to-day expenses.
Voters rejected APS’ entire mill levy/bond package last month in a special, mail-in election.
One of the measures would have resulted in $30 million a year for maintenance and equipment, and would not have raised taxes. Since voters didn’t approve it, APS is having to make do with the current mill levy Funding that is still trickling in. That was approved by voters in 2013, but will run out by July 1.
-- SHELBY PEREA Does the state’s school building reimbursement formula hurt poor cities and towns?-- MASS Live Massachusetts: March 01, 2019 [ abstract] A formula created in 2004 to ensure the state was giving poor cities and towns enough help building new schools includes a quirk that some say is now hurting the same communities it was meant to help.
“It perpetuates inequity,” said state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, who introduced a bill to change the formula.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority provides state Funding for school building projects that is matched with money from cities and towns.
The state covers between 40 percent and 80 percent of eligible construction costs. The size of the state match is calculated based on a formula that reflects how poor the community is — so poorer communities get more money.
The state Funding does not cover the full percentage of construction costs because certain expenses are ineligible for reimbursement, like legal fees or asbestos removal. There is also a cap on the total amount the state is willing to pay per square foot, which is virtually always lower than the actual cost.
So, an 80 percent reimbursement rate generally means that around 62 percent of costs are actually covered.
The program also allows communities to apply for “incentive points,” which raise the size of the state match. Districts get points for things like building energy efficient facilities, regionalizing a school district, renovating existing buildings or adopting best practices for maintenance.
-- Shira Schoenberg Konfrst: Funding school infrastructure benefits everyone-- Des Moines Register Iowa: March 01, 2019 [ abstract] Great communities are centered on great schools that help boost the quality of life for everyone. Strong schools are critical for boosting today’s families and for building tomorrow’s leaders and workforce.
That's why extension of the SAVE (Securing an Advanced Vision for Education) program for our schools is essential.
In 2008, the Legislature approved making a statewide sales tax a permanent source of revenue for improving school buildings across the state. This allows schools to ensure students have quality learning environments while preserving general fund dollars for direct education costs.
Des Moines Public Schools has secured more than $243 million to improve buildings, including security and technology and to boost energy efficiency for cost savings and the environment. West Des Moines Community Schools has made improvements to nearly every building over the past decade, including upgrading mechanical systems, science labs and art rooms, improving security, and updating technology.
-- Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, House District 43 Growth in Houston County kindles need for school expansion, more revenue-- Dothan Eagle Alabama: February 28, 2019 [ abstract] Continued growth in some Houston County schools is sparking the need for structural expansion and more revenue from local sources.
At a recent Houston County Board Commission meeting, Superintendent David Sewell made the case for an additional $10 million next year, in part to fund many necessary expansion projects and overdue renovations necessary to meet state regulations.
“To continue to grow, we need more Funding,” Sewell said. “We need more Funding at the local level. The public needs to know what these needs are, and I feel like our county will come through with this.”
The system has experienced a concentration of students pouring into Rehobeth and Wicksburg school districts over the last 15 years.
All three Rehobeth schools have grown an average of 21 percent in enrollment since Rehobeth High School, an $11.3 million project, was built in 2003 to accommodate students in Houston County’s fastest growing school district. In 2013, a new wing was built for an increasing number of ninth graders. Since then, the schools have experienced a 9 percent growth for all-time high enrollment numbers in 2018.
Students have outgrown many of the buildings’ limitations. The cafeteria at Rehobeth Middle School, for example, was originally built to serve fewer than 500 students. It is now serving 1,700 students from the middle and elementary schools at lunch time, which is spread from around 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
-- Sable Riley Maryland county executives testify in support of bill to boost school construction funds-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: February 28, 2019 [ abstract] Maryland county leaders, including Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., testified Wednesday in Annapolis in support of a bill that could add $1.8 billion to the state’s school construction Funding over the next four years.
The plan by Gov. Larry Hogan would use revenue bonds funded by casino gaming revenues to pay for public school construction projects through a program run by the Maryland Stadium Authority.
Olszewski told the Maryland Senate’s Budget and Taxation Committee that without the additional Funding, school projects that Baltimore County parents expect could grind to a halt.
-- Libby Solomon North Carolina lawmakers file bill seeking $2 billion school construction bonds-- abc 11 North Carolina: February 28, 2019 [ abstract] With so much growth in North Carolina, school construction has been the norm, and in the coming years, we could see even more.
"The backlog of school construction needs is so vast that counties need the assistance of the state, as they have periodically provided over the last half a century or more," NC School Boards Association's Director of Governmental Relations Leanne Winner said.
Speaker Tim Moore along with other lawmakers introduced House Bill 241, which calls for a $1.9 billion general obligation bonds to pay for construction at public schools.
"If I didn't believe that this was a fiscally responsible approach, that this was a way that actually is a fiscally conservative approach for taxpayers, you wouldn't see me standing before you advocating this," Moore said.
In the past, school districts have mostly relied on money raised locally in the county. It's been 20 years since the state has stepped in with major Funding.
"This is a positive approach to being able to inject that money quickly and aid the locals in their efforts to keep up," North Carolina Rep. Jeffery Elmore (R-94th District) said.
-- Ana Rivera Survey results favor high school renovation or replacement-- Coshocton Tribune Ohio: February 28, 2019 [ abstract] COSHOCTON – The majority of individuals appear to be in favor of renovations or replacement of Coshocton High School, according to a recently completed survey.
Coshocton City Schools have received answers from a survey circulated by SPH Leading Design, a design and architectural firm from Columbus specializing in educational facilities. According to results, most people agree the high school should be replaced or renovated, and lags behind the new elementary building in most regards.
The high school building houses grades seventh to 12th and opened in 1970. The elementary building has grades kindergarten through sixth. Coshocton Elementary School started classes in October 2013 and houses about 1,000 students. About 67 percent of Funding came from the state with the remainder from a 3.16 mill bond issue approved by district voters in May 2010 for construction.
The survey had 492 respondents with 87.8 percent living in the district and 43.3 percent having children currently enrolled in the district. Participants were asked to reply to questions on a one to five scale where one was totally disagree and five was totally agree. Superintendent David Hire said more than half of people participating not being current parents of school-aged children was good for results, as parents can be a bit biased regarding their own children’s education.
-- Leonard Hayhurt Consultant: Greenwich school district lacks policies for managing projects-- Greenwich Time Connecticut: February 27, 2019 [ abstract] GREENWICH — When Interim Superintendent Ralph Mayo walked into his new office last July 15, his chief operating officer told him point-blank that the school district has few systems in place to manage capital projects.
That was because earlier that month, members of the town’s finance department discovered that work had started to replace the roof at Julian Curtiss School without the Funding in place to pay for it.
An interim appropriation for $617,000 was rushed through the Board of Education, the Board of Estimate and Taxation and the Representative Town Meeting. As the request made its way through the process, town officials asked how such a misstep could have occurred.
Together, the BOE and the BET asked blumshapiro, a consulting firm, to investigate how the district manages maintenance work and capital projects.
The boards got their answer Tuesday night. The school district has no policies outlining to staff how to open, manage and close projects; no checklists to hold them accountable; no software to keep track of progress; and little understanding of their financial management software, MUNIS, the consultants said.
“We had hoped to see policies, procedures and a protocol manual,” blumshapiro partner Jeff Ziplow said. “That does not exist. The way things are tracked right now — manual notebooks, Excel spreadsheets — there is nothing centralized. There is no consistency across all projects. There are no governing standards in place.”
-- Jo Kroeker W.Va. lawmakers advance bill requiring cameras in special-education classrooms-- Herald-Mail Media West Virginia: February 27, 2019 [ abstract] MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Legislation that would require school districts across West Virginia to have monitoring cameras in special-education classrooms was passed Wednesday on a 31-3 vote by the state Senate.
Senate Bill 632, as amended and substituted by committee, also would create a “Safe Schools Fund,” but Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson/Berkeley, said on the Senate floor Wednesday that the proposed legislation did not include a specific allocation of state Funding.
Rucker, along with fellow Eastern Panhandle state Sens. John Unger, D-Berkeley/Jefferson; Craig Blair, R-Berkeley/Morgan/Hampshire/Mineral; and Charles Trump, R-Morgan/Berkeley/Hampshire/Mineral, voted for the bill, which gained momentum after allegations of verbal abuse in a special-education classroom surfaced at Berkeley Heights Elementary School in Martinsburg.
After questioning Rucker about who would pay for the cameras, state Sen. Paul Hardesty, D-Logan, voiced concerns about creating an unfunded mandate, but ultimately voted in favor of the bill, which was forwarded to the House of Delegates for further consideration.
-- Matthew Umstead Editorial: Better fund school facility improvements-- The ledger Florida: February 26, 2019 [ abstract] Aging, run-down educational facilities show the Legislature’s failure to adequately fund infrastructure needs at the state’s public schools, colleges and universities.
The problem has gotten so bad that Alachua County voters last fall passed a sales tax increase to fund facility improvements at local K-12 schools. As the University of Florida struggles to keep up with repairs of campus buildings, officials are seeking $38.1 million in state Funding this upcoming legislative session for facility upgrades.
The state’s main source for Funding construction and repairs of educational facilities, the Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) program, has lacked adequate Funding to meet statewide needs in recent years. The program is funded through a tax on utilities and telecommunications services, which has brought in declining revenues due to energy conservation and people dropping cable television and landline phones.
To make matters worse, lawmakers have diverted Funding from traditional public schools to charter schools. This year, Gov. Ron DeSantis proposes spending $50 million on traditional public school facilities and $155.5 million on charter school facilities — even though there are around 4,000 traditional public schools and only about 654 charter schools in the state.
Ideally lawmakers would raise the PECO tax or, better yet, establish a more stable Funding source. But such reforms are a remote possibility in a GOP-controlled Legislature that opposed tax increases and new taxes even before a state constitutional amendment was passed that requires a two-thirds majority of both chambers to approve them.
-- The Gainesville Sun editorial board Fact check: Do Republicans plan to pay for new schools with teacher salary money?-- The News & Observer North Carolina: February 26, 2019 [ abstract] North Carolina needs new school buildings, but leaders disagree on how to pay for them.
In December, Republican House Speaker Tim Moore announced his support for putting a $1.9 billion school bond on the ballot in 2020.
In January, Senate Republicans introduced a pay-as-you-go plan that uses tax revenues — avoiding borrowing and avoiding the ballot.
In response, Democrats argued that the Senate plan uses money that could go toward other priorities. On Feb. 20, Democratic state Sen. Wiley Nickel took it a step further.
“SB5 pays for school construction with teacher pay raises,” the Cary senator tweeted, referring to the bill number.
In the same tweet, Nickel then walks back his claim, suggesting teacher pay isn’t immediately affected: “This plan puts into jeopardy Funding for teacher pay raises, classroom supplies, broadband, roads and training for corrections officers.”
His tweet then concludes with an image of the words, “NC teachers shouldn’t have to pay the price for school construction.”
Politicians often try to extrapolate negative consequences from legislation they oppose – even if those consequences are unlikely or uncertain. Nickel’s tweet is a prime example of a claim that should raise eyebrows. It suggests elected officials would take money away from teachers (who vote) and put it toward buildings (which don’t vote).
PolitiFact looked at the bill in question, SB 5, to answer the question: Does it take money earmarked for teacher salaries and put it toward capital projects?
No. We found no evidence that the bill affects teacher salaries or potential raises.
-- PAUL A. SPECHT some pennies are more equal than others: inequitable school facilities investment in san antonio, texas-- EPAA/AAPE Texas: February 25, 2019 [ abstract] In Texas, local taxpayers fund the majority of educational facilities construction and maintenance costs, with local wealth influencing facilities outcomes. The traditional school districts that comprise the predominantly Latino and segregated San Antonio area vary considerably in property wealth as well as district capacity and expertise. We conducted an analysis of 12 San Antonio area school districts to address the questions: 1) To what extent do state and local investments vary by district? 2) How do district actions and constraints affect facilities quality and equitable investment? Methods include descriptive quantitative analysis of facilities investment data and qualitative interviews with school district leaders, staff, and school finance experts. Examining Texas school finance data demonstrated the variance in school district investments in educational facilities. Despite some districts with lower property wealth exerting higher levels of tax effort, they were able to raise less money per student for educational facilities through interest and sinking taxes. Interview findings revealed that several districts acknowledge lacking the capacity to maintain high-quality facilities for all students. Respondents frequently criticized current state policies and Funding for educational facilities as inadequate, inequitable, and inefficient and expressed a need for policy improvements in an era of increasing state disinvestment.
-- Marialena D. Rivera, Sonia Rey Lopez South Hadley denied state funding for elementary school renovation-- Daily Hampshire Gazette Massachusetts: February 21, 2019 [ abstract] Plans to replace or renovate Mosier Elementary School have been pushed back a year after the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) denied the South Hadley school district’s statement of interest.
“The state determined that other schools were in worse shape than our school for this year, so we’re resubmitting for our next cycle,” said South Hadley Superintendent Nicholas Young, noting that Mosier made it into the final round of consideration before it was cut.
The school, which was built in the 1960s, suffers from both functional and cosmetic issues, Young said, such as old wiring, single pane windows, dated plumbing, cracked floor tiles, cracked ceiling tiles “and everything in between.”
One structural issue at the school is rot inside the walls of the building’s portable classroom extension, which has led to ongoing construction this week. The extension houses four classrooms and bathrooms.
While engineers determined that the structure was considered safe, Young said, the school district wanted to avoid added strain on the extension due to snow.
-- JACQUELYN VOGHEL Trump Emergency Declaration Could Endanger Aid for School Projects on Military Bases-- Education Week National: February 20, 2019 [ abstract] More than $500 million in Funding for construction projects at schools serving the children of military personnel could be in jeopardy, thanks to President Donald Trump's move to declare a national emergency and shift some $8 billion allocated to defense construction and other purposes to build a wall along the southern border with Mexico.
That's according to an analysis of military construction projects circulated by the House Appropriations Committee, which is controlled by Democrats. The list of potentially impacted projects includes turning the former Fort Campbell High School in Fort Campbell, Ky., into a new middle school. Construction projects at schools on military bases in Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom could also be affected.
For its part, the Trump administration has said it will divert roughly $3.6 billion from military construction to wall construction, but it has not yet identified which projects would be affected.
"At this time, no decisions have been made regarding specific projects funded [by the most recent military construction spending bill]," said Lt. Col. Carla M. Gleason, a Pentagon spokeswoman in an email.
When asked about the potentially delayed Fort Campbell project, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a Trump administration ally, defended the president's move.
"It would be better for middle school kids in Kentucky to have a secure border," he said in an interview on ABC's Face the Nation Sunday. "We'll get them the school they need."
-- Alyson Klein Bill aims to direct more marijuana money to Colorado schools-- KOAA News5 Colorado: February 19, 2019 [ abstract] DENVER – A bill currently making its way through the Colorado legislature would allocate more marijuana tax revenues for school construction projects.
When voters legalized retail marijuana sales in Colorado, one of the key selling points of legalization was that certain tax revenues related to legalized marijuana would go toward schools statewide. Specifically, a portion of excise tax revenues — taxes paid by wholesalers purchasing from growers — would go toward Funding capital construction projects at some of the most in-need schools, especially in rural areas. Under the current law, whichever amount is greater — $40 million or 90 percent of total excise tax revenues — goes toward the public school capital construction assistance fund.
“What my bill will do is make sure than 100 percent of the state’s marijuana excise tax revenue will be credited to this account and made available for public school capital construction,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Shannon Bird (D-Westminster).
The bill summary is shown below:
Current law requires the greater of the first $40 million of state retail marijuana excise tax revenue or 90% of the revenue to be credited to the public school capital construction assistance fund (assistance fund) and limits the maximum total amount of annual lease payments payable by the state under the terms of all outstanding lease-purchase agreements entered into as authorized by the “Building Excellent Schools Today Act” (BEST) to $100 million. Beginning July 1, 2019, the bill:
-- Zach Thaxton New Arlington Co. Board member wants schools to rein in construction costs-- Inside Nova Virginia: February 19, 2019 [ abstract] Arlington’s newest County Board members appears to be straddling the middle of the road when it comes to school Funding and its impact on homeowners’ tax bills.
In remarks to a local service organization, Matt de Ferranti telegraphed the likelihood that Arlington property owners would see a higher real-estate-tax rate this year, in part to pay for higher school costs. But at the same time, he said the days of gold-plated school facilities must come to an end.
“We need to bring down the cost per seat of our schools,” de Ferranti said at the Feb. 20 meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Arlington. De Ferranti said that teachers, not Taj Mahal-style facilities, were the keys to success for local students, and that spending should be prioritized to get the best educators available.
Whether de Ferranti’s call for restraint in capital spending will be heeded on the school side remains to be seen. Few of the current School Board members have made belt-tightening a priority.
An auditor’s report on school-construction costs last year essentially absolved school officials from blame on high costs, saying Arlington’s projects were more expensive than those of other jurisdictions for reasons ranging from heavy community engagement (read: demands of parents) and a lengthy and cumbersome process of winning county-government approval of new projects. But the report’s legitimacy was called into question after school leaders spent months holding on to it before releasing it to the public.
As for taxes, de Ferranti acknowledged it was “likely but not certain” that County Board members ultimately would vote to increase the 2018 real-estate tax rate of $1.006 per $100 assessed value, in part to pay for school costs.
-- SCOTT McCAFFREY Voters reject Arlington School District bond-- North County Outlook Washington: February 19, 2019 [ abstract] Arlington School District’s proposed $96 million bond measure was rejected by voters with 52.51 percent voting in favor of the bond on Feb. 12.
Bond measures in Washington state require 60 percent approval to pass.
The Funding would have been used to build a new Post Middle School, make safety and security improvements at all the schools and provide some other improvements to heating systems and traffic flow at some schools.
This is the third try for the district for their bond.
A similar $107.5 million bond was on last February’s ballot and received 55.89 percent approval and a second try in November received 52.03 percent approval.
District officials scaled back the bond by $11.5 million and tried again this February.
“We’re very thankful for the voters that came out, especially those that had to navigate the snow,” said Arlington School District Superintendent Chrys Sweeting.
"We're going to continue monitoring these results, but given what's come back so far it doesn't look to have passed,” she said.
This February’s election saw similar turnout to previous years despite the snowstorm.
“With roughly 36 percent of voters participating, turnout for the Arlington School District election on Tuesday [Feb. 12] was on par for a February Special Election,” said Garth Fell, elections manager with Snohomish County.
-- Christopher Andersson Trump’s border wall may halt a Kentucky military middle school-- Chicago Sun Times National: February 18, 2019 [ abstract] A military project for a middle school at Fort Campbell Army base could be in limbo since President Donald Trump declared a national emergency Friday allowing him to reallocate funds for his proposed border wall.
The $62 million project to construct Fort Campbell Middle School near the Tennessee/Kentucky border was one of the hundreds of military spending measures allocated in the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019.
But the project could be on the chopping block.
Trump announced that he would free up $8 billion for his 234 miles of border wall. To do so, he would tap into a variety of government budgets including an attempt to access $3.6 billion in military construction money, according to USA TODAY.
Maj. Martin Meiners, spokesman for Fort Campbell, did not immediately return a request for comment.
The Pentagon said in a statement that while the president can reallocate funds, the government agency would play a hand in the spending.
“… this declaration of a national emergency at the southern border requiring the use of the armed forces authorizes the secretary of defense to determine whether border barriers are necessary to support the use of the armed forces and to re-direct obligated DOD MILCON Funding to construct border barriers if required,” the Department of Defense said.
-- USA Today Network Impact Aid back on school funding agenda-- Albuquerque Journal New Mexico: February 16, 2019 [ abstract] Jvanna Hanks, assistant superintendent of business services at Gallup McKinley County Schools, is continuing a decadelong dispute.
It’s an emotional one for her.
“It’s our priority to make sure our students who have seen generations of poverty get a chance, a real chance at succeeding,” she told the Journal, holding back tears.
The dispute is about Impact Aid, a federal Funding stream for school districts that have a low property tax base because of tax exempt federal lands – like tribal lands – within their boundaries.
In New Mexico, districts that applied last year got about $78 million in Impact Aid.
The fight Hanks and other school district leaders are embroiled in at the state Capitol right now is how the state’s school Funding formula treats this money. Currently, school districts get all of the federal Impact Aid, but the state then deducts most of the amount from the formula it uses to determine how much Funding the district receives from the state.
Specifically, New Mexico’s formula calculates a program cost for all the school districts, then, for districts that receive Impact Aid, the state takes credit for 75 percent of the federal money and gives the district the difference.
Gallup’s 2017-2018 program cost was calculated at $85 million, but after subtracting 75 percent of its $30 million federal Impact Aid, the state gave it $63 million.
-- SHELBY PEREA What’s happening with the Bridgewater Mitchell School four years after roof collapse-- The Enterprise Massachusetts: February 16, 2019 [ abstract] BRIDGEWATER — Sunday marks four years to the day that the Mitchell Elementary School shut down due to a partial roof collapse under the weight of snow.
The Bridgewater School Building Committee, in charge of deciding the school’s fate, took a vote on Jan. 28 on which design option to submit to the state as part of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA)’s grant program. The options included a repair to simply fix the issues, two renovation and addition options to fix the issues and add additional space or two new construction options to replace the existing building.
At that meeting, the committee voted 11-1, with two members absent and one member abstaining, to put forth one of the new construction options. Members finalized that decision with another vote to submit it to the state at their most recent meeting on Monday.
But with the new construction comes the highest price tag of the options: about $82.2 million. With the state grant program Funding about 40 percent of that cost, coming out to roughly $32.9 million, about $49.3 million will fall on Bridgewater taxpayers, if they vote to pass a debt exclusion to fund the project in a special town election in the fall.
Already, concerns and questions have been raised about the project, which would raise annual taxes by an average of $521 per household for 25 years. Can the existing building not be salvaged for a cheaper price tag? Why do Bridgewater residents have to pay to replace a school built just 20 years ago? Can town or school district officials hold those responsible for the issues in the original building accountable?
And most of all: what happens if taxpayers say no?
Paul Fox Jr., director of facilities for the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District, took The Enterprise on a tour of the Mitchell School Wednesday to show its current state.
-- Corlyn Voorhees Guilford County superintendent testifies to U.S. House committee about condition of district's buildings-- News & Record North Carolina: February 12, 2019 [ abstract]
Guilford County Schools Superintendent Sharon Contreras testified Tuesday to members of Congress about her concerns about school buildings waiting longer than they should for Funding for renovation, replacement or repair.
Here's a video of her appearance before a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Education and Labor in Washington, D.C., or read the transcript of her remarks below:
Testimony on “Underpaid Teachers and Crumbling Schools: How UnderFunding Public Education Shortchanges America’s Students”
Committee on Education and Labor, U.S. House of Representatives
Sharon L. Contreras, Ph.D., Superintendent Guilford County Schools Greensboro, North Carolina
February 12, 2019
"Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Foxx, Congressman Walker, Congresswoman Adams and members of the Committee. I am Sharon Contreras, superintendent of Guilford County Schools in Greensboro, North Carolina. With me today are my colleagues, Angie Henry, chief financial officer, and Julius Monk, executive director of facilities. Thank you for inviting me to speak today, and thank you for your leadership and service. I deeply appreciate the invitation to testify about the condition of our facilities and how critical school infrastructure needs impact our students and their teachers.
-- Jessie Pounds Lawmakers Scrambling to Confront School Construction Needs-- Maryland Matters Maryland: February 12, 2019 [ abstract] Lawmakers have put forward more than a dozen bills this year seeking millions of dollars – billions, in fact – for school construction Funding. But hammering out a long-term solution to long-needed school improvements could take more work than just one legislative session can provide.
“There’s a lot going on in school construction. I’m looking at all of the options,” House Appropriations Chair Maggie L. McIntosh (D-Baltimore City) said last week.
She hopes this year – or next – to figure out a path that would satisfy local school boards throughout the state, from those struggling with increases in enrollment to those struggling to bring old buildings into tip-top shape.
“There’s just a very, very part pent-up demand,” McIntosh said.
She’s been meeting with county executives and education leaders throughout Maryland to discuss options.
Some increased school construction Funding will “absolutely” get passed this year, lawmakers assert. McIntosh may also borrow ideas from some of the dozen or so House bills headed to her committee to draw up a new plan altogether, she said.
Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) put forward a bill that would direct money from the state’s Education Trust Fund to fund $1.8 billion in school construction projects through the Maryland Stadium Authority. Del. Kathleen M. Dumais (D-Montgomery) has a bill that would authorize the same amount of spending on public school construction from the stadium authority, but draws the Funding from excess lottery revenues.
Dumais, the House majority leader, said her bill would aim to increase school construction Funding without pulling funds from the trust fund, which could then be used for the far-reaching education policy recommendations of the Kirwan Commission.
Dumais said lawmakers have the difficult task of balancing the need to fund sturdy school buildings, and the need to fund the programs that take place inside of them.
-- Danielle E. Gaines NH bill: Use Keno cash for school building aid-- Seacoast Online New Hampshire: February 12, 2019 [ abstract] DOVER -- A new bill seeks to restore the state’s school building aid program while more adequately Funding full-day kindergarten.
Senate Bill 266-FN, sponsored by state Sen. David Watters, D-Dover, would use Keno gambling revenue to reinstate building aid in order to help school districts make capital improvements. That revenue is projected to be $5.6 million in fiscal year 2020, the year the bill would take effect.
The state currently uses its Keno revenue to help districts cover the cost of full-day kindergarten. Rather than just simply diverting funds away from kindergarten, Watters’ bill also calls for the state to draw $14.83 million from its education trust fund to meet and surpass existing kindergarten grant levels.
Watters said SB 266 would use Keno to eliminate a key reason why building aid was halted a decade ago -- the lack of a consistent Funding source. He said it would simultaneously increase the quality of kindergarten education and get New Hampshire out of the practice of using gambling to pay for it.
“School districts, property taxpayers, and New Hampshire students are counting on lawmakers to begin to fix our broken education Funding system,” Watters said. “SB 266 is a step in the right direction that will create (certainty) and stability by treating Kindergarten Funding like every other grade level and giving schools an extra boost with school building aid funds that will help districts afford critical educational facility projects.”
Watters sought to lift the state’s moratorium on building aid in 2017 through a bill that would’ve funded it to the tune of $50 million per year. That bill, known as SB 192, was deemed inexpedient to legislate.
-- Kyle Stucker Olszewski invites Hogan to tour Lansdowne High School in bid for more school construction funding-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: February 11, 2019 [ abstract] Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski has invited Gov. Larry Hogan to tour Lansdowne High School to illustrate the need for more school construction Funding, according to a letter from Olszewski’s office.
“I am pleased to invited you to visit Lansdowne High School with me, so you can see firsthand Baltimore County’s need for more State investments in school construction,” Olszewski says in the letter, dated Feb. 6.
The letter indicates that Hogan and Olszewski discussed the visit, and that Olszewski’s staff is going to coordinate with Hogan’s staff to schedule a tour of the southwest Baltimore County school. T.J. Smitth, Olszewski’s press secretary, said in an email that the staffs of each office are in contact and are working to schedule a tour date.
Lansdowne High School’s physical facilities were rated the lowest of any high school in the county in a 2014 facilities assessment report, and community advocates have long called for substantial improvements or a replacement school.
The school was knocked for having structural settlement, no air conditioning, water damage and poor circulation, among other issues.
In January this year, there were at least two electrical issues at the school: a malfunctioning motor on an air handling unit and an electrical outlet that had to be replaced after a phone charger caught fire. Lisa Mack, who represents District One on the Board of Education, said Monday she’s asked school system staff to “facilitate an inspection of Lansdowne's electrical system to ensure that students and faculty are safe.”
-- Cody Boteler Study of Henderson County school facilities finds $150M in needs-- BlueRidgeNow.com North Carolina: February 11, 2019 [ abstract] The Henderson County School Board is looking to prioritize $150 million in facility needs over the next decade, which includes millions in upgrades to the district’s oldest schools.
The School Board was briefed on the 10-year facility needs study by Emily Kite of Novus Architects, whom the board hired last year to walk the 1.8 million square feet of school facility space and come up with a list of needs.
The all-encompassing assessment covers facility and school safety needs throughout the county as well as whether each schools meets current capacity needs recommended by the N.C. Department of Instruction. It also works to connect buildings together and replace modular classroom units.
That adds up to a $149.9 million list of needs over the next 10 years, covering renovations, new construction and overall maintenance needs at the schools. About $44.4 million is recommended in the 2019-20 fiscal year.
At this point the list is only an assessment of the school system’s needs, not necessarily what the School Board plans to ask of county commissioners this year.
“It’s not if these projects need completed, it’s just when,” said Superintendent Bo Caldwell. “We certainly want to work together with the county commissioners to let them know of our needs and work together with them for the Funding.”
-- Andrew Mundhenk Boards at odds over school grant-- Rocky Mount Telegram North Carolina: February 10, 2019 [ abstract] While Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools looks set to have $20 million available for new school construction after receiving a $10 million state grant, Nash County commissioners are hoping to reduce the amount they will have to pay by resubmitting the grant application in hopes of getting more.
But school district leaders have different ideas.
In October 2018, the school district and Nash County commissioners were notified that the the school district will be receiving $10 million in grant Funding from the state’s Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund. That Funding was awarded on the basis of Nash County’s Tier 2 status as well as a number of other factors.
But within three months, Nash County was dropped to a Tier 1 status, placing it among the most economically-depressed counties in the state and in the same tier ranking as Edgecombe County. While the change in status reflects bad news for the county economically, it places the county in a stronger position when it comes to grant Funding.
If Nash County had been listed as a Tier 1 county when the grant application was made, it would have likely received $15 million in Needs-Based Public School Capital funds instead, Nash County manager Zee Lamb said.
“We plan to reapply during the next grant cycle to see if we can get the $15 million grant instead of the $10 million since our status has changed,” Lamb told the Telegram.
Under the current grant, based on the former Tier 2 status, local funders — in this case, Nash County and Edgecombe County — would have to match the grant and fork out $10 million toward the school construction process, Lamb said. If the grant can be amended to reflect the county’s new Tier 1 status, the local match will be reduced to $5 million.
-- AMELIA HARPER No school renovation referendum in Norwich this year-- The Day Connecticut: February 09, 2019 [ abstract] Norwich — There won’t be a referendum ballot question in November on a proposed school restructuring plan, the committee in charge of creating the plan decided, preferring to spend more time to develop, plan and seek public support rather than rush through a plan to meet the target referendum date.
The School Facilities Committee, which includes school officials, two City Council members and public representatives, on Thursday reviewed preliminary results of an extensive survey seeking input on school restructuring, curriculum priorities, amenities and transportation issues.
Chairman Mark Bettencourt said the committee already has missed a deadline to submit a request for state Funding for a school renovation or new construction project and would have to seek special legislation to obtain Funding by June. But Bettencourt said even if state Funding were in place and the committee had a proposed plan, he questioned whether the committee and the public would be ready for a November 2019 vote.
“Probably in the past in the city, we pushed too fast,” Bettencourt said. “I’d rather take the time. If the people think it’s pushed, and we’re trying to rush it through, it won’t be successful.”
The committee now is aiming at a referendum in November 2020 as “a more realistic expectation,” Bettencourt said.
The school survey will remain open until March 15, and the committee will stress the importance of responding to parents during parent-teacher conferences the week before. The survey is posted on the school’s website.
In May 2017, the City Council rejected a $144.5 million major school consolidation and renovation plan that would have cost city taxpayers $57.6 million after the state reimbursement formula was applied. That plan called for renovating and expanding four city elementary schools, closing three others, keeping the recently renovated Kelly Middle School for grades seven and eight and closing Teachers’ Memorial Middle School.
-- Claire Bessette Newport faces major funding challenge for new high school-- NewportRI.com Rhode Island: February 08, 2019 [ abstract] NEWPORT — The city and its School Department are planning for the construction of a new high school, establishing a preschool and kindergarten center, and moving the city utilities building and public works garage off Halsey Street.
The Funding for those projects will be a major challenge for the city, so Finance Director Laura Sitrin outlined for City Council members Thursday night the impact of bonding for $100 million, $120 million, or $150 million.
A $120 million bond received the most discussion, maybe because it is in the middle. Estimated costs of a new high school and new public works center are costly.
Natick, Massachusetts, built a new high school for $78.5 million in 2012, but costs have gone up since then. Natick has a population above 32,000, while Newport’s population is above 24,000.
East Providence unveiled in 2018 a proposal to build a $190 million high school, but the city has a population of 47,000. If Newport could build a high school for half that cost, perhaps unlikely, it would still be $95 million.
The Halsey street utilities and public works facilities must be moved to make way for a redesign of the Pell Bridge ramps, which is expected to free up land for economic development.
A recent estimate for the city indicated it would cost $28.4 million to move the public works facilities to another location and $11.3 million to move the utilities building, which could be paid for from water and water pollution Funding paid by ratepayers.
Sitrin calculated municipal government would bond $25 million of that total cost.
If the city borrowed $120 million in a 30-year bond, that would require an annual debt service payment of $9.92 million to cover all principal and interest costs, Sitrin said.
-- Sean Flynn Radford schools face aging infrastructure with no clear way to pay for it-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: February 08, 2019 [ abstract]
Radford City Public Schools has planned nearly $30 million in capital projects to update its aging infrastructure — but Funding them may be an uphill battle.
The school board and city council are meeting in a joint session Monday night to begin to delve into the process of how it might budget and plan for these projects; however, without any substantial increases in revenue, options will be limited. The meeting is at 5:45 p.m. at City Hall.
At a recent meeting, City Manager David Ridpath acknowledged that revenue streams have remained stagnant the last several years, including the funds generated from real estate taxes. Since 2009, the rate has remained at $0.76 per $100 of assessed value — or $760 for a $100,000 home.
Each cent generates roughly $80,000 of revenue for the city, so a substantial tax increase would be needed in order for it to be a viable Funding option. While real estate reassessment is slated to begin this year, the last one only netted the city a 1.5 percent increase in revenue.
For comparison, Salem and Roanoke have a real estate tax rate of $1.18 and $1.22 for every $100 of assessed value.
-- Sam Wall Meraux Elementary gets $10 million in federal funds for construction-- NOLA.com Louisiana: February 07, 2019 [ abstract] The Federal Emergency Management Agency has agreed to provide an additional $10 million to help St. Bernard Parish cover the cost of building Meraux Elementary School’s new campus.
U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., announced the Funding in a news release on Thursday (Feb. 7), noting St. Bernard Parish made the “necessary decision” to relocate the school after Hurricane Katrina. The school’s former campus was outside of levee protection, according to the release.
Kennedy said the FEMA funds help St. Bernard provide “a state-of-the-art facility that offers students a safe and strong learning environment.”
The Arlene and Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation in 2015 donated 14.6 acres of land on Paris Road in Chalmette to the St. Bernard Parish Public School Board. Community leaders sought to build a new school to serve the growing number of grade school-aged children in the parish.
-- Wilborn P. Nobles III School districts seeking FEMA funds-- Lovely County Citizen Arkansas: February 07, 2019 [ abstract] The Berryville, Eureka Springs and Green Forest school districts are partnering to seek federal funds for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) storm shelter and safe rooms.
The districts held a kickoff meeting Tuesday, Jan. 29, at Berryville High School to develop a FEMA hazard mitigation plan.
Accredited learning environment planner Aliza Jones said the plan, known as the Carroll County Educational Cooperative Hazard Mitigation Plan, will assess each of the school districts’ risk and vulnerabilities to natural hazards and provide recommendations to increase their resiliency. In doing so, she said these actions aim to protect school district facilities and those who attend classes and work in these school districts.
To qualify for FEMA funds to build safe rooms and storm shelters, Jones said the districts must have a hazard mitigation plan. Once the plan is completed, she said it allows the districts to then apply for FEMA safe room Funding.
“So far, I’ve completed two of these plans: one for Boone County and one for Searcy County,” she said. “All have either been approved for a safe room or have had districts approved to apply. It’s a multiphase process.”
Jones said the hazard mitigation plan will look at everything from natural to man-made disasters in Carroll County.
-- Kelby Newcomb Blount County Schools presents options for funding high school renovations-- The Daily Times Tennessee: February 06, 2019 [ abstract]
The director of Blount County Schools presented five options Tuesday for Funding renovations to two high schools, but some commissioners said the current $85 million price tag remains too high.
Director Rob Britt explained the schools had pared about $15 million from earlier estimates. For example, the district will find another way to renovate the locker rooms, restrooms and concessions areas at the two stadiums.
The district also is seeking a second opinion on how to deal with moisture intrusion problems at the two schools, which have caused leaks and crumbling brick.
Some commissioners and members of the public questioned a consultant’s recommendation that the best way to solve the problem is to remove most of the brick from the two 40-year-old high schools — Blount County and Heritage High schools — and rebuild the outer walls with insulation and an air gap.
-- Amy Beth Miller Committee to evaluate future plan for school facilities-- The Pioneer News Kentucky: February 06, 2019 [ abstract] With school district construction needs stretching in the millions of dollars, members of the local planning committee have a daunting task.
Recommendations made by this committee could shape the Bullitt County Public School District for many years to come.
But, at the end of the day, facilitator Don Martin said the most important task of the assembled group will be to eliminate any physical barriers which disrupt the learning opportunities for the 13,000 students in Bullitt County.
The committee, using information from various sources, will devise a recommended list of construction projects which will be sent to the local school board and then to the state Department of Education for final approval.
Martin, a facilitator from the Kentucky School Board Association, said that the hope is to finish the plan by mid-April. There is state Funding for the unmet needs of a district and Martin said a goal is for Bullitt County to get its fair share.
In comparison to other districts, Martin told the 20 committee members that Bullitt County is in good shape.
It is a growing community and the school district continues to grow at a steady pace. Other areas in the state are not as lucky, said Martin.
Superintendent Jesse Bacon said it is an exciting time. In addition to the facilities plan, the district is working on its strategic plan.
The vision is for students to achieve at a high level, which is more than simply test scores. Bacon said Bullitt County wants to be a system where teachers want to stay and where the business community will have students who graduate with the skills needed to fill the work force.
-- Thomas Barr KISD updates status of current construction projects-- Killeen Daily Herald Texas: February 02, 2019 [ abstract]
Voters in May approved two school construction bonds for a total of $426 million to build and renovate schools in KISD. Voter approval came after Superintendent John Craft and staff went on a monthslong mission saying the district population increases warranted new schools.
For the 2019-2020 school year, the district projects enrollment to be 45,583, up from about 45,091 for the 2018-2019 school year.
Millions in taxpayer dollars will serve to accommodate those thousands of students, the district says.
Proposition A of the bond, for $235 million, will pay for construction of a new high school and elementary school and renovations to existing schools for ADA compliance and security upgrades.
Proposition B, for $191 million, will pay for consolidation of some schools, and renovation of Killeen High School and other schools.
The real work of turning the bond into bricks has begun. In addition to bond projects, other construction projects are planned/underway from other Funding sources.
High School No. 6
A new high school with a capacity for up to 2,500 students will be built on district-owned property on Chaparral Road. Out of the $235 million total of Proposition A, the new high school will take $171 million of bond funds.
Several preparatory steps are being taken before physical construction begins later this year. On-site testing of land was conducted during December, according to KISD.
“Throughout the design process, the design team and staff closely analyzed vehicular and pedestrian flow around the property, as well as the placement of athletic fields, concessions buildings and marching band practice areas to ensure that we have maximized efficiencies on the site,” said Adam Rich, construction and facilities planning program manager.
-- Matt Payne Lowell High School maintenance issues probed by state-- Lowell Sun Massachusetts: February 02, 2019 [ abstract] LOWELL -- The head of the local teacher's union has called upon a state agency to investigate ongoing building issues, particularly heating, at Lowell Public Schools.
Paul Georges, president of the United Teachers of Lowell, said he contacted the state Department of Labor Standards in mid-December, initiating an investigation that included visits to Lowell High School and other school buildings.
"What we're trying to do is ensure time in school is productive and conducive to learning," Georges said.
The Department of Labor Standards was not immediately available for comment Friday evening, but multiple city officials indicated they were aware of the complaint. A report from the agency has not yet been released, though it is expected soon, according to Georges.
In response, city officials contend more work than ever is being done to address years of deferred maintenance at school buildings.
"Is it going to happen overnight? No," Mayor Bill Samaras said.
Long-term efforts -- like preparing requests for state Funding for repairs at nine schools -- are a sign the district and city are "absolutely working in the right direction," according to Georges. He said the complaint is meant to pressure the district to implement short term solutions and prevention measures.
"I was finding out things that were preventable weren't being done," Georges said.
When Georges filed the complaint in December, he said an electronic system notifying the district when boilers shut off in school buildings was not functioning.
-- Elizabeth Dobbins Funding options, equity at issue in Duval County school facilities planning-- Florida Times-Union Florida: February 01, 2019 [ abstract] For the 2017-18 school year, Orange County Public Schools received about $308 million from impact fee and sales tax revenues to use for new schools and maintenance costs.
Duval County Public Schools, which has an estimated $1.08 billion worth of repair and replacement needs, received no money from those sources. For facilities, Duval only has property tax revenues and an annually decreasing amount of state maintenance money to work with.
“We are one of only two districts that don’t collect anything other than [property tax] millage,” said Don Nelson, Duval’s assistant superintendent for operations.
Limited Funding options were among the talking points at Loretto Elementary School in Mandarin on Thursday at the first of seven community meetings about the condition of Duval’s 157 public schools. Duval has the oldest facilities in Florida, with about 65 percent at least 50 years old. All of them are safe, functional and equipped with the necessary technology, district officials said, but 111 are in below average, poor or very poor condition or need replacement.
The $1.08 billion estimate to repair or replace aging buildings came from a Jacobs Engineering Group study commissioned by the board. The buildings’ conditions affect the learning environment for students and teachers and impact neighboring property values and business development, district officials said.
New schools are like new houses, Superintendent Diana Greene said.
“You have a better feeling when you’re in a brand-new house. Sunshine every day. It does something for your attitude,” she said.
The district paid Jacobs $1.2 million to develop a long-term facilities plan, which potentially could include recommendations to close and consolidate some schools while repairing or replacing others. In addition to age, building condition and the repair/replacement cost, the district will consider school grades, enrollment projections, available land for more buildings and the impact on programs, transportation costs and the neighborhood. Once Jacobs completes the facilities plan, it will hold community meetings, likely in the spring. The board is expected to make its decisions in late spring or early summer.
-- Beth Reese Cravey Senators Propose $100 Billion Investment to Rebuild & Repair Schools-- Big Island Now Hawaii: February 01, 2019 [ abstract] Sen. Mazie K. Hirono joined Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and 16 of their colleagues, to unveil new legislation aimed at improving school infrastructure in the United States. The bill, the Rebuild America’s Schools Act, would provide $100 billion in federal grants and school construction bonds over the next decade to assist communities in building and renovating schools while creating an estimated 1.9 million jobs.
“Far too many children across the country lack access to suitable learning environments, and many attend schools that are in dire need of renovations and repairs,” said Sen. Hirono. “Although states like Hawaii are working to improve learning environments for their students, more investment is needed to support current efforts that are already underway, and the federal government should play a role. The considerable resources provided by this legislation would help to facilitate much needed improvements to how and where our children learn, and create high-paying jobs in our communities.”
The Rebuild America’s Schools Act establishes formula funds for states to award local communities with competitive grant Funding for school repair, renovation, and construction projects through state matching criteria and permissible spending. By focusing on communities with the greatest financial need, schools will also have the ability to expand access to high-speed broadband in order to ensure all students have access to digital learning.
-- Staff Writer Norcross Introduces the Rebuild America’s Schools Act-- Insider NJ New Jersey: January 30, 2019 [ abstract] WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), and Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) led House and Senate Democrats in introducing a proposal to invest more than $100 billion in America’s public schools. The Rebuild America’s Schools Actwould fund $70 billion in grants and $30 billion in bonds to help address critical physical and digital infrastructure needs in schools across the country. According to economic projections, the bill would also create more than 1.9 million good-paying jobs.
“In Congress, my top three priorities are jobs education and security, and the Rebuild America’s Schools Act will create jobs in our communities, improve educational opportunities and ensure students learn in buildings that are safe and more secure. It’s a win-win-win,” said Congressman Norcross, a member of the Education and Labor Committee. “No student should be going to a school that poses a serious safety threat but, unfortunately, that’s happening right now. The Rebuild America’s Schools Act provides investments that help students and teachers, as well as the men and women who will build new schools. As a grandfather of students and a construction worker by trade, I’ll continue to support initiatives that lift up workers, improve schools and help students succeed.”
The bill comes as students, teachers, and parents across the country are demanding more support for public education. In a recent poll conducted by Politico/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 84% of Democrats and 65% of Republicans said increasing K-12 Funding is an “extremely important priority” for the 116th Congress.
There is currently a $46 billion nationwide shortfall in annual Funding for public school infrastructure. The bill was introduced with 153 House cosponsors.
-- Staff Writer County And School Officials Consider Nontraditional School Construction-- Rhino Times North Carolina: January 28, 2019 [ abstract] “Thinking outside of the box” is one of the most clichéd phrases of all time, but it’s still a pretty good strategy when it comes to handling many difficult situations and it certainly is the strategy that the Guilford County Board of Education and the Guilford County Board of Commissioners are considering in light of hundreds of millions of dollars in capital projects that school system officials want to see in the coming years.
The Guilford County commissioners and school board members have a major facilities meeting coming up on Thursday, Jan. 31 and, heading into that meeting, the discussion is centered around innovative ways to save money on school projects going forward.
Most of those in the conversation agree that the first step in the process is putting underused schools to better use – but there’s also expected to be a need for some new construction in the coming years and one thing many seem to agree on is that Guilford County’s current method of building schools may have to be replaced.
One option, for instance, is a long-term lease-to-buy plan on specially built low energy consumption schools. In one model, a third party – perhaps a non-profit – builds the structure with energy-efficiency as a priority, gets grants and tax breaks associated with that method of construction, leases the building to the school system for five or ten years as part of a lease-to-own program, which also means the school enjoys radically reduced energy costs. In other parts of the country, versions of that model have been successful and have shaved millions off the usual cost of simply building and moving in.
Guilford County Board of Education Member Pat Tillman said that he and other school officials have been researching non-traditional school Funding and construction methods that seem to be working well elsewhere.
“With the traditional way we fund schools, we are never going to catch up,” Tillman said.
-- Scott D. Yost School district needs $6 billion more for maintenance and capital needs through 2025-- The Nevada Independent Nevada: January 27, 2019 [ abstract] Rain was falling steadily on a recent afternoon when Roy Brod handed out assignments to his school district maintenance crew. Leaky roofs. Suspicious smells. Water heater problems.
The group knew it could be in for a long night. Meteorologists were predicting several days of wet weather. Brod was predicting a thousand work orders for water leaks during that time.
“When it rains, we have a lot of calls,” Brod, a construction supervisor, said matter-of-factly.
The nature of his business is repairing what breaks in the Clark County School District, the fifth-largest in the nation. He leads the emergency response crew, a five-person team that includes one plumber, one HVAC technician, two building engineers and himself. They’re responsible for tending to whatever problems arise in the 8,000-square-mile district from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.
His first stop on this day is Veterans Tribute Career and Technical Academy, where a staff member reported a water-heater leak. Brod and Michael Abbey, a plumber, arrived within an hour and a half to find a small puddle of water next to the heater. They diagnosed the issue — a cracked drain line — and stopped the leak. They needed a new part to fully repair the drain line.
Brod likened their work to triaging patients in a hospital. They bandage broken fixtures or systems as best as possible and then move on to other calls in the queue. Full fixes would come later.
The work method speaks to the reality facing the school district. Associate Superintendent Blake Cumbers, who oversees the facilities division, said there are too many needs, too few skilled workers and not enough Funding to wrap their hands around all the maintenance problems. The district has capital and modernization needs estimated at $10.1 billion through 2025 but only $4.1 billion allocated. The facilities division also routinely lacks 40 to 50 workers because of vacancies.
-- Jackie Valley From the mayor: State must help with school building-- Williston Herald North Dakota: January 26, 2019 [ abstract]
It has only been about 10 years since our country experienced the Great Recession, the eight trillion dollar housing bubble burst, sharp cutbacks in consumer spending, and the most dramatic employment reduction by far of any recession since the Great Depression. While those in Williston were cautious initially, the Bakken shale bed spared our community from what could have been an otherwise financially devastating time and helped fuel and support other industries in the area yielding an overall strong economy; from clothing stores to car lots, dental practices to restaurants, advancements in crude extraction had a chain reaction and Williston thrived.
It’s hard to argue against a strong economy. That said, if you were to ask someone to identify signs that an economy will continue to thrive into the future, what do you think they would say? A likely and common response is job creation and wage increases as signs of a strong economy or economic growth. While that’s not untrue, it’s more reflective of the current state of things and not the future of a city or a state’s economic success. Did you know that the economic growth of a state is directly related to the skills of its workforce? Or that the skills of the workforce are highly dependent on the state’s schools? Research shows that even with the substantial mobility of the U.S. population, most students will continue to live in the state where they were educated — which is why North Dakota legislators should support the successful passing of Senate Bill 2161.
Senate Bill 2161 has the potential to provide the supplemental construction Funding desperately needed to provide safe and adequate learning space in schools experiencing high rates of enrollment, like Williston’s District No. 1. Grants provided by the bill would enable school districts to diversify their Funding sources for building projects — providing an additional option beyond using property tax revenue — and alleviating the impact to tax payers.
-- Howard Klug Thorp School feeling the deep cuts from the passing of the McCleary fix-- Daily Record Washington: January 24, 2019 [ abstract] Walking down the halls of Thorp School, the walls and floor slowly transition into different materials. This is because as the school’s population increased through the years, and so did the add ons.
Some of the older sections of the school date as far back as the 1930s and anyone who steps out onto the old gym court can truly imagine what a basketball game 89 years ago would have felt like with its built-in wood bleachers and six-inch court sidelines.
A significant problem for a school with such a rich history is it takes a lot of upkeep in order to keep operations going. Thorp’s future is looking precarious after the state Legislature’s actions to come into compliance with the state Supreme Court’s McCleary ruling to fully fund K-12 education, which stripped nearly all of Thorp’s Funding to maintain such upkeeps, according to school officials.
In attempting to come into compliance with McCleary, the state Legislature capped the amount school districts in Washington are allowed to collect through education enhancement (previously maintenance and operations) levies at $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value. This is a sharp contrast from the $3.42 per $1,000 Thorp collected in 2017. The districts are supposed to receive an increase in Funding from the state to make up for the shortfall, but many districts across the state have said the state contributions fall short of making up the difference.
By capping the levy at $1.50 it has taken away $400,000 worth of funds that Thorp normally budgeted out for improvements in the school like replacing roofing, adding fences, fixing sewer lines and more, school officials say.
-- Samira George Brockton eyes state funding for North Middle School, Huntington projects-- The Enterprise Massachusetts: January 21, 2019 [ abstract] BROCKTON — The School Committee is hoping for a big financial boost from the state to help pay for a complete renovation of North Middle School (a potential $10 million project) and repairs to the long-troublesome roof of the Huntington Alternative School.
The committee voted unanimously last Tuesday to submit statements of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for both projects, which now await the blessing of the City Council.
Should the state accept the projects, it would cover 80 percent of the Funding. That would be a welcome savings to the city for the North Middle School project, which Deputy Superintendent Mike Thomas estimated at $8 milion to $12 million.
“It depends on how much you want to do,” Thomas said. “How much you want to put into the outside of the school, the playground area, the fields — so it could be anywhere from $8 million to $12 million.”
The school district has prepared for the potential closure of North Middle School, on Oak Street, by diverting this year’s incoming 6th-grade class to other middle schools. It will remain open next year, with the potential to close for repairs the following year.
The planning process for the North Middle School renovation with MSBA support could take two years, Thomas said.
-- Joe Pelletier Charlie Scott resurrects bill to shift school construction to local level-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: January 21, 2019 [ abstract]
Sen. Charlie Scott is again proposing that individual school districts shoulder the responsibility of building new schools, as state leaders continue to search for a way to fill the Funding gap left by the loss of coal lease bonuses.
In a bill nearly identical to one he sponsored last year, the Natrona County Republican is backing a constitutional amendment that would require the state’s 48 school districts to raise funds from within their own communities — via bond issues or other sources — to fund school-related construction. The move would shift the burden away from state coffers, which have shouldered it since a state Supreme Court decision in 2001.
Since that case, one of the four Campbell County decisions that radically reshaped how Wyoming funds its education system, the state has relied heavily on coal lease bonuses to fund more than $2 billion in school construction. But in the wake of the recent bust, which saw the last of the coal lease bonus monies, lawmakers have been searching for a replacement.
Scott argued that the system should return to what it was before Campbell. Each district — and its residents — is responsible for deciding to fund new schools.
“Frankly my experience with that was that over the years, that was a pretty good system because when the schools really needed something, people would vote for it,” Scott told the Star-Tribune on Friday. “When schools had excesses, were asking for things they didn’t need or were fancy-gold-plating it, voters would vote it down.”
-- Seth Klamann The Urban-Rural Divide: Funding rural school maintenance a challenge-- The Observer Oregon: January 18, 2019 [ abstract] While school districts in the state’s metropolitan areas pass high-priced bonds with regularity, communities in rural parts of the state must include only what is “absolutely necessary” to pass bonds — and even then it most often is a struggle.
In Eastern Oregon, it often takes two decades (or, in Baker’s case, seven) for a school district to pass a bond. In 2014, the La Grande School District passed a school bond on its third try in eight years. In 2016, the Umatilla School District passed a bond on its third try in 10 years. In Baker City, voters rejected a bond in 2018 for the third time in 12 years. Meanwhile, some urban school districts are passing bonds every eight to 12 years.
In November 2018, 11 Oregon school districts had bonds on local ballots — six of which passed. The districts were scattered across the state, from Ashland to Astoria to Baker City. Ashland School District asked for $109 million from its taxpayers to raze and rebuild a new middle school, completely renovate an elementary school built in 1948 and upgrade technological infrastructure across the district. Although Ashland had approved a bond in 2006 to rebuild another elementary school, the 2018 bond passed overwhelmingly, with almost 69 percent of the vote.
The Baker School District, on the other hand, was asking for $48 million to build a new elementary school and renovate its high school to allow seventh and eighth grades to be on the same campus. Baker City taxpayers hadn’t approved a school bond since 1948, and this time around a bond in Baker failed again, receiving just 31.6 percent of the votes — marking 70 years since the school district last successfully passed a bond.
-- MAX DENNING State treasurer eyes new revenues for school construction -- The Salem News Massachusetts: January 16, 2019 [ abstract] BOSTON — After taking the oath of office in the newly renovated Senate Chamber on Wednesday for another four years, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg previewed a second term in which she plans to maintain and expand programs she said have been successful and seek new revenue sources and Funding flexibility for school construction projects in Massachusetts.
"I said that I wanted the treasurer's office to help all Massachusetts residents achieve economic stability, security, and opportunity. I asked you all to join me on this journey and together we have achieved amazing results," Goldberg said after she was sworn in by her parents, Carol and Avram.
The treasurer called for lawmakers to increase "our Funding flexibility" and to find additional revenue streams for the Massachusetts School Building Authority, especially "as our schools become older and older, and the cost of construction continues to increase."
In next year's state budget, Beacon Hill leaders have already set aside $917 million in sales tax revenues for the school building authority, but it appears Goldberg is angling for a larger appropriation.
"As long as we have buildings without any science labs — and I'm going to underline without any science labs – or overcrowding forces the use of hallways and gyms as classrooms, we are not meeting our kids' needs, nor our businesses' that require a trained workforce," Goldberg said. "We hope to be able to work with our legislative partners in increasing our Funding flexibility and finding additional revenue streams."
-- Colin A. Young Bonds passed, so when will Alamance’s school construction start?-- thetimesnews.com North Carolina: January 15, 2019 [ abstract] $150M school bond, taxes, timing, and the county’s new high school among topics broached at annual meeting of Alamance commissioners, Alamance-Burlington school board, and General Assembly representatives
The annual meeting of the Alamance County Board of Commissioners, the Alamance-Burlington Board of Education and the county’s state legislative delegation is usually about schools and Funding, which this year means bonds.
Alamance County voters approved $189.6 million in bonds for the Alamance-Burlington School System and Alamance Community College on Nov. 6, and now the commissioners and school board have to figure out how to spend it.
“The public has entrusted us with a lot of money,” school board member Tony Rose said. “There’s a lot of eyes on this.”
In March, County Manager Bryan Hagood said, he would give the commissioners a revised capital finance plan with firm timelines, projected costs and estimated property tax increases and a resolution to allow the county to put up money for design and other cost that will have to be paid before bonds are issued, for which the county will be reimbursed once the money is borrowed.
Commissioner Eddie Boswell asked where that money would come from. Hagood said the county had capital reserves and the commissioners have talked about raising property taxes up front, which would give the county money to spend before borrowing money.
“If we kind of hold to what we’ve talked about, we will have the money to do it,” Hagood said.
-- Isaac Groves Sen. Bill Stanley rebukes Attorney General Mark Herring over opinion on deteriorating schools-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: January 11, 2019 [ abstract] RICHMOND — State Sen. Bill Stanley criticized Attorney General Mark Herring’s recent legal opinion that the condition of public school buildings is the primary responsibility of local governments and their school boards.
Stanley asked Herring for a legal opinion about whether the state and localities are in violation of the state or federal constitutions by sending children to learn in deteriorating schools.
Last week, Herring said the General Assembly provides for a system of free public education and decides the level of Funding for schools to meet required standards of quality, but the legislative body tasked localities with building and maintaining schools.
In a statement issued Thursday, Stanley called Herring’s response his “Not My Priority” legal opinion.
Herring is a Democrat who announced last month he planned to run for governor in 2020. Stanley is a Franklin County Republican who last summer also expressed interest in running for governor.
“Attorney General Mark Herring appears at this time to be the leading candidate right now for the Democratic Party gubernatorial nomination,” Stanley said. “His legal opinion on this issue demonstrates why we are in this mess in the first place, and why this very critical issue continues to remain unsolved.”
-- Amy Friedenberger Size of Pittsylvania County Schools preliminary budget request reflects dire maintenance needs-- GoDanRiver.com Virginia: January 10, 2019 [ abstract]
CHATHAM — There was a dark humor laced in much of the discussion during Thursday night’s budget committee meeting for Pittsylvania County Schools as the group wrestled with the needs sitting in front of them.
The meeting began with a scroll through the lengthy list of Funding requests received by the central office from its various departments and schools that totaled nearly $12.4 million initially presented during their first meeting a week before.
Director of Finance Tracey Worley said staff met on Wednesday to present a list of 15 items of top priority to each department that had cut the cost by over half to $6.1 million.
The implementation of phase two of the county schools’ compensation study makes up over a third of that total at $2.4 million, and it’s also the highest priority.
However, with the governor’s proposed budget potentially increasing the state-funded raises from 3 to 5 percent, the school hopes to have at least $1.96 million of that raise covered by state monies.
-- Halle Parker Iowa should act quickly on school funding-- Quad-City Times Iowa: January 09, 2019 [ abstract] After a divisive election season, the Iowa Legislature can get off to a strong, bi-partisan start this year by approving a long-term extension of the statewide one-cent sales tax that funds construction projects at Iowa's schools.
This, really, is a no-brainer. For years, Iowa school districts have relied on a one-cent sales tax to pay for an array of maintenance and improvement projects.
In fact, Scott County voters were among the first, in 1999, to approve of the tax to pay for building projects. Almost immediately, the proceeds from the tax were earmarked in Davenport for classroom renovations at Central High School, along with an array of other projects.
Other districts in our area also used the proceeds to improve their learning environments, with the penny sales tax becoming a vital, accepted, part of their budgets.
The sales tax has been around for so long that voters in all of Iowa's 99 counties approved it. And, in 2008, the state legislature converted it to a statewide sales tax, bringing equity to its distribution. It's now known as Secure and Advanced Vision for Education, or SAVE.
Still, this tried-and-true Funding source is due to expire in 2029.
There is no doubt this Funding is vital to our schools.
In Bettendorf, for example, the money is going toward construction of the new Grant Wood Elementary School. That's a big project, but the funds also have been devoted to other expenses, like heating and air conditioning costs, buses and tennis courts.
-- Editorial Hamilton appointed to WV School Building Authority-- The Journal West Virginia: January 07, 2019 [ abstract] Sandra (Sandy) Hamilton was appointed to the School Building Authority (SBA) of West Virginia by Gov. Jim Justice on Nov. 1, 2018, to an unexpired term ending July 31, 2019.†Hamilton is the executive director of the Berkeley County Development Authority.†A lifelong resident of Berkeley County, she graduated from Musselman High School and Shepherd University. She is a member of multiple boards and organizations, including the Martinsburg Rotary Club, Berkeley County Schools Business Education Partnership, James Rumsey Technical Center’s Local School Improvement Council, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College’s Advisory Boards, Region 9, Farmland Protection Board, and the Martinsburg Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce.
The School Building Authority was created by the West Virginia State Legislature in 1989 to address the educational planning and school construction needs of the state in an efficient and economical manner. The Legislature also created a state Funding mechanism that would assist local boards of education in the construction and renovation of new and existing facilities. Since itsí inception, the SBA has partnered with counties to provide over $3,200,000,000 in Funding for construction projects across all 55 counties in West Virginia.
-- Staff Writer AISD task force recommends cutting magnets, closing 15 schools-- Statesman Texas: January 04, 2019 [ abstract] An Austin school district advisory committee tasked with finding ways to cut millions of dollars in spending is recommending the district close up to 15 schools, redraw school boundaries and eliminate magnet programs.
The options are among 43 recommendations the Budget Stabilization Task Force will present to school board members Monday night, as the district faces a deficit for the third year in a row, is on track to deplete its reserves within three years and faces further enrollment declines, which translate into less state Funding.
“Our recommendations are difficult and challenging and get to the heart of addressing the sacred cows,” Robert Thomas, a chairman of the task force, told the American-Statesman. “I have faith that the right thing will be done and we’ll see better academic outcomes for all our kids and not just for our kids who have parents who can drive them to magnet schools or have the economic means to put them in private schools.”
If all options are put in place, the district could save at least $60 million, with many of the savings continuing annually, based on a Statesman review of the potential cuts. The committee didn’t include dollar figures for some items, but Thomas said the $60 million figure sounded accurate.
-- Melissa B. Taboada Virginia attorney general says condition of schools responsibility of localities-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: January 04, 2019 [ abstract] Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says the condition of public school buildings is the primary responsibility of localities and local school boards.
Herring issued his opinion Friday in response to several questions raised by state Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin, who has been leading a push to repair Virginia’s deteriorating schools, particularly in financially strapped rural and urban areas.
Stanley and some colleagues in the Senate are expected to introduce a few bills related to school infrastructure to be considered when the General Assembly session starts Wednesday.
“While the Virginia Constitution does establish education as a fundamental right, it places the responsibility for determining the Funding for maintaining the required educational program on the General Assembly,” Herring wrote in the conclusion of his opinion. “The General Assembly has elected to require localities to provide the majority of Funding for the construction and improvement of the school physical plant.”
Stanley asked Herring, a Democrat who announced he will make a run for governor in 2021, in September whether the state and localities are in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education II ruling by allowing students to attend schools in poor condition.
-- Amy Friedenberger New FEMA safe room open in Rogersville-- The Marshfield Mail Missouri: January 01, 2019 [ abstract]
Logan-Rogersville’s Upper Elementary School recently held a grand opening for its new safe room Saturday, Dec. 1, at the upper elementary school.
The shelter, which was completed in September, comes as a beneficial and much needed facility for the Logan-Rogersville R-VIII School District, who partnered with the City of Rogersville for the project.
“The shelter will be used on a daily basis by the school district for physical education classes, athletic team practices and special events,” said Jason O’Neal, assistant superintendent of Logan-Rogersville Schools. “We applied for a FEMA grant and were awarded a $1,845,000 grant, which includes 75 percent federal Funding and 25 percent local Funding.” FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The actual cost of the project was $2,073,298 and included deconstruction of an existing dilapidated gymnasium (which was no longer cost effective to maintain); construction of a 8,733 square foot tornado safe room, which also doubles as a gymnasium for school and community use; and construction of an additional 1,678 square feet of entrance area and connecting hallway between the existing and new facilities. According to O’Neal, the shelter includes a generator room, restrooms mechanical room and storage room.
-- Sarah Bicknell Virginia schools require a perennial effort to address the backlog of delayed capital project-- Daily Press Virginia: January 01, 2019 [ abstract] A concrete plan to address the years-long list of roof repairs, HVAC upgrades and other capital needs at Virginia schools deserves serious consideration.
State Sen. Bill Stanley’s proposal would use a predicted windfall of new sales taxes collected from online purchases to pay for costly school infrastructure projects.
It’s a reversal of fortune for school officials, many of whom have avoided cuts to classroom programs in recent years by deferring needed work on facilities.
In the past decade, the commonwealth cut off Funding to help schools pay for capital needs, even as the steady drumbeat of high-priced projects marched toward a crescendo.
During those years, roofs were patched instead of replaced. Trailers were favored rather than building expansions. And Depression-era schools continued to be utilized well beyond their useful life.
State Sen. Staley, R-Franklin County, plans to introduce legislation that would distribute up to $4 billion in bonds to school divisions for infrastructure projects. The proposal would set in motion a process to get a statewide referendum on a ballot for Virginia voters to decide on.
The bonds would be paid for using sales tax collected from internet retailers. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for states to collect more taxes from online businesses, creating $250 million in projected additional revenue each year for Virginia. The senator wants to apply half of the sales tax collections to pay for the debt service on the bonds.
-- Editorial District 200 OKs First Phase Of Master Facilities Plan-- Oak Park-River Forest Patch Illinois: December 21, 2018 [ abstract] OAK PARK, IL --- All systems are go for the first phase of Oak Park-River Forest District 200's largest master facilities plan in 50 years to move forward, according to a press release from the district. The initial project, which is estimated to cost more than $32 million from the district's existing cash reserves, will include establishing all-gender restrooms, adding an ADA-accessible elevator, and renovating classrooms and other parts of the school.
District officials noted that since funds for the initial phase of the master facilities project would come from existing reserves, homeowners would not face a property tax increase. This Funding source will also allow District 200 to remain "debt-free," officials said.
In the first phase of construction, priority will be given to the district's Special Education TEAM (Transitional Education with Access to the Mainstream) program. These include a sensory room and an ADA-compliant restroom.
-- Lisa Marie Farver Mount Vernon City Council approves higher school impact fees-- goskagit.com Washington: December 21, 2018 [ abstract]
MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon City Council on Wednesday voted 4-3 to increase fees that go toward Funding school construction.
Under the new fee structure, construction of each new single-family home is subject to an impact fee of $9,421 — $2,763 more than the current rate.
“We recognize our (fee) is a large increase over 2016,” said Robert Coffey, school district board president, referring to the last time impact fees were assessed.
The Mount Vernon School District requested that fee increase in September.
Coffey said the increase is needed because of how steeply construction costs have risen in recent years and a continuous 1 percent growth in student population.
School districts assess impact fees to supplement school bonds in Funding new construction, shifting the cost burden off of residents’ property taxes.
The fee is collected by the city on behalf of the district.
The district uses a formula — widely employed by other districts in the state — to determine the number of students added by a new housing unit and how much those students cost the district, District Superintendent Carl Bruner said previously.
Councilman Joe Lindquist, who voted in favor of the district’s fee increase, said he trusts the results of the formula and thought the district wouldn’t ask for the fee increase if it wasn’t justified.
“I feel like they’ve done their homework, and I’m willing to give them what they ask for,” he said ahead of the vote.
-- Brandon Stone Robertson County leaders raise taxes on new home construction to fund schools-- Tennessean Tennessee: December 21, 2018 [ abstract] Robertson County Commissioners are hoping to raise money for schools by adding 30 cents per square foot to the privilege tax on new residential construction projects.
The move comes three years after commissioners lowered the privilege tax to 70 cents per square foot from $2 in a bid to promote growth and entice home builders to work in Robertson County.
“We’ve got schools coming, and we have to find a way to pay for it,” Robertson County Budget Committee Chairman Keith Hoover said during the commission’s December meeting.
Coopertown Elementary project looms
One week earlier, the Robertson County School Board took a major step forward on what is expected to be a multi-million-dollar renovation at Coopertown Elementary School and hired a Clarksville-based architect to begin drawing up plans. The project is expected to move quickly in the New Year and could reach commissioners for a Funding vote as early as February, School Board Chairman Jeff White said in a prior interview.
-- Nicole Young Mayor Stoney unveils $800 million plan to fully fund Richmond school facilities-- WTVR.com Virginia: December 20, 2018 [ abstract] RICHMOND, Va. – Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney has unveiled a plan that he says will fully fund the Richmond Public Schools $800 million capital plan over the next 20 years.
The School Capital Funding Plan would provide $150 million in the first five years, $200 million in the following five years, $212.2 million in the next five years, and $237.8 million in the following five years after that, totaling $800 million for school capital investments over 20 years.
Stoney says the school Funding plan does not rely on any real estate tax increase and will include the $150 million generated earlier this year when council approved a 1.5% meals tax hike to fund the renovation and replacement of crumbling Richmond school facilities.
“Starting with our $150 million investment in school facilities earlier this year, I’m proud that we were able to identify a path to fund the remaining capital plan for RPS, so we can get as many kids as possible into 21st Century schools as soon as possible,” said Mayor Stoney.
-- VERNON FREEMAN JR., Schools pitch $57 million maintenance catch-up plan-- Chesterfield Observer Virginia: December 19, 2018 [ abstract] Chesterfield school officials have developed a plan to carry out $57.3 million in critical facility projects by fiscal year 2022 – the first step in addressing a backlog of major maintenance needs that has contributed to system failures, structural defects and safety issues at local school buildings.
Christina Berta and Nita Mensia- Joseph, who lead Chesterfield County Public Schools’ finance and operations departments, respectively, presented the proposal to the Board of Supervisors during its afternoon work session last Wednesday.
Berta has worked closely with the county’s budget staff to identify potential Funding sources that could be reallocated to major maintenance.
At the same time, Mensia-Joseph and her team combed through a consultant’s countywide facility condition assessment and drafted a list of highest-priority projects to be completed over the next few years.
“This is kind of our emergency catch-up plan,” she said.
Berta called it “a path forward toward stabilization of major maintenance.”
“The elephant in the room that everybody is talking about is ‘What is it going to take for us to address the immediate issues we’ve identified within the major maintenance plan?” she added.
Bill Champion, a mechanical engineer with Maryland-based firm EMG, told county leaders in October that the school system has about $50 million in “immediate” major maintenance needs, which he defined as “failure is imminent, if it has not failed already.”
-- JIM MCCONNELL Anne Arundel school officials hope to make dent in $2.1 billion project backlog with state funds-- Capital Gazette Maryland: December 17, 2018 [ abstract] Jennifer Brienza said her daughter was a year old when Old Mill High School was listed as one of Anne Arundel County’s construction priorities.
She’s 14 now.
“It’s certainly Old Mill’s time to be fixed,” said Brienza, a leader behind the movement to fund Old Mill construction. “We’ve waited longer than anyone else to be fixed.”
Old Mill is among several schools awaiting large-scale construction projects, and a new stream of state Funding could make a dent in the district’s $2.1 billion backlog of infrastructure projects, according to school officials.
Gov. Larry Hogan last week announced plans to inject an additional $1.9 billion in school construction projects. State officials hope to accommodate 30 percent more project Funding requests, thanks to a new constitutional amendment that requires casino revenue be used for school Funding.
It is unclear how much additional Funding Anne Arundel County will receive; the state’s Interagency Commission on School Construction will determine which requests can be fulfilled, said Shareese DeLeaver Churchill, a spokesperson for the governor.
-- Lauren Lumpkin Are bonds best way to fund school construction?-- The News Virginian Virginia: December 16, 2018 [ abstract]
A Virginia Senate Subcommittee has recommended that a referendum be conducted in 2019 seeking approval to issue $4 billion of bonds for school construction. The study group mentioned schools in urban areas with leaking ceilings and rural schools so behind that only one electrical outlet may exist per classroom.
It is true many Virginia public schools are in need of replacement or significant renovation. It is also true that Funding school construction is difficult for localities (think Waynesboro and Staunton high schools). But is one big splash to address today’s urgent needs the best way to proceed when considering how to keep up with the needs long term?
That some school systems have failed to meet student facility obligations is true but understanding why is important. Some of the lagging is due tremendous growth (Loudoun County) which has outpaced the ability to build. In these instances growing revenues and slowing growth will offer remedy.
Some areas have undergone such tremendous economic stress from basic societal and macro-economic changes — coal, tobacco, textiles — that recovery, if ever, is distant. These area, these students, will need help to succeed.
-- Tracy Pyles Fayette County Schools secures first half of funding from SBA-- MetroNews West Virginia: December 16, 2018 [ abstract] Fayette County Schools will use $6.6 million from the state School Building Authority for reconfiguring and renovating schools.
The county is seeking $13.2 million from the state for the projects, splitting the money requests over two years. The state School Building Authority approved the Funding at its meeting last week.
“We’re working on four different schools, and we would not have needed all of the Funding all at once,” Fayette County Schools superintendent Terry George said.
The projects include reconfiguring Valley High School in Smithers into an institution for students between pre-K and eighth grade, renovating Oak Hill High School, reconfiguring Fayetteville High School into a pre-K through eighth-grade institution and renovating Midland Trail High School and New River.
George said two of the new schools are expected to open in August.
“We’re progressing very well. Weather’s been a little bit of a hindrance, but they have managed to work around it. They’re working extra hours and extra days on the days when the sun shines in,” he said.
-- Staff Writer School construction and Kirwan funding not an either/or proposition-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: December 14, 2018 [ abstract] As a newly elected state senator who represents a Baltimore County legislative district in which there are two high schools that badly need replacing (Towson and Dulaney) and who also feels that the Kirwan Commission has identified important issues that need to be addressed legislatively, I was pretty astounded by The Baltimore Sun editorial, “Hogan sets up a schools showdown” (Dec. 12).
Contrary to the central theme of the editorial, we do not need to make an “either/or” decision to either support capital spending to deal with decrepit schools or, alternatively, to improve the academic performance of our schools. Schools that are at the end of their useful lives need to be replaced, and at the same time, we need to follow the recommendations of the Kirwan Commission that will make Maryland a global leader in quality education. In the case of Dulaney High School in particular, it is irresponsible to posit that we need to choose between great academics or brown water.
The Sun seems to suggest that this is a partisan issue. I emphatically disagree. Gov. Larry Hogan wants to use some of the available funds to get moving right away on urgent school facility needs, but he has complimented the work of the Kirwan Commission (“Hogan announces plan to spend $3.5 billion on Maryland school construction, balks at estimated Kirwan costs,” Dec. 11). As a Republican state senator, I intend to explore how rapidly and at what cost we can move forward to implement the proposed Kirwan Commission reforms. I know that many of my Democratic colleagues agree with this approach.
-- Opinion Harford school officials 'encouraged' by Hogan's plan to fund $3.5 billion in capital projects statewide-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: December 13, 2018 [ abstract] What portion of the Harford public school system’s Funding request for capital projects will be fulfilled by the state hasn’t been determined, but school officials are “encouraged.”
Harford County Public Schools’ capital Funding request for Fiscal Year 2020 is more than $74 million, most of which is sought from the county. About $12.1 million, however, is requested from the state for projects that include roof and HVAC replacements, according to school system budget documents.
Gov. Larry Hogan announced this week that he plans to fund $3.5 billion in school construction projects across the state, in part because of a new constitutional amendment that adds casino revenue to school Funding.
Hogan said Tuesday he will submit legislation during the 2019 General Assembly session that would add $1.9 billion in new school construction projects over five years. That Funding would be in addition to the $1.6 billion in public school construction Funding included in the state’s five-year capital budget.
“We are encouraged by Governor Hogan’s announcement and look forward to receiving more information about the application, review, and approval process and how it could potentially benefit Harford County Public Schools,” Harford superintendent Dr. Sean Bulson said. “We will continue to utilize the Educational Facilities Master Plan, along with the Capital Improvement Program, to provide the Board of Education of Harford County with information as they evaluate future capital projects.”
-- Erika Butler NC lawmakers rejected a $2B bond for school building. Now they want to bring it back-- The News & Observer North Carolina: December 13, 2018 [ abstract] RALEIGH
When teachers protested by the thousands in Raleigh this summer, one of their demands was for voters to have the chance to approve additional state spending for education Funding, like building new schools.
Republican leaders in the N.C. General Assembly shot that idea down at the time. But they appear to have now changed their minds, with House Speaker Tim Moore announcing his plans to support a $1.9 billion education bond next year. If it passes the legislature in 2019, it would be on the ballot in 2020 for voters to decide on.
“Education is what matters most to families and businesses — to the private and public sectors alike — and North Carolina is poised to build on historic commitments to our schools with another long-term investment in capital construction for our rapidly growing student population,” Moore said in a press release.
Most of the money would go toward building new schools, Moore said, while about $600 million would go to the state’s university and community college systems.
-- WILL DORAN Virginia governor plans $80 million for school construction, but experts say billions are needed-- The Virginian-Pilot Virginia: December 13, 2018 [ abstract] In the decade since Virginia last had money to help school districts with construction needs, localities have turned elsewhere to get projects done.
Virginia Beach sold bonds to finance replacing Great Neck Middle School. Isle of Wight County secured over $7 million in federal loans to tear down Windsor Middle School and replace it with Georgie D. Tyler Middle School.
But those and other now-completed projects still sit near the top of the state’s waiting list — a list frozen in time that may thaw if lawmakers approve a one-time allocation included in Gov. Ralph Northam’s next budget proposal.
Either the $80 million set aside by the governor for loans or a competing proposal from state Sen. Bill Stanley to offer up to $4 billion in bonds would end a decade without state support for school construction projects, an area where Virginia has lagged behind neighboring states.
The conversation alone is leaving educators hopeful and cautious of criticizing either plan, which the General Assembly will consider once it convenes in January. But the true level of need is probably closer to Stanley’s number, said Mary Filardo, the director of the 21st Century School Fund and a national advocate for improving school facilities.
“The $4 billion is really a reasonable proposal,” Filardo said. “The $80 million loan program is just really not.”
Before the recession, there was a school construction grant fund and a low-interest loan program — the one Northam proposes reviving — but Funding sources dried up in 2009.
-- Sara Gregory and Jane Hammond Baxter CSD voters approve bond to fund school renovations-- Newton Daily News Iowa: December 12, 2018 [ abstract] Improvements to the Baxter Community School are officially coming.
Residents within the Baxter Community School District voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to approve a bond measure to provide Funding to a $6 million school renovation project, allowing improvements in several areas of the building’s classrooms and parking lot.
The vote passed 87.47 percent to 12.53 percent, according to unofficial results from the Jasper County Auditor’s Office. Of the 415 votes cast, 363 voter’s said “yes” to the bond, and 52 “no” votes were cast. A total of 65 absentee ballots were received by the postmark deadline and included in Tuesday night’s tally.
BCSD Superintendent Mickolyn Clapper said she cannot overstate how excited she is to see the bond vote approved and is looking forward to the next steps of the renovation project.
“It’s just really exciting,” Clapper said Tuesday night. “People, I think, are just feeling really positive about this school building project.”
As of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Baxter Community Center had about 54 people come in to vote, as well as more than 57 voters who either voted early as Jasper County Courthouse or submitted an absentee ballot. Donna Akins, one of three election officials at the voting location in Baxter, said the bond for the school renovation project was the one and the only issue to cast a vote for on the ballot.
-- Orrin Shawl Crumbling foundations found in Tolland municipal school building-- Fox61 Connecticut: December 12, 2018 [ abstract] TOLLAND -- Jeffery McCoutcheon has two daughters enrolled at Birch Grove Primary School in Tolland. He's not worried about their safety rather, he's concerned about something else.
"It's a very nice building. From the inside they've done a nice job keeping it up. I would hate to see the school have to shutter before its useful live ends," he says.
The building's foundation is showing signs of deterioration. It's an issue that's been haunting thousands of Connecticut homes. It's a reality that could place students in unfavorable situations.
The Tolland Board of Education met Wednesday night to discuss what they've done to get ahead of the issue. They've hired engineers to take a core sample of the building's foundation. Initial reports show degradation which will force the school to take proactive steps such as halting bond work on the building's roof and boiler room. Engineers say the building is still safe for at least another five years. It's a reality that forces the Board to contemplate the future of the school.
Tolland Superintendent Dr. Walter Willett says shutting the school down or adding a wing on one of the other schools in town are possibilities.
He says a few Funding options will be looked at when the time comes.
"We're going to be looking at the state," says Dr. Willett. "we're going to be looking to various entities like insurance companies to help us get through it."
-- IKE EJIOCHI Barnette positioned to get finished if Legislature funds school maintenance projects-- Daily News-Miner Alaska: December 11, 2018 [ abstract] FAIRBANKS — Completing a long overdue remodel at one of Fairbanks’ oldest schools, Barnette Magnet School, is the No. 1 project on a ranked list of school maintenance projects by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.
If the ranking stands, the Barnette project is first in line if the Legislature allocates money to the state’s Major Maintenance Grant Fund.
The department’s list was released on Nov. 5. It is subject to change and approval by the state Board of Education.
“I am excited that (Barnette) is number one. We will have to wait and see how the budget process goes,” said Dave Norum, executive director of facilities management at the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, in an email.
State Funding for capital projects has sharply declined since 2013.
The Barnette project is one of 72 projects on the department’s fiscal 2020 capital improvement projects list.
When the 31st Alaska Legislature convenes on Jan. 15, 2019, it faces upward of $100 million worth of requests from school districts across Alaska for things like replacement of roofs, underground storage tanks, elevators, plumbing pipes, boilers and more.
-- Amanda Bohman Hogan announces $3.5B for Maryland school construction-- Herald-Mail Media Maryland: December 11, 2018 [ abstract]
ANNAPOLIS — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced plans Tuesday to create a $3.5 billion fund for school construction in the state over five years.
Much of the money will be available as the result of a constitutional amendment that Maryland voters approved last month. It requires the state’s portion of casino revenue set aside for education to be used to enhance spending on schools above current state Funding formulas.
The rest already is in the state’s five-year Capital Improvement Program.
“I happen to believe very strongly that every single child in our state deserves access to a world-class education regardless of what neighborhood they happen to grow up in, and an important part of that is making sure that our students are educated in facilities that are modern, safe and efficient and which provide them with an environment that encourages growth,” Hogan said at a news conference at Highland Park Elementary School in Landover, Md.
“We want to make sure that schools have heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer, that they fully meet the 21st-century needs of Maryland students, teachers and taxpayers,” he said.
Last winter, a cold spell exposed the poor state of school buildings in many big-city districts, including Baltimore, where the failure of heating systems closed dozens of institutions due to frigid classrooms.
While the governor said progress was made in the state’s largest city as well as statewide in addressing school infrastructure concerns, he said his new proposal will be made in legislation next month to create a Building Opportunity Fund.
Hogan said the measure will dedicate about $2 billion from revenue resulting from the constitutional amendment with revenue bonds. That will be in addition to public-school construction Funding now in the state’s five-year Capital Improvement Program.
“The state already has received $3.7 billion in Funding requests, including requests for upgrades and repairs to some of our aging schools,” he said. “With this new Building Opportunity Fund, we will be able to fulfill nearly all of those local Funding requests.”
-- Staff Writer School Building Authority approves grants for school construction projects-- The Register-Herald West Virginia: December 10, 2018 [ abstract] Counties all over the state are set to receive Funding from the state's School Building Authority to go towards construction projects at schools, including four counties in The Register Herald's Coverage area.
Before Monday's meeting, 27 counties had been competing for a part of $45.8 million. According to SBA's director of architecture Ben Ashley, the requests from all 27 counties added up to a total of $137 million.
Of the 27 counties that submitted requests, 19 counties are set to receive Funding, including Fayette, Monroe, Nicholas and Summers counties.
The Funding received from the SBA will be used in the following ways:
• Fayette County will receive $6,605,223 to use toward Phase II upgrades and renovations in Fayette County Schools. Local funds include $2 million, and the total projected cost of the projects is $15.2 million.
Fayette County originally requested $13.2 million for construction projects going on in the county, Ashley previously reported.
• Monroe County will receive $11 million toward a new Peterstown PreK-8 school. Local funds include $3.9 million, and the total projected cost of the projects is $24.2 million.
Monroe County had originally requested $21 million from the SBA, Ashley said.
-- Jordan Nelson Hopson to present proposal to close schools, build anew to shrink Shelby County Schools footprint-- Commercial Appeal Tennessee: December 08, 2018 [ abstract] Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dorsey Hopson will present a proposal Tuesday to shrink the district's footprint, which could include closing dozens of schools over the next five years.
It will also include suggestions on building new schools to replace dilapidated facilities in under-invested neighborhoods across the city.
With a growing list of over $500 million in deferred maintenance projects and 17,000 open seats across the district, a need to downsize and replace facilities prompted Hopson to develop a long-term plan to address both issues.
The Shelby County Commission, the local Funding body for SCS, has long requested such a plan. But what happens to the proposal after Hopson presents it is unknown, as his last day as superintendent is Jan. 8. The work to analyze the district's footprint and present a long-term plan is his last major project of his six-year tenure.
Board member Billy Orgel, chairman of the facilities committee, said he expects Hopson to present a combination of closures, new construction and rezoning.
"We're trying to be efficient with the use of our funds," Orgel said.
-- Jennifer Pignolet School Building Authority set to make decisions on school projects-- MetroNews West Virginia: December 08, 2018 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the state School Building Authority’s Finance Committee have been working on ways to possibly stretch the $45 million the agency has for projects submitted by more than two dozen county school systems.
The full SBA meets Monday to decide which counties will receive this year’s NEEDs grants.
Representatives from 27 counties made their pitches to the SBA in late October. The projects total $135 million but the SBA only has $45 million to spend this cycle. Ben Ashley, SBA’s director of architectural services, said the finance committee hopes to increase that number.
“Maybe do some different, creative things with our finance plans. We’re hoping to take the $135 million in requests and maybe get a few more projects with some different ideas,” Ashley said.
Most of the counties that made presentations six weeks ago were seeking money for additions, renovations and maintenance projects. Only two counties are seeking Funding for new schools.
-- Jeff Jenkins State senators want to revise system for school facilities funding-- The Notebook Pennsylvania: December 06, 2018 [ abstract] “Our steps have cracks and holes in them. Once my teacher’s foot got stuck in a hole, and almost fell,” 4th grader Cheyenne Jacquet wrote in a letter to state legislators more than a year ago.
Cheyenne added that her school, Cassidy Elementary, a 94-year-old building in Overbrook, looks “unwelcoming and raggedy,” with portions of the leaky building closed off to students.
“Since I’m not yet an engineer, I can’t say how unsafe the school’s foundation is, but I know it needs work,” Cheyenne wrote. “Inside the school is a hot mess. Bathrooms are out of order, mice running rampant, windows and locks are broken. There are cracks and holes in the walls, broken lights, plaster falling from the ceiling and horrible leaks from the ceiling and pipes.
“The heating system is so old that children sit in their classrooms with their coats on freezing to death.”
The students at Cassidy, organized through a program run by the National Liberty Museum, hand-delivered their letters to state legislators in Harrisburg in 2017, seeking help in making their schools safe and modern.
In recent years, the state government has provided virtually no assistance to school districts with their infrastructure needs.
In 1973, the General Assembly approved a program called PlanCon, designed to reimburse a portion of construction and renovation costs incurred by school districts.
But in 2012, under the administration of Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, the state stopped Funding it. That left already-underfunded districts like Philadelphia, with its aging inventory of buildings, even more desperate for dollars.
The District is replacing Cassidy, entirely at its own expense, because it is such an extreme case.
Because it doesn’t have nearly the funds it needs, the District is forced to employ triage: In other school buildings, students and teachers endure deteriorating, but somewhat less urgent, conditions because the District can’t afford to address them.
-- Greg Windle Task force narrows recommendations for improving school-construction funding-- Washington State Wire Washington: December 05, 2018 [ abstract] The Improving State Funding for School Construction Joint Legislative Task Force held a meeting this morning, in which members discussed recommendations due to the legislature December 15. The task force, which was created in the 2017-19 capital budget, went on site tours in four school districts and held four meetings “to hear from school facilities and construction experts and stakeholders” between July and December of this year.
The task force landed on five key recommendations (on the blue pages of this document), based on task force members’ responses to a survey. The top five are as follows, in order of priority:
- “Address the needs of rural schools that cannot otherwise qualify for the School Construction Assistance Program (SCAP).”
- “Adjust square footage per student allocation to reflect what is getting built (130 sq. ft. for elementary).”
- “Support K-3 class size.”
- “Consider credit for construction of schools used for other community services like early learning and health services.”
- “Pursue simple majority on school district bonds.”
-- SARA GENTZLER 40 Nevada schools receive funding to keep gardens growing-- Las Vegas Review-Journal Nevada: December 04, 2018 [ abstract] Forty school gardens across Nevada will grow with a $200,000 boost from the state Department of Agriculture.
The schools in Churchill, Clark, Douglas and Lyon counties will each receive up to $5,000 for this school year, the department announced Tuesday. The gardens provide educational opportunities around healthy eating, enabling teachers to incorporate school garden beds in instruction.
“School gardens as an educational tool allow teachers to provide a course of study addressing multiple subject areas in a hands-on setting as an extension of the classroom,” Amber Smyer, agriculture literacy coordinator for the department, said in a news release.
The award is the second two-year grant for school gardens made possible by a 2017 law. The first year awarded up to $10,000 each to 48 schools in five counties to create new gardens.
-- Amelia Pak-Harvey Horry County Schools board narrows list for $750 million capital plan-- WBTW South Carolina: December 04, 2018 [ abstract] CONWAY, SC (WBTW) - Horry County's school board is narrowing down how it wants to spend more than $750 million on projects all over the district.
After opening five new schools in the last few years, Horry County Schools looks to keep building. More than a dozen new schools or renovated buildings have been talked about for a five-year capital plan worth Funding-750-million-capital-plan/1119411957" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; color: rgb(105, 123, 153); text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px;" target="_blank">more than $750 million.
The school board will now try to choose which projects to do.
"I'd like us to continue to move quickly on our decisions because our buildings are just getting worse and worse in condition and we've got growth and other issues that we need to be repairing," said Janice Morreale, a HCS board member representing areas around Surfside Beach and Garden City.
During a retreat Monday, board members selected projects they thought were the most important for HCS, which is expected to grow by more than 6,000 students in the next five years. They chose projects in five categories: capacity/growth, replace/renovate for condition, sustainment projects, athletics projects and grounds projects.
Modular classrooms were ranked as the top priority for student population growth, but the board also ranked renovations to St. James and Myrtle Beach high schools in the top three. For upgrades based on building conditions, building the Horry County Education Center, also called "the alternative school," was ranked most important, followed by replacing Whittemore Park Middle School and renovating Conway High School.
-- Chris Spiker Santa Barbara School District Cultivates Idea for Farm, Outdoor Classroom-- Noozhawk California: December 02, 2018 [ abstract] The Santa Barbara Unified School District is looking at creating its largest outdoor classroom on an undeveloped 12-acre property in Santa Barbara’s Hidden Valley neighborhood.
The idea is in the conceptual plan phase. The district recently held a town hall meeting with neighbors, and the Board of Trustees has approved KBZ Architects to begin drawing up project plans.
Superintendent Cary Matsuoka said next steps include researching potential Funding sources and presenting a conceptual model to the school board.
The site would be big enough to accommodate about 120 students, he said, and would be used for day field trips.
“The ideas that are emerging for this property, the biggest part will be that it’s going to establish a working organic farm,” Matsuoka said, adding that it also would be a learning center where students can be taught about farm-to-table practices, agriculture and sustainability, as well as environmental literacy.
“We will try to work in some kind of kitchen facility, so kids can pick the food and prepare lunch for themselves,” he added.
The district-owned property is located at the southern end of Palermo Drive west of Veronica Springs Road in the area known as Hidden Valley. The northeast end faces Veronica Springs Church at 949 Veronica Springs Road.
-- Brooke Holland, Noozhawk Maintenance deferred: Without funding, problems can grow like ... mold-- Stamford Advocate Connecticut: December 01, 2018 [ abstract] STAMFORD — Facility needs reports from almost 10 years ago warned of the mold now plaguing Stamford Public Schools.
At least seven of the Stamford public school buildings where mold has been found during the past several months were flagged for mold assessments during the district’s last facility needs study, performed in 2009.
A look at the maintenance recommended in the study, compared to what the city actually spent to shore up the buildings could show why Stamford got to the point where the district needed to shut down a school. The report from consultant EMG called for about $138 million in capital improvements, less than half of which the schools have seen.
Outgoing Board of Education Chairman David Mannis said the district, often given about $4 million to $5 million to spread across 20 buildings, usually favored spending on more pressing issues like security upgrades.
“What we realistically hope to get will be devoted to building safety issues and compliance issues,” he said. “Mold concerns drove us to say, ‘What caused it?’ and that led us (now) to look at, for example, window leaks. But in past years, they were just window leaks and didn’t get attention. ... A lot of these things have been around and they didn’t seem as urgent because people hadn’t identified that connection properly.”
According to the city’s Mold Task Force website, mold has been found in the following elementary schools: Davenport Ridge, Hart Magnet, Julia A. Stark, K.T. Murphy, Newfield, Northeast, Roxbury, Springdale, Stillmeadow, Toquam Magnet and Westover Magnet.
-- Erin Kayata The Defenders: 40 percent of schools in CMS are overcrowded-- WCNC North Carolina: November 30, 2018 [ abstract] CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As the region's largest school district tries to manage a growing number of students, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools data shows 40 percent of its schools are overcrowded.
Some by hundreds of students; one high school by more than a thousand.
A report identified 67 overcrowded schools in all, 11 times more than nearby Gaston County, and there's currently only Funding to renovate or replace about a third of those schools.
Collinswood Language Academy, a well-respected magnet school in Charlotte, is at the top of the list of overcrowded schools based on student enrollment alone.
"We have I think 800 students in a facility that's probably supposed to hold 400," Parent Teacher Association President Kerry Richman-Connors said. "The original building is only for kindergarten through fifth grade and so we have the sixth through eighth grade, which adds a lot more bodies."
As a result of the high number of students and many modular units, Collinswood is also at the top of CMS' new school list, thanks in large part to the longtime work of the PTA.
Voters approved $922 million in bonds last year. The money will help the district relieve overcrowding at 20 schools, including number two on the list, Ardrey Kell, which is almost 1,400 students above the planned enrollment.
-- Nathan Morabito Hamden school board votes to close schools, but specifics uncertain-- New Haven Register Connecticut: November 29, 2018 [ abstract] HAMDEN — The Board of Education Thursday voted to close and repurpose the Shepherd Glen and Church Street elementary schools , choosing a path forward for reconfiguration of the district.
The board also voted to shift sixth-grade students to Hamden Middle School, petition the Legislative Council to allow the district to take over the current Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School building, and direct Superintendent of Schools Jody Goeler to develop plans for intradistrict magnet and universal preschool programs.
The specifics of the plan are still undetermined, Chairman Chris Daur said.
He said renovation of the Alice Peck Learning Center is expected to begin in summer, shifting students there to Wintergreen, where the board intends to consolidate special education services.
They may be joined by students from West Woods Elementary, which the board intends to renovate in the imminent future. But state Funding has not yet been secured for that effort, Daur said.
State Funding also will need to be obtained to construct an addition to Hamden Middle School, which will allow the building to house sixth-grade students, Daur said. Construction there, if all goes as expected, likely will begin in 2020, he said.
Then, in September 2021, Shepherd Glen and Church Street would close, town sixth-graders would make the leap to the middle school, and a firm plan for the redistricting of the town elementary schools, to incorporate Goeler’s plans for universal pre-K and magnet schools, would be implemented.
New attendance zones likely will be crafted in the next two to three years, board member Myron Hul said.
-- Ben Lambert Burlington County school districts plan for new security measures-- Burlington County Times New Jersey: November 26, 2018 [ abstract] MOUNT HOLLY — New security vestibules. Updated exterior lights. Additional security cameras. Enhanced door locks.
These are just a few of the new security measures Burlington County high schools are planning to put in place after receiving Funding for the projects through the county’s $20 million grant program.
“It was perfect for us because we were already in the works (to improve security) but one of the items that the grant really helps with is the safety and security vestibule,” Rancocas Valley Regional High School Superintendent Christopher Heilig said. “During the school day, all of the traffic is funneled through that main entrance.”
Rancocas Valley is one of nine high schools that have been officially awarded a grant through the county’s new school security initiative.
The county has created a $20 million pool of Funding available for improvements at all 21 public high schools in the county. The grants are being awarded on a rolling, first-come, first-serve basis in order to fund improvements as quickly as possible.
Pemberton Township High School was the first to receive its award of $1.2 million in early October. The other eight approvals include:
- Burlington Township — $768,000
- Cinnaminson — $380,000
- Delran — $902,000
- Florence Township — $707,000
- Maple Shade — $1,272,000
- Rancocas Valley Regional — $1,001,000
- Riverside — $977,000
- Willingboro — $1,450,000
-- Kelly Kultys Here are the trends shaping Arizona school construction-- AZ Big Media Arizona: November 26, 2018 [ abstract] Nothing will ever take Arizona back to the great school construction boom of the early 2000s. From 1999 to 2007, the Arizona Schools Facilities Board, the organization that distributes funds for school districts to build new schools or make improvements to existing facilities, provided Funding for 219 new schools. Then, as those in the commercial real estate world remember, the economy faltered and very little new building occurred. In fact, from 2008 to 2016, the ASFB provided funds for just three new schools.
Part of the problem is that the Funding formula that the ASFB uses to determine how much money a new project will receive remained the same, while the cost of construction went up, leaving districts with a Funding gap that they would have to fill through ballot measures. Up until the 2016 election, the vast majority of district bond measures that were on ballots across the state did not pass, meaning no new schools would be built.
“If a district qualifies, the Arizona School Facilities Board can provide some Funding for new educational spaces,” said Barry Chasse, owner of Chasse Building Team, a company that is active in education construction. “However, their current Funding formula is completely inadequate to build a new school…let alone a state-of-the-art school.”
The view towards school districts asking for more funds through the bond process changed sometime after 2015, as more and more districts dealt with higher student enrollments and no increases in Funding from the state. In the 2016 election cycle, 43 out of 54 ballot measures that were put forth by districts seeking Funding for facilities improvements or new schools passed. That was followed by a perfect 22-for-22 record in 2017 for districts seeking budget overrides or bond measures.
“Bond money is vital and completely necessary to build schools benefiting Arizona students,” added Chasse. “Districts are competing with private and charter schools for students. They have no choice but to ask their local communities to support bonds to allow the construction of new education facilities.”
-- STEVE BURKS Richmond to break ground on 3 new schools: ‘We are all investing in our children’-- CBS 6 Virginia: November 19, 2018 [ abstract] RICHMOND, Va. – Richmond Public Schools will break ground on three new schools on December 19.
The groundbreaking comes after Richmond City Council passed a meals tax increase to fund the renovation and replacement of crumbling Richmond school facilities.
The meals tax increase will reportedly generate $9.1 million in new Funding per year. With that added tax revenue, Richmond could expand its debt capacity to borrow up to $150 million to fund new school construction over the next five years.
The meals tax, proposed by Mayor Levar Stoney, will fund the replacement of George Mason Elementary School, E.S.H. Greene Elementary School, and Elkhart-Thompson Middle School.
The December 19 groundbreakings will mark the formal beginning of construction for the new schools.
“This is another significant step in our progress to invest in the future of our public school students and get them the state-of-the-art schools with the modern learning environments they deserve,” said Mayor Stoney. “We value our students and will continue to fight to provide them with the resources they need to succeed, both inside and outside the classroom.”
-- VERNON FREEMAN JR New 5-year plan gives Williamson County School Board sticker shock-- Tennessean Tennessee: November 15, 2018 [ abstract] The longer Williamson County waits to fund sorely needed new schools, the more they'll cost to build.
Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney made that point during a school board work session on Thursday as some board members expressed sticker shock while reviewing the district's newest five year capital plan.
Between now and 2024, the district will need over $543 million to fund capital projects, including new school buildings and renovations to existing schools.
That's a considerable hike from the board's 2017-18 five-year plan, which outlined a need for $427 million.
"When we first did the 10-year plan, the total we said we needed for construction was a half-billion dollars," said board member Rick Wimberly. "It seems like the five-year plan wouldn't be as high as the 10-year plan. What am I missing?"
Looney said the district's 10-year plan called for the majority of construction to be done in the first six years.
Several new schools in the works have also been postponed in recent years as the district struggles with Funding to help accommodate its population, Looney said. The district, already serving 40,000 students, expects to see its population increase by 20,000 more over the next decade.
-- Elaina Sauber School bond measure triumphed in Chollas Park, got pummeled in Pomerado: Map shows support by precinct-- The San Diego Union-Tribune California: November 15, 2018 [ abstract] An initiative that clears the San Diego Unified School District to borrow $3.5 billion won the majority vote in 85 percent of precincts, according to data from the midterm election.
Some 152,500 people were in favor of the initiative, which is the largest bond in district history and its third request for extra Funding in the past decade. According to the 204-page measure, the money will help the state’s second-largest school district improve aging classrooms and bring updated technology to the classrooms, among other things.
Among precincts with more than 100 votes, Measure YY was most popular in an area of Montezuma — between Montezuma Road and Aztec Walk — with more than 88 percent of voters approving the bond.
Registrar of Voters data show 88 percent of voters in a Chollas Park precinct, near Logan Avenue and Interstate 805, voted yes, the second highest percent among voting precincts. In a Southeastern San Diego neighborhood, near Imperial Avenue and South 28th Street, four out of every five voters approved the measure.
-- Lauryn Schroeder Cedar Rapids' new elementary school plan takes first step, though funding still uncertain-- The Gazette Iowa: November 14, 2018 [ abstract] CEDAR RAPIDS — School district officials plan to select an architect to design a new Coolidge Elementary, the first of 10 elementaries slated to be razed and rebuilt under the district’s facilities plan.
Although Funding for the entire plan still is not secured, the initial step was informally approved by the Cedar Rapids school board this week.
The $224.2 million plan relies on an extension of a statewide penny sales tax, known as SAVE — Secure an Advanced Vision for Education fund — that expires in 2029. District officials are hopeful the tax, which funds school infrastructure projects, will be extended by 20 years during the next legislative session.
“Let’s get this architect selected, the process underway,” Superintendent Brad Buck told the board at a Monday meeting. “We can do some things with very limited costs.”
The architect will be told the district “may be at a different decision” about whether to build the school at all, dependent on the Legislature’s action on SAVE, Buck said.
If the tax is not extended, the school board would need to consider other Funding sources for the facilities plan, which could include a property sales tax-funded general obligation bond.
The district’s current levy rate maxes out at about $211.6 million, district Chief Financial Officer David Nicholson said.
-- Molly Duffy Groton superintendent: Building new elementary schools would be more cost-efficient-- The Day Connecticut: November 12, 2018 [ abstract] Groton — New elementary school buildings would provide greater value to the community, with no increase in the price of the school plan approved two years ago, according to schools Superintendent Michael Graner.
At a referendum slated for next month, voters will decide whether or not to approve a revision to the Groton 2020 plan to instead build two elementary schools, rather than convert the town's two middle schools into elementary schools. Graner, meanwhile, said in a recent interview that building new schools is the more cost-efficient option.
Two years ago, Groton voters approved a $184.5 million proposal to build one new consolidated middle school on the former Merritt Farm property next to Fitch High School and renovate the existing middle schools into two elementary schools. After the town notified the state Department of Administrative Services School Construction Grants and Review of the outcome of the vote, DAS officially approved the school plan in a letter and confirmed the state’s commitment to pay $100 million of the $184.5 million project, Graner said. The Permanent School Building Committee then began work to design the schools.
But DAS later notified the town that its guidelines had changed, opening up the possibility for a new plan for the elementary schools, he said. If school officials could prove it was more cost efficient to build new schools than to do renovations, DAS would consider approving the same Funding. Architects, the Permanent School Building Committee and school officials met last summer with DAS officials in Hartford to discuss the cost estimates of renovating the two schools compared to the cost of building new schools.
“It turns out that building new was more cost-efficient,” Graner said.
-- Kimberly Drelich Ohio Bill Could Direct School Funding Toward Air Conditioning-- the News Ohio: November 09, 2018 [ abstract] Columbus, Ohio — Ohio would be required to study which of its schools have air conditioning under a state lawmaker’s proposal to put school construction Funding specifically toward meeting standards for climate control, among other school infrastructure improvements.
HB 738, introduced Oct. 4 by Rep. Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg), requires the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) and the Department of Education (ODE) to study the status of school buildings regarding air conditioning, accessibility, and school safety. The bill also requires that once the study is completed, 25 percent of future school construction money be dedicated to air conditioning, disability accessibility, and safety.
The state lacks data on how many Ohio schools have air conditioning or how much it would cost to air condition school buildings in Ohio that do not already have it. Earlier this school year, a heat wave caused multiple Ohio schools to close or send students home early, sparking debate on social media from educators and parents over whether climate control is necessary for a good learning environment.
-- Staff Author Parents demand a public school at proposed Glendale shelter site, and ADA accessibility districtwide-- QNS.com New York: November 05, 2018 [ abstract] Community Education Council 24 is asking for big improvements to schools in the southwestern Queens district by issuing a set of resolutions to build a new school at a proposed homeless shelter site in Glendale, and requests that all of the district’s schools comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Demand for the 78-16 Cooper Ave. site not only goes along with work from City Councilman Robert Holden, but leaders from CEC 24 want the possible facility in review by the School Construction Authority to act as a release valve for overcrowding, according to the resolutions.
“I appreciate the CEC’s efforts in advocating for improved school safety, construction and Funding,” Holden said. “School District 24 is overburdened and I have made it my mission to change that by fighting for locations such as 78-16 Cooper Ave. and by working closely with the SCA on multiple locations.”
CEC 24 is calling for the Cooper Avenue site to become a high school to help relieve overcrowding in the area as the district is one of the most congested in the city.
The city Department of Homeless Services began negotiations to create a shelter at the location this summer, months after it announced an earlier shelter plan was off the table. Holden intervened and said he would help the agency find a different location to house the homeless.
-- Mark Hallum OP-ED: BALLOT QUESTION SHUTS OUT MOST STUDENTS FROM FACILITIES FUNDING-- NJSpotlight New Jersey: November 02, 2018 [ abstract] Trenton needs to bring all school buildings up to par, not just vo-tech districts that are the primary beneficiaries of proposed $500M bonds.
New Jersey should celebrate the strong gains made over the past 15 years to improve the condition of our public-school building infrastructure.
Sparked by a state Supreme Court order, New Jersey stands out in providing state financing to rebuild dilapidated and outmoded schools in poor neighborhoods. We also make state grants to supplement local taxes to maintain and upgrade schools in every district across the state.
Why are safe, not-overcrowded and educationally adequate school buildings essential? Simple. They promote student well-being, improve student learning, and increase teacher satisfaction and retention. They are literally the foundation for a high-quality education.
But our commitment to providing modern, up-to-date schools for all is at a crossroads. In 2008, lawmakers approved $2 billion in bond financing for school construction in urban, or “SDA districts,” and $1 billion for “Regular Operating Districts,” or RODs. All of that Funding has now been allocated, yet urgent needs remain. In the SDA districts, 381 additional school-construction projects, including 200 renovations and 102 new buildings, must still be completed. RODs also have pressing needs, including classrooms for full-day kindergarten and pre-school expansion.
-- Op-Ed David Sciarra New Schools $17 Billion Capital Plan Aims To Increase School Accessibility, Reduce Overcrowding-- WNYC New York: November 01, 2018 [ abstract] The $17 billion capital plan for New York City public schools that officials say is "the largest ever" would significantly increase accessibility in a system where many students with physical disabilities are barred entry.
The funds for the years 2020-2024 would be used to reduce overcrowding and end the use of trailers for classroom instruction, issues that have long been concerns raised by families and staff alike. But the most significant aspect would be the $750 million set aside to make one-third of schools accessible by the end of fiscal 2024. Currently, only 20 percent are accessible according to a report from Advocates for Children, and only $178 million was allocated for accessibility in the current capital plan.
One school district, District 16, which spans Bed-Stuy in central Brooklyn, has no accessible schools.
Karin Goldmark, the school system’s Deputy Chancellor of School Planning and Development, says that construction work would make schools accessible to students with mobility, vision and hearing impairments.
Increased Funding for accessibility is a step toward affording students with physical disabilities the same opportunities as their able-bodied peers, advocates say.
-- Beenish Ahmed Erie's Public Schools Need Millions of Dollars Worth of Repairs-- Erie News Pennsylvania: October 31, 2018 [ abstract]
The Erie School Board is about to get a detailed look at the condition of the district's school buildings and how much work they need.
Erie's Public Schools Superintendent Brian Polito said it will cost millions of dollars for the recommended building improvements to achieve a basic standard they refer to as warm, dry and safe. "Warm, dry and safe will cost somewhere around $60-million," Polito said, "so we’re really talking about all the things you really can’t see in a building renovation such as roofs, the exterior of the building, we hope to get all our parking lots done, our building systems like hvac electrical and plumbing."
The firm, HHSDR Architects/Engineers from Sharon, Pennsylvania put together the draft report after spending several months evaluating each school in the district. In the process, the firm uncovered the structural issues with old coal bin storage spaces we recently reported on at Woodrow Wilson Middle School and Jefferson Elementary School.
The study makes recommendations for every school, but NW PA Collegiate Academy's exterior promenade, propped up with underground wooden supports, and heating a cooling issues at Erie High are among the top priorities, along with needs at Edison and Lincoln Elementary schools.
The superintendent said the building needs are as critical as plans underway to refresh the entire k-12 curriculum for Math, English/Language Arts, Science and Social Studies, and there are Funding ideas to cover the costs of both. "Very critical, as you know we’ve been talking about doing things to our buildings for a number of years now and it’s really getting to a point where we can’t wait any longer so this is going to be a big piece of the financial plan that we’re working on with Mr. Zogby," said Superintendent Polito.
-- Lisa Adams OPRF board hears from community on facilities plan that could cost more than $218 million-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: October 31, 2018 [ abstract] More than 250 residents attended a special meeting on Oak Park and River ForestHigh School’s master facilities plan, which could total more than $218 million if fully constructed.
Residents were given an opportunity to provide comment to the school board at the Oct. 30 meeting. Board members could vote to accept a portion of, or the entire plan, at the Nov. 15 school board meeting.
Some spoke against the plan, citing the high price tag. There were some who voiced support for it as well.
Resident Chris Deegan suggested the school board seek alternative Funding solutions, such as potentially selling naming rights to new facilities as a way to reduce the reliance on tax dollars.
“I think, with the history of Oak Park and the need we have with this facilities plan, there is a leveraging opportunity to look for resources,” Deegan said. “I work at [the University of Illinois at Chicago], and this is what development officers do. There are naming opportunities for these clusters like performing arts, athletics, the library, etc. It won’t pay for the whole thing, but it will certainly reduce the cost from $218 million.”
Following the November 2016 defeat of a $44.5 million referendum plan for a new swimming pool and campus upgrades, the OPRF administration chose to work on a new long-term master facilities plan.
In January 2017, the school board officially established the Imagine OPRF workgroup and tasked the 40-person group to come up with a long-range facilities plan to address equity issues on the school campus.
-- Steve Schering MCPS Proposed Capital Budget for Fiscal 2020, CIP Amendments Include Elementary School, Security Projects-- Bethesda Magazine Maryland: October 30, 2018 [ abstract] Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jack Smith’s recommendations for the fiscal 2020 capital budget add Funding for three elementary school addition projects and to implement security upgrades at many schools throughout the county.
At Monday night’s Montgomery County Board of Education meeting, Smith unveiled his proposed capital budget and amendments to the fiscal 2019-2024 capital improvements program, outlining plans to “address technology upgrades to various existing security systems,” as well as provide secure entrances and guided building access at schools that don’t have those features.
Smith also recommended an amendment to the CIP to provide Funding to plan additions at Highland View Elementary School in Silver Spring, Lake Seneca Elementary School in Germantown and Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Gaithersburg. Funding for construction will be considered in a future CIP after 2024.
“MCPS must continue to address building capacity, aging infrastructure and facility security to ensure students have a safe and welcoming place to learn,” Smith said.
-- CAITLYNN PEETZ School Building Authority hearing from school superintendents seeking needs based funding-- MetroNews West Virginia: October 29, 2018 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state School Building Authority will hear from school superintendents from 14 counties Tuesday looking to get part of $45 million available in NEEDs grant Funding.
The SBA began hearing the presentations Monday in Charleston. The authority has requests totaling approximately $137 million from 27 counties.
Fayette County School Superintendent Terry George asked the SBA for more than $13 million Monday for renovations at four schools including Fayetteville PK-8, Valley PK-8, Midland Trail High School and Oak Hill High School. The county has $2 million in local funds to go with its request.
The presentation from Ohio County Superintendent Kimberly Miller included plans for renovations to Triadelphia and Bridge Street middle schools for a total of $9 million. Ohio County’s local match is $2.7 million.
-- Jeff Jenkins Can School District depend on receiving state money?-- The Athens News Ohio: October 24, 2018 [ abstract] Voters in the Athens City School District are continuing to debate whether to approve or reject a proposed property tax levy to fund new and renovated facilities in the district.
The proposed 5.88-mill levy, over the next 30 years, would generate the funds to repay $60.5 million in bonds, which the district would sell in order to complete its master plan for new facilities, along with Funding from the state.
In a recent Facebook poll posted by The Athens NEWS, 599 people shared whether they support or oppose Issue 3 on the Nov. 6 ballot. The poll received 23 comments and 27 shares. Of those who responded, 52 percent (312 people) voted in favor and 48 percent (287 people) voted opposed. Though the poll doesn’t show much beyond the opinions of some Facebook users, it does show a narrow divide even in the small sample of people who responded.
One of the most confusing and contentious points regarding the levy has been the issue of state Funding. The district aims to secure Funding through the Classroom Facilities Assistance Program, or CFAP, which is how conversations about new facilities and a master plan began. Through this program, offered by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC), the state would pay 32 percent of the total cost for the district’s master plan to renovate and/or build new school buildings according to state standards.
-- Kayla Beard OPRF to decide renovation cost, projects prior to selecting funding option for Imagine plan-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: October 23, 2018 [ abstract] With the Imagine OPRF committee working to finalize details of its proposed campus renovation plan, the Oak Park and River Forest High School board is reviewing potential Funding options.
At its Oct. 16 meeting, school board members reviewed ways to pay for the potential five-sequence project, though officials were quick to point out it is still early in the process and final decisions have yet to be made. The first three sequences carry an estimated price tag of more than $140 million.
Among the projects proposed in the renovation plan include new classrooms, relocating the library and tutoring center, improved athletics facilities, a new swimming pool, relocating administrative offices, a new welcome center, improved special education classrooms and new performing arts spaces.
Consultant Robert Grosi of Crystal Financials said the board would have to decide what cost and scale of campus renovations it intends to seek before settling on a particular Funding option or options.
“I don’t believe the intent is going to be that you’re going to get a comprehensive plan, and one decision is going to be made on what you’re going to do and how you’re going to finance it immediately,” Grossi said. “From the board of education perspective, there’s going to be multiple decision points.”
-- Steve Schering How Springfield citizen task force picked school projects, set funding priorities-- Springfield News-Leader Missouri: October 21, 2018 [ abstract] Cheryl Clay was surprised she got the call.
The Springfield NAACP president had publicly chastised the school board for allowing a string of aging, center-city and north-side schools to fall into disrepair.
She was just one of the 30 citizens selected to serve on the Community Task Force on Facilities.
Other invitees included outspoken teachers, parents and grandparents involved in their neighborhood associations, prominent city and business leaders, and one of the citizens who successfully compelled a state audit of the district in the past decade.
"I was surprised to get the invite for it because everyone knows I'm the squeaky wheel," said Clay, who has openly advocated for the district to fix Boyd Elementary and Pipkin Middle School, among others.
More: After citizen task force input, Springfield school board to mull April bond issue
Clay said the process was eye-opening and pulled a wide range of community members into school buildings in different parts of the city.
"It was a learning curve for a lot of people in the room who had never seen the inside of some of our schools and what they are actually like," she said. "... I felt good about it. It was a good way to earn some trust back in the community with this process, and it's one I can honestly get behind now."
-- Claudette Riley Schools whiff on state funds for construction-- The Robesonian North Carolina: October 20, 2018 [ abstract] LUMBERTON — When the Public Schools of Robeson County was not on the list of school districts to win one of the state construction grants for low-wealth counties, questions arose.
It was a $15 million opportunity that appeared custom-made for Robeson County, a poor county. Despite a great need for school construction here, the public schools did not apply for the first or second round of Funding, and the reasons are several.
“We needed a shovel-ready project, and we don’t have it,” said school board Chairman Mike Smith of the state construction grant.
“We don’t have the $5 million in matching funds,” said Craig Lowry, a school board member.
A three-to-one match is required for the Funding.
“If we had that $20 million, it would not build a $40 million school,” said Erica Setzer, PSRC’s chief financial officer.
And, they all say, the matching funds would have to come from or through the Robeson County Board of Commissioners. The school system asked for an increase of $18 million in Funding this year, but did not get an extra dime.
Mark Johnson, the superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction, recently announced $141 million of grant money for 13 counties.
The money came from a fund created by the General Assembly to assist school districts in lower-wealth counties through revenue from the North Carolina Education Lottery. Awards are capped at $15 million per project in Tier 1 counties, which are most distressed, and $10 million per project in Tier 2 counties. Robeson is Tier 1.
“I thank the General Assembly for making these funds available to help schools in areas that are most in need,” Johnson said. “I look forward to seeing these projects get underway in the coming months.”
-- Scott Bigelow Sales tax referendum for school facilities-- The Gainesville Sun Florida: October 18, 2018 [ abstract] Alachua County Public Schools are showing signs of wear and tear. Sandbags are being used to keep classrooms from flooding when it rains. Leaky roofs and cracked walls are a common sight at schools throughout the district.
As a result of a recent school infrastructure study, a half-cent sales tax is up for referendum on the November ballot to fund Alachua County school facilities.
If passed, the sales tax would inject $22 million per year over the next 12 years to support school infrastructure projects.
Brian Scarborough, a local businessman who is the chairman of Citizens for Strong Schools, is a passionate supporter of the referendum. Scarborough spent a year studying infrastructure issues in schools, parks and roads throughout Alachua County and came away concerned about the condition of school buildings and classrooms.
“It impacts every single school, and you do not need to spend a long while at any single school to see the impacts of the reduction in Funding as it relates to being able to keep up,” Scarborough said.
Scarborough mentioned Idylwild Elementary School, which uses sandbags in its kindergarten wing to keep classrooms dry when it rains, as an example of the state of public schools in the district.
“Every time it rains any decent amount, not hurricanes, but just a regular normal Gainesville afternoon rain shower, water floats into the classroom,” Scarborough said.
-- Kevin Brockway Residents sound off on school consolidation-- Rocky Mount Telegram North Carolina: October 17, 2018 [ abstract] RED OAK — Community members gathered Tuesday night in the Red Oak Elementary School cafeteria to participate in the last of a series of three public forums held to discuss the proposal to build a new elementary school in the northern part of Nash County.
Shelton Jefferies, superintendent of Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools, reminded participants that the school district is considering a plan to close three schools in the district — Cedar Grove, Swift Creek and Red Oak elementary schools — in favor of building a new, larger state-of-the-art elementary school in the northern part of the county. Other plans are also under consideration, including building one school and renovating another, but Jefferies said that cost and the need to meet state requirements for the school site would largely drive the decision.
“The school staff will present a range of ideas to the school board and they will make the decision and then work with county commissioners regarding Funding,” Jefferies said.
Since the last forum was held, the state Department of Public Instruction has awarded the school district a $10 million grant for the project. That money, combined with a $10 million required match by Nash County commissioners means that there is a minimum of $20 million that soon will be available.
This means that the three-to-five year timeline for the project is considerably advanced, county board Chairman Robbie Davis said at the meeting.
-- AMELIA HARPER In Prince George’s, a battle over whether developers must fund school construction-- Washington Post Maryland: October 15, 2018 [ abstract] In the final months of his eight-year tenure, Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III is battling with the County Council over legislation that touches on two of the county’s most hotly debated issues: education and development.
The back-and-forth, which led Baker to issue his third-ever veto, began last month, when the council approved a bill allowing it to waive a school facilities surcharge for some residential developers. Supporters say such waivers would spur development in areas where long-vacant buildings have frustrated lawmakers and residents alike.
Opponents — Baker chief among them — say the legislation is an illegal move by the council that could deprive the already beleaguered school system of an important Funding source that has been codified in state law since 1995. The state General Assembly, not the County Council, is the body that has the authority to impose or waive taxes, Baker wrote in his veto letter.
-- Rachel Chason State Denies School Building Grants - Brevard NC-- The Transylvania Times North Carolina: October 15, 2018 [ abstract] The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction denied a request by Transylvania CountySchools for more than $19 million in capital needs grants.
Last Monday evening, Graham Wilson of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction sent an email to the school system stating, “Nineteen counties submitted applications for projects in excess of $245.7 million, illustrating the need for this critical program.
“While your application was strong, there were other counties with more critical, immediate needs that received the awards for FY 2018-19. We strongly encourage you to resubmit your application next year, when additional Funding will be available for award.”
“While I am disappointed we did not receive any monies from the grant, I am not surprised,” said Transylvania County Schools Superintendent Jeff McDaris. “The grant was structured so as to favor Tier 1 counties, and we are a Tier 2.”
The 100 counties in North Carolina are categorized in three economic tiers, with Tier 1 counties being the most economically distressed.
The local school system had applied for the grants in order to pay for new construction at BrevardHigh School and Rosman High/Middle school. The county is in the midst of a campaign to pass a $68 million bond in November that would be used to construct new buildings and do extensive renovations to the two campuses.
School board members had previously expressed hope that if the county did receive the state grants and the bond referendum passes, then there would be money available to address some of the capital needs at the other schools in the county.
-- John Lanier N.J. needs an all-inclusive plan, not a piecemeal approach to 21st century schools-- NJ.com New Jersey: October 10, 2018 [ abstract] New Jersey's public schools are a powerhouse. Student academic performance ranks at the top among states and the world's leading nations. Our graduation rate is the second-highest in the country. Outcomes for at-risk students outpace the national average for all students. We've built a solid foundation for continued progress.
One ingredient in our success is the concerted effort over the past 15 years to modernize New Jersey's school building infrastructure. Our state is unique in providing state financing to rebuild dilapidated and outmoded schools in the poorest districts. We also make grant funds available to supplement local resources to improve school facilities in every district across the state.
School buildings that are safe, not overcrowded and educationally adequate improve student learning, provide security and increase teacher satisfaction and retention. Ensuring that classrooms and other school spaces are conducive to learning and well-being is the least we can do for our students.
New Jersey has made great strides in providing a 21st-century school building for all. But that progress has now stalled because the Legislature has allowed the school construction program to run out of Funding. The state agency charged with school construction, called the Schools Development Authority, has exhausted the nearly $3 billion in Funding approved by lawmakers for urban school construction a decade ago. In these districts, 381 additional construction projects are needed, including 200 school renovations and 102 new school buildings.
-- David Sciarra Horry County Schools considering tax increase to fund building, renovation projects-- myrtlebeachonline.com North Carolina: October 09, 2018 [ abstract] Some Horry County School board members are starting to speak in favor of a tax increase as available Funding continues to fall short of expected expenses.
Most board members were present Monday for a joint meeting between the facilities and finance committees, and the meeting centered on options for Funding the district’s five-year capital plan.
The plan includes new and replacement schools, renovations, maintenance and upkeep across all of the district facilities at a total cost of more than $754 million, according to previous Sun News reports.
Board member and finance committee chairman John Poston noted that the committees have been discussing Funding options for about a year, but no action has been taken.
John Gardner, the district’s chief financial officer, showed committee members Funding projections looking at different millage rates through 2024, which is when the penny sales tax is set to expire.
At each millage rate, Gardner showed Funding available under a “pay as we go” option, which involves the district solely using tax revenue without borrowing; borrowing up to 8 percent of its debt capacity; or asking voters to approve a bond referendum, which would be between $125 million-$250 million based on the millage rate.
-- DAVID WEISSMAN Essexville-Hampton school district seeks millage renewal for buildings-- Michigan Live Michigan: October 08, 2018 [ abstract] ESSEXVILLE, MI -- A Bay County school district is seeking a millage renewal to help pay for school maintenance, security and repair costs.
The Essexville-Hampton Public Schools district is asking for voter approval of up to 3 mills to continue Funding of a so-called "sinking fund" for various building needs. The millage proposal appears on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.
If approved, the 10-year millage will generate $947,187 for the school district in its first year. Homeowners would pay $3 for each $1,000 in taxable value of their homes. The owner of a $100,000 home with a taxable value of $50,000 would pay $150 annually.
-- Isis Simpson-Mersha LCS prioritizes capital maintenance needs-- The News & Advance Virginia: October 06, 2018 [ abstract]
City Council’s request to delay Funding on replacement and renovation projects for Lynchburg City Schools by a year could have implications for significant maintenance needs in city schools.
LCS Assistant Superintendent Ben Copeland said if Funding pushbacks continue, the division will need to make decisions on certain equipment replacements — such as chillers and HVAC systems — to avoid “catastrophic failures of things during the school year.”
“We’ve gotten lucky with a few things that have occurred over the past five years,” Copeland said. “I hope I continue to have good luck in all that we do, but at some point and some time something is not going to last as long as we want it to and we’re going to be in a bind.”
Copeland said City Council also requested the division prioritize capital maintenance projects for FY 2020.
“The way I approached the prioritization is fairly simple, roofs over everything else because if you have roof issues, you have the potential for multiple other issues,” Copeland said.
-- Liz Ramos Mount Vernon School District asking for increase in fees on construction-- goskagit.com Washington: October 06, 2018 [ abstract]
MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon School District is asking the city of Mount Vernon to increase fees on the construction of single-family homes by $2,763 to help pay for capital projects in the district.
Such school district impact fees are used to supplement school bonds in Funding new construction. They shift some of the costs of capital projects from current residents to new development, Mount Vernon School District Superintendent Carl Bruner said.
“The point of impact fees is to have new development contribute to impacts on schools,” he said. “It’s a way to have new growth bear part of the burden.”
The district’s request for an increase has raised questions from the Mount Vernon City Council, which has made an effort to lower the costs of development.
Revenue from the fee can only be used for capital projects, not on personnel or operations, he said.
Bruner said the district uses a formula — widely used by other districts in the state — to determine the number of students created by a new housing unit and how much those students cost the district.
According to the formula, a single-family home creates a $14,495 impact on the district. When the district last evaluated impact fees in 2014, that number was $8,646.
Cities can set impact fees lower than the dollar figure calculated by the district.
Currently, the fees are discounted by 23 percent, making the $8,646 figure determined by the district $6,658.
-- Brandon Stone Senator wants to restore school building aid-- The Laconia Daily Sun New Hampshire: October 06, 2018 [ abstract] DOVER — Sen. David Watters never made a secret of his belief that full-day kindergarten should be a state obligation. Now, having succeeded in getting the state to encourage schools to adopt full-day kindergarten with the promise of a stipend from keno revenue, he is ready to make that support part of adequacy aid.
“If it takes two steps instead of one, I’ll take those two steps,” he said during a telephone interview on Friday morning.
“We got the money guaranteed last year, but who knows if keno ever gets to full Funding?” he asked.
Earlier this week, the state announced that it would be distributing nearly $11 million in kindergarten aid, based on the first-day census of schools offering full-day kindergarten. Keno revenue provided $2.1 million toward that obligation; the rest came from the state’s general fund.
Keno 603 posted nearly $11.7 million in sales, but winnings and administration of the game took up the lion’s share that revenue. However, it was a short year: The game did not launch until mid-December, and the revenue was calculated at the end of August. Maura McCann of the New Hampshire Lottery Commission said the game is now averaging more than $450,000 a week in sales, and more businesses are lining up to offer the game.
Watters said he plans to introduce a bill for the next legislative session that would include full-day kindergarten as part of state adequacy aid. Keno revenue would be reassigned to support school building aid, which the state has not offered in recent years.
“We’ve been five or six years without building aid,” Watters said. “We offer Funding for emergency safety issues, and some money is available at the discretion of the governor, but, given the life cycle of these buildings, we need $50 million a year to keep up.”
-- THOMAS P. CALDWELL SMCPS loses state capital improvement funding under new plan-- The BayNet.com Maryland: October 06, 2018 [ abstract] Lexington Park, MD - Some changes in state legislature over the 2018 session could have major negative impacts on more rural school systems including the St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS).
On Tuesday, Oct. 2, the St. Mary’s County Board of Education went before the county commissioners seeking approval of their State Capital Improvement Plan for the fiscal year 2020.
House Bill 1783, also know as the “21st Century School Facilities Act,” went into effect June 1. However, this was only after Governor Larry Hogan’s veto was overridden.
In his letter to veto, Hogan said, “this bill represents one of the most irresponsible, partisan, and tone-deaf legislative decisions ever made by members of the Maryland General Assembly.”
Hogan went on to point out the bill, which puts together a group of non-elected political appointees, is “insulting to our citizens.” This group of individuals will form the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) which replaces what was the Public School Construction Program.
A major impact made by this change is there will no longer be an appeal process for the board of education to submit to. Rather, the IAC will have the power to take projects forward at their discretion.
Additionally, after taking into account the county's wealth index and sustainability, the state decided to reduce their share of Funding for capital improvement projects in the county from 58 percent to 57 percent. The figure will likely be lowered when reevaluated in three years, but it is already extremely small when compared to the initial 75 percent share that the state had.
-- Zach Hill Clarksburg School Making Slow Progress on Repairs-- iBerkshires.com Massachusetts: October 05, 2018 [ abstract] CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Officials and volunteers are still working out the kinks on an ambitious plan to make necessary renovations to Clarksburg School.
There was a rush of volunteers in the wake of last year's failed school vote but progress has been slow — hampered by lack of Funding, bidding procedures and lines of communication between town and school officials.
"The town is the school, the school is the town, it's never going to be successful if it's an us versus them," said Superintendent of School John Franzoni at brief meeting of the ad hoc school renovation committee. "We have to work together. ... If we don't make these improvements to the school, it won't be a long-term viable option for the kids."
The school district had been in line for a $19 million renovation and addition at the nearly 60-year-old school but voters balked at the steep cost and two votes failed to win the needed two-thirds majority to authorize nearly $8 million in borrowing.
But the building still needs significant repairs and updates to meet current code including complying with the federal American With Disabilities Act. A preliminary estimate done during the feasibility study had a cost of $4 million to address priority projects that included the removal of asbestos.
So far, the town has offered $82,000 from its state Green Communities Grant to fix the obsolete boiler system (expected to be done this fall) and some $500,000 in state Funding has been earmarked for the roof that is under the control, at the moment, of the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance.
-- Tammy Daniels School chiefs air concerns about funding of facilities-- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Arkansas: October 05, 2018 [ abstract] FARMINGTON -- Superintendents had a chance Thursday to hear a state official explain a proposal to change the way state money is distributed for school facility projects.
One superintendent voiced concern about the plan. Another suggested an alternative.
Brad Montgomery, director of the Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation Division, spoke at a meeting of the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative's board, which consists of area superintendents.
Montgomery explained a proposal to rewrite the rules on the state's financial assistance for facilities. The proposal was the result of a year of study by the Advisory Committee on Public School Academic Facilities, which released its 73-page report in July.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson has said the state cannot sustain its average annual investment of $102 million in the facilities program. The committee was asked to recommend a consistent annual dollar amount the state could afford, Montgomery said.
The committee recommended partnership program Funding be budgeted at $90 million per year.
Another recommendation is to change the wealth index -- used to determine what share of the cost of an approved building project the state will pay -- so small districts with declining enrollments stand to receive more than fast-growing districts.
Bryan Law, superintendent of the Farmington School District, said under the proposal, "some are winners and some are losers." Farmington would go from being eligible for 60 percent state assistance on facility projects to 51.1 percent.
-- Dave Perozek Del Mar school district to form facilities task force-- Del Mar Times California: October 03, 2018 [ abstract] The Del Mar Union School District is forming a Facilities Advisory Task Force, an effort to get more people engaged in the facilities process, identifying needs and putting together a timeline for district projects based on priorities and the Funding that is available.
The task force’s ultimate goal will be to develop a “comprehensive, financially feasible and equitable path” to accomplish the facilities goals described in Del Mar’s strategic plan District Design 2022, the board-approved facilities master plan, and the Measure MM general obligation bond. In addition to building a new school in Pacific Highlands Ranch, rebuilding Del Mar Heights and modernizing Del Mar Hills Academy, the task force will set priorities and recommend timing for projects such as improved safety and technology infrastructure, classroom renovations and repairs district-wide.
At the Sept. 26 board meeting, the district’s consultant Eric Hall of Eric Hall and Associates spoke about the potential makeup and selection process of the proposed 36-member committee. The board is expected to make a decision on the selection process at its Oct. 24 meeting.
“This is an exciting opportunity for the school district to continue to engage its community,” said Hall, who had a 32-year career in public education, including 27 years in the San Dieguito Union High School District. “In every district we’ve been in, facilities are very much a challenge…Funding resources are almost never adequate to fund all of the needs.”
-- Karen Billing Measure M: Facilities bond goes to voters-- Enterprise California: October 03, 2018 [ abstract] Many of the campuses in the Davis school district were built in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and are now 40 to 60 years old.
Measure M on the Nov. 6 ballot is a local school facilities bond that, if approved, would fund some $150.9 million in Funding for projects ranging from modernization and safety improvements at campuses throughout the school district, and in some cases new construction at several of the oldest schools.
What would it fund?
* Provide dedicated space for science, math, engineering, arts/music instruction, support 21st century learning and address specific priorities at individual school sites;
* Across the school district, Update aging classrooms and educational facilities to meet current fire, seismic and safety codes;
* Fix and/or replace deteriorating roofs;
* Repaint school exteriors and interiors and refresh or replace trees and landscaping;
* Resurface playgrounds and asphalt areas;
-- Jeff Hudson Federal grant to better equip Cane Bay High School as emergency shelter-- The Berkeley Independent South Carolina: October 01, 2018 [ abstract] After Hurricane Florence washed over the Carolina coast last month, weather emergencies remain on the minds of local officials. And to prepare for potential future emergencies or evacuations, weather or non-weather related, Berkeley County has applied for federal Funding to better equip its special needs shelter at Cane Bay High School and ultimately better care for the health and safety of residents.
Berkeley County Emergency Operations Center has identified the school’s need for a 750-watt backup generator, though it will only support the designated shelter area, not the entire facility, according to county officials. During Florence, the school was also utilized as a pet-friendly shelter.
“Providing continuous power will provide safety and continuity to individuals that are physically challenged,” said Hannah Moldenhauer, public information officer for the county.
-- Jenna-Ley Harrison Framingham: New Fuller Middle School Building not a done deal-- Metrowest Daily News Massachusetts: October 01, 2018 [ abstract] FRAMINGHAM — If voters in December reject spending money for a new Fuller Middle School, the city will likely move to the back of the state Funding line, the project’s architect said Monday night.
“It’s actually very rare that these projects fail because of the contribution the state is making. But for example, one did fail recently in Lincoln. It’s important to note that the MSBA does not take kindly to turning down their projects. It’s not clear how long it would take for them to entertain another (statement of interest), if ever,” architect Jonathan Levi told a public forum on the project.
The forum on the Fuller Middle School Building Project comes ahead of a Dec. 11 ballot referendum.
The city wants to replace the Flagg Drive school with a new building, saying the 60-year-old school is deteriorating and unfit for providing a modern education. The plan, drafted by Levi’s firm, calls for a three-story building with a 8,300-square-foot gymnasium, a 420-seat auditorium, and full-building air conditioning.
The total project cost is estimated to be $98.3 million, but the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) is expected to provide a grant of approximately $39.5 million. With the grant, the city’s share will be around $58.8 million.
If Dec. 11 the vote fails, Edward Gotgart, a School Building Committee member, said costs to maintain the building in the meantime would be “prohibitive.”
“The really scary part for the city is, how much is it going to take to keep this building alive for another five years?” said Gotgart. “I don’t think there’s any question that we’d be looking for another new school.”
City officials estimated Monday that the project would result in a $101-per-year increase on the tax bill of the average residential taxpayer, based on plans to issue a 20-year bond, and use $8 million from the city’s capital stabilization funds.
Superintendent Robert Tremblay said the forums should incorporate the “what-if” factor more.
-- Zane Razzaq Kodiak district approves closure plan for rural school-- Daily News-Miner Alaska: October 01, 2018 [ abstract] KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — A rural public school on Kodiak Island will close in November unless it can enroll at least three more students, officials said.
The board of the Kodiak Island Borough School District approved a closure plan last week for Karluk School that currently has seven students enrolled, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported .
The school in the Alaska Native village of Karluk, which has a population of about 40, needs at least 10 students to stay open. Schools with fewer than 10 students lose school site Funding from the state.
Karluk residents said they are in talks with families who might bump up the enrollment number to 10.
"We've been working with the community to give them as much time as possible to find the ten students to keep the school open," district Superintendent Larry LeDoux said. "Some of the folk that they thought would be coming in have declined, but they're still hopeful."
Should the school close, the district is "prepared to hire a three-hour per day aide position to assist in home school tutoring" for the Karluk students, according to the closure plan. A similar plan was drafted for the Larsen Bay school, which the board voted to close earlier in September.
-- Staff Author State picks 123 schools for safety funding-- Star Tribune Minnesota: October 01, 2018 [ abstract] More than 120 schools across Minnesota will receive part of the $25 million in school safety Funding approved by state lawmakers earlier this year.
The Minnesota Department of Education on Monday said it had selected projects in 90 school districts or charter schools, spread out across a total of 123 school buildings, for help with projects ranging from secured building entrances to two-way radio systems. With safety concerns top of mind for school leaders, the competitive grants drew applications for projects totaling $255.5 million — more than 10 times the available Funding.
The winning schools will receive Funding of between $2,300 and $500,000 — the highest amount allowed for any school building — and can use the money over the next two years. Officials in some of the districts selected said the state Funding will allow them to move forward with projects that they'd otherwise have no way to fund.
-- ERIN GOLDEN Arkansas House: Future school construction funding under study-- magnoliareporter.com Arkansas: September 30, 2018 [ abstract] Weekly column written for members of the Arkansas House of Representatives:
An advisory committee has spent the past year studying the efficiency of how the state pays for improvements to public school facilities.
The advisory panel is made up of educators, contractors, engineers and architects. It recommended to the legislature’s Education Committees that the state provide $90 million next fiscal year. This amount would provide incentives for local school districts and continue the progress that Arkansas schools have made since 2005 in upgrading school campuses.
Lawmakers on the Senate and House Education Committees will take up the recommendation, although a final decision on the amount of facilities Funding will be up to the entire General Assembly.
Legislative budget hearings begin in October, in preparation for the regular session that begins in January.
Some elected officials believe that current Funding amounts for school facilities cannot be sustained over the long term. Others say that the state is obligated to comply with its constitutional mandate to provide adequate academic facilities for all children in Arkansas, regardless of where they live.
-- Staff Author With Rising Enrollment, D.C. Public Schools Likely To Top 100,000 Students Within A Decade-- WAMU District of Columbia: September 28, 2018 [ abstract] Public school officials in D.C. need to plan for an additional 12,000 students in public and public charter schools in the next 10 years, according to a study released today by the Office of the D.C. Auditor. The number represents a 13 percent increase in enrollment, pushing the total number of students in the system to over 100,000.
The increase will not be distributed equally across the system, however, so budgeting effectively will require the school district to be better at predicting how many students will attend which schools, the study says.
The expected growth continues a decade-long trend. Enrollment has risen by nearly 21,000 students since 2008. Most of that growth — more than 18,000 students — happened at public charter schools. But the rapid growth in charters has begun to slow, and the auditor predicts that in the coming years, charters and traditional public schools will grow at the same rate.
Determining how many students will attend which schools — and how accurate those numbers are — will be key in making sure that the Funding for schools is distributed appropriately.
D.C. Public Schools distributes Funding on a per-pupil basis, and uses enrollment predictions to help decide everything from how many teachers need to be hired to how much money each school should have. The D.C. Public Charter School Board uses the enrollment projections when deciding whether or not to authorize new charter schools.
“It literally means how much money comes to your school,” says Eboni-Rose Thompson, a D.C. native and chair of the Ward 7 Education Council. “It has huge implications on the daily operations of schools because it determines their pieces of the pie.”
-- Meg Anderson Castle Rock school district reattempts $42.4 million bond measure-- TDN.com Washington: September 26, 2018 [ abstract]
The Castle Rock School District is once again asking voters to approve a $42.4 million bond measure despite the failure of the same measure in April. The bond monies would be used to build a new middle school, as well as renovate the high school and elementary school.
The passage of the bond would mean taxpayers living in a $200,000 home would see a $33 per month increase in taxes. Overall, the measure would raise the schools tax rate from $2.55 to $4.57 per $1,000 in property value.
Superintendent Jim Mabbott said the bond measure is exactly the same as the one that failed to pass in April, with the exception of an increased state match. The district would expect to receive $17.1 million in state match Funding this year. Previously in April, the district estimated getting only $16.7 million in match Funding.
The school board voted unanimously on Aug. 2 to put the bond measure on the November’s ballot based on the recommendation of a 50-member facilities committee.
“A majority of voters voted for it; the final vote was 55 percent,” Mabbott said, noting that was “quite close” to the 60 percent supermajority needed to pass. “The committee felt they could increase that vote by 5 percent.”
-- Mallory Gruben Quincy Public Schools Building Committee looks at resurfacing vs. upgrading Flinn track-- Herald-Whig Illinois: September 26, 2018 [ abstract] QUINCY -- State officials have denied several projects in the 2019 plan for health life safety work in Quincy Public Schools.
One major project denied was the estimated $450,000 to install a new running surface over the existing concrete paving on the track at Flinn Stadium. Superintendent Roy Webb said if the district holds a public hearing, then resubmits the request to the Illinois State Board of Education, the project will be approved.
"The issue with that is that's $450,000 to redo the six-lane track that's out there," School Board member Mike Troup told the Building Committee on Tuesday.
Upgrading to eight lanes all the way around -- instead of eight lanes in only a portion of the track -- would take the cost to an estimated $800,000 after factoring in moving bleachers and other existing fixtures.
Webb said the upgrade would be considered new construction, which is not covered under health life safety Funding.
"The question is do we spend $450,000 of taxpayer money today or work with the booster club to see what they can raise ... to do what they really want to do," Troup said.
The Illinois High School Association requires eight-lane tracks for sectional meets.
"The question for the board and Building and Grounds is that $400,000 to $500,000 worth a sectional meet," Webb said. "Every other meet we can run there. We hosted the conference meet, run our own meets there. The only thing we miss out on is a sectional meet for $500,000 for one or two days every four, five or six years."
-- Deborah Gertz Husar State Funding Match Okayed For Barranca Construction-- Los Alamos Daily Post New Mexico: September 25, 2018 [ abstract] The Public School Capital Outlay Council (PSCOC) has approved $8.8 million in state matching funds for the Barranca Mesa Elementary remodel project; the local match via Bond Funding totals $10 million.
The total estimated cost for this project is $18.8 million. These funds will go to construction for renovation of the existing Barranca facilities.
“Thank you to the Los Alamos community for supporting this project, and thank you to the PSCOC Chair David Abbey and all the members of the committee,” Superintendent Kurt Steinhaus said.
The Public School Capital Outlay Council manages the allocation of state Funding to public school facilities in New Mexico’s 89 school districts. They are charged with ranking schools based on greatest need for remodeling, and they consider proposals from school districts for matching funds.
The PSCOC includes representatives from the executive and legislative branches of government, such as members from the Governor’s Office, the Department of Finance & Administration, the Public Education Commission, the Legislative Education Study Committee, the Public Education Department, the New Mexico School Boards Association, the Construction Industries Division, the Legislative Finance Committee and the Legislative Council Service.
The PSCOC reports to the Public School Capital Outlay Oversight Task Force, which is made up of legislators, senior leaders from school districts and charters, and members of the public.
-- Carol A. Clark Tennessee Awards $35 million across all school districts to improve safety and security-- WRCBtv Tennessee: September 25, 2018 [ abstract]
All 147 school districts in Tennessee have completed the first-ever statewide assessment of school facilities and safety procedure, according to a news release from Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen.
Additionally, all districts have submitted applications to receive their allocations of the $35 million school security Funding and may now use these funds to implement identified school security and safety needs.
“We have made security for children at our schools a priority, so there was an urgency to have all schools assessed and the Funding allocated to increase school safety as we started the school year,” Haslam said. “I thank the members of the School Safety Working Group for their work to identify solutions, the General Assembly for making these funds available, and state and local public safety officials for promptly completing the assessments.”
In March, the governor’s School Safety Working Group recommended the statewide review of school facilities and safety procedures and precautions. The recommendation, accepted by the governor, led to immediate safety assessments by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, in coordination with the Department of Education and local school officials. This was the first time the state had led a comprehensive effort to determine the security needs at individual schools. Based on the findings following this assessment, all school districts were eligible to apply for two grants to receive Funding for local safety and security needs.
“Students learn best in an environment where they feel safe and protected, so it is our responsibility to ensure our schools are secure, and this Funding allows us to do just that,” McQueen said. “Over and over we have heard gratitude from districts for this process that has helped them connect with their local community, especially law enforcement agencies, around school safety and to create long-term plans to support the safety of students and educators.”
-- Staff Author ACS approves its capital project plan-- Alabaster Reporter Alabama: September 24, 2018 [ abstract] The Alabaster City School System will turn its attention to renovating and upgrading its existing facilities over the next couple of years, as the system’s largest construction project to date wraps up.
The city’s Board of Education approved the school system’s updated five-year capital plan during a Sept. 10 meeting.
Each year, school systems throughout the state are required to submit their five-year capital plans with the State Department of Education outlining Funding amounts, Funding years and years of expected completion for their capital projects.
Over the past few years, the capital plan’s largest project was the construction of the new Thompson High School, which opened to students last spring. With the new THS and all of its extracurricular facilities now nearly completed, the capital plan is now focusing on renovations to existing schools in the city.
Alabaster School Superintendent Dr. Wayne Vickers said the five-year capital plan is the school system planning for its future needs, and Funding amounts for the projects included in the plan are not set in stone.
-- Neal Wagner Alachua County Schools Facilities Crisis And Tax Referendum On Forum Agenda-- WUFT5 Florida: September 21, 2018 [ abstract] Troubled with roof leaks, broken air-conditioners and overcrowding, Alachua County Public Schools officials assert that a districtwide facilities crisis adversely affecting how students learn.
The district maintains that state lawmakers have cut Funding for local schools to improve facilities by $168 million over the last 10 years. A lot of the district’s schools are out of date and have maintenance issues, said Jackie Johnson, the district’s public information officer.
Facilities are just one of the topics on the agenda at the “Making Our Schools Everyone’s Priority” forum set for 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Gainesville High School. The Education Foundation of Alachua County, the Education College Council, the League of Women Voters and the Alachua County Council of PTAs are sponsoring the forum.
Other topics include the district’s education gap and students’ mental health needs. Alachua County Schools Superintendent Karen Clarke; Valerie Freeman, director of equity and outreach, and Veita Jackson-Carter, the Systems of Care program administrator, are scheduled to speak.
If voters approve a half-cent sales tax referendum on the ballot in November, the county would reap an extra $22 million annually each of the next 12 years. The measure would cost families around $5 more a month, according to the school district.
-- Christina Morales New Britain Mayor Sounds Alarm Over School Construction Monies-- Hartford Courant Connecticut: September 20, 2018 [ abstract] Alarmed that millions of dollars in state Funding might be at risk, Mayor Erin Stewart is pressing the school system to resolve delays in filing crucial paperwork.
Until there’s a solution, the city might have to absorb $1 million to $2 million in short-term borrowing costs, Stewart said.
In a memo to Stewart last week, city Finance Director Lori Granato warned of an even more serious consequence. She said state aid for the $53 million Smalley School renovation and expansion might be in jeopardy, leaving the city to either pay the bills itself or halt construction.
“This is extremely disturbing. How in God’s name will we pay for this?,” Stewart wrote in a Sept. 14 memo to Granato.
Schools Superintendent Nancy Sarra, however, has told Stewart the situation is under control. The schools plan to submit all overdue documents to the state by Oct. 1, Sarra said in a memo to the mayor on Monday.
The dispute arose last week when Granato was in a conference call with officials from the state Department of Administrative Services.
The agency told Granato that New Britain schools were years behind in filing a final audit and other closing documentation for the $30 million Gaffney School renovation. Construction ended more than three years ago.
Without that project officially closed, the state won’t supply its share of roughly $50 million in renovations costs for Smalley Academy, she said.
-- Don Stacom Poudre School District sells bonds, secures additional $45.6M-- Coloradoan Colorado: September 20, 2018 [ abstract] Poudre School District sold its bonds Tuesday, securing $375 million in Funding approved by voters in the November 2016 election to build new schools, according to a news release.
This marks a milestone for the district — the sale of the bonds was put on hold for nearly two years while PSD and Fort Collins resident Eric Sutherland worked through three cases related to the bond in district court and an ensuing appeals process in one of those cases. On Aug. 20, the Colorado Supreme Court declined to hear Sutherland’s appeal of a lower court's ruling in PSD's favor, which cleared the way for the district to move forward.
Planned bond projects include two combined middle/high schools and a new elementary school, as well as a new athletic complex and several district improvements. The first of the new schools is now expected to open in 2021 — three years after the elementary school was originally expected to open.
-- Kelly Ragan Washington County BOE to request $21 million for projects-- Herald-Mail Media Maryland: September 19, 2018 [ abstract] Washington County Public Schools will ask for nearly $21 million from state and local governments to fund four projects in the upcoming fiscal year.
The board of education on Tuesday unanimously passed a motion approving its capital-improvement program, or CIP, for fiscal year 2020. The request will now be sent to the state for approval.
The CIP outlines specific planning and Funding requests for construction, renovations, additions and systematic projects — like HVAC or roof replacements — that qualify for state Funding.
Chief Operating Officer Jeff Proulx said the CIP was a companion document to the Educational Facilities Master Plan, which was approved in June and shared with the county commissioners at a recent joint meeting.
The request includes $12.53 million for the new Sharpsburg Elementary School, broken down into $6.511 million from the state and $6.019 million from the local government. This is the second CIP request for the school, which will open in August 2020.
Also requested is the third CIP installment for the BOE share of the downtown urban-improvement project for $4.707 million. The project is expected to be completed in May 2020.
-- Alexis Fitzpatrick After Years of Underfunding, Some Maine Schools Are Decaying-- Maine Public News Maine: September 18, 2018 [ abstract] Many of Maine’s school buildings were built more than 50 years ago, and they need a lot of work: asbestos and lead removal, new roofs, windows and doors. But in the face of budget cuts after the Great Recession, many schools have struggled to keep up with those maintenance needs, forcing some districts to make tough choices.
This is part one in a two-part series.
There’s a giant, plastic tarp hanging below a hole in the ceiling inside the biology lab at Woodland Junior-Senior High School. When it rains, water leaks through the roof shingles, accumulates in the tarp, and is funneled into one of the classroom sinks. You can see the water damage in the wood below.
“The cabinets — these are all swelled up,” says Facilities Director Craig Croman, swinging open a cabinet door. “This is very nice room. Except, this.”
Croman is basically a one-man repair crew at the school in Baileyville. Outside, near the back of the building, he scratches at a roughly dime-size hole near a window and pokes his finger through. There’s little insulation remaining inside.
“I can tell you that if you put sodas against the exterior windows, it may not freeze. But it’ll be nice and cold for the students,” Croman says with a laugh, asked what it’s like in the winter. “We’d love to get the new unit heaters, with everything electric. But it’s a lot of money. And trying to get taxpayers to foot the bill for this whole thing is difficult.”
Mary Filardo, the executive director of the 21st Century School Fund, says fixing these long-lasting, persistent challenges is never easy for local districts, particularly rural ones. That’s why her organization advocates for assistance from the federal government, too.
“You look at the whole family has got to step in,” Filardo says. “It’s going to take a federal, state, local partnership to ensure any kind of equity in our school districts.”
-- ROBBIE FEINBERG Area school districts complete school safety upgrades-- Monadnock Ledger-Transcript New Hampshire: September 18, 2018 [ abstract] Three area school districts have utilized nearly $150,000 in state funds to improve various life and safety deficiencies within their schools.
Funded projects include school entrance redesigns in the Jaffrey-Rindge and Mascenic School Districts and additional or improved security cameras in Jaffrey-Rindge, Mascenic and the Wilton-Lyndeborough School Districts.
“[The state funds were] a great help, these are projects that probably would’ve taken an additional several years to find Funding for,” said Mascenic School District Superintendent Stephen Russell. “With student safety, we can’t do enough to make sure we have all systems in place to keep everyone safe.”
Approved security upgrades are being 80 percent funded through the state’s Public School Infrastructure Fund, which was established in the 2018-19 budget.
The fund initially had $18.8 million in Funding available to public schools throughout the state for addressing life and safety deficiencies, improving security, and bringing fiber connections to schools. An additional $10 million was later added.
-- NICHOLAS HANDY Sioux Falls Voters Approve $190 Million Bond for School Construction-- SDPB Radio South Dakota: September 18, 2018 [ abstract] Sioux Falls voters overwhelmingly approve a bond that will fund construction of three new schools. The $190 million bond will also fund security and other improvements on the district’s other campuses.
The Sioux Falls School District needed at least 60% affirmative votes to pass the bond. In the end, nearly 85% of voters support Funding the construction of new facilities.
The bond issue was largely driven by continued growth in the Sioux Falls school district, which is resulting in crowding issues. This bond will cover construction of a new elementary, middle and high school, along with other improvements district wide. The new schools are expected to be completed by 2024.
-- JACKIE HENDRY School facilities levy sparks contrasting outlooks-- The Athens News Ohio: September 16, 2018 [ abstract]
On Sept. 13, The Athens NEWS toured some of the Athens City School District facilities in need of the most updates. This reporter took photos of some of the visible signs of deterioration and other issues. A detailed slideshow can be found here.
The long-running debate over a plan to update Athens City School District facilities is continuing as voters in the district consider whether to approve or reject a proposed 30-year tax levy that would partially fund a master plan for new and renovated facilities.
The master plan depends on the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission supplying 32 percent of the Funding for the project, which would include:
• Construction of two new pre-kindergarten to third-grade school buildings on the current sites of East and Morrison-Gordon elementary schools.
• A new high school for grades 9-12 on the site of the current Athens High School building.
• A complete renovation of The Plains Elementary School, which would house grades 4-6, that would include the current building and a significant addition.
• Renovation of the Athens Middle School, which would house 7-8 grades.
Some parents and residents in the district claim that the proposed facilities plan would solve many of the issues students and staff members face in the current school buildings, and would leave behind new and updated buildings that would serve the district for decades in the future.
Meanwhile, other parents and residents argue that the proposed levy is asking too much of families without promising enough in return.
-- Kayla Beard Facing waves of new families, LUSD sets date for next school-- Tracy Press California: September 08, 2018 [ abstract] MOUNTAIN HOUSE — Lammersville Unified School District trustees voted unanimously to hire Roebbelen Contracting as the general contractor to build Julius Cordes Elementary School, during their regular board meeting Wednesday night.
According to Superintendent Kirk Nicholas, construction on the $42 million campus is slated to begin January or February. He said the school would be paid for through Mello-Roos taxes, matching state funds and the state construction bond from Proposition 51.
Nicholas warned that the state had been slow to process the proposition Funding, so LUSD might have to provide short-term financing for part of the project.
“We are on track to start and finish when we want to finish,” he said. “At this point in time, there is some frustrations with the state process and the manner in which Prop. 51 dollars are being doled out to school districts.”
Due to Mountain House’s rapid housing growth, he said the need for the new school — the district’s seventh K-8 campus — is also growing rapidly. It is expected to house 775 students by the time Cordes Village is built out in the southeast part of the town.
“One of the things that we’re facing is more than one village is being built at one time, and so the numbers are going up at a quicker rate than normal,” Nicholas said. “The growth is good; it’s extraordinary right now. We’re excited.”
-- Denise Ellen Rizzo Old schools, hot buildings: A public health concern?-- The Inquirer Pennsylvania: September 08, 2018 [ abstract]
When Rafi Cave dropped his daughter off at school Friday, it felt like a revelation — it was the first time since classes began Sept. 4 that children at Evans Elementary in Yeadon had a full day's instruction.
"We're a week into school, and she hasn't met her reading teacher yet," Cave, a member of the Yeadon Borough Council, said of his fourth grader, Ryen.Last week's late-summer heat wave forced schools from Philadelphia and Camden to Tredyffrin/Easttown and Cheltenham to call multiple early dismissals in the nascent school year.
To Gina Curry, a member of the Upper Darby school board, the fact that many school systems were unable to cool their buildings is a symptom of a larger problem.
"This is not just a matter of air-conditioning units," Curry said. "It's about a failing infrastructure. This is a public health concern."For many districts, the cooling challenge isn't limited to installing units: Wiring old buildings is expensive. And in Pennsylvania, where Funding-maze-formula-for-equity-elusive-20170925.html?arc404=true" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 102, 170); cursor: pointer;">schools are funded heavily by local property taxes, and state money for school construction has withered, the costs can be prohibitive for poorer districts.
-- Kristen A. Graham and Maddie Hanna Sweltering schools bring up age-old infrastructure problem in Pennsylvania-- WITF Pennsylvania: September 08, 2018 [ abstract] (Philadelphia) -- A recent heat wave in Southeastern Pennsylvania has education advocates calling for more state Funding for school infrastructure upgrades. Temperatures in the mid- and upper-90s forced the School District of Philadelphia's to dismiss classes early five times in under two weeks. Only about a quarter of the city's public schools have air conditioning. And some suburban schools also have only fans.
Crumbling schools need repair, and the recent hot weather shows how vital it is to improve facilities, said Gina Curry, a school board director in nearby Upper Darby.
"We have buildings that are in tremendous need of repair, and that takes away from instruction and the quality of it because they can't focus because it's too hot or too cold," she said at a Friday press conference organized by local politicians.
State Rep. Leanne Kruger-Braneky, D-Delaware, said the state should put more of a priority on its PlanCon program, an initiative used to help districts with some of the costs of building new schools.
"The Republicans have control of the House and Senate, and so they decide what bills get run," she said.
A recent bi-partisan Funding-remains-a-question/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(156, 0, 0); text-decoration-line: none;">proposal says school repairs and renovations should also be eligible for PlanCon reimbursement funds. The program, though, stopped accepting any applications from school districts in 2015.
Even when it existed, annual PlanCon Funding was a drop in the bucket compared with the massive school infrastructure needs across the state.
-- Tom MacDonald D204 to spend $34.2 million on school repairs over next 4 years-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: September 05, 2018 [ abstract] Fixing leaky roofs, securing all classrooms with better locking systems, and finishing work to air condition elementary school are just a few of the projects that Indian Prairie School District 204 expects to complete over the next four years.
District 204 officials Tuesday outlined a plan to spend $34.2 million on repair maintenance work that has been put off in recent years because of the lack of Funding.
To pay for the work, the district will tap existing money from its capital outlay account, developer contributions, the sale of properties and fund balances.
Chief School Business Official Jay Strang said the community at last year’s Engage 204 sessions identified the deferred maintenance of school buildings and school security as priorities in the district.
In the first year, the district will spend $10.5 million, $4.5 million of which will cover the cost of air-conditioning the elementary school classrooms that still don’t have it and another $1 million will be earmarked for improving the public address system in schools and upgrading classroom locks.
Deferred maintenance projects, such as replacing the roofs at Graham Elementary in Naperville and Fischer Middle School in Aurora; replacing the asphalt parking lots at the Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora and Hill Middle School and Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville; and fixing the leaky masonry walls at Fischer and five elementary schools will cost about $3.6 million, Strang said.
-- Suzanne Baker Pasco School Board nixes capital fund sharing with charter schools-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: September 04, 2018 [ abstract] Citing concerns about promising money they can't assure, Pasco County School Board members on Tuesday killed an effort to craft a plan for sharing capital funds with local charter schools.
"Our budget changes every year," board member Steve Luikart observed. "We can't guarantee something that is not guaranteed to us."
District officials brought the idea of creating a sharing plan, based on criteria such as student demographics and performance standards, to the board in early August. They did so at the behest of charter operators, who worried that without some arrangement they might have no money in 2019-20 to cover maintenance and facilities expenses.
Related coverage: Funding-with-charter-schools/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 1em !important; color: rgb(102, 153, 204) !important;" target="_blank">Pasco School Board to discuss whether to share capital Funding with charter schools
Their concerns stemmed from legislation that exempts school districts with high debt ratios for construction projects from sharing their property tax revenue with the charters. Lawmakers fully covered a charter construction and maintenance budget of about $150 million this year, but have indicated if they don't repeat that level in the future, districts will be on the hook for the difference.
-- Jeffrey Solochek Portland school board to include island schools, non-school facilities in cost-saving review-- Portland Press Herald Maine: September 04, 2018 [ abstract] The Portland Board of Public Education agreed in principle Tuesday night that island schools and non-school facilities such as those for food service and administration should be included in Funding-drying-up-portland-studying-possible-school-closures-redistricting/?rel=related" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 141, 222);" target="_blank">a major facilities assessment intended to find ways for the financially struggling district to save money.
Several members of the public, including a city councilor, encouraged the board to gather as much information as possible, even as several Presumpscot Elementary School parents began lobbying to save their school, which they fear could be targeted if the board eventually considers closing a school.
“I think we have a really unique school,” Crystal Gamet said at a public hearing, the first of several on the facilities assessment project.
Gamet, a mother of three, said she regularly volunteers at the school, and has a second-grader and fourth-grader there. “Right now we have incredible parent engagement, and that would absolutely be lost if we had to suddenly go to another part of town to go to school,” she said.
The board heard from 10 people at the public hearing, the first of several related to the facilities review, which was first conceived after this spring’s bruising school budget season.
-- Noel Gallagher Roanoke City Council considers support for school construction funding plan-- WDBJ7 Virginia: September 04, 2018 [ abstract] ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ7) Highland Park Elementary is Roanoke's oldest school building, constructed in 1906. And there are several others from the same era.
The current estimate to maintain and modernize Roanoke city school facilities is substantial.
"And the total for all of the schools in the city of Roanoke right now is $37,950,000," Roanoke City Council member Bill Bestpitch said Tuesday morning.
Republican Senator Bill Stanley and Democratic strategist Paul Goldman have floated a plan that would take advantage of a recent Supreme Court ruling, and use a portion of the revenue from internet sales tax to finance a major bond issue.
They say the plan could generate more than $2 billion for school construction.
Bestpitch is listening.
"I think it's an area where the rural areas of the state and the inner cities can really come together, as well as a lot of bipartisan support," Bestpitch said. "I mean this is not something that seems to be dividing political parties. People are coming together and saying this is something that really makes sense for Virginia."
-- Joe Dashiell Possible fund cuts worry school districts in state-- Democrat Gazette Arkansas: September 03, 2018 [ abstract] A proposal to change how the state distributes money for public school facility projects would benefit most Arkansas school districts, but some stand to lose Funding and that has them worried.
Bentonville, for example, qualifies to receive state aid for 34.5 percent of a building's construction cost under the state's current wealth index, which is used to determine what share of the cost of an approved building project the state will pay. The proposed change would shrink that percentage to the minimum of 0.5 percent.
The state has contributed to school construction and replacement costs since 2004 when the state Public School Academic Facilities Program was established after the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that the public school system, including school buildings, was inadequate and inequitable, and thus unconstitutional.
But Gov. Asa Hutchinson has said the state cannot sustain its average annual investment of $100 million in the program. Act 801 of the 2017 legislative session mandated a comprehensive review of the state's role in school facility Funding "to ensure that the most efficient and effective programs are in place."
That review fell to the Advisory Committee on Public School Academic Facilities, which spent the past year compiling recommendations, and released its 73-page report in July.
-- Dave Perozek Groundbreaking at Olpe school signifies positive change-- The Emporia Gazette Kansas: September 01, 2018 [ abstract] Several southern Lyon County schools will be getting a facelift as USD 252 prepares to put its bond money to use in several schools within the district.
Olpe's combined high school and elementary school is one of the structures that will be benefitting from the funds.
Friday afternoon, the district held a groundbreaking at the small school which the entire population of the school was able to attend, from the early childhood students to the high school students.
Students wielding shovels and dressed in hard hats and vests symbolically moved dirt at the site of a new addition to their school building, signifying the start of construction.
USD 252 Superintendent Mike Argabright said the bond that's Funding this project was passed a year ago in May, after several years of effort on the parts of the district's facility group, board of education, and staff members prior to that.
"It's a community improvement and that is our approach," he said. "It's what our communities want and what they think our needs are for kids moving forward."
According to Argabright, space has always been an issue at the school site in Olpe, something that the addition of larger classrooms should be able to help alleviate.
-- Lydia Kautz Half-cent tax revenue chips away at mountain of facility needs in Hernando schools-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: August 30, 2018 [ abstract] BROOKSVILLE — A new roof at Pinegrove Elementary School. An updated gymnasium at Challenger K-8. Patched leaks, new air conditioning systems and replaced flooring. The list of recent improvements at Hernando County schools goes on and on.
The district has routed more than $21 million in Funding to school projects since 2015, when Hernando County voters agreed to a half-cent sales tax to spruce up school facilities. The total amount collected tops $26 million, finance records show. As promised, the district will use all of it to chip away at the long list of improvements needed in local schools.
"As I get it, I spend it," head of school facilities Erik van de Boogaard told the Tampa Bay Times. "It’s filling a huge hole ... If we didn’t have it, we would be in dire straits."
Because of other school needs, he said, the district had to cut spending on building updates in recent years. Without the added revenue from the half-cent tax, many maintenance projects wouldn’t be possible.
Many aren’t, even now, so van de Boogaard learned to be creative about the timing and scope of jobs to ensure the funds stretch as far as possible, said Greg Laskoski. He serves on a half-cent oversight committee that school officials formed when they asked constituents to consider the tax.
-- Megan Reeves What Wilson County school building projects may be next and when?-- Tennessean Tennessee: August 30, 2018 [ abstract] Lakeview Elementary, Watertown Middle and a new elementary school are building needs Wilson County Schools would like to address next with construction of a new high school now underway.
But when those projects may be formally requested and when they will be considered for Funding is uncertain with Wilson County now building three new schools in the last four years along with a number of renovation projects.
Wilson County owes approximately $305.2 million on school construction, Finance Director Aaron Maynard said.
The district has its largest kindergarten class on record for the second straight year, which Director of Schools Donna Wright said is a “pretty good indicator,” that growth will continue. Wright also pointed to the number of future housing units approved in Wilson County.
“We have to start thinking ... proactively , because we don’t want to get back to where we have portables at our schools,” Wright said.
The new high school will open in 2020 as Wilson County's third new school in four years. Springdale Elementary opened in 2017 and the future Gladeville Middle is on track to open next school year.
-- Andy Humbles Ahead of 2018-2019 Year NC Teachers Re-Echo Demands to Lawmakers-- WFMY North Carolina: August 24, 2018 [ abstract] Teachers Across North Carolina are sending a preemptive strike in the form of a message to state leaders.
Their message: "take action on demands made during the May 16th Rally for Respect." That rally resulted in many school districts shutting down across the state as thousands of teachers took over the State Capitol in Raleigh.
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They were protesting low pay, poor working conditions as well as the lack of Funding and attention to school infrastructure.
Various teachers representing Red4EDNC, a non-profit organization led by teachers, will come together at town hall meetings and press conferences across the state, Friday. The teachers plan to speak about the various challenges they have faced in the past and are bound to face as they enter the new school year.
RELATED | Full Coverage of NC Teachers Rally
The events take place in Winston-Salem, Macon County, Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Goldsboro.
The Winston-Salem press conference holds at the Forsyth Central Library Auditorium at 660 West Fifth Street.
PHOTOS | Signs Capture the Emotions of NC Teachers'
Teachers would also invite some state elected leaders from surrounding areas to receive a signed copy of the 'Declaration in Defense of NC's Public School Children.' That document, which is modeled on the 'Declaration f Independence' which was released by the organization, outlines a vision to rectify some of the concerns of the teachers.
-- Adaure Achumba Legislative push underway to lift school building aid moratorium-- New Hampshire Union Leader New Hampshire: August 18, 2018 [ abstract] CONCORD - School building aid hasn't been a prominent issue this election season, but several lawmakers say they will make it a priority in the next session.
Rick Ladd, R-Haverhill, who chairs the House Education Committee, and Karen Umberger, R-Kearsarge, who chairs the House Division II Finance Committee, said they're happy to lead the effort.
"The building aid program, it's absolutely imperative that we ratchet it up and get it back going," Ladd said, adding, "I think now the Legislature is recognizing we have some significant issues out there in the field."
From 1955 to 2008, the state helped pay for major school projects, picking up between 30 and 60 percent of the cost, depending on the district's wealth. But as the recession was taking hold, lawmakers and policy experts realized building aid was growing at an unsustainable rate.
The program's budget had ballooned by 150 percent over the previous decade, Daniel Barrick, then-deputy director of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies, wrote in 2011, and critics said too much of that money was going to districts that didn't really need the assistance.
The outstanding debt on previously approved projects was nearly $540 million, according to a report from the center that same year.
The Legislature imposed a moratorium on new building aid Funding in 2009, and it has renewed the moratorium every two years since.
-- TODD FEATHERS Huntington Middle School replacement could cost $50 million-- The Daily Press Virginia: August 14, 2018 [ abstract] School officials presented a plan to the Newport News School Board on Tuesday that could have the board asking the city for $50 million to replace Huntington Middle School in 2020.
The figure came in a discussion and presentation of a potential five-year Funding request for capital projects across the city’s school buildings, called a Capital Improvement Plan.
The proposed $139.4 million CIP runs fiscal year 2020 through 2024. The board approves a new five-year plan each year, which then is sent to the city for inclusion in its overall capital plan. Funding is received for the first year until the next five-year plan is reworked and the process begins again.
-- Jane Hammond Report: Virginia spending on school infrastructure down 33 percent-- Virginia Mercury Virginia: August 13, 2018 [ abstract] Between state and local governments, in 2016 Virginia spent 33 percent less than in 2008 on school capital projects, like building new schools or renovating existing ones, according to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington, D.C., research and policy nonprofit.
Virginia is among 36 states in which capital spending fell in that time period, Funding-cuts-include-capital-spending-to-build-and-renovate-schools" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(77, 178, 236); text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the report states.
Several localities across Virginia are struggling with school maintenance.
Norfolk faces complaints from parents about mold and insect infestations in its schools, and students in Lee County rearranged seats to avoid leaking ceilings. Richmond schools have grappled with everything from ceiling tiles falling on students to broken stall doors in the bathrooms. However, the school system and the city had to recently make a joint admission that the school system had nearly $7 million in leftover money from past projects that was previously unaccounted for.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities used data from the Census Bureau to generate its report, along with state budget documents. It shows that, in 2008, state and local governments spent $1.72 billion on school construction, renovations and upgrades. But in 2016, adjusted for inflation, that number dropped to $1.16 billion.
-- Katie O'Connor School board requests facility assessment-- Ottumwa Courier Iowa: August 13, 2018 [ abstract] OTTUMWA — Estes Construction of Davenport will provide a facilities assessment to Ottumwa Community School District at a cost of nearly $14,000, but using the assessment could save the district money in the long run.
Pete Perez, project executive for Estes Construction, explained to the school board Monday night what the company does for school districts throughout the state.
“The program, in short, is called ICAT,” Estes said. The Iowa Construction Advocate Team is a partnership between the Iowa Association of School Boards and Estes Construction.
When Secure an Advanced Vision for Education Funding began after July 1, 2008, replacing local sales and services taxes for school infrastructure purposes, IASB realized it couldn’t provide construction guidance, Perez said.
IASB endorsed Estes Construction in 2009 to provide school districts with assessments for projects that use the new Funding stream, according to the Estes Construction website.
A comprehensive assessment looks at such things as how many buildings the district has, what the condition of the buildings are and how the district will prioritize its needs.
“The needs are going to outweigh the Funding available,” Perez said. “That is not an anomaly.”
-- Winona Whitaker USD 112 Central Plains might close a school due to a tight budget-- ksn.com Kansas: August 13, 2018 [ abstract] ELLSWORTH COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) - School starts in just three days, and while kids are getting their school supplies and back packs ready for the first day of class, officials with USD 112 are looking at how to save money.
Superintendent Greg Clark said one option could be closing a school.
"We've already done enrollment here, and we've already signed everything for this year," said USD 112 parent Erica Lemieux.
While Lemieux said her kid's back to school checklist is complete, she said she was shocked when she found out officials with USD 112 Central Plains are looking at possibly closing a school.
"I had no idea," she said. "They never said anything about that when we did enrollment last week."
KSN spoke with Clark and he said there is talk for closing a school, but no actions have been taken this school year.
"One of the items that came up was possibility of closing the school down here on the south end of the district."
The reason for this discussion is because of a change in the district's budget, state Funding and to see if their $8.1 million bond will pass, Clark said.
"We had to find $300,000-$400,000 that we'd had in capital outlay expenditures, now back into our general fund," he said.
-- Michelle Ross Gwinnett BOE calls referendum on bonds for new high school, other capital projects-- Gwinnett Daily Post Georgia: August 04, 2018 [ abstract]
Gwinnett County Public Schools is planning to build a new high school in the Mill Creek area and install artificial turf on athletic fields among other projects slated to be paid off with bonds that residents will vote on this fall.
The county’s school board unanimously called for a referendum on whether the district should issue General Obligations Bonds worth as much as $350 million to pay for the projects during a special called meeting Friday afternoon. The vote will go on the November general election ballot
That spot on the ballot had previously been expected to go to a referendum on Gwinnett joining MARTA, but county commissioners decided this week to hold that vote in March instead.
“The timing is very beneficial,” Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks said about the bond being on the November ballot. “It allows us to begin things six months earlier and have some things done before the next school year (2019-20).”
District spokeswoman Sloan Roach said the school system is planning to use the debt service millage rate to pay off the debt incurred by the bonds.
“The debt service rate was decreased by .10 to 1.95 mills this year,” Roach said. “Funding from that will still be sufficient to pay for the General Obligation Bonds.”
-- Trevor McNaboe OUSD Turns Asphalt School Playgrounds into Green Spaces-- Oakland Post California: August 03, 2018 [ abstract] With less than two weeks to go before the 2018-19 school year begins, schools across Oakland are getting ready. At Melrose Leadership Academy, work is now underway to make the campus green and, in the process, help children learn.
Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), the Trust for Public Land, and Green Schoolyards America announced a partnership at Melrose, the first of five schools to serve as demonstration sites where asphalt covered schoolyards will be transformed into green spaces or “living schoolyards.”
The partners will also collaborate on a district policy, Funding strategy and joint use agreements to ensure more OUSD schoolyards become healthier and more climate resilient.
“Working with the Trust for Public Land, Green Schoolyards America and the community provides OUSD with added resources and technical expertise that we need to improve the learning environment for our students,” said Kyla Johnson-Trammell, OUSD Superintendent. “This effort will also create healthier conditions at our schools and get our students to think more globally and be more environmentally conscious.”
The partnership focuses on increasing equity across OUSD by prioritizing schools that serve low-income neighborhoods.
There are five demonstration schoolyards involved in the project. Emiliano Zapata Street Academy, Markham Elementary School, Melrose Leadership Academy, Ralph J. Bunche High School, and two elementary schools that share a campus, International Community School and Think College Now.
The process will involve receive community engagement, participatory design, asphalt removal and planting. The demonstration schools will also benefit from professional development from Green Schoolyards America’s Principals’ Institute.
Nearly 1,700 students attend these five schools and will directly benefit from the transformation. A total of 30,000 people live within a 10-minute walk of these sites.
-- Post Staff California districts can renovate, build kindergarten classrooms with help from new funding-- Edsource.org California: August 01, 2018 [ abstract] Acting on the notion that full-day early education programs are more effective than half-day ones, in recent years the California Legislature has been nudging school districts to offer full-day kindergarten to all its students. But some districts have run into an obstacle: They don’t have the classroom space they would need to expand the length of time children are in the classroom.
So this year the Legislature has included $100 million in the budget to help districts convert their part-day kindergarten programs into full-day programs. The funds will help school districts that are struggling financially and are located in low-income communities. The money will also help districts that need to add classrooms to accommodate increasing kindergarten enrollment. Schools can use the Funding to pay design and construction costs, including landscaping and electric upgrades.
Behind that effort is research that indicates full-day kindergarten programs can help students improve their reading and math skills, if programs are of high quality, according to a 2017 EdSource report.
-- ASHLEY HOPKINSON Enrollment-tied funding change pitched for Arkansas schools-- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Arkansas: August 01, 2018 [ abstract] An Arkansas advisory committee Tuesday proposed changes to the state's system of distributing millions of dollars to school districts for building-related costs to favor the ones that have had sharp declines in student enrollment.
The Advisory Committee on Public School Academic Facilities also called for the state to budget $90 million a year for its share of the cost of school construction -- encompassing new academic space, as well as replacement of roofs, heating and air conditioning systems, and other "warm, safe and dry" systems.
The committee, made up of educators, engineers, architects and others, developed the 73-page report and recommendations over the past year. The report was done in accordance with Act 801 of 2017 that called for a comprehensive review of the state's academic facilities programs to ensure that they are as effective and efficient as they can be.
The state has been contributing to school construction and replacement costs since 2004 when the state Public School Academic Facilities Program was established in the wake of an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling that the state's public school system -- including school buildings -- were inadequate and inequitable and, as a result, unconstitutional.
-- Cynthia Howell Austin ISD making upgrades to keep kids cool at school-- KXAN Texas: July 31, 2018 [ abstract] AUSTIN (KXAN) -- With another school year kicking off in less than three weeks in Austin, maintenance crews are in crunch time to make sure the district's schools stay cool once students return.
"Our maintenance department is also working throughout the district to check our chillers, our air handler units, just basic routine preventative maintenance and we are way ahead of schedule," says Louis Zachary, Director of Maintenance at AISD.
The district is also replacing several HVAC systems or upgrading the current systems in place. In all, 37 projects are underway at AISD schools, the majority of which are on the A/C units. Funding for the $45.5 million-worth of projects is coming from a 2013 AISD technology bond that was slated for upgrades to classrooms and infrastructure.
Harris Elementary in east Austin is one of the schools receiving a new HVAC system. Right now the ceiling tiles in the hallways are down as the new system is being run through the building.
"But it will be ready for the first day of class," Zachary says.
Over the summer, AISD maintenance staff place a school's AC on an unoccupied mode, meaning that it typically doesn't kick on unless the school becomes about 85 degrees.
And in the event the AC goes out when students return to class, plans are in place.
-- Kate Weidaw Can taxpayers afford billions for school construction?-- The Laurinburg Exchange North Carolina: July 31, 2018 [ abstract] RALEIGH — Stough Elementary school has seen a handful of repairs and renovations since it was built in 1968. The aging facility soon will be torn down, and a new building will take its place to accommodate more students without the need for mobile trailers.
The project will cost more than $37 million.
“We are fortunate to be in Wake County, where that local Funding is appropriated for these measures,” Stough Elementary Principal Chris Cox said. “Funding is different from county to county, and ultimately our local Funding does provide that capacity to move into new spaces and also to come back to brand-new spaces.”
The school is just one of many in need of a revamp. In 2016, the Department of Public Instruction reported North Carolina public schools needed $8.1 billion for new school facilities or renovations.
The N.C. School Bond would have provided $1.9 billion in public school facility grants for all 100 counties, if voters had approved it.
But voters won’t get the chance. The General Assembly didn’t pass House Bill 866 and place the bond on the November ballot. Instead of adding state debt, lawmakers increased capital spending from current revenues. Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown, R-Onslow, reflected the attitudes of legislative leaders by saying it was better to spend money in hand and complete construction quickly than to owe money after the buildings were finished.
-- Lindsay Marchello Discussion focuses on $63M in projects-- Quad-City Times Iowa: July 31, 2018 [ abstract]
At a work session Tuesday night, the Bettendorf School Board discussed a six-year facilities plan and how to pay for it using three Funding sources.
The only discussion item to be considered on the agenda was how to pay for about $63 million in projects from:
• Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL), a revenue source for school infrastructure and equipment repair, purchases and improvements.
• Sales tax.
• A general obligation bond.
On March 5, the board approved a six-year facilities plan that incorporates a report from Legat Architects Inc. The plan includes construction of a school on the Mark Twain Elementary property, a pool upgrade at the high school and a gym heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, along with flooring and door replacement, at the middle school.
Also on the list Tuesday night were items that were not in the March 5 plan, including a $1 million future-ready center at the high school and an athletic track and grass field at the middle school at a cost of $500,000.
“I need the public to know … I don’t want to wait four or five years to do these things. If we get the money, we do them,” board member Mike Pyevich said after considering a project timeline.
-- Linda Cook Leech Lake's Bug school finally gets its new building-- MPR News Minnesota: July 30, 2018 [ abstract] A host of federal officials attended the dedication of a new building at the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig tribal school on the Leech Lake Reservation Monday.
Three U.S. representatives, two senators — via video conference — and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke all turned out to see the new high school building.
Former Sen. Al Franken also attended — in what's believed to be one of his first appearances in Minnesota since resigning from the U.S. Senate.
Franken is one of a handful of politicians who worked to get Funding for the project. From a stage in the new gymnasium, he spoke of the lengthy bureaucratic struggle.
He said he first heard about the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig school nearly a decade ago when a student testified before an Indian Affairs committee meeting.
"Her testimony was disturbing," he said. "She testified about the appalling conditions in which they were expected to learn."
High school students went to class in an old pole barn. It was so poorly insulated, they wore their winter coats indoors, and could often see their own breath. When storms came through, they had to run to the middle school because they were afraid the whole building might crumble in high winds.
-- John Enger Iowa's public education advocates hope to extend the state sales tax for school facilities, classroom technology-- Des Moines Register Iowa: July 29, 2018 [ abstract] As they call for more money for classrooms, Iowa school advocates hope legislators will extend a sales tax levy that pours millions of dollars each year into infrastructure and technology for the state's public schools.
Bipartisan negotiations over the past couple years have resulted in a plan to extend a statewide 1 cent sales tax for another 20 years to fund school infrastructure projects while limiting the need for schools to issue bonds that drive up property taxes. The efforts have been underway as Funding for school aid remains a hot-button issue with regular partisan clashes.
A bill was overwhelmingly passed by the Iowa House last spring to reauthorize the sales tax, known as the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education program, but the Senate never voted on it. Legislative leaders indicated they plan to revisit the issue in January.
-- Scott Stewart Proposal would shift half of school districts' bond payments to state-- Idaho Press Idaho: July 27, 2018 [ abstract] Idaho’s population boom has pushed school districts across the state to seek solutions for Funding construction.
“This isn’t a Canyon or Ada County problem, this is a problem occurring around the state,” said Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise.
Idaho is one of a handful of states that uses bonds and levies — voter-approved property tax increases — as the only way to fund new school buildings.
West Ada School District officials have tried for years to work with lawmakers, including Winder, to create another Funding mechanism, such as impact fees. The district is cooking up a proposal for the next legislative session: have the state fund half the cost of a bond, leaving only the other half on property owners in school districts.
West Ada officials plan to first run the idea by other school district leaders at the Idaho School Board Association annual convention in November.
Since 1998, Idaho districts have passed 127 bond measures totaling roughly $2 billion, West Ada School District spokesman Eric Exline said.
West Ada is paying off three bonds dating back to 2002. The district’s bond debt this month sat at almost $297 million, Exline said.
With bond debt comes compounding interest of about 4 percent, Exline said, depending on the bond market.
-- Patty Bowen Cleveland residents could protest school funding Thursday, but district didn't tell anyone-- The Plain Dealer Ohio: July 11, 2018 [ abstract] CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland residents upset about how the state is helping pay for new schools in the city could voice their complaints at a meeting in Columbus Thursday, instead of waiting weeks or months.
But few will be going. The school district didn't tell anyone about this week's meeting, saying protests now do not fit its strategy to win more money from the state.
The Ohio Facilities Construction Committee, the state panel that oversees state-funded construction, has its quarterly meeting Thursday - its first since the district started criticizing its decisions and recruiting people last month to protest them.
The district instead tried to drum up protests for an August conference the OFCC has in Independence and the panel's fall quarterly meeting in Columbus on October 25. Presentations to the public last month about its Funding dispute listed just the August and October events, not the one this week.
"We have a number of advocacy efforts underway," said district spokesperson Roseann Canfora. "Interrupting their regular meeting is not one of them."
Elise Hara Auvil, of the Bond Accountability Commission, the city's school construction watchdog panel, questioned the omission and speculated that the district did not want to raise a protest at an OFCC meeting where the panel could add money to the district.
The OFCC will consider Thursday adding $3.7 million in state aid for the new John F. Kennedy and West Side high schools about to start construction.
-- Patrick O'Donnell CPS Announces $7.5 Billion Proposed Budget-- Chicago 5 Illinois: July 06, 2018 [ abstract] City officials on Friday announced a proposed budget for Chicago Public Schools, including an investment of nearly $1 billion for school modernization and Funding for the first step of universal pre-k, officials said.
The district proposed a $7.5 billion budget, largely focused on operational costs. But the budget includes almost $1 billion in investments to new schools, new annexes and maintenance to existing schools. The number is the largest single-year capital investment in more than two decades, according to the city.
The mayor’s office said the budget would provide 3,700 more children with access to full day pre-k and 5,000 more students would have access to IB, STEM, Classical and Magnet programs.
The mayor said the 3,700 spots for pre-k would first go to children and families most in need. The priority will be on families with a household income of 45,000 a year or less.
-- Sandra Torres Virginia state senator questions Stoney's efforts to improve school facilities; Stoney blames General Assembly-- Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia: July 03, 2018 [ abstract]
Invoking the landmark Supreme Court case that integrated U.S. schools, a Virginia state senator is questioning Richmond’s efforts to fix the poor condition of its school facilities, while Mayor Levar Stoney is blaming the state for the Funding shortfall.
A letter from Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin, on Monday questioned Stoney about the state of the facilities within Richmond Public Schools, a frequent topic of discussion that led city voters to pass a ballot measure last year calling for Stoney to modernize school facilities without raising taxes, or to say it can’t be done.
“I have praised Richmonders for defying conventional wisdom and championing RPS’ 90 percent minority student body, mostly from families with modest incomes, too many for too long forced to endure intolerable conditions on account of city and school officials failing to properly maintain or modernize aged, decrepit and obsolete such facilities,” Stanley wrote in the letter.
Stanley, the chairman of the Senate Local Government Committee, in April created a subcommittee to address concerns related to “obsolete” school buildings in the state. It’s an issue across Virginia, but especially in Richmond, where modernizing all 44 public schools would cost an estimated $800 million over the next 20 years.
-- Justin Mattingly Environmental hurdle cleared for new classroom building at Kealakehe Elementary School-- West Hawaii Today Hawaii: July 01, 2018 [ abstract] KAILUA-KONA — A project that will increase teaching space at Kealakehe Elementary School is moving closer to fruition.
However, the $12 million needed to start work on the new classroom building as projected in December 2020 has yet to be appropriated, said Sherie Char, a communications specialist with the state Department of Education.
“HIDOE will work with legislators to secure funds,” Char said via email. “The EA is on track to be completed, however, the design will pause at the preliminary stage until construction Funding is secured.”
For crews to be on the ground working in late 2020, the Funding needs to be secured by the end of the next legislative session in May 2019 to allow completion of the bidding process during 2020, according to a final environmental assessment released earlier this week. The document received finding of no significant impact, allowing the project to move forward.
-- Chelsea Jensen Funding could halt renovation of Wake County school-- WRAL.com North Carolina: June 27, 2018 [ abstract] CARY, N.C. — Renovations on one of Wake County's oldest schools may have hit a snag.
Wiley Elementary School on Saint Mary's Street in Raleigh dates back to the 1920s. The building has been up for renovation for years, but the costs keep going up.
The initial budget for the project was nearly $18 million, but bids are now coming in closer to $24 million.
In a Wednesday meeting, district leaders discussed whether the project should be cut-back or postponed.
-- Adam Owens Wake leaders: $40M more needed for school updates, construction-- WRAL.com North Carolina: June 27, 2018 [ abstract] School construction will be the focus of a conversation on Wednesday among Wake school leaders as a committee meets to discuss a Funding shortfall.
The difference between what the school board is requesting and how much the county is offering totals more than $40 million for the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years.
The funds are part of a seven-year Capital Improvement Plan with a goal to fund 15 new schools, make 10 renovations and partially pay for two new schools and four renovations. District leaders say the changes are necessary to keep up with growing enrollment and replace old technology, furniture and equipment.
School and county leaders have been working on ways to fund the plan, which could include a construction bond referendum on this November's ballot. Members of the school facilities committee will meet at school board headquarters at 3 p.m.
-- Claudia Rupcich Editorial: Schools have huge needs in facilities-- Gainesville Sun Florida: June 24, 2018 [ abstract] Public schools have enough challenges without students and teachers being forced to deal with broken air conditioners, leaky roofs and outdated facilities.
Yet that is the situation faced by many of Florida’s public schools, due to state lawmakers providing inadequate Funding for school facilities. Here in Alachua County, voters are being asked to pass a sales tax increase in November to pay for needed school repairs and renovations.
A recent report in The Sun showed the kinds of problems that the measure would help fix. It used as an example a Howard Bishop Middle School computer lab, where a persistent leak fills buckets and trash cans with water as students try to work on assignments there.
“It can be a distraction for the students to focus on instruction if they are affected by conditions in their learning environment,” science teacher Jennifer Thiery said.
-- Editorial Board Greenwich lines up $750M in improvements for school buildings-- Greenwich Time Connecticut: June 24, 2018 [ abstract] GREENWICH — Additional classrooms and athletic facilities at Greenwich High School, a complete rebuild of Central Middle School and elevators at three elementary schools are part of a comprehensive Board of Education plan to update, repair and improve town schools — slated to cost a total of about $750 million over 15 years.
The board assembled the plan to guide future decisions, using a ranking system to weigh the urgency of each project. No work or Funding has been approved.
“I think it’s smart, without communicating anything else, to communicate to the public what needs to happen, in what order, to a solid rationale,” Board Chairman Peter Bernstein said at a June board meeting. The school board released the broad plan, he said, to communicate to the town that it is working to establish a set of priorities for the future of its school buildings.
-- Jo Kroeker Without funding for its plan, Cedar Rapids Schools reviewing when to begin sequence of construction, closures-- The Gazette Iowa: June 19, 2018 [ abstract] An absence of Funding for the Cedar Rapids school district’s extensive facilities plan has delayed a meeting between school and city officials to discuss the plan’s impact.
School officials called off the joint meeting set for Monday morning, Cedar Rapids School Board President John Laverty said, and likely won’t reschedule it until next year.
The delay, Laverty said, is because of a looming sunset on a state penny sales tax, known as SAVE, that school districts can use to fund construction and infrastructure needs.
The school district’s facilities plan — which would close eight of the district’s elementary schools and fund new or renovated buildings for its other 13 — is contingent on the tax’s extension.
During this year’s legislative session, state lawmakers came close but did not approve a 20-year extension of SAVE, which sunsets in 2029.
Without that revenue secured, Laverty said the school board is reviewing the facilities plan’s timeline.
“There will still be conversations with the city moving forward,” Laverty said. “But I think we’ll wait until January or so, when we start to hear more seriously in terms of the SAVE funds.”
-- Molly Duffy Matching funds requirement irks school safety advocates-- Albuquerque Journal New Mexico: June 17, 2018 [ abstract] After 17 deaths in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February, the school security conversation became much louder.
In New Mexico, just weeks after the Florida massacre, legislation was signed into law for millions of dollars to be set aside for school safety measures.
But now some are speaking out after learning that districts will have to match a percentage of the money – an estimation of up to $1 million in the case of Albuquerque Public Schools.
While $40 million was set aside through Senate Bill 239, districts still have to meet some eligibility requirements before they can get the money. In a memo sent to districts earlier this month, the Public School Capital Outlay Council outlined the prerequisites for districts to get access to the funds, including the match.
State Sen. George Munoz, D-Gallup, sponsor of the bill that allowed the use of council Funding for school security, said money meant to keep kids safe shouldn’t rely on how much individual districts can afford.
“Not all schools have money to match … so that disqualifies some of the schools that can’t afford it,” he said.
-- Shelby Perea Survey finds fear of shootings widespread in NM-- Albuquerque Journal New Mexico: June 17, 2018 [ abstract] These are two of the top concerns local districts have about school safety, according to surveys by the New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority. Bullying, unauthorized access and domestic disputes rounded out the top five.
The agency aimed to take a snapshot of what school security looks like in the state, asking districts to identify safety barriers and rank various security measures in order of importance.
The surveys found the most significant barrier by far for districts was Funding, followed by building design and lack of equipment.
That finding comes as Attorney General Hector Balderas calls for the state to utilize more federal Funding for security measures in schools. It also comes as districts are starting to apply for millions of dollars set aside for school safety by the Legislature.
According to the surveys, districts said the most important security features they wanted to implement were better staff crisis training and better access control for campuses.
-- Shelby Perea Schools try to get traction on building-- The Robesonian North Carolina: June 16, 2018 [ abstract] LUMBERTON — The Public Schools of Robeson County whiffed on securing state money for the construction of a new school in Round 1, but school officials believe momentum is being achieved for better luck next time.
The system could have secured as much as $15 million earmarked for Tier 1 systems, but only for “shovel-ready” projects. The local system had not reached that point and did not apply.
Mike Smith, a 28-year member of the school board and a vocal advocate for school construction, said it was a “missed opportunity.” However, Smith said the “shovel ready” requirements in year one were too tight for the board to meet following Hurricane Matthew.
“There is a lot more to building a school than people think,” said Smith, chairman of the board’s Finance Committee. “Hopefully, we’ll be ready for the next round of Funding.”
-- Scott Bigelow Schools in Saco and Windham place high on priority list for state construction funding-- PressHerald.com Maine: June 14, 2018 [ abstract] Public schools in Saco and Windham placed among the top five in the Maine Department of Education’s latest priority list of school projects that could qualify for state construction Funding.
In addition to the Young School in Saco and the Windham Middle School, which ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, Portland High School also made the list, placing 15th of 74 schools seeking funds. The school construction Funding list was presented to the state Board of Education on Wednesday.
The board took no action at its Wednesday meeting. Districts that are unhappy with the way their projects were scored now have 30 days to appeal, according to the department.
“I am pleasantly surprised that Portland High School scored so well, but I certainly knew the school needed work,” Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling said.
The mayor said it is possible the state could fund repairs to the high school in the next round of school Funding.
-- DENNIS HOEY Madaleno proposes $5 billion for school construction from lottery revenue-- The Washington Post Washington: June 13, 2018 [ abstract] State Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. on Tuesday unveiled a proposal to provide Maryland’s largest school districts with as much as $5 billion in construction Funding, becoming the first gubernatorial candidate to address that issue in such detail.
The plan would use revenue from the state lottery to supplement money already earmarked for school renovation and construction.
“We are at a tipping point in the state of Maryland when it comes to education,” Madaleno (D-Montgomery) said in a statement. “Our facilities are aging, our programs no longer meet the needs of the 21st century.”
The plan, dubbed the BEACONS Act, addresses “large backlogs” of critical construction projects in Maryland’s most populous school districts. Madaleno’s proposal makes the funds available to jurisdictions with more than 75,000 students, which means Montgomery, Prince George’s, Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties and Baltimore City would now qualify.
Madaleno co-sponsored a 2013 bill that funded a similar construction plan for Baltimore City Public Schools. Now, Madaleno said, $1 billion is helping to rebuild 26 Baltimore schools, and the program “is a model for the other jurisdictions of the state.”
-- Reis Thebault Cleveland schools ask parents to lobby state for school construction money-- The Plain Dealer Ohio: June 06, 2018 [ abstract] CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland school district is asking parents and the public to lobby state officials to preserve some state Funding of the city's school construction project.
District CEO Eric Gordon and Chief Operating Officer Pat Zohn used much of a community meeting Tuesday night at Gallagher Elementary School on the West Side to lay out details of the district's ongoing fight with the state over school construction costs.
See their presentation below.
They then urged the crowd of 50 parents, teachers and other residents to call their state legislators, the governor's office and the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) - the state panel overseeing state-funded construction - to oppose a cap on state construction aid.
They even called on residents to attend an August 16 OFCC event in Independence and that board's regular quarterly meeting on October 25 in Columbus.
-- Patrick O'Donnell Guv to sign bills for energy office, school construction-- The Daily Sentinel Colorado: May 28, 2018 [ abstract] Gov. John Hickenlooper plans to sign several measures this week approved by the Colorado Legislature during this year's session, including bills to boost Funding for school construction and a measure reauthorizing the Colorado Energy Office.
-- Charles Ashby Plans for Easthampton’s new school head to state for approval-- Daily Hampshire Gazette Massachusetts: May 24, 2018 [ abstract] Now that voters have signed off on Funding a new $109 million consolidated school, plans will head to the state for final approval later this summer.
As of Wednesday evening, City Clerk Barbara LaBombard said there was only one provisional ballot left from Tuesday’s election to be counted pending confirmation with the Registry of Motor Vehicles, leaving the vote tally at 2,831 “yes” to 2,102 “no.” The city saw a 42 percent turnout for the special election, LaBombard said.
-- MJ Tidwell Arkansas Senate: State approves $42 million in school construction aid-- Magnolia Reporter Arkansas: May 13, 2018 [ abstract] The Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation Commission has approved more than $42 million in state aid to local school districts for new construction and repairs to keep schools safe, warm and dry.
About $3.2 billion have been spent on 2,453 projects since 2006. The state has provided $1.34 billion of that amount and school districts match the Funding, at a rate that depends on their locally generated wealth.
-- Bruce Maloch Communities dig deep to pay for school building projects-- WMUR New Hampshire: May 11, 2018 [ abstract] The debate over state Funding for school building projects will likely be a major campaign topic in the 2018 election.
Communities across New Hampshire are struggling to deal with the consequences of the elimination of a program that many of them relied on to pay for needed school upgrades.
In Newmarket, taxpayers are digging deep into their own pockets to overhaul the junior-senior high school, which dates back to the 1920s.
-- Adam Sexton Mankato School District has more funds for building maintenance-- The Free Press Minnesota: May 07, 2018 [ abstract] Mankato Public School District leaders are planning extra school building improvement projects thanks to an increase in local and state Funding.
The School Board has approved three sizable building and parking lot summer maintenance projects in recent weeks and is making plans for years to come.
A new Funding formula for districts to update and maintain buildings, improve accessibility and continue required health and safety programs is in the second of a three-year phase in.
-- Kristine Goodrich Money from pot taxes hasn’t fixed Colorado teachers’ problems-- The Day Colorado: April 27, 2018 [ abstract] Colorado teachers are protesting this week for higher salaries and increased money for schools, prompting questions about why the state's booming marijuana sales have not fixed the Funding problems.
The 2012 voter-approved constitutional amendment that allowed adults to buy marijuana got a boost from a commitment to send millions of dollars to Colorado schools.
-- Kathleen Foody Can Stanley's subcommitte help rebuild local schools?-- Martinsville Bulletin Virginia: April 23, 2018 [ abstract] From Martinsville to Henry County, Patrick County to Rocky Mount, local school districts need money. That’s been a consistent theme during this year’s budget discussions for cities and counties in southern Virginia. Local superintendents hope a new Virginia Senate subcommittee can help address some of those needs, in terms of providing state Funding to help with modernizing facilities.
-- Paul Collins Corvallis School District requests funding to renovate schools-- The Daily Barometer Oregon: April 23, 2018 [ abstract] Over $199 million has the potential to fund the Corvallis School District if the proposed ballot Measure 2-113 is passed this upcoming primary election, held on May 15.
If passed, Measure 2-113 will put almost $200 million into the modernization and restoration of all 13 public schools in Corvallis, Ore. The suggested bond specifically identifies safety, overcrowding, aging and additional educational spaces as the main concerns for renovation.
-- Stefanie Gamboa When $63 Million Doesn’t Buy Working Toilets-- The National Review District of Columbia: April 06, 2018 [ abstract] The deficiencies of our public schools aren’t a result of underFunding.
When 450 students arrived at Anacostia High School in the District of Columbia’s southeast neighborhood on April 4, they found that few of the sinks or toilets were functioning and the cafeteria was flooded. They were advised by the Department of General Services to use the facilities at a middle school two blocks away until repairs could be completed.
-- Mona Charen General Assembly overrides Hogan veto on school construction bill-- The Frederick News-Post Maryland: April 05, 2018 [ abstract] General Assembly Democrats voted to override Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of a bill that removes the Board of Public Works from the school construction Funding process.
Hogan vetoed House Bill 1783 at a Board of Public Works meeting on Wednesday with dramatic flair, drawing a big red “X” through the paper and holding it up to the crowd.
-- Kelsi Loos Heated Debate In Annapolis On School Construction Decisions-- WCBC Radio Maryland: April 03, 2018 [ abstract] With less than a week remaining in the 2018 session of the Maryland General Assembly- a heated debated has begun on school construction decisions. The Maryland Senate last week approved a measure to change how school-construction Funding decisions are made. The Senate voted 29-14 or the bill, which Governor Larry Hogan has pledged to veto.
Money left over from Meriden high school renovations to fund track study-- My Record Journal Connecticut: April 03, 2018 [ abstract] Left over money from the Maloney and Platt High School renovations will be used to fund studies on replacing the athletic tracks at both schools.
The City Council approved Funding for the studies Monday.
Construction on the $107.5 million renovation of Maloney High School was completed in 2016 and the $111.8 million renovation of Platt wrapped up last fall. A total of $1.9 million is left in the Platt budget and $394,000 remains unspent for Maloney, according to Finance Director Michael Lupkas.
-- Leigh Tauss School construction funding fight is part of ongoing drive to strip power from the governor-- Maryland Reporter.com Maryland: April 01, 2018 [ abstract] Maryland’s governor has long been considered one of the most powerful in the country, mainly because of his control over spending and appointments.
The Maryland General Assembly has for decades sought to chip away at any governor’s power, mainly through spending mandates and other legal restraints.
Last week’s action in the Senate and House to pass a new mandate on school construction and take the governor out of the decisions on what schools should be funded is just another chapter in that ongoing drive to shift the balance of power.
-- Len Lazarick Botetourt supervisors OK funding for new Colonial Elementary School building-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: March 29, 2018 [ abstract] The Botetourt County Board of Supervisors authorized the issuance of $22.5 million in general obligation bonds to fund the construction of a new building for Colonial Elementary School.
The Board of Supervisors, along with the school board and the Economic Development Authority, held a public hearing Thursday on the bond issuance before unanimous approval. About 30 residents were in attendance to watch the three government bodies move forward on a long-awaited project.
The bonds will come through the Virginia Public School Authority, which school officials said they determined as the best route to finance the project.
-- Alison Graham Maryland Senate set to revamp school construction funding process, angering Gov. Larry Hogan-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: March 28, 2018 [ abstract] The Maryland Senate gave preliminary approval Wednesday night to a plan to strip the state’s spending panel of its traditional oversight of hundreds of millions of dollars in school construction projects " a legislative action that Gov. Larry Hogan called a “personal vendetta” and promised to veto.
The Republican governor " who sits on the three-member spending board with Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy Kopp, both Democrats " said the General Assembly’s expedited actions on a measure to strip the board of one of its “most important functions” were “simply outrageous.”
-- Michael Dresser and Scott Dance Voters in Portage County to weigh school funding, ATV questions-- Stevens Point Journal Wisconsin: March 27, 2018 [ abstract] As Portage County voters go to the polls on April 3, residents in Eau Pleine and the Almond-Bancroft School District area will consider referendum questions about ATVs and exceeding state limits on school Funding.
The Almond-Bancroft School District will ask voters to exceed state revenue limits on a recurring basis of $525,000 starting in the 2018-19 school year. Meanwhile in Eau Pleine, voters will decide whether to let the town board use discretion in allowing ATVs or UTVs on one or more selected roads.
-- Alan Hovorka City, school officials hope state awards money for school renovation projects.-- Eagle-Tribune Massachusetts: March 26, 2018 [ abstract] The city's schools are gearing up for a second attempt at securing Funding from the state to expand and renovate the Consentino School.
Mayor James Fiorentini and schools Superintendent James Scully are scheduled to ask the City Council Tuesday to approve a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority to expand the school by six to 10 classrooms, replace the roof and remodel the cafeteria, Scully said.
-- Kiera Blessing Amherst Schools also eyes costs of its construction project-- The Chronicle Ohio: March 24, 2018 [ abstract] Elyria is not the only Lorain County school district eyeing the construction market with caution.
Amherst is building a new prekindergarten-to-third-grade elementary school building, and school officials there are watching bids and budgets carefully. Like Elyria, Amherst passed a bond issue in November 2016 to fund a school project, albeit with a much smaller budget. The Amherst project will cost $27.97 million, 49 percent paid with local dollars and 51 percent with state Funding, compared with Elyria’s $127 million budget.
-- Lisa Roberson Athens City School District Board of Education approves facilities master plan-- The Post Athens Ohio: March 22, 2018 [ abstract] The Athens City School District Board of Education approved the filing of the district’s facilities master plan with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission during its regular board meeting Thursday night at Athens High School.
The facilities master plan, sometimes referred to as "option four," includes two new pre-K to third-grade buildings, one renovated fourth- to sixth-grade building, a renovation to Athens Middle School and a new Athens High School. The board also voted against segmenting the plan, which means that if the board agrees to put a tax levy for the project on the November ballot, residents would vote on Funding the entire plan.
-- Maggie Campbell What would Blaine’s $12 million school levy pay for?-- The Northern Light Washington: March 21, 2018 [ abstract] Voters in the Blaine school district will vote on a $12 million technology and capital projects property tax levy in the Tuesday, April 24 special election.
The levy would cost taxpayers 51 cents per $1,000 of home value annually and raise $2 million a year from 2019 to 2024.
The district would use that money for a variety of maintenance and replacement projects throughout the district, as well as for Funding new technology for students and staff. The district characterizes much of the work as maintenance and replacement projects that are too expensive for the school’s general fund.
-- Oliver Lazenby Kansas School Funding Report In Hand, Lawmakers Confront Its Tough, Pricey Suggestions-- Kansas: March 19, 2018 [ abstract] Now that Republican leaders have a report they commissioned on school Funding, it’s not clear they’ll pursue its recommendations to spend more for better student performance.
Lawmakers continued digging into the numbers Monday and quizzed the study’s authors for the first time since the document was unveiled Friday.
The study suggests lawmakers boost school spending by up to 44 percent over five years. That would mean pouring an additional $2 billion into education. Legislators are searching for ways to respond to a state Supreme Court ruling that says schools aren’t adequately funded.
-- Stephen Koranda Md. Senate panel takes up school-construction funding-- Herald Mail Media Maryland: March 15, 2018 [ abstract] School construction and how to pay for it is the focus of various bills before the state Senate's budgeting committee this week as lawmakers try to plan for future needs.
A bill from Sen. Andrew Serafini, R-Washington, aims to streamline the process for school construction, as does a bill sponsored by Sen. James DeGrange, D-Anne Arundel. Both senators serve on the 21st Century School Facilities Commission, appointed in 2016 to study financing and construction of school projects.
-- Tamela Baker Budget boosts school construction-- News 4 Jax Florida: March 12, 2018 [ abstract] Florida lawmakers approved a 45 percent increase in construction and maintenance money for universities, state colleges and public schools in the new state budget.
The annual Public Education Capital Outlay program for the 2018-19 academic year will total $487 million, including $33 million in Funding contingent on reimbursements from the federal government related to emergency spending during Hurricane Irma.
-- Lloyd Dunkelberger County school construction forecast prioritizes expansion, crowding over modernization-- The Frederick News-Post Maryland: March 08, 2018 [ abstract] Frederick County school construction projects to address the increase in students and ease crowding remain on track, but plans to modernize older facilities might have to wait.
In a briefing Thursday, County Executive Jan Gardner offered a glimpse into the county’s long-term capital plan, which includes Funding for new construction and renovations for Frederick County Public Schools. Awaiting exact dollar amounts, which will come when Gardner releases the proposed fiscal 2019 budget next month, she outlined the order for proposed school construction projects over the next six years.
-- Nancy Lavin Holliston rejects school building agency overture-- The Metrowest Daily News Massachusetts: March 07, 2018 [ abstract] The town will not pursue state Funding for comprehensive high school upgrades this year.
Selectmen this week voted against letting School Superintendent Bradford Jackson send a “statement of interest” to the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
“At the end of the day, I think it’s premature,” Selectman Jay Marsden said Monday. “I think it’s a little too soon to be considering it, and to be considering the idea of doing a whole new school project while we’re still paying for the renovations we put in place for this particular school.”
-- Alison Bosma Cheatham County Commission approves $1.5 million funding request to replace school roofs-- Tennessean Tennessee: March 05, 2018 [ abstract] The Cheatham County Commission approved a $1.5 million Funding request from the Cheatham County School District to replace roofs at Sycamore and Harpeth High Schools.
The unanimous call on Feb. 26 comes after the Cheatham County School Board’s approval at its meeting in February, which put an end to a few “lengthy” RFP (Request for Proposals) processes to pinpoint the best bid to replace the roofs on those two schools, which James Oldham of Nashville Roofing Consultants said were in “dire” need.
-- Kelly Fisher Districts plan to provide tax relief, school improvements
-- Commercial News Illinois: March 04, 2018 [ abstract] DANVILLE " School district officials from around the area say the county school facility tax would provide a reliable source of revenue to keep school facilities up-to-date as well as provide property tax relief.
“The couple groups I’ve talked to, they’ve understood,” Oakwood Superintendent Gary Lewis said. “They understand we can’t keep relying on the state for Funding.”
Westville Superintendent Seth Miller said his school board has prioritized how it would use the extra revenue from the 1 percent sales tax.
-- Carol Roehm Superintendent: Washington County Public Schools facing 'building crisis' without more capital funding-- Herald Mail Media Maryland: March 01, 2018 [ abstract] Today's school buildings are designed and built to last about 50 years.
However, at current Funding levels, the 47 facilities maintained by Washington County Public Schools are well behind a 50-year replacement cycle, setting up what schools Superintendent Boyd Michael described as a "building crisis for the future."
"Based on the draft presentation to the county commissioners earlier today, we're looking at about a 188-year replacement cycle between when a school is new or renovated to when it would be remodeled or replaced in the future," Michael said. "And a 188-year replacement cycle is just not realistic."
-- CJ Lovelace Burrell Renovation Won't Need Tax Hike, School Official Says-- The Patch Massachusetts: February 27, 2018 [ abstract] Don't expect to vote on a debt exclusion for the $35 million Burrell Elementary School renovation, according to school officials.
Business Administrator Bill Yukna told the school committee Monday that it's likely that the town will be able to pay for the work through the town's operating budget, which means that the Funding could be wrapped up by the fall. The Massachusetts School Building Authority is likely to reimburse the town for half the costs, which will need to be accepted by local voters at a special Town Meeting after the MSBA announces their reimbursement amount.
-- Daniel Libon School funding remains one of biggest questions ahead of Murphy budget address-- Burlington County Times New Jersey: February 26, 2018 [ abstract] Murphy, who is expected to deliver his first budget proposal to the Legislature next month, hasn¡¯t set a timetable for how soon he hopes to keep one of his biggest, and arguably, most difficult campaign promise, although he has said he intends to ramp up school Funding as quickly as possible.
-- David Levinsky School administrators in Barbour County amend facilities plan for renovations-- Wboy West Virginia: February 22, 2018 [ abstract] Barbour County School administrators worked to amend the Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan in order to submit a proposal to the School Building Authority.
In March, the county board of education is planning to submit a proposal to receive Major Improvement Project Funding for renovations to Philippi Elementary School. The renovations would add a kindergarten classroom as well as bathrooms onto each of the pre-k and kindergarten classrooms.
-- Leah Knicely Wyoming Senate considers local funding of school construction as state funds dry up-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: February 14, 2018 [ abstract] Now that a more than $1 billion school construction boom funded by coal mining has ended, Wyoming voters could soon be asked if they want to go back to using local tax revenue to pay for building schools.
The Wyoming Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to begin considering a proposed state constitutional amendment for school construction. The amendment would allow Wyoming districts to pay for new schools with property taxes, something not done after a 2001 court ruling.
If approved by two-thirds of the House and Senate, the proposed amendment would go to voters.
-- Mead Gruver Freezing classrooms spark heated debate over Baltimore’s school infrastructure-- PBS.org Maryland: February 13, 2018 [ abstract] Baltimore City Public Schools faced outrage from parents after images emerged of students wearing coats in a freezing classroom. More than a third of schools reported a lack of heat this winter during a cold snap, and that’s just one of the many problems plaguing the school system’s crumbling infrastructure, underscoring a larger debate about long-term Funding and investment. John Yang reports.
-- John Yang Helena school board raising property taxes to fund special education, facilities-- Independent Record Montana: February 13, 2018 [ abstract] An increase in Helena property taxes will make up for a lack of adequate state Funding and the high cost of some mandated services.
Helena's school board approved two increases Tuesday to pay for special education services and to make updates to school facilities. The increases will cost an estimated $37.12 for a home valued at $200,000 per year and will be assessed when homeowners pay property taxes in November.
-- Erin Loranger Why a ‘Make America Great Again’ infrastructure program must include public schools-- Washington Post National: February 13, 2018 [ abstract] A “Make America Great Again” infrastructure package needs to go beyond roads and bridges. It must include public schools.
Local communities and states in the United States are projected to spend about $1 trillion on public school buildings and grounds over the next 10 years " but still fall over $400 billion short on what they need to house students and staff in healthy, safe and educationally appropriate public school infrastructure. This Funding gap degrades the education and health of children, depresses the vitality of communities, and overburdens our natural resources.
-- Mary Filardo No Targeted Funding for School Construction in Trump's Infrastructure Proposal-- Education Week National: February 12, 2018 [ abstract] President Donald Trump unveiled his $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan Monday. And, probably unsurprisingly, there are no explicit resources for refurbishing, renovating, or constructing schools.
Instead, the package asks for $200 billion in federal funds to help spur state, local, and private investment in fixing up and building highways, roads, and bridges. Other parts of the proposal are aimed at environmental cleanup and revamping airports.
-- Alyson Klein Paterson school district faces $75 million budget shortfall-- Paterson Times New Jersey: February 12, 2018 [ abstract] The school district is grappling with a $75.1 million budget shortfall in its 2018-19 school year budget that could hobble superintendent Eileen Shafer’s ambitious efforts to improve instruction and boost state test scores.
Shortfall is calculated based on a flat state education aid figure for fiscal year 2019. If the state ups Funding by five-percent the shortfall drops to $56.39 million, according to numbers presented to the school board last Wednesday.
Business administrator Richard Matthews told school board members his team is working on a number of strategies to close the gap. He outlined $52 million in savings by switching to a self-insurance program, cutting personal and instructional aides, and leasing books among other strategies.
-- Jayed Rahman No easy fix to school funding-- The Robesonian North Carolina: February 11, 2018 [ abstract] LUMBERTON " With Funding for public schools in Robeson County at rock bottom among North Carolina counties, local leaders are in agreement that our children deserve better.
A diverse group of leaders laid out their ideas in interviews last week.
-- Scott Bigelow Troy: What to do about old schools?-- My Dayton Daily News Ohio: February 09, 2018 [ abstract] The Troy City Schools Board of Education has renewed discussions about the fate of aging elementary buildings and the overall maintenance of the district school facilities.
“In my mind, you have older buildings and at some time have to do something about them,” Superintendent Eric Herman told the board during a January work session that included updates on various topics.
Herman shared with the board a packet of information about the size, age, available space, detailed assessments of conditions and needs at each of the district’s nine buildings. The information, he said, was intended to help focus as “our conversation needs to move forward.”
Among documents was one looking at instructional space in the buildings. All of the elementary schools (grades through six) were listed as “full,” including one building where the computer lab was removed to make way for classroom space. The junior high and high school listed one available classroom in each.
The district has a permanent improvement levy that generates around $700,000 a year and also spends another $225,000 to $250,000 a year for maintenance projects in addition to permanent improvements, district Treasurer Jeff Price said.
An assessment of building needs showed more than $119 million in projected renovation costs or $45 million for HVAC, plumbing and electric renovations. The latter estimate included no brick and mortar or roof work.
The district’s call for something to be done about buildings is not new.
The board last year sought approval of a 4.61-mill bond issue for two new schools to house prekindergarten through grade six students on land the district proposed to buy off Ohio 55 at Nashville Road. The Funding plan included 33 percent state Funding.
The bond issue was rejected by 60 percent of voters in November.
Following the January board discussion, Herman announced he would be retiring this summer.
Doug Trostle, board of education president, said the facilities review would continue as the board embarks on the effort to find a new superintendent.
“The challenges of maintaining our buildings will continue to be one of our top priorities. Districts throughout the state, who have not already updated their facilities, are having the same discussions,” he said.
“While the board recognizes the critical needs of our district, we also realize the community must share in our concern and be engaged in the identification of any long-term solution. We will continue to evaluate how we might update our facilities to enhance the educational opportunities for all of our students,” Trostle said. “ I am confident both our current and future superintendent will enthusiastically participate in this process.”
-- Nancy Bowman State bill would help growing school districts with capital funding-- Tennessean Tennessee: February 08, 2018 [ abstract] Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, has filed a bill that would grant capital Funding for high-growth school districts.
With little accommodation for growth in the state's education Funding formula, Johnson said extra money would help counties cover the cost of land and construction of new schools.
The bill defines high-growth school districts as districts with at least 250 new students annually since the 2013-14 school year.
-- Melanie Balakit State Education Officials Scold Broward District For Delaying Payments To Charter Schools-- WLRN Florida: February 08, 2018 [ abstract] It's been a week since Florida's public school districts were supposed to distribute about $91 million in local construction Funding to privately-run charter schools in their counties under a controversial new law.
But Broward County Public Schools hasn't yet handed over its $11.5 million share to the 86 charter schools in that district — prompting an admonishment from the state Department of Education.
-- Jessica Bakeman Governor says one percent school funding boost part of ‘larger picture’-- Radio Iowa Iowa: February 06, 2018 [ abstract] Governor Kim Reynolds is signalling she’s likely to approve Republican legislators’ plan to provide a one percent increase in general per pupil support of Iowa’s public school. That’s a roughly $32 million boost " less than the $54 million increase Reynolds recommended last month.
-- O. Kay Henderson School Officials Present Stark Outlook for Capacity Needs Over Next Six Years-- Bethesda Magazine Maryland: February 06, 2018 [ abstract] County Council members on Monday agreed that they’re in a bind when it comes to school construction: Even if they fully fund a $1.83 billion capital plan for Montgomery County Public Schools, they’ll barely be keeping up with anticipated enrollment growth.
“This couldn’t be more indicative of what our challenge is,” council member Craig Rice said Monday during the council’s education committee meeting. “By us fully Funding and giving you everything you need, which would be near impossible for us to do … it still keeps us just even.”
-- Bethany Rodgers Voters approve change to school technology levy-- Farmington Daily Times Connecticut: February 06, 2018 [ abstract] FARMINGTON " Preliminary results show that Farmington voters approved a switch in technology Funding from a two-year bond to a six-year levy that would not change property taxes in a special school election today.
Voters also approved a decision to continue a levy that funds operation and renovations in school buildings throughout the district.
-- Megan Petersen Walla Walla school bond " truth in advertising-- Union-Bulletin Washington: February 06, 2018 [ abstract] First, I would like to commend team who have been planning for needed updates to school infrastructure. As we all know, items like roofs and boilers need periodic replacement. These are big ticket items that require capital Funding and the associated support for that Funding from the community. No argument there.
-- John DeLong Work on downtown school building, Maryland Theatre could begin in May-- Herald Mail Media Maryland: February 06, 2018 [ abstract] Work on a long-discussed new high-school classroom building and expanding The Maryland Theatre in downtown Hagerstown could begin as early as May, Washington County Administrator Rob Slocum said.
That news came on the heels of Maryland Theatre officials deciding to begin seeking bids later this month to expand the historic South Potomac Street theater even though the project isn't fully funded. Also, the commissioners approved agreements on Tuesday related to state Funding for a related plaza project.
-- Julie E. Greene Bethel has ‘strong chance’ to earn school renovation grant-- News Times Connecticut: February 05, 2018 [ abstract] BETHEL " The town appears poised to receive state Funding for part of its elementary school renovation projects, despite concerns over the last few months of the impact state budget cuts would have on school construction grants.
The Rockwell and Johnson elementary schools renovations earned spots on the state’s priority list of projects. The legislature will approve the final awards in the spring, but officials said being on the list is a good sign that the town will receive the grants for 45 percent of eligible costs on the $65.8 million projects.
-- Julia Perkins Lopez School District receives long-awaited state grant-- The Island's Weekly Washington: February 05, 2018 [ abstract] Lopez Island School District has been awarded a $1.8 million state capital grant to add safety, energy conservation, and health projects to the school’s overall renovation program.
“We’ve fought long and hard for this Funding for the school and Lopez,” stated John Helding, school board president. “Our county council and particularly our state legislators, Kristine Lytton, Jeff Morris and Kevin Ranker, supported us the whole way and were instrumental in helping us secure these funds.”
MVLA approves bond measure, addresses community concerns around facilities plan-- Oracle Online California: February 05, 2018 [ abstract] The district approved a $295 million bond measure that will serve as a primary source of Funding for upcoming construction and renovation costs under the Facilities Master Plan at the Feb. 5 board meeting.
Responding to an expected looming increase of enrollment of over 500 students, in addition to undersized and aging classrooms, athletic facilities and equipment, the Facilities Master Plan was finalized at the Jan. 22 board meeting. It will expand and update the areas like the school’s library and cafeteria to accommodate student growth, as well as repair existing facilities.
-- Nathaniel Wolff Schools next to last in local funding-- The Robesonian North Carolina: February 03, 2018 [ abstract] RALEIGH " The Public School Forum of North Carolina’s most recent report on school Funding shows Robeson County finished next to last in per-pupil spending for all of the state’s 100 counties, about $1,000 less than the state average, for the 2015-16 school year.
Robeson County’s government provided $525 per student for the school year in the report, while the state average was $1,568.
-- Scott Bigelow Greenwich school board punts decision on turf fields to next meeting-- Greenwich Time Connecticut: February 02, 2018 [ abstract] Central, Eastern or Western Middle School ... or Greenwich High? The school board is debating which field to turf " or returf " as it seeks capital Funding from the Board of Estimate and Taxation.
As part of a capital budget proposal, First Selectman Peter Tesei requested $2.3 million from the BET to refurbish two turf fields at Greenwich High and to complete a feasibility study for a new middle school field.
-- Emilie Munson City, schools officials struggle over how to fund school building improvement plan-- Richmond Free Press Virginia: February 01, 2018 [ abstract] Richmond officials continue to struggle over a Funding plan for the public school system’s facilities.
In a two-hour meeting Monday night of the Education Compact, Mayor Levar M. Stoney, and members of the Richmond School Board and Richmond City Council exchanged ideas and concerns on the best way to move forward to replace or improve the city’s aging and decrepit school buildings.
-- Ronald E. Carrington City-schools facilities task force makes recommendations to council-- Alexandria Times Virginia: February 01, 2018 [ abstract] Members of the joint city-schools facility investment task force presented their recommendations to city council and the school board Tuesday night, one day after School Board Chair Ramee Gentry had presented the schools’ current 10year Capital Improvement Program request to council.
The task force was created early in 2017 after several acrimonious meetings where advocates for Alexandria City Public Schools berated members of city council for not fully Funding the needs of schools, both in the capital and operating budgets. The standoff occurred after then-Superintendent Dr. Alvin Crawley and the school board increased the schools’ CIP budget request by 40 percent within a fewmonth span.
-- Alexa Epitropoulos Iowa GOP plan to add $32 million for schools advances-- Sioux City Journal Iowa: February 01, 2018 [ abstract] DES MOINES | Legislative Republicans formed a united front Thursday in pushing for a $32 million boost in state Funding for K-12 schools, but also pledging to find other avenues to aid schools by easing transportation costs, extending construction options and providing more spending flexibility.
-- Rod Boshart Richmond city leaders grapple with school facilities, meals tax at Education Compact meeting-- Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia: January 29, 2018 [ abstract] Richmond’s elected officials continue to be at odds over the best way forward for a Richmond Public Schools facilities plan.
The City Council, the School Board and Mayor Levar Stoney met Monday night as part of the Education Compact, and they still aren’t in agreement over both the Funding stream and the content for the facilities plan passed by the School Board last month. The meeting was the first time all three groups have met since Stoney last week proposed raising the city’s meals tax to help fund a plan.
“I do think we all need to go back to the drawing board,” said Councilwoman Kim Gray, who represents the city’s 2nd District.
-- Justin Mattingly High School Renovations Flagged as Top Priority-- Vineyard Gazette Massachusetts: January 28, 2018 [ abstract] Renovations to the ailing physical facility at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School must be tackled as a priority " with or without the help of state Funding. That was the message to the high school district committee last week from Vineyard schools superintendent Matthew D’Andrea.
At a meeting Thursday in the culinary arts dining room at the high school, Mr. D’Andrea urged the committee to get going on the building project, which has been deferred for years. The last time the high school saw a significant upgrade was 20 years ago.
-- Holly Pretsky Perrigan: Rural schools need more state funding-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: January 28, 2018 [ abstract] Perrigan is Superintendent of Schools in Bristol. He wrote this on behalf of Steering Committee of the Small and Rural Schools Coalition.
Having grown up and spent my entire life in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, I have had abundant opportunities to view, firsthand, the resolve of rural folks. In an attempt to clarify some popular misconceptions about my lifelong neighbors, allow me to tell you about some general characteristics of the citizens who make up the backbone of Virginia and the United States of America. Rural folks have grit. Rural folks are hard working. Rural folks are always willing to offer a hand up to those who are less fortunate than themselves. Rural folks don’t make excuses. Rural folks are thankful for what they receive and will stretch every dime just to make ends meet. Rural folks are generally kind, congenial, accepting, and grateful. Rural folks do their best to make it work.
-- Keith Perrigan Kettering schools seeks $1 million for facility upgrades-- My Dayton Daily News Ohio: January 27, 2018 [ abstract] Kettering City Schools has taken the first step toward qualifying for $1 million in state Funding that could be used to upgrade school facilities.
The school board this month agreed to apply for an Ohio Facilities Construction Commission program that provides $1 million in state money for approved projects if the school district contributes $1 million of its own.
-- Jeremy P. Kelley Alexandria School Board Approves $474.7 Million FY2019-2028 CIP Budget-- Alexandria News.org Virginia: January 26, 2018 [ abstract] The Alexandria City School Board last night approved a $474.7 million FY2019-2028 Capital Improvement Program budget for the Alexandria City Public Schools. This is $15.7 million more than ACPS Interim Superintendent Lois Berlin proposed in December, 2017 and $36 million more than the City’s Ad Hoc Joint City-Schools Facilities Investment Task Force recommended in November.
After the vote, the School Board released thw following statement: “We view it as imperative to work with City Council to expedite the development of a joint facilities master plan that outlines preferred sequencing of projects to address the enrollment gap, while identifying and aligning resources. The School Board understands that a significant amount of joint planning conducted in FY2019, including land acquisition, grade level configuration, community input and site sustainability, will result in adjustments to the CIP timelines and Funding.”
Request for school construction dollars is a record low-- CT Mirror Connecticut: January 26, 2018 [ abstract] The administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is seeking a record low amount of state Funding to help cities and towns build or renovate public schools.
The $281 million the administration has requested from the legislature for the upcoming fiscal year is the result of fewer applications from towns seeking aid, said a spokesman for the governor’s budget and policy office.
-- Jacqueline Rabe Thomas School building maintenance, tech funding questions on Feb. 6 ballot-- Farmington Daily Times Connecticut: January 26, 2018 [ abstract] FARMINGTON " Farmington voters will go to the polls on Feb. 6 to decide whether to replace the traditional technology bonds with a six-year levy.
The Farmington Municipal School District currently pays for technology using what it called “ed tech notes,” a two-year bond that funds schools’ one-to-one laptop programs, safety and security systems, cameras and video surveillance, and communications systems, according to Superintendent Eugene Schmidt.
-- Megan Petersen Superintendent proposes $144 million school budget-- Fauquier Times Virginia: January 26, 2018 [ abstract] Fauquier County Superintendent David Jeck on Thursday proposed a budget that would increase spending by 5 percent for the upcoming school year.
Jeck's proposed a $144,506,000 budget for fiscal year 2019 is $7 million more than the current adopted budget. The superintendent's spending plan includes a 3-percent raise for all employees, boosts pay scales for classified and administrative staff, adds staff to support â€"equity and access†for all students and funds building updates and new technology.
The superintendent said his proposed budget addresses critical needs with "realistic" requests for Funding.
"We're doing a lot with a shoestring budget," Jeck said.
-- Hannah Dellinger Water quality bill could hinder school facilities plan-- KCRG.com Iowa: January 23, 2018 [ abstract] A bill to address pollution in Iowa's rivers and streams may threaten Funding for Cedar Rapids schools new facilities plan. The bill headed to the Governor's desk spends $282 million over 12 years on projects to address pollution in Iowa's water ways. That money comes from redirecting other state money - including from a program called SAVE, which funds school infrastructure.
Water quality bill could hinder school facilities plan-- KCRG.com Iowa: January 23, 2018 [ abstract] A bill to address pollution in Iowa's rivers and streams may threaten Funding for Cedar Rapids schools new facilities plan.
The bill headed to the Governor's desk spends $282 million over 12 years on projects to address pollution in Iowa's water ways. That money comes from redirecting other state money - including from a program called SAVE, which funds school infrastructure.
Mayor Stoney proposes meals tax increase to fund school facilities improvements-- WTVR.com Virginia: January 22, 2018 [ abstract] RICHMOND, Va. " Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney is proposing an increase to the city’s meals tax to create additional funds for the renovation and replacement of the city’s crumbling school facilities.
Stoney introduced an ordinance Monday afternoon to increase the meals tax 1.5 percent, which, if approved, would increase the tax from 6 percent to 7.5 percent.
The increase would generate an initial $9.1 million in new Funding per year, according to Stoney.
-- Vernon Freeman Jr. Rep files bill to increase funding for school projects
-- Lowell Sun Massachusetts: January 21, 2018 [ abstract] State Rep. Stephen Hay wants to increase state Funding for school construction projects and institute other improvements to the process now overseen by the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
Hay, a Fitchburg Democrat, plans to introduce legislation this week to increase the amount of the state sales tax that goes toward MSBA projects.
Currently, one penny of the 6.25 percent sales tax goes toward MSBA Funding. The language of Hay's bill does not specify how much that should be increased, he said, so that legislators can decide what is a viable option for the state taxes.
-- Kori Tuitt Saturday meeting set on future of Yancey building-- The Daily Progress Virginia: January 21, 2018 [ abstract] Albemarle County officials will hold a meeting Saturday to share information about the future of the Yancey Elementary School building.
The county School Board voted 5-2 last spring to close the school, citing decreasing enrollment and an anticipated loss of federal Funding. The board then transferred ownership of the building to the county.
Cedar Park High School athletic facility to be upgraded as part of district maintenance plan-- Community Impact Newspaper Texas: January 18, 2018 [ abstract] The 2018 components of Leander ISD’s 10-Year Major Maintenance Plan include upgrades to Cedar Park High School’s athletic facilities and other renovations throughout the district, according to LISD documents.
The LISD board of trustees approved the plan at its meeting Jan. 18.
“The district recognizes the need to plan for major maintenance projects independent of bond Funding,” LISD Superintendent Dan Troxell said.
-- Abby Bora Senators press Trump to boost school funding in infrastructure package-- The Hill National: January 17, 2018 [ abstract] A group of 25 predominantly Democratic senators is pressing the Trump administration to strengthen public school Funding in a forthcoming infrastructure package.
In a letter to President Trump, Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) call on the administration to develop a partnership with states to fix the conditions of U.S. public schools.
-- Mallory Shelbourne School projects in Petersburg in line for state maintenance money-- KFSK.org Alaska: January 15, 2018 [ abstract] Petersburg’s school district has been notified it should be receiving some state Funding for projects, some that have already been completed and one that’s already started.
Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter reported that news to the school board this week. On a radio call in show Tuesday, Kludt-Painter explained that these are projects the district applied for state Funding for several years ago.
-- Joe Viechnicki It's past time for state leaders to replace aging school buses-- Greenville Online South Carolina: January 14, 2018 [ abstract] When it comes to paying for school buses, state officials have been kicking the can down the road for years. The result, as outlined by Paul Hyde in a special report last week in The Greenville News and Anderson Independent Mail, means an aging bus fleet in dire need of replacement vehicles.
It is past time for state officials to find a permanent solution to fund sorely needed replacement buses. The patchwork approach isn’t working.
On Tuesday, state senators are expected to vote on whether to override Gov. Henry McMaster’s decision last year to veto $20.5 million in Funding for the purchase of school buses. McMaster said he did so because it would have meant using state lottery proceeds, which he prefers to use for college scholarships.
Reynolds: 'Optimistic' for school funding equity fix-- Quad-City Times Iowa: January 12, 2018 [ abstract] Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds raised the possibility Friday that an overhaul of the state tax code could yield a solution to the inequity in education Funding that's vexed school districts like Davenport.
The governor was in Davenport on Friday to tout her Condition of the State address. And in an interview, she said she's optimistic a bill can get through the legislature this year
-- Ed Tibbetts School to be demolished unless viable use for building found "soon"-- Fort Morgan Times Colorado: January 11, 2018 [ abstract] An architecture firm is deep into the work of designing Brush's new secondary school complex. And as the eventual opening of the school draws closer, the need to decide what will be done with the current middle school building is becoming urgent.
In Nov. 2016, Brush voters approved a $38.5 million ballot initiative that provided the majority of the Funding for the construction of the new complex. That measure stated that it was the intention of the district to tear down the old middle school building once the district's middle school students had moved into the new building.
-- Paul Albani-Burgio Cold-Weather Closures Expose Years of Underinvestment in Urban Schools-- Governing Magazine National: January 10, 2018 [ abstract] Thousands of schoolchildren in Baltimore missed classes last week as a cold snap forced officials to close schools. Frigid temperatures and ruptured water pipes made some school buildings uninhabitable for students and teachers.
Those kinds of closures could become more frequent in cities across the country, many education advocates say, thanks to a generation of underFunding construction and maintenance costs in urban districts.
-- J. Brian Charles EDITORIAL: State must re-examine school building process-- Lowell Sun Massachusetts: January 08, 2018 [ abstract] The Massachusetts School Building Authority touts on its website that it has doled out more than $14 billion on public school construction projects since its inception in 2004.
Certainly, the state Legislature had the right idea when it created the MSBA to "reform the process of Funding capital improvement projects" in public schools. In its early days, the Legislature set aside tax dollars on an annual basis to help fund the MSBA, which promised state reimbursements of up to 80 percent and higher to local communities. Later, as the demand -- and costs -- for school projects increased, the state dedicated one penny of its 6.25 percent sales tax as an MSBA revenue stream.
Baltimore schools have returned millions in state funds for heating repairs-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: January 04, 2018 [ abstract] Baltimore schools have had to return millions in state Funding for building repairs after projects to fix failing heating systems and roofs grew too expensive or took too long.
Since 2009, city schools have lost out on roughly $66 million in state Funding for much-needed repairs after approved projects ran afoul of state regulations meant to prevent waste, state records show. The money could have funded dozens of new heating systems at schools where the heat is now failing.
-- Luke Broadwater Orange to vote on school building feasibility study-- Greenfield Recorder Massachusetts: January 04, 2018 [ abstract] ORANGE " Orange is eligible to receive grant money from the Massachusetts School Building Authority to address the needs of its elementary school. But, first, a feasibility study must be conducted.
And a special election ballot question slated for Jan. 8 could set those wheels in motion. Residents voted in late October to set aside money for a feasibility study, and the special election pertains to approving debt exclusion for the study’s cost. The MSBA is a quasi-independent government authority dedicated to reforming the process of Funding capital improvement projects in the state’s public schools.
-- Domenic Poli An Inside Look At Ige’s Request For Millions More In Education Spending-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: January 02, 2018 [ abstract] Gov. David Ige’s supplemental budget request to the Hawaii Legislature for next fiscal year includes an additional $24 million in state Department of Education operating funds and an extra $150 million for public school improvement projects, including the construction of an elementary school on Oahu.
Tucked within the request is a modest $2 million increase to the weighted student formula, the method that determines per-pupil-Funding. But it proposes Funding for other areas previously overlooked, such as $4.1 million in workers’ compensation benefits for injured DOE employees, students and volunteers.
-- Suevon Lee Master plan OK'd by Jasper School Board-- Newton County Times Arkansas: December 25, 2017 [ abstract] The Jasper School District Board of Education adopted a resolution supporting the school district's facilities master plan and made application for Partnership Funding through the state education department for the 2019-2021 Funding cycle.
The documentation was presented to the school board at its regular monthly meeting Monday night, Dec. 18.
-- Jeff Dezort Is Paterson paying too little to educate its children?-- Paterson Times New Jersey: December 23, 2017 [ abstract] The city contributed $41.5 million to the school district’s 2017-18 budget. However, that’s less than half of the $91 million local taxpayers should have contributed to educate their children, according to an estimate based on the school Funding formula.
Local taxpayers underfunded the school district by $49.5 million, according to data from Newark-based Education Law Center. This combined with the state, which provided $401.4 million rather than the required $458.4 million, underfunded the district by a combined $106.5 million.
-- Jayed Rahman Building Relationships: An Investigation Into How Arizona K-12 School Districts Address Capital Needs-- KJZZ Arizona: December 18, 2017 [ abstract] K-12 Districts Outpace Other State Agencies In Repeat Use Of Vendors For Large Capital Needs
Part II: Reports Show A Majority Of Bond Campaign Funding Comes From K-12 Vendors
Last May, four school districts and several education advocacy groups called a press conference at Landmark Elementary school in Glendale to announced they were suing the state. Their problem? State Funding for capital needs. Their attorney, Tim Hogan, argued it’s far from enough, and that’s leading too many districts to rely on local tax initiatives just to make repairs.
"That’s an unfair system," said Hogan. "It’s unfair to schools, it’s unfair to students and it’s unfair to taxpayers."
-- Carrie Jung Pontotoc residents to vote on $11.75 million school bond-- Daily Journal Mississippi: December 18, 2017 [ abstract] PONTOTOC " Pontotoc residents will vote today on the Pontotoc City School District’s proposed $11.75 million bond issue.
The district’s school board is asking voters to consider a bond that will provide Funding for renovations of educational facilities and upgrades for the Pontotoc High School football stadium.
Voting will take place at the Pontotoc Community House from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
-- Emma Crawford $46.8M plan to renovate Leahy school advances -- Eagle-Tribune Massachusetts: December 15, 2017 [ abstract] LAWRENCE — A plan to modernize the century-old Francis Leahy elementary school at a cost of $46.8 million advanced this week when the state put it on a list of 15 school construction projects it will consider Funding in 2018, making Leahy the second city school this year to make the state's short list of school projects it may support.
The city is seeking $32.7 million from the School Building Authority to rebuild Leahy on Erving Avenue and would borrow the remaining $14.1 million.
-- Keith Eddings ‘Bonus system’ would incentivize communities to move fast on school repairs-- WPRI Rhode Island: December 13, 2017 [ abstract] PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) " A task force reviewing ways to improve Rhode Island’s crumbling schools wants the state to provide extra aid to communities willing to move quickly to make repairs.
Recommendations approved Wednesday by the Rhode Island School Building Task Force ask the state to provide more Funding to cities and towns that prioritize schools that need to be made “warm, safe and dry,” as well as projects that focus on enhancing the teaching of science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM), early childhood education or career and technical programs.The bonus system would also incentivize new buildings and school consolidation.
-- Dan McGowan More funding needed for schools that serve as storm shelters, DCPS says-- News4 Jax Florida: December 12, 2017 [ abstract] JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Duval County needs more state aid for schools that serve as hurricane shelters, school district leaders told state lawmakers Tuesday afternoon.
The request came during a tour of Atlantic Coast High School, during which school leaders showed state legislators just how much money the district has spent sheltering people during hurricanes Matthew and Irma.
-- Elizabeth Campbell SBA approves nearly $60 million in school construction, renovation projects-- Charleston Gazette-Mail West Virginia: December 11, 2017 [ abstract] The West Virginia School Building Authority board Monday awarded about $59.1 million in construction and renovation money to 22 county school systems, including $7 million to fix the heating and cooling issues and replace part of the roof of Kanawha County’s Ben Franklin Career Center.
About a dozen Ben Franklin teachers filed a grievance against Kanawha’s school system in August 2016 over the school’s heating and cooling issues. The heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system there is being overhauled using SBA and local Funding.
-- Ryan Quinn School Building Authority approves funding for new Highlawn Elementary-- Herald Dispatch West Virginia: December 11, 2017 [ abstract] CHARLESTON " Cabell County Schools has been awarded state Funding to construct a new Highlawn Elementary School as the West Virginia School Building Authority officially approved the bid Monday morning.
The more than $13.2 million project will be funded 50/50 between state and county dollars at $6,618,539 each, as was proposed by Cabell County Schools when officials pitched the bid in November.
-- Bishop Nash Middle Tennessee school districts grapple with growth-- Tennessean Tennessee: December 08, 2017 [ abstract] Crowded hallways, portable classrooms and teachers with carts instead of desks.
This isn't just a scene at an overcrowded Williamson County school; it's a reality for many districts in Middle Tennessee.
Areas surrounding Davidson County have seen their student populations spike in the last decade, spurring the need for costly new schools.
Williamson County has taken several steps to address growing school Funding needs. Will neighboring districts follow suit?
-- Melanie Balakit Gov. Doug Ducey hails high school coding program as model, but state gave it no money-- Tucson.com Arizona: December 04, 2017 [ abstract] PHOENIX " A program to teach coding to high schoolers, praised Monday by Gov. Doug Ducey as key to Arizona’s economic future, had to be financed by local taxpayers and grants due to a lack of state dollars.
And unless there’s a sudden boost in state Funding, schools in other districts that want to duplicate the program will also not get state dollars to construct a facility and buy the equipment. That, then, would leave them dependent on voters approving the kinds of bonds that financed the Phoenix Coding Academy and helped pay for the computers.
-- Howard Fischer Washington County Board of Education proposes adding fifth floor to downtown project-- Herald-Mail Media Maryland: December 04, 2017 [ abstract] The Washington County Board of Education will consider Tuesday night adding a fifth floor to its piece of the Hagerstown urban-improvement project, likely eliminating the need for a pedestrian bridge connecting to another proposed educational building.
At an additional cost of almost $2.9 million, it is a significant change to the proposed South Potomac Street building that will require a revision to the school board's fiscal 2019 capital-improvement program to request more state and local Funding.
-- CJ Lovelace Brick work at Plymouth school lead district’s capital outlay requests-- Wicked Local Plymouth Massachusetts: November 28, 2017 [ abstract] The brickwork at Nathaniel Morton Elementary School, the old high school on Lincoln Street, is in serious need of repair and will be the school district’s main maintenance project in the coming rush for capital outlay Funding for fiscal 2019.
-- Rich Harbert Schools, local business use gardens to educate students on farming, finance-- Las Vegas Sun Nevada: November 26, 2017 [ abstract] For the second time this year, Green Our Planet, an environmental crowdFunding platform based in Las Vegas, partnered with Zappos to host the largest student-run farmers market in the nation on Nov. 16.
Both organizations plan to continue the event biannually, with another farmers market planned for next spring.
Through Green Our Planet’s Farmpreneur Program, fifth-graders " and select high school and middle school classes " learn the challenges and rewards of running a business.
-- Camalot Todd Modernization plan proposed with and without closing Richmond schools-- NBC12 Virginia: November 21, 2017 [ abstract] RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) -
Richmond Public Schools interim Superintendent Tommy Kranz presented an updated school modernization plan Monday night, that called for the creation of at least four new school buildings.
The facilities overhaul comes as Richmond voters just passed a measure to require a complete Funding plan to be laid out for RPS modernization. That referendum still needs to be passed by state legislators in order to take effect.
-- Kelly Avellino Panel weighs new school-construction funding bill-- Washington Post Maryland: November 15, 2017 [ abstract] ANNAPOLIS, Md. " Building additional schools and pushing for more up-to-date, efficient and innovative design proposals is under review by a state panel charged with examining school construction.
Today, an estimated 65,297 students in Maryland public schools are in temporary classrooms such as trailers, and there is $23.3 billion in estimated statewide school construction needed through fiscal year 2023, according to the Maryland State Department of Education and local schools.
-- Georgia Slater Brookfield to study aging school buildings-- News Times Connecticut: November 13, 2017 [ abstract] BROOKFIELD " Officials are working to secure Funding for a study that will help the district plan potential upgrades to its aging school buildings.
Board of Education Chairman Bob Belden said the $72,500 study will examine all four school buildings to determine what kind of improvements might be necessary.
“We will be better informed with facts in order to then make an informed decision,” he said.
The district originally hoped to conduct the study over the summer, but the study was delayed until the state passed a budget.
-- Julia Perkins School Building Authority to hear funding pitches for school projects in 28 counties-- Metro News West Virginia: November 12, 2017 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. " School superintendents from nearly 30 West Virginia counties will be in the Capital City to start the week to pitch needed school construction, renovation and other improvement projects to the state School Building Authority.
In all, the requests for Funding total $106 million and Frank “Bucky” Blackwell, SBA executive director, said the Authority has $50.5 million to allocate this year.
Three of the 28 county school systems are requesting SBA Funding for the construction of new schools.
-- Shauna Johnson Voters give OK to $650M in local school bonds. Will they do the same for statewide $715M Utah education proposal?-- The Salt Lake Tribune Utah: November 10, 2017 [ abstract] Supporters of a campaign to boost public education Funding have reason to be optimistic after Utah voters approved several school district bonds this week, according to Hinckley Institute of Politics Executive Director Jason Perry.
But the Our Schools Now ballot initiative must make its case to voters, Perry said, as a generalized tax increase for school operations offers fewer immediate and tangible benefits to voters than a bond to build or repair campuses.
-- Benjamin Wood Richmond voters push forward school modernization-- NBC12 Virginia: November 08, 2017 [ abstract] RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) -
More than 56,000 Richmond voters made their voices heard election night, voting in favor of a Funding plan for a complete revamp of city schools.
“Proposition A,” the referendum on the ballot, would change the city charter, requiring a school modernization plan and Funding for Richmond Public Schools. This would have to be accomplished without raising taxes, and within six months.
-- Kelly Avellino Gates secures $2.5 million for school construction-- Roanoke-Chowan North Carolina: November 07, 2017 [ abstract] For one local school system it was the thrill of victory, but for another it was the agony of defeat.
On Monday, the North Carolina Department of Instruction officially announced the recipients of the initial round of Funding from the Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund. Of the $30 million available statewide, Gates County Public Schools received $2.5 million that they will use to aid in an effort to perform long-overdue upgrades to Central Middle School. Those upgrades include $8 million that the Gates County Commissioners have agreed to borrow for the project.
-- Cal Bryant Can Philadelphia’s Retaking of its Its Local School System Become a Model for Community Control-- Atlanta Black Star National: November 06, 2017 [ abstract] After 16 years, Philadelphia is retaking control of its public schools from the state government. For the eighth-largest school district in the nation, the news is encouraging, as local control brings with it the promise of accountability, equity, and a more effective educational system for its children. For majority Black and Brown school districts such as Philadelphia, community control is a longstanding issue with racial implications, reflecting a history of struggle against what some think of as a neocolonial education. Specifically, white lawmakers and policymakers in the state capital control the education of Black children and dictate the terms " including inequitable school Funding, criminalization and profiteering " without community participation or democratic governance.
-- David Lowe Richmond school board anticipates updated facilities modernization plan-- NBC12 Virginia: November 02, 2017 [ abstract] RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) -
The push to fix Richmond's aging schools is heating up with election day less than a week away. A question on the ballot will ask city voters if the mayor should be required to devise a Funding plan to modernize all city schools. However, before Funding is figured out, officials must decide which schools stay, and which get closed, sold or demolished.
-- Kelly Avellino RI treasurer outlines funding options for school-facilities overhaul-- Providence Journal Rhode Island: October 31, 2017 [ abstract] General Treasurer Seth Magaziner says Rhode Island should consider financing strategies used in Massachusetts to pay for $2.2 billion in urgently needed repairs in the state’s public schools.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. " School buildings in Rhode Island are in crisis. Schools need $2.2 billion in repairs. Elementary schools are overcrowded. Three-fourths of high schools lack modern science labs. About 50,000 deficiencies were cited in a recent school facilities study.
-- Linda Borg Wyoming lawmakers recommend diverting money to pay for school maintenance-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: October 31, 2017 [ abstract] State lawmakers recommended diverting money to pay for the maintenance of Wyoming school facilities Monday, the first major move toward bridging one of the large Funding gaps facing education here.
The members of the Select Committee on School Facilities voted to back a proposal that would use a percentage of state mineral royalties to pay for school maintenance and construction, while also diverting the 1 percent severance tax to that end. The money will go toward preserving the state’s more than 24 million square feet of education facilities, part of officials’ shift from building amid dwindling funds and after years of construction.
-- Seth Klamann Construction may begin in spring on new school in Mercer County-- Bluefield Daily Telegraph West Virginia: October 30, 2017 [ abstract] GREEN VALLEY " School officials in Mercer County are hoping to begin construction early next year on a new elementary school for the Green Valley community.
The school system was awarded $7.8 million in grant Funding earlier this year from the West Virginia School Building Authority for the Pre-K to fifth grade facility.
The new school will be constructed on approximately 23 acres of land located along Blue Prince Road across from the Mercer County Health Department.
-- Charles Owens Local districts finally reap benefits of $9 billion construction bond-- Bakersfield.com California: September 07, 2017 [ abstract] Local school districts are beginning to see the results of a hard-fought campaign last year to pass Proposition 51, a $9 billion state construction bond.
The State of California sold its first round of bonds, totaling $433 million, and allocated funds this week. It gave priority Funding to school projects that have long been completed, but never received promised matching dollars from the state.
-- Harold Pierce Upgrades underway at Templeton Unified School District-- Paso Robles Press California: July 08, 2017 [ abstract] PASO ROBLES " Templeton Unified School District is putting Measure H12 Bond money and other Funding to use this summer installing solar canopies, new outbuildings at Templeton Elementary School, constructing the new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) building/administration building at Templeton High School, and upgrading all existing lighting at district facilities.
Superintendent Joe Koski and MOTF&G Safety Coordinator Chris Bonin shared the vision, implementation and Funding structures for all of these projects in a Question & Answer session with the Paso Robles Press:
-- Allyson Woolley Spring Hill Asked to Give Tax Money to New School Construction-- Williamson Source Tennessee: July 04, 2017 [ abstract] The Board of Mayor and Alderman of Spring Hill will be asked to vote in two weeks on something that all the other municipalities are also being asked to vote on.
The county, in lookng for Funding anywhere it can to build new schools, is proposing that the cities raise sales taxes by a half-percent and split the revenues with county schools.
-- Zach Harmuth County Education Committee approves additional $6 million for school construction-- Franklin Home Page Tennessee: June 26, 2017 [ abstract] On Monday evening, the Williamson County Education Committee approved a fund of $6,090,000 to finish construction on an upcoming elementary school on Split Log Road.
A combination of high construction prices and lack of bidders caused the need for additional Funding.
NuBody Concepts Skyscraper
“We had already approved money for the land and construction,” Judy Herbert, second district county commissioner, said. “We only got two bids and it’s six million over the projected budget.”
-- A.J. Dugger III DL School Board approves $39 million budget for FY 2018-- DL-Online.com Minnesota: June 22, 2017 [ abstract] Enrollment at Detroit Lakes Public Schools has been on a slow but steady rise over the past 10 years — which is a good thing, when you consider that the State of Minnesota's education aid Funding formula is based primarily on a school district's average daily membership, or ADM.
"We've had moderate, but consistent growth in enrollment, from about 2,700 in the 2007-08 school year to a projected 3,106 students in 2017-18," says School District Business Manager Ryan Tangen.
-- Vicki Gerdes Kelly: Special legislative session not likely for school finance-- The Topeka Capital-Journal Kansas: June 21, 2017 [ abstract] A special session of the Kansas Legislature likely won’t happen this summer as a result of the passage of a new school finance Funding package, Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, reiterated on Wednesday.
After speaking to the attendees of the YWCA’s Network Luncheon, Kelly said she expects the Kansas Supreme Court justices will accept the estimated $195 million in state aid that lawmakers approved earlier this month for the 2017-18 school year, keeping schools open after June 30.
-- Angela Deines School Facilities Funding Unknown-- Wyoming Public Media Wyoming: June 21, 2017 [ abstract] A Funding crisis brought on by a downturn in the coal industry has left policy makers struggling to figure out how to fund education. This year school districts took a hit of $34 million to their operating budgets.
That’s primarily money for teachers and staff, as well as materials and supplies. But the Funding for school construction and maintenance is also running out.
-- Tennessee Watson State holds up $200 million school funds-- The Foothills Sun Gazette California: June 21, 2017 [ abstract] tulare county " The State’s decision to delay the sale of statewide school bonds approved by voters is holding up just under $200 million for Tulare County school districts to repair and update aging schools as well as build new schools to alleviate overcrowding.
Last month, the Coalition for Adequate School Housing (CASH) sent a letter to legislators notifying them of the Department of Finance’s decision to push back the sale of bonds from Proposition 51, the 2016 state school bond approved by 55.2% of the voters last November. CASH, a co-sponsor of the statewide measure, said the delay is holding up $134 million in new construction funds and $61 million in modernization Funding for Tulare County schools.
-- Reggie Ellis County Schools Adjust Upcoming Budget For Capital Funding-- The Greeneville Sun Tennessee: June 17, 2017 [ abstract] In a brief called meeting with a single agenda item, the Greene County Board of Education Thursday approved what the agenda termed a “new re-appropriation” from county government that will speed and simplify the purchase of school buses.
With Greene County Budget Director Danny Lowery and Greene County Schools Budget Director Mary Lou Finley both present to answer questions, the board unanimously approved the addition of $625,000 to the school system’s capital projects fund line item for the coming fiscal year.
-- Cameron Judd Brunswick voters OK borrowing $28 million to build school without state aid-- Bangor Daily News Maine: June 15, 2017 [ abstract] BRUNSWICK, Maine " Brunswick voters on Tuesday narrowly approved a $28 million bond to build a new elementary school, joining other communities including South Portland, Portland, Wells and Biddeford that have opted to build schools without state Funding.
The bond, which passed 2,040 to 1,779, will fund a school to replace the 62-year-old Coffin School, which currently uses 40-year-old modular classrooms to accommodate its students.
-- Beth Brogan Mount Greylock Regional School building construction on schedule, under budget-- The Berkshire Eagle Massachusetts: June 15, 2017 [ abstract] WILLIAMSTOWN — Construction of the new Mount Greylock Regional School building is on schedule and under budget, according to Interim Superintendent Kim Grady.
"We're plugging along," Grady said. "And surprisingly, nothing unexpected has come up to slow us down."
She noted that some of the construction bids came in lower than expected, leaving additional Funding to enhance the project, which is under discussion. One items being mulled is repaving at least some of the parking lot.
Abatement and demolition started in July 2016. Construction of the classroom wing began in February.
-- Scott Stafford Will Christie support new school funding plan?-- North Jersey.com New Jersey: June 15, 2017 [ abstract] Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto have reached a compromise on a new way for Funding public schools, ending a months-long standoff between the powerful Democrats and possibly averting a government shutdown.
Whether Gov. Chris Christie, who has called for a new way to finance public education, will support the plan as a state budget deadline looms this month is unclear.
-- Nicholas Pugliese State grant to promote equal opportunity in construction at Diman-- The Herald News Massachusetts: June 14, 2017 [ abstract] FALL RIVER " Attorney General Maura Healey announced recently that Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School will be one of the seven organizations across Massachusetts that will be awarded grant Funding in order to promote equal opportunity for women and minority workers, and small business owners in the construction industry.
-- Anthony Rinaldi Chardon Schools’ master plan entering facilities phase-- The News-Herald Ohio: June 08, 2017 [ abstract] Chardon School District has been moving right along with its latest strategic plan " Vision 2020 " as outlined by Superintendent Michael P. Hanlon, Jr. in November 2015.
Most recently, the district has taken on its facilities " whether to renovate or replace " in the midst of slightly declining attendance numbers and in an environment in which Ohio has curtailed Funding to many districts it deems should be able to raise the necessary dollars themselves.
-- Jonathan Tressler Mongtomery County Schools create list of possible Christiansburg school renovations-- WDBJ7.com Virginia: June 08, 2017 [ abstract] New school buildings in Christiansburg aren't likely to come anytime soon and neither is the Funding for those massive projects. Though the idea isn't off the table entirely.
For now, the Montgomery County school system created a plan B, one that includes renovations.
"The focus of we have to do something about the Christiansburg schools, that has not changed. That has been consistent throughout this. What that could end up looking like is changing and could still change," said Connie Froggatt, a board member for the school board.
-- Justin Ward How Pennsylvania school districts are trying to balance the books for next year: By slashing staff, hiking taxes-- Ellwood City Ledger Pennsylvania: June 07, 2017 [ abstract] As Pennsylvania’s school districts prepare to approve final budgets for the 2017-18 school year, many have confronted the need to raise taxes and make cuts to personnel or programs “just to keep their heads above water,” according to a report released Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators and Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials.
The findings, based on May survey responses from about two-thirds of the commonwealth’s school districts, show that school boards and administrators have chosen to take such measures in attempt to keep pace with rising state-mandated costs and inadequate state Funding.
-- Katherin Schaeffer Calkins Statewide school construction shortfall may reach $205 million by 2022, report says-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: June 07, 2017 [ abstract] A state school construction Funding shortfall, created as coal lease bonus money has dried up, could grow to more than $205 million by 2022, according to a legislative report.
More than $2 billion worth of construction and maintenance in Wyoming has been funded over the years through those bonuses, paid to Wyoming from the federal government. Roughly 100 schools were renovated or built during that time, and the state is now home to more than 22 million square feet of school facilities. Maintenance on those buildings costs at least $65 million annually, officials have said.
-- Seth Klamann More school construction funds sought in Baltimore County-- WBALTV.com Maryland: May 25, 2017 [ abstract] Baltimore County parents converged on the school board Wednesday demanding more money for school construction.
The county has drastically increased school construction Funding the last few years, but many at the school board meeting said it is not enough, because of previous neglect.
Among those upset are parents of students at Towson High School, who showed photos of mold and standing water inside the school.
Parents came to the school board asking for money to start planning for a new building or massive renovation by the year 2022.
â€"We've got to make an investment and we have to do it now,†Towson high parent Gretchen Maneval said.
But Towson High is not part of the county's 10-year $1.3 billion Schools for the Future plan, which is currently Funding construction of 16 new schools, 12 additions and seven major renovations.
â€"It doesn't make sense,†Maneval said. â€"When you look at the county's own assessment, Towson has the third worst building condition of all 23 high schools, and there's not even planning dollars allocated to it.â€
School board members are considering requesting changes to Schools for the Future in the 2019 budget.
â€"I think we need to revise the plan,†school board member Julie Henn said.†I think serious needs have been overlooked for a long time, both with facilities maintenance and overcrowding.â€
The plan does call for renovations at Dulaney High School, but parents said it is not enough and they want a new building, instead.
â€"The school is approaching 60 years,†Dulaney High parent Jennifer Tarr said. â€"It has not been updated. You cannot fix something that has not been touched for many, many years. It's wasted money. (It's) a patch.â€
The proposed county budget for next year spends 60 percent on education. A vote on that budget is set for Thursday.
-- Adam May Chesapeake City Council approves funding for Hickory Middle School addition, other capital projects-- The Virginia Pilot Virginia: April 11, 2017 [ abstract] The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a series of requests from the School Board that will provide more money for school capital projects.
-- Victoria Bourne School construction funding bill passes IN House, Senate-- Wave 3 News Indiana: April 11, 2017 [ abstract] A bill that would give Indiana schools more flexibility when it comes to Funding construction projects is one step closer to becoming law.
-- Katie Bauer LI schools get extra $129M in state aid under budget deal-- Newsday New York: April 08, 2017 [ abstract] Long Island schools will get an extra $129 million in state financial aid for the 2017-18 academic year as part of a $1.1 billion expansion of education Funding statewide under a tardy budget expected to get Senate consideration Sunday.
-- John Hildebrand and Michael R. Ebert New approach to state construction funding could generate billions, NC House GOP says
-- The News & Obsever North Carolina: April 06, 2017 [ abstract]
N.C. House Republicans announced a new plan for allocating state construction Funding Thursday, saying their proposal could make $3 billion in additional money available over the next decade.
-- Colin Campbell Preventative maintenance key for Billerica schools-- Wicked Local Billerica Massachusetts: April 06, 2017 [ abstract] A decade ago, if the boiler at a school broke, the Billerica Public School Department would search for Funding to fix the problem. If water damaged tiling, a tense struggle to find money would ensue.
-- Nick GreenHalgh Swampscott to seek funding for school projects-- The Salem News Massachusetts: March 27, 2017 [ abstract] The School Committee voted 5-0 last week to approve two statements of interest seeking state reimbursements for two school construction projects.
-- Ethan Forman Milpitas school district looks to join line for state funding-- The Mercury News California: March 24, 2017 [ abstract] Following passage of state Proposition 51 in November, which authorized $9 billion in general obligation bonds meant for new construction and modernization of schools statewide, school districts across California are lining up to get a piece of the pie.
-- Aliyah Mohammad Gloucester County leaders urged to increase funding for schools-- The Daily Press Virginia: March 21, 2017 [ abstract] Several community members urged county leaders Tuesday night to support an increase in Funding for the school division in the upcoming budget.
-- Frances Hubbard Proposed school finance formula has winners, losers-- The Hutchinson News Kansas: March 21, 2017 [ abstract] The next school finance formula could carry over a legacy of the old one: Some win, some lose.
The proposed formula put together by House K-12 Education Budget Committee Chairman Larry Campbell, R-Olathe, contains a Funding trigger that could benefit Garden City, Dodge City and Liberal school districts. They have the high-density at-risk factors found in urban schools in Wichita, Kansas City and Topeka.
-- Mary Clarkin SBA: Fayette must complete all projects in facilities plan-- The Register Harold West Virginia: March 21, 2017 [ abstract] The West Virginia School Building Authority (SBA) approved a binding grant agreement Monday that requires Fayette County to complete its existing facilities plan in order to receive Funding allocated in December 2016.
-- Sarah Plummer State board OKs funding for replacement of Portland’s Hall School-- The Forecaster Maine: March 21, 2017 [ abstract] The State Board of Education has given final design and Funding approval for the construction of a new building to replace Hall Elementary School on Orono Road.
-- Kate Irish Collins School sales tax returns to ballot-- AdVantage News Illinois: March 19, 2017 [ abstract] After six years, a school Funding sales tax proposition is back on the ballot in Madison County " and educators are making their case to voters to avoid another defeat.
In the April 2011 consolidated election, 80 percent of the county’s voters rejected a 1 percent sales tax for school facilities. Madison County Regional Superintendent Robert Daiber, who led the effort the first time, attributes the defeat partially to voters’ misconceptions.
“It was looked at as I wanted this because I was getting the m
- See more at: http://advantagenews.com/news/school-sales-tax-returns-to-ballot/#sthash.wv33Axcl.dpuf
-- Jason White Mayor’s budget calls for building 2 new schools, repairing others-- The Hour Connecticut: March 16, 2017 [ abstract] NORWALK — The fight to fix Norwalk's deteriorating public school buildings could be nearing its end.
In his five-year capital budget recommendation for the city, Mayor Harry Rilling included plans to construct a new South Norwalk school and expand another — a priority of the Board of Education — as well as make renovations to most of the district's current schools, known colloquially as the â€"Fix It First†plan.
Rilling recommended spending a total of $172.8 million over five years on school facilities, with an anticipated $42.3 million reimbursement from the state.
â€"This is the largest appropriation of city funds to the Norwalk schools in over 20 years, and a major commitment to our school system and our children,†Mike Lyons, Board of Education chairman, wrote in an email announcing the news to his fellow board members. â€"We will still need approvals from the BET and the Common Council, of course, but given the Mayor's support we are confident we will get them.â€
The recommendation represents full Funding for an adjusted version of the five-year capital plan for Norwalk Public Schools, which was proposed by Superintendent of Schools Steven Adamowski after extensive discussions with Rilling, the school district's Chief Financial Officer Tom Hamilton and other city and school officials, Lyons said.
-- Kevin Schultz Could a tax increase fund aging school facilities?-- WRBC-TV Tennessee: March 15, 2017 [ abstract] The cracks in Hamilton County School's aging facilities continue to grow as elected officials decide who and how the bill will be paid for.
Two-hundred million dollars, that's how much Hamilton County School's said they need in deferred maintenance Funding.
Some board members questioned why the county can fund a 100 million dollar project to build a new jail, but not fix schools.
The Funding needs from schools is a figure Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger describes as "astronomical."
"None of us want to have to build a jail, we would much rather spend the money on education. However we have responsibilities that we have to do both,†Mayor Coppinger said.
One way to gather funds could be a tax increase, but some say that's not something they want to see happen.
2005 was the last time residents saw a tax increase for schools, it's an option some school board members like Karitsa Jones said the county should explore.
-- Tim Pham Report Finds PA School Funding Inadequate, Unfair-- Public News Service Pennsylvania: March 15, 2017 [ abstract] PHILADELPHIA – Years of underFunding Pennsylvania's public schools has led to inequalities affecting low-income districts and communities of color, according to a new report.
The Education Law Center report, entitled "Money Matters in Education Justice," says the Keystone State ranks 46th in the nation for state share of revenue for public schools. And Pennsylvania is one of only 14 states with a regressive Funding system, giving the fewest resources to the poorest schools with the highest needs.
According to Deborah Gordon Klehr, the Education Law Center executive director, that has led to glaring racial disparities in education Funding.
"Schools with large populations of students of color receive less per-pupil Funding overall than schools with a larger white-student population, and they're also shouldering higher local tax burdens," she said.
The report cites research showing that schools with the fewest white students receive almost $2,000 a year less per pupil.
-- Andrea Sears Warren County’s largest school system plans $42.2M building project-- Journal-News (Ohio) Ohio: March 15, 2017 [ abstract] SON
Officials from Warren County’s largest school system held two public town hall meetings Wednesday to get input on an upcoming $42.2 million school building project.
The Mason school system, which borders Butler County’s Lakota Local Schools, is the latest, large district in the area to launch major construction projects. Fairfield and Middletown schools are both in historically large new school construction and renovation projects. Fairfield will open three new schools in August, and Middletown will open a new middle school and expanded high school prior to the start of the 2018-2019 school year.
Among the financial news shared with one of crowds of Mason residents was the projection that a new operating tax levy would likely be on the local ballot in two to three years.
Mason school officials said they were surprised in December when the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission informed them they were eligible for $33.7 million in state building Funding.
-- MIchael D. Clark Benzie Central School board votes to close school-- WPBN Michigan: March 13, 2017 [ abstract] AA
BENZIE COUNTY (WPBN/WGTU) -- In an unanimous vote the Benzie Central School Board has decided to close one of their schools.
This upcoming school year Platte River Elementary School will shut down and merge with Crystal Lake Elementary.
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"When you look at it what is the ultimate goal here? We want to have the best opportunities for our kids educationally to walk out of here with a high school diploma and to go on and be productive in society, that's our ultimate goal," said Benzie Central Schools Board Member Chris Noffsinger.
In fewer than 10 years the district has lost around 400 students, which means they have also lost a significant amount of Funding.
-- Raphael Pires School funding initiatives stack Williamson commission agenda-- Brentwood (Tenn.) Home Page Tennessee: March 12, 2017 [ abstract] Here is what’s before the commission:
A new elementary school
Funding for a new elementary school in Brentwood is crucial, but it’s worth a $30.8 million vote.
The Funding will be used for the design, development and construction for a new north elementary and middle school. Without the school construction Funding, the district will have redo its entire rezoning plans.
This leaves the Brentwood area in a bind because it would not only mean scrapping rezoning plans for the entire county, it would also mean having to find room to place students. Elementary schools in Brentwood already sit at over 100 percent capacity.
Master plans
It’s a fairly hefty cost, but two Williamson schools have emphasized how these funds will fix the problem of overcrowding.
For Franklin High School "" which is at 110 percent of its capacity "" the cost comes in at around $9 million. Part of the plan calls for the acquisition of the former Columbia State Community College campus just north of Franklin High.
Plans for the Brentwood campus involve both the middle and high school campuses. Starting at $19 million, plans for Brentwood include everything from a new STEM center to more fan capacity inside the football stadium. Each school currently exceeds its capacity.
Other business
" $6.3 million for the design and new construction at College Grove Elementary and Scales Elementary Schools. This will help the overcrowding at both schools with the addition of new classrooms.
" $379,190 for 40 new special education assistants. This answers the need the district has had throughout the school year so far.
" $1.45 million for 13 buses " both regular and replacement, as well as four special education buses.
" $4.9 million for design and initial site work for a central high school, middle school and elementary school.
-- Emily R. West Could public schools state capital funding disappear if reform plan succeeds?-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: March 09, 2017 [ abstract] A complicated and controversial measure to change how Florida’s 4,300 public schools get taxpayer money for construction and maintenance projects is limping through the Florida Senate, advancing even as lawmakers agree it needs a lot more work before it might become law.
A complicated and controversial measure to change how Florida’s 4,300 public schools get taxpayer money for construction and maintenance projects is limping through the Florida Senate, advancing even as lawmakers agree it needs a lot more work before it might become law.
-- Kristen Clark Residents fight Bonsall High School site -- San Diego Union-Tribune California: March 09, 2017 [ abstract] After failing to pass a bond measure to pay for a new high school, the Bonsall Unified School District is pressing ahead with plans for the campus anyway, igniting a backlash from residents who don’t like the proposed site.
The school board approved a request for proposals for the school Thursday night, setting the ball rolling to select a contractor through a Funding mechanism called a “lease-leaseback” agreement. Under that plan, it would lease the land to a developer, who would build the campus, and in turn lease it back to the district.
-- D.S. Brennan Florida Lottery is not the education jackpot you may think-- TC Palm (Fla.) Florida: March 08, 2017 [ abstract] The Florida Lottery is not the jackpot you may think it is for public education.
In 1986, when voters overwhelming approved the Florida Lottery, they did with the understanding its profits would "support improvements in public education" and not be a substitute for state Funding.
But the lottery's website boasting it has poured more than $30 billion into Florida's schools over the past three decades doesn't tell the whole story. Lottery profits have replaced state funds, not provided extras for the classrooms.
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â€"It still makes my blood boil a little bit when I see the lottery tout how many billions of dollars they've raised for education,†said Mark Pudlow, longtime spokesman for the Florida Education Association, the state's teachers union.
â€"Right away, the lawmakers just used that money, essentially put it into the regular pot, and education Funding did not go up,†Pudlow said. â€"Over the years, education Funding has gone down so that we're now once again one of the bottom states when it comes to spending for public education.â€
In a new national study about how states pay for public education, Florida got an â€"F†for effort. Florida also ranked near the bottom of states in how it spends tax dollars for education in the New Jersey-based Education Law Center's report, â€"Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card.â€
Education is funded primarily by local property taxes and state funds, which include sales tax and other revenues. The lottery proceeds were supposed to be additional money to provide schools with extras.
Yet exactly how the lottery money would be used to enhance education never was clearly defined in the law.
-- Kelly Tyko and Ginny Beagan House considers cuts to maintenance budget for schools-- Perham Focus (Minn.) Minnesota: March 08, 2017 [ abstract] As the state legislature looks at possible cuts to the Long Term Facility Maintenance budget, the Perham-Dent School Board considered its options to pay for such projects at its meeting Monday night.
District Superintendent Mitch Anderson shared with board members an email alert he received from Sam Walseth director of Legislative affairs for the Minnesota Rural Education Association that said House leaders were considering cutting the LTMF Funding as part of its budget plan.
"It was a hard-fought equity provision for rural schools," the alert said. "And districts now have 10-year maintenance plans in place with funds committed to those projects. The loss of this Funding would be a major disaster for rural education."
-- Debbie Irmen Bills would offer state facility funding for charter schools -- Associated Press Texas: March 07, 2017 [ abstract] AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Bills in the Texas House and Senate would authorize state facilities Funding for charter schools.
Charters are public schools whose students are subject to the same academic accountability standards as those in traditional public schools. But they don't get state Funding to pay for buildings and facility maintenance.
New Braunfels Republican Sen. Donna Campbell is proposing to shrink those Funding gaps. She's also a leading proponent of "school choice" voucher plans seeking to offer public money for students attending private schools.
Campbell said Tuesday that traditional public schools get an average of $1,400 per student annually for facilities, while charters get none.
Democrat- and Republican-supported House bills also are seeking charter school facilities Funding.
Advocates say nearly 250,000 students attend Texas charter schools, and 140,000-plus are on waitlists for them.
-- Staff Writer The Trump Hotel: An unlikely model for modernizing schools-- Politico National: March 07, 2017 [ abstract] Trump benefited from a valuable tax credit for his new hotel"and schools should be able to do so too.
The Old Post Office was originally built with public funds in 1899. Since it is a historic building under federal law, the Trump Organization could earn valuable “federal rehabilitation tax credits” for Funding a modernization project that maintained the building’s historic qualities. This so-called “historic tax credit” financing, created in 1986 thanks to efforts by Republican President Ronald Reagan and Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill, has helped spawn over 40,000 historic preservation projects.
For all its benefits, though, the law contains an unintended glitch that prevents communities across the country from reaping the big local savings when they need to modernize the most quintessential of public buildings: schools. The glitch is called the “prior use” rule, and it prevents tax credits from being awarded unless the post-modernization use is new. In converting the Old Post Office building into a new hotel, the Trump project qualified for tax credits. But in modernizing an aged local K-12 school building into a modern 21st-century facility, the use stays the same. Therefore, the localities can’t access the financing used for the D.C. Trump Hotel.
-- George Allen, Paul Goldman and Mark J. Rozell An Education Funding Lesson from Kansas-- Nonprofit Quarterly Kansas: March 06, 2017 [ abstract] The school Funding ball is now back in the court of the Kansas legislature. Can it find a path through this policy thicket that will satisfy the Court’s evaluation and produce results? If so, Washington and the 49 other state capitals will want to jump on their bandwagon.
-- Martin Levine House takes first crack at fixing school funding-- Houston Chronicle Texas: March 06, 2017 [ abstract] AUSTIN -- The new House Public Education Committee chairman plans to increase per-student Funding to public schools in an effort to fix the state's school Funding program derided by the Texas Supreme Court as riddled with problems.
House Public Education Committee Chairman Dan Huberty, R-Humble, said his bill will reduce the $77 million in recapture payments the Houston Independent School District is supposed to pay the state.Â
"Texas knows that it's time to help our children," said Huberty who said nearly every school district and every charter school will receive more dollars per student. Â
The bill comes with a roughly $1.5 billion price tag. It aims to increase the basic allotment by $210 per student, create new transportation Funding, lower recapture payments, create a hardship grant and increase Funding for students with dyslexia.Â
-- Andrea Zelinski Lawmakers discuss extending school infrastructure funding -- Des Moines Register Iowa: March 06, 2017 [ abstract] Iowa lawmakers will consider extending a statewide sales tax that generates more than $400 million annually for construction and technology projects in school districts across the state.
The tax is schedule to expire in 2029, but a three-person subcommittee agreed Monday to advance legislation extending the sunset for another 20 years " a move the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency estimates could generate an additional $18.1 billion for schools.
-- Brianne Pfannenstiel Connecticut lawmakers grapple with education funding plan -- Associated Press Connecticut: March 05, 2017 [ abstract] Connecticut's system for distributing public education funds has been a source of complaints for years, with cities and towns arguing that the complicated formula is unfair, inadequate and underfunded.
Now facing a projected $1.7 billion budget deficit and a judge's recent ruling that parts of the Funding system are unconstitutional, state legislators are under pressure to finally overhaul the 28-year-old Education Cost Sharing grant.
With limited financial resources, the General Assembly is grappling with how to meet Connecticut's state constitutional obligation to provide all students with adequate education.
How and whether that will happen during this year's regular legislative session, which ends June 7, remains unclear.
-- Susan Haigh Making the most of school funding opportunity-- fosters.com/EdgeRadio Maine: March 05, 2017 [ abstract] Maine's public schools will soon get a much-needed financial boost, thanks to passage of Question 2 last Nov. 8. Despite Gov. Paul LePage's huffing and puffing, the Legislature is unlikely to defy voters' expressed direction for the state to pay 55 percent of school costs — and some $167 million more a year will flow to K-12 education.
In addition to supporting schools, the 3 percent surtax on adjusted incomes of $200,000 and up will provide property tax relief for municipalities, which were staggered by LePage's cuts to school Funding — down from 53 percent in 2009 to 45 percent today – and a 60 percent reduction in revenue sharing.
-- Douglas Rooks Kansas school funding formula plans vie for legislative approval-- Topeka Capital-Journal Kansas: March 03, 2017 [ abstract] Lawmakers have begun sifting through a raft of school finance legislation, with several plans competing for attention in the early stages of a process aimed at producing a new Funding formula.
Legislative attention is likely to intensify after the Kansas Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that school Funding is inadequate. In the wake of the decision, legislative leaders called on lawmakers to redouble their efforts at developing a new formula.
-- Jonathan Shorman Kansas Supreme Court Rules School Funding System Unconstitutional " Again-- The 74 Million Kansas: March 02, 2017 [ abstract] The Kansas Supreme Court ruled today that the state is not spending enough money on schools, harming the basic education of thousands of students, especially disadvantaged ones.
The decision portends a fight with the Republican-controlled legislature over how to remedy the situation and marks another chapter in a long-running political and judicial battle over school Funding in Kansas. Just last year, the state Supreme Court threatened to shut down schools, though lawmakers eventually complied with the court’s judgment demanding that more money go to schools in poor areas.
-- Matt Barnum Christie challenges N.J. Democrats to revamp school funding in final budget address -- The Inquirer (Phila.) New Jersey: February 28, 2017 [ abstract] TRENTON — Gov. Christie delivered his last budget address Tuesday, unveiling a $35.5 billion spending plan that was perhaps most noteworthy for what it did not include: a proposal he had pushed to dramatically redistribute school Funding.
Instead, the Republican governor called on the Democratic-led Legislature to work with him to create a new Funding formula, and challenged lawmakers, who have failed to reach consensus on a plan of their own, to agree on an approach within 100 days.
â€"No phony task forces. No stupid blue ribbon commissions,†Christie said in the Assembly chamber, where he also called on the state's largest health insurer to fund addiction treatment and proposed contributing state lottery revenue to the public worker pension system.
-- Maddie Hanna & Andrew Seidman Advocates urge RI leaders to increase funding for school repairs-- WPRI 12 Rhode Island: February 27, 2017 [ abstract] PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) " With Rhode Island schools needing nearly $2 billion in repairs, a group of policymakers and labor leaders are calling on state lawmakers to find ways to increase Funding for construction-related projects in the coming years.
During a two-hour forum in the auditorium at the Providence Career and Technical Academy (PCTA), the Fix Our Schools Now Coalition unveiled a policy platform that includes asking the General Assembly to approve legislation that would raise taxes on the wealthy in order to fund school infrastructure projects.
The group, led by the Rhode Island AFL"CIO, is also asking lawmakers to allocate 1% of all state sales tax revenue for school repairs, similar to a policy Massachusetts already has in place. Other parts of the platform include increasing overall state Funding for school construction as well as approving a statewide bond question for school infrastructure projects in 2018.
-- Dan McGowan, WPRI.com Reporter CPS could end school year on June 1 if state money doesn’t come-- Chicago Sun Times Illinois: February 27, 2017 [ abstract] District officials are asking Judge Franklin Valderrama to issue a ruling before the end of April.
“There’s no question that ending school early is our worst-case scenario,” Claypool told reporters at CPS headquarters on Monday afternoon. “I want to be crystal clear: We believe it is possible to avoid ending the school year early, but only if Springfield acts or Judge Valderrama enjoins the state from distributing Funding in a racially discriminatory manner.”
He wouldn’t say when officials will announce their decision.
But shortening the school year on top of four previously imposed furlough days may not even fully close the budget gap. In court documents, CPS estimated saving $91 million, and an additional $5 million from canceling summer school for elementary and middle-school general education students. Claypool called those estimates “conservative.”
Chopping off 13 days will push CPS’ school year below the state’s legal threshold, meaning that some state aid will be jeopardized, too. ISBE requires 180 class days for full Funding and counts CPS as having four more days than required.
Claypool said CPS attorneys believe they have even more wiggle room.
The district still has to find or cut $129 million, the bulk of a $215 million gap left in December after Rauner vetoed a bill containing that money for teacher pensions. Rauner said the conditions to enact statewide pension reform that legislators had agreed to hadn’t been met.
In a prepared statement, Rauner’s education secretary, Beth Purvis, said, “As children statewide continue to be impacted by the state’s broken school Funding formula, now is the time for CEO Claypool to engage in a constructive process to pass a balanced budget with changes that would help schools across the state, including those in Chicago.”
She was referring to ongoing state budget negotiations in the Legislature that may include the $215 million for CPS pensions.
Since the veto, school officials have scrambled to cut spending and have cut about $88 million so far in centrally provided training and school-based “freezes” CPS opted for instead of layoffs. So far they have not generated any new revenue.
They “froze” $46 million by taking half of what schools had left in discretionary spending accounts for recess monitors and after-school programs and classroom supplies, but were pressured into giving $15 million back to low-income schools after the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that they lost twice as much money as wealthier schools.
The furloughs that officials have already imposed coincide with staff training or planning days so children wouldn’t lose any school days. That measure, aimed at saving $35 million, provoked the Chicago Teachers Union, which accused CPS of targeting its mostly female membership with a pay cut.
CTU vice president Jesse Sharkey called the potential loss of three weeks of school “pretty devastating” for students and for his members who now face a 9 to 10 percent pay cut.
Sharkey renewed calls for the city to go after more revenue from a commuter tax or a tax on Chicago’s wealthiest citizens.
“We have the combination of a governor who doesn’t care about public education, and local leadership who have been unwilling to really fight for the kids on solutions that would tax the people who could afford it,” he said.
Emanuel had fought tooth and nail to extend the school year in 2012 from 170 days to 180. The extra time was a key reason teachers then walked out on strike.
Ald. Howard Brookins (21st), chairman of the City Council’s Education Committee, said closing CPS on June 1 would be untenable " and not simply because it would make a mockery of Emanuel’s vaunted longer school year.
“I would hate that it would come to this. Not that my kids won’t be jumping for joy that school is ending earlier. But parents won’t have been able to plan for this at the beginning of the school year, and it would be so disruptive for learning,” Brookins said.
“I admit that the last day or two of school are probably throwaway days for learning. They don’t do much instruction and the kids are not really focused. But to cut out nearly 20 days of school is untenable,” he said. “There’s got to be a way around it. I don’t believe the mayor will go along with it. If you were doing this on a straight business decision, it may make logical sense. But it doesn’t make good political sense. And it’s not in best interest of the children of Chicago.”
Chicago homeowners have already been hit with $837 million in property tax increases for police, fire and teacher pensions and school construction.
Brookins said he does not believe the City Council would be willing to go beyond that to stave off a shorter school year.
“I don’t know that the money would come fast enough,” even if there was the political will among aldermen to do more to help CPS, he said.
More information about CPS’s legal case can be found at http://cps.edu/pages/equality.aspx
-- Lauren FitzPatrick and Fran Spielman Editorial: Public school funding remains contentious-- The Record (N.J.) New Jersey: February 27, 2017 [ abstract] One thing is certain. Finding an equitable, constitutional way to provide state Funding for schools is not going to be accomplished through another series of town hall-style meetings that pit the rich against the poor, or that ignore the Funding dilemmas facing the Clifton-type districts in the state.
What’s needed is sensible give-and-take, and a workable formula that takes into account the needs of all New Jersey schoolchildren.
-- Editorial Board Funding Students Based on Need and Not Head Count-- Nonprofit Quarterly National: February 27, 2017 [ abstract] The Education Law Center and Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education has just published “Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card” and a companion study, “Is School Funding Fair? America’s Most Fiscally Disadvantaged School Districts.” Together, they analyze school Funding using recent U.S. Census data on school Funding along with broader economic data to depict how current state Funding formulae meet the needs of our children.
The value of any given level of education Funding, in any given location, is relative. While all districts need a level of Funding that is sufficient to meet the needs of their students, relative Funding levels are also consequential. How a district’s Funding compares to that of other districts operating in the same regional labor market, and, in addition, how that money relates to other conditions in the regional labor market, affects a district’s ability to compete.
Public education is supported by a mix of federal, state, and local funds that has remained relatively flat for the past decade. With federal Funding making up only around 10 percent of the total, the actual Funding level per pupil results from a combination of state and local funds that depends heavily on the approach taken at a state level. According to Education Dive, the data show that not all states are effective at ensuring education funds get to the children with the greatest needs. Only “Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey and Ohio are all taking spending on low-income students seriously, while most other states are not. In those five states, which all have what the report calls ‘generally high’ Funding levels, significantly more money is funneled to districts with high levels of student poverty.”
-- Martin Levine State treasurer doing Nevadans a grave disservice-- Las Vegas Sun Nevada: February 27, 2017 [ abstract] No amount of public relations spin can bring Senate Bill 302, which authorized Education Savings Accounts (ESA) vouchers, back to life. ESAs are dead.
Last September, the Nevada Supreme Court unanimously struck down SB 302 as unconstitutional, siding with parents of public school students who challenged the controversial voucher law. SB 302 authorized the Nevada treasurer to take Funding from Nevada public schools, estimated at $40 million in the first year alone, to pay for private and religious school tuition and other private education expenses. The justices ruled the voucher law violated the constitutional ban on using public school Funding for any other purpose and ordered the program shut down.
A final order has been issued in the case, putting a permanent end to the voucher program under SB 302. The court order is clear and unequivocal: SB 302 is unconstitutional and can’t be implemented.
Yet, despite the court injunction, Treasurer Dan Schwartz, who was charged with administering the now-defunct voucher law, continues to act as though SB 302 is still on the books. In November, Schwartz brazenly announced his office was keeping the ESA program open. To this day, he continues to encourage new families to sign up. Buried on his website is the disclaimer that if you sign up, or have already signed up, no Funding is available to actually pay for the vouchers.
-- Opinion: David Sciarra Still no answers as to how city school district will close budget deficit-- WMAR 2 Baltimore Maryland: February 27, 2017 [ abstract] Baltimore City Public Schools is facing a $130 million deficit heading into next school year, and is continuing to get intense focus, which, Monday, came from school principals who called on the city's mayor and governor to help.
For school advocates, the day started with a promise from Mayor Catherine Pugh that there would be an announcement on Funding, and ended with uncertainty.
Teachers, principals and city lawmakers chanted in unison outside city hall, united by BUILD Baltimore, saying that something must be done to close the shortfall.
-- Dakarai Turner Arizona may face another billion-dollar school lawsuit-- The Republic (Ariz.) Arizona: February 26, 2017 [ abstract] Less than a year after voters passed Proposition 123 to resolve a $1.6 billion lawsuit over school Funding, a new, even larger education lawsuit looms " and almost nobody is talking about it.
While the first lawsuit focused on underFunding per-student payments to schools for operational costs such as teacher salaries, this latest dispute centers on nearly a decade of cuts to capital Funding for textbooks, technology, buses and building maintenance. Attorneys have warned of a lawsuit for years.
Now, they say they could file one within the next month.
Gov. Doug Ducey in his budget proposal included an additional $17 million to the School Facilities Board for building maintenance, but he continued hundreds of millions of dollars in annual cuts directly to schools for other school maintenance and soft capital such as technology.
Since 2009, ongoing cuts in this area have topped $2 billion.
-- Alia Beard Rau N.J. budget drama: Will Christie make final push for drastic school funding changes?-- NJ.com New Jersey: February 26, 2017 [ abstract] As Gov. Chris Christie prepares to deliver his final state budget address Tuesday, the drama centers on one question:
Will he try to use the state's spending plan to force action on his controversial school Funding proposal known as the "Fairness Formula"?
-- Samantha Marcus and Adam Clark Former Big Law Partner Now New Jersey Education Advocate-- N.J. Law Journal New Jersey: February 24, 2017 [ abstract] At age 62, veteran litigator Gregory Little is undergoing a sea change.
Instead of representing corporate interests and tobacco companies, Little is now the chief litigation counsel for the New Jersey-based Education Law Center, which for decades has been battling against administrations and legislatures—both Democratic and Republican—over adequate Funding for the state's poorest urban and rural school districts.
-- Michael Booth $100M for (S.C.) school construction included in committee's budget-- San Antonio Express-News South Carolina: February 23, 2017 [ abstract] Money to upgrade deteriorating K-12 schools would come three years after the state Supreme Court ordered legislators to improve opportunities for students in poor, rural districts.
Districts eligible to apply for some of $100 million include those that initially sued the state in 1993. So would any other district where at least 80 percent of students live in poverty. The Department of Education would rank projects of greatest need, and the State Board would approve Funding.
-- Seanna Adcox Fla. Senate panel approves charter school facilities plan, but...-- redefinED Florida: February 21, 2017 [ abstract] A Florida Senate panel this morning approved a bill that, for the first time, would distribute local tax revenue evenly to charter and traditional public schools.
But it also stalled a measure that would increase districts’ local taxing authority. And school districts argue that measure must be connected to the charter Funding proposal.
The ensuing debate raised new questions over how Florida lawmakers plan to overhaul school facilities Funding for both charter and traditional public schools.
-- Travis Pillow Wyoming Senate kills one ed constitutional amendment, passes another to House-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: February 07, 2017 [ abstract] CHEYENNE " Lawmakers advanced a bill to change the state Constitution in favor of legislative oversight of education spending and killed an amendment that would have spread the cost of building new schools to local districts.
The first bill, Senate Joint Resolution 9, would allow the Legislature to decide what constitutes adequate Funding for statewide public education. It would bar any court from imposing “any tax or tax increase nor require any other provision of Funding” other than those already prescribed by law.
Sen. Dave Kinskey, a Sheridan Republican and SJ9’s sponsor, talked Friday about the role courts have played in dictating education Funding in Wyoming. In a series of landmark decisions known as the Campbell County cases, the state Supreme Court determined that education here is a fundamental constitutional right that must be equitable for every student across the state.
“It’s placing us in a position where we could be forced by the courts to raise taxes or cut other budgets,” Kinskey said. “I think this is an appropriate time for the public to weigh in on the matter, if that’s how they believe our school districts should be managed.”
Kathy Vetter, the president of the Wyoming Education Association, said last week that she didn’t support the bill.
“We have three branches of government for a reason,” she said. “It’s for separation of powers, and this is an attempt to take the judicial branch out of it.”
-- Seth Klamann Baton Rouge school flood damage tops $60 million, but not all schools likely to be repaired-- The Advocate Louisiana: February 04, 2017 [ abstract] The cost of repairing flooded schools in Baton Rouge is estimated at more than $62.5 million, some repairs will take years to complete and some of the flood-damaged schools may never reopen.
That was the picture school officials painted Saturday for the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board during an all-day retreat at the Louisiana Technology Center.
The retreat was a first step in a post-flooding re-envisioning of the school system following August's historic flooding.
The board plans more retreats in the coming months as it seeks to reach greater consensus about rebuilding plans, redrawing attendance zones and determining school construction for the next decade.
August's flood forced 10 schools to relocate temporarily and forced the closure of four administrative centers.
The dislocation appears to have exacerbated a long-term decline in enrollment that is partially the result of increasing competition from charter schools. Charter schools are public schools run by private groups via charters, or contracts.
School officials say the loss in enrollment, more than 900 students below projections, is likely to reduce state per-pupil Funding for the system by $5.1 million.
-- Charles Lussier Funding for schools pits farmers against city dwellers in rural Minnesota-- StarTribune Minnesota: February 04, 2017 [ abstract] School officials in this southern Minnesota town of 715 people will be asking voters on Monday for $18 million, a hefty sum for a rural school district with only one school.
They hope their request " to add a gym and classroom space " goes better than the last time around.
Not quite a year ago, 70 percent of the Cleveland district voters who went to the polls rejected a much larger construction bond issue of $34 million. And they weren’t alone.
Across rural Minnesota last year, voters in more than 20 school districts rejected requests for more taxpayer money to build, many by overwhelming margins. In all, voters in outstate Minnesota said “no” to nearly $600 million worth of school construction and renovation projects.
-- John Reinan and J. Patrick Coolican Cumberland applying for more state aid for school upgrades-- The Valley Breeze Rhode Island: February 01, 2017 [ abstract] CUMBERLAND " A new building committee was appointed last week as Cumberland school leaders prepared a new package of proposed school upgrades that will cost in the range of $4 million to $5 million.
As they did in 2015, administrators, hoping to win the go-ahead for 42 percent reimbursement in school aid Funding, are targeting health and safety concerns identified in a 586-page report by Torrado Architects. The application for reimbursement was due to the state Department of Education this week.
In October, Supt. Bob Mitchell advised Joseph Paul da Silva, RIDE’s school construction coordinator and architectural design reviewer, of the department’s intent to request $4 million in school housing aid reimbursement.
“Deficiencies and improvements needed include inefficient heating and ventilation systems, communications systems, parking lot and sidewalk repairs, lighting, brick repointing of significant cracks and ADA compliance issues,” he said in a letter signed also by Mayor Bill Murray and Town Council member Lisa Beaulieu, who was still chairwoman of the School Committee at the time.
-- MARCIA GREEN Schools seek help from the state to pay for building repairs-- Montana Standard Montana: January 29, 2017 [ abstract] HELENA — One issue dominated testimony to the School Funding Interim Commission last year: a backlog of major maintenance statewide. But legislators disagree on how best to help districts — or if they can afford to do so at all.
A District Court judge ruled in 2008 that the Montana Constitution requires the state to chip in for significant school repairs and updates. Yet, state leaders have repeatedly failed to provide enough Funding or to adjust regulations about district budgets that make it difficult to save money. The challenge is largely twofold: State assistance must be adequate and it also must be equitable so a student in Grass Range receives an education equal to one in Missoula.
Two programs the state had used to assist some schools in recent years went unfunded or underfunded in the 2015 session. Both are on the chopping block this session as legislators debate how much responsibility the state has to pay for these projects and the fairest way to divide the money between the state's more than 400 districts.
-- JAYME FRASER DOES STATE’S SOLUTION TO LEAD-CONTAMINATED SCHOOLS END WITH BOTTLED WATER?-- NJ Spotlight New Jersey: January 27, 2017 [ abstract] Testing for lead in school drinking water is just the beginning, but is money available for remediation?
The state has long recognized that it has a problem with lead in its drinking water, but finding and Funding a fix is proving to be no simple task, legislators were told yesterday.
Lead has been found in water in public schools across New Jersey, including Newark and Camden where students have been drinking bottled water for more than a decade. Earlier this month, high levels of lead forced Englewood Hospital to switch supplies.
“We went through this 25 years ago and nothing has changed,’’ lamented Jeff Tittel director of the New Jersey Sierra Club after speaking before the Joint Legislative Task Force on Drinking Water Infrastructure. “It really is a matter of political will.’’
With New Jersey facing an estimated $8 billion price tag to fix its drinking water infrastructure, the task force is examining steps that could be taken to address such problems as polluted water supplies; leaking water mains that lose up to 30 percent of the supply before it ever gets to the customer; and an aging system, much of it more than a century old.
Ann Arbor Schools' new sinking fund would raise $200M over 10 years-- mlive.com Michigan: January 26, 2017 [ abstract] ANN ARBOR, MI - Ann Arbor voters will have a school Funding decision to make on May 2: Are they willing to raise their taxes to help Ann Arbor Public Schools fund facility upgrades throughout the district?
The AAPS board of education voted 5-2 on Wednesday, Jan. 25, to put a sinking fund increase proposal on the May ballot. The school district currently levies a 1-mill sinking fund that's set to expire in 2019. The new request is for a 2.5-mill tax that extends for 10 years.
There are three main areas of need that prompted AAPS to seek a sinking fund increase, Superintendent Jeanice Swift said: renew, replace and repair infrastructure at aging school buildings; expand facilities to meet the demands of growing enrollment; and complete projects that are partially funded by the $33 million bond voters supported in 2015.
Currently, AAPS' sinking fund generates about $8 million a year for the school district, and by law, sinking fund revenue must be spent to purchase real estate, build or repair school buildings and facilities and to acquire or install technology.
The median home value in the City of Ann Arbor in 2016 was $325,000, which equates to a taxable value of about $162,500. The owner of a home with a $162,500 taxable value currently pays $162.50 a year for the AAPS sinking fund millage.
-- Lauren Slagter Bill aims to amend Constitution on how to pay for Wyoming schools-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: January 26, 2017 [ abstract] CHEYENNE " To help solve a looming school construction Funding crisis, lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday to amend the Wyoming Constitution to make school districts levy property taxes to pay for new facilities.
The bill would require districts to levy a “special tax” as a condition to receive state money to construct school buildings. The Legislature could also withhold funds barring approval of the school district’s construction proposal.
“There’s no Funding mechanism whatsoever for school capital construction, so this is a way for the local district to have some skin in the game,” said Senate President Eli Bebout, one of the bill’s co-sponsors.
Any excess taxes collected for a construction project would go back to the state, according to the bill.
For around 15 years, Wyoming has funded school construction and major maintenance on coal lease bonuses, which is the money mineral companies pay to the federal government to mine land. Since the turn of the 21st century, Wyoming has spent more than $2 billion worth of coal lease bonus payments.
But as the energy sector continues its two-year downturn and the Obama administration effectively instituted a moratorium on coal leases, the payments have dried up: Gov. Matt Mead and lawmakers say the final $120 million coal lease bonus payments will be used during this two-year budget cycle.
-- Seth Klamann, Casper Star-Tribune State board votes to withhold money from Howard schools-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: January 26, 2017 [ abstract] Dissatisfied with answers from Howard County public school officials about their handling of mold remediation in school buildings, Maryland's Board of Public Works voted Wednesday to temporarily withhold $9.6 million in school construction Funding.
The money was slated for HVAC and roof-top air conditioning unit upgrades at several Howard County schools in fiscal 2018, which begins July 1.
The decision came at the end of the board's annual "Beg-a-thon," a day-long hearing in which school leaders from around the state make their case for greater financial support for capital projects as the governor and General Assembly craft a budget.
Gov. Larry Hogan, who proposed holding the money back, said he wanted to read a forthcoming state report on the issue before deciding to fund the projects. The board's other members, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy Kopp, agreed.
"There was a discussion today, which I wasn't pleased with the answers on," Hogan said. "I'm going to recommend that we pull (the request) until we have a chance to review the report... and we can really assess what's going on with the mold issue."
HCPSS spokesman John White said school system officials would work to "make sure we answer all the governor's questions well."
"Whatever information he has requested, we're committed to providing the information that's needed," he said.
-- Amanda Yeager BPW releases funding for school air-conditioning projects-- WBALTV11 Maryland: January 25, 2017 [ abstract] BALTIMORE —
In a surprise move, the Maryland Board of Public Works loosened its purse strings, returning millions of school construction dollars to Baltimore City and Baltimore County.
It was an unexpected turn of events at the yearly beg-a-thon, where school districts made their annual pitch for construction dollars.
The BPW voted to release $5 million to Baltimore City for the school system's bank account. The funds, which were held back last year, will help Baltimore City install air conditioning in more than 300 classrooms.
Asked if she was surprised, Baltimore City schools CEO Sonja Santelises said: "Pleasantly, pleasantly, and a lot of that I think really is because this was a citywide effort."
Moments later, the BPW agreed to give back half of the $10 million that it withheld from Baltimore County last year over the lack of school air conditioning. It did so with the understanding that the other $5 million would be released only when the county comes up with another school air-conditioning plan.
-- Tim Tooten School leaders decry any delay in spending state bond money-- Bakersfield.com California: January 13, 2017 [ abstract] The governor's call this week to delay spending of Proposition 51 state school bond Funding until rules for spending it are more equitable to small districts is irking local school leaders in growing districts that desperately need the money.
Gov. Jerry Brown has been critical of Proposition 51, the $9 billion school construction bond voters approved in November, calling it â€"the developers bond†and something legislators should have drafted instead of special interests.
He's now proposing halting the sale of those bonds in his proposed budget until the Legislature rolls out better auditing systems and ensures the program doesn't perpetuate a â€"first-come, first-served†approach that benefits resource-rich districts.
The reform process could take as long as 18 months.
â€"We continue to have a commitment to the taxpayers to make sure that every dollar that goes out through that program is accounted for appropriately,†said Michael Cohen, director of the state Department of Finance, during a Tuesday news conference.
Brown's reform proposal comes just four months after a Department of Finance audit revealed a lack of financial oversight in bond spending and that almost $200 million had been used statewide for ineligible purchases including trucks, golf carts, iPads and cleaning supplies rather than construction.
-- HAROLD PIERCE Proposal to combine Wyoming school districts lacks support-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: January 12, 2017 [ abstract] CHEYENNE — A proposal to slash the number of school districts in Wyoming by more than half to save money doesn't appear to be making the grade in the state Legislature.
Opponents say the idea is politically toxic in the state that values local control of schools.
"We talked about it 15 years ago, and it's an ugly political deal," said state Sen. Hank Coe, chairman of the Senate Education Committee. "I mean it's the focal point of a lot of our small, rural communities — the schools are."
Consolidating the state's 48 school districts into 23 — one for each county — is one of the ideas suggested to ease the state's K-12 Funding crisis.
The state faces a shortfall of more than $360 million in its annual K-12 budget amid a sharp downturn in fossil fuel production. In addition, billions of dollars in school construction and maintenance Funding is drying up amid a halt in federal coal leasing.
Consolidating school districts would save an estimated $7.5 million, mainly by eliminating many high-level district administrators, including superintendents — many of whom earn well over $100,000 a year.
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"We have districts in the state that have barely over a 100 students, but they have a superintendent for that district, a business manager for that district and that top level administration has similar costs to the larger districts," said state Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie.
-- BOB MOEN Associated Press Lawmakers struggle to find a solution to school construction shortfall-- Star Tribune Wyoming: January 04, 2017 [ abstract] The money that pays for Wyoming school construction and maintenance is running out, and legislators say they still have no firm plan to address the pending shortfall.
For more than a decade, capital construction on schools has been funded through coal lease bonuses, money paid to the state for the rights to mine land. More than $2.3 billion has been spent on school facilities during that time, lawmakers and Gov. Matt Mead have said, and around 100 buildings were built or renovated.
But a downturn in the energy economy has dried up that revenue stream, with the final $121 million coming in the current two-year budget cycle.
“I don’t know where that Funding stream is going to come from (now),” Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, said. “That’s the $10,000 question right there.”
Twenty years ago, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled in Campbell County v. the State of Wyoming that the state had to deliver an equitable education to all students in Wyoming, from Jackson to Cheyenne. That decision changed how the entire education system was funded, including school capital construction.
Before the ruling, when a district wanted to build a new school, it would have to raise money locally.
Districts “would bond for it, and then they would assess somewhere in the order of six mills of property taxes,” said Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie.
-- Seth Klamann Social Infrastructure-- Architectural Record National: January 01, 2017 [ abstract] In late November, the AIA held its first Build America Summit in New York, a conference that had special resonance in the wake of the presidential election. We are facing policy shifts in Washington that could well have a profound impact on the built environment. The topic of rebuilding America’s deteriorating infrastructure"and creating jobs"was a hot campaign issue, though neither President-elect Trump nor Hillary Clinton came close to proposing the amount that the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates is really needed, a sum north of $3.5 trillion by 2020. And the President-elect’s notion to finance infrastructure largely though mega tax breaks to private developers probably wouldn’t help parts of the public realm that require serious Funding and really matter to people.
The reason? Infrastructure doesn’t just mean big-muscle projects like highways and airports. According to a public-opinion survey conducted by the Harris Poll and released at the AIA conference, 83 percent of the respondents said they considered schools, libraries, and parks part of their community infrastructure"and that those needed investment as much as roads or bridges. Such social infrastructure, and the basic role of local governments in building those projects, emerged as a key theme of the conference.
In addition, almost three-quarters of those polled in the survey believe that schools in good condition are essential to their communities. Yet new school construction has suffered from Funding cuts in many parts of the country. K"12 schools account for about one-quarter of infrastructure expenditures on the state and local levels, but capital spending by states overall dropped 37 percent between 2008 and 2013, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. A recent report, from the 21st Century School Fund, the National Council on School Facilities, and the Center for Green Schools, estimates that, across the nation, there is a shortfall of $10 billion a year for Funding new facilities.
-- Cathleen McGuigan Will K"12 Infrastructure Get a Boost Under Trump’s Administration?-- ASBO National: December 21, 2016 [ abstract] Last month, President-elect Donald Trump pledged in his acceptance speech to reinvest in U.S. infrastructure. He said on November 9, “We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, [and] hospitals. We’re going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none. And we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it.”
So, what does Trump’s infrastructure plan look like? To what extent does it address school infrastructure needs?
Trump’s official campaign website calls for an “America’s Infrastructure First” policy that supports investments in “transportation, clean water, a modern and reliable electricity grid, telecommunications, security infrastructure, and other pressing domestic infrastructure needs.” Among other things, his $1 trillion infrastructure investment plan includes:
Developing a “deficit-neutral plan” that focuses on new, substantial infrastructure investments.
Refocusing federal infrastructure investment from a global to a local (American) perspective.
Leveraging new revenues and working with “financing authorities, public-private partnerships, and other prudent Funding opportunities.”
Relying on “market-forces” to attract private-sector investments via infrastructure tax credits.
Reducing bureaucratic red tape to streamline permits/approvals for completing infrastructure projects.
For state and local government infrastructure challenges (including school systems), Trump’s campaign website prioritizes clean water programs. The President-elect wants to develop a “long-term water infrastructure plan with city, state, and federal leaders to upgrade aging water systems” and increase Funding for infrastructure loan programs. Fortunately, Congress got a head start on water infrastructure issues before they left for the holidays, but more will need to be done in 2017. However, beyond Trump’s website and a minor speech reference on December 1, he has shared few details about his full infrastructure plan.
-- ASBO Staff Move away from bond financing for public school construction-- San Francisco Chronicle California: December 19, 2016 [ abstract] Proposition 51, which state voters passed Nov. 8, does nothing to improve how school facilities are paid for. Rather than doubling down on debt to construct needed school facilities, the state should enact sensible reforms that enable all public schools " not just those that can afford powerful lobbyists " to fund ongoing facilities renewal and construction costs.
Switching from debt-based facilities Funding to a cash-based strategy could cut current construction and maintenance expenses nearly in half by simply eliminating interest payments. Viewed another way, for the same cost California could buy twice as much as it does now.
California should overhaul its Funding formula to include ongoing facilities maintenance because, by using industry formulas and standards, these costs are highly predictable. Taxpayers are on the hook for already approved bonds and interest; they should at least have more fiscally responsible Funding options in the future.
Prop. 51, a $9 billion statewide school bond, allocates the lion’s share of the bond monies to district and charter school construction and modernization. When interest on the debt is counted, its true cost nearly doubles to $17.6 billion.
-- Vicki Alger and Jacob Richards School concurrency not easing burdens in high-growth areas-- Staugustine.com Florida: December 19, 2016 [ abstract] School concurrency has long been in the mix of regulations provided by the Florida Legislature and aimed at budding developments. For high-growth school districts such as St. Johns County, having a say on the impact and strain new neighborhoods place on cramped schools is crucial.
But the legislation, which came into being in 2005 through Senate Bill 360, might have been more efficient if the state hadn’t slashed education Funding a year after its implementation in 2008.
As more developers lay their eyes on St. Johns County, the district must tally if it has room to service new students and if it doesn’t, collect proportionate share mitigation fees to lessen the financial strain of building a new school.
The new K-8 “KK,” projected to open in Aberdeen for the 2018-19 school year, will be one of the first projects funded through school concurrency dollars.
“It’s the first time we’ve had enough money to apply it to a major improvement,” said Nicole Cubbedge, the director of facilities management and growth.
Since 2008, the district has processed 120 school concurrency determinations with 47 of those applications resulting in proportionate share mitigation agreements.
To date, the district has received just over $13.4 million in mitigation payments.
Acceptable forms of mitigation also include school construction; contribution of land; expansion of existing permanent school facilities; and payment for construction and/or land acquisition.
-- EMELIA HITCHNER Brown exploring if new bond measure can be divvied up differently-- EdSource California: December 18, 2016 [ abstract] Gov. Jerry Brown hasn’t given up his quest to reform how the state allocates money for school construction, even though state voters last month approved a $9 billion school facilities bond that left the current Funding system in place.
Brown opposed Proposition 51. He said the bond measure, which will add about $500 million to the $2.4 billion the state’s already paying annually in interest and principal payments on past school bonds, was too large, and the process for divvying the money is too convoluted and stacked against small school districts and low-income communities.
Now that what he called a “blunderbuss effort” has passed, Brown wants to revise the Funding distribution system to make Prop. 51 more efficient and fairer to districts that wouldn’t get a share of the money under the current first-come, first-served basis. That prospect is worrying the coalition of school districts and the construction industry behind Prop. 51; they believe Brown might use his influence to sit on the money or not release bonding for Prop. 51 at all.
-- JOHN FENSTERWALD Seacoast towns hope for return of state's school building aid-- Seacoastonline.com New Hampshire: December 18, 2016 [ abstract] HAMPTON - As some school districts in the Seacoast prepare to ask voters to approve building projects come March, some officials are hopeful the Legislature will once again fund state building aid for schools.
The Hampton School Board will ask voters to pass a $25.9 million renovation of Hampton Academy in March, while the Exeter Region Cooperative School Board will ask voters for a $21.9 million addition to the Cooperative Middle School in Stratham.
Newmarket will ask voters to approve spending around $39 million to expand and renovate both the junior-senior high school and elementary school.
Several of those running for House seats in Hampton this past campaign season said they either would push for bringing back school building aid or support it, including Renny Cushing, a Democrat, and Phil Bean, newly elected as a Republican. There has not been Funding allocated to pay for new building projects in the last several years. Money has recently only been put in the budget to pay off debt from previous school projects.
New Hampshire's school building aid program was established in the 1950s but a moratorium, which was supposed to be temporary, was enacted in 2009 during the Great Recession.
-- Max Sullivan State rejects Portland’s effort to get school construction funds-- Portland Press Herald Maine: December 14, 2016 [ abstract] The Maine Board of Education rejected a last-ditch effort by Portland officials to get a special dispensation for state school construction funds for renovations at Reiche or Longfellow elementary schools, even though the two schools just missed the cutoff for the current state Funding cycle.
Portland Schools Superintendent Xavier Botana, Mayor Ethan Strimling and Councilor Justin Costa appealed to the board at their meeting Wednesday in Portland. The move would have significantly reduced a proposed $70 million bond to renovate Reiche, Longfellow, Lyseth and Presumpscot elementary schools.
But state officials said they have to follow their procedure, which is to fund schools according to priority in a given cycle, which usually lasts several years. The state, which provides construction funds for the neediest schools, closed the most recent Funding cycle in September, just as Reiche and Longfellow had moved up to numbers two and three on the list of projects to be funded. Typically, no more than about a dozen schools receive money in any one Funding cycle.
-- NOEL K. GALLAGHER Flint: School Building Authority won’t give $10M for construction projects-- News and Sentinel West Virginia: December 13, 2016 [ abstract] PARKERSBURG " Wood County Schools will not receive $10 million in state Funding for school construction.
Superintendent John Flint met Monday with representatives of the state School Building Authority which announced $48 million in project grants for school systems throughout the state.
Wood County Schools had asked for $10 million to supplement a $41 million local facilities bond passed in November.
“We didn’t get any Funding from the SBA,” Flint said. “There is just a tremendous amount of need throughout the state, and our’s wasn’t as great.”
Flint said officials had anticipated state Funding would be hard to come by when, while drafting the facilities bond, massive flooding hit the southern part of West Virginia, damaging and permanently closing several schools.
“With the flooding and catastrophes they’ve faced in the southern counties and Funding issues for state agencies, we saw it coming when we were writing the bond call,” he said.
-- MICHAEL ERB Sullivan County commissioners pass school facilities plan-- WJHL.com Tennessee: December 12, 2016 [ abstract] Sullivan County commissioners Monday voted to pass a multi-million dollar school facilities plan.
That means we could see a new Sullivan County school in as little as two years.
This morning commissioners approved Funding for phase one of the plan, which includes consolidating schools, renovating facilities and building new ones.
County commissioners voted 14 to 9 “yes” to fund the $140 million school construction plan.
“We’re excited, we’re looking forward to the future,” said Sullivan County School Board Chairman Michael Hughes.
But not everyone feels that way.
“It makes me really angry because the county commissioners did not listen to us,” said Ronda Goode.
Goode is one of the many community members who told commissioners why they should vote “no.” some feared less class participation or a lost sense of community.
Goode said she’s worried about students getting to the new Sullivan County high school’s proposed site on Lynn Road.
“Kids do not need to be on the interstate driving,” she said.
-- Elizabeth Kuebel Instead of “fixing” schools with federal dollars, fix their roofs-- The Denver Post Colorado: December 10, 2016 [ abstract] Republicans insist we address our nation’s crumbling infrastructure and create jobs.
Democrats demand equity in school Funding.
Here’s a bipartisan proposal on how to spend federal funds for our K-12 schools " more wisely than we just spent $7 billion under the Obama administration.
Fix their roofs and boilers. Make our schools safe.
I’m sure Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., sees the inequity for schools on the Eastern Plains. In November, his home county turned down the request for a $17 million bond issue to renovate and expand Yuma High School (1,086 against and 1,008 for). Gardner knows the struggle for small rural communities. Just in his former congressional district, similar bond requests also failed in Cheyenne County ($7 million request), Crowley County ($5.7 million), and Rocky Ford ($4.5 million).
I’m sure Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., understands why the new federal law, Every Student Succeeds Act, shuts down the largess of the School Improvement Grant (SIG). The U.S. Department of Education tell us that the Obama administration “has invested over $7 billion (since 2009) to transform more than 1,800 of the country’s lowest performing schools.”
But did it?
-- PETER HUIDEKOPER JR. Now that Prop 51 passed, when will the school construction dollars start to flow?-- The Mercury News California: December 10, 2016 [ abstract] Before the November election, Proposition 51’s supporters called the $9 billion state bond a critical lifeline for school districts desperate for safe and updated classrooms, while its opponents lambasted it as a measure written by and for developer and construction interests.
Now that voters have spoken, the biggest question is what happens next? School districts, many of which have been waiting for millions of state bond dollars to build or upgrade their schools, are eager for the money to start flowing.
Still others want to put a hold on the program until more is done to fix what they say is a broken school facilities Funding formula that puts smaller, poorer districts at a disadvantage in the chase for state aid. At the same time, they recognize that the proposition’s ballot language hamstrings the state from making significant changes in how the Funding is allotted, without another vote of the people.
The districts won’t get any money until bonds are actually sold, said Raul Parungao, associate superintendent at Fremont Unified School District, which is severely overcrowded. It’s ultimately up to Gov. Jerry Brown and a five-member committee, which he heads, to determine when it’s appropriate to sell the bonds.
That power is putting some bond proponents on edge, because the governor has sharply criticized Proposition 51 as a “blunderbuss” effort that does little to fix a deeply flawed school facilities Funding formula, and instead locks it in for years to come.
-- JOYCE TSAI County boards clash over funding for 13th high school, elementary schools-- Prince William Times Virginia: December 09, 2016 [ abstract] An offer to give Prince William County schools an extra $21 million for the 13th high school and new construction for east-end elementary schools appears in jeopardy amid a disagreement about what must come first: the money or the vote.
In a Dec. 6 vote, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors offered the money with a major caveat: It will only be granted if the Prince William County School Board agrees to use the more expensive and larger “PRICE” model for the 13th high school instead of the smaller and less expensive design most recently used for Battlefield and Freedom high schools.
That stipulation was not well received by School Board Chairman Ryan Sawyers, who insisted this week the school board cannot vote to spend money it doesn’t have. In other words, Sawyers wants the county to grant the money to the school division before the school board decides what to do with it.
In an email sent to school board members Dec. 7, the day after the supervisors’ vote, Sawyers explained why the matter would not be on the agenda for the school board’s next meeting, scheduled for Wed., Dec. 14.
“Resolutions are not appropriations,” Sawyers wrote of the supervisors’ vote. “The school board can only spend money that we are appropriated, and we are prohibited from spending tax dollars that we are not appropriated by local, state or federal governments.”
-- Jill Palermo Spending gap widens among school districts-- Rome Sentinel New York: December 09, 2016 [ abstract] The spending disparity between high-need and low-need school districts has continued to increase, says a report on school district spending over a nine-year period by a statewide group.
In the 2013-14 school year, financially well off districts spent $5,828 more per pupil than high-need districts, up from a $5,020 difference in 2011-12, said the report by the New York State Association of School Business Officials (NYSASBO). It reviewed districts’ spending and Funding from 2005-06 to 2014-15.
Rome is considered a high-need/low-wealth district, including larger numbers of students considered to be economically disadvantaged and more students with disabilities. It spends an average of $20,892 per pupil, compared to an average of $30,358 for the state’s 100 wealthiest districts, said a separate report earlier this year by the Alliance for Quality Education.
Among other findings in the NYSASBO report, school district spending statewide in 2014-15 rose 4.1 percent from the prior year. Among spending categories over nine years, teacher pension costs grew the most, rising 155 percent, while spending rose 59 percent for health care. Spending for special education grew by 43 percent over an eight-year period for which information was available, and by 22 percent for general education.
-- Staff Writer DeKalb school board votes to spend half a billion dollars on schools-- WSB-TV 2 Georgia: December 06, 2016 [ abstract] DEKALB COUNTY - The DeKalb County School Board voted Monday night to move forward with plans to spend more than half a billion dollars on improvements throughout the district and overcrowding.
The board voted 6-1 despite concerns from some parents who attended the meeting to ask that the board take an additional 30-90 days to re-evaluate its options. Funding for the projects is provided by a half penny sales tax extension approved by voters in May.
The district has already identified the Cross Keys area as where they want to focus their efforts to address overcrowding.
"It is not the only place where we have overcrowding," said Superintendent Dr. R. Stephen Green. "But it is the epicenter at where overcrowding exists."
-- Matt Johnson Jefferson County hopes to adopt school redistricting plan-- Your4State.com West Virginia: December 06, 2016 [ abstract] Officials with Jefferson County Schools are looking towards adopting a redistricting plan, which would take students from high-growth areas and place them in schools that are growing at a slower rate.
“We have far less revenue coming in, while we have more and more student needs to meet,” said Dr. Bondy Gibson, superintendent of Jefferson County schools. “We have to be particularly efficient about the business side of running the school system.”
They are aiming to create more balanced learning environments, and get every facility under 85 percent capacity. They said that would not just relieve overcrowding, but also maximize school lifespan, in a time where future school construction is uncertain.
“Given the state’s current financial situation, it may be many years before there’s sufficient Funding to build another school,” Gibson added.
If the current plan is approved, 341 elementary schoolers, 210 middle schoolers and 279 high school students would be moved to different locations.
-- NICK MUNSON How do we secure resources to meet school infrastructure needs?-- The Gazette Iowa: December 04, 2016 [ abstract] The Cedar Rapids Community School District has undertaken an ambitious effort to thoughtfully and thoroughly plan for the future infrastructure needs of the district. Upon gathering 100 volunteers from varied backgrounds and experiences, those volunteers were split into several committees to provide input and analysis as to the overarching priorities that should be considered as part of the facilities planning. I have the pleasure of being one of 12 community members serving on the finance subcommittee.
The finance subcommittee has spent several hours thus far getting educated in overall school finances, including sources of operational Funding, sources of facilities Funding, the current tax levy rates of the Cedar Rapids district and surrounding districts, and various guidelines and limitations that apply to bonding capacity and utilization. We then narrowed our focus to the specific financing issues in which the Cedar Rapids Community School District is operating in. After that review and discussion, we came to consensus on the following overview:
-- Gary Becker Here's Why America's Schools Are Falling Apart-- attn: National: December 02, 2016 [ abstract] The U.S. is short an estimated $46 billion in Funding to fix such things as leaky roofs and to give students access to safe drinking water and technology, a report this year by three public school advocacy groups found.
More than half of public schools in the U.S. need to spend money on repairs and "modernizations to put the schools' onsite buildings in good overall condition," according to a 2014 report by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Why are we spending less on school repairs when we're already behind?
Many communities just don't have the money to spend on school buildings. The Great Recession hurt state revenues, and some states made the problem worse by cutting taxes, Michael Leachman, director of state fiscal research at the CBPP, told ATTN:.
"Some states have cut taxes significantly in hopes of growing their economies, and that hasn't worked out very well," Leachman said. "In those states, it's been especially difficult to recover."
-- Danielle DeCourcey Western Alaska schools included on list of state maintenance priorities-- The Bristol Bay Times Alaska: November 25, 2016 [ abstract] The state education department has identified renovations to the Bristol Bay Borough School as a priority yet again, but whether or not any work is funded will depend on what the Legislature does next year.
The education department is recommending $130.3 million in state Funding for 16 school construction projects next year, and $156.7 million in state Funding for 106 major school maintenance efforts projects.
Bristol Bay Borough's school renovation is ranked third on the list of 106, and the department recommended $9.7 million in state Funding for the effort. Last year the Bristol Bay Borough project also ranked third, on a slightly smaller list of projects.
The work needed at the Naknek school includes energy efficiency improvements, and a variety of upgrades, including heating and roofing work.
Last year, Funding for the school renovations made it beyond the list and onto the governor's version of the state budget but ultimately $11 million to renovate the Bristol Bay Borough school was deleted from the Senate capital budget in mid-May, as discussions continued past the end of the regular session.
-- Molly Dischner Greater Clark County Schools makes third attempt to secure funding for construction-- WDRB.com Kentucky: November 22, 2016 [ abstract] LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Is the third time the charm? The stage is set for a signature showdown in Greater Clark County Schools as the district tries for a third time to get a construction project approved.
It's a $22 million fight for Funding, with kids and taxpayers in the balance.
At Northaven Elementary School, geography, mathematics and the history of Thanksgiving are being taught simultaneously in three different classrooms -- and if student Jenna Kelley listens closely, she can hear all three at the same time.
That's because of open doors -- and a lack of walls.
"This is priority Number One: just taking care of the open concept buildings and getting doors and walls," explained Laura Morris, principal of Northaven Elementary School.
About 100 third graders are packed into three different classrooms at the school -- but those classrooms are only walled off by bookshelves. There's not a door separating any of them.
The effort to close the "open" concept at Northaven Elementary School, Charlestown Middle School and River Valley Middle School is not just about noise. School leaders say it's about kids' safety.
"I don't like when it's open because if we do have an intruder, they can just come in," Jenna.
-- Gil Corsey Two schools: 15 miles and worlds apart-- newsworks Pennsylvania: November 22, 2016 [ abstract] Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, and Overbrook High School in Philadelphia are a mere 15 miles from each other. But they're worlds apart.
Take the matter of water — that most basic element of human life.
Upper Dublin's new high school, finished in 2012, features an 18-lane swimming pool with two spring-diving boards and a movable bulkhead that allows the pool to be configured for swim meets and water polo matches. The natatorium even has its own air-filtration system so the smell of chlorine doesn't seep into the surrounding hallways or waft in the way of enjoying the tasteful mosaic that adorns the entryway to the facility.
At Overbrook — built in the 1920s — there is no pool. The comprehensive high school in West Philadelphia does have water, but it isn't always in the right place or in the right state. Testing recently revealed six outlets with lead levels above the school district's minimum threshold for lead content. Principal Yvette Jackson hopes to convert an abandoned room into a badly needed science lab, but can't yet because the room has a drainage problem. The space fell into disrepair because budget cuts restricted the number of science teachers at Overbrook — and thus the number of science labs it could faithfully use.
Democratic state Sen. Vincent Hughes, who represents the communities surrounding Upper Dublin and Overbrook, toured both schools Monday to hammer home what he sees as the state's Funding inequities.
â€"It breaks my heart,†he said.
-- AVI WOLFMAN-ARENT FEMA commits to replacing five schools destroyed in June flood-- MetroNews West Virginia: November 17, 2016 [ abstract] Nearly five months after the June Flood, state officials have a commitment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for rebuilds of five schools heavily damaged in the storm and its aftermath.
The schools that will be relocated are Herbert Hoover High School and Clendenin Elementary School in Kanawha County and Richwood High School and Richwood Middle School in Nicholas County.
At Summersville Middle School in Nicholas County, Funding will be provided for reconstruction.
“That’ll be a substantial amount of Funding that will be coming to the state to assist these counties in replacing those damaged schools,” said Jimmy Gianato, director of West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Moving the schools out of the floodway and floodplain will also minimize the effects of future building damage, Gianato said, and get students, teachers and school staff members “out of harm’s way.”
-- Shauna Johnson $4 million in bonds could accelerate construction at Lake Zurich District 95-- Lake Zurich Courier Illinois: November 14, 2016 [ abstract] Looking to accelerate work on some $45.6 million in possible construction projects, officials with Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 plan to borrow and issue $4 million in bonds.
The idea to issue the bonds, which would be repaid over five years, would help officials finance certain construction projects in the near future, said Vicky Cullinan, assistant superintendent for business and operations.
The district doesn't have enough "resources" in its annual operating budget to complete the projects in a "reasonable time frame," she said.
"This is not a matter of cash flow shortage," Cullinan said. "It is an opportunity to access additional Funding in a responsible manner that does not increase the tax rate to our taxpayers for this debt."
During the 2015-16 school year, the district facilities panel created a long-range facility plan following an eight-month review, Cullinan said. The plan outlines life-safety work, maintenance work and capital improvements, she said.
-- Phil Rockrohr Counties set to make their pitches to state School Building Authority-- MetroNews West Virginia: November 14, 2016 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. " Nineteen West Virginia county school superintendents will appear before the state School Building Authority Monday and Tuesday hoping to convince authority members to approve Funding for their school construction projects.
The authority has approximately $28.5 million available for this year’s round of Funding and another $14.2 million for multi-year projects.
The presentations are scheduled to begin Monday afternoon at state Lottery headquarters in Charleston.
MORE see list of projects here
Among the projects to be discussed include renovations to Berkeley Springs High School in Morgan County. The county school board there is seeking a total of $6.1 million.
Berkeley County has plans to update the HVAC systems at four elementary schools. It has $12.5 million in local funds and is asking the SBA for another $4.9 million.
-- Jeff Jenkins 12 new Williamson schools needed in next 5 years-- The Tennessean Tennessee: November 10, 2016 [ abstract] Williamson County Schools will need nearly $340 million for new school construction, according to its proposed five-year capital plan.
As school enrollment rises — about 10,000 more students are expected over the next five years — so does the district's need for new schools.
Eight new elementary schools, three new middle schools and one new high school are listed on the 2016-22 plan.
A replacement building for Brentwood Middle School, about 615 acres for schools and 30 acres for central office also are listed under school building construction.
Major renovations and additions in the district total $81.59 million, according to the plan.
Renovations are slated for Franklin High School, Brentwood High School, Fairview Middle School, Page Middle School and Page High School.
Additions are slated for Scales Elementary, College Grove Elementary, Independence High and Summit High. Additionally, the plan shows Funding for the final phase of auditoriums at Grassland Middle and Summit Middle.
Preliminary plans for renovations at Franklin High and Brentwood High have already been drafted.
-- Melanie Balakit Voters approve bond issues in 16 Colorado school districts, but reject others-- The Denver Post Colorado: November 10, 2016 [ abstract] At least 16 Colorado school districts came out big winners Tuesday, with voters approving a total of $3 billion in bond issues that will help build new schools and expand and improve others.
In all, 26 school districts put up regular bond issues for voters totaling $4.2 billion, a record-setting sum for Colorado. Eight of the bond measures failed, according to the Colorado School Finance Project, which tracks school Funding.
At least two bond and tax measures are still being decided, including in Fort Collins, said Tracie Rainey, the project’s executive director.
“When you look at the regular bond issues, you are looking at a fairly good success rate,” Rainey said. “Since the Great Recession a few years ago, it’s about a 50 percent for bond issues.”
-- MONTE WHALEY Beaufort County schools penny tax fails; now what?-- WJCL22 South Carolina: November 09, 2016 [ abstract] The Beaufort County School District put forth a list of school facilities projects worth $217 million. On Tuesday’s ballot, voters were asked if they’d be willing to support two methods of Funding those projects.
55 percent of voters rejected allowing the school district to issue bonds to fund the list of school infrastructure projects, and 59 percent of voters rejected a one-percent sales tax increase as a Funding mechanism for school facilities, repairs and maintenance.
But the school district says the infrastructure needs will not go away, and now the school board will have to explore alternate ways to fund repairs and maintenance.
-- Tori Simkovic Santa Cruz City Schools $208M facilities improvement bonds gains high voter approval-- Santa Cruz Sentinel California: November 09, 2016 [ abstract] SANTA CRUZ >> Santa Cruz City Schools voters overwhelming supported the passage of two new bond measures in Tuesday’s election that, combined, will offer a combined more than $208 million to repair and rebuild school facilities.
Passage of the bond measures, separately worth $140 million measure for the secondary district and $68 million for the elementary district, means a property tax rate increase of about $60 annually per $100,000 of assessed value for in-city owners, and about $30 per $100,000 of assessed value for high school district residents living outside Santa Cruz from Davenport to Soquel. Voters last approved a school bond measure locally 18 years ago.
The results of the election are still pending, with tens of thousands of ballots uncounted countywide. However, voters were heavily in favor of both school bond measures, which require a 55 percent or greater approval rating to pass.
City School Superintendent Kris Munro said the district is grateful to the community for supporting the much-needed repair Funding.
-- Jessica A. York PSD exaggerated deferred maintenance needs-- Coloradoan Colorado: November 05, 2016 [ abstract] Poudre School District officials exaggerated the district's deferred maintenance needs by more than $415 million during efforts to pitch voters a $375 million bond issue to build new schools in Tuesday's election.
District officials, namely Executive Director of Operations Pete Hall, have claimed $500 million in deferred maintenance throughout the election, but a Colorado Open Records Act request by the Coloradoan revealed the district's deferred maintenance tallies just shy of $85 million. Deferred maintenance represents building upkeep that the district has delayed due to Funding restrictions.
The district did not publicly disclose the misrepresentation until prompted by the Coloradoan's records request for deferred maintenance line items and costs. Spokeswoman Danielle Clark said an "overbroad categorization" of maintenance needs had occurred throughout the past 18 months during the district's long-range planning process.
Bill Werst, president of the anti-bond organization Citizens for Sustainable School Funding, said the misrepresentation is proof of the need for more transparency from the district. Werst has advocated for PSD to make available detailed plans and cost estimates for new schools included in the bond and to reduce proposed construction costs to either reduce the maximum bond amount or tackle more of the district's deferred maintenance.
-- Sarah Jane Kyle $744 Million Bond Would Upgrade S.F. Schools " But It Won’t Be the Last-- San Francisco Public Press California: November 03, 2016 [ abstract] Over the past 13 years, San Francisco Unified School District has raised and spent more than $1 billion in taxpayer dollars on school construction and improvements.
This was made possible by a bond program that has raised money at an accelerating rate, and that the district has come to lean on as a regular approach to financing structural improvements. This year’s $744 million bond measure, Proposition A, is the fourth and largest in that program, which began in 2003.
But it will not be the last, thanks to aging buildings, a need to keep up with new technology and projected growth in the student population.
“It’s like painting the Golden Gate Bridge,” said David Goldin, chief facilities director and manager of the bond program. “It goes on and on.”
Rather than ask for a clean $1 billion outright, Goldin said, the Board of Education decided to put a “more palatable” proposal before voters. The measure needs 55 percent approval.
Regardless of the outcome, district officials expect they will have to return to voters for more Funding soon.
“If this fails, we’ll go back to the drawing board and go back out two years from now,” Goldin said. “Even if this passes, we will likely ask for at least $500 million around 2022.”
-- Nadia Mishkin Fee would help cover costs for schools along urban Honolulu rail route-- Hawaii News Now Hawaii: November 03, 2016 [ abstract] KALIHI, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) -
An expected construction boom around the rail line route in urban Honolulu could trigger the need for as many as nine new schools to handle thousands of new students. And that's prompting state education officials to call on developers to pitch in for the costs of those new campuses.
The Department of Education is proposing a "school impact district" developers fee for Kalihi to Ala Moana, which could see some 40,000 new housing units along the rail route. In the district, developers would be charged $9,374 for every new unit built to help pay for new schools or expand current ones.
At a public meeting Wednesday at Farrington High on the proposal, there was mixed reaction to the proposal.
Corey Rosenlee, president of Hawaii State Teachers Association, said the area is long overdue for a school impact fee.
"Hawaii schools on average are 65 years old and they're falling apart," said Rosenlee, whose union represents 13,500 public school teachers. "Today we're at Farrington High School and its auditorium collapsed. If it has been an hour later, there would have been children that would have probably died in that auditorium. At some point we need to get serious about Funding our schools and our facilities."
-- Chelsea Davis LRSD Superintendent suggests closing three schools-- THV11 Arkansas: November 03, 2016 [ abstract] LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - The loss of desegregation Funding has been like a proverbial ax hanging over the head of the Little Rock School District. The district has steadily made cuts to soften the impending revenue reduction, but Superintendent Michael Poore on Thursday announced why may be the biggest of the cutbacks.
Poore revealed during an afternoon press conference his recommendation to close three elementary schools and one preschool, as well as relocating an alternative school.
Parents were not happy after the announcement, but Poore and the head of the employees’ union agreed that shuttering schools is necessary.
“I don’t know how we survive without closing something,” said Cathy Koehler, President of the Little Rock Education Association.
“It’s our aim and our idea that everything we are doing is trying to build towards a better tomorrow,” Poore said.
Carver, Franklin, and Wilson elementary schools would be closed under Poore’s plan. Additionally, Woodruff Early Childhood Center would close, with its services moved to Carver, and Hamilton Learning Academy programs would move to Wilson.
“This is a starting point, this is a work in progress,” Poore stated. “This is not something today that just defines exactly this is going to for sure happen.”
LRSD currently receives more than $37 million per year from the state as a result of a desegregation lawsuit. By the terms of a settlement, those payments will stop next year. The district implemented cuts slowly over a few years, but Poore will try to shave another $10 million from the budget next year.
-- Staff Writer Lawmakers recommend using rainy day money for school projects-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: October 29, 2016 [ abstract] A legislative committee is recommending tapping the state’s $1.5 billion rainy day account for some $80 million in school building projects this coming year.
The Select Committee on School Facilities voted 8 to 1 to approve a supplemental appropriations bill, which will be used predominately for two school construction projects " a $29 million elementary school in Teton County and a $42 million junior high school in Laramie County " along with a host of smaller projects, including some immediate Funding for Big Horn County.
The recommendation comes as the state is facing $400 million less in revenue than was forecast for the current two-year general operating budget, along with a $100 million shortfall in school operations Funding.
The school construction and maintenance budgets have long had a separate Funding stream financed almost exclusively through Wyoming’s share of federal coal lease bonus money. But that source is in decline and is expected to run dry in 2018.
Due to a drop in coal lease income, the school construction and maintenance budget of $148 million was already short of covering the major maintenance needs of schools across the state, much less the $212 million in building projects that are next in line under the school capital construction formula.
-- Greg Fladager Editorial: Schools need a facilities fix-- The Gainesville Sun Florida: October 27, 2016 [ abstract] Alachua County Public Schools face the same problem as districts across Florida: Our schools have serious needs that the state has failed to address.
Local voters have made up for deficiencies in state Funding through the One Mill initiative, which we hope they will again support on the Nov. 8 ballot. But the measure mainly pays for needs in personnel and programs such as academic and career/tech magnet programs and arts and music programs, while the district also has major needs in the area of school facilities.
A recent story in The Sun portrayed a reality of which parents and students are painfully aware: Local schools are old and overcrowded. Everything from roofs to air conditioning units are in regular need of repair without the money to make more substantial improvements.
Fourteen of the district’s 23 elementary schools are at or above capacity, with Idylwild Elementary topping the list at 144 percent capacity. As one School Board member told The Sun, some schools are “bursting at the seams.”
To address the problem, the School Board recently approved a five-year facilities plan that calls for a new elementary school in 2018/19. But the plan projects no state Funding and only $133,000 in local money will be available for the project, which is estimated to cost $22.5 million.
-- Nathan Crabbe Loudoun superintendent recommends $468 million capital improvement plan-- Loudoun Times-Mirror Virginia: October 26, 2016 [ abstract] Eric Williams, superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools, last night presented a recommended capital improvement plan Funding request for $468 million thatincludes plans for two new schools, among other projects.
If approved, the recommended CIP would cover construction costs of a new elementary school (ES-31) in Dulles North and the design and construction of a new high school (HS-9) in Dulles South. The CIP also includes plans to design renovations to the Douglass School building, the removal of modular classrooms from Briar Woods High School and improvements to security systems across the division.
The construction of ES-31 is estimated to cost $37,895,000. The project would start in fiscal 2018. The estimated total cost of the design and construction of HS-9 is $130,660,000. The design would start in fiscal 2018 and the construction would start in fiscal 2019.
The cost of designs for the proposed renovations to the Douglass School is estimated to cost $1,829,000. The project would start in fiscal 2022.
-- Hannah Dellinger Rebuilding Scotts Valley Middle School proves complicated-- Santa Cruz Sentinel California: October 26, 2016 [ abstract] SCOTTS VALLEY >> Outside Scotts Valley Middle School Wednesday, the sound of drills could be heard as crews assembled newly delivered portable classrooms on what used to be the basketball court.
Voters in June 2014 approved a bond with $33 million to rebuild the 75-year-old middle school, presenting challenges such as where to put students during construction on the 8.5-acre site, dealing with the discovery of the federally protected Mount Hermon June beetles on the grounds and choosing prefabricated buildings to keep costs down.
Consultants hired by the Scotts Valley Unified School District gave the school board a status report Tuesday night.
“The need of that school greatly exceeds the Funding available,” said Brent McClure, principal at Cody Anderson Wasney Architects of Palo Alto, hired two years ago. “This is one of the most technically complex projects I’ve worked on.”
-- Jondi Gumz Long Beach schools hope Measure E funds will help deteriorating athletic facilites-- Press-Telegram California: October 22, 2016 [ abstract] Long Beach’s Wilson High School has produced more Olympians than any other high school in the nation, including swimming medalist Jessica Hardy.
Swimmers today, however, can’t practice flip-turns in the school’s 1940s-era pool for fear they may cut their feet on cracked tiles. The facility is frequently closed due to broken pipes and other issues, forcing the team to practice in the Colorado Lagoon or an elementary school in Seal Beach.
Coaches, athletes, parents and even district officials acknowledge that area athletic facilities " including pools, fields, tracks and gyms " are in dire need of upgrades. But officials say Funding for athletics, when weighed against academics, student safety and other needs, has not been a high priority.
Now that the district is floating a $1.5 billion bond in November, coaches and others are hoping they will see significant investment in local athletic programs that, in the midst of challenging circumstances, have enjoyed formidable success over the years.
“We’re winning championships in spite of our facilities,” said Joe Carlson, the former athletic director and cross country coach at Poly High. “But that doesn’t mean it’s fair to the kids or safe.”
-- JJ Fiddler Pasco joins ranks of school districts that can't keep up with capital costs-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: October 19, 2016 [ abstract] LAND O'LAKES — Another local school district is straining hard to keep up with mounting costs for maintenance and construction.
The fast-growing Pasco County school system, like neighboring Hillsborough, faces a bleak situation over the next decade, even if it hits the most optimistic financial projections, district officials said this week.
They estimate that Pasco's capital plan — including new schools and buses, roof repairs and preventive maintenance — would cost $1.33 billion. The district's four major Funding sources, however, look to generate $900.3 million, leaving a $430 million gap.
"We can only do projects for as much resources as we have," chief finance officer Olga Swinson told the School Board. "So we keep moving projects" far into the future.
Such concerns are widespread in Florida. Look no farther than Hillsborough, where the school system can't afford its growing air conditioning repair list as it continues to pay off debt from its 1990s construction boom.
-- Jeffrey Solochek Schools hope state match triggers building boom-- Dayton Daily News Ohio: October 14, 2016 [ abstract] Aging buildings with no air conditioning, ailing mechanical systems, leaky roofs and substandard technology are among the reasons five local school districts are seeking money on the Nov. 8 ballot to build new schools.
Xenia, Fairborn, Valley View, Jefferson Twp. and Preble Shawnee are all trying to take advantage of a Funding match from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. The state program contributes a multimillion-dollar share of local projects if voters agree to cover the rest via bond levies.
The number of school building issues locally is higher than in any election this decade.
School officials say the building upgrades would dramatically improve the learning environment for students.
“Every time it rains, water is coming through certain areas of the roof and the walls into the hallways. Would that affect you at your work?” Fairborn Superintendent Mark North asked. “Or if your computers are not working, or the heating system is not working right? … It’s not a good environment for learning or for teaching either.”
-- Jeremy P. Kelley School Board OKs $187 million bond measure-- Lake Oswego Review Oregon: October 11, 2016 [ abstract] The Lake Oswego School Board approved a $187 million bond measure proposal Monday that would address deferred maintenance at all 10 schools in the district, replace Lakeridge Junior High, perform safety and security improvements and tech upgrades " and include Funding to replace the district’s swimming pool.
The proposal, which was approved in a 5-0 vote, is scheduled to go before voters in the May 2017 primary election.
District staff cannot take a stance on the measure; they can only provide information. But the publicly elected School Board can now campaign for the proposal, and that effort began Monday night.
“Full steam ahead," said board member Bob Barman. “Let’s get this done right.”
Other board members said they are ready to step forward and knock on doors to inspire support for the measure.
“I am in full support of the bond proposal,” Board Chair Sarah Howell said. “I’ve been speaking about it so much that my voice is a little raw.”
The proposal approved this week calls for a three-phase bond measure, with subsequent votes scheduled for 2021 and 2025. Altogether, the three phases total $537 million.
The projects included in Phase One include:
-- Jillian Daley Forest trust lands help fund schools, fuel rural economy-- The Seattle Times Washington: October 07, 2016 [ abstract] EVERYONE should understand the vital role that state-owned forest and agricultural lands play in providing funds to K-12 education and in Washington’s rural economy.
Washington citizens own 2.1 million acres of state-forest trust lands, and these lands are managed by the state Department of Natural Resources for the benefit of various trust beneficiaries, the largest of which is the state’s K-12 school system. Money from timber sales and agricultural land leases provide a substantial and dependable revenue stream to the Legislature and local school districts, greatly helping to fully fund basic education and school construction " more than $124 million in 2015 " plus more money in timber sales from lands held in trust for counties.
State trust lands accounted for 45 percent of Washington’s total contribution to K-12 school construction in the 2007-2009 biennium. Of course, timber revenues are not the entire answer to solving K-12 school Funding, but they are a vital part of the overall Funding plan. These revenue sources do matter " a lot.
When Washington became a state in 1889, Congress granted the state millions of acres of federally owned land, creating stable and permanent Funding for primary, secondary and higher education. These lands are protected by a trust created by federal law and enshrined in the state’s constitution. This permanent state-forest-trust-land system has funded billions of dollars in school operations and construction over more than a century.
-- Jim McEntire State weighing plan to raze, rebuild Camden High-- philly.com New Jersey: October 04, 2016 [ abstract] The New Jersey Schools Development Authority is to vote Wednesday on a proposal to demolish Camden High School and replace it with a new building - a project that would cost an estimated $133 million.
If the plan is approved at the SDA's regular meeting in Trenton, the state will oversee a razing of the building known as the "Castle on the Hill," including the tower that defines the school's silhouette.
Plans to upgrade the century-old building have been delayed for more than eight years, and in the past, officials indicated that the tower would be preserved. But according to the proposal before the SDA, studies have determined that a complete renovation of the facility would be cost-prohibitive.
Preserving the tower while building new construction around it would cost at least $200 million, said Paymon Rouhanifard, superintendent of the state-run district.
Rouhanifard said the new building will have a tower. "We want to honor the legacy of that," he said.
The Funding also would create four independent learning communities that will operate within the traditional public school, such as vocational programs. The completed building would have room for 1,200 students, according to the proposal before the SDA. About 700 students currently attend.
Built in 1916, Camden High is challenging to heat and cool due to poor insulation and a faulty boiler, and the district has spent millions on repairs and maintenance in recent years.
-- Allison Steele School bonds used to be as controversial as mom and apple pie. Not anymore under Gov. Jerry Brown-- Los Angeles Times California: October 03, 2016 [ abstract] It’s a sign of our contentious times and California’s contrarian governor that people are even bickering over routine state school construction bonds.
Selling state bonds to help local districts build new schools and modernize old ones used to be about as controversial as motherhood and apple pie. No longer.
Practically everything these days seems politically divisive.
Proposition 51 on the November state ballot is a low-profile issue for most voters, one of those wonky eye glazers. But behind the scenes the ballot initiative has stirred turmoil, mainly because of Gov. Jerry Brown.
Brown is bothered by the whole state school bond system. He thinks it’s too favorable to large and financially stable districts and is unfair toward smaller and poorer ones.
That’s vintage Brown. He tends to give middle-class districts short shrift and prioritizes spending on disadvantaged schools. That’s apparently a holdover from his early monk life as a Jesuit seminarian.
Proposition 51 would authorize $9 billion in state school bonds. Specifically, it would provide $3 billion for new construction, $3 billion for modernization, $2 billion for community colleges, plus $1 billion for charter schools and vocational education facilities.
In the K-12 schools, local voters must authorize district bonds for a specific project. Then the local money is matched by the state. Generally, the state pays for half of new construction and 60% of modernization.
For community colleges, there’s no set local contribution. But the more local Funding there is, the better the odds of obtaining state money.
Right now, there’s virtually no state money for any school facilities. And there’s a big backlog of projects that need Funding.
-- George Skelton Ducey appoints new head for school facilities funding agency-- Bristol Herald Courier Arizona: September 28, 2016 [ abstract] PHOENIX (AP) — The state agency responsible for basic Funding for maintaining and constructing K-12 public school facilities in Arizona has a new director.
Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday announced the appointment of architect Paul Bakalis as executive director of the Arizona School Facilities Board.
The announcement of Bakalis' appointment says he has more than 30 years of experience in architecture, engineering and construction and previously was managing principal of an architecture and engineering firm.
-- Associated Press Edison school district keeps growing-- Greater Media Newspaper New Jersey: September 27, 2016 [ abstract] EDISON " The Board of Education’s concerns around overcrowding and Funding have been front and center at recent meetings.
The district continues to expand; this year it welcomes 86 new teachers as well as 639 new students, bringing the total enrollment to 15,754 students. At the Sept. 21 meeting, Superintendent Richard O’Malley said the enrollment in the last two months was the largest in a two-month period in his entire tenure. He said the enrollment increase alone would be equivalent to an entire new school in some districts.
The overcrowding issue, O’Malley said, has “continued to put a lot of stress on our organization and some of the decisions that we have to make going forward,” he said.
The board has also been providing updates around the school construction progress. The new James Monroe Elementary School, originally slated to open for the start of this school year, is now set to open Jan. 3, although the construction process should be complete sometime next month. The original building was destroyed by a fire in March of 2014, and students have been attending classes at St. Cecelia’s School in the Iselin section of Woodbridge.
-- JACQUELINE DURETT Frankfort Independent Schools get help funding facilities projects-- The State Journal Kentucky: September 19, 2016 [ abstract] Frankfort Independent Schools has received a $3 million bond for health and safety renovations at Second Street School and Frankfort High School. The school board voted Monday to accept the Funding.
The Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) from the Kentucky Department of Education allows schools to borrow " with low or no interest " to complete renovations on existing school facilities. Second Street School and Frankfort High are the top two priorities on the district’s facilities plan, with estimated needs of over $3 million apiece.
“I’m just excited. It’s a great opportunity,” Superintendent Houston Barber told the board members Monday. “We’re one of the few schools that got this opportunity.”
The school district requested the maximum $3 million, according to the QZAB application provided at the Aug. 22 board meeting, and was notified by the Department of Education that it received the full amount requested.
-- Rosalind Essig Equity in funding public schools still eludes policymakers-- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: September 18, 2016 [ abstract] At least seven commissions have attempted to remedy school Funding inequities in Georgia without success, a record not atypical for school finance reform across the country.
In most states, school Funding relies on property taxes, which hinge on local will " how much a local community is willing to tax itself for education " and local capacity " how much those taxes will raise " rather than how much it actually costs to educate a child.
As imperfect as the approach may be, Americans seem reluctant to break with it, likely because it works for higher-income communities. Those communities contend they should be able to provide greater resources for their schools if their taxpayers are willing to do so. States attempt to equalize disparities in high- and low-wealth areas, but a gap remains.
During the 2017 legislative session, Gov. Nathan Deal is expected to seek changes to Georgia’s decades-old school-Funding formula based on his own recent reform commission but it’s doubtful he will delve too deeply into the property tax debate. No one else has.
-- Maureen Downey Bond refinancing saves Clyde-Green Springs $2.4 million-- The News-Messenger Ohio: September 16, 2016 [ abstract] LYDE - The Clyde-Green Springs Exempted Village School District recently refinanced outstanding building construction bonds and saved the district nearly $2.4 million.
School treasurer Meghan Rohde announced Thursday the refinancing project announced earlier this summer was been completed. The district refunded the outstanding $22,005,000 of general obligation school facilities construction and improvement bonds, issued originally in 2008, with the assistance from Omar Ganoom, Managing Director of Boenning & Scattergood Inc.
Earlier this summer districts officials told board members they had hoped the refinancing could save the district as much as $3 million.
“The (Clyde-Green Springs Exempted Village School District) Board of Education wants to take every opportunity to reduce taxes to our constituents,” he said, adding “and with favorable bond market conditions, we think this reFunding provides a great opportunity to save money for the community.”
-- Staff Writer Maine reopens applications for schools wanting state to fund construction project-- BDN Maine Maine: September 16, 2016 [ abstract] BANGOR, Maine " After a long hiatus, the state is reopening the application process for schools that want Funding to help rebuild or overhaul their aging facilities under the Major Capital School Construction program.
“In consultation with the State Board of Education, the [Department of Education] has determined that for the first time in six years, the time is right to open a new application cycle,” Deputy Commissioner Bill Beardsley said in a Friday news release. “The application, review and approval process will remain consistent with the past process.”
Schools that want to be included in the new priority list will have to reapply, according to the Department of Education. The new applications, which are expected to be very similar to previous ones, will be available by Oct. 15.
Projects are prioritized based on a number of factors, including the physical state of the school facilities and health and safety issues.
-- Nick McCrea Second county Rosenwald school on tap for preservation efforts-- Lincoln Times-News North Carolina: September 16, 2016 [ abstract] A Rosenwald school in Iron Station will be the focus of preservation efforts as Funding for the project takes focus in the coming months.
Mount Vernon School, along with Oaklawn School in Lincolnton, represents what was once a collection of more than 5,300 Rosenwald schools that served as education hubs for African American children in the 20th century. Some of the schools were converted shops and sometimes even teachers’ homes.
The existence of the schools, exclusive to the south, were a joint effort by philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, then part owner of Sears, Roebuck and Company and African American leader Booker T. Washington, has been honored through preservation throughout the country with more than 60 of the remaining structures recognized by the National Register of Historic Places. In 2011, the schools were extended “National Treasure” status.
Lincolnton’s Oaklawn school saw a January 2015 groundbreaking for preservation and repurposing through a $500,000 state community block grant, an $86,000 contribution from Lincoln County and a $20,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Rosenwald School Centennial Fund.
Built in the 1920’s like its counterpart just a few miles away, Mount Vernon School was erected through a matching grant from the Julius Rosenwald Fund, which helped fund its construction, which totaled $2,500.
Other contributions nearly 100 years ago included $300 from local citizens, $1,500 from public funds and a match of $700.
-- PHIL PERRY 2 small schools in Southeast Alaska shut their doors-- adn.com Alaska: September 15, 2016 [ abstract] Two Southeast schools in tiny towns have shut their doors this year after their enrollments were expected to sink below 10 students, the minimum for full state Funding.
The school in Port Protection, on the north end of Prince of Wales Island, had only 13 students last school year, while the other, Tenakee Springs School on Chichagof Island, had seven at the time of the October 2015 enrollment count, according to state data.
Residents in both towns said in the past, the school districts had opted to draw from their savings to keep the schools open when enrollment declined, but now they saw little chance of a future boost in student numbers unless new families moved in.
"There are no more kids here," said Litzi Botello, a 57-year-old resident of Port Protection, an isolated fishing village of about 50 people who must boat a few miles to the nearest road.
Botello has lived in Port Protection for 35 years and said she remembers the school building arriving in the community on a barge. It came from an old logging camp, as did the school's floating gym. Both buildings long served as a hub for events — Thanksgiving dinners, bake sales, basketball games and an annual bazaar. She said she feels that absence already.
-- Tegan Hanlon Baltimore County gets waiver to put AC in more schools-- WBALTV11 Maryland: September 15, 2016 [ abstract] Baltimore County was granted a waiver Thursday from the state in order to speed up the construction process to add air conditioning to more schools.
A dozen schools in Baltimore County may be a step closer to getting air conditioning. The Interagency Committee on School Construction voted 5-0 Thursday morning to grant Baltimore County a waiver to move ahead with putting air conditioning in a dozen additional elementary and middle schools.
Right now, 36 schools in the county don't have air conditioning, and students at those schools have already had off four days because of the heat.
Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz sought a waiver from the state to speed up the construction process at Southwest Academy, Arbutus Middle, Battle Grove Elementary, Charlesmont Elementary, Church Lane Elementary, Franklin High, Golden Ring Middle, Kenwood High, Middle River Middle, Orems Elementary, Reisterstown Elementary and Stemmers Run Middle schools.
The hope is that with the waiver, and after the state Board of Public Works reviews the Funding in January, construction can start with the hope of having air conditioning in those schools by the start of the next school year.
-- Lacee Griffith Carson City school board approves $24.5M in building projects-- Nevada Appeal Nevada: September 14, 2016 [ abstract] The Carson City School District Board of Trustees approved $24.5 million in capital improvements Tuesday night.
That approval came a short time after the trustees approved $7 million in energy conservation projects for district school facilities.
The board authorized a $7 million purchase agreement with a term of 20 years to finance the cost of acquiring, constructing, improving and equipping energy projects in the district.
The school district will repay $517,600 a year after approving an installment purchase agreement that will be paid out of the district’s general fund through 2037.
The board was told by JNA Consulting Group, LLC the installment purchase agreement made the most sense compared to bonding.
No public comment was received and the board approved the motion unanimously.
The board also voted on its proposed capital projects for 2017-2020. The board took the recommendations of the Facilities Master Planning Committee, which was facilitated by Superintendent Richard Stokes, Operation Services Director Mark Korinek and Andrew Feuling, director of fiscal services. The board voted to sell the 2017A School Bond to raise $15 million of the $24.5 million needed for the proposed projects. Other Funding sources will be $7 million from the installment purchase agreement, $1 million from the PAYGO Funding and $1.5 million from the capital projects fund from the Government Services Tax.
-- Staff Writer This District May Close All Of Its High Schools; It's About Much More Than Money-- NPR Pennsylvania: September 11, 2016 [ abstract] In northwest Pennsylvania, along the edge of Lake Erie, you'll find the city of Erie.
There, the superintendent of the more than 12,000-student district has forwarded a plan that's causing a stir — calling for leaders to consider shutting down all of the district's high schools and sending students to the wealthier, whiter, suburban districts.
Why?
Superintendent Jay Badams says it's a "matter of fairness."
Erie's schools have been pushed to the brink after six years of deep budget cuts, and he believes the children in the city's district — which predominantly serves students of color — are being systematically shortchanged.
That's in part because urban school districts in Pennsylvania face a particularly brutal logic.
They serve the poorest, most needy students. Yet, when it comes to state Funding per pupil, most of them don't make the top of the list.
Even though Erie is one of the most impoverished districts in the state, and has one of the highest percentages of English language learners, the district currently receives less per-pupil Funding from the state than hundreds of other districts.
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Excluding pension costs, per-pupil spending in Erie is less than it was in 2008-09.
"If our students would need to attend schools in other districts in order to have some sort of equity, then that may end up being the most ethical and moral decision," Badams says.
-- Kevin Mccorry Anne Arundel schools superintendent proposes capital budget for fiscal 2018-- Capital Gazette Maryland: September 07, 2016 [ abstract] Anne Arundel County Public Schools Superintendent George Arlotto on Wednesday proposed a $235 million capital budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2018.
The budget includes design and construction money for Edgewater, Tyler Heights and Richard Henry Lee elementary schools, and construction money for a Crofton High School.
The school board plans to hear from the public and vote on the proposed budget Sept. 21.
Board members will discuss the budget in a workshop next Tuesday.
Under Arlotto's long-term Funding plan, all four schools would be complete around 2020.
Last year, a study of the school system's construction needs put those three elementary schools on the top of its priority list. Crofton was sixth on the list.
Tensions flared last spring when County Executive Steve Schuh proposed delaying construction money for those three elementary schools.
Parents and teachers filled up public budget meetings to express frustrations that some of the county's most crowded schools won't see an improvement in the next few years.
School board members criticized Schuh for what they say was a failure to follow the recommendations of the MGT of America study.
-- Cindy Huang Boise School District asking public for input on facilities master plan-- KIVI-TV Idaho: September 06, 2016 [ abstract] BOISE, Idaho - The Boise School District is asking the public to weigh in on needed repairs.
The district is working on its facilities master plan.
School leaders say more than half of their buildings are more than 50 years old and in need of work. With limited Funding, they are asking the public what they should prioritize.
"We really do have more than $200 million, some would argue $300 million worth of ongoing needs for the district. This part of the process is to help us identify those needs and help us prioritize," said Dan Hollar of the Boise School District.
-- Michael Sevren Portland may borrow from state for some school renovations-- The Forecaster Maine: September 06, 2016 [ abstract] PORTLAND " The School Department is applying for state loans for renovation projects at three schools to the tune of just over $2.5 million.
The School Board was slated to have a first reading at its Tuesday night meeting about the projects, which are not to exceed $3 million.
The proposals are for roof repairs at Portland High School, a new sprinkler system at Deering High School, and electrical service work and a new elevator at Longfellow Elementary School.
The application is being made to the Maine Department of Education’s School Revolving Renovations Fund, which provides Funding to schools to ensure they are healthy and safe environments.
Under Department of Education guidelines, the grants would be funded through the Maine Municipal Bond Bank. A portion of each loan is forgiven at rates ranging from 30 to 70 percent, depending on the amount subsidized by the state.
Portland’s forgiveness rate is 30 percent; the remainder will be paid back over five or 10 years at zero interest. The maximum loan is $1 million per priority, per school building, within any five-year period.
This year there is Funding available in two priorities.
-- Colin Ellis Facilities plan aims to 're-engage' private sector in public schools-- The Commercial Appeal Tennessee: September 05, 2016 [ abstract] Private schools do it. Public colleges. The University of Memphis.
So why couldn't public elementary, middle and high schools improve their facilities through the generosity of donors and, in return, adorn the new addition with the benefactor's name?
That's the idea that propelled White Station High School parent Richard Myers to spend the last year pulling together nonprofits, legal contracts and architectural plans to improve his sons' school along with Whitehaven High.
Myers, a lawyer with Glankler Brown, is just a few steps from making his vision a reality, at least as a pilot program. Last October, with Myers' intentions known, the Shelby County Schools Board of Education changed its policy to allow the sale of naming rights.
Myers hopes to appear before the board's facilities committee this month seeking approval to implement his plan with a library, outdoor courtyard and classroom addition at White Station. If board members approve, he can start approaching donors. Once he receives full Funding, he can start turning dirt. If White Station goes well, he'll move to projects at Whitehaven.
"My friends have all told me that the pressure is on," Myers said. "If I screw up, if I don't make it work on this first project, it's not going to work."
That's because, despite some interest nationally in the idea, very few public school districts — if any — have sold naming rights for facilities beyond athletics.
But board member Billy Orgel, chairman of the facilities committee, said the concept is the same.
"These are academic boosters," Orgel said. "We need more of them."
-- Jennifer Pignolet Nearly 40 school bond measures headed for voters in LA and OC-- 83.3KPCC California: August 17, 2016 [ abstract] As counties prepare their lists of local initiatives for the November ballots, a slew of requests for new school facilities borrowing are heading to voters for approval.
In Los Angeles County alone, an early list shows 28 school bonds – nearly half of all local measures on the ballots – are set to come before voters.
"It looks like, as we saw in 2012 and in 2014, in general elections there's a huge glut of bond measures on the ballot," said Kevin Dayton, a research analyst with the nonprofit California Policy Center. "I wouldn't be surprised if this year's number of school and college bond measures in California is a record."
L.A.'s list of local measures could still change; election officials said they expect to finalize it next week. Orange County's list has been finalized, and 10 school districts will seek Funding there.
The amounts range from $49,000,000 from Centralia Elementary School District to $889,000,000 from Capistrano Unified School District.
The largest school bond request in both counties from a K-12 district is from Long Beach Unified, the third largest district in the state. It's asking voters to sign off on $1.5 billion in bonds.
-- Mary Plummer FSDB to receive millions in funding for school maintenance-- The St. Augustine Record Florida: August 15, 2016 [ abstract] The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind is receiving $9 million for campus improvements as part of the state’s decision to borrow $285 million for school construction and maintenance over the next several years.
In a decision made earlier this month, Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet approved Public Capital Outlay for the first time since the 2010-2011 budget year.
The additional Funding is good news for FSDB which had its five-year master plan recently approved by the Department of Education for a renovation cycle.
Jeanne Prickett, FSDB’s president, said many of the buildings are already exceeding 30 percent of their replacement value and require imperative upgrades.
“If buildings get as high as 60 or 70 percent of their replacement value, it would cost that much money to get them up to speed and code. You might as well tear them down at that point,” Prickett said. “Our buildings right now are running around 35 percent. We have been trying to hold the line the best we can.”
-- EMELIA HITCHNER South Portland to get state funds for new or renovated middle school-- Portland Press Herald Maine: August 10, 2016 [ abstract] SOUTH PORTLAND " For the first time ever, the Maine State Board of Education has agreed to help pay for a school construction project in South Portland, school officials announced Wednesday.
The state board voted unanimously Monday to put Mahoney Middle School, one of the city’s two aging middle schools, on its Approved Projects List, a board spokeswoman said. The project’s cost, design and location have yet to be determined.
Mahoney, built in 1922 as the city’s high school, was rated No. 14 on a prioritized statewide list of proposed school construction projects that applied for Funding in 2010-2011. Memorial Middle School, built in 1967, was rated No. 55 on that list.
Superintendent Ken Kunin said the South Portland School Department is excited to partner with state education officials to “potentially receive significant state Funding” for a new or renovated middle school " something the district has been anticipating for more than a decade.
“We’ve been hoping and waiting for this,” Kunin said. “Both schools need extensive renovation to meet the needs of our students now and into the future.”
-- KELLEY BOUCHARD Over $282 Million in New Schools Open Statewide-- State of Wyoming - State Construction Department Wyoming: August 03, 2016 [ abstract] CHEYENNE, Wyo. " Wyoming will begin the 2016-2017 school year with over $282 million in
new educational facilities, according to Del McOmie, Interim Director of the State Construction
Department (SCD).
By the end of September, students will be attending new schools in Albany, Campbell, Fremont
and Natrona Counties, McOmie said. “These schools are the result of extraordinary efforts from
stakeholders at the district, state and community levels. It’s wonderful to see them completed and
filled with students,” he said.
Combined the schools have received roughly $282,134,205 in state Funding, which the
Legislature approved in previous biennial state budgets.
-- Anthony Hughes South County mayors spearhead opposition to proposed Capistrano Unified bond measure-- The Orange County Register California: August 02, 2016 [ abstract] A letter circulated by two South County mayors opposing a potential $889 million Capistrano Unified School District bond election has generated signatures from six city mayors, one city council member, one county official and three state officials as of Tuesday night.
Capistrano Unified touts itself as the top-performing large school district in California academically, but it has struggled with aging school facilities and lack of funds to perform needed upgrades, officials say. The district has a deadline of Aug. 12 to submit a bond measure for the ballot.
A decision could come at an Aug. 10 meeting of the school board. In recent weeks it has appeared that a majority of trustees support creating a districtwide School Facilities Improvement District that would exclude the Rancho Mission Viejo development, which is being developed.
The letter, put together by Mission Viejo Mayor Frank Ury and Rancho Santa Margarita Mayor Tony Beall, says the district should have reached out to city officials several years ago about its plans for a bond measure and contends the proposal “lacks specificity.”
“In addition, we are concerned that we learned about this massive bond from our constituents and not from CUSD,” the letter said. “We urge you to determine realistic needs and exhaust all potential sources of Funding before you go back to the taxpayers for more money.”
-- FRED SWEGLES and NATHAN PERCY Measure H school projects starting this fall in Napa-- Napa Valley Register California: July 30, 2016 [ abstract] Fresh off the passage of Measure H, the Napa Valley Unified School District is embarking on a multi-year to-do list of infrastructure changes covering seismic upgrades, new school construction, campus safety measures and more.
District officials briefed the school board Thursday night on the first phase of its facilities master plan that will implement $187 million worth of work between now and 2020.
The Funding will come from $269 million in school bonds authorized by Measure H that voters approved in June.
Work will begin as soon as this fall on several fronts, according to Don Evans, the district’s head of school construction.
Evans told trustees that his office is now searching for architects and consultants “to get rolling” on various projects.
Although much of the early work will be planning in nature, Evan said voters can expect to see concrete results from approving Measure H within the next 12 months.
For instance, the district has promised to improve campus security at many schools by installing perimeter fences. Some of these new barriers will be up before the end of this year, Evans said.
-- NOEL BRINKERHOFF Parents Question School Construction Decisions-- WBEZ91.5 Illinois: July 29, 2016 [ abstract] Some parents attended the Chicago Board of Education meeting this week to challenge school construction decisions that they say results in continued segregation.
Their comments referenced a WBEZ series that looked at the construction of new schools and additions and found that two-thirds have gone to schools with more than a quarter white students. Only 12 percent of all schools have more than a quarter white students.
Three schools that are either being planned or being built raised questions. They are Skinner in the West Loop, a new South Loop Elementary and a new selective enrollment high school on the Near North side.
“I implore you to stop using hundreds of millions of dollars to fund institutionalized segregation in Chicago’s public schools by expanding schools in wealthy enclaves while deFunding schools in poor neighborhoods,” said Michelle Villegas.
-- Sarah Karp Here's Why Schools Have a Hard Time Getting Classrooms Air Conditioned-- dnainfo New York: July 28, 2016 [ abstract] MANHATTAN — Students and teachers have long complained about how hot schools get at the end of the school year and during the summer, which is why nearly all of the more than 300 school buildings offering city-run summer school programs have air conditioning.
But the heat is no longer just a problem in the spring and summer.
At the start of the school year high temperatures can persist through October, which is why parents and educators are ramping up their calls for air conditioning in classrooms.
â€"Unfortunately, a consequence of global warming is that we have more than 100 more ... days where you need air conditioning†each year, said Park Slope City Councilman Brad Lander at a DOE budget hearing in May. "Our kids just can't learn in many of our school buildings on an increasing number of hot days. We're losing the months of June and September, and we can't afford to lose two months in school that don't have air conditioning.â€
Funding for air conditioning units, or the electrical upgrades to run them, is not a simple matter. Here's why:
-- Amy Zimmer Decades After Ban, Lead Paint Lingers-- The Pew Charitable Trusts National: July 27, 2016 [ abstract] In the wake of the Flint water crisis, states are rushing to test for high levels of lead in drinking water. But many are failing to come to grips with a more insidious problem: lingering lead paint in homes and schools.
Paint, rather than drinking water, remains the main source of lead poisoning of young children in the U.S. But even though there are myriad federal and state laws designed to eradicate lead paint, enforcement is lackluster, hampered by a lack of money and the misperception that the problem has been solved. Many state laws don’t conform to federal recommendations, and federal Funding for lead abatement has been slashed from $176 million in 2003 to $110 million in 2014.
Though the federal government banned lead-based paint in 1977, it persists in an estimated 38 million homes, lingering on old window frames and trim, and in dust. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children in at least 4 million U.S. households are being exposed to “high levels” of lead, and an estimated 535,000 children between the ages of 1 and 5 have elevated lead levels in their blood. (The CDC does not consider any level of lead safe for children.)
Lead poisoning in children has been linked to lower IQs, hormonal issues and behavioral problems, costing U.S. taxpayers an estimated $55 billion annually. A 2009 study determined that every dollar spent on limiting lead exposure saved taxpayers between $17 and $221 by reducing spending on health care, special education and crime.
-- Teresa Wiltz Bay Area developers battle increased fees aimed at alleviating overcrowded schools-- East Bay Times California: July 24, 2016 [ abstract] As the real estate markets for Fremont and Dublin soar with new home sales, the schools that house all those new students are bursting at the seams and looking to developers for help building classrooms.
The state agreed. In a precedent-setting act -- after repeated pleas by the Dublin and Fremont school districts -- a state board overseeing school construction declared in May that state funds for new school construction are not available, triggering the highest-level fees on homebuilders that the law allows. But those builders are fighting back, in a battle that could have implications for school Funding around the state.
Last month, the California Building Industry Association slapped the State Allocation Board with a lawsuit the same day the panel voted. A Sacramento judge issued a tentative ruling this week favoring the districts and the state, but did not make a final decision during a court hearing Friday. The association declined to comment for this story.
The board's decision to raise fees that overcrowded school districts can charge housing developers for building new schools was seen as a long-awaited victory.
-- Joyce Tsai Hart District Restructures Debt on $300M Bond Measure-- KHTS AM1220 California: July 20, 2016 [ abstract] “In November 2008, voters approved a $300 million school facilities general obligation bond for the construction of new school facilities and the improvement of existing facilities,” according to the district’s website.
However, the construction of Castaic High School has hit a number of snags, most recently involving difficulties with the grading and permitting of the roads surrounding the site, as well as a costly lawsuit with the site’s neighbors. The lawsuit has since been settled.
The William S. Hart Union High School District has restructured the financing of its Measure SA general obligation fund, saving Santa Clarita taxpayers $3.69 million.
District officials likened their recent debt restructuring to the refinancing a home mortgage, with the move making the district able to lock in lower interest rates in order to lower its borrowing costs. Officials also noted that with a bond reFunding, they can’t extend the repayment period of the debt. Property tax savings will benefit the community in 2017 through 2025 as a result of the refinancing.
“The district is grateful for the support of local taxpayers and recognizes the importance of being fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars,” said Erin Lillibridge, CFO for the Hart district. “Taking advantage of opportunities to reduce taxes for our community, while striving to provide the best education and school facilities possible for our students, is a priority for the Governing Board and administration of the district.”
A portion of the outstanding bonds were eligible to be refunded, so the district strategically timed the issuance to take advantage of favorable interest rates and reduce existing tax rates within the community over the next nine years.
-- Perry Smith State funding could shrink for Akron school construction-- Ohio.com Ohio: July 19, 2016 [ abstract] Akron school and city officials could find themselves with less state Funding to construct the city’s last new high school, based on a draft of a new 2021-2022 enrollment projection by the state.
Akron Public Schools Superintendent David James broke the news to a crowd of nearly 200 people gathered Tuesday night at Kenmore High School to get information about the status of the plan to rebuild schools in the city. The meeting, hosted by the Akron Board of Education and Akron City Council, was the first in a series of four scheduled this week to seek community input.
“The bottom line is instead of Funding for 1,254 students, we are now looking at a number that has decreased to 1,215. The state is saying that we overbuilt for 368 middle school students and for 81 elementary students,” James said. “We are going to have to work with the state to see if our number will change the amount they will fund.”
James, who saw the figures for the first time on Monday, presented five options being considered for configuring the district to incorporate one new high school that could be built using state Funding. The board, city and Ohio Facilities Construction Commission have partnered since 2003 to renovate and construct buildings throughout the district. So far, 29 buildings are completed; two are under construction and two are being designed.
-- Colette Jenkins Two Barbour County schools to close following 2016-17 school year-- MetroNews West Virginia: July 19, 2016 [ abstract] PHILIPPI, W.Va. " Despite protests from parents, the Barbour County Board of Education accepted a recommendation from Superintendent Jeff Woofter to close two elementary schools in Barbour County Monday evening.
“Mt. Vernon and Volga combined have about four percent of our student population,” Woofter said. “And, unfortunately, due to the low enrollment and our Funding, we had to have combined grades at both of those schools, which isn’t in the best interest of kids.”
Mt. Vernon ended the year with 57 students. Volga-Century had 37 students. Those numbers were expected to decrease again down from 94 students between the two schools to 88 students.
The move to close Mt. Vernon Elementary School and Volga-Century Elementary School will save the county hundreds of thousands of dollars, but Woofter said the move had far more to do with academics.
“We believe financially it’ll be at least $390,000 per year, but the financial consideration wasn’t the main consideration in this case,” Woofter said.
Classrooms were combined for first and second grade students and third and fourth grade students at the schools.
-- Alex Wiederspiel New Fayette BOE members talk capital planning, facilities-- The Register-Herald West Virginia: July 18, 2016 [ abstract] Seated less than a month on the Fayette County Board of Education, Darrin McGuffin and Steve Slockett have come aboard in the midst of a facility crises and a countywide review of the district's comprehensive educational facilities plan.
In December 2015, the 11-member voting board that allocates funds toward school construction in the state ordered School Building Authority staff members to lead the review.
"There are some grumblings in the community that don't think the School Building Authority will support the plan and give us Funding this December, but people need to have confidence in the process right now. The process is a productive one. People need to give it a chance," said McGuffin. "People are concerned because we have gone through this process in the past and nothing changed, but the SBA staff is coming into this with open minds, as is the planning committee."
David Sneed, SBA executive director, and Scott Raines, Director of School Planning and Construction, have just wrapped up community input meetings in each of the county's high school attendance areas.
Slockett said the SBA has worked tirelessly to present comprehensive date to the community and a 54-member capital planning committee will now be tasked with developing facility recommendations at a July 19 meeting.
Last year the SBA's voting board expressed concern that the Fayette Board of Education was not on the same page. Despite all members voting to send a letter of support for the previous plan, some members sent their own letters retracting their support.
-- Sarah Plummer Albuquerque Public Schools project funds held up over lawsuit-- KRQE News 13 New Mexico: July 11, 2016 [ abstract] The construction crews were hard at work Monday at Valley High School, working to build a new gym. Work was moving along at the start of the week, but it could soon be forced to take a long break.
Albuquerque Public Schools said in a summary presented to the school board that that project and dozens of others will have to soon be held up because of a pending lawsuit over how the district handled the February election to approve mill levy and bond Funding.
“This is a huge issue for the school district,” said attorney and former APS board member Marty Esquivel. “All of the money that goes to the bricks and mortars of our schools, maintenance of our schools, millions and millions of dollars to keep our schools operating are in play here.”
APS declined KRQE News 13’s request to discuss the lawsuit or its effects. However, in a document set to be presented to a board committee Monday evening, district staff says the pending lawsuit will increase costs for projects that will have to be stopped, will undermine student instruction, compromise school safety and hurt the local construction industry.
-- Alex Goldsmith Commission considers Cheyenne schools' budget requests-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: July 10, 2016 [ abstract] The fate of the new Carey Junior High building in Cheyenne remains uncertain.
That’s following the state School Facilities Commission’s recent budget workshop, in which the board discussed possible project prioritization lists for the Legislature’s 2017-18 supplemental budget.
Enrolled Act 12, passed during the 2016 Legislative budget session, set aside $80 million for school facilities around the state to be dispersed in the supplemental budget. The money will come from the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account, often called the “rainy-day fund.”
The law requires the School Facilities Commission to submit by Sept. 1 a list of proposed projects to the Legislature’s Select Committee on School Facilities and Joint Appropriations Committee.
Commission Chairman Bryan Monteith said, “I hope that everybody takes an opportunity to really understand the possibilities of Funding at $80 million or a whole lot less. No one really knows what’s going to happen with the Legislature.”
Del McOmie is the director of the School Facilities Division and interim director of the State Construction Department.
McOmie and his staff brought three possible options of prioritized lists to the commission Wednesday for review before creating a finalized list to submit to the Select Committee on School Facilities.
All three options prioritized every lease the School Facilities Division must pay.
“To me, that’s a high priority to get all those leases under one issue on the top and get those all paid for, so they don’t become an emergency. Because we may or may not have emergency funds to pay for them,” McOmie said.
-- Kristine Galloway Schools hike builder fees: Developers must pay more to build in Burlingame-- The Daily Journal California: July 08, 2016 [ abstract] To offset the cost of new classrooms to accommodate an expected influx of students brought by new jobs and homes in Burlingame, elementary school district officials again hiked fees charged to commercial and residential developers.
The Burlingame Elementary School District Board of Trustees unanimously agreed during a meeting Wednesday, June 6, to increase the development fee by 12 cents to $3.48 per square foot of new home built, and by 2 cents to 56 cents per square foot for commercial or industrial building.
Though the rate hikes may seem marginal, collectively the amount of money developers must pay the school district has jumped by 39 cents per square foot for homes over the past two years, and 9 cents per square foot for commercial projects in that same period of time. The decision brings the district in line with the neighboring Millbrae Elementary School District, which also has square footage fees of $3.48 for residential and 56 cents for commercial.
Superintendent Maggie MacIsaac said she believed the fees will help the district address the cost of new students brought on by development across the city in coming years.
“We are pursuing them to make sure we have some Funding available to help us in terms of growth,” she said.
School systems commonly charge development fees to builders in an attempt to offset the cost incurred by new students coming to the district from families who move to a new home or job.
Money collected by the district through the fees typically pays toward construction of new classrooms and school facilities needed to house projected enrollment growth.
“The developer fees to be collected by the Burlingame School District will be used for the provision of additional and reconstructed school facilities,” according to the report. “This will benefit the students to be generated by new development by providing them with adequate educational facilities.”
Per an agreement, the elementary school district will keep 60 percent of the fees collected and the rest will be granted to the San Mateo Union High School District.
-- Austin Walsh Cuomo signs Rochester school modernization bill-- Democrat & Chronicle New York: July 06, 2016 [ abstract] ALBANY - Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill late Tuesday allowing the next phase of Rochester's $1.3 billion school modernization program to go forward as planned.
Cuomo's signature ends several weeks of uncertainty surrounding the bill, which frees up state funds to cover costs for Phase II of the construction program.
A Democrat, Cuomo signed the bill without comment. He faced a Wednesday deadline to approve or veto it.
The bill allows the modernization program to get an extra allotment of state building aid for certain schools, which will allow officials to complete projects more efficiently and avoid serious Funding shortfalls that occurred during Phase I.
"This is great news for the families and staff members of the Rochester City School District," interim Superintendent Linda L. Cimusz said in a written statement. "It's especially important for the eight school communities whose facilities will be fully renovated more quickly, at lower cost, with less student disruption and greater project efficiency than we could achieve without this important bill."
Building aid is meted out in allotments meant to cover a five-year period. The bill provides 10 years' worth of aid that can be spent now, to ensure the construction work is fully funded.
-- Steve Orr, Jon Campbell and Meaghan M. McDermott SFUSD places $744M facilities bond on November ballot-- San Francisco Examiner California: June 30, 2016 [ abstract] The San Francisco Unified School District will ask city voters to approve a $744 million facilities bond in the upcoming November election to build a new school and arts center, improve existing school sites and help create below-market-rate housing for educators.
The Board of Education unanimously approved two bond-related resolutions Tuesday, the first placing the measure on the Nov. 8 ballot and the second spelling out how the money will be allocated.
The resolutions were passed during a lengthy board meeting in which the SFUSD’s recommended $823 million operating budget for 2016-17 was also approved, reflecting a Funding boost for the district despite slowing contributions from the state.
The district would spend a majority of the bond funds " $409 million " on building construction and renovations, including seismic upgrades, corrections to health and safety risks and computer technology improvements.
But most of the conversation at the board meeting surrounded the $100 million from the bond that would be used to build at least one new school. The district is considering constructing a school to serve families currently moving into Mission Bay or the families expected to move into the Hunters Point Shipyard development.
-- Michael Barba Schools unsure which projects may be cut-- The Jackson Sun Tennessee: June 27, 2016 [ abstract] Members of the Jackson-Madison County School System have long said $2.8 million is not enough to cover capital expenses for 2016-17.
However, district officials also say they don’t know which school renovation projects will be put on the backburner due to limited Funding from the county.
Projects scheduled for the 2016-17 school year included new roofs and HVAC systems, locker rooms, gutter replacements and more.
“They’re not off the table,” Superintendent Verna Ruffin said. “What we need now is we need to get closer to finding what those costs will actually be.”
The school system has provided the Madison County Commission with a five-year capital plan that contains rough estimates for projects.
Jim Campbell, chairman of the board, said the school system wants to hire an architectural firm to develop specific design criteria and budgets.
“Depending on how that comes in, then we would prioritize those projects,” Campbell said. “I think logically, the two dressing room projects will not get done next year.”
-- KATHERINE BURGESS Tax increases included in mayor’s plan to fund Richmond schools-- wtvr.com Virginia: June 27, 2016 [ abstract] Mayor Dwight Jones announced recommendations Monday for a multi-year investment Funding plan for Richmond’s schools that include tax increases and raising the debt ceiling.
The mayor said the recommendations were a “realistic approach” to move the city forward.
They are a part of the mayor’s Triple Action Investment Plan that stems from the Multi-Year School Capital Investment Project Evaluation Team which he convened in April of this year.
Some of the suggested tax increases included in the School Investment Funding Plan Scenario Analysis put together by Davenport and Company: increasing the personal property tax by 10 percent, raising the meals tax by 1.5 percent, and introducing a city cigarette tax.
“A lot of people are ready to make a sacrifice if it’s going to yield the results,” the Mayor’s press secretary, Tammy Hawley, said.
-- MELISSA HIPOLIT Construction on schedule for Natrona County high schools-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: June 26, 2016 [ abstract] When workers recently pulled back the window covers in the Natrona County High School auditorium they found stained glass that had likely been installed in the 1920s.
The discovery came near the end of renovations at the school, one of many projects nearing completion this summer in the Natrona County School District, including the new Pathways Innovation Center and Roosevelt High School, which will share a campus. The current phase of renovations at Natrona County High School, including a complete overhaul of the John F. Welsh Auditorium, will also be completed before the fall.
Construction at the main building of Kelly Walsh High School was finished mid-June.
All major construction projects in the district are on schedule, said Dennis Bay, executive director of business services. The total cost for June construction was over $5 million. As of early this month, Roosevelt and Pathways had cost about $41 million, according to district records.
The majority of Funding for the roughly $200 million worth of construction and renovations on Kelly Walsh and Natrona County schools comes from the state, Bay said. Though Wyoming’s schools budget has faced cuts this year due to the downturn in the state’s economy, construction and major maintenance is funded separately. Current local projects were approved and funded years ago.
-- Heather Richards Local school districts still waiting for some state funding-- Centre Daily Times Pennsylvania: June 25, 2016 [ abstract] It’s a waiting game for local school districts eligible for PlanCon reimbursement.
They have to wait until the state is granted a loan that would help pay back districts for construction and renovation projects.
Penns Valley Area business manager Jef Wall said he predicts money won’t start rolling in for PlanCon reimbursements until December.
At least that’s the earliest date he heard through the grapevine, he said.
“It’s not surprising after the way this year has gone,” Wall said. “We should have gotten it sometime in April. … That’s why we don’t plan our budgets around things like PlanCon. The state is too unpredictable.”
When the state’s budget impasse ended in March, monies were dispersed to school districts but didn’t provide Funding for PlanCon.
According to a report from Gov. Tom Wolf’s spokesman Jeff Sheridan, the state Department of Education is looking to loan $2.5 billion in new bond debt to fund PlanCon, which would provide state-funded school districts with funds they were guaranteed, but haven’t yet received.
-- BRITNEY MILAZZO BG School Board approves 18-year facilities plan-- The Reflector Washington: June 21, 2016 [ abstract] BATTLE GROUND " During a June 12 regular meeting of the Battle Ground School Board of Directors, school board members voted unanimously to approve the long-range facilities plan that was put together and presented by the Facilities Improvement Team.
“I’m really proud of the work these folks did,” Superintendent Mark Hottowe said. “This group came together and bonded and represented the interests of the community. We selected folks from each of your (school board members) five districts and we asked Dave Halme to facilitate. This was really marked as a watershed moment for the district.”
The purpose of the long-range facilities plan is to provide information and guidance to school board members on appropriate facilities for educational instruction. The plan also aligns with the district’s strategic vision and includes Funding considerations, educational enhancements, maintenance, construction of new facilities, replacement and renovations of current facilities, and appropriate upgrades.
The long-range plan was developed over the past two years through the Facilities Improvement Team, a community-driven process with community volunteers working in collaboration with the school board members, district administration, staff and third-party consultants.
-- JOANNA YORKE Gov. Kate Brown: Schools must share radon, lead results-- Oregon Live Oregon: June 21, 2016 [ abstract] Oregon school districts may soon be required to test for lead and radon, and then share findings annually along with any proposed repairs, Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday.
Under draft rules headed for the State Board of Education on Thursday, districts would have until Oct. 1 to send the Oregon Department of Education a "Healthy and Safe Facilities Plan" that lays out plans to test for lead, radon and other chemicals.
Districts also would have to produce public reports every year detailing testing, results and needed fixes. If districts didn't follow the rules, they could lose Funding from the state's schools fund.
Right now, the state imposes no requirements on schools when it comes to testing or repairing toxic hazards.
-- Talia Richman Rent-a-school plan would risk Robeson Co. school funding-- The News&Observer North Carolina: June 20, 2016 [ abstract] Robeson County near the southern tip of North Carolina is poor. Unemployment is high, property values are low and the prospects for new industry are dim. Not surprisingly, Robeson’s schools " like others in poor regions of the state " struggle to pay for instruction and provide adequate school buildings.
People connected to the construction business now say they have a fix to make it easier for the county to replace out-of-date schools buildings, but State Treasurer Janet Cowell’s office is right to caution Robeson officials to beware of it.
Developer Robbie Ferris came up with a plan to get legislators to allow Robeson school officials to redirect money allocated for personnel " custodians, clerks, substitute teachers " and use it instead to help pay for long-term leases on new buildings. Ferris is head of architectural and development interests. Aaron Thomas, president of a construction company that builds schools around the state, is the manager of a Robeson economic development group that’s pushing for the bill. And the bill’s main sponsor in the state Senate is Sen. Wesley Meredith of Fayetteville, who owns a landscaping company that has worked with Thomas’s company.
-- Editorial Board Wichita BOE approves maintenance contract ahead of potential school shutdown-- KWCH12 Kansas: June 20, 2016 [ abstract] WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH)Schools could be less than two weeks away from shutting down, and the Wichita School Board is taking steps to be prepared.
Lawmakers will meet in Topeka this week for a special session to respond to a Supreme Court order to make the school Funding system more equitable. If no agreement is reached schools could be forced to close at the end of June.
Monday night, the Wichita school board approved a $50,000 contract to make sure district buildings don't fall apart if a shutdown happens. An outside company will be responsible for keeping an eye on the district's more than 100 buildings.
"Actually, it was a very easy issue to pass, I think that's probably the easiest level that we will look at," said school board president Betty Arnold.
It's a small sense of security as school district employees across Kansas are unsure what will happen to them come July 1.
"It's scary. For one, a lot of people don't know if they're even going to receive a paycheck," said Ken Hinkle, Facilities Director for Wichita Public Schools.
-- Rachel Skytta County schools applying for $5 million in interest-free bonds to fix roofs-- The Cullman Times Alabama: June 15, 2016 [ abstract] With the system facing several capital needs due to aging facilities, the Cullman County Board of Education is pursuing approximately more than $5 million in interest-free Funding to address some critical problems within the next few years.
The system has applied for $5.5 million in QZAB (Qualified Zone Academy Bonds) funds, which are made available through the Department of Education. The system has a laundry list of repairs, with most centering on leaky roofs and general maintenance for facilities that are reaching several decades in age.
The system previously received $1.3 million in QZAB funds last year.
“This could help alleviate a lot of capital needs in the next few years,” system finance director Ed Roberson said.
The funds would mostly be used to repair roofs, make necessary upgrades and maintenance (i.e. electrical, HVAC issues, replace old windows, etc.) across the system’s 28 schools. The system was actually forced to close Garden City Schools last year due to foundation issues at the 80-year-old school house. The money cannot be used for athletic facilities, meaning the money could not be used to repair Fairview High’s stadium, which was condemned for structural concerns. Repairs are on track to be completed this fall at Fairview.
-- Trent Moore Long-term facilities plan for Jeffco schools sparks debate-- The Denver Post Colorado: June 14, 2016 [ abstract] A 12-year facilities master plan that would change the look and feel of Jefferson County Public Schools by closing and consolidating a dozen elementary schools, moving sixth-graders to middle school and upgrading aging buildings at an ultimate cost of $800 million was at the center of a robust debate Tuesday.
The school board spent hours tackling the subject and will revisit the topic " this time with public comment " on Thursday.
That’s when the board will likely consider placing a bond issue of at least $420 million " the largest ever in the district " before voters to pay for the first phase of improvements in the second-largest school district in Colorado, which would include renovations to nearly all schools in the district.
That Funding amount could go up based on direction the board gave Tuesday night, which revealed a distinct dislike among board members for the idea of closing or consolidating schools in the 154-school district. Board member Amanda Stevens called the discussion over school closures, which has proven to be the most contentious element of the facilities plan, “painful.”
-- JOHN AGUILAR Analyst: State’s formula for funding capital projects for schools might need retooling-- The New Mexican New Mexico: June 12, 2016 [ abstract] The formula by which the state funds capital construction projects for schools might be inequitable and require retooling, a policy analyst recently told New Mexico legislators.
This Funding system, initiated in 1975 but amended at least twice in response to the 1998 Zuni Lawsuit that claimed it was unconstitutional, is a combination of state allocations and local property taxes.
But some small school districts in rural areas don’t have much of a tax base, Jeffrey Mitchell of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research told lawmakers last week during a Capital Outlay Oversight Task Force meeting at the state Capitol.
And construction costs are often more expensive in rural districts, adding to the perception of inequity, he said.
“The formula does not account for differences in per-student costs [for buildings]. It assumes all districts face the same costs for facilities. … It may raise concerns in equity and equality between urban and rural school districts,” Mitchell said.
As a result, he said, some districts build “Cadillac” campuses because they have more money to do so, leading other districts to say, “Wow, I want something like that,” even though they cannot afford it.
-- Robert Nott How to fix our crumbling schools-- Politico National: June 10, 2016 [ abstract] As another school year ends, we are reminded that where we teach children is just as important as what we teach them. The US Green Building Council recently reported that over $45 billion in additional Funding is needed annually to upgrade and maintain our schools to ensure for health and safety. Thousands of U.S. children are attending deteriorating public schools where asbestos, moldy walls, falling ceiling tiles, lead paint, broken toilets, pesticides, leaking roofs, and poor ventilation have become the norm.
Such conditions impact academic performance and, more importantly, cause severe health consequences. Schools built prior to the 1980s usually include materials known now to be hazardous to our health"such as lead in plumbing and paint, asbestos in plaster, insulation, and flooring; and PCBs in caulking and lighting. A 2011 study by the New York State Department of Health found that pediatric asthma hospitalizations typically increase up to 300 percent when children return to school in September.
It’s clear big upgrades are needed. But there’s a problem: one of the most helpful new approaches to updating public infrastructure isn’t available to schools.
This approach is called a public private partnership and the idea is to take the burden off cash-strapped governments by harnessing private sector innovation. Faced with Funding shortfalls, many state and local governments have increasingly turned to public-private partnerships to complete projects and produce long-term accountability.
-- BILL ARCHER and SAMARA BAREND Our say: School construction woes here to stay-- Capital Gazette Maryland: June 08, 2016 [ abstract] This year, the biggest debate on the county budget — at least so far — has been on whether design and construction Funding can be moved up for three elementary schools, two of them the most crowded in the system.
Such discussions will be part of the county budget process as far as the eye can see. That was made obvious by the school system's latest Educational Facilities Master Plan, which projects countywide enrollment to increase another 10 percent by 2025.
That that's in line with the nearly 10 percent increase, from 73,000 to 80,000, between 2006 and this year. And it's not good news for a county that already has a $2 billion backlog in school construction.
There's nothing mysterious about the enrollment growth. It can be tied directly to residential development, although, as school officials point out, the success of some of the system's programs — such as in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math— is attracting families from private schools and from outside the county.
County Executive Steve Schuh is well aware of the problem. This is one reason he persuaded the County Council to get more money for capital projects by extending the life of some bonds from 20 to 30 years. And he's right in saying the school system will have to review its attendance boundaries, unpopular as such redistricting tends to be with parents.
-- Staff Writer Voters overwhelmingly approve Ravenswood schools bond-- Palo Alto Online California: June 08, 2016 [ abstract] A $26 million bond measure on the June 7 ballot to fund major capital improvements throughout the Ravenswood City School District has passed with a wide margin of support, according to official election results provided by San Mateo County.
With all precincts reporting, 87.2 percent of voters supported Measure H, compared to 12.8 percent who voted against the measure. The bond required 55 percent to pass.
The total count of "yes" votes is 1,478 and "no" votes, 217, according to the county.
Measure H will provide the Funding necessary for significant repairs and upgrades needed at all eight of the district's school sites, which are more than 50 years old and serve more than 3,400 students from preschool through eighth grade.
-- Elena Kadvany Washingtons school superintendent says its time to consider closing public schools-- The Seattle Times Washington: June 08, 2016 [ abstract] Randy Dorn says it could be time to close Washington state’s K-12 public schools.
You wouldn’t expect the state superintendent of public instruction to say that.
But Dorn, who isn’t seeking re-election, argues in a court brief filed Wednesday that the state Supreme Court needs to get serious about enforcing its 2012 ruling that the state was violating its constitution in underFunding K-12 schools.
Serious, Dorn says in the court filing, means the court should consider closing the schools until the Legislature makes real progress.
In the past, “The Superintendent has opposed closing the schools as a remedy for McCleary,” according to the brief. But it cites the apparent success of that tactic once in New Jersey, and “closing the schools cannot be ruled out as a final remedy.”
-- Joseph OSullivan Washington Co. to increase property tax for school funding-- wjhl.com Tennessee: June 07, 2016 [ abstract] WASHINGTON COUNTY, TN (WJHL) " Residents of Washington County, Tennessee may soon see a significant increase in their property tax.
The Washington County Commission has agreed on eleven important projects to address what they are calling ‘capital needs’ for the county.
These projects focus on education and taking the necessary steps to improve school facilities.
The Funding of these projects is expected to require a 40 cent property tax increase, raising the current rate of $1.98 to $2.38.
This would increase the property tax by $150 a year for property worth $150,000.
Mayor Dan Eldridge says that while a tax increase is not ideal, these funds provide a recurring stream of revenue to pay for the long-term capital needs of Washington County.
“I don’t like the idea of a 40 cent tax increase,” Eldridge said, “I don’t think that any of the county commissioners like the idea of a 40 cent tax increase. But quite frankly, the county commission has its back against the wall right now. They don’t have a lot of options. The needs are very real. The needs have to be met.”
Eldridge said the long-term benefits of these projects will make the property tax increase worth it.
-- Will Morris Local school districts to see construction funding-- The Times-Tribune Pennsylvania: June 04, 2016 [ abstract] Several local school districts soon will get the state money they’re owed for past school construction, but Pennsylvania still needs billions of dollars to upgrade schools statewide, two senators said Friday.
Sen. Vincent Hughes, D-7, Philadelphia, and Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald, the top two Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee, talked about the Funding needs Friday with The Times-Tribune editorial board. Earlier, they toured West Scranton High School with district Superintendent Alexis Kirijan, Ed.D., and School Board President Bob Sheridan.
“Far too many school buildings are just not up to snuff,” said Mr. Hughes, the Democratic appropriations chairman.
The senators said the deal that ended the six-month standoff over Gov. Tom Wolf’s 2015-16 budget authorized state borrowing to pay school districts what they’re owed for past school construction. At first, Mr. Wolf vetoed the fiscal code bill that included the borrowing, but later allowed it to become law. The bill allows for borrowing up to $2.5 billion to pay off past school construction costs.
-- BORYS KRAWCZENIUK Wasco 'doubling up' on school bond measures-- Bakersfield.com California: June 02, 2016 [ abstract] Every year, about 50 new students stream into Wasco elementary schools.
As a result, Wasco Elementary School District's five campuses are overflowing. Schools intended to accommodate 3,200 students have 3,600.
Meanwhile, the area has little industry, the highest poverty rate for children in Kern, and property tax valuations that hover around $70,000 per home. Even when school construction bonds are passed in Wasco, they don't amount to much.
That's why when voters head to the ballot box Tuesday, they'll find two nearly identical measures — Measures D and E — for $9.4 million and $9.7 million to construct a new school and modernize existing facilities.
Critics say it's an attempt to skirt Proposition 39 taxpayer protections and lacks transparency. A district official argues it's the only way for the impoverished district to get the Funding it needs.
â€"We're not trying to disguise anything here. We have a limitation,†district Superintendent Kelly Richers said, in part referencing a law that limits what schools can borrow to 1.25 percent of the total assessed valuation of area property.
There's also a cap on what homeowners can be taxed on annually per election measure of $30 per $100,000 property valuation. A homeowner with a $300,000 home would pay $90 in taxes annually, though few homes in Wasco are worth that much.
If both bonds pass, district taxpayers could be on the hook for $60 annually, Michael Turnipseed, executive director of the Kern County Taxpayers Association said. His organization opposes both, citing a lack of transparency.
-- HAROLD PIERCE Hartford School Renovation Plan on Hold, But Plans to Move Students Continue-- NBC Connecticut Connecticut: June 01, 2016 [ abstract] The Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Hartford is nearly 100 years old and renovations were set to begin after this school year, but they are on hold because of the city and state’s financial issues.
While there is no Funding, students will still be moved to another school because the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School is in disrepair, according to a statement from Hartford Public Schools.
“The Martin Luther King school building, which is nearly 100 years old, has been in disrepair for far too long. The most serious pending matter is the outdated boiler system. Out of the four original 80-year-old-boilers, only one of them remains functional. This boiler is liable to fail at any time, which would likely provoke an emergency relocation during the school year,” a statement from the school department says. “This is an unnecessary risk to take, particularly during the winter months, and it is unreasonable to impose this risk on our families.”
When parents were notified last summer that the children would be moved, the plan was to move them to the Lewis Fox Middle School building across the street.
-- Staff Writer Hawaii State Department of Education reopens bid for cooling schools-- Pacific Business News Hawaii: June 01, 2016 [ abstract] The Hawaii State Department of Education has reopened its request for contractors to prequalify for a project involving installing air conditioners in public schools.
The project includes the purchase and installation of air conditioners along with electrical upgrades so the schools can handle the increased loads.
In March, the department started a multistep process to prequalify contractors for the work. However, despite additional reminders and extending the application deadline twice, the department still needs to expand its current pool of contractors.
“The goal was to prequalify contractors in order to have them ready to move quickly on the heat-abatement projects once Funding was in place,” said Dann Carlson, assistant superintendent of the Office of School Facilities and Support Services. “Unfortunately, numerous contractors were unaware of the prequalifying process despite multiple notices.”
-- Kathleen Gallagher PB school district needs $1.2B for critical repairs, report finds-- SunSentinel Florida: June 01, 2016 [ abstract] The Palm Beach County School District needs nearly $1.2 billion to make critical repairs put off due to recessionary budget cuts, according to a newly released review of 196 district buildings.
District facilities are about 20 years old on average and about half are in good condition. The report by the Maintenance and Plant Operations Department found the vast majority require "major" capital improvements, including work on their roofs and windows, classroom lighting and fire alarm systems.
"As a result of the significant reductions in both staff and capital budget, the District has accumulated a lengthy list of deferred, basic needs maintenance projects," the report said.
Administrators on Wednesday presented school board members with the data, which was collected as the district pursues a one-cent sales tax increase set to go to voters in November. District officials say the Funding is desperately needed to make repairs.
Of the 196 buildings, 51 percent are in good condition, 28 percent are in fair condition, 16 percent are in poor condition and 5 percent are in unsatisfactory condition, according to the report.
About 20 percent of the Funding needed " or $229 million " would go toward air-conditioning repairs. Eighteen percent " or $214 million " would be used for improvements to roofs, gutters, windows and walls. Other major costs include work on building interiors and plumbing.
-- Brittany Shammas Kansas Parents Worry Schools Are Slipping Amid Budget Battles-- New York Times Kansas: May 31, 2016 [ abstract] PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. " Dinah Sykes, a parent of two boys in a suburb of Kansas City, started noticing changes to her children’s public schools a few years ago. Class sizes were growing. The school library had stopped buying books.
So she used her position as the president of the parent-teacher association to start a new tradition: Instead of bringing cupcakes to class for their birthdays, students were asked to bring a book to donate to the school library.
Ms. Sykes is a Republican who once voted for the governor from her party, Sam Brownback. But now, she said, she is so concerned that public schools are endangered by the state’s budget crisis that she is running for a seat in the State Senate, challenging the incumbent senator in the Republican primary in August.
“We’re getting a bad reputation: that our state doesn’t care about public education,” Ms. Sykes said. “We live in Kansas because of the great quality of life, the great schools, the great amenities. I want my boys to have the opportunity to have the same.”
The struggle over school Funding in Kansas reached a new crisis point when the State Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the Republican-dominated Legislature had not abided by its constitutional mandate to finance public schools equitably, especially poorer districts with less property wealth. The court, in an effort to force legislative action, reiterated a deadline that gave the state until June 30 to fix the problem or face a school shutdown.
-- JULIE BOSMAN More rural Iowa school districts plan to close their doors-- SFGate Iowa: May 29, 2016 [ abstract] DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Once again, the end of a school year means the end of several school districts in Iowa, continuing a trend seen for decades but one that doesn't get easier for the communities involved.
Because of the closure of the Farragut Community School District and merging of two others, classes won't resume after summer vacation at three schools in southwest Iowa. For students, it will require traveling extra miles to reach school, but for the communities it will be more than an inconvenience.
"It's a town of about 500 people here, so there's a bar, a post office and a bank. And then we've got the school," said Lisa Spencer, the principal who oversees 120 students who attended Farragut's seventh through 12th grade school. "That's what makes it even tougher to deal with. It's not just the loss of a school. It feels like it's the loss of a community."
The Iowa Board of Education made the rare decision to dissolve the school district in November, making it the third time the state has forced a school district to shut down, said Staci Hupp, an Education Department spokeswoman. The board made the decision after the district repeatedly overspent and failed to meet education standards.
Since Iowa school Funding is based on student enrollment, many rural districts have struggled to keep their student numbers up amid declining populations. U.S. Census estimates released earlier this year showed that 71 of Iowa's 99 counties have lost population since 2010, and the trend stretches back decades.
-- Aleksandra Vujicic, Associated Press State approves $44.5M for 49 school projects-- Arkansas Democrat Gazette Arkansas: May 26, 2016 [ abstract] The Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation voted Wednesday to provide $44,531,097 for 49 approved school construction, replacement and system repair projects across the state.
The projects that will receive state Funding include a new elementary school in Arkadelphia and another in Rogers; a new middle school in Bentonville; and a new high school in the Cutter-Morning Star School District. Some of the other projects to receive state Funding are a districtwide electrical upgrade and building additions at four West Memphis elementary schools and the renovation of Malvern High School and its gym.
The state Funding for the projects ranges from as much as $5.2 million for each of the Malvern, Arkadelphia and Cutter-Morning Star campuses to as little as $17,462 for work at Sylvan Hills High and $8,794 for work at Baker Elementary -- both of which are in the Pulaski County Special School District.
The West Memphis district is to receive a combined $7.7 million for the overall electrical upgrade and building additions at Richland, Faulk, Maddux and Weaver elementary schools.
The Academic Facilities Partnership Program, created by Arkansas lawmakers a decade ago as a way to equalize educational opportunities in the state's more than 230 school districts, reimburses districts for a percentage of the cost of their state-approved school construction projects. The state's share of the building projects varies from district to district, depending on the local property tax wealth of a school system. Districts with greater local property tax revenue qualify for a smaller share of state aid than does a district that generates little property tax revenue.
-- Cynthia Howell Emergency loan pool proposed for school construction needs-- Cabinet Report California: May 25, 2016 [ abstract] School construction officials are set this afternoon to consider a new loan program for districts in dire need of building capital once provided through state bond funds which are no longer available.
The plan before the State Allocation Board calls for the loan proceeds to be repaid with monies from a new school construction bond headed for the November ballot. If the measure fails, districts could increase the school impact fees they are allowed to collect from housing developers whose projects bring in more students.
Regulations currently governing a program for districts that meet ‘extreme financial hardship’ would be expanded, creating a new loan program to cover the state and/or district share of new construction projects, according to a staff report prepared for the SAB, which approves expenditures for K-12 building projects under the state’s School Facility Program.
Funding for the loans would require a new budget allocation or could come through the state’s Pooled Money Investment Account.
The PMIA, according to the State Treasurer’s website, is a pot of taxpayer dollars invested “to manage the State’s cash flow and strengthen the financial security of local governmental entities.” At the end of April, the site reports, the PMIA portfolio totaled approximately $67.6 billion.
-- Kimberly Beltran Newport News School Board to seek $143 million for school repairs, renovations-- Daily Press Virginia: May 25, 2016 [ abstract] The School Board plans to ask the city for more than three times the amount last received for capital improvement Funding.
The plan, which covers fiscal years 2018 through 2022, calls for close to $143 million in Funding for school repairs, updates and a substantial, $60 million renovation of Huntington Middle School.
The 2017 through 2021 plan, which begins July 1, comes in at $42.4 million.
Huntington opened as Huntington High School in 1939; the building is one of five the division built before 1950.
The division estimates that to transform the building to an appropriately sized facility with modern technology for the approximate 520 students it houses would take $60 million, plus $2.8 million in design costs.
-- Jane Hammond and Theresa Clift Lawsuit over school construction funding looms-- Arizona Daily Sun Arizona: May 24, 2016 [ abstract] PHOENIX -- Just as one lawsuit on education Funding is being settled, state lawmakers face a new one, this one over what challengers say is their failure to build and maintain public schools.
Attorney Tim Hogan of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest said the legislature is effectively ignoring a 1994 ruling by the state Supreme Court that declared it is illegal to have taxpayers in each school district solely responsible for school construction.
Lawmakers, after several failed attempts, finally approved a plan that was supposed to have the state pick up the responsibility. But Hogan said the legislature has not provided adequate Funding in years.
The result, he said, has been to throw the burden back on local districts whose voters have to borrow money for what should be a state responsibility, precisely the situation the Supreme Court found unconstitutional in 1994.
Hogan is now working with local school districts who have been denied the money they need for new schools -- money the state was supposed to provide -- to ask Arizona judges to force lawmakers to properly fund the system.
There was no immediate response from Gov. Doug Ducey.
Under the system in place before 1994, school districts borrowed money for new construction and repair it through local property tax.
That year the high court said it created disparities between rich districts that could afford domed stadiums and poor ones with plumbing that did not work. The court, however, refused to impose its own solution.
-- Howard Fischer Robeson school board tables school construction plan; waits for state legislators to act-- Fay Observer North Carolina: May 24, 2016 [ abstract] LUMBERTON - The Robeson County school board will wait to see what happens with a proposed state law before it takes further action on a school consolidation proposal.
The board voted Tuesday night to table action until the state General Assembly deals with proposed legislation that would allow public school systems to use state Funding to pay for new schools through lease-purchase agreements.
That's the sort of arrangement that would be used in the $1.4 billion Robeson County proposal, which calls for construction of 13 new schools, renovation of five schools and closure of 30 more. Financing would be stretched over 40 years.
Supporters had hoped the board would approve a $7 million predevelopment plan to do studies of where the new schools could and should go, among other things. The county commissioners had earlier given near-unanimous approval to the predevelopment contract.
But the school board has been much more divided, with some members saying they worried about the cost, the impact that closing schools could have on those communities, and the speedy manner in which the plan has been moving.
Board member Dwayne Smith said the proposal was too costly.
"I'm tired of being property-taxed to death," he said, winning applause from some in the audience. "I've already got my mind made up. I'm not going to support nothing that's going to raise my property taxes. Period."
-- Catherine Pritchard St. Louis region to get new tornado "safe rooms" this year-- KSDK Missouri: May 20, 2016 [ abstract] They promise a better defense against deadly tornados, and this year the St. Louis region is getting three of them.
Construction is underway on several “tornado safe room” projects in eastern Missouri.
Safe rooms are part of FEMA’s hazard mitigation program, where the federal government provides Funding to provide protection from severe storms for local communities. The state of Missouri administers the grant to organizations -- like community organizations and school districts -- that apply and meet the specific requirements.
LINK: http://sema.dps.mo.gov/programs/mitigation_management.php
According to a state list, more than 100 safe rooms have already been built in Missouri.
At Troy Buchanan High School, construction is underway on a new auditorium.
“It’s going to be a classroom space -- so a learning opportunity for our students,” explained principal Dr. Jerry Raines. The building will offer instructional space and serve as a performing arts center. It will also serve another purpose for Lincoln County.
“In the event of inclement weather or where we’d have a tornado, we could evacuate all of our students -- which is approximately 1500 -- into that facility in less than five minutes,” Raines said. “The construction of the walls, the thickness of the walls, will withstand a tornado of the caliber that went through Joplin, Missouri.”
If a severe weather event occurs after school hours, Raines explained, the community could also make use of the protective space.
This grant first became available for Missourians more than a decade ago. However, events like the deadly EF5 tornado that ripped through Joplin in 2011, and a tornado that struck St. Louis that same spring prompted greater interest in the grant.
-- Jennifer Meckles Kamenetz says Baltimore County will accelerate air conditioning for schools-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: May 18, 2016 [ abstract] Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said Wednesday that the county would speed the installation of air conditioning by providing tens of millions of dollars in Funding so all elementary and middle schools will have central air by fall 2017.
The new money would essentially move up the installation by a year for all but a few schools.
The announcement comes a week after the state Board of Public Works voted to withhold school construction funds from Baltimore and Baltimore County unless local officials installed portable air conditioning units in all classrooms by the start of the next school year.
The Board of Public Works vote, led by Gov. Larry Hogan and Comptroller Peter Franchot, intensified the battle between state and local officials over the best way to cool hot classrooms— and prompted the resignation of the state's top school construction official.
"What Governor Hogan did last week was illegal and irresponsible," Kamenetz said. "It's such silliness on the governor's part to punish the Baltimore region."
Kamenetz, who has said that portable air conditioners are a poor use of tax dollars, said his plan to accelerate the installation of central air is financially prudent. He said it would be logistically impossible to install portable air conditioners this summer.
-- Liz Bowie and Pamela Wood Ward 4 Parents Upset by Delayed School Modernization-- Washington City Paper District of Columbia: May 18, 2016 [ abstract] school DARROW MONTGOMERY
Holly Ramsawh has a four-year-old daughter in pre-K at Shepherd Elementary School in Ward 4. The school, located at 7800 14th St. NW, has been getting a multi-million-dollar modernization over the past few years, but parents say various components of it have been repeatedly delayed. Some point to the school's cafeteria and gym as being too small for its 300-plus students and generally in poor, outdated condition.
"Sometimes [my daughter has] had to move to a different class because the banging is too loud," Ramsawh says of the work that's already taken place at school. "It's been such an inconvenience for the past few years."
On Twitter, Shepherd parents have alleged "rats and fire hazards" as well as an "unsafe gym floor" at the school. Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd has said his constituents have reported food preparation and storage problems there, on top of a lack of ADA compliance. An online petition that urges the District to finish the school's modernization garnered 425 signatures.
Now, Shepherd is set to lose $12.4 million in renovation funds in the District's fiscal year 2017 budget, which the D.C. Council approved on first reading on Tuesday. The Council's Committee on Education, led by At-Large Councilmember David Grosso, had decided to appropriate the money—in different amounts—to seven other schools for their own capital projects. In explaining the deFunding last week, Grosso said the proposed $12.4 million allocation â€"did not make any sense†objectively.
-- Andrew Giambrone Pickens School Board approves five-year capital needs plan with $15 million funding shortfall-- Greenville Online South Carolina: May 17, 2016 [ abstract] The Pickens County School Board has approved a five-year capital needs plan that commits $5.3 million to technology, STEM education and facilities, but it defers such items as paving crumbling parking lots and finding a home for an alternative school.
“We have some big challenges and we just keep pushing them out,” said Phillip Bowers, chairman of the board’s facilities committee.
The plan, approved on a 4-2 vote with Alex Saitta and Henry Wilson opposed, calls for drawing $1.7 million from the operations fund to balance it without a tax increase.
The plan totals $33.4 million over five years, but it anticipates revenue of just $18.3 million, leaving a gap of more than $15 million.
Only the 2016-17 budget was approved for Funding, with the remaining years of the plan amounting to projections that remain to be addressed in the future.
The gap between needs and funds sparked debate among board members over how to face the future.
-- Ron Barnett School district wants public's ideas for improving facilities-- Plumas Cuonty News California: May 16, 2016 [ abstract] It costs $100 million to build a new high school in California.
The state is currently not Funding either new construction or modernization of existing facilities.
Those were among the startling revelations during a facilities planning workshop for the Plumas Unified School District governing board late last month.
"When you look at our buildings, how could they not qualify for modernization funds?" asked board member Bret Cook. "But they don't."
The workshop was part of a broader effort to develop a facilities master plan to address the district's backlog of maintenance needs.
The planning effort moves into each Plumas community with a public forum in the coming two weeks, starting May 18 in Chester.
"The community meetings are key," said board member Dwight Pierson. "We have to present compelling evidence that we need significant improvements to our facilities."
The forums will cover what a master plan is, how schools are funded, what it takes to build schools and what the planning process includes. Participants will also review possible site projects and prioritize them.
-- Delaine Fragnoli Uncovering the Stark Disparities Behind School Money-- Pro Publica National: May 16, 2016 [ abstract] Why do many school districts fail to meet the needs of their students? One commonly cited response is our country’s disparate school Funding system: because most districts rely heavily on local property tax for Funding, schools in poor districts are often left with fewer resources than schools in wealthier areas. Even though school Funding issues play out on a local level, in recent decades, it’s risen to the forefront of national issues. This past year, for the tenth year in a row, a national Gallup poll found that Americans view lack of financial support as the largest problem facing America’s schools.
But can more money really fix America’s struggling, poor schools? That is exactly what NPR’s Cory Turner and a team of over 20 NPR member-station reporters wanted to find out. After six months of investigating, Turner and his team published a series of stories digging into school Funding disparities from Chicago to Sumter County, Alabama. ProPublica education reporter Annie Waldman spoke with Turner to learn more about their investigation.
-- Annie Waldman Deeper Impact: School’s site could have long term economic effects on Washington County-- Herald & Tribune Tennessee: May 13, 2016 [ abstract] There is no telling when the Washington County Board of Education will select a site, which will also rest on the approval for Funding by the Washington County Commission. However, it might be important to note the opportunity that the BOE has when picking the site.
It is one that numerous county commissioners, along with both county mayors have made known. The placement of the school can and will have longtime economic impacts for Washington County.
While some on the BOE don’t have economic impact as a high priority, Chairman Todd Ganger is aware of the opportunity that the board has to provide the county.
“It’s in our school board’s best interest to be able to pick a site that will have economic development, because it builds your economic base and that would only benefit our school system,” Ganger said. “My opinion, personally is, yes, it would be a great benefit to the school system if we picked a site that had a chance to have economic growth around it, whether it was housing or whatever.”
A case study rests before the BOE and the county commission. While many of each body had little involvement in the selection of Grandview and Ridgeview, the two newest schools in the Washington County school district, their placement can show what the opportunity can do for the county.
-- COLLIN BROOKS Millions in school construction funding withheld from Baltimore City & County Schools-- Fox5 News Maryland: May 11, 2016 [ abstract] The Maryland Board of Public Works, led by Governor Larry Hogan, has voted to withhold $10 million in school construction Funding for Baltimore County and $5 million for Baltimore City Schools.
The action at Wednesday's Board of Public Works meeting in Annapolis comes in light of growing frustration among Governor Hogan and State Comptroller Peter Franchot over the number of schools without any air conditioning. More than 60 school buildings in Baltimore City have no air conditioning and dozens of schools in Baltimore County have not air conditioning.
Governor Hogan says:
"We have 24 jurisdictions, 22 of them solved this problem and do not have hot kids in classrooms, there's only two that have failed, Baltimore County and Baltimore City, and it is outrageous and it is disgraceful."
Appearing before the board, Patty Hathaway, a Baltimore County parent, said, "I have children with asthma, I have asthma, I could not take the heat in that school."
-- JOHN RYDELL LCSD1 has new plan for future school construction-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: May 09, 2016 [ abstract] Laramie County School District 1 has a new tentative plan for school construction during the next several years.
The LCSD1 Board of Trustees on May 2 heard a presentation of the second phase of a most cost-effective remedy study regarding two Cheyenne junior high schools and six Cheyenne elementary schools.
The Legislature’s Select Committee on School Facilities mandated the study before its members would agree to recommend the Legislature provide Funding for a new Carey Junior High.
Dave Bartlett, LCSD1’s assistant superintendent of support operations, said the district wanted the first phase completed before this year’s legislative session ended in order for the Legislature to hear the recommendation.
The Legislature ultimately provided $1.2 million to complete the design of the new junior high, but no construction funds.
Jack Mousseau, director of design at Denver’s MOA Architecture, performed both phases of the study for the district.
Mousseau and his team determined building a new Carey Junior High next to Cheyenne’s East High on Pershing Boulevard is the best option for LCSD1 and the state.
Bartlett said the Legislature asked the district to look at every LCSD1 structure in the top 20 of the state School Facilities Department’s Educational Building Needs List.
-- Kristine Galloway 21 school boards ask voters for $562 million for construction-- OregonLive Oregon: May 07, 2016 [ abstract] Twenty-one school districts are asking voters to approve construction bonds in Oregon's May 17 election, the largest number to seek facilities Funding in nearly a decade.
One big factor behind the rush to get voters' OK: For the first time, the state is offering a matching grant, $4 million in most cases, to districts in which bond measures are approved.
So, from tiny Adrian (enrollment 278), which is seeking $945,000 primarily for a new gym, to Centennial, with its $85 million ask, 16 of the 21 districts are banking on big bucks from the state to help make their local bond money go further.
Many say the guarantee of state Funding is making it easier to persuade voters to increase local property taxes.
Rick Larson, business and operations director for Centennial schools, called that guarantee "critical."
Centennial's school board moved its measure from November 2015 to this month to qualify for a $7.1 million state match. "Our taxpayers have told us they would like to see some leverage from the state," Larson said.
-- Betsy Hammond Maui lawmakers secure $331 million for CIP-- KITV4 Hawaii: May 05, 2016 [ abstract] Maui lawmakers secured $331.68 million for its Capital Improvement Project for the fiscal years of 2016 and 2017 under the state budget. The money will benefit Maui County Schools, parks, highways, airports and harbors. Maui County will also receive $8.5 million in grants-in-aid for Maui nonprofit organizations.
Notable CIP Funding include:
$38 million for Kahului Harbor Land acquisition and design for improvements including demolition of existing structures, paving utilities, landscaping, fencing and plan, design and construction to provide a safer and more efficient use of operational areas at the harbor.
$37.5 for the design and construction for Phase II for a new high school in Kihei.
$33.39 million for Hana Airport, construction for a new aircraft rescue and firefighting station and other related improvements.
-- KITV4 Staff Writer School board members decry lack of funding for elementary school construction-- Capital Gazette Maryland: May 05, 2016 [ abstract] In September, an independent company listed five Anne Arundel County elementary schools as top priorities for school construction due to their aging buildings and crowded halls.
Shortly after, county schools Superintendent George Arlotto released a six-year Funding plan to replace those schools by 2020 and 2021.
But under County Executive Steve Schuh's recently released Funding plan, two of the elementary schools won't receive any Funding in the next six years and three of the schools won't have construction Funding until fiscal 2021.
School board members criticized the Funding plan during the board's meeting Wednesday in Annapolis.
Board member Teresa Milio Birge read out loud a list of schools that won't see Funding in the next few years under Schuh's plan.
"I'm really disappointed in the six-year plan, for the kids at Tyler Heights, Edgewater and Old Mill," Birge said, referring to schools at or near the top of a construction priority list released in September.
-- Cindy Huang Whitehall Schools want more state aid to ease overcrowding-- The Columbus Dispatch Ohio: April 29, 2016 [ abstract] The student population problem at Whitehall Schools now has the Ohio School Facilities Commission questioning whether it needs to change a long-time rule and give the district more money.
The last of Whitehall's new $78 million school buildings, of which 61 percent was paid for by the state, opened just two years ago. But the moment the doors opened, the facilities were over-capacity, even after the state approved an expansion of the original 2008 design.
In 2013, three new elementary schools built to house 1,275 students were already 250 students over capacity. And it's only getting worse — district enrollment is currently 113.5 percent of capacity and is projected to reach 128 percent by the 2021-22 school year.
Experts say when a school's capacity exceeds 90 percent it's too crowded to allow flexibility for students and programs.
â€"We're an exceptional case in many ways,†Superintendent Brian Hamler told the Facilities Commission on Thursday. He tried to persuade members to change a rule that would not make Whitehall eligible for more state Funding until 2019.
That means new classroom space wouldn't be open until about 2022.
â€"We cannot educate over 900 students in a middle school built for 652 … and we are more dependent than ever on the (state) to provide assistance,†he said.
-- Jim Siegel Md. panel considers how to build a better school building-- HeraldMailMedia.com Maryland: April 28, 2016 [ abstract] ANNAPOLIS — Aging schools, population shifts and changing educational needs — not to mention changes in the economy — present new challenges as state and local governments try to keep up with construction and renovation needs.
A new state panel looking into the methods and costs of school construction met for the first time Thursday in Annapolis, and got an overview of current Funding and construction requirements.
The 21st Century School Facilities Commission, which includes state officials and private-sector professionals, will spend the next seven months reviewing building specifications, construction practices, enrollment, maintenance and financing to make recommendations for future projects in the state's 24 public-school systems.
Key to the discussions will be how curricula and technology will change the way schools educate students, said state Sen. Andrew A. Serafini, R-Washington, and building facilities with the flexibility to handle it.
-- Tamela Baker Oakland County school districts say funding is inadequate-- Oakland Press Michigan: April 28, 2016 [ abstract] One of the boilers at Lake Orion High School doesn’t work. It would cost $20,000 to repair it and $30,000 to replace it.
Wes Goodman, facilities manager for the Lake Orion Community Schools, says the building has several other boilers that keep everyone comfortable.
But all the boilers were installed when the building opened in fall 1996. Others could go at any time, he said.
“I always tell my staff that we need to keep the dollars in the classroom,“ he said. But at the same time, he knows that students’ learning experience is affected by their environment " including staying warm in the winter.
The Lake Orion Community Schools Board of Education voted 5-2 Wednesday to ask voters to approve a sinking fund of two mills for 10 years for building upgrades and repairs. A mill equals $1 in tax for every $1,000 of taxable value.
A number of bond issues or sinking fund millages will appear on the May and August ballots throughout Oakland County. Many districts that aren’t placing school building fund questions before voters in those two elections have put them on the ballot over the past year.
About a dozen of Oakland County’s 28 school districts already have a sinking fund. Michigan state law requires that school districts use that term.
-- Anne Runkle Fix for crumbling SC schools passes House-- The State South Carolina: April 26, 2016 [ abstract] The S.C. House approved borrowing up to $200 million a year Tuesday to renovate crumbling schools and build new ones.
With the 98-5 vote, the bill needs only one more routine approval from the House by Thursday to ensure it reaches the Senate before Sunday’s crossover deadline for legislation, giving it a good chance of passing this year.
Funding for school construction projects would be contingent on how much lawmakers agree to spend in the state budget each year.
One House Democrat expressed concerns the bill does not require the state to borrow the full $200 million a year, only allowing it to borrow up to that much.
“That is a way out,” said state Rep. MaryGail Douglas, D-Fairfield.
But House Ways and Means Committee chairman Brian White, R-Anderson, said the bill needs to allow for years when the state does not have enough money to borrow $200 million or school districts do not request the full amount.
White said S.C. schools Superintendent Molly Spearman, a Republican and ally of education advocates, worked closely to help develop the proposal.
The legislation is one of several bills aimed at improving the state’s K-12 public schools. Two years ago, the S.C. Supreme Court said some of those schools are so inadequate that they violate the state Constitution.
The legislation provides poor school districts, many rural, with a new source of money to build or renovate school facilities.
-- JAMIE SELF Six more Memphis schools to close; three others get one-year reprieve-- Chalkbeat Tennessee: April 26, 2016 [ abstract] The Board of Education for Shelby County Schools voted Tuesday evening to close three more Memphis schools and revoke the charters of three others, while opting to give three additional charter schools another year to improve their test scores.
All nine schools had been on the chopping block as part of cost-cutting and school improvement measures aimed at low-performing or under-enrolled schools. Ultimately, the board chose to close the three charters on the state’s priority list of the 5 percent of lowest-performing schools in Tennessee.
The board also approved plans to rezone two schools and reconfigure grades at one other as part of the district’s strategy to retain students at three struggling schools being taken over by the state-run Achievement School District. The changes could allow the shrinking district to partially plug the exodus of students " and per-pupil Funding " to the state’s school turnaround district, which Shelby County officials say has contributed to the local district’s $86 million projected Funding gap for next year.
-- Micaela Watts Medford School Board discusses increase in state funding for deferred maintenance -- Owatonna.com Minnesota: April 25, 2016 [ abstract]
MEDFORD " Thanks to the approval of the Long Term Facilities Maintenance law last year, Medford School district is receiving an increase in Funding for priority facilities projects, effective for fiscal year 2017.
At the school board meeting on April 18, Medford School District Superintendent Rich Dahman called the increase in Funding from the Long Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue a “pretty good chuck of money” compared to what they have received in the past.
In the past, Medford received Funding for health and safety projects and deferred maintenance projects. The new legislation combined the two funds and allocated more Funding for the creation of the Long Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue.
The Minnesota Legislature established the Long Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue program to give school districts access to alternative facilities Funding in hopes that school buildings and grounds can be responsibly maintained.
“I think it is a good idea. It allows us to be more forward thinking in our planning,” reported Dahman to the school board members.
-- ANNA SEGNER Pa. school-funding bill goes into effect Monday-- abc27.com Pennsylvania: April 25, 2016 [ abstract] HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) " Part of Pennsylvania’s budget will become law Monday nearly 10 months after it was due.
The bill distributes money to fund school districts and authorizes borrowing for school construction costs.
Governor Tom Wolf said he’ll allow the bill to go into effect without his signature. It’s a companion bill to the full budget.
School districts will get $200 million in state aid under the bill. Deciding which districts should get the most money was a major part of the debate at the state House.
Wolf wanted $400 million for school Funding, but the state only got half of that. Republican lawmakers pushed against it because they didn’t want any new tax increases.
The bill also authorizes up to $2.5 billion in borrowing for school construction costs. Districts complained they’ve been waiting for years for that money.
Wolf also allowed the main budget bill to go into effect without his signature last month. That came after a long fight with the Republican-controlled Legislature.
-- Dawn White Maloney Would Create Green Schools, Good-Paying Jobs -- Hudson Valley News Network National: April 22, 2016 [ abstract] In celebration of Earth Day, Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) announced legislation at Arlington High School to provide Funding to schools to encourage green development of their aging infrastructure.
School Modernization And Revitalization Through (SMART) Jobs Act would authorize Funding for the development of green schools, which would encourage energy efficiency and the use of renewables, and create numerous high-skilled jobs in the clean energy industry.
“As a father, I believe we owe it to our children to adopt policies which will preserve our environment and create a healthier world for them to grow,” said Rep. Maloney. “Incentivizing our schools to adopt environmentally-responsible building practices creates a better learning environment for students while creating more good-paying high skilled jobs in the Hudson Valley.”
-- Office of Representative Sean Patrick Maloney St. Paul school district reveals $484 million facilities improvement plan-- StarTribune Minnesota: April 12, 2016 [ abstract] The St. Paul School District would make over and add to many of its schools " strengthening their position as the “heart of the community” " under a long-awaited $484 million facilities plan presented to school board members on Tuesday.
The five-year package includes a previously announced proposal to build a new East Side middle school and spreads the wealth of new projects districtwide " provided the board gives the go-ahead to the Funding needed to pull it off.
Tom Parent, the district’s facilities director, said the plan would increase property taxes about $30 per year for the median-valued $151,500 home beginning in 2018.
More than half the $484 million would go to deferred maintenance, including new boilers, roofs, plumbing and electrical improvements. The more dramatic elements " the new entryways and cafeterias, classroom additions, plus other features " are planned for 12 sites and could be in place for the start of the 2018-19 school year.
“We are talking major building renewals,” Parent said.
-- Anthony Lonetree In Juneau, battle brews over construction funding for village school-- KTUU Alaska: April 06, 2016 [ abstract] JUNEAU -- An amended version of the state construction budget, expected to be released by the Senate Finance Committee by end of the week, will not include $7 million that supporters say is needed to complete construction of a new Kivalina school.
The Funding is also considered necessary by many to mark the absolute end of a hotly contested court battle, Kasayulie v. State, which lasted 14 years and ended in 2011 when a consent decree and settlement agreement reached by the many parties involved prompted systematic changes to how school construction projects are funded. Previously, urban projects were favored by policymakers. The state agreed to pay tens of millions of dollars to improve neglected schools in five rural communities, including Kivalina, which is the last to be directly impacted by the case.
Last year, the Legislature approved $43.2 million to go toward the costs of a new school serving the Northwest island community, which faces an uncertain future that includes potential relocation because of coastal erosion; in 2015, the Legislature rejected the governor's proposal for an additional $7.2 million for school design and planning for an access road that will be needed because the selected site for the new school is on higher ground.
Gov. Bill Walker included the $7.2 million in his proposed capital budget again for fiscal year 2017, when he released his recommendations in December.
-- Austin Baird Md. comptroller vows more school construction oversight-- Herald-Mail Media Maryland: April 06, 2016 [ abstract] ANNAPOLIS — A legislative move to end an annual ritual in which school officials travel to the state capital to defend their school construction priorities could have some unintended consequences, as Comptroller Peter Franchot has vowed to take scrutiny of such projects "to a whole new level."
When Gov. Larry Hogan on Tuesday released a list of early bills he was allowing to become law without his signature, his own capital budget proposal, which outlines spending on construction and other projects, was among them.
On Wednesday, Hogan explained why he wouldn't sign it.
The governor and Franchot took legislators to task during a Board of Public Works meeting for adding language to the original bill that eliminates the annual "beg-a-thon" — a day of appeals by school officials from across the state for construction funds not already included in the capital budget proposal.
Each year, a portion of school construction money has been held back for such personal appeals, which former Gov. Martin O'Malley suggested be called the "hope-a-thon."
But the new language in the capital budget bill gives the state Interagency Committee on School Construction, which makes Funding recommendations, the authority for reviewing those requests, eliminating the need for appeals before the Board of Public Works.
"That's why I didn't sign it, because they snuck that language in there," Hogan said.
The three-member board consists of Hogan, Franchot and state Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp.
Franchot expressed "disappointment over vaguely worded language in the capital budget bill in conference committee that eliminated the IAC (interagency committee) appeal."
He said abandoning the beg-a-thon also eliminates transparency in the way school construction Funding decisions are made.
-- Tamela Baker Tighter budget will force Clark County schools to increase class sizes next year-- Las Vegas Review-Journal Nevada: April 06, 2016 [ abstract] The Clark County School District will pack even more students into classrooms next year as it attempts to trim millions of dollars from a 2016-17 budget that balances lower-than-expected enrollment growth and a virtual freeze in property tax collections.
By unanimous vote Wednesday, the Clark County School Board approved a preliminary $2.2 billion budget for the next academic year that includes larger class sizes and fewer year-round schools but expands full-day kindergarten to all elementary campuses.
Spending would fall $13.9 million short of this year’s plan, despite an increase in per-student state Funding.
District officials already had increased class sizes at the secondary level this year. The current student/teacher ratio is 32-to-1 in fourth and fifth grades; 34.5-to-1 in middle school; and 34-to-1 in high school.
Those ratios now will rise by one student in grades four and five at underperforming elementary schools; by one in all grades at other elementary schools; and by 1.5 at middle and high schools.
“This is the last thing we ever want to do,” said Linda Young, president of the school board.
“We are in the process of our building program,” she said in reference to a 10-year, $4.1 billion school construction plan. “The way we can put the least amount of trauma (on students) is a one-student increase at this time. It’s not our best approach, (but) we’re required by law to balance our budget.”
Other cuts include reducing the number of year-round schools from the current 22 to 15 and closing a continuation school for expelled students.
Overall, the district next year will bank nearly $2.3 billion in state and local revenue, about $7.6 million less than the current year largely because of flat student enrollment and and property tax collections.
-- NEAL MORTON CMS Board Holds Public Hearing on $805 Million Bond Proposal for Capital Needs-- Time Warner Cable News - Charlotte North Carolina: April 05, 2016 [ abstract] CHARLOTTE -- Several parents stood before the CMS Board of Education Tuesday to voice their concerns over a proposed bond for new schools and renovations.
Superintendent Ann Clark recommends a bond package of about $805 million to fund 29 projects across the district.
"We're thrilled that our board of education has taken such an aggressive stance and is putting forth the needs of our schools,†said Rebecca Kucera, who has kids at Collinswood Language Academy.
Kucera is pleased since her kids' school is at the top of the priority list for Funding.
If the bond makes it on the ballot and passes, Collinswood could get a brand new school costing more than 40 million dollars.
"We have 23 brick and mortor classrooms and 24 mobile classrooms on our school site,†said Kucera.
The new Collinswood school would alleviate overcrowding and allow students to have fields for sports -- a problem they're facing now.
But many other parents want their schools at the top of the list too.
Rodger Nolden lives in the Steele Creek area where a new high school could be built to relieve overcrowding from Olymplic High.
Right now that project is at the bottom of the priority list but could still make it on the bond.
"What we're asking is for it to be moved up in the priority list as it's still the most over utilized facility in CMS,†said Nolden.
-- Litsa Pappas Decaying School Infrastructure Putting Student Health At Risk-- neaToday National: April 05, 2016 [ abstract] School facilities is second only to highways as the largest sector of public infrastructure spending, but it’s been more than 20 years since the federal government conducted a comprehensive review of the nation’s school buildings. The fill this void, the Center for Green Schools teamed up with 21st Century Fund and the National Council on School Facilities to comb through any and all relevant data to answer this question: Are we spending enough on school facilities to support student learning?
According to the just-released report, State of Our Schools: America’s K"12 Facilities, the answer is we’re falling short " to the tune of $46 billion. That’s the size of the Funding gap needed to bring all U.S. public school facilities up to modern standards.
“The current system of facilities Funding leaves school districts unprepared to provide adequate and equitable school facilities… In total, the nation is underspending by $46 billion " an annual shortfall of 32%,” the report states.
The importance of modernizing school infrastructure cannot be overstated. Too many buildings across the country have been allowed to deteriorate as budget cuts have forced districts to forgo maintenance to pay for programs. Millions of educators and students teach and learn surrounded by peeling paint, crumbing plaster, and poor ventilation and faulty heating and cooling systems.
-- TIM WALKER Portland voters overwhelmingly approve elementary school renovation-- Portland Press Herald Maine: April 05, 2016 [ abstract] The yearslong effort to rebuild Portland’s Hall Elementary School took a critical step forward Tuesday as local voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum to pay for the project.
A bond issue to fund construction project passed by 86 percent of the vote, with 1,812 votes in favor and 293 votes against.
“I am very pleased that Portland voters have once again shown that educating our children is a top priority for our city. This vote bodes well for the renovations that need to be completed at our four other elementary schools: Reiche, Presumpscot, Longfellow and Lyseth,” Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling said in a statement.
The 2,105 residents who cast ballots represented less than 4 percent of the 55,000 registered voters in Portland, but it was a higher turnout than last May’s school budget vote.
The state has agreed to pay for almost all of the $29.7 million project. Only $1.4 million would be local Funding, for specific upgrades such as a larger gym that can serve as a community center.
-- NOEL K. GALLAGHER Report: K-12 Public School Facilities Underfunded-- Education Week National: April 05, 2016 [ abstract] Several organizations, including the 21st Century School Fund, the National Council on School Facilities and the U.S. Green Building Council recently released a report titled The State of Our Schools: America's K-12 Facilities. Education News documents that the findings of this report show that K-12 public school facilities are severely underfunded due to lack of federal involvement and limited state accountability. The report found that the federal government supplies almost no capital construction Funding for school facilities, and that state support for facilities differs extensively.
It is up to the local school district and community to make investments to build upon and improve school facilities. Often time districts can't afford these improvements and are forced to make repairs out of the operating fund that should be reserved for teacher salaries, programming and instructional materials.
The last time a report such as this was performed was 1995 via the U.S. Government Accounting Office. That report found that half of all federal schools had problems linked to poor indoor air quality. 15,000 schools were found to be circulating air deemed unfit to breathe in. Alarmingly, the recent report found that not a lot has changed since 1995.
-- Matthew Lynch State school board group threatens state with lawsuit over construction money-- The Morning Call Pennsylvania: April 04, 2016 [ abstract] HARRISBURG " The leader of a statewide organization of school directors threatened Monday to file a lawsuit against the state for breaching its contract to pay for a portion of construction costs.
Gov. Tom Wolf and the Legislature need to work together to provide school the $306 million the districts are owed under a state law that guarantees Harrisburg will reimburse a portion of their costs to fix and construct school buildings, said Nathan Mains, executive director of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
If Wolf and lawmakers do not provide the money, Mains said, the association will consider filing a lawsuit to compel the state to abide by its legally binding agreements known as PlanCon. "That is certainly one way to go … if they are not honoring their contracts," Mains said.
-- Steve Esack Advocates protest lack of Baltimore community school funds in Rawlings-Blake's budget-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: April 01, 2016 [ abstract] Dozens of advocates crammed into Sandtown community center Friday to protest Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's budget — which does not include $4.2 million for community and after-school programs currently funded by the city.
"It's April Fool's Day, but nobody's fooled by the money the mayor has taken out," said John P. Comer, lead organizer for Maryland Communities United, before leading the group in a chant of "Fund our schools!"
The money the advocates seek pays for 2,500 children to participate in after-school programs, plus six community schools. Many of the programs help youths near the site of the rioting that engulfed West Baltimore last April, advocates said.
The protest at the center, called the Penn North Kids Safe Zone, comes after Rawlings-Blake proposed a $2.6 billion city budget this week that was full of what the mayor called "tough choices." The budget included $10.4 million more for the city's public school system — part of a deal to get $12.7 million more from Gov. Larry Hogan's state budget.
The amounts help close a $24 million drop in state education Funding caused by rising property values and declining student enrollment in Baltimore.
City officials said Funding for community schools and after-school programs needed to be cut to give more to the school system.
-- Luke Broadwater Tax debate: How much is enough for school facilities?-- The Des Moines Register Iowa: March 31, 2016 [ abstract] Iowans have contributed billions of dollars over the past seven years to school infrastructure projects through a 1-cent sales tax, but there has never been a statewide, comprehensive audit of how schools have used that money.
An extension of the tax could generate $26.2 billion, but some lawmakers say they want more information about what schools need before moving forward.
“We probably should have a more detailed list of exactly how these dollars have been spent,” said Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, who chairs a subcommittee focused on discussing the sales tax extension. He said he has no reason to believe schools are misusing that money, but lawmakers would benefit from a better understanding of whether schools’ infrastructure needs are being met.
That has become a crucial question as others, including Gov. Terry Branstad, eye the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education, or SAVE, fund as a source of revenue for other initiatives.
Discussion over renewing the tax, and defining its future uses, has peaked at a time when many school district officials say the state has not done enough to provide basic aid for K-12 education. They say the Legislature’s most recent Funding increase of 2.25 percent for education is not enough to sustain current costs, forcing expected teacher layoffs and increased class sizes.
-- Brianne Pfannenstiel What's next for school construction with no state funding in Pa. budget-- Philadelphia Business Journal Pennsylvania: March 31, 2016 [ abstract] Pennsylvania's budget gridlock is over, but school districts are focusing on another piece of unwelcome news: After years of delayed reimbursements for state-approved construction and building maintenance, they'll go without any state Funding for such projects.
About $306 million in construction reimbursements was nixed when Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a budget-related piece of legislation known as the fiscal code last week.
Schools desperate for their state aid were the single largest source of pressure on lawmakers and Wolf to end the nearly nine-month budget impasse.
-- Mary Wilson Editorial: With budget squeeze, alternatives for school infrastructure a must-- The Herald-Dispatch West Virginia: March 29, 2016 [ abstract] School systems across West Virginia count on the state's School Building Authority to help them financially with their building needs, but annually their requests have far surpassed what the SBA has available to spend each year.
Now, in light of the state's significant budget deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1, that imbalance is on a course to get worse. That's why it's encouraging to hear that the SBA is working to juggle some of its Funding sources and consider new mechanisms to help out school districts where infrastructure repairs are most needed.
During its recently concluded session, the legislature passed and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin later signed a bill that will take $4 million away from the amount of money available for school construction and renovation projects. The action comes in light of an estimated $558 million state budget gap next year.
-- Editorial Lawyers: State is obligated to pay for Newark schools' lead fix-- NJ.com New Jersey: March 29, 2016 [ abstract] NEWARK — Whatever the cost, the state should pay to alleviate infrastructure issues that have caused lead levels in the drinking water at Newark schools to rise above the federal safe level.
That was the message of a letter the Education Law Center sent to state Education Commissioner David Hespe and Schools Development Authority CEO Charles McKenna. The letter, sent Monday, cites the court decisions that created what were then-called Abbott districts (now SDA districts), and ordering state Funding at the districts. The ELC is a public interest law firm that represents the students in schools affected by the rulings.
"The state is required to fully fund, undertake and complete all school facilities improvements in districts classified as 'SDA districts,'" the letter reads.
"The DOE and SDA must act expeditiously to address (the) hazardous condition of elevated lead in (Newark Public Schools) facilities."
Since news of the contamination broke earlier this month, the Department of Environmental Protection has been working with the state-controlled school district to re-test water samples at all of the city's school buildings. But, ELC Executive Director David Sciarra said it's the DOE that should take the lead on dealing with Newark's lead.
-- Jessica Mazzola New shelter at school in Donahue could withstand winds equal to EF-4 tornado-- WQAD8 Iowa: March 29, 2016 [ abstract] DONAHUE, Iowa-- In Miss Aude's second grade class, today's lesson is on vocabulary. But it's time for the whole school to learn a new lesson in safety.
At John Glenn Elementary in Donahue, Iowa, staff and students participated in a tornado drill - unlike any other they've ever done before - Tuesday, March 29, 2016.
Through federal Funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, the school was able to build a two-classroom addition that doubles as a tornado-safe wing.
"We've had some tornadoes pass just to the West of Donahue and because of that, that puts us in an area the federal government looks at and says there's a need," says John Glenn Principal Kelly Rohlf.
With walls 12 inches thick, the building can withstand 250 mph winds. That's the same as an EF-4 tornado.
"I worry all the time how are we going to make sure our kids are safe, and there's no guarantee one hundred percent, but having a facility like this makes it a lot less stressful," says Rohlf.
-- ELIZABETH WADAS Funding challenges limit school infrastructure plans-- Charlottesville Tomorrow Virginia: March 27, 2016 [ abstract] Renovation of the track at Charlottesville High School hit a stumbling block this month, when the city removed $650,000 that would have kick-started design work on the project from the proposed five-year capital improvement program.
City School Board members said they did not find out the money was gone until after a joint meeting with the City Council, at which board members and councilors toured the high school’s current facilities, as well as proposed locations for the updated track.
Board members were supposed to have been told in February that the money was not available, said City Manager Maurice Jones, but were left in the dark inadvertently.
“The reductions should have been communicated to the schools in early February but were not. I, too, was caught off guard by this lack of notice,” Jones said. “We have identified why this occurred and have taken steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
The money for the track, along with $750,000 for the design phase of a long-discussed middle-school grade reconfiguration, was in a draft budget Jones presented at a council retreat in February.
The money could be put back in the CIP at a budget work session this Thursday, city officials said.
At the retreat, the council decided not to pursue a real estate tax rate increase or to raise the city’s debt limit.
-- Aaron Richardson Yonkers' $2B schools plan out of NY budget-- lohud.com New York: March 25, 2016 [ abstract] ALBANY - A $2 billion capital plan for Yonkers schools likely won't be part of the state budget for the fiscal year that starts April 1.
Mayor Mike Spano and state lawmakers who represent Yonkers are resigned to trying to get a bill passed before the session ends in mid-June, saying they won't be able get a deal included in the $145 billion state budget due next week.
"We're dealing with a draft of the bill with the hope that when the budget's done, we can begin to make the bill as strong as possible," Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer, D-Yonkers, told Gannett's Albany Bureau.
VIDEO: Yonkers Mayor seeks help to upgrade Yonkers school buildings
RELATED: Spano to state: Change aid formula for Yonkers schools
PHOTO GALLERY: Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano visits lawmakers in Albany
Spano, a former state assemblyman, is pushing his former colleagues to support a 13-year, $2 billion bond package to repair the school district's crumbling infrastructure.
The state would likely pick up 70 percent of the tab, and the city is seeking low-interest bonds to fund the rest -- similar to capital-improvement projects adopted at the Capitol for the state's other Big Four schools: Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo.
Spano said he would have preferred to have the bill included in the state budget, but said he will continue to push for the measure before lawmakers go home for the year. The session runs until June 16.
"The Funding for this project is probably two to three years out, so it's not necessary it's in the budget bill, but it would have been preferable that the language would have been in the budget bill," Spano said.
-- Joseph Spector Investment in Nation's School Buildings Falls Woefully Short, Report Finds-- Education Week National: March 23, 2016 [ abstract] The nation's investment in public school facilities falls short by a whopping $46 billion annually, according to a new report out today on the state of America's K-12 infrastructure.
American school districts should be spending at least $145 billion each year to keep their buildings in good working order and to upgrade their existing building stock, according to the report titled "2016 State of Our Schools: America's K-12 Facilities." It was written by the 21st Century School Fund, the National Council on School Facilities, and the Center for Green Schools.
While the physical conditions of the schools are known to have some effects on how students do in the classrooms, the issue has not garnered as much attention as other factors that affect student learning.
But that may be changing.
Since last year, Detroit teachers have been staging a series of sickouts, in part, to draw attention to the dilapidated conditions of some of the city's school buildings. And with concern over lead-tainted water in some schools, more attention is being paid to the age of school buildings and the plumbing in those buildings.
The last in-depth federal-level examination of the conditions of America's school facilities was released more 20 years ago in 1995 by the Government Accountability Office. According to the GAO then, schools needed to spend $112 billion to repair or upgrade their facilities to "good condition." About 14 million students were attending schools in need of extensive repairs, the GAO said.
The National Center for Educational Statistics also conducted a limited survey on public school infrastructure in the 2012-13 school year. According to that report, the average age of the main school building was 44 years old.
-- Denisa R. Superville Report Shows Systemic Inequity in a State-By-State Analysis of Investment in American School Infrastructure-- Center for Green Schools at USGBC National: March 23, 2016 [ abstract] Washington, D.C. " (March 23, 2016) " The State of Our Schools: America’s K-12 Facilities report, released today by the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the 21st Century School Fund and the National Council on School Facilities, shows that the nation faces a projected annual shortfall of $46 billion in school Funding, despite significant effort on the part of local communities.
“One out of every six people in the U.S. spends each day in a K-12 public school classroom, yet there is very little oversight over America’s public school buildings,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “It is totally unacceptable that there are millions of students across the country who are learning in dilapidated, obsolete and unhealthy facilities that pose obstacles to their learning and overall wellbeing. U.S. public school infrastructure is funded through a system that is inequitably affecting our nation’s students and this has to change.”
The report features an in-depth state-by-state analysis of investment in school infrastructure and focuses on 20 years of school facility investment nationwide, as well as Funding needed moving forward to make up for annual investment shortfalls for essential repairs and upgrades. The report also proposes recommendations for investments, innovations and reforms to improve learning environments for children in all U.S. public schools.
“The data on Funding school infrastructure paints a clear picture of the importance of a national conversation regarding the way improvements are funded. The conversation surrounding student achievement must also include a component addressing the places where our children learn,” said Mike Rowland, president, National Council on School Facilities and director of Facilities Services for the Georgia Department of Education.
-- Leticia McCadden School Building Authority Exploring New Funding Methods-- WV Public Broadcasting West Virginia: March 23, 2016 [ abstract] Faced with cuts to its available grant money, the West Virginia School Building Authority is considering new methods to help fund counties' school construction and renovation projects.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the School Building Authority voted Monday to have their staff examine the possibilities of having the authority loan its money to school systems for projects, as well as starting a leaseback program.
-- Associated Press Fayette County Public Schools approves funding for radon mitigation-- WKYT Kentucky: March 21, 2016 [ abstract] On Monday, the Fayette County School Board voted in favor to approve a sum of $571,846.00 that will be used to make adjustments at nine schools, to reduce the levels of radon.
On Thursday, March 10th, Fayette County Public Schools sent home letters to nine schools that had high levels of radon.
District spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said high levels of radon was discovered at Bryan Station High School, Booker T. Washington Intermediate Academy, Harrison Elementary, Leestown Middle School, Lexington Traditional Magnet School, Mary Todd Elementary, Russell Cave Elementary, SCAPA and Sandersville Elementary.
The Environmental Protection Agency recommends homes to have a radon level below 4 picocuries/Liter(4pi/L). Fayette County Public Schools follows that same standard.
Approximately 11 different tests were taken at each school. Below shows a chart of the nine schools that, in some areas of the school, tested at a level 4 or higher. The below numbers show the highest level at which each school tested.
Radon is an invisible, odorless, radioactive gas that comes from the natural decay of uranium that is found in soils. It is the second-leading cause of lung cancer, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Two years ago, high levels of radon was discovered at Locust Trace Agri-Science Center, a technical school on Leestown Road. The school was tested after it applied for green ribbon status. Radon testing is mandatory to achieve green ribbon status.
That discovery was made after year-long screening, which found radon levels to be 10 times the recommended level of 4 picocuries per liter. School leaders hired engineers who were able to reduce the amount of radon at the school by installing a mitigation system.
The district had gone for years without testing radon levels because it wasn't a requirement. Instead, the district tested radon on a rotating basis.
-- Staff Writer Report outlines disrepair at Native American schools-- Education Week Bureau of Indian Education: March 18, 2016 [ abstract] ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Federal officials have failed to ensure regular inspections are carried out at dozens of Native American schools, where safety hazards have ranged from exposed electrical wires and broken windows to a natural gas leak, a government watchdog said. Nearly 200 schools in some 20 states fall under the oversight of the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Education — an agency that faced recent scrutiny for rundown classrooms before receiving $138 million in Funding this year to bring buildings to code and replace others altogether. The Government Accountability Office report released Wednesday found that even with improvements in the works, disrepair could persist without a system for making sure schools undergo annual inspections and have plans in place for promptly making repairs, especially when a threat is posed to students. "Indian Affairs cannot ensure that the learning and work environments at BIE schools are safe, and it risks causing harm to the very children that it is charged with educating and protecting," the congressional watchdog said. The federally run schools, primarily on rural reservations, serve 47,000 Native American children.
-- Associated Press Clark County School Board studies $2.1 billion plan to build schools, renovate aging buildings-- LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Nevada: March 17, 2016 [ abstract] The Clark County School Board next month will consider a $2.1 billion plan to build 17 new elementary schools, add more classrooms to 26 overcrowded campuses and close or replace 17 aging facilities across the Las Vegas Valley.
A 13-member advisory committee Thursday unanimously endorsed a five-year plan that also calls for “critical” renovations at 19 schools, though Clark County School District officials estimate more than six times that number of schools require similar upgrades of their air conditioning, electrical, plumbing and other mechanical systems.
“There’s simply not enough Funding,” said Jim McIntosh, the district’s chief financial officer.
“The pressing need really is capacity,” he added, referring to a growing student population, especially in the elementary grades. “The (school) board, when it gave its approval for the bond program, made a decision right away to build new schools as opposed to modernization of facilities.”
Working off an overarching, 10-year capital improvement plan that the board unanimously approved in September, its bond oversight committee Thursday voted to recommend a dizzying list of projects that will cost $2.14 billion and last through the 2020-21 school year.
The recommendations include redesigning three “shovel-ready” elementary schools set to open in fall 2018, finding sites for five additional elementary schools, building 14 to 22 classroom additions at 26 overcrowded schools, replacing or closing 11 dilapidated schools and more.
Gathered in the rickety gymnasium at Las Vegas Academy, the committee also struggled to balance the need to relieve overcrowded classrooms and to pay for upgrades at aging facilities across the district.
The committee favored renovating, or modernizing, the air conditioning, electrical, plumbing and other mechanical systems at 19 campuses. That alone will cost nearly $200 million but still falls more than $350 million below what district officials have identified as “critical” system updates needed at 121 additional schools.
“We really need an emphasis placed on this as we move forward,” said Blake Cumbers, assistant superintendent of facilities.
He outlined approximately $4.7 billion in modernization projects needed across the district. Trustees, however, evenly split a total $4.1 billion for construction over the next decade between new schools to focus on population growth and modernization projects, replacement schools and technology and major equipment purchases.
That leaves less than $1.1 billion on upgrades that the district places on three immediate to long-term watch lists, including a more pressing one dubbed “danger zone.”
-- NEAL MORTON Iowa House plan separates school infrastructure, water quality funding-- The Gazette Iowa: March 17, 2016 [ abstract] DES MOINES " House Republicans are moving forward on extending the school infrastructure sales tax for 20 years, but without Gov. Terry Branstad’s proposal to wed it to a long-term source of Funding for water quality initiatives.
Based on discussions he’s had with legislators and others, Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, said Thursday, “there does not seem to be widespread support to take money from SAVE to address water quality at this point. That’s why they’ve been separated.”
SAVE is the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education, formerly known as the statewide school infrastructure sales and services tax.
In his January Condition of the State speech, Gov. Terry Branstad proposed extending SAVE until 2049. He would divert SAVE revenue in excess of $10 million a year to addressing statewide water-quality issues. Schools would get $20.7 billion for infrastructure otherwise funded by property taxes and $4.7 billion would be channeled into water quality improvements.
Windschitl, who chaired a House Ways and Means subcommittee meeting on a group of SAVE-water quality bills, said he doesn’t see that happening.
“Any bill that will move forward from this subcommittee will divorce the water quality issue from the SAVE fund,” he said. “I don’t think there is support in the subcommittee from either side to incorporate the two ideas.”
-- James Q. Lynch Parent urges act now on aging Easton school buildings-- Wicked Local Easton Massachusetts: March 17, 2016 [ abstract] While local officials are looking to state Funding to pay to build or renovate three schools and hope an override covers some repairs, one parent wants them to take stronger action.
Peabody Drive resident Adam Silverleib last week urged board members to grab the reins to fix the most serious problems now.
“The conditions are alarming,” Silverleib, the father of a Parkview School student, told selectmen last week. “I think it would be incumbent on town leadership to have air quality studies done. I think you will find you’re really putting the students at risk by waiting.”
Funding to repair or replace old heating systems, install handicapped ramps and expand Parkview and Center schools and Moreau Hall were included in last year’s failed bid to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for Funding.
School Superintendent Andrew Keough said the state rejected the submission, in part, because the elementary buildings were not old enough or collapsing.
“The process would speed up if the walls were falling in - but they’re not,” he said.
-- Susan Parkou Weinstein Farmington moves to close high school, 2 others-- The Detroit News Michigan: March 16, 2016 [ abstract] As a Farmington Public Schools parent, Tammy Levitan has followed decisions administrators made and how those affected the district.
On Tuesday, she was dismayed by how three schools were identified for repurposing or closing as officials work to downsize the district amid declining enrollment and a Funding shortfall. That’s why, before the board of education voted Tuesday night on a plan for the buildings, Levitan requested more analysis.
“I see no cost difference in closing one school over another,” she said to applause. “How can you make a decision if you have no facts and figures in front of you?”
The board approved closing Harrison High School for the 2019-20 academic year; closing Dunckel Middle School and establishing the Highmeadow Common Campus as a K8 Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Academy there with 2017-18; and relocating preschool programming from Farmington Community School and Alameda Early Childhood Center to Highmeadow for 2017-18.
Superintendent George Heitsch this month unveiled recommendations to scale back the district with about 10,000 following an enrollment drop of 12 percent since 2000, an $11 million Funding shortfall and revenue falling nearly $15 million from 2006-14.
-- Mark Hicks Aging Lafayette school facilities focus of $70 million bond measure-- Contra Costa Times California: March 15, 2016 [ abstract] LAFAYETTE -- Voters will decide whether to greenlight up to $70 million in general obligation bonds to help breathe new life into aging school facilities.
Lafayette School District governing board members on March 9 approved placing a bond measure on the June 7 ballot. The measure needs a 55 percent majority to pass, and the cost to taxpayers is projected not to exceed $30-per-year per $100,000 of assessed property value.
The move comes less than two years after voters approved Measure B, a $539-per-parcel tax that combined two expiring parcel taxes Funding education programs.
If approved, the bond proceeds will finance renovation and repair of the district's one middle and four elementary schools, and the district office. The district has budgeted $20,000 to place the bond measure on the ballot.
-- Jennifer Modenessi Crowded districts celebrate proposed funding for needed schools-- Times Ledger New York: March 14, 2016 [ abstract] Two of the most chronically overcrowded school districts in the city are celebrating some long-awaited relief.
Elected officials, parent leaders and advocates from Make the Road New York gathered at PS 110 in Corona Monday to applaud Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposed 5-year Capital Plan, which includes additional Funding of $868 million for school construction this year.
The mayor’s plan identified a need for 9,403 seats in School District 24 and will fund 4,869 of those seats.
“This is an enormous victory for the families of School Districts 24 and 30 who have struggled with overcrowded schools for over 20 years,” said Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland (D-East Elmhurst). “Now that we have the money, we need to be aggressive in siting and constructing new schools in the areas that need them most. We have to make sure that children in our neighborhoods have the same opportunity for a high quality, diverse, challenging education as the children in any neighborhood across the city.”
The number of new seats in the capital plan is 49,000, only 59 percent of which the Department of Education says it needs, and the city’s population is growing faster than that of any other large city in the country.
“I want to thank the administration for their responsiveness on this issue by providing nearly $1 billion in additional Funding for new capacity and for increasing their calculation of seats needed to 83,000,” Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) said. “However, more than half of our schools are overcrowded and our class sizes are far too large, so there is still much more to do. I will continue to work in collaboration with the administration and Council member Ferreras-Copeland to tackle the continuing space challenges faced by our schools.”
-- Bill Parry Aging school facilities slow technology upgrades in Rhode Island-- American School & University Rhode Island: March 11, 2016 [ abstract] Rhode Island has plans to bring computer science education to all of its public schools, but some older school buildings may have difficulty handling new technology because of aging electrical wiring and other outdated systems.
WJAR-TV reports that It found inadequate conditions in school buildings in Providence, the state's largest school district. Inspection reports for 2015 found that in 21 of 37 schools, power strips and extension cords were chained together to get electricity to computers and other high-tech devices. The average school in Rhode Island is more than 58 years old.
"Too many of our schools are falling apart," Gov. Gina Raimondo says. "Kids deserve better. Teachers deserve better. We have to rebuild them."
Raimondo has lifted a moratorium on state Funding for school buildings, authorizing $20 million in Funding last year. Another $9 million is on the table this year.
-- Mike Kennedy New elementary in northwest Arvada only beginning of school growth-- The Denver Post Colorado: March 10, 2016 [ abstract] ARVADA —At Meiklejohn Elementary, the preschool program had to be phased out. Multiple teachers are sharing a single office, with one instructor working out of a closet. This fall, temp trailers will be hauled in to accommodate a record kindergarten class.
So it goes for the neighborhood elementary schools in the northwest Arvada corridor, where a residential buildout of almost 5,000 homes has seen its original 15-year construction time frame cut in half, pushing the area's six elementary schools past capacity.
Projections estimate that within six years, Jeffco schools north of Interstate 70 will need as many as 6,800 new seats.
"We can only do this for so long, and the 'so long' is the end of the next school year," said Meiklejohn principal Nikki Sirko, speaking to adjustments her school has made.
After almost two years of debate around Funding and site selection for any new school construction, the Jeffco school board recently approved $31 million to build a new K-8 school on 25 acres near the Candelas neighborhood.
-- Austin Briggs Schumer pushes funding for lead tests of water in schools-- Education Week New York: March 10, 2016 [ abstract] ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Sen. Charles Schumer has announced legislation that would give Funding to New York schools for lead testing.
The legislation would allow schools use of $100 million in federal grants under the Environmental Protection Agency to test their water supplies. It's similar to a bill that passed in 1988 but didn't move forward because of drafting errors.
Water samples cost an average of $35 each and each test needs multiple samples to send to the EPA.
This legislation comes after two elementary schools in Ithaca found dangerous amounts of lead in their water. Schumer says children under 6 face the most risk from lead, including learning and developmental disorders.
-- Staff Writer Addressing NYC's School Overcrowding Crisis-- Gotham Gazette New York: March 08, 2016 [ abstract] All parents in New York City deserve the peace of mind that their children will be able to attend a school where they can thrive and grow. Unfortunately, following years of neglect from the Bloomberg administration, our city's school system is plagued by school overcrowding and excessive class sizes, where hundreds of thousands of our children simply don't have adequate space to learn.
With education a top priority for the city, it's critical that our leaders take strong action to address the chronic underFunding of our city's school infrastructure. Key to addressing this issue is investing sufficient capital resources in the city budget, as well as improving the current school planning process, which is broken.
Recently, we've had some good news. When the city Department of Education (DOE) released its school capital plan, it included a commitment from Mayor de Blasio to invest nearly $900 million in additional resources to build more school seats. In the same plan, the DOE raised its needs assessment to 83,000 additional seats, given enrollment projections and existing overcrowding. This is closer to the 100,000-seat figure that Class Size Matters estimated in its recent report, "Space Crunch." Together, these two adjustments are a welcome acknowledgement of the crisis in school overcrowding, and we applaud them.
But more should be done. The number of new seats in the capital plan is 49,000—only about 59 percent of the DOE's own admitted need—and New York City's population is growing faster than any other large city in the nation. The mayor is now urging the City Council to adopt rezoning plans to accelerate the construction of thousands of new affordable and market-rate housing units, which will increase pressure on our school system. At this critical moment, the city has a real opportunity to address housing and education together.
-- Leonie Haimson and Javier Valdés BOE to pay for four school roofs out of operating budget-- Herald-Mail Media Maryland: March 07, 2016 [ abstract] Due to a lack of systemic Funding, Washington County school officials plan to use operating budget money to pay for four school roof projects this summer and face an estimated $1.2 million deficit for two school heating and cooling jobs the following year, according to a school system official.
Washington County Public Schools Deputy Superintendent Boyd Michael said last week that the current fiscal year was the first time he could recall in at least 10 years that the county hasn't provided Funding for projects such as roof replacements.
The county's draft capital improvement program calls for providing $500,000 for the next fiscal year for systemic projects, Michael said.
The school system seeks state Funding for such projects, which require a local match. Traditionally, the county has provided that match.
But last year and this year the school system has used money from its operating budget to at least help provide that local match for some projects, Michael said.
The issue came up during the Washington County Board of Education's March 1 meeting, as well as during the board's Feb. 16 meeting, when the panel was asked to approve roof-replacement contracts.
-- Julie E. Greene Hempfield School District looks at $21M building maintenance funding plan-- Lancaster Online Pennsylvania: March 01, 2016 [ abstract] Hempfield School District needs to earmark in excess of $20 million in coming years to pay for gradual upgrades to its buildings, a district official says.
Part of the problem is something that all districts are facing — a state budget delay measured in months, not days. Another component, though, is a need to address aging infrastructure, and Dan Forry, Hempfield's chief operating officer, is expecting a big increase in capital reserve allocations.
At the Feb. 9 school board meeting, Forry said the board should add $1 million a year to existing capital reserves to build up money to pay $21 million on building maintenance over eight years.
-- JUSTIN STOLTZFUS West Contra Costa school construction funds insufficient for pressing needs-- Contra Costa Times California: February 29, 2016 [ abstract] A survey of the need for replacing and reconstructing West Contra Costa schools has confirmed the uneasy feelings of district leaders about their inability to improve the physical learning environments of thousands of students -- at least in the short term.
A draft Facilities Master Plan, prepared for the district by Fresno-based Darden Associates and released last week, ranks 21 schools in the order of need for repairs and replacement.
The report concluded that all the schools need some degree of attention, with some in dire need of complete replacement.
However, only about $200 million is left in bonding capacity to pay for the work out of the $1.6 billion approved by voters in six measures the district has placed on the ballot since 1998.
The district's last construction bond measure, Measure H, was turned back by voters in June of 2014.
Lisa LeBlanc, the district's associated superintendent for operations, also reminded trustees during a discussion of the draft master plan at a Saturday board meeting that the remaining Funding "is not going to be available for a while and doesn't factor-in inflation."
The $200 million also might be reduced by cost overruns in projects now underway, such as the replacement of Pinole Valley High School and Korematsu Middle School in El Cerrito.
-- Rick Radin Newark board OKs plan to sell off 12 former school buildings-- NJ.com New Jersey: February 24, 2016 [ abstract] The city's school district is planning to jettison 12 properties as part of its latest strategy to fix its ailing budget.
At a School Advisory Board meeting Tuesday night, Superintendent of Schools Chris Cerf said the buildings, including 10 schools, a former day care and an office facility, will be conveyed to the Newark Housing Authority. The NHA will then assess whether they can be re-purposed into housing or sold off to developers for other purposes.
The move should help free up $2 million to $4 million in annual insurance and maintenance costs, according to Cerf, putting a dent in an estimated budget deficit that, despite an increase of $27.5 million in state Funding, stands at about $50 million for the 2016-17 school year.
"That's approximately 20 to 40 teachers, for example," he said. "As we solve our budget challenges we would rather get that money into the hands of schools."
-- Dan Ivers With little debate, education panel signs off on de Blasio’s first school closures-- Chalkbeat New York New York: February 24, 2016 [ abstract] Five years ago, the city voted to close 22 schools in a marathon Panel for Educational Policy meeting that drew not one, but two sessions that stretched into the early hours of the morning.
This year, the principal at Foundations Academy was one of only a handful of speakers who attended the panel meeting to take up school closures. When he grabbed the microphone to give his school one last plug, Neil Monheit was melancholy but resigned.
“I recognize that it’s a very small school. It’s difficult to sustain our work,” Monheit said, before adding he hopes his students find “places where they can flourish and can go forward.”
Foundations Academy, a high school in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, is one of three small schools that the panel voted to close on Wednesday, citing low enrollment and Funding shortfalls. The other two schools, Peace Academy Middle School and The School for the Urban Environment, are middle schools also located in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
-- Monica Disare Newport News school officials make case to city for more capital funding-- Daily Press Virginia: February 23, 2016 [ abstract] School division officials made their case to the City Council Tuesday that the schools need more city money to make crucial repairs to aging buildings – a case they plan to bolster with a $562,181 third-party study.
The city's five-year capital plan, passed in December, granted about half the Funding the schools had requested — $41.4 million out of $80.5 million. The City Council agreed to give an extra $2 million for the schools, but school officials said they will still need much more Funding in future years for critical repairs, mainly HVAC and roof replacements.
Going forward, the school division is asking the city for $12 million to $15 million a year, up from an average of $8.3 million per year in the current plan, Superintendent Ashby Kilgore said at the joint meeting. That would add up to $75 million over the five years.
City Manager Jim Bourey said the likelihood of the division getting that much money was unlikely.
"Frankly, the level of $12 to $15 million a year, that's not sustainable with our total pot," Bourey said. "I'm not saying it's not needed, I'm just saying…that's a real challenge. We are at our maximum level of bond Funding."
-- Theresa Clift Prince George’s Co. schools could close doors under funding pinch-- WTOP Maryland: February 23, 2016 [ abstract] There is worry and concern among parents and students in southern Prince George’s County, Maryland, as the Board of Education prepares to decide whether to close Forestville High School and Skyline Elementary School at the end of this school year.
Seven other elementary schools and two additional high schools could also be closed in the years ahead, under a cost-saving plan put forward by the Board of Education’s chief executive officer Dr. Kevin Maxwell.
“Now, Dr. Maxwell what would you do if you were still in school and they tried to close your school? Wouldn’t you do everything in your power so that they wouldn’t close your school?” asked Kimaya Tillerson, a 12-year-old middle schooler. Tillerson was one of 80 speakers who addressed the school board at a packed public hearing Tuesday night.
Tillerson told the board she’s been looking forward to attending Forestville High School, a school whose alumni include her mom, aunts and uncles.
Among the proposed changes under consideration would be to close Forestville High, including its Junior ROTC program, sending students to Suitland High. Students at Skyline Elementary would be reassigned to William Beanse Elementary. The students in Skyline’s dedicated autism program would be reassigned to their neighborhood schools.
Numerous other boundary changes would reassign students in elementary and middle schools.
-- Dick Uliano Berea, Middleburg Heights Mayors support Berea City Schools' construction, school closure proposal-- Cleveland.com Ohio: February 22, 2016 [ abstract] BEREA, Ohio -- Despite the mixed reviews of bond issue-weary residents, Berea and Middleburg Heights Mayors Cyril Kleem and Gary Starr both support the Berea City Schools' proposal to renovate, consolidate and reconstruct the district.
"Children need a healthy environment to learn and thrive, that includes updated and modern school facilities," said Starr. "Governor John Kasich has made massive cuts to school Funding at the local level that has put enormous pressure on our taxpayers and schools. The Berea school district's building plan is a step in the right direction."
The proposal -- which will likely be redrawn in the weeks ahead -- calls for Berea-Midpark High School to be demolished and rebuilt for $75.5 million, with the other $25 million paying for renovations to Middleburg Heights Junior High School, Ford Intermediate School and Big Creek Elementary School.
-- John Deike House education bill amends formula for school maintenance-- The Register-Herald.com West Virginia: February 20, 2016 [ abstract] CHARLESTON " The West Virginia Legislature House Committee on Education moved forward Friday on a bill purporting to make school building maintenance Funding more equitable for county school districts across the state.
Committee Vice Chair Walter Duke, R-Berkeley, explained that State Code currently creates an allowance for county facility maintenance based on a percentage of staff salaries.
Counties where employees have more years of experience or more teachers with higher degrees currently get more Funding than counties with inexperienced teachers or a high turnover in teachers.
Duke said it is more rational to base Funding on square footage of buildings and student enrollment.
Amy Willard, executive director of finance for the Department of Education, explained the revised state aid formula creates a state average by dividing and averaging each county’s enrollment by the number of square feet of facilities with consideration to the cost of maintenance per square foot.
When moving to a facility-based formula, the allowance was constructed to be as close to the state’s existing maintenance expenditure as possible. This potential change would increase the statewide net cost a mere $62,000, she said.
-- Sarah Plummer Burden of funding school facilities increasingly falls to local taxpayers-- Independent Record Montana: February 19, 2016 [ abstract] School districts across the state are trying to update their aging buildings and find room for rising enrollments " and worrying that almost all of the money they need to do so comes from local property taxes.
Since the Montana Legislature declined to appropriate money to the Quality Schools Grant Program in its 2015 session, the state’s sole source of assistance with school buildings comes in the form of a program that attempts to help poorer school districts that have passed bonds for capital expenditure projects.
But the program doesn’t have the money to cover the amount of need, and before a school district can take advantage of the assistance, they must first convince local voters to pass a bond issue and raise property taxes.
The school facility reimbursement money is awarded using a formula that essentially calculates the amount of taxable value per student in a district. Districts with a valuation lower than the statewide standard are eligible to receive Funding to help them pay back bond debt, with a goal of trying to equalize the ability for districts across the state to bond for their needs.
-- DILLON KATO D.C. parents upset after finding out a school renovation project is seriously underfunded-- WJLA ABC7 District of Columbia: February 18, 2016 [ abstract] Some D.C. public school parents are frustrated by news that their school's renovation is seriously underfunded.
Murch Elementary School in Northwest Washington is supposed to undergo a $68 million renovation at the end of this school year. But D.C. Public School officials have told parents that there is a $10 million Funding shortfall.
What this will mean is there will either be a cafeteria or an auditorium in the new school, not both as originally planned. The library will be smaller and a kindergarten playground will be replaced by parking.
The school is 80 years old and has never been renovated. Parents say it is significantly overcrowded and rapidly deteriorating. The head of the HSA, Maggie Gumbinner, says they have gotten very little information about the budget and specific costs of items.
"If this was a renovation in our own homes we would not handle it this way. We would have a budget, we would stick to our budget. We would know what things cost and we would make logical decisions."
-- SUZANNE KENNEDY Wayne school board proposes big renovation project for community schools-- Siouxland Matters Nebraska: February 18, 2016 [ abstract] A big proposal for a renovation project has come before the Wayne school board and it would give the community schools a long overdue facelift.
The estimated cost is $18 million for expansion and improvements.
In a board meeting, Wednesday, there were some concerns to where that money will come from.
"The way schools are funded in Nebraska, in rural communities, a lot of the reliance on the Funding is our agriculture community," said Superintendent, Mark Lenihan.
Board members, who live in rural areas themselves, say it's not fair for the rural community and how the county splits up Funding.
"I think it's 66-percent of the districts in the rural areas are basically self-funded, without help from Lincoln," said member, Ken Jorgenson.
-- Christina Grijalva Board votes to close Haywood County school-- Citizen-Times North Carolina: February 17, 2016 [ abstract] CLYDE - Despite pleas for more time, a divided Haywood County school board voted Tuesday night to close Central Elementary in Waynesville.
“I believe our board has done a tremendous job looking at all solutions other than closing Central Elementary School, and they simply do not exist,” board chair Chuck Francis said.
Francis has a grandchild that attends the school. “I’m looking at my grandson’s teacher right now,” he said before the vote.
The board voted 6-2 to close the school. Board members Rhonda Schandevel and Jimmy Rogers were the two members voting against the closure.
Officials say the N.C. Department of Public Instruction must now sign off on the decision.
Haywood County school officials say Funding cuts and fewer students in Haywood schools have forced the district to make cuts.
The opening of a charter school this school year contributed to already declining enrollment.
The district is trying to make up an expected $2.4 million budget deficit. Officials already announced a number of cuts including eliminating 22 teaching positions.
During an emotional hearing last month, parents urged school officials not to close the school.
-- Julie Ball State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Appoints School Facilities and Transportation-- California Department of Education California: February 17, 2016 [ abstract] SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today that he has appointed new Directors for the California Department of Education's (CDE) Government Affairs Division and School Facilities and Transportation Services Division.
Debra Brown, a veteran in education legislation and policy, will lead the Government Affairs Division and serve as the CDE's liaison with local, state, and federal elected officials and government agencies.
Juan Mireles, an expert in school facilities Funding, will direct the School Facilities and Transportation Services Division.
"These are two top experts in their fields, and I look forward to the great work they will do for the CDE team," Torlakson said. "These Divisions provide outstanding service to the public, elected officials, and California schools."
Brown recently served as Director of Education Policy at Children Now, a non-partisan national, state, and local research, policy development, and advocacy organization.
She helped implement Children Now's education policy agenda, including the organization's work on school finance reform, Common Core, assessment and accountability issues, and early childhood readiness. She also worked as a senior legislative advocate at the California School Boards Association (CSBA) and served as their lead advocate on Funding and finance.
As CDE's Division Director for Government Affairs, Brown will be responsible for the administration of all departmental activities relating to state and federal legislation. Brown replaces former Division Director Monique Ramos, who is now a lobbyist.
Mireles was a Principal Program and Budget Analyst at the State Department of Finance, where he supervised analysts responsible for budgets on school facilities, charter schools, and teacher credentialing.
He has worked in school facilities since he began his state career at the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) in 1998. The OPSC is under the authority of the state's Department of General Services. As staff to the State Allocation Board, OPSC implements and administers a $35 billion voter-approved school facilities construction program. Mireles later served as OPSC's Deputy Executive Officer.
-- Robert Oakes Budget squabbles could cost schools PlanCon payments-- York Dispatch Pennsylvania: February 16, 2016 [ abstract] School districts across York County and beyond are awaiting repayments for construction and renovation projects through the state reimbursement system PlanCon, but this year's stalled budget has set aside no Funding for the program.
The partial budget Wolf approved in December did not include the $300 million in PlanCon funds the state is due to pay out this year.
Should that line item remain at zero by the time budget negotiations wrap, York County Schools could lose between $5 million and $6 million in reimbursements for their various construction and renovation projects, said Dallastown Area School District business manager Donna Devlin.
Dallastown is anticipating approximately $850,000 in PlanCon reimbursements for the 2015-16 year, she said.
"I don't know how we'd reconcile being out almost $1 million," Devlin said. "In the end that burden could be forced on the schools and the taxpayers."
-- Jessica Schladebeck Pender County OKs another $2.8 million in school funding-- StarNews Online North Carolina: February 16, 2016 [ abstract] HAMPSTEAD -- That the array of school renovation and construction projects is proceeding in Pender County was underscored Tuesday night at a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners.
Because of the Presidents’ Day holiday, the board met in the Hampstead Annex rather than the county office complex in Burgaw.
Commissioners approved the release of another $2.8 million to fund ongoing school renovation and construction projects through June. The board is taking the money from its general fund account, with plans for reimbursement after the initial bonds are issued, probably about June, when the new fiscal 2016-17 budget is in place.
Voters approved up to $75 million in school bonds in November 2014.
The commissioners continue to question the school board closely about the projects, worrying that some schools " including the new K-8 facility near Surf City " will be at or near capacity from opening day. On top of growth across Pender, particularly in the east, the state has reduced allowable student/teacher ratios, which also serves to lower school capacities.
-- Bill Walsh Audit: New Orleans schools rebuilding plan’s costs are up, projections skewed-- The New Orleans Advocate Louisiana: February 15, 2016 [ abstract] New Orleans’ school construction costs are up, there may be too many schools and not enough children, and tens of millions of dollars in anticipated construction revenue and projected savings have yet to roll in, according to a Legislative Auditor’s Office report released Monday.
The report gives an update on the city’s nearly $2 billion schools master plan, a multiple-year construction plan jointly managed by the state-run Recovery School District and the local Orleans Parish School Board.
The plan’s goal is to place every child in a new or renovated school facility within four years, through a combination of Federal Emergency Management Agency Funding, tax credits and other revenues.
The plan was last revised in 2011, when it set a goal of seating about 55,000 students in 35 new, 18 renovated and 28 “refurbished” schools, meaning those with less extensive renovations.
Most of the findings outlined Monday came as no surprise to local school watchers, as RSD and OPSB officials themselves highlighted many of the master plan’s shortcomings nearly two years ago. They noted then that construction costs had increased from an average $210 per square foot in the plan’s first phase to $250 per square foot in its second phase.
They also said more young students are entering the system than expected, which means more elementary school seats are needed.
Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera’s report also noted the increased costs and pointed out the need for more elementary schools and fewer high schools. It said that while a 2012 enrollment projection estimated an 8,467-student increase between 2010 and 2014, the schools actually saw an increase of only 5,149 students in that period. As a result, the master plan envisions providing more seats than needed, the report said.
If the trend continues, “RSD and OPSB will have excess capacity when the master plan projects are complete,” the report said.
Further, as of May 31, the city’s schools had realized only about a fifth, or $26.2 million, of a projected $139 million in potential savings and a little more than half, or $31.9 million, of projected $58.9 million in new revenue envisioned in the master plan, the audit report said.
Higher initial construction costs were the result of market conditions, OPSB and RSD officials said in response to the report. More recently, costs have stabilized, they said. They said tax credits, which make up most of the “new revenue” cited, usually are not fully obtained until projects are completed.
Moreover, the enrollment projections the auditor cited are invalid because they include students who receive state vouchers to attend private schools, RSD Chief Facilities Officer Ronald Bordelon and OPSB Chief Financial Officer Stan Smith said. Other calculations do not include those students, and without them, there is less than a 5 percent difference between projections and actual enrollment, the officials said.
However, Purpera said the projections were valid because officials have used them in the past to determine school capacities.
School officials also chided the auditor for including “swing space,” or temporary school buildings, in his assessment. He responded that it was appropriate to include these facilities in calculations while they are in use.
Purpera was not entirely critical of the school districts. Schools are being built faster, he noted, because of alternative construction and design methods, such as “design-build” schools, where construction begins before the entire design of the school is finished.
After environmental concerns sparked construction delays at Booker T. Washington High School and the RSD decided to build a new high school at the Walter L. Cohen High site, the agency extended its master plan schedule until mid-2019. The OPSB is on track to complete its work in December 2018, the report said.
Follow Jessica Williams on Twitter, @jwilliamsNOLA.
-- JESSICA WILLIAMS Lack of state funding leaves many Montana schools in disrepair-- Billings Gazette Montana: February 15, 2016 [ abstract] Montana ranks near the bottom nationally for the state's share of Funding for school construction and repair — and education leaders say that has caused differences in the quality of education statewide that might run afoul of the law.
What's certain is that the lack of state Funding has left some schools in disrepair for years, leading sewage to back up in hallways, snowpack to threaten roof collapses and students to crowd too-small classrooms that don't meet accreditation standards. Advocates say that when the state doesn't pay its fair share, districts have turned to local residents, who increasingly are unwilling or unable to pay more taxes.
In the wake of an education lawsuit a decade ago, the Legislature created two programs to help pay for facilities, but Funding for both has not kept pace with growing needs, and the state predicts income for the programs will fall further. Additionally, the 2015 Legislature failed to fund one of them, killing grants to help 53 school districts.
â€"They've certainly made efforts to address building deficiencies but it's not a very viable solution,†said Dianne Burke, executive director of the Montana Quality Education Coalition, noting a 2008 state inventory that tallied $360 million in needed repairs. â€"When you're allocating $10 million a year, that's not really making too much progress. It would take you 36 years to catch up, not even thinking about inflation.â€
-- JAYME FRASER George hopeful SBA input leads to a facilities plan in Fayette County-- MetroNews West Virginia: February 10, 2016 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. " Fayette County School Superintendent Terry George has been collaborating with the School Building Authority to come up with a Facilities Plan that would be more likely to receive SBA Funding next year.
The SBA turned down Fayette County’s Comprehensive Education Facilities Plan in 2015"where they requested 39 million dollars over three years to consolidate, close, and build anew.
“Our plan is to work with the School Building Authority, the State Board [of Education], and Dr. Martirano to come up with a project that could be funded and successfully completed with an award in December of 2016 at the SBA,” George told MetroNews.
George and SBA Executive Director David Sneed met with the State School Board of Education Wednesday to provide an update on what the parties are doing to attempt to improve the Fayette County facilities through short-term and long-term projects. The collaboration began January 5, according to George.
“We’ve been quietly working to develop a process where we can assess our situation, collect our data, and begin working on a long-range plan,” he said. “That’s what they would like to look at. We have all agreed to cooperate and get on the same page and try to put together a long-range plan for the county that alleviates the current facility issues.”
-- Alex Wiederspiel Florida House moves to curb school construction costs, support charter school capital projects-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: February 08, 2016 [ abstract] Rep. Erik Fresen's pledge to "address the overspending of school districts on school facilities" takes a step forward Tuesday, when the House Appropriations Committee takes up a sweeping measure that would force districts into construction spending limits while also sharing local capital projects tax revenue with charter schools.
The proposed committee substitute for HB 873, which surfaced over the weekend, would prohibit districts from spending more per student station than outlined in statute, restricting their access to state PECO Funding if they exceed the amounts. It further would give charter schools that meet set criteria, such as being in operation more than two years, a percentage of the local property tax that currently goes to districts only.
-- Jeffrey S. Solochek Ocean City School Refinancing Plan to Save $1 million-- OCNJdaily.com New Jersey: February 06, 2016 [ abstract] Ocean City’s school district is undertaking a debt refinancing plan that will allow it to capitalize on lower interest rates and save more than $1 million for taxpayers.
Essentially, the district is following the same strategy as myriad homeowners who have refinanced their mortgages in recent years to take advantage of historically low interest rates.
“That’s exactly it,” said Tim Kelley, the district’s business administrator. “We are simply refinancing our existing debt. We are not taking on additional debt.”
Under the plan, the district will replace about $11.7 million in existing bonds that have an interest rate of between 4 percent and 5 percent with new debt ranging from 2 percent to 3 percent.
Kelley estimates a total savings of $1.05 million in interest costs over the life of the new bonds through 2022.
The refinancing will also decrease the tax rate on the school district’s debt service by two-tenths of a cent, resulting in a savings of about $10 per year for the typical homeowner whose property is assessed at $500,000, Kelley said.
On Jan. 20, the Board of Education introduced an ordinance to authorize the bond reFunding. The board is scheduled to hold a public hearing and take a final vote on the plan at its Feb. 24 meeting.
Assuming the ordinance is approved, the new bonds are expected to be sold to investors in late March, Kelley said.
-- Donald Wittkowski Wake County to identify $2 billion in school construction needs-- The News & Observer North Carolina: February 03, 2016 [ abstract] Wake County school officials will tell commissioners Wednesday they have more than $2 billion in school construction needs over the next seven years.
During Wednesday’s joint meeting of the board of commissioners and school board, school staff will lay out the seven-year capital improvement plan while county staff will lay out what money is available in their Funding model. The school district’s presentation comes at a time when commissioners are looking at skipping a school bond referendum this year and not raising property taxes in order to protect a half-cent sales tax to pay for the transit plan that will be on the November ballot.
School officials project they’ll need on average $358.9 million a year to meet construction needs. The county’s Funding model indicates that Wake won’t come close to providing $358.9 million unless commissioners raise taxes.
What will likely happen in the next several months is that the school board and commissioners will agree to a scaled-down version of the capital improvement plan to cover the next three to four years.
For now, school staff project the need for $1.1 billion for new schools, or an average of $157 million a year for the next seven years. That amount covers the opening of 10 elementary schools, two middle schools and three high schools. Also on the bill are five elementary schools, a middle school and a high school that won’t be open at the end of the seven-year period but will need to be bid out.
The new schools would help Wake keep up with the 20,904 new students projected to come by 2022. But Wake is projecting costs to rise to $100 million for a new high school, $63 million for a new middle school and $34 million for a new elementary school
-- T. KEUNG HUI Beachwood City Council considering a reduction in building permit fees for city's schools-- Cleveland.com Ohio: February 02, 2016 [ abstract] BEACHWOOD, Ohio -- With Beachwood Schools planning to undertake large-scale construction projects in the next couple of years, City Council and the administration are taking a look at its financial relationship with its schools.
City Council met with Mayor Merle Gorden Monday in a Committee-of-the Whole meeting to discuss a request from Beachwood Schools Superintendent Robert Hardis that the city reduce or eliminate its permit fees pertaining to future construction work.
Beachwood Schools are moving forward with a plan to consolidate Hilltop and Bryden elementary schools by holding classes at an expanded Fairmount Early Childhood Center campus. The campus would be the subject of a $35.7-million addition that would make it home to classes for all elementary school children.
The Hilltop School building, except for its gymnasium, would be demolished, and its land used for future sports fields.
To make these plans happen, the schools will go to voters to try and get passed a bond issue and property tax increase in 2017 or 2018.
The schools also plan to build, for next season, a new football stadium at a cost of $4.8 million. The money for the football stadium would be borrowed through a separate Funding mechanism called certificates of participation.
Before any possible action on their part is taken, council members agreed Monday that they want to further examine its relationship with the schools to determine how to proceed.
-- Jeff Piorkowski Portland schools seek $500K to assess building needs-- The Forecaster Maine: February 02, 2016 [ abstract] PORTLAND " In a week when the ramp at Howard C. Reiche Community School was closed because of structural concerns, School Department officials continued looking into a facilities assessment for all school buildings.
Whether the issue at Reiche is an isolated incident or one piece of a larger problem is something the department and School Board hope to discover.
Chief Financial Officer Ellen Sanborn said a full assessment of all the buildings hadn’t been done “in a while.”
The School Board held a first reading Jan. 19 of a proposal to allocate $500,000 for the assessment, but Sanborn said she expects it will cost less. She said the department will need approval from the City Council, since the project would rely on budget surplus.
If the council approves the Funding, the School Department will issue a request for proposals.
Sanborn said Oak Point Associates, the architecture firm that created the Buildings for Our Future study on renovations to the city’s elementary schools, will be going back and updating the study independently from the facilities assessment.
Buildings for Our Future, which Oak Point completed in 2013, looks at the existing conditions of Reiche, Fred P. Hall Elementary School, Lyseth Elementary School, Presumpscot Elementary and Longfellow Elementary. It also looks at program space at each school, and outlines recommendations and potential budgets and time lines for renovations.
In a memo to the department’s finance committee, Sanborn said, “Since the Buildings for Our Future effort was completed there was little or no focus on capital projects for those schools, with the anticipation of major renovation or replacement taking place instead.”
-- Colin Ellis Why Detroit schools are crumbling - look at state's funding foundation-- Mlive Michigan: February 01, 2016 [ abstract] Black mold in school buildings. Classroom heating systems that fail during frigid Michigan winters. Leaky roofs, warped floors, and collapsed ceilings.
As Lansing lawmakers belatedly work to address the Detroit Public Schools' financial crisis, these physical manifestations of that crisis have provoked perhaps the loudest public outcry. Classroom conditions are a focal point of teachers' ongoing protests. And activists warn that the school system's ancient infrastructure poses health risks to both students and employees.
Little attention, however, has been paid to the regressive school-finance system that all but ensured Detroit schools' physical decay. And until legislators reform that system, children from poorer districts across Michigan will continue to face substandard, unequal learning conditions.
A bit of background: Pursuant to Michigan law, the state provides each local school district a per-pupil "allowance" each year. That allowance — which largely derives from state sales and property taxes — is meant to fund basic operations: textbooks, teacher salaries, supplies and so forth.
Not every district receives the same per-pupil allowance. But each district does receive an allowance within a statutorily defined range, theoretically ensuring a modicum of Funding equality across the state.
The facade of equality collapses, however, when one realizes that Michigan funds only part of local school districts' expenses. Crucially, Michigan provides zero funds for building new school facilities, or for improving or maintaining older schools. Whenever a district needs to replace or refurbish an aging school building, it must raise the funds itself. And as a practical matter, Michigan provides school districts just one way to pay for physical infrastructure: through local property taxes.
-- Eli Savit Wake County commissioners want to avoid bond referendum for school construction-- The News & Observer North Carolina: January 31, 2016 [ abstract] RALEIGH
Wake commissioners may forgo a bond referendum to fund school construction this year because they fear it would jeopardize a countywide transit plan, which they hope to partially fund with a half-cent sales tax referendum.
The Wake County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to meet Wednesday with the Wake Board of Education to talk about the school district’s construction and renovation needs in the coming years.
Wake commissioners are responsible for Funding facility construction for the county school system, and for years they’ve done it by asking Wake voters to approve a bond referendum, giving commissioners permission to borrow money or raise taxes for the effort. Bond referendums typically allow governments to borrow more and at better rates than they would through other means of financing.
But this time, commissioners are looking for ways to fund school construction without putting a referendum on November’s ballot. The reason: They’re hoping voters will approve a half-cent sales tax increase to help fund the transit plan, and they don’t want to confuse or overburden constituents.
“What we’re gonna try to do, because of the transit referendum and not putting so much of a burden on our taxpayers, is find bridge Funding like limited-obligation bonds,” commissioners’ Chairman James West said.
Limited-obligation bonds typically draw higher interest rates than general-obligation bonds because, unlike general-obligation bonds, they don’t require commissioners to raise taxes to repay the debt or secure borrowing approval from voters.
“In concept, what we’re trying to do is avoid any sort of tax increase or bond referendum for this coming fiscal year,” West said.
-- PAUL A. SPECHT AND T. KEUNG HUI Hughes concerned about maintenance safety at city schools-- The Philadelphia Tribune Pennsylvania: January 30, 2016 [ abstract] State Sen. Vincent Hughes called for inspections of more than 200 public school buildings at a news conference at Alain Locke Elementary School on Friday, days after the school was closed early because of a heater malfunction.
“This is not what our children deserve,” said Hughes, the Democratic chair of the state Senate Appropriations Committee.
Hughes demanded state assistance, saying it was incumbent upon lawmakers in Harrisburg to handle their obligation to properly fund building maintenance, and spoke fervently about the need to pass a state budget plan that distributes public education funds more fairly.
“If our children weren’t Black and brown, we wouldn’t be seeing this problem right now,” Hughes said, lightly pounding his fist on the podium in the school lobby, decorated with banners and signs about educational excellence.
He echoed concerns by other public education advocates who say Philadelphia schools have been short-changed for several years, resulting in overall decreased Funding that has forced spending cutbacks for building maintenance.
Hughes has been at the center of the now seven-month state budget impasse that has affected an array of state services. Schools were temporarily funded in a stop-gap Funding measure earlier this month, but local officials say Philadelphia schools have been underfunded by the state for the past five years.
-- Wilford Shamlin III Proposed Bills Could Annex, Close Some Oklahoma Schools-- News9.com Oklahoma: January 28, 2016 [ abstract] SAPULPA, Oklahoma - To help schools meet their budgets in the midst of an education Funding crisis, Thursday, the State Board of Education removed restrictions on nearly $30 million to allow schools to pay for urgent needs.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have been busy filing bills to find ways to save money on education – including annexing or even closing smaller school districts.
It's not the first time those suggestions have been proposed, but with our budget crisis, this might be the year it gets passed - and that has some school districts concerned.
Ginny Playford is an eighth-grade teacher at Lone Star Schools and said when she found out about the recent bills she became concerned.
â€"We have a great school and I would not want to lose it," Playford said. "Why is it always education? It's not education that's been misappropriated."
Playford said she understands the budget crisis but wants the state to leave her school and her students alone.
â€"You can see the smaller class sizes, you get to know your students so much better," she said. â€"Our report card is a "B" which is higher than most of them in Sapulpa."
Two senate bills offer different ways to consolidate small school districts.
-- ERIN CONRAD School system jockeys for state construction money-- Capital Gazette Maryland: January 28, 2016 [ abstract] Gov. Larry Hogan's budget proposes to give $25 million to Anne Arundel County for school construction projects, but school system officials made their case Wednesday for another $30 million.
The request comes on the day Maryland's 23 other school districts vied for the $314 million set aside in the state's capital budget for school projects, about one-third of the total capital spending plan. The fiscal 2017 budget includes $280 million for Maryland's main public school construction program and $3.5 million for eligible aging, non-public schools.
"I wouldn't anticipate that we're going to get everything we asked for," said county schools superintendent George Arlotto, who added Anne Arundel received $36 million in state Funding for construction last year. "But between the county government and the state, we've done very well as a school system."
Thirteen Anne Arundel County schools were included in Hogan's plan, allotting matching grants for construction and renovations. Chesapeake, Severna Park and South River high schools were earmarked, as well as Jones, Maryland City, North Glen, Odenton, Ridgeway, Shipley's Choice, South Shore and Woodside elementary schools. J. Albert Adams Academy and West Meade Early Education Center also would get funds.
But a few projects didn't get earmarked for their full requested amounts, and some didn't show up in the governor's proposal at all.
-- Elisha Sauers Jackson schools map out millions in capital needs-- Smoky Mountain News North Carolina: January 27, 2016 [ abstract] Jackson County Public Schools wants more than $12 million for improvements to its facilities through 2020, but despite the big number, the requests are pretty basic, Superintendent Mike Murray told commissioners last week.
“There’s some point where you say it’s just not right to have kids sitting with buckets in classrooms,” Murray said.
Roofs, heating and athletics
A significant chunk of the $12.6 million ask " a number which is not final and includes projects funded through the budget approved in July " would go to replace failing roofs at five schools in the district, a $2.8 million undertaking. Most of the roofs are 20 or more years old, so given that the standard life of a roof is around 25 years, it’s time to start planning for replacements before failures happen.
In some cases, it’s been too late. Commissioners had to appropriate $190,000 in emergency funds this year when part of the roof at Fairview Elementary School unexpectedly failed. The same thing happened at Cullowhee Valley Elementary School in 2013. In that case, Murray said, it appears something was up with the design " the roof should have lasted longer.
“We should have got another 10 years out of that roof,” Murray said. “There’s no reason in the world that it failed when it did.”
Another big piece of the requested Funding is for heating, ventilation and air conditioning renovation, accounting for $2.9 million of the five-year estimate. Looking further ahead, the school system knows it will need to renovate the system at Fairview in year six. There’s no estimate for that project yet, but it will likely come in over a million dollars. The HVAC plan is another one of those expensive but necessary improvements, Murray said " not glamorous, but vital to the function of the schools.
“We put away the wish list and looked at things to keep the roof over our heads,” he told commissioners.
-- Holly Kays Maryland school officials request more funding for construction projects-- Your4State.com Maryland: January 27, 2016 [ abstract] In front of the Board of Public Works, Gov. Larry Hogan, the comptroller and treasurer, schools from across the state appealed for additional Funding for construction projects in the 2017 fiscal year budget.
In Fredrick County, the main request was for the remainder of money needed for Frederick High School, which is set to be completed in 2017. They also requested funds to expand elementary schools.
"Tremendous need for new schools, updated schools and the number of schools that need advancements or rehabilitation are rather staggering... the states and counties together are just finding it more difficult to keep up," said John Barr, president of the Maryland Association of Counties.
In Washington County, they requested Funding for school projects in Hancock, Funkstown and Boonsboro.
"I do think we are going to be respectful of the process, and if the governor wants to do this, we can do this, but quite honestly at the end of the day, not sure if it makes much difference to people because most are started through IAC that commission that causally governs our construction projects way in advance of this," said Washington County Public Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox.
-- BRITTANY MARSHALL | Four Portland schools in dire need of repairs, parents say-- Portland Press Herald Oregon: January 25, 2016 [ abstract] A $29.7 million bond to replace the Fred P. Hall Elementary School hasn’t even received a public hearing yet and already there is a movement afoot in Portland to build support for another borrowing package to begin upgrading four other elementary schools.
The City Council will hold a public hearing Feb. 17 on the Hall School replacement plan. If approved by the council and by city voters, the 440-student Hall School would be replaced with a new school for 558 students.
The project has been deemed enough of a priority that it qualified for state Funding to cover nearly all of the cost. However, the city would have to cover $1.4 million of the price because of additional features approved by a special committee and the School Board.
The idea of asking Portland taxpayers to kick in extra money for a bigger cafeteria, bigger gymnasium, additional play structures and outdoor learning spaces, and certifying it as a “green” building, is prompting a broader discussion about other elementary schools that haven’t been upgraded since they were built 40 to 60 years ago.
“Planning for Hall School really puts this back into the spotlight,” said District 4 City Councilor Justin Costa, a former School Board member and school finance chairman. “It’s certainly hard for us to treat one school in isolation.”
Parents throughout the city, including those at Hall School, are organizing an effort to persuade the council to address the remaining elementary schools this year.
-- RANDY BILLINGS House Republicans take aim at public school construction dollars-- Miami Herald Florida: January 25, 2016 [ abstract] TALLAHASSEE
Setting the tone for an adversarial debate, Florida House Republican leaders want to rein in what they call a “disturbing pattern” of school districts “glaringly and grossly” exceeding a state-imposed limit for spending on school construction projects.
Citing annual data that districts report to the state, House education budget Chairman Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, said public schools have spent more than $1.2 billion over the last nine years in excess of a legal cap that dictates how much in state money schools can spend “per student station,” or the space required for each individual student.
His findings were discussed by the full House Appropriations Committee last week and offer a prelude to further conversations this session about both the annual education budget and proposed new restrictions traditional public schools might face in how they spend capital dollars.
But some Democrats and public school representatives said Fresen’s findings aren’t the whole picture.
They said requiring accountable spending of taxpayers’ dollars is a conversation worth having, but they said Fresen’s conclusions over-simplify how school construction projects are funded. In addition to state aid, districts have their own local sources of revenue " such as local sales tax and bond referendums " which they’ve had to rely on more and more as the state has cut Funding and shifted dollars to charter schools.
-- SCOTT KEELER January's Texas School Bond Volume Doubled-- The Bond Buyer Texas: January 25, 2016 [ abstract] DALLAS – Texas school districts began 2016 by doubling the volume of bonds they issued compared to the same month of 2015.
Counting the deals scheduled for the final week, January will see about $2.2 billion of Texas school bonds, twice the $1.1 billion in January 2015. The high volume comes after a year of record issuance for Texas districts.
Volume of $16.2 billion from the districts in 2015 grew 36% compared to 2014, according to Thomson Reuters data. With 595 deals, school districts accounted for 58% of total Texas bond volume, up from 42% in 2014.
"It looks interesting," said Noe Hinojosa Jr., chief executive of financial advisor Estrada Hinojosa & Co., who attributed the volume to "growth, successful elections, current reFunding bonds and interest rates being lower by as much as 35 basis points versus December."
Hinojosa is scheduled to open The Bond Buyer's Texas Public Finance Conference in Austin Feb. 1, where a panel of experts will discuss the future of independent school district financing on Feb. 2.
One of the scheduled panelists, Dallas Independent School District chief financial officer James Terry, is preparing for a spring issue of some of the record $1.6 billion of bonds approved by voters last year.
Voters in 38 Texas school districts approved $6.3 billion of school construction bonds on the November ballot, one of the largest authorizations in the state's history. In January, 38 districts are pricing bonds.
-- RICHARD WILLIAMSON Modesto City Schools board to prioritize $1 billion in campus needs-- The Modesto Bee California: January 23, 2016 [ abstract] The state of Modesto school campuses and the $1 billion needed to bring them up to par will be the topic of a study session of the board Monday.
The Modesto City Schools board will meet at 4 p.m. to begin prioritizing needs and discussing solutions for the district’s nearly three dozen campuses and support facilities, from peeling paint to replacement of major utility systems.
The district commissioned a baseline survey of its properties, a 2-inch-thick inventory of problems that tells what is needed to bring existing buildings and sidewalks to like-new condition. By design, it did not go into the merit of spending so much to re-create what was.
For example, the report projects Modesto High School will require $56 million in fixes, but that does not address the bottleneck at its historic entrance each passing period, a problem discussed at last week’s meeting.
In discussion when the report was first unveiled in October, board members and administrators said trustees would have to lay out priorities to allocate limited Funding across such a broad expanse. They also could consider changing older buildings to update layouts, incorporate technology or improve security.
-- NAN AUSTIN School officials hope money requests aren’t muddied by court decisions, Legislature-- The Olympian Washington: January 23, 2016 [ abstract] Perhaps you’ve seen the bright yellow “Yes: Schools” campaign signs, banners and buttons throughout Thurston County.
Educators and supporters in Thurston County’s eight public school districts are working together to send a clear and consistent message that they need voter support in the Feb. 9 special election.
“Not only (does) it save money, but at the same time, it brings us together,” Raj Manhas, superintendent of North Thurston Public Schools, said of the campaign collaboration. “Kids are kids. It doesn’t matter where they live. We’re all here to support kids.”
And with nearly $646 million in local Funding at stake in Thurston County, school district leaders hope their message won’t be lost amid all the discussion and headlines about how state lawmakers are working on a plan to fully fund school districts because of the McCleary court decision.
“Some will ask, so why do we need levies anymore?” said John Bash, superintendent of the Tumwater School District, which has the renewal of a nearly $65 million maintenance and operations levy on the ballot. “And the simple answer is that the state has not fully funded education.”
In fact, the state budget director said Thursday that lawmakers will not finish the work required to fix the way Washington pays for public schools during this legislative session.
“It’s very confusing for voters, I think,” said Dick Cvitanich, superintendent of the Olympia School District, which has a 20-year, $160.7 million construction bond measure on the ballot.
Every Thurston County school district is asking voters to approve four-year maintenance and operations levies that pay for ongoing expenses, and two districts " Olympia and Yelm " also have construction bond measures on the ballot. Yelm’s bond request is similar to the $53.9 million measure that received more than half “yes” votes about a year ago, but fell short of 60 percent approval rate needed.
What’s the difference between a levy and a bond? Both are property taxes, but in general terms, levies cover expenses for learning while bonds pay for construction. Local levies pay for paraeducator salaries, curriculum and special education, as well as operational costs such as transportation, custodial services and maintenance.
-- LISA PEMBERTON Budget stalemate threatens Marion High School construction-- The Southern Illinoisan Illinois: January 22, 2016 [ abstract] MARION " The budget stalemate in Springfield is wreaking havoc on construction cash flow for the Marion High School building project.
At its next meeting in February, members of the Marion Community Unit School District 2 school board will vote on taking out a line of credit of up to $7.3 million to keep construction going as the district waits on government funds to come through.
Nearly half of the $67 million project is funded through state and federal dollars. A bond issue, combined with revenue from a 1 percent sales tax, has funded the rest.
District Superintendent Keith Oates said about $5.8 million in capital development dollars and Illinois Emergency Management Agency Funding is held up at the state level, thanks to the budget standoff.
“It’s very frustrating,” Oates said. “I’ve reached out to our local legislators, they’ve not been able to make any progress with this issue.”
Just as aggravating, he said, is the fact that the district likely will have to cover the interest charges while waiting for Gov. Bruce Rauner to release the funds the district has been promised.
Administrators are poised to reach out to the governor and his staffers next week.
-- SARAH HALASZ GRAHAM Quileute Tribal School competing for federal funds to move school to higher ground-- Peninsula Daily News Bureau of Indian Education: January 22, 2016 [ abstract] LA PUSH — The Quileute Tribal School is preparing to compete with nine other tribal schools for millions of dollars in Funding to move students permanently to higher ground, away from ocean storms and tsunamis. The small kindergarten-through-12th-grade school with an enrollment of 70 to 80 students is one of 10 tribal schools selected nationwide to compete for a complete replacement. The existing school site is adjacent to First Beach in La Push and, like much of the community, including the Quileute Tribal Center, the Quileute Senior Center and many homes, is directly in the path of possible tsunamis or flooding from the Quillayute River. Of the 78 schools that were eligible for the replacement due to age and condition, 53 submitted an application for replacement in 2015, according to the Office of Indian Affairs. On Jan. 13, the Quileute Tribal Council was notified that the school is one of the top 10 applicants for five school replacements budgeted by Congress. 7 Navajo schools Seven of the 10 finalists are Navajo schools, including one in the southwest, one in the west and the Quileute Tribal School, according to the Office of Indian Affairs. The school and tribe were invited to a three-day public meeting, Feb. 2-4, at the National Indian Program Training Center in Albuquerque, N.M. Schools selected from the 10 finalists for the construction priority list will split $8 million in Funding for planning and design. The final selected schools will have building replacements funded in order of which is most “shovel-ready” beginning in 2017 until all priority schools are replaced, according to an Indian Affairs fact sheet. “Shovel-ready” means planning is complete, permits are secured and construction work can begin as soon as Funding is in place.
-- Arwyn Rice Construction continues for 3 new post schools-- The Fort Campbell Courier Kentucky: January 21, 2016 [ abstract] A quick drive down Bastogne Avenue toward William C. Lee Road unveils construction workers busily building the walls of the new Fort Campbell High School.
“We’re of course excited that they’re building a brand-new school at Fort Campbell that’s going to be able to supply an education for kids as they move forward in life … we think it’s going to be exciting for the kids,” said Fort Campbell SchoolsAssistant Superintendent Gary Gerstner.
With the start of the new 184,000-square-foot, two-story facility seemingly sprouting overnight, school construction remains on pace at Fort Campbell. The new high school project was awarded to Walsh Federal in November 2014, with site work beginning in May 2015. The contractor initially had to re-route a storm water line, said Community Planner Robert Hilgartner Jr., Fort Campbell Directorate of Public Works Master Plans Division.
The new FCHS is tentatively set to open for students sometime within the 2017-18 academic year with features in line with the Department of Defense Education Activity’s 21st Century learning model.
“Since we did the high school plan, we went through and re-master planned their athletic program,” Hilgartner said. “So once Funding comes online, we’re going to bring the athletic program up to 21st Century standards also, which is more ball fields, better facilities to support the kids and their athletics and everything.”
-- Megan Locke Interim panel tackles Montana school building needs-- Billings Gazette Montana: January 20, 2016 [ abstract] Do Montana's kids have an equal opportunity to receive high quality public education?
Does the Legislature fund public education at a level that develops â€"the full educational potential of each person"?
Every 10 years, the Montana Legislature appoints a School Funding Commission to take a fresh look at these questions to ensure the state is meeting its obligation under the Montana Constitution. This review considers many aspects of school Funding, including the complex formula that distributes a â€"guaranteed tax base†to every school district. The current commission includes 12 legislators (six from each party) and four members of the public.
Since the commission meets so seldom, the importance of its work is magnified. As a member of the commission, my intent is to alert Montana voters to issues that may affect them and their communities across the state and give them the opportunity to contact me and other members to express their opinions. I will try to capture what I learned at the meetings, but my words do not represent the views of the commission as a whole.
Adequacy issues
Probably the thorniest problem is state Funding for school facilities. In the case of Columbia Falls Elementary School District. No. 6 v. the State of Montana (April 2004), District Court Judge Jeffrey Sherlock ruled in favor of public school districts: â€"… that the current Montana school Funding system violates Article X, Section 1 of the Montana Constitution in that it fails to provide adequate Funding for Montana's public schools.â€
In the list of conclusions to support his decision, Sherlock wrote: â€"Adequate and safe school facilities are an essential component of a quality education system.â€
-- KATHY KELKER School construction projects under budget, ahead of schedule-- Capital Gazette Maryland: January 20, 2016 [ abstract] The Anne Arundel County Board of Education learned Wednesday night that a number of school construction projects are under budget and ahead of schedule.
The school board received an update on $559.4 million worth of construction projects from Chief Operating Officer Alex Szachnowicz, including the replacement of Rolling Knolls Elementary School and Severna Park High School, and renovations at West Annapolis Elementary School.
The pace of construction depends how much county officials allocate for the capital budget and state Funding for school construction, Szachnowicz said.
The school voted unanimously in September to approve a $159.9 million capital budget for fiscal 2017 to submit to state officials. In Superintendent George Arlotto's budget request in December, he added $95.7 million to the capital budget to include a $94 million federal grant request for renovations at Meade High School and $1.6 million to convert a science facility in Galesville to a pre-kindergarten center.
The school board is expected to approve the operating and capital budgets in February. The budget will then go to County Executive Steve Schuh, who may make adjustments.
School staff gives quarterly construction updates to the school board.
-- Cindy Huang Report: Kansas needs state oversight of local school bonds-- KWCH12 Kansas: January 19, 2016 [ abstract] A new report from Republican legislators in Kansas says the state needs to provide greater oversight over local school construction projects.
The report approved Tuesday recommends creating a legislative committee. It would review proposals from school districts to issue bonds for construction projects when a district will receive state aid to help with the cost. It also suggests that lawmakers limit the projects eligible for state aid.
The state helps poor districts with bond payments. The cost of that aid has jumped.
The report is from a House-Senate committee that studied school Funding issues last fall. The committee is recommending that Kansas overhaul how it distributes more than $4 billion in aid to its public schools.
-- Associated Press State may help overcrowded high school-- ThisWeek Community News Ohio: January 19, 2016 [ abstract] Canal Winchester school district officials are exploring options with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission to see what can be done to solve overcrowding in its high school.
The school board unanimously approved a resolution at its Jan. 11 meeting that gives the district permission to take the first steps to work with the OFCC Classroom Facilities Assistance Program.
The OFCC, established in 2012 in a merger between the Ohio School Facilities Commission and the former Office of the State Architect, provides districts with partial Funding and assistance for the construction and renovation of school facilities. According to the resolution, the commission has notified Canal Winchester that the district is on a priority list for "conditional approval in 2016" to participate in the building and renovation program.
Superintendent Jim Sotlar said the district must apply within 45 days of the current quarter to maintain its priority status.
The commission has recommended that Canal Winchester schools hire a design and construction professional to review the Facilities Assessment Report prepared by the district to identify possible basic building concerns.
An assessment of the building and enrollment projections will determine the scope of the construction work.
Currently, 1,173 students attend Canal Winchester High School. District projections indicate that enrollment will grow to 1,193 in fiscal year 2017; 1,220 in 2018, 1,238 in 2019, and 1,254 in 2020.
-- JANET THIEDE Pr. George’s community opposes Forestville High School’s closure-- The Washington Post Maryland: January 17, 2016 [ abstract] When Sharon “Grandma” Sims heard Forestville High School might close, she rallied her troops.
A longtime advocate of the high school " which from 2002 to 2013 was the state’s first publicly funded military academy " Sims delivered marching orders via text and email, urging Forestville’s platoon of committed graduates and parents to complain to Prince George’s County school officials.
The head of the county school board said Forestville could be closed at the end of this school year as the county grapples with underperforming schools, declining enrollment and significant renovation needs. A consultant’s report said the county should close 29 of its 198 schools by 2035. A subsequent master plan written by the school system said officials should consider closing up to eight schools by fall 2018.
Forestville has fewer than 800 students, and keeping it open would be an inefficient use of resources, county officials said. They also said it could jeopardize state Funding for nearby Suitland High School, which is slated for major renovations. But closure would be a blow to the proud inner-Beltway neighborhood that surrounds the high school.
-- Arelis R. Hernández and Donna St. George McHenry County schools: Illinois budget uncertainty makes capital projects planning difficult-- Northwest Herald Illinois: January 16, 2016 [ abstract] The floor tiles at Dundee Highlands Elementary School look like a poorly designed patchwork quilt.
The bathrooms need to be updated, and the roof needs to be repaired.
Algonquin-based Community Unit School District 300 had planned to complete these projects about a decade ago when it applied for, and was picked to receive, a $35 million state grant that never came.
Some of the work has been completed as needed over the years, but the district still has a lengthy list of projects, many that date back to 2004, but some that are new, estimated to cost a total of $31 million, said Susan Harkin, the district’s chief operating officer.
The list also includes additions to four of its buildings, 10 classrooms at Carpentersville Middle School, four at the deLacey Family Center in Carpentersville, and eight classes each at Gilberts Elementary School and Hampshire’s Wright Elementary School, according to district documents.
The District 300 school board signed off earlier this week on an application for Qualified School Construction Bonds, a state-managed program that uses federal funds to finance low-interest loans to help school districts pay for capital improvements.
The Crystal Lake Elementary School District 47 board gave approval earlier in the month to also apply for the bonds, although neither district knows yet if they’ll be selected to participate.
School districts that can take advantage of the bonds " ones that have shovel-ready projects and don’t need to go out to referendum " are jumping at the Funding mechanism.
-- EMILY K. COLEMAN Branstad promotes water quality plan that would tap school tax, may derail lawsuit-- Omaha.com Iowa: January 15, 2016 [ abstract] A looming battle between rural Iowa and Des Moines could be avoided if the Iowa Legislature approves a plan that would tap a slice of existing sales tax revenue for water quality programs, Gov. Terry Branstad said Thursday.
The governor touted his proposal to share sales tax Funding that now is directed only at improving school infrastructure. He said that could derail a lawsuit in the Iowa Supreme Court that threatens to create unnecessary fault lines between urban and rural Iowans.
“That’s not healthy for our state. It would tear the state apart,’’ Branstad said during a meeting with The World-Herald editorial board.
Among the water quality issues facing Iowa is a Des Moines Water Works lawsuit seeking damages from drainage districts in three northern counties for nitrate-laden drinking water. The lawsuit, filed nearly a year ago, alleges that drainage districts in Sac, Buena Vista and Calhoun Counties are conduits that enable high levels of nitrates to move from farm fields into the Raccoon River. The river is one of two sources of drinking water for 500,000 Des Moines-area residents.
-- David Hendee Charter school group sues LAUSD over construction money-- Los Angeles Times California: January 14, 2016 [ abstract] A state group that advocates for charter schools is suing the Los Angeles Unified School District, claiming that millions of dollars intended for construction projects have been stripped away without public oversight or accountability.
The California Charter Schools Assn. filed a lawsuit against L.A. Unified and new Supt. Michelle King this week alleging that district leaders have in public forums and in court documents stated that $450 million from a bond measure passed by voters in 2008 was to be allocated to charter schools.
District officials have since reduced Funding for charter facilities by $224 million, according to the lawsuit.
The most recent reduction occurred in November when L.A. Unified's school board reallocated $600 million from the bond program to make schools more accessible to disabled students.
-- Zahira Torres Navajo welcome $45 million from feds for schools, but say need persists-- Cronkite News National: January 14, 2016 [ abstract] WASHINGTON " Interior Secretary Sally Jewell delivered $45 million of “long overdue” construction funds Thursday for two long-neglected schools in the Navajo Nation, the last of 14 schools promised Funding there 12 years ago.
The Interior Department had announced last February that Funding was finally on the way for Cove Day School and Little Singer Community School, but Congress did not approve the money until last month.
“While this Funding is long overdue, it meets critical educational needs to build safe learning environments for Native children, fulfills a broken promise to tribal communities, and clears the way for our new 2016 replacement school construction priority list,” Jewell said, according to a statement from the department. She made the announcement at Cove Day School.
Officials with the Navajo Nation welcomed the Funding, but said the tribe’s other schools still need help.
“So these two schools finally got the money,” said Tommy Lewis, superintendent of schools for the Navajo Nation. “Boy, it’s good. We need more.”
The Navajo Nation has 15,000 students in 66 schools " more schools than any other tribe. Many of those are now 40 to 70 years old and have developed safety concerns that run from mildew to falling roofs, Lewis said.
-- Danika Worthington Wilkes-Barre Area School District Crunches Numbers for New School Construction-- PAhomepage.com Pennsylvania: January 12, 2016 [ abstract] Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County -- How does a school district build a 21st century school without a significant tax hike? Wilkes-Barre Area School Superintendent Bernard Prevuznak said on Tuesday that it's not easy. "We are in a financial crisis right now."
The district which operates on a $110 million annual budget is tasked with building a new school at the site of the old dilapidated Coughlin High School. It would house up to 1,800 students from both Coughlin and Meyers High Schools. Mr. Prevuznak said rather than passing along a big tax hike to property owners, the district can meet the price tag by managing its debt. "I believe that we can utilize bond issues, floating bonds to address this."
The district will also have some critical Funding at its disposal once it pays off its long term debt in six years. That will free up three to four million dollars per year. But some are skeptical property owners will still end up shouldering the financial burden including Jodi Waheed whose daughter is a Coughlin junior. "I'm a single mother and I take care of her on my own so like raising taxes wouldn't be good for me... not at all," said Ms. Waheed who lives in Plains Township. Wilkes-Barre resident Diane Gayton added, "It just seems as if they're going to be hit. I mean how can there not be a hit. You know, that's a lot of money."
-- Mark Hiller Lukewarm reception for school-water tax proposal-- KMALand Iowa: January 07, 2016 [ abstract] KMAland educators and legislators, alike, are expressing concerns about a proposed change in the existing statewide sales tax for school infrastructure projects.
Under Governor Terry Branstad's proposal, the 1% sales tax scheduled to sunset in 2029 would be extended another 20 years. While the tax would continue to provide Funding for school infrastructure needs and tax relief, a percentage of the revenues would also be designated for water quality initiatives. Dr. Lane Plugge is executive director of the Green Hills Area Education Agency . Plugge tells KMA News the proposal is contrary to voters wishes on the penny sales tax.
"Just recently, the voters in 99 counties said they wanted those dollars to go towards school infrastructure," said Plugge. "With that, in a general election fairly recently, there was another vote approved that said on the next penny of sales tax, 3/8ths of that would go to the environment and clean water. So, the public has already spoken."
owa voters approved a referendum establishing the Iowa Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund in 2010. Plugge says he's concerned that the proposal would cause a rift between educational and environmental interests in the state.
-- Mike Peterson S.C. school chief: State should give grants, not loans, to schools-- SavannahNow.com South Carolina: January 06, 2016 [ abstract] COLUMBIA, S.C. " South Carolina should give grants to poor, rural school districts to help them maintain buildings and encourage consolidation, state Superintendent Molly Spearman said Wednesday.
Spearman told a Senate panel that a school infrastructure bank and a fund to encourage collaboration should be part of the Legislature’s plan for improving public schools.
Lawmakers are under court order to come up with a plan by the summer. The state Supreme Court’s revised November order followed justices’ ruling a year earlier that the state doesn’t provide educational opportunities in poor districts that initially sued over Funding in 1993.
A House committee’s recommendations, issued last month, include creating a low-to-no-interest loan program for facilities.
But poor districts can’t afford to pay back such loans, Spearman said.
The Legislature should first fund an evaluation of plaintiff districts’ infrastructure needs, she said. That could be done as part of a larger “efficiency study” that also reviews transportation, staffing and curriculum, expected to cost roughly $2 million, Spearman said.
Senate Minority Leader Nikki Setzler, D-West Columbia, questioned the timeline.
“Aren’t you talking about something way down the road?” he asked. “Once it’s built, we’re talking years, and we can’t wait years.”
But Spearman said evaluations in the districts that sued could be completed in a matter of months.
“No, we’re not thinking years. They’ve waited long enough,” she said, referring to the 23-year-old case.
-- SEANNA ADCOX Malloy budget chief: Scale back aid for local school construction-- the ct mirror Connecticut: January 04, 2016 [ abstract] Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will push to scale back spending on local school construction projects in the next state budget because Connecticut is on pace to exceed its credit card limit.
State bonding is projected by the governor’s Office of Policy and Management to exceed its limit by $316 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1 and $481 million the following year.
“I expect legislation to be presented in order to assist the state in controlling the costs of our school construction program,” Ben Barnes, Malloy‘s budget chief, wrote Thursday to legislative leaders on the Appropriations; Education; and Finance, Revenue and Bonding committees.
While the statutory bonding limit will tighten the Funding available to build or renovate local schools, it also is likely to slow construction at public colleges and for state buildings and other projects in legislators’ districts. Facing a similar debt limit for the current fiscal year, legislators last spring canceled or delayed $1 billion in various projects and programs.
Instead of canceling school projects ad hoc again this year, the Democratic governor plans to push for changes in the policies governing how local school construction projects receive state aid.
-- JACQUELINE RABE THOMAS Legislators look to remedy flaws in school construction funding process-- The Register-Herald West Virginia: December 27, 2015 [ abstract] Controversy and conflict between the West Virginia Board of Education and the School Building Authority over Fayette County Schools has revealed what local legislators believe is a lack of transparency and oversight.
Delegate David Perry and Sen. Bill Laird, both D-Fayette, have already written legislation they plan to submit in January during the 2016 Legislative Session to set term limits for voting board members of the School Building Authority.
SBA Vice President Steve Burton was appointed to the board by Gov. Gaston Caperton in 1990 and is serving his 25th year.
Member Robert Holroyd was appointed in 2003 by Gov. Bob Wise.
Perry said he believes appointments without turnover prevent transparency.
"This is not retribution. There is a weakness in the process that we have seen after going through it in Fayette," he explained.
Senate Minority Leader and gubernatorial candidate Jeff Kessler has followed school issues in Fayette since his tour of school facilities in October.
"Some folks can get on a board and become almost unresponsive and not be held responsible," said Kessler. "It can become a bureaucracy unto itself without being beholden to anyone."
Kessler said he will support this legislation with Fayette County legislators taking the lead.
-- Sarah Plummer Worcester school projects don't make state's latest cut; will be resubmitted next year-- telegram.com Massachusetts: December 27, 2015 [ abstract] WORCESTER - Three school renovation projects district officials had hoped would be picked by the Massachusetts School Building Authority this month did not make the cut.
According to a letter from MSBA officials to City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr., the School Department's statements of interest for Burncoat Senior High School, Doherty Memorial High School and Worcester East Middle School were not accepted into the MSBA's next eligibility period.
The authority already invited Worcester's South Community High School into its Funding pipeline for a planned upgrade earlier this year; the next step in that project is to create a feasibility study in collaboration with the MSBA. The agency is also helping to pay for new windows installed at four elementary schools in the district last summer.
This is the second year in a row the MSBA has turned down Burncoat, Doherty and Worcester East Middle. Brian Allen, the Worcester schools' chief financial and operations officer, said the district plans to resubmit its proposals for the schools next month, when the MSBA reopens its application period.
â€"We're still optimistic the schools will be invited into the MSBA in the near future,†he said, adding the School Department will â€"certainly take a look at†tweaking the proposals but that they should remain largely the same in the next submission cycle. â€"I think we did a pretty good job identifying the space limitations at the schools.â€
Of the three schools, Doherty has been ranked by the district as the first priority, according to Mr. Allen. Constructed in 1966 and last upgraded 20 years ago, the high school is suffering from general wear and tear and outdated structural features and equipment, according to a copy of Worcester's statement of interest for the project. While there was not yet overcrowding at the school at the time of the latest submission in April, the district said Doherty currently does "not support the delivery of high-quality school programs and services" because of the building's flaws.
-- Scott O'Connell School Construction codes now highlight security-- WOWKTV.com West Virginia: December 17, 2015 [ abstract] For decades school building codes highlighted fire and construction safety. Now student and staff security goes into every brick and mortar building plan.
The West Virginia School Building authority's construction codes have mandates. Those funded mandates focus on controlling access.
All Cabell County schools built in the past ten years have bullet resistant glass, double screened "man catcher" entrance systems built in. All older Cabell schools have buzz-in front doors, and get "man catcher" upgrades as Funding permits.
"You can tell if someone's heated or dangerous inside the man catcher, and they are not permitted any further," Principal Frank Barnett told 13 News.
Before entering the main building, we saw Huntington East Middle school parent Jackie Guthrie's drivers license checked on a visitor management computer program. The program shows if someone's a registered sex offender or felon and the secretary can act accordingly.
"I don't mind going through all this if it means the children are going to be safe," Jackie Guthrie said.
The Cabell School District building codes require classroom doors that lock automatically. All staff at Huntington East Middle school uses access cards to get in the building.
-- Randy Yohe Schools in Fayette County, W.Va., Contend With Coal Dust, Rotting Roofs-- Education Week West Virginia: December 17, 2015 [ abstract] Doyle Maurer, Education Week’s multimedia intern, describes his experience photographing facilities in Fayette County, West Virginia, for a recent story that detailed the area’s predicament with outdated and decaying school infrastructure. A native of the state, Doyle describes returning to see schools in the area as eye-opening.
Fayette County, W. Va., is in a predicament when it comes to public education facilities. Some of its schools have rotting roofs, loose bricks in the walls, and coal dust in the gymnasiums. The county, about an hour from the state capital, is home to three of five schools in the state that are still heated with coal furnaces. One school in the county, Collins Middle, was partially closed nearly a year ago because it was deemed “unsafe for student occupancy,” though some students still attend in a building next door. Michael Martirano, West Virginia’s state superintendent, proposed a plan to consolidate four existing high schools and use three of those buildings for new K-8 schools, but it wasn’t approved by state officials who oversee Funding for school facilities. For many years, county residents have been resistant to approving a local bond measure that would help pay for new school buildings.
-- Charles Borst Tisbury school awaits decision on state funds for building renovation-- mytime.com Massachusetts: December 16, 2015 [ abstract] Tisbury School Principal John Custer said Tuesday that school administrators are anxiously awaiting a decision by the Massachusetts State Building Association (MSBA) on whether it will receive state Funding for building repairs. The application was submitted in April 2015, and typically schools hear back from the MSBA between November and January.
At a selectmen’s meeting Tuesday, selectman Melinda Loberg said the school was among the towns chosen for a phone conference with the organization. Now it’s just a waiting game.
“At this point we’re waiting with our fingers crossed,” Mr. Custer said. “We’ve had some communication with the folks at the MSBA, sort of going over the process, what to expect, when to expect it, so we can prepare ourselves accordingly. We’re hoping it’s a positive response, obviously.”
Mr. Custer went through the same process last year. He said it’s rare for schools to be accepted on the first try.
“I know it’s really competitive,” he said. “Typically about 10 percent of applicants are selected, and in some years it’s anywhere from 150 and 200 applicants into the program.”
If the school is chosen, an article would be introduced at annual town meeting to begin the process of evaluating the status of the building, and renovation options.
-- Cathryn McCann SBA approves funding for local school construction projects-- TheNewsCenter West Virginia: December 14, 2015 [ abstract] PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - The State School Building Authority in West Virginia approved a number of school construction projects Monday. The SBA is Funding the projects after hearing proposals last month.
Fifteen of the twenty projects were approved, including projects in Jackson, Pleasants and Wirt counties.
Jackson county was approved for additions and renovations to Ravenswood High School, a $13 million dollar project.
Officials plan to build an addition to the high school to accommodate the new middle school while also renovating parts of the existing high school building.
-- Staff Reporter School Building Authority rejects Fayette County funding plan-- MetroNews West Virginia: December 14, 2015 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. " The state School Building Authority rejected a multi-year Funding plan for school construction projects in Fayette County in a vote taken Monday.
Several parents from Fayette County began crying when the SBA made its move before a packed meeting room in Charleston.
“I cannot allow my daughter to go to a school where the buildings could possibly fall in on her,” said Kristine Gilkey, of Oak Hill, whose daughter attends Collins Middle School. “They (SBA) are personally liable and I hope they can sleep with that. I am fed up.”
Jean Evansmore, a Mount Hope resident without children, attended Monday’s meeting and left shaking her head in dismay.
“I don’t have any kids or grandkids. I’m from here,” she said. “The kids that are doubled up, the school that is falling down means absolutely nothing.”
-- Carrie Hodousek $276M Rutherford schools building plan approved-- Daily News Journal Tennessee: December 10, 2015 [ abstract] MURFREESBORO — A five-year, $276 million construction plan for Rutherford County Schools received approval from the county school board Thursday night.
The plan, which still requires year-to-year Funding from the Rutherford County Commission to become reality, includes earlier completion dates for renovations to David Youree Elementary School in 2017, a new high school next to Rockvale Middle School in 2019 and a new middle school near Almaville Road in 2020.
If approved, a new school and separate expansion or renovation project would be completed every year from 2017 to 2021.
"It's going to take two buildings a year," said Don Odom, Rutherford County Schools director, while making a presentation to school board members. "It's really where we are, and I think that's a conservative estimate."
Odom asked the board to approve the building plan by the end of the calendar year, so he can take it to Rutherford County Commission committees in January for Funding of building projects on Rocky Fork Road.
-- Brian Wilson Anchorage School Board delays rebuilding middle schools using bonds so it can study school closures-- Alaska Dispatch News Alaska: December 04, 2015 [ abstract] After a flurry of amendments and debate Thursday, the Anchorage School Board passed a $49.3 million bond package for April's municipal ballot, which had nearly all proposed Funding for upgrades to Central Middle School stripped out.
School board member Eric Croft, who introduced the amendment to remove $17 million for seismic and energy upgrades to the middle school, said that deferring the projects gave the community time to decide if it wanted the school district to close schools.
â€"We are taking care of what we have,†Croft said. â€"We are doing the highest-priority, needed projects in each one of our schools and not rebuilding anything and this gives us time for a public discussion about whether the community wants to rebuild schools when they age out or have the pain of closing them down and the boundary changes that come with that.â€
Croft's amendment to the school district's proposed bond package said the board intends to study and have public conversations about potentially closing Central Middle School, Gruening Middle School and Inlet View Elementary School, which could save the district $100 million.
â€"While the upgrades at Central Middle School are needed, the board does not believe that Funding temporary upgrades when the school may either be closed or completely rebuilt is a wise long-term decision,†the amendment said.
-- Tegan Hanlon LWSD School board accepts task force recommendations, including to build more schools-- Kirkland Reporter Washington: December 03, 2015 [ abstract] School board member Chris Carlson called the Long Term Facilities Task Force’s recommendations “spectacular, very useful to us.” During its Nov. 23 regular meeting, the Lake Washington School District Board of Directors unanimously approved those recommendations and charged Superintendent Traci Pierce with taking action on them.
Referring to the Task Force’s nearly yearlong efforts, Board Vice President Nancy Bernard noted, “It was a huge commitment on their part but extremely valuable and has given us a pathway to move forward.”
The district has begun to implement the Task Force’s recommendations. For example, the school board adopted a legislative platform including the Task Force’s recommendations concerning school construction sales tax and the state school construction Funding assistance formula.
One next step addresses the Task Force’s recommendation that the district build new schools to accommodate its rapidly growing enrollment. Several Task Force strategies involve efficiency and cost-effectiveness. It provided strategies to lower costs, such as specific cost-effective design principles. Throughout the report, the Task Force recommended ways to increase community engagement in district facilities efforts.
-- Lake Washington School District An advocacy group says Boston mayor wants to close 36 schools-- boston.com Massachusetts: November 30, 2015 [ abstract] An advocacy group claimed Monday that Boston Mayor Marty Walsh told them privately he wants to close 36 public schools as part of his 10-year master plan for the city’s schools.
The mayor’s office denied the accusation from Quality Education for Every Student (QUEST), a grassroots organization comprised of parents. The group says the city is withholding information about its plans to close nearly three dozen schools and is allowing the Boston Compact, an entity that receives Funding from the Gates Foundation, to develop policy about city schools without input from students’ families.
“The Mayor has never said, nor does he have a plan to close 36 schools,” mayoral spokeswoman Laura Oggeri said in a statement. “Mayor Walsh has proven his dedication to Boston Public Schools by, in the past year alone, providing unprecedented budgetary support, extending learning time for students, adding 200 pre-kindergarten seats to the district, and hiring a first-class Superintendent.”
David Guarino, a spokesman for the Boston Compact, said the Compact neither has nor seeks policy-making authority, and that all final decisions will be made by the Mayor, school committee and charter boards.
-- Allison Pohle Faribault School Board discusses Strategic Facilities Plan-- Faribault Daily News Minnesota: November 30, 2015 [ abstract] Each year, the Faribault School District releases a new Strategic Facilities Plan, but with the upcoming addition of the new Long Term Facility Maintenance Funding, the plan will look a little different from years prior.
Director of Buildings and Grounds Kevin Hildebrandt, Director of Finance and Operations Colleen Mertesdorf and Superintendent Todd Sesker have complied information about the district for the fiscal year 2015-16 Strategic Facilities Plan which was presented to the school board at a work session meeting on Monday.
The purpose of the Strategic Facilities Plan is to gather information about the district and its building and land in one document as well as to list budget information, building layouts and maps.
On Monday night, Hildebrandt presented the plan to the board, walking the board members through it and the data listed within.
The plan itself includes information on the mission and vision of the district and a facilities overview. The plan also includes information about plans for making the buildings more sustainable, identifying each building’s handicap accessibility and Capital Planning and budget.
While presenting to the board, Hildebrandt spoke about areas that could be improved for accessibility for the handicapped, current sustainability options and deferred maintenance on the buildings.
-- BRITTNEY NESET Howard: Commissioners should revisit Westminster K-8 school-- Carroll County Times Maryland: November 30, 2015 [ abstract] The day before a round of public hearings on school closures, Commissioner Doug Howard called a news conference to say he'd like the commissioners to reconsider Funding for a consolidated kindergarten through eighth-grade school in Westminster that the board voted down in April, based on the proposed closures of three schools currently on the table.
At the news conference Monday afternoon, Howard said he'd like to scrap a new Career and Technology Center project the board previously approved, instead diverting the Funding to pay for the new K-8 school and studying the possibility of converting the North Carroll High School building into a new tech center.
"I believe that we as county commissioners should go back to our discussions, and I would advocate for replacing the $60 million Career and Tech Project, which is our current capital plan, with the K-8 project that we voted against ... which is approximately, from a budget standpoint … the same amount," Howard, R-District 5, said Monday.
-- Jon Kelvey and Lauren Loricchio Report: California’s ailing K-12 facilities need funding fix-- Berkeley News California: November 30, 2015 [ abstract] With forecasts of a super wet California winter, findings released today by UC Berkeley’s Center for Cities and Schools may set off alarms: More than half of the state’s K-12 public school districts fail to meet minimum industry standards for annual spending on maintenance and operations, or on capital improvements like new roofs.
Center researchers took a look at 93 percent of the conventional K-12 districts in the state between 2008 and 2012, the most recent year for which data is available. They found 57 percent of the 879 districts examined fail to meet benchmarks in capital improvement spending, and 62 percent failed to reach the standards for basic maintenance and operation in that period.
Approximately 2.2 million of California’s 6 million K-12 students attend these struggling schools.
“This trend signals costly long-term consequences for the state as accumulated facility needs risk becoming a health and safety crisis,” according to the analysis, which notes that more than two-thirds of the state’s public school buildings are more than 25 years old.
-- Kathleen Maclay Study: State should increase, overhaul school construction bonds-- EdSource California: November 30, 2015 [ abstract] The state’s system of school construction and upkeep is inadequate and inequitable, with districts serving low-income students more often underFunding construction, then overspending on patching up facilities that needed major renovations, a new research study has found.
“California must bolster " not recede from " its role in the state-local Funding partnership for K-12 school facilities,” concluded the paper by Jeffrey Vincent, deputy director of the Center for Cities + Schools in the Institute of Urban and Regional Development at UC Berkeley. “Moving forward, the state should ensure that all school districts can reasonably meet both maintenance and capital investment needs” by combining local dollars with “stable and predictable state Funding.”
The release of the study, with new data showing disparities in facilities Funding, is well-timed. School construction could become a contentious issue in Sacramento next year.
With voters last passing a state-funded construction bond in 2006, the state has run out of money, with about $2 billion dollars worth of state-approved district projects waiting for Funding. A coalition of school districts and building and design contractors, the Coalition for Adequate School Housing or CASH, already has gathered enough signatures to place a $9 billion bond on the November 2016 ballot. About $2 billion would be dedicated to community colleges and the rest divided among K-12 districts, charter schools and technical education partnerships. But Gov. Jerry Brown, in his budget message last year, said that the state should not take on more school construction debt and that local districts should increase their contribution.
-- John Fensterwald $2.9M shortfall in state funding fell on Bayonne taxpayers' backs, says city CFO-- NJ.com New Jersey: November 26, 2015 [ abstract] Bayonne - City residents have gradually borne the brunt of a $2.9 million shortfall in state Funding for the Bayonne school board over the past 17 years, according to City Chief Financial Officer Terrence Malloy.
Beginning in 1998, the city bonded for millions of dollars for the board to carry out school construction, with the expectation that the state would reimburse some of that money to the board, which, in turn, would reimburse the city.
But in a meeting with The Jersey Journal this week, Malloy said those reimbursements have fallen $2.9 million short, a claim Board Business Administrator Leo Smith has denied.
Calculating the total shortfall became possible after the state recently issued its findings in a money dispute between the city and the school board. The findings finalized the figures for how much the state believes the board should get in remaining reimbursements, making it clear, according to Malloy, just how much money the board -- and, in turn, the city -- won't be getting.
After bonding for millions of dollars in 1998, the city paid off its debt to bond investors on an annual basis, independent of how much -- and the rate at which -- the state reimbursed the board, Malloy said. Because payments were made annually, taxpayers have already "absorbed" the impact of the shortfall, he said.
-- Jonathan Lin Eureka City Schools takes divergent paths on proposed lease-leaseback projects-- North Coast Journal California: November 26, 2015 [ abstract] Eureka City Schools is backing away from at least one of its controversial no-bid construction contracts.
Back in September, the district decided to forgo the no-bid construction contract it had promised DCI Builders to renovate the Alice Birney Elementary School site, opting to put the process out to bid instead. But less than a month later, the district opted to stay the course at Lincoln Elementary School, keeping Dinsmore Construction under a no-bid contract to complete the third phase of the modernization and renovation project.
District officials were unavailable to explain the decisions before the Journal's deadline. Superintendent Fred Van Vleck asked the Journal to submit questions via email last week, then responded to say he was out of town and wouldn't be able to answer the questions until after the district's Thanksgiving break.
No-bid school construction projects in Eureka and throughout the state were thrust into the spotlight in June, when an appellate court found reason to believe the Fresno Unified School District may have violated state law in a $36.7 million project to build a new middle school. Specifically, the court found that Fresno Unified may have illegally skirted the competitive bid process by abusing a decades-old law that aimed to make it easier for cash-strapped school districts to build new facilities.
In 1957, the California Legislature recognized that school districts had few Funding options at their disposal. State law prohibited them — in addition to counties and cities — from carrying any debt that exceeded the amount of a single year's revenue, meaning districts couldn't get private loans to build new facilities, unless they first got the approval of 66 percent of district voters. Looking to help districts in areas where voters weren't keen on passing bonds or allowing them to carry large debts, the Legislature came up with what's now known as the lease-leaseback arrangement.
-- THADEUS GREENSON Wyoming schools get in line for funding-- Billings Gazette Wyoming: November 22, 2015 [ abstract] CASPER, Wyo. — The number of elementary students in Gillette is growing, and Campbell County School District No. 1 is trying to accommodate an increasing number of kids in a limited amount of space.
It's not the only district facing such a dilemma. Laramie County School District No. 1, the largest district in the state, has an increase of 100 to 200 elementary-aged kids every year, said superintendent John Lyttle.
â€"We've got 38 classes that are (in) modular (buildings),†Lyttle said. â€"That's the size of a school, a school and a half.â€
But Wyoming is experiencing a downturn in oil and gas revenue that has legislators suggesting tighter budgets. Money for building and maintaining schools, funded for years through coal lease income, is disappearing.
The Wyoming School Facilities Department is responsible for organizing and prioritizing school facility projects across the state.
The Select Committee for School Facilities is Funding only the department's highest priorities. The committee has drafted a bill for school Funding that sets aside about $200 million from 2015 to 2018 to pay for a variety of projects, from new construction to security cameras. Some of that was appropriated in the last budget session.
But the amount spent on schools in the next four years will likely be half of what was spent in the four previous years, said Rep. Ken Esquibel, D-Cheyenne, a member of the Facilities Committee.
School districts requested more than $360 million for the 2017-18 biennium alone.
-- Heather Richards Declining coal production will cut Wyoming school funding-- Washington Times Wyoming: November 20, 2015 [ abstract] Falling demand for coal means Funding for Wyoming school construction is drying up, state financial analysts told lawmakers on Friday.
Wyoming has directed billions in bonus funds from the sale of federal coal leases to support state school construction in recent decades.
However, demand for coal has been falling nationwide recently in response to low natural gas prices and stiffer federal emissions regulations on coal-fired power plants. Analysts are warning that the days of hefty coal lease bonus checks are likely over.
Analysts with the state’s non-partisan Legislative Service Office briefed members of the state’s Joint Revenue Committee Friday.
Don Richards, LSO budget and fiscal administrator, said that in the two-year Funding cycle that covered 2013-14, the state’s School Capital Construction Account received $736 million. He said the current estimate for the 2019-2020 Funding cycle is just $26 million.
“Is that a guarantee? Absolutely not,” Richards said. “Coal prices could double, oil prices could double, natural gas prices could double from where they are today. Those would certainly revise our projections from where we are going forward.”
-- Ben Neary - Associated Press Proposed Newport News capital plan leaves off schools' leaky roofs, HVACs-- Daily Press Virginia: November 20, 2015 [ abstract] On Nov. 10, about 2 1/2 inches of rain caused the roofs of eight aging Newport News schools and a telecommunications building to leak.
Crews rushed from one to another trying to patch them before they began to drip into classrooms, libraries, gymnasiums and offices.
"In this type of weather, it's basically an all-day thing," said Everette Turner, roofer crew leader.
Two days after the storm, the 26-year-old HVAC system at Huntington Middle School sprung a leak, and water from the boiler seeped into the ceiling tile of a classroom and hallway.
Six roof replacements that officials say are desperately needed — including Warwick High, which was also leaking in the rain — will not be funded in the next five years if a proposed city capital plan is approved. Neither will 11 HVAC replacements, nine renovation projects and 42 school bus replacements.
In Virginia, school divisions rely fully on their localities for capital project Funding.
School officials call it a "capital Funding crisis."
City Manager Jim Bourey and Mayor McKinley Price defend the proposed plan, pointing out that some city projects are going unfunded as well.
The city's proposed five-year capital improvement plan includes $41.4 million in school projects — about half the $80.5 million the school division requested.
-- Theresa Clift Chico school board votes to move forward with multi-million dollar bond measure-- Chico Enterprise-Record California: November 18, 2015 [ abstract] The Chico Unified School District board unanimously voted to move forward with a new $152 million bond measure for the November 2016 ballot at a Wednesday night meeting.
The board voted after a presentation from Assistant Superintendant of Business Services Kevin Bultema and several consultants who conducted a phone study surveying how potential voters would feel about the bond measure. According to a study done by EMC Research earlier this month, almost 60 percent of those surveyed said they would vote in favor of a bond at $152 million or $72 million.
“It’s actually great news, we think a bond is very possible,” consultant Ruth Bernstein said. “Voters are aware of the need.”
Funding from the bond would go toward advancing the district’s Facilities Master Plan, which identifies more than $300 million of needs at schools throughout the district. The money would primarily go toward modernizing and updating elementary schools, according to Bultema. The bond is intended to supplement the Measure E bond of 2012, which authorized the school board to borrow $78 million to improve existing schools by extending the term of an existing bond. Unlike Measure E, the new bond would result in a tax rate increase.
-- Dani Anguiano Lacking funding to complete renovations, local school operates without kitchen-- The GW Hatchet District of Columbia: November 18, 2015 [ abstract] A local school hasn't had a kitchen since the beginning of the school year.
The School Without Walls at Francis Stevens, located on N Street, has not had a functioning kitchen this school year. Without the Funding to complete them, renovations to the aging school were halted over the summer, a member of the school improvement team said.
The students get their lunches delivered daily from Hardy Middle School, located about 15 minutes away, putting a burden on staff at both schools. And a nutrition program planned for the school hasn't been able to be fully introduced because of the lack of resources, said Chris Sondreal, a Francis Stevens parent and a member of the school's improvement team.
â€"The regular meals are not that exciting and are lukewarm and prepared off site,†Sondreal said. â€"It leaves kids with a limited menu and not the sorts of things they should be getting.â€
City officials already awarded the school $2.5 million in renovations to pay for upgrades to the cafeteria, auditorium and gymnasium. The renovations stopped this summer when the Funding ran out, prompting neighborhood groups to ask the city for more.
The school serves students from preschool through eighth grade, and became a satellite campus for School Without Walls on G Street in 2013. Since then, students have used Francis Stevens' auditorium, gymnasium and athletic fields.
Richard Trogisch, the school's principal, was not able to be reached for comment.
-- Marissa Kirshenbaum School board starts working on sales tax plans-- The St. Augustine Record Florida: November 18, 2015 [ abstract] Superintendent Joe Joyner said the night the St. Johns County School District’s bid for a 1/2-cent sales tax increase was approved by county voters, Michael Degutis, chief financial officer, sent him a text message reading, “Now the work begins.”
In that spirit, the school board discussed implementation of the revenues to be generated by the sales tax increase at its workshop Tuesday.
Tim Forson, deputy superintendent of operations, said the school district’s priority is new construction, “because of the importance of timing and the time it takes to get to completion.”
School officials have identified “hot spots” for enrollment growth in Nocatee, the Greenbriar Road/Longleaf Pine Parkway area and around World Golf Village.
“The three hot spots we projected certainly are emerging as critical areas for needed seats,” he said.
The “next priority,” Forson said, is finding the appropriate Funding options.
He said if board members were to wait for sales tax revenues to accumulate, there would be no new school construction possible until at least the second year of the collection period.
“If, in time, we’re going to borrow against that money, we’ll need to act now,” he said.
-- JAKE MARTIN Safe Room protects Lincoln School pupils-- The Daily Republican Illinois: November 13, 2015 [ abstract] MARION — Southern Illinois weather can change on a dime. However, pupils and parents of Lincoln Grade School now feel a bit safer when bad weather approaches due to the construction of a safe room.
The 8,100 square feet room, located on the east side of the building, serves as a dedicated cafeteria and a safe room in times of severe weather.
Principal John Fletcher said the safe room, since opening in September, has not had to be used yet due to bad weather.
"We hope not to use it but we'll have it. The May 8 storm a few years ago did so much damage here. It came between 1 and 2:30 p.m. so schools became impacted. There were a lot of issues that day. Any time the city sirens are alarmed, that will be our go-to place."
The $2.1 million project was a partnership between the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Marion Unit 2 School District. FEMA provided 75 percent Funding, the school district 25 percent. The grant was originally submitted in 2009.
School officials considered building the safe room following discussions about expansion at Lincoln.
"In the project, it was a remodel of our kitchen in the old part. We served out south, and we now serve to the east. There's restrooms, water fountains and a teacher's lounge. There is also a generator for that facility," Fletcher said.
"We have 615 students and 55 staff and we really needed the space. For three hours of the day, we could not program anything in the gym because it was used as the cafeteria. It fitted the bill for a lot of things. We needed more space. The kitchen was due for an update after 23 years. We're also able to use the cafeteria for parent and student events."
-- RICK HAYES Fort Totten, North Dakota getting $3.6 million to replace moldy school building-- Crookston Times North Dakota: November 10, 2015 [ abstract] Bismarck, N.D.
North Dakota's congressional delegation says the Fort Totten School District is getting $3.6 million in emergency federal Funding to build a new facility for high school programs.
The delegation says students and faculty were forced to evacuate the old facility due to mold and dust levels that were three times higher than is considered healthy.
Programs have been temporarily relocated to another facility.
-- Associated Press Northeast Florida school districts seek funds for new facilities, other capital improvements-- The Florida Times Union Florida: October 30, 2015 [ abstract] As Florida’s consistently top-ranked academic school system, St. Johns is racing to keep pace with rapidly growing enrollment, which now exceeds the capacity of even its newest schools. Neighboring school systems might not have as pressing of a need to build new schools but face a similar Funding crunch paying for maintaining and renovating their facilities.
Since state money for public school capital project needs dried up significantly in recent years, Florida districts have to scramble to pay for new facilities, expand buildings or update older ones with new technology so students can master the evolving skills they need to succeed in college as well as the workforce.
Districts commonly use a pay-as-you-go system, borrow money or a combination of both to help pay for new construction and other improvements. Most also save up and carry forward capital Funding from year-to-year to offset future costs. Nonetheless, they say they can’t continue to wait.
St. Johns County voters will be asked Tuesday to approve a half-cent sales tax to support school district capital projects. If approved, the sales tax would take effect Jan. 1, and could generate about $13 million the first year and a total of $150 million by the time it expires on Dec. 31, 2025.
-- Teresa Stepzinski School Building Authority to reconsider Fayette plan-- REGISTER-HERALD West Virginia: October 30, 2015 [ abstract] The School Building Authority of West Virginia will reconsider an amendment to the Fayette County Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan at its Nov. 9-10 meeting, Fayette County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Harrah announced Thursday.
"The Fayette County Commission is extremely pleased with the action of the School Building Authority of West Virginia to reconsider the CEFP Amendment. Addressing the deplorable conditions that exist within the school system of Fayette County must remain a priority so that all children in Fayette County receive an education that is thorough and efficient within a safe environment," said Harrah
The School Building Authority's unprecedented Sept. 28 action to reject the plan drew shock and outcry from the community, local officials, the State Board of Education and state legislators.
The School Building Authority (SBA) discussed the merits of the plan and the county's ability to provide a local match before voting to reject the amendment — all prior to Fayette Superintendent Terry George submitting an application for Funding and detailing his plan to generate a local match from alternative Funding options.
The State Board of Education had already approved the plan on Sept. 8.
-- Sarah Plummer County Executive proposes increase in developer fees to offset school construction costs-- Your4State.com Maryland: October 22, 2015 [ abstract] With the surge in growth Frederick County has seen in recent years, the demand for schools has exceeded available Funding.
â€"People love Frederick County. People want to move here, developers want to develop here, but as a result, we have a real need for school seats,†said Katie Groth, a member of Frederick County's Board of Education.
Most recently, parents from Hillcrest Elementary and Urbana Elementary made their pleas to the board of education to receive priority Funding for a new school that would reduce their overcrowding problem.
A number of Frederick County public schools have exceeded full capacity with Centerville Elementary in Urbana capping student enrollment at 148 percent, according to enrollment numbers from September.
While the county has started a handful of school construction projects to ease overcrowding, officials believe factors including sky rocketing construction fees and changes in state regulations have slowed that process.
â€"What we're seeing with school construction Funding is really a perfect storm,†County Executive Jan Gardner said at a public information briefing late Thursday morning.
Gardner announced that she will propose an increase to two developer fees to offset construction costs.
With the proposed modifications, the county's mitigation fee would increase by 67 percent. A mitigation fee is a payment required of developers who want to build near overcrowded schools, but fail a capacity test.
Gardner also proposed increasing impact fees by an average of 11 percent. While some county officials consider the proposed hike a mere adjustment to current construction costs, developers call it concerning.
-- ABBY THEODROS State Ed Council Approves Millions For School Repairs-- Rhode Island Public Radio Rhode Island: October 21, 2015 [ abstract] Rhode Island’s Council for Elementary and Secondary Education approved Funding for school building projects in more than a dozen school districts. Most of the money comes from a multi-million school building authority proposed by Governor Gina Raimondo and passed by state lawmakers.
Projects that will receive Funding include building upgrades in Providence and Pawtucket and hazardous materials abatement in the Bristol-Warren school district. A total of more than $19 million in school construction projects across the state are included in the proposal.
-- ELISABETH HARRISON Alaska Educators Fight to Keep Small Schools Open-- Edweek.org Alaska: October 15, 2015 [ abstract] Teachers and administrators in some of Alaska's smallest and most rural schools are taking part in a statewide campaign to try to keep them open as legislators warn that the schools may be shut down to decrease the state's education budget.
According to a story by the Alaska Dispatch News, state lawmakers are considering increasing the requirement for the minimum number of students that must be enrolled in a school in order for that school to receive full Funding. If that minimum is increased from 10 students to 25, that could lead to the shuttering of nearly 60 schools, most of which are in small, rural villages. That has led many educators to hand out stickers and other materials, lobby at conferences and meetings, and take to social media to bring attention to the impact of potential closures.
Legislators say that although no legislation has been written, they are considering a host of solutions to save money.
"Everything's on the table and everything's going to be discussed, from school size to distance delivery to broadband to partnerships with the university where professors might be able to teach the courses," said Sen. Mike Dunleavy, chair of the Senate Education Committee, in the article. "The list goes on and on and on."
More than 62 percent of schools in Alaska are rural, and those schools serve mostly minority students. One in five are English-language learners, and the state has one of the highest rates of rural adult unemployment, according to the Rural School and Community Trust.
-- Jackie Mader MCPS Could Consider Redrawing Some School Boundaries, Reopening Closed Schools to Address Capacity Problem-- Bethesda Magazine Maryland: October 15, 2015 [ abstract] With little space to build new schools and little chance of a major Funding increase for new school projects, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Interim Superintendent Larry Bowers wants to examine redrawing some school boundaries in Gaithersburg and Rockville.
That could lead to boundary changes for those who live in the Gaithersburg, Thomas S. Wootton and Col. Zadok Magruder high school clusters.
Bowers also hopes to start a “roundtable discussion group” of PTA representatives and school staff to talk about reopening closed schools, constructing a new school or reopening the former Woodward High School in the Walter Johnson High School cluster. The Bethesda school cluster was nearing 120 percent of its capacity earlier this year, which would have put into place a moratorium on all development in the area as required by the county’s growth policy.
-- AARON KRAUT Guilford school officials: Funding falls far short of overall facilities needs-- Greensboro.com North Carolina: October 12, 2015 [ abstract] Guilford County Schools has about $12 million in leftover bond money to spend on construction. But officials estimate needed renovations, replacements or other construction projects would cost $143.4 million.
The needs go beyond small repairs or quick fixes, officials say.
Unsecured doors at schools. Inadequate handicap accessibility. Aged roofs. Chronic plumbing problems.
The overall capital needs estimate includes about $8.7 million for high-priority safety and security projects such as door replacements at 46 sites and motion detectors at 13 sites, all recommended by a security task force. The task force also recommended another $13.4 million for items such as surveillance cameras at 79 sites and fob access controls, or keyless entry systems, at 36 sites.
-- Marquita Brown Groton to seek $53 million more in state school construction funding to solve racial imbalance-- TheDay.com Connecticut: October 11, 2015 [ abstract] Groton — Superintendent of Schools Michael Graner plans to seek special legislation that would grant Groton 80 percent reimbursement from the state for its proposed three new schools, reducing the cost to taxpayers to about $41 million.
The school construction proposal, called the Groton 2020 Plan, would build one new middle school adjacent to Robert E. Fitch High School, and two new elementary schools at the sites of Carl C. Cutler and West Side middle schools. Three of the district's oldest elementary schools would close.
The total cost is estimated at $191.7 million, some of which would be paid for by the state, leaving a net cost to local taxpayers currently estimated at $94.8 million.
But Graner told a liaison committee of the town and city councils, Board of Education and Representative Town Meeting last week that he believes Groton can make a compelling case that since the schools are necessary to correct racial imbalance, the district should receive a "diversity" reimbursement rate of 80 percent. He presented the idea Thursday to the Groton School Facilities Initiative Task Force and those present unanimously supported his effort in a straw poll.
"We've had years of racial imbalances that we've addressed with redistricting, and it has failed every time," Graner said.
Graner has also spoken to state Reps. John Scott and Aundre Bumgardner, both Groton Republicans.
"It sounds like it's something we ought to try to pursue," said Scott, who spoke briefly with Graner Friday morning. "We did decide that we would make official plans to get together and decide specifically what we're going to ask for in the next legislative session. If multiple local legislators buy into the plan, it could work."
-- Deborah Straszheim Education disparities in N.O. start with brick and mortar say activists-- Louisiana Weekly Louisiana: October 05, 2015 [ abstract] As the charter bus circled the city of New Orleans, education activists pointed at abandoned and deteriorated schools with the hope that the education reform bus tour of the city, and town hall forum would spark a conversation about disparities in public education facilities. Roughly 50 people participated in the tour of the city’s public schools and later attended the town hall titled The Future of New Orleans Public Education at Christian Unity Baptist Church on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015. The bus tour and forum was put on by The Schott Foundation, the United Parents Standing for Education Together, the New Orleans Equity Roundtable Coalition for Community Schools, the Pyramid Community Parent Resource Center, and the New Orleans Imperative.
Activists told riders that not only did the Hurricane Katrina take over 1,400 lives. The category 5 storm also took away educational opportunities for many students by ruining the city’s schools and learning institutions. Ten years later, New Orleans’s public schools are physically run down with the state-run Recovery School District either closing them or converting them into charter schools. “It’s smoke and mirrors,” said Karran Harper, a founding member of Parents Across America, who directed the bus tour. “They didn’t transform the schools to make them better, they closed them,” Harper said.
The activists pointed out that strengthening these neighborhoods post-Katrina required investing in public schools. “Rebuild has a new connotation,” said Roslyn Smith, a private educational consultant. “These neighborhoods are struggling to come back with the lack of schools,” Smith said. The city’s schools that serve primarily African-American students have become neglected under the current, charter school system. Funding has been directed towards repairing schools in more affluent areas, advocates said. The charter system does not provide the amount of financial help compared to the prior public school system which allowed for better oversight and accountability.
Since the storm, nearly three-thirds of the city’s public schools have become independent charter schools. While the Recovery School District put in place these charters as its solution, activists said that the charters operate out of inadequate learning facilities, and students are placed in schools far from their homes.
-- Kendall Lawson Pawtucket school officials establish reserve fund to accelerate building upgrades-- The Valley Breeze Rhode Island: September 29, 2015 [ abstract] PAWTUCKET - The Pawtucket School Committee has voted to invest $500,000 of last year's school surplus in a new capital reserve fund, allowing officials to apply for Funding from the state's School Building Authority.
The move is meant to help accelerate school building repairs across the district at a much cheaper cost to local taxpayers, said Supt. Patti DiCenso.
Under the SBA created by Gov. Gina Raimondo as part of her budget this year, the Pawtucket School Department would be eligible to receive 82.4 percent reimbursement for any health and safety projects approved to be funded through a portion of the $20 million state fund this year.
The School Committee voted unanimously last Thursday evening to move ahead with all capital fund project applications to the state as well as a request to apply for a capital fund loan request application.
-- ETHAN SHOREY Fayette County school plan struck down by state School Building Authority-- MetroNews West Virginia: September 28, 2015 [ abstract] It’s back to the drawing board in Fayette County after the state School Building Authority struck down a school consolidation plan in a vote taken Monday during a meeting in Charleston.
The proposal, which changed the county’s school facilities plan, was approved by members of the state Board of Education earlier this month on a 6-3 vote, but the SBA refused to sign-off on it Monday, killing it.
“This is not the right time,” SBA member Tom Lange told MetroNews. “We asked them to go back to the drawing board and come back with a plan that people could get behind.”
Fayette County voters have rejected bond issue after bond issue since the 1970s and did so again earlier this year. Terry George was named school superintendent after the latest defeat and formed a plan in which he hoped to secure Funding without the benefit of a bond issue. That’s a dangerous precedent, Lange said.
“We want to be a helping hand not a hand out,” Lange said. “What kind of message would we be sending? If you defeat a bond we’re going to vote you a $50 million high school? It would send the wrong message across the state.”
The SBA will have limited resources when it allocates funds for school construction projects in December. It usually always favors counties that have local Funding to go along with the state money. Superintendent George told the SBA the county would have at least $6 million in local Funding.
-- Jeff Jenkins St. Johns County school system faces a growth crisis-- The Florida Times-Union Florida: September 25, 2015 [ abstract] The St. Johns County public school system, Florida’s best, is far more important to the county than education.
It’s an economic engine for the county, says Isabelle Rodriguez, CEO of the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce.
“A good school system is a shorthand for quality of life,” she said.
So the fact that the St. Johns County school system has been rated the state’s best for six straight years is a huge matter for the county. And it needs to be sustained.
But the schools are overflowing.
And there isn’t enough revenue to pay for facilities.
It’s the result of a perfect storm, Superintendent Joseph Joyner told the Times-Union editorial board.
■ Student population is increasing every year by the equivalent of about two elementary schools a year.
■ The state reduced allowable school millage.
■ Additional state Funding for school construction is drying up.
So what happens? Portable classrooms. Or massive transfers of students from school to school as boundaries are changed.
-- Times-Union Editorial Report: $3B spent on Arkansas schools since '07-- ArkansasOnline.com Arkansas: September 21, 2015 [ abstract] An estimated nearly $3 billion has been spent by the state and its school districts on upgrading school buildings since the 2006-07 fiscal year, according to the latest version of an annual report to be sent to Arkansas lawmakers.
The school building improvements include 133 new schools in what are now 232 districts at an approximate cost of $1.45 billion to the state and the districts.
There have been 577 building additions at a cost of about $960 million.
The totals also include 388 new heating and air-conditioning systems, at a shared cost of about $194 million, and some 344 roofing projects at a cost of about $113 million.
The state began contributing to the cost of academic buildings after the Arkansas Supreme Court in 2002 ruled that the public education system was inequitable and inadequate, and therefore unconstitutional.
Act 1181 of 2003 established state Funding programs "to ensure that adequate facilities and substantially equal facilities are, and will continue to be provided for Arkansas school children," according to a part of the act cited in this year's report.
"We've seen a tremendous improvement in facilities over the years," Arkansas Education Commissioner Johnny Key said Friday.
But Key said that doesn't mean all the needed work has been done.
-- Cynthia Howell Fayette school plan may face resistance from School Building Authority-- MetroNews West Virginia: September 16, 2015 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. " Fayette County won’t get all of the money it’s seeking from the state School Building in the upcoming Funding cycle and there’s question if it will get any at all.
The SBA will have $52 million to allocate in December. Projects from across the state are due Oct. 1. SBA Executive Director David Sneed expects to have up to 40 projects totaling nearly $200 million. Fayette County has a school construction plan exceeding $50 million with little or no local funds to go with it. The county hasn’t passed a school bond issue since the 1970s.
The best case scenario for Fayette County would appear to be a multi-year Funding plan, Sneed said.
“That would be the only scenario the authority would consider,” Sneed told MetroNews Wednesday. “I don’t think they (SBA members) are going to want to sacrifice a lot these other counties"-we have one county that’s bringing $20 million cash.”
The SBA hasn’t ignored Fayette County, according to Sneed.
“We’ve actually supported almost $79 million for Fayette County. However, over the years with failed bonds and the return of several grants that we’ve provided for them they’ve returned to us $52 million that they could have used for facilities over the last 25 years,” he said.
-- Jeff Jenkins Revenue Committee Eyes Alternative Funding for Wyoming Schools-- Sheridan Media Wyoming: September 16, 2015 [ abstract] Over the past decade, Wyoming lawmakers have funded the majority of capital construction of K-12 schools in the state through coal lease bonuses. Those bonuses are projected to dry up with the Federal Government's announcement and implementation of the Clean Power Plan. Sheridan Media's Ron Richter has more on the story.
During the past ten years, coal lease bonuses have paid for over $1 billion in capital construction of public schools around the state. With the coal industry already experiencing a decline in revenues, the implementation of the EPA's Clean Power Plan could signal the end of coal lease bonuses to the state's capital construction fund.
A November 2014 study by the University of Wyoming's Center for Energy Economics and Public Policy projected a $675 million budget shortfall between 2017 and 2022. The study indicated that coal lease bonus revenues were a major source of concern, and that lawmakers would have to find another way of paying for school construction in the state. State Representative Mike Madden of Buffalo said in a recent interview on our news talk show Public Pulse, that legislators have started the task of looking at alternative ways of Funding school construction.
-- Ron Richter Senate bill to provide funding to DOD schools up for governor's signature-- Edwards Air Force Base California: September 16, 2015 [ abstract] 9/16/2015 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Earlier this month, SB 111 sponsored by California State Senator Jean Fuller, passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee and the California State Assembly. It is now headed to Governor Jerry Brown's desk for his signature.
Public Schools Near Military Bases Facilities Appropriation
California has 11 schools in six school districts in the top 33 of the Secretary of Defense Priority List of schools that need Funding. Desert J-S High School and Branch Elementary fall on this list.
Both base schools qualify for Public Schools on Military Installations Grant Program for renovation, repair or reconstruction of their facilities.
An amount not to exceed $61 million is required to cover the 20% match required by the DOD for the 11 California schools on the list. Provision of this match will leverage approximately $240 million in federal funds for renovation, repair or reconstruction of school facilities in CA school districts.
There are two California State bills authored by California State senator Jean Fuller, 16th Senate District, which are SB 111 and SB 121. The bills are designed to assist schools located on military bases by helping fund the 20% match requirement mandated by the DOD Office of Economic Adjustment.
-- Kenji Thuloweit CCPS outlines plan for improving school buildings-- Cecil Whig Maryland: September 15, 2015 [ abstract] ELKTON " Cecil County Public Schools will ask the state and county for a total of more than $18 million for capital improvements in the 2017 fiscal year as it continues to update and replace the system’s aging schools.
Charles Simpers, manager of school construction, and Perry Willis, executive director for support services, presented the FY17 capital improvement plan to the Board of Education at Monday night’s meeting. The plan will request about $9.2 million from the state and about $9.4 million from the county to fund nine different construction and improvement projects.
The top priority for state and county Funding is the remaining funds needed to complete the Perryville Elementary School renovation project. That project is slated to be completed in June with the school’s students, who have been split between Charlestown and Bainbridge elementary schools for the past two years, returning to the school for the 2016-17 school year.
-- Jessica Iannetta Receiving school building funds in December a 'critical' next step for Fayette-- The Register-Herald.com West Virginia: September 13, 2015 [ abstract] Superintendent Terry George said it will now be "critical" for Fayette County to receive Funding from the School Building Authority for a large consolidated high school in Oak Hill.
The State Board of Education Wednesday approved George's proposed amendment to the district's Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan, which paves the way to trim the county's number of schools from 18 down to 12.
The district must apply for Funding for a $53 million to $58 million high school project by Oct. 1, and the School Building Authority allocates funds in December. George said SBA staff has worked with the district on the county-wide plan since he took the reins in August.
The SBA is comprised of 11 members: Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin or designee, six citizens appointed by the governor, State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael Martirano and three members of the state board of education — Wade Linger, Thomas Campbell and Tina Combs.
Campbell was one of three state board members who voted against George's proposed plan.
Linger voted to approve the plan, but made it clear he felt he must vote "for the greater good" because of the impending deadline for construction funds. In the past, he has said he could not vote to close Meadow Bridge High School, one of four schools slated to merge through the project.
It is unclear if either of these board members would need to abstain from voting on Fayette's Funding request, and the School Building Authority could not be reached for comment Thursday or Friday.
George said he doesn't see the board members as having a conflict of interest.
-- Sarah Plummer Superintendent says no funds available for improving aging athletic facilities-- timesfreepress.com Tennessee: September 10, 2015 [ abstract] Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith punted any hope of Funding for deteriorating high school football stadiums, including one that already is destined for the wrecking ball.
Smith said the district's budget doesn't have the funds to rebuild East Ridge High School's condemned stadium, and he worries other schools may lose their half-century-old stands.
"The age of our stadiums is catching up with us," Smith said. He said one possible solution might be consolidating stadiums.
County school officials say a private structural engineer will assess the district's old and masonry-constructed stadiums. On the district's list to inspect are Lookout Valley, Hixson, Howard, Ooltewah and Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences. More schools could be added, officials said.
Justin Witt, director of maintenance and operations for Hamilton County Department of Education, said the goal is to have assessments of each stadium complete by January, giving schools an estimate of how long the stadiums may safely last.
He said it usually costs about $200,000 to erect good, durable aluminum bleachers that seat 1,000 fans. For East Ridge, estimates to demolish and rebuild its stands and a press box on the current location are running around $400,000.
Smith said Funding of new stadiums is going to fall on the County Commission and communities, as the $3 million annual capital budget designated for maintenance is not enough to cover these costs.
-- Kendi Anderson THE GRADE: Bill to upgrade schools on military bases moves forward-- The Bakersfield Californian California: September 02, 2015 [ abstract] A state Senate bill to help schools on military installations find more money for facility repairs passed its last round of legislative approval Wednesday in a unanimous Assembly vote.
Now the bill, created in part to benefit Kern County's Murray Middle School, Burroughs High School and Richmond Elementary, is off to Gov. Jerry Brown for approval, according to state Sen. Jean Fuller's office.
The local schools are on a list of 11 California campuses and 149 other schools on military installations throughout the United States that are due federal Funding to make major facility repairs.
The schools must match 20 percent of what's needed in repairs to get the government's 80 percent. That boils down to $60.5 million to get $242.2 million for California campuses.
-- LAUREN FOREMAN 34 Springfield schools getting renovations-- WWLP.com Massachusetts: August 24, 2015 [ abstract] Schools across Springfield are getting some much needed work done.
The city and state have allocated $30-million to update 34 schools across Springfield. They’re updating heating and ventilation and upgrading older windows.
Springfield Superintendent Daniel Warwick told 22News a lot of maintenance was put off for years. Warwick said, “It catches up to you and you have to make major adjustments to the schools. The mayor’s been willing to do that with city Funding and we’ve been very aggressive with the Mass. State Building Authority, putting in for accelerated repair projects, as well as new schools.”
-- Tashanea Whitlow State funding changes stand to benefit Park Rapids School District-- Park Rapids Enterprise Minnesota: August 08, 2015 [ abstract] The Park Rapids School Board approved a long-term facility maintenance plan which based on changes at the legislature should bring additional dollars into the district. School district business manager Carol Hutchinson reported to the board Monday legislation this past session changed, eliminating health and safety and deferred maintenance Funding, and creating a new Long Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue. The change makes facility Funding more equitable across the state, Hutchinson said. LTMF revenue is an amount based on age of the buildings and pupil units.
-- Kevin Cederstrom Coal downturn clouds school funding outlook-- Star Tribune Wyoming: August 07, 2015 [ abstract] For the past 13 years, Wyoming's energy boom translated into a similar boom in school construction.
The state spent $3.2 billion, building 74 new schools and modernizing an additional 35.
Coal was largely to thank. When companies lease land to dig, they are charged fees called coal lease bonuses, a significant percent of which goes toward school facilities.
But times have changed. Now, as the coal industry reels, school facility Funding appears headed for trouble.
There are now only seven leases from which the state draws money. Within the next year, that number will shrivel to two and then zero by fiscal year 2018.
Overnight on June 30, 2017, the state's capital construction fund will go from receiving $120 million in coal lease bonus payments to exactly nothing.
This does not bode well for the Wyoming School Facilities Department, the agency responsible for overseeing school projects in the state, as the majority of the revenue it receives comes from coal lease bonuses.
-- Nick Balatsos State auditor calls for education reform in light of Pa. schools bond downgrade-- Pennlive.com Pennsylvania: July 28, 2015 [ abstract] Pennsylvania school districts are among the worst off in the nation, and for Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said it continues to highlight the need for reform in the education system.
Moody's Investor Service downgraded eight Pennsylvania school districts to a junk bond rating category in a July 20 report. This means that the bonds would be a higher risk to default and may have difficulty acquiring capital for an inexpensive cost. According to Moody's 20 percent of "speculative grade school districts" are in Pennsylvania.
"This is troubling news for school districts and for residents because when bond ratings are downgraded it drives up the costs when schools need to borrow money to repair or upgrade their facilities," DePasquale said in a news release. "Simply increasing Funding is not enough. We need to stem the hemorrhaging of school district finances and look for long-term, systemic changes."
York City School District is the only district in the area to see its rating downgraded to a "Baa" rating or lower since March.
-- Rachel Bunn School, state officials push to keep Havre de Grace High project at front of funding pipeline-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: July 22, 2015 [ abstract] Some top state officials are working to keep the proposal to replace Havre de Grace High School and Havre de Grace Middle School alive, despite an initial withdrawal of local Funding for construction.
David Craig, a Havre de Grace native who became Maryland's secretary of planning after his term as Harford County executive ended last December, is among those state leaders. Craig recently presented his successor, County Executive Barry Glassman, with a proposal to increase the state's contribution and ease the burden on the local government.
"We feel very confident that the governor is going to maintain structural Funding for [capital] projects," Craig said Wednesday.
The state granted local planning approval and committed Funding for construction in 2014. Glassman announced earlier this year that he was canceling Harford's commitment for construction Funding for the Havre de Grace project, as well as a number of other capital projects countywide, to reduce the amount of county debt and to push more Funding toward county employees.
The projected cost for building a combined middle and high school with a capacity of at least 1,300 students was $86.8 million as of late 2014.
-- David Anderson - The Aegis Wasuma Elementary home to first dome-style school building in California-- The Fresno Bee California: July 20, 2015 [ abstract] The New Orleans Saints play in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the St. Louis Rams play in the Edward Jones Dome, and the Wasuma Elementary Wildcats will soon play ball under a dome, too.
Wasuma Elementary, located in Ahwahnee, plans to open a gymnasium for students this fall that developers say is the first dome-shaped public school building in California.
“I don’t want people to think they’re stepping into the Save Mart Center " it’s still an elementary school built for an audience of about 300 small children,” Bass Lake School District Superintendent Glenn Reid said. “But it does look pretty cool when you step inside.”
“Cool” wasn’t what Reid was going for, though. After the district passed a bond in 2006, there were several facility issues that took priority over providing Wasuma Elementary with a gym. Up until now, the cafeteria has doubled as its gym and events venue " forcing staff to host separate assemblies because the student body couldn’t fit into one room. The Funding had dwindled, but Wasuma needed the space, so Bass Lake officials “got creative.”
The dome-shaped building cost the district around $2 million " about half of what it would’ve cost to build a traditional gym, Reid said.
The building was constructed using the techniques of the Monolithic Dome Institute in Texas, which boasts significant energy savings and less construction and maintenance costs than traditional buildings.
-- MACKENZIE MAYS Declining school enrollment to affect future construction, board of ed. says-- Southern Maryland Newspapers Online Maryland: July 15, 2015 [ abstract] School board members discussed the future of the new Northern High School, including whether its anticipated student capacity will remain as planned or whether the state may ask the county to look into redistricting its high schools at some point, at their only July meeting last Thursday.
Though an original construction plan for the new school building to hold a capacity of 1,500 students was approved by the state, Funding for that amount has dropped, thereby causing the construction capacity to possibly decrease to 1,300 and include a refurbished gymnasium rather than a new gym.
In February, Calvert County Public Schools Director of School Construction George Leah Jr. announced the replacement project would be delayed a year because of budgetary constraints. At the time, all bid submissions came in significantly over the Calvert County Board of Education’s budget, with the lowest bid being $16 million over the project’s $60 million budget. Construction is expected to break ground in May 2016.
On Thursday, Leah told the board the project is currently in the process of a redesign to better align it with the county’s budget based on numbers to be received from the state and local government.
-- SARA NEWMAN ‘What’s next?’ school facilities chief asks-- codyenterprise.com Wyoming: July 08, 2015 [ abstract] While little more than half of Wyoming school facilities are in good to excellent condition, the remaining are in fair to poor condition.
With that good-news, bad-news assessment, the director of the Wyoming Department of Education says state school facilities face an as yet undetermined direction.
“During this process of learning more about where we’re going, we’ve discovered that we’re coming to a crossroad,” Bill Panos said.
After taking a deep breath, he began his comments at the Legislature’s Select Committee on School Facilities meeting July 1 at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody.
Panos’ remarks came after the education panel spent the morning talking about school budgets, Funding building projects and looking at graphs to assess the “hard and soft landing” for the future of state schools.
“We’re not going to be done with capital projects, and capacity issues and efficiency issues, but we’re getting caught up to the backlog,” he said. “The simple question with a really complicated answer is ‘What’s next and what is the right next for Wyoming?’”
$3 billion catch-up
One direction the state’s school facilities department may take is laid out in a 28-page draft plan by 21st Century School Fund consulting firm.
Led by Mary Filardo, the Washington, D.C., firm spent the past four months looking at Wyoming school Funding, budgets, capital investment for building projects, major and routine maintenance and asset preservation.
-- JANICE DOWNEY Argall: Pennsylvania budget stalemate delays school building projects reimbursement-- WFMZ-TV Pennsylvania: July 07, 2015 [ abstract] The start of a new fiscal year without a state budget is impacting school districts in Berks and Schuylkill counties, according to a Pennsylvania lawmaker. The state's reimbursement for school construction projects is on hold as a result of the budget stalemate, according to Pa. Sen. David Argall, who represents both counties. "The reimbursements are dedicated to new school construction or improvements of existing facilities," Argall said.
Under the state's planning and construction workbook, otherwise known as PlanCon, school districts receive a portion of Funding for new construction from the state, Argall said. A $30.2 billion budget package passed by both the Republican-controlled Senate and the House of Representatives last week included $5.3 billion worth of reimbursements for 547 school construction projects in Pennsylvania.
-- Staff Writer Brown’s California School-Bond Pushback Faces Ballot Challenge-- BloombergBusiness California: July 07, 2015 [ abstract] Governor Jerry Brown’s effort to wean California schools off state Funding is facing a challenge from advocates saying the aid is needed now more than ever to repair crumbling buildings.
California has sold $35 billion of general obligations for schools since 1998. Brown, a Democrat, wants to shrink the program, while opponents are going around him to gather support for a $9 billion state bond measure. Brown says California’s 1,028 school systems should sell the debt themselves, rather than rely on the program, which provides matching funds for construction.
Brown, 77, wants to reduce the debt California pays from its general fund, part of a financial overhaul he’s undertaken since assuming office in 2011. His efforts have bolstered the most-populous state’s standing on Wall Street: Last week, California won a AA- grade from Standard & Poor’s, its highest in 14 years, and its bond yields are approaching their lowest relative to benchmark debt since 2007.
“The governor is saying we can’t afford to do this,” said Bill Savidge, assistant executive officer to the State Allocation Board, which distributes school aid. “He has other priorities for infrastructure -- our roads and bridges are in terrible shape. And he’s not fond of using long-term bonds as Funding sources.”
-- Jennifer OldhamRomy Varghese Wake County drops two schools from building program-- The News&Observer North Carolina: July 06, 2015 [ abstract] The Wake County Board of Commissioners voted Monday to drop the renovation of Vandora Springs Elementary School in Garner and the construction of a new elementary school in Holly Springs from the current construction program.
Both projects will be moved to a future building program by the Wake County school system to deal with $50 million in rising construction costs from the current program. School leaders say that if the public approves a potential 2016 school construction bond referendum that they can still get Vandora Springs and the new elementary school open in August 2018.
But the removal of guaranteed Funding " which came from the $810 million school construction bond approved by voters in 2013 " isn’t sitting well with some people.
For instance, Garner town officials aren’t happy that Vandora Springs’ renovations may go unfunded if the next bond fails.
“I don’t like that at all,” Garner Town Council Member Kathy Behringer said in a May article. “I know they don’t have the funds they need and that’s understandable. But to say they are going to put it in a bond referendum and not do it. It’s not acceptable. It makes me mad.”
One of the results of Monday’s vote is that the opening of the new Bryan Road Elementary School in Garner will be delayed a year to 2018. This will allow Vandora students to be relocated to Bryan Road while the Vandora campus is rebuilt.
-- T. KEUNG HUI Camp Pendleton schools may lose construction funding-- The San Diego Union-Tribune California: June 27, 2015 [ abstract] CAMP PENDLETON " Fallbrook Union Elementary School District may lose $72 million from the Department of Defense to rebuild two blighted schools at Camp Pendleton because it can’t raise an $18 million matching grant from the state before a 2016 deadline, district officials said.
Since the Pentagon issued a study four years ago that noted two public elementary schools on the base needed a complete overhaul, Funding possibilities for the work have slowly evaporated.
That’s despite nearly $945 million that has been spent on an ongoing program to rebuild or remodel 170-plus schools on U.S. military bases throughout the country.
Last year " when it looked like the Fallbrook district might get a slice of that federal money " school board trustees approved a $4 million contract with an architectural firm to begin design work on new K-8 campuses for the overcrowded and aging May Fay Pendleton School and San Onofre School campuses.
The Department of Defense’s Office Economic Adjustment pledge up to $72 million for the $90 million work, on the condition that Fallbrook officials come up with the remaining $18 million. That’s where the district has run into trouble.
-- Pat Maio Less mineral revenue means less Wyoming education funding-- The News&Observer Wyoming: June 24, 2015 [ abstract] CHEYENNE, WYO.
Wyoming lawmakers likely will face tough choices in coming years over how to fund the state's K-12 educational system because of falling mineral revenue, legislative staffers warned Wednesday.
Don Richards, budget and fiscal manager for the state's Legislative Service Office, said the school system faces a shortfall of nearly $580 million from mid-2016 through mid-2020, even after spending some reserve funds. The shortfalls are based on current projections that the state's share of the total budget for K-12 education for those years will run about $900 million annually.
"You can see sizeable shortfalls for K-12 education in the next bienniums," Richards told lawmakers at a briefing Wednesday in Cheyenne, referring to the state's two-year Funding cycle.
The projections assume there will be no change in how the state chooses to fund its school system and that student enrollment continues to increase at 1 percent a year.
Wyoming is the nation's leading coal producer and relies heavily on federal mineral revenue to fund education. State forecasters have projected federal mineral revenue will likely fall from just over $1 billion last year to about $688 million in 2020.
In the coming 2017-2018 biennium, the state's account for school construction will receive an estimated $137 million in revenue, while spending is projected at more than $510 million, Richards told the committee. That would leave about $373 million in unfunded construction costs.
In the 2019-2020 biennium, school construction costs are projected to be about $200 million while revenue would only reach $26 million, leaving a $174 million shortfall, Richards said.
The state's options include spending less, particularly by possibly cutting school construction, Richards said. However, he noted that Wyoming courts have imposed mandates requiring support of K-12 education.
"So there may be some limitation on any reduction in K-12," he said.
There's also the possibility that the state could see a rebound in energy revenue or that the state could fund education from other accounts, including the general fund.
-- Ben Neary - Associated Press Without state funding, school maintenance questions arise-- KTOO Public Media Alaska: June 22, 2015 [ abstract] The Juneau Assembly offered lukewarm support Monday to prep a fall ballot question asking local voters to authorize debt for school maintenance.
The $1.3 million ask is a lot less than school officials were considering in April, when they wanted $21 million for major renovations of the Marie Drake Building.
The Marie Drake project went on hold indefinitely, after the Alaska Legislature this year imposed a 5-year freeze on the state program that had covered up to 70 percent of the debt local governments took out to pay for school capital projects.
“That changes, I think, the landscape for floating school bonds for fixing up schools or renovating schools,” Juneau School District Superintendent Mark Miller told the Assembly.
Not only for big projects, but also for major maintenance that leftover bond money had historically covered. Tighter state restrictions on repurposing that money means major school maintenance falls entirely to Juneau taxpayers.
-- Jeremy Hsieh Federal panel backs $60 million for American Indian schools-- Pioneer Press Minnesota: June 15, 2015 [ abstract] A congressional subcommittee is backing $60 million in new Funding for federally overseen schools for American Indian students that some lawmakers say are in "deplorable" condition.
The U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies moved forward legislation including new money for school facilities overseen by the Bureau of Indian Education, or BIE.
The committee issued a report that references "serious health and safety hazards at BIE facilities across the country, including the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe" in northern Minnesota. It urges federal leaders to work with tribes to repair and replace rundown school buildings across the country.
U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Burnsville, visited the "Bug" school earlier this year to highlight the poor learning conditions students face there. Kline and other Minnesota lawmakers have pushed to make new Funding for Native American students a priority.
Many of Minnesota's American Indian students trail their peers academically. Only about half graduate high school on time.
In a statement, Kline said he was pleased the subcommittee members acknowledged that Congress wasn't living up to its commitment to providing American Indian students with an "excellent education in a safe and healthy environment." He added that more must be done to "untangle the maze of bureaucracy that continues to plague BIE schools and students."
-- Christopher Magan Schools face drinking water safety mandate-- The Cabinet Report California: June 11, 2015 [ abstract] (Calif.) School districts, already required to provide free, fresh drinking water for students during meal times, could soon be mandated to make sure that water, if it comes from the tap, is also safe.
Under SB 334 by Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, districts would have to provide “free, fresh, clean and cold” drinking water throughout the entire school day. In addition, the Department of Public Health would be required to test drinking water at a sampling of school sites for lead contamination.
A second bill, AB 496, authored by Assemblyman Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, would require the California Department of Education to identify Funding sources schools can access to improve drinking water quality.
“In 2013, California declared a ‘Human Right to Water,’ affirming a state priority to have universal access to safe, clean and affordable water,” Rendon said in a statement following Assembly approval of his bill last week. “Now is the time to invest in the health of our children and the integrity of the water systems they rely on at school.”
Both legislators cite research indicating that “unsafe drinking water plagues school water systems at a startling rate” as their impetus for proposing statutory mandates to address the issue.
Indeed, a 2009 Associated Press evaluation of 10 years’ worth of Environmental Protection Agency data found that California led the nation in number of schools in violation of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Drinking water at those schools and thousands across the country were found to contain unsafe levels of bacteria, lead, pesticides and other toxins.
The AP study focused on schools that operate their own well systems " but found that contaminants had surfaced at public and private schools, both rural and inner city, in all 50 states.
-- Kimberly Beltran Let’s get the most from our infrastructure dollars-- Watchdog.org New Mexico: June 09, 2015 [ abstract] Infrastructure and how to pay for it has been a topic of great interest recently. The Legislature returned to Santa Fe with the primary purpose of passing a capital outlay bill. Also, as David Abbey, Chair of the Public School Capital Outlay Council told legislators in testimony recently, New Mexico’s schools were facing serious Funding problems.
Among Abbey’s concerns was the volatility of Funding due to oil and gas prices. Abbey also said there are more needed projects than available Funding. Abbey’s most newsworthy statement was that there are 16 schools that are in such poor shape they need to be torn down.
Notably, the problem is not inadequate spending. According to data from the National Education Association, New Mexico’s per-capita capital spending on K-12 schools was 7th-highest in the nation for the most recent school year on record.
There are immediate solutions to New Mexico’s infrastructure problems and they don’t require any more tax dollars. Unfortunately, liberal Democrats who, despite recent legislative losses, remain quite powerful would rather funnel tax dollars to supportive special interest groups than adequately fund schools and other infrastructure needs.
The solution is for infrastructure to be built with labor paid at market rates. This is actually contrary to New Mexico law " known popularly as Davis-Bacon " which mandates that labor on such projects be paid a higher wage set by labor unions.
-- Paul Gessing - Opinion With education funding settled, the question is: Who gets a new school?-- Las Vegas Sun Nevada: June 07, 2015 [ abstract] The students at Long Elementary School all enter through the same front door.
But when the bell rings, half of the kids file into spacious rooms inside the school’s brick-and-mortar building, while the other half walk across the playground to 22 drab, sand brown double-wide portables.
Built in 1977 to accommodate about 500 students, the school now must fit more than 800.
Crowding in elementary schools is not a new problem for the Clark County School District. But thanks to Funding authorized by the Legislature this year, the district has its first opportunity since 2008 to build new schools.
The problem is that in the most crowded areas " mostly the older neighborhoods in downtown Las Vegas and in the east valley " there simply isn’t enough land available. Combine that with explosive population growth on the outer edges of the valley, and district officials are faced with a tough decision: Bring some relief to crowded schools in the city’s urban core or stave off future overcrowding in Summerlin and Enterprise.
-- Ian Whitaker East Hampton High School renovation project on hold-- The Middletown Press Connecticut: June 05, 2015 [ abstract] The General Assembly adjourned without taking action on an omnibus bill that would have restored full state Funding for the high school renovation project.
But, the bill is on the agenda of a special session that will meet later this month to take up legislation the General Assembly could not act upon during the regular session.
The state had originally committed to pay half the cost of the $51 million high school renovation project which is currently under way. But earlier this year, the state Department of Administrative Services reversed course. DAS said a continuing decline in enrollment meant the renovated school would be too large for the dwindling student body.
Consequently, DAS said it would not fully fund the state share.
Unless that stance can be reversed, it would mean the town would be liable for an additional $7 million in construction costs.
State Sen. Art Linares, R-33, and state Rep. Melissa Ziobron, R-34, fought to include East Hampton in an omnibus package that would hold half-a-dozen town “harmless,” and restore the full Funding.
Ziobron has repeatedly reassured school building committee officials that she was optimistic about the bill’s chances. But in the rush to adjourn by the mandated midnight deadline Wednesday, the omnibus bill was put aside for action later.
-- Jeff Mill Officials: 16 schools in New Mexico need to be torn down-- KRQE News 13 New Mexico: June 03, 2015 [ abstract] State officials say 16 schools across New Mexico are in such bad shape they need to be torn down.
Public School Capital Outlay Council Chair David Abbey told lawmakers on Tuesday that schools are being phased out or being combined with other schools to save cost.
Abbey unveiled to members of the Public School Capital Outlay Oversight Task Force a list of the top 50 schools with construction needs.
Abbey also told lawmakers that the Public School Capital Outlay Council could be facing financial challenges in the future due to the volatile oil and gas market. In addition, he said there are more needed projects than available Funding.
The state funds public school capital via bonds on severance tax revenue levied upon the extraction of oil and natural gas.
-- Associated Press State invites Central Mass. schools to seek construction funding-- telegram.com Massachusetts: June 03, 2015 [ abstract] WORCESTER - The Massachusetts School Building Authority on Wednesday invited eight school projects in Central Massachusetts into a special school construction Funding program.
Worcester officials said in a news release they will receive nearly $10 million from the MSBA to replace windows and doors at four elementary schools: Flagg Street Elementary, Jacob Hiatt Magnet, Francis J. McGrath Elementary and Grafton Street Elementary. The Grafton Street school will also receive a new boiler.
The MSBA board of directors also voted to provide Funding for roof replacement projects at Leicester High School, Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School, and Leominster’s Johnny Appleseed Elementary School, which will also get money to replace windows.
All of the projects were invited by the MSBA into its Accelerated Repair Program, a special Funding program intended to help schools replace roofs, windows, doors and boilers. Accepted projects need to be completed within an 18-month timeframe, and each district invited into the program Wednesday still must obtain additional approvals from the MSBA before it can begin construction.
-- Scott O'Connell D.C. mayor’s first budget thin on new investments for middle schools-- Washington Post District of Columbia: May 29, 2015 [ abstract] Mayor Muriel E. Bowser campaigned on improving middle schools in the District " telling parents at backyard meet-and-greets and in campaign speeches that she wanted to replicate the same quality after-school programs and academic opportunities available at Alice Deal, the school system’s most popular middle school.
But education advocates say those commitments barely make a ripple in Bowser’s first budget, which the D.C. Council approved Wednesday.
The $2.4 billion education spending plan calls for mostly about the same level of Funding this year. It sustains investments in middle schools made while she was on the campaign trail but includes no new initiatives at the critical grades when many D.C. families opt out of public schools.
Her capital budget includes funds to renovate and reopen a middle school near Petworth, fulfilling a major campaign promise. At the same time, modernization funds were delayed for more than 40 schools, among them several middle schools. The biggest winner is Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Georgetown, which is now scheduled to receive $170 million for renovations.
-- Michael Alison Chandler and Abigail Hauslohner
Redwood City officials consider how to spend $200M necessary to upgrade existing facilities-- The Daily Journal California: May 27, 2015 [ abstract] As officials in the Redwood City Elementary School District prioritize how to spend money from a proposed, upcoming bond measure required to fix aging classrooms and campuses, initial indications are there are more needs than the bond could finance.
The district Board of Trustees is slated to approve a facilities master plan during its meeting Wednesday, May 27, which lays out the various issues to be addressed by the $193 million bond measure officials are considering putting on the fall ballot.
But there are roughly $390 million worth of fixes and updates necessary to the district’s campuses, which could indicate officials may consider laying the groundwork for a second bond measure in coming years.
John Gill Elementary as well as Garfield and Taft community schools are among the top priorities to receive a majority of the funds from the bond measure, as all require about $20 million or more in improvements, which would consume about $66 million of the $141 million that would likely to be available for projects, should the bond pass, according to a district report.
But all district schools will benefit from improvements identified in the plan, Superintendent Jan Christensen wrote in an email.
“Most of our schools are 50 years old, and three are more than 80 years old. The schools need updates to current health, safety, fire and earthquake standards. The only way for the district to pay for the improvements detailed in the facilities master plan is by issuing a bond,” she said. “No other source of Funding exists at this time; the state is not providing adequate funds for upgrading and repairing our schools.”
Most of the bond money should be used to modernize and reconfigure classrooms and offices with structural upgrades, and improvements to windows, doors, floors, ceilings and paint, according the priorities identified in the report.
-- Austin Walsh Footing the bill: City Council once again funding school capital projects-- GoDanRiver.com Virginia: May 25, 2015 [ abstract] Spending $2.4 million for building improvements this year " and an additional $1.5 million set aside for renovations to J.T. Christopher Stadium " Danville Public Schools is beginning to make a dent in a backlog of about $65 million in building repairs.
“The inclusion of Danville Public Schools capital needs projects in the [Danville city] budget is the first time in several years we have had opportunity to address some of the most needed improvements to our facility,” said School Board Chair Ed Polhamus.
At last week’s City Council meeting, members voted to fund a $150,000 study to determine renovation needs of the 43-year-old stadium. The facility has begun to age with damage to the track rendering it unusable for meets. An underground water source, discovered by a study several years ago, is the cause of much of the track damage.
-- TREVOR METCALFE Minnesota schools hoping money for maintenance survives education bill veto-- Duluth News Tribune Minnesota: May 25, 2015 [ abstract] Minnesota school leaders hope part of the education bill vetoed by Gov. Mark Dayton, giving them dedicated money for building maintenance, won't be a casualty of a $17 billion budget fight.
It's been a top priority for years of suburban and rural school districts where limited resources often force administrators to pick students' needs over routine maintenance. They hope it will be included when lawmakers reconvene in St. Paul to draft another $17 billion education Funding bill.
The proposed new Funding starts with $32 million in the next two-year budget, but expanding what's called the long-term facilities maintenance program will eventually cost Minnesotans $100 million or more. Local property taxpayers will also have to chip in.
"Republicans and Democrats know this is the right thing to do for their school districts," state Sen. Kevin Dahle, DFL-Northfield, said as the legislative session neared its tumultuous end. He sponsored the bill to end a $300 per pupil Funding disparity between metro districts and the rest of the state.
Now, just 25 school districts in the state's alternative facilities program can increase local property taxes for school maintenance without voter approval. Entrance into the program is based on the overall age and size of a district's buildings.
That means districts like Forest Lake have been shut out of the program while their neighbors in Stillwater and White Bear Lake are allowed in.
-- Christopher Magan Wake IDs schools for renovations-- The News&Observer North Carolina: May 15, 2015 [ abstract] Apex, Cary and Fuquay-Varina are home to six of 27 Wake County schools that could be in line for renovations as part of a proposed 2016 school construction bond issue.
Apex High and Fuquay-Varina High are two of 11 schools that might be considered for major renovations, district planners told Board of Education leaders on May 14.
Fuquay-Varina Middle, Cary High, Briarcliff Elementary in Cary and Baucom Elementary in Apex are on a list of 16 schools that might receive smaller renovations.
District planners presented the list to Wake school board members in a facilities committee meeting on May 13. The board will need to prioritize the list this winter after district staff gets a better idea of how much renovations would cost at each school, said Joe Desormeaux, assistant superintendent for facilities.
His facilities staff wants to spend a combined $700,000 to study conditions at Fuquay-Varina High, Wendell Elementary, and Raleigh’s North Ridge Elementary, York Elementary and West Millbrook Middle. The district is already familiar with potential needs and costs at the other 22 schools, Desormeaux said.
The school board realistically can’t fund all 27 projects in the next program, Desormeaux said. Wake will have to balance renovations with providing Funding for new schools to keep up with growth.
“I would like to do all of them. They all need the work,” he said. “But they all depend on how much money is available.”
-- PAUL A. SPECHT AND T. KEUNG HUI Congress Questions Bureau of Indian Education On Crumbling Schools-- ThinkProgress.org Bureau of Indian Education: May 14, 2015 [ abstract] Members of Congress questioned Bureau of Indian Education officials and tribal leaders on the state of BIE schools this week after a Government Accountability Office report showed a lack of proper oversight over Funding, limited staff and unsafe conditions for students. BIE-managed schools have been struggling to maintain infrastructure and graduate students for years. On Thursday, the House Education and Workforce Committee heard testimony from William Mendoza, executive director of the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education and Dr. Charles “Monty” Roessel, director of the Bureau of Indian Education. Roessel was questioned by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on Wednesday. BIE school students score lower in math and reading than Native American peers attending public schools. During the 2011-12 school year, the graduation rate for BIE students was only 53 percent compared to 67 percent for Native American students attending public schools. At least 40 percent of students are from low-income households, according to the GAO report, making all BIE schools eligible for Title I Funding.
-- CASEY QUINLAN D.C. school construction projects reshuffled-- the Washington Post District of Columbia: May 14, 2015 [ abstract] The D.C. Council’s Committee on Education approved a revised capital budget plan Thursday that reorders some school projects and factors in a ranking of school projects based on some objective criteria.
Under the new plan, Garrison Elementary in Ward 2 would receive about half of the Funding that was proposed in Mayor Muriel Bowser’s (D) plan, with a $20 million commitment for next year, rather than a two-year commitment of $41 million. Some other projects were moved up in the queue, including Houston and Kimball elementaries in Ward 7, Maury Elementary in Ward 6, Hyde-Addison Elementary in Ward 2, and Raymond Elementary in Ward 4.
Before announcing his budget recommendations, D.C. Council member David Grosso (I-At Large), chairman of the Education Committee, noted that decisions were guided by financial limitations. He said during public hearings, witnesses advocated for 20 different schools to begin construction next year. “That was simply not possible,” he said. He recommended moving back to an approach of renovating in phases so more schools can see improvements sooner.
-- Michael Alison Chandler Large part of Willmar Schools’ bond request is deferred maintenance-- West Central Tribune Minnesota: May 14, 2015 [ abstract] WILLMAR " The $9.5 million for deferred maintenance projects in the Willmar Public Schools’ bond referendum next week will help clear many major capital improvement projects from the books.
The district’s voters will decide on Tuesday whether to approve a $52.35 million bond issue for academic and facility needs and a $7.75 million bond issue for a field house.
The work will include roof replacements, boiler repairs and tuckpointing the exteriors of brick buildings.
“A few people have asked, ‘Why haven’t you already done these things,’” said Pam Harrington, the school district’s business and finance director.
“It wasn’t our desire to defer these things,” she said. “We only get so much Funding.”
The state allows the district to spend $1.2 million a year on capital improvements. That includes everything from iPad leases to vehicles to window replacements to parking lot repairs. The state uses a complex formula that takes into account the age of facilities.
In order to spend more, the district has to ask the voters for Funding or use general fund money. The general fund pays for day-to-day operations and is nearly all designated for a specific use already. Most of it goes to salaries, the largest expenditure for any school district.
-- Linda Vanderwerf Many schools that need renovations may not be getting them-- Greater Greater Washington District of Columbia: May 07, 2015 [ abstract] The Bowser administration wants to postpone or eliminate Funding for needed improvements at dozens of schools. At the same time, the budget for renovating the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Georgetown has ballooned to $178 million.
Mayor Muriel Bowser's proposed budget for capital improvements would delay or abandon promised renovations at 20 or possibly more schools. At some of those schools, mice roam the classrooms, bathroom stalls lack doors, and halls are dim and dingy. One has no walls between classes.
DC Councilmember David Grosso, chair of the education committee has proposed new guidelines for Funding school renovations. He's asking for community input through an online survey that ends tomorrow.
While the budget would cut or delay many future renovations, it also seeks increases for projects that are already in progress or about to begin, including an additional $30 million for Ellington. That would bring the total cost of the renovation to about $300,000 for each of the 600 students at the application-only high school. Officials have explained that it's costly to create a "world-class performing arts space" while respecting the historic nature of the 19th-century building.
DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson has criticized the way school renovations are scheduled, saying it has more to do with "how loudly your community screams" than with objective criteria. Now Councilmember David Grosso, who is reviewing Bowser's proposed budget as chair of the Education Committee, is trying to bring some rationality to the process.
"I can't in good conscience urge my colleagues to pass this capital budget as is," Grosso said at a committee hearing two weeks ago.
-- Natalie Wexler Wake County schools find building costs escalating-- The News & Observer North Carolina: May 05, 2015 [ abstract] Higher than expected costs to build schools are forcing the Wake County school system to delay Funding for projects on the list approved by voters in a 2013 referendum.
To cover $50 million in unexpected expenses and to keep other projects on schedule, school administrators recommended Tuesday moving two elementary school projects from construction to be funded by the 2013 school bonds.
The projects " a new elementary school in southwestern Wake and the major renovation of Vandora Springs Elementary School in Garner " would, instead, be included in a proposed bond issue school leaders hope to put on the ballot in 2016.
The bad news about the capital budget came the same day that the school board approved a $1.4 billion operating budget for the 2015-16 school year. The budget includes a request for a $48.3 million increase in local Funding from the Wake County Board of Commissioners, with the majority of the increase going toward pay raises for all 18,000 school employees.
The school board had considered asking for an additional $5.8 million but did not change Superintendent Jim Merrill’s budget recommendation.
“We’re very much aware that we were near our limit,” school board Vice Chairman Tom Benton said in an interview.
-- T. Keung Hui Chicago Public Schools proposes bare-bones capital budget-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: May 02, 2015 [ abstract] Citing its bleak finances, Chicago Public Schools on Friday unveiled a $160 million capital budget that officials said will largely cover only projects that are already underway and "the most pressing repairs and maintenance issues" at schools.
The district used the announcement to repeat calls for state lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner to help address a $1.1 billion school district deficit that is largely driven by ballooning pension costs that are now coming due.
"I hate to keep repeating myself, but that's the harsh reality: We definitely need Springfield to step up and do its part in light of a projected $1.1 billion budget deficit," said Jesse Ruiz, the district's interim CEO and vice president of the Chicago Board of Education.
"It is a bleak picture. That's the reality of the situation," Ruiz said in a conference call with reporters. "I hope all the citizens of Illinois acknowledge this, that we need to step up as Illinoisans and particularly as Chicagoans."
CPS officials said the proposed capital budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 is covered with $113 million in district Funding and $47 million from the city of Chicago, federal Funding and other sources.
Those include money from tax increment financing districts that will be used for new athletic fields and play lots.
The district said the proposed capital budget has no provisions for relieving overcrowding at some schools, an issue that is often the subject of public complaints at the school board's monthly meetings.
-- Juan Perez Jr. and Heather Gillers School districts wait for reimbursements for renovation projects-- TribLIVE Pennsylvania: May 02, 2015 [ abstract] A delay and more budget uncertainty could be ahead for Pennsylvania school districts awaiting state money for hundreds of construction projects totaling $1.2 billion.
Gov. Tom Wolf's proposed 2016 budget would reinstate a moratorium his predecessor imposed on applications for reimbursement and leave the Funding level at about $306.2 million for projects in the system. Lawmakers had allowed the moratorium to expire in September and increased the budget for payouts under the 11-step approval process for the â€"PlanCon†program.
Of an estimated 350 projects working their way through the state's pipeline, 200 had reached Part H — the stage just before the state starts paying the district. About 60 districts started getting payments totaling $46.6 million when legislators increased the Funding, said Hannah Berrick, director of advocacy at the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials.
â€"We'll see that backlog continue to grow, and we'll be right back where we started. While we're optimistic about it, the prospect of a new moratorium gives us pause,†she said.
-- Matthew Santoni Council member Cheh pushes chancellor to restore funds to Wilson-- Washington Post District of Columbia: April 29, 2015 [ abstract] Amid growing pressure from parents to do away with a proposed cut to Wilson High’s budget, Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson restated her rationale for the reduction during an oversight hearing Tuesday before the D.C. Council’s Education Committee.
She said a new requirement mandating the allocation of extra Funding to schools based on the proportion of students considered “at risk” because of poverty or other factors means there is less Funding for lower-poverty schools.
Council member Mary M. Cheh (Ward 3) noted that Wilson High, the city’s largest school, serves nearly 600 students who are considered “at risk.” That’s just 30 percent of the school’s enrollment, but a larger number of students than the total enrollment of some of the city’s comprehensive high schools.
“How can we serve these students when overall moneys are down?” Cheh said.
The proposed budget for the next school year includes additional Funding for high schools.
But the proposed $15.6 million budget for Wilson, which is in Northwest Washington, is down more than $300,000 from the current year’s budget. Per-pupil spending would drop by about 10 percent from $9,276 to $8,307.
-- Michael Alison Chandler NLR board approves sale listing of school campuses-- ArkansasOnline Arkansas: April 29, 2015 [ abstract] The North Little Rock School Board on Tuesday approved the listing for sale of three campuses that are either unused now or will be unused at the end of this school year.
Newmark Grubb Arkansas is the the district's real estate company and will be paid 6 percent of the sale contract for each property. Adam Jenkins, senior associate and director of Newmark Grubb Arkansas, is the agent working with the district.
The campuses for sale, their addresses and the selling prices are:
• Amboy Elementary, 2400 W. 58th St., $1.25 million.
• Pine Street Elementary, 1900 Pine St., $290,000.
• Redwood Early Childhood Center, 401 N. Redwood St., $37,000.
The 9,000-student North Little Rock School District is in the midst of a capital-improvement program that is reducing what were 21 schools to 13, nearly all of which are being built new or extensively remodeled.
As a result of the building program, the district has several schools that are no longer being used as traditional school buildings.
Maintaining the unused schools is an expense to the district, and keeping the buildings could hinder the district's ability to qualify for state Funding for new schools and additions in the future. School district leaders have said the state Department of Education's Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation Division could determine that the district doesn't need Funding for new buildings if old schools are still available.
-- Cynthia Howell Unfinished jobs show need for capital outlay reform-- Albuquerque Journal New Mexico: April 26, 2015 [ abstract] Fair or unfair, the legislative session that ended about a month ago has become best known for the failure of the Legislature to pass a capital outlay bill. Since then, numerous organizations " noting that state capital outlay spending spurs economic activity " have urged the governor to call a special session for consideration of a public works package.
They’re right; the economic stimulus would be good for New Mexico.
However, it’s important to remember that hundreds of millions of state capital outlay dollars are already in the pipeline. In fact, between capital dollars earmarked for special programs and discretionary capital outlay Funding appropriated in past years but still unspent, the state has nearly a billion dollars in capital outlay funds.
Because certain capital outlay funds are earmarked annually, the state will have nearly $30 million this year for water projects and almost $15 million each for tribal projects and infrastructure in the substandard, semirural communities called colonias.
Another $179 million is designated specifically to public school construction, and Senate Bill 291 reauthorizes about $25 million in capital outlay funds allocated in previous years but unused.
Regrettably, also in the pipeline are hundreds of millions more for projects that have become stuck for one reason or another.
The state’s management of capital outlay spending has improved significantly since the Legislative Finance Committee reported a decade ago that the state had significant outstanding appropriations. But problems remain, a fact made clear by the latest LFC quarterly status report on capital outlay.
-- Sen. John Arthur Smith / Democrat, Deming Many protest D.C. schools capital plan-- Washington Post District of Columbia: April 23, 2015 [ abstract] A marathon school budget hearing kicked off Thursday morning with a group of elementary school students from Orr Elementary. Third-grader Rontay Hall told the Education Committee that the D.C. Council made a promise when he was in first grade that he would have a new school.
This spring, funds for Orr Elementary got pushed back in Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s proposed capital budget, along with funds for nearly 20 school renovations. At the same time, the plan added $30 million to the budget for the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, making it the most expensive high school project to date.
Orr Elementary has had its capital Funding delayed multiple times over the past decade. At the hearing, the students talked about mice-infested classrooms, an outdated open-floor plan and a 40-year old boiler that makes some rooms unbearably hot.
“I want a building I can be proud of,” Hall said. “A building that will help us learn.”
-- Michael Alison Chandler Poll: Californians Willing to Borrow Big in 2016 to Help Schools-- KQED News California: April 22, 2015 [ abstract] The times may change, but Californians don’t seem to do so when it comes to two things about K-12 public schools: a sense that they need money for construction and renovation, and a willingness to borrow the cash to make that happen.
The latest example: A new statewide poll that shows relatively strong support for a 2016 school construction bond, even as the idea continues to be quietly fought in Sacramento by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Wednesday night’s poll from the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California finds 55 percent of likely voters support the general concept of a school bond on the November 2016 ballot. Broaden the sample size to all adults, and PPIC finds even more " 66 percent " who like the idea.
“Our polling consistently shows that local school Funding is the top priority,” said Mark Baldassare, PPIC’s president and pollster.
The PPIC survey takes the collective California temperature on a number of education-related issues. But the school bond may be the most politically pressing, given the rollicking debate in Sacramento over the issue.
-- John Myers Wilson Schools capital plan totals $280 million-- The Tennessean Tennessee: April 22, 2015 [ abstract] Wilson County Schools has submitted a five-year building plan, and the timing of those building projects may determine whether a tax increase is necessary for Funding.
Total cost for construction, furniture, fixtures and equipment for 11 projects in the five-year plan is about $280 million. The estimate does not include projects that will require land acquisition and increased operational and staffing costs.
"We don't have the capacity to take care of a five-year plan on the construction side without something in the form of a tax increase," said Aaron Maynard, Wilson County Finance Director. "Each project will have to be evaluated on its own. It will require some study, some selling by the board and research to satisfy ourselves."
The Wilson County Commission's education committee is expected to begin review of the capital plan at its May 7 meeting, chairwoman Annette Stafford said.
-- Andy Humbles Districts could soon share construction funding with charter schools-- The Tampa Tribune Florida: April 19, 2015 [ abstract]
Traditional public schools in Florida could soon be required to share money designated for construction and maintenance with charter schools in their districts.
Last month, the majority-Republican House approved a bill that includes a last-minute provision that calls for school districts to divert some of the local property tax money they can raise for construction and maintenance costs to charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run.
Local school district officials say the move " praised by charter school operators " could place financial burdens on districts that are already operating under tight capital budgets that go toward expenses like maintaining aging school buildings, building new ones and purchasing new school buses.
“We’ve already, over the last several years, had less dollars to use for our own maintenance,” acting Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent Jeff Eakins recently told the Tribune’s editorial board. “Any additional dollars we would lose would definitely be a challenge for us. It will create a bigger backlog on our maintenance issues for our buildings and a strain on our budget.”
A Florida Department of Education analysis distributed to school districts earlier this month estimates that Hillsborough County charter schools could be up for about $8 million of the capital outlay money the school district draws each year from local property taxes, if the Legislature does not set aside money to go to the charters.
This year, Hillsborough is slated to receive a total of a little over $100 million from a 1.5 mill property tax. Of that, $66 million will go toward debt service payments.
If the Legislature sets aside $100 million for charter school construction and maintenance as the House has proposed, the amount Hillsborough County would have to provide to its charter schools would drop to $1.5 million.
Those numbers could change, as state budget talks are not expected to wrap up until this summer.
-- Erin Kourkounis Arlington County Board to take care of costs associated with school-construction delay-- insideNova Virginia: April 18, 2015 [ abstract] Arlington County Board members say they will take the financial hit for delaying construction of a new elementary school. But a majority of board members say it isn’t necessary to set aside the Funding right now.
As the minutes ticked down for board members to finalize their fiscal 2016 budget on April 16, County Board member Libby Garvey sought inclusion of Funding totaling up to $2.1 million for potential cost overruns in construction of the proposed, but delayed, new school.
School Board members have planned to build the new school on the campus of Thomas Jefferson Middle School, but the County Board in January put that option on hold and sent the school system back to gather more information about the school’s impact on its surroundings, and to develop alternative sites.
The action set back the project at least a year, and Garvey said school officials shouldn’t be on the hook for cost appreciation that likely will be in the 3- to 5-percent range.
“We can sometimes forget the cost of these delays,” said Garvey, who in January was the lone vote to allow the School Board to move forward with the project. “We were the cause of the delay; we will cover that.”
-- SCOTT McCAFFREY California Announces $113 Million for School Construction Projects-- Imperial Valley News California: April 16, 2015 [ abstract] Sacramento, California - The State Allocation Board (SAB) announced today that it has awarded approximately $113.6 million for school construction projects throughout the state.
The SAB awarded approximately $113.6 million for 41 School Facility Program (SFP) projects within 22 school districts statewide. The state matching funds for SFP projects are distributed to local school districts to help finance shovel-ready school construction projects or reimburse districts for projects already completed using local funds. State Funding for SFP projects is provided by bonds authorized under Propositions 1A, 1D, 47, and 55.
"The State Allocation Board’s actions today provide cash apportionments for 41 school facility projects across the state," said SAB Chair Eraina Ortega, who also serves as Chief Deputy Director, Policy at the California Department of Finance. "The Office of Public School Construction will distribute the bond funds to school districts within 90 days so local school construction projects can move forward as quickly as possible."
-- Staff Writer Big school boom: Hamilton County builds three huge elementary schools; says size makes sense financially-- Timesfreepress.com Tennessee: April 12, 2015 [ abstract] Hamilton County is on a roll when it comes to building huge elementary schools.
The trend began in August 2013 with the opening of the 1,100-student Ooltewah Elementary School, which was bigger than every school in the district except for the four largest high schools.
Next up is the new East Brainerd Elementary School near Hamilton Place mall, which will have room for 1,100 students when it opens in August.
Then, on April 30, officials will unseal construction bids for a new Ganns Middle Valley Elementary School between Hixson and Soddy-Daisy. That school is expected to hold close to 1,000 students when it opens -- possibly as early as 2016 if an "accelerated" construction schedule is met.
And long term, the Hamilton County Department of Education hopes to build an 1,100-student elementary school on Hixson Pike to replace the Alpine Crest, DuPont and Rivermont elementary schools.
Population growth drives school construction. But another reason cited for the boom in large elementary schools is the Basic Education Program, the state's Funding formula for public education.
The state requires one teacher per every 20 children in kindergarten through third grade, said Assistant Superintendent Gary Waters, the school district's facilities manager. That's easier to "balance" in a large school, he said. If a small school has two full kindergarten classes of 20 students each, the district has to hire another teacher if another kindergartner enrolls.
Schools scramble to meet rules on all-day kindergarten, smaller classes-- The Seattle Times Washington: April 12, 2015 [ abstract] At Des Moines Elementary, a basement storage room that flooded each winter was repaired and repurposed as a kindergarten classroom. With voters rejecting two bond proposals to build schools and add classrooms, better facilities are likely years away.
Highline is one of 261 districts in Washington struggling to plan for new classroom space to meet upcoming state mandates for all-day kindergarten and 17-to-1 student-teacher ratios in grades K-3.
The mandates are set in the McCleary decision, a 2012 Washington Supreme Court order on school Funding that said lawmakers were not fully paying for basic education and were relying too much on local tax-levy dollars. Since then, lawmakers have been seeking money to hire more teachers but have done little to supply the classrooms needed to house those classes.
A recent survey of Washington school districts by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) found more than 5,500 additional classrooms will be needed to satisfy the McCleary requirements.
That adds up to an estimated $2 billion in new schools across 261 of the state’s 295 school districts, according to Gordon Beck, OSPI director of school facilities and organization.
-- DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP, Associated Press New Science Wing Gives Students Competitive Edge-- WAMU Public Radio Massachusetts: April 10, 2015 [ abstract] Massachusetts is making a financial commitment to equip the state’s public schools with state-of-the-art science labs. The initiative comes as schools stress a curriculum heavy with science, technology, engineering and math, which is collectively called STEM.
A new three-story science wing with 12 new laboratories, multi-purpose preparation rooms, cutting-edge classrooms, and a greenhouse was dedicated Thursday at Springfield Central High School. The new wing cost $32 million. The Massachusetts School Building Authority covered 80 percent of the cost, or $25.6 million.
Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who chairs the state’s school building authority, joined local officials in Springfield Thursday to celebrate the project. She said modern science labs like those at Central are critical to closing skills gaps and sustaining the state’s economic growth.
"Massachusetts is known for its brains. That is where the growth has been and where it will continue to be," said Goldberg.
The school building authority was created a decade ago to, in part, rein in the costs of local school building projects. The authority demanded cost effective designs before new schools could qualify for state Funding.
-- PAUL TUTHILL Perry Co. Schools to Close Elementary Schools-- alabamanews.net Alabama: April 09, 2015 [ abstract] From the West Alabama Newsroom-- Officials at Perry County Schools plan to shut down both of the elementary schools in the district at the end of the school year because of budget cuts.
School officials say the district simply can't afford the cost of operating four separate schools any longer.
They say Uniontown and Albert Turner elementary schools will be closed at the end of the school year and both RC Hatch and Francis Marion high schools will serve students from Pre-K through 12th grade next school year.
They say a steady decline in revenue and student enrollment over the last few years made the closures necessary.
Fransia Foster is the chairwoman of the Perry County Board of Education.
"Because of what's going on in Montgomery with our new legislators they're cutting Funding even more for public schools." said Foster.
-- George McDonald Federal commerce official says redeveloping a former school building will attract new business-- Daily Journal Rhode Island: April 08, 2015 [ abstract] NEWPORT, Rhode Island — The transformation of a former school building not far from the harbor in Newport into a collaborative work environment will be a catalyst for the community, a federal official said Wednesday.
The Sheffield School building was one of a handful of sites throughout the state that U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Jay Williams visited to see how the federal agency's investments have impacted the region and where it could provide more Funding.
Williams was joined by Congressman David Cicilline, state Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Newport Mayor Jeanne Napolitano for the tour of the future "Newport Tech Works" facility. The city was awarded more than $1.6 million in grant Funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration last year to redevelop the now-vacant space.
-- The Associated Press Members of U.S. Congress tour Minnesota school with "truly horrific conditions"-- Grand Forks Herald Minnesota: April 08, 2015 [ abstract] Three members of the U.S. Congress toured the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School on Wednesday on the Leech Lake reservation, getting a first-hand look at conditions that have made the school a decrepit symbol of how America is underFunding its Indian education system.
U.S. Reps. Rick Nolan, D-Minn., John Kline, R-Minn., and Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind., took advantage of the congressional spring recess to tour the school and meet with local officials.
Each had their own reason for being there: Nolan represents the Leech Lake band as part of the Eighth Congressional District. Kline chairs the House committee on education and workforce issues, while Rokita chairs the House subcommittee on early childhood, elementary and secondary school education.
However, the three of them were united across party lines in condemning the situation at the school and calling for action.
"The conditions, I found to be actually worse than what I had been led to believe," Kline said. "Truly horrific conditions. We need to figure out how it is that you're able to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on maintenance for a building that was never supposed to be a school building, but you can't replace the building."
They aren't the first from the federal government to see the problem. U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn visited the school in August, after U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., told Jewell about the school.
Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig is one of 63 schools listed in poor condition out of 183 on the nationwide Bureau of Indian Affairs list that receives federal Funding as of 2014.
-- Zach Kayser Farm to School program falls onto Alaska budget chopping block-- Alaska Dispatch News Alaska: April 01, 2015 [ abstract] A small state program that supporters call "wildly successful" and has helped Alaska schools win grants to grow their own crops and purchase food from local farmers probably won’t survive the Legislature’s budget ax.
But Alaska Farm to School -- on track to lose all its state Funding as lawmakers are making cuts to reduce a $3.5-billion budget hole -- just might live on in diminished form.
State managers say they’ll try to win federal funds to pay for the program’s two positions, temporarily keeping it alive for perhaps another year or longer.
Supporters are hopeful. With an annual budget of $180,000, the effort has sparked something of a surge in educational agriculture in Alaska, with school greenhouses and gardens growing from 103 to 146 the last two years, according to the program’s census.
By offering small grants as seed money and expertise to attract larger grants from other agencies, Alaska Farm to Schools, launched in 2010, has helped bring about unique efforts in Alaska communities, according to supporters. Those include a commercial-sized greenhouse at a school in Tok, a hydroponic farm in a refrigerator van that can be shipped to rural communities, and a Thorne Bay school greenhouse that produces veggies sold at local businesses, supporters say.
-- Alex DeMarban State official: West Salisbury renovations a bad option-- delmarvanow.com Maryland: April 01, 2015 [ abstract] A Maryland official overseeing school construction projects does not mince words in his assessment of West Salisbury Elementary School.
"The current situation does not represent a safe environment for the students in case of fire," writes David Lever, the Executive Director of the Maryland Public School Construction Program.
The letter, obtained by The Daily Times through a Freedom of Information Act request, comes after Wicomico County Executive Bob Culver's stated he wanted to reexamine the construction of a new elementary school to see if renovations could be a less expensive option.
Read Lever's letter here
Lever, speaking on behalf of the Interagency Committee on School Construction to Gov. Larry Hogan and Culver, is strong in his language disagreeing with any project short of a rebuild.
Issues with fire code safety, the school's layout in the event of an active shooting and the accessibility for disabled students are all brought into question by Lever.
Culver initially halted the sale of a $1.25 million bond to fund the project before allocating approixmatley $2.2 million of the county's reserve Funding to keep Wicomico eligible for state Funding.
Culver did not return several calls for comment Wednesday. However, he has made his reasoning clear behind the move.
"Wicomico County does not have the money it had 10 years ago," Culver said last month when council voted on his five-year county Funding plan. "I'm asking that we have time to step back."
-- Phil Davis Iowa City and other school districts across the state predicted to grow-- The Daily Iowan Iowa: March 31, 2015 [ abstract] The fifth-largest school district in Iowa isn’t the only one expected to grow over the next 10 years.
The Iowa City School District’s growth is a combination of progression, birth rates, and survival rates in Johnson County.
School Board President Chris Lynch said the district has been aware of these estimates for a long time, which is why construction of new schools and additions to others has been a recent priority.
“We continue to see significant growth in the district,” he said.
There were 13,050 students enrolled in the district for the current school year, up from 12,774 last year.
The three new elementary schools being built, a upcoming new high school, and other school additions have been a result of data from annual reports on district growth, Lynch said.
To accommodate the growth, he said, the more students in the district means the more Funding they bring in, which allows the district to hire more teachers.
“Providing an excellent learning experience for our students is our main goal,” Lynch said. “We want our students to have an excellent learning environment.”
The district’s budget for the growth comes from a variety of taxes. A little more than half comes from state taxes, and a little under half comes from local property taxes. Five percent is funded federally.
“Remember that the facilities master plan is based on most extensive community plan,” Lynch said. “So far we’re on schedule and in budget.”
-- GRACE PATERAS Review calls for change in management of Anchorage school facilities-- Alaska Dispatch News Alaska: March 31, 2015 [ abstract] A newly released review of the Anchorage School District's facilities operations highlights numerous deficiencies in how the district estimates the costs of capital projects, how it secures Funding for those projects and how it manages them.
The review, made public Tuesday, offers 28 recommendations on how the district could improve, including filling critical job vacancies on a timely basis, noting that the top facilities position went unfilled for three years.
ASD administrators and the Council of the Great City Schools presented the review at a special School Board meeting Tuesday afternoon -- a week before the April 7 municipal election, when voters will decide the fate of a $59.3 million school bond to pay for capital projects at eight schools.
Mike Abbott, ASD's chief operating officer, said Monday that the special meeting was called because the school district did not want to create the perception that it held back the review's findings until closer to the vote. Under typical protocol, the administration would have presented the findings at the next School Board meeting, scheduled for the day before the election, Abbott said.
In its 14-page facilities review, the council said the school district did some things well. It praised ASD for the competent, hardworking and dedicated employees within the Facilities and the Maintenance and Operations departments, as well as its six-year facilities plan. It noted that ASD had a robust preventive maintenance program as well as a strategic plan that called for high operational efficiency.
But the council also found items it didn't like. For one, the review said the school district's Facilities Department went three years without a director. During that span, the department lacked an executive to champion capital projects and maintenance programs, the review said
-- Tegan Hanlon Some Eastern Connecticut school playgrounds getting upgrades-- The Norwich Bulletin Connecticut: March 29, 2015 [ abstract] Several Eastern Connecticut school playgrounds will be receiving upgrades thanks to a series of recently approved state grants.
The State Bond Commission this month approved Funding for early childhood-related projects in Plainfield, Sterling and Lisbon, many of them focusing on student recreation.
In Plainfield, part of an $81,902 grant will be used to add handicap-accessible playground equipment outside the district's Early Childcare Center, which includes students from the Readiness and Head Start programs. A canvas-draped shell will be replaced with a gazebo-style shaded area, and a second play area will get a new ramp and fencing, said Rena Cadro, district director of curriculum and grants.
"These are the type of upgrades we couldn't do without grant money," she said. "We're looking to do the upgrades within the year."
Barbara Tetreault, head teacher and assistant director of the Readiness Program, said approximately 63 preschool students are on the playgrounds on any given day.
"The students go outside three times each day, weather permitting," she said. "It's really important at that age that the children have chances to go out, expel some energy and be healthy."
-- John Penney St. Johns County School District weighs options for managing growth-- The St. Augustine Record Florida: March 28, 2015 [ abstract] The St. Johns County School District is serving 1,600 more students this year with no new schools under construction.
About 800 new students are already projected for next year, with fewer than 400 permanent seats to spare.
Tim Forson, deputy superintendent of operations, said the lack of capital outlay Funding and bonding capacity doesn’t change the reality of growth.
Principals from 14 schools have requested 82 additional relocatables for next year. Another 17 units are on advance request for the following year.
Forson said 42 of the relocatables are already being built and that the request nearly doubles numbers from recent years.
Patriot Oaks and Valley Ridge academies, which opened this year, requested 12 and 20 units respectively.
In the meantime, the quick fixes of the past are only getting older. According to the Five-Year District Facilities Work Plan, 216 relocatables are scheduled for replacement by 2018-19.
“It needs a solution,” Forson said. “It’s an inequity if you compare that with any other type of facility.”
-- JAKE MARTIN PSD plan: Build three new schools by 2020-- Coloradoan Colorado: March 26, 2015 [ abstract] Construction of two new high schools — one boasting an athletics complex — plus a new elementary school, is included in a long-range planning proposal introduced late Tuesday by Poudre School District Superintendent Sandra Smyser.
The plan presented Tuesday to PSD's Board of Education will be updated over time and won't be voted upon until March, 2016. It is designed to help the district relieve school-capacity pressure and anticipate future growth, particularly in the district's southeast and northeast sections.
As Larimer County's population expands, PSD expects enrollment to grow to more than 30,000 within the next two years. Enrollment in 2015 came in at 29,053, about 500 students more than projected.
One new high school and athletics complex is slated for the district's 100-acre site on Prospect Road east of Interstate 25. The new elementary school would also be located east of I-25. A second high school is planned for the Wellington area.
Each would open by 2020, with the high schools opening as combined middle schools and high schools.
Bond Funding, which would be voted upon in fall 2016, would likely be required to fund the new schools, said PSD spokeswoman Danielle Clark. The district's existing voter-approved Funding supports previously identified facilities improvement work in the district through 2020, Clark said.
-- Rob White Cleveland school construction watchdog to receive more money - and have time limits on terms-- Cleveland.com Ohio: March 25, 2015 [ abstract] CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland school board is expected to approve new Funding Thursday for the school construction watchdog panel, as promised during last fall's Issue 4 bond campaign, just with a few surprise twists.
Board chair Denise Link is seeking a few changes to the Bond Accountability Commission that the district never mentioned during the campaign or when it pledged to maintain the BAC in its watchdog role.
The biggest: That members won't be appointed to their positions permanently, as in the past. Link is seeking to make terms run for two years.
That's half the length of the four-year terms on the school board, but Link says they match those for Mayor Frank Jackson's Transformation Alliance, his charter school and school choice panel.
-- Patrick O'Donnell, The Plain Dealer Construction projects could avert development halt in four school clusters-- Gazette.net Maryland: March 25, 2015 [ abstract] The Montgomery County Council’s Education Committee has recommended approving four construction projects that would add classrooms where overcrowded schools could affect residential development.
Two projects would add capacity at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington and Northwood High School in Silver Spring. Another project would add classrooms at either Loiederman Middle School or Parkland Middle School in the Wheaton cluster.
A fourth project would add space to address elementary school enrollment in the Gaithersburg cluster.
If approved, the projects would act as placeholders, said James Song, the director of the school system’s Department of Facilities Management. The school district has not yet determined what the projects will be and how much they will cost.
The Montgomery County Planning Board can’t approve new housing developments in school clusters projected to reach a certain level of capacity, if there are no plans or Funding to add classrooms to those areas within five years.
To potentially trigger a housing moratorium, a cluster’s enrollment must be projected to exceed 120 percent of its capacity at the high, middle or elementary school level in the next five years.
The cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg have their own ordinances governing school overcrowding and moratoriums.
-- Lindsay A. Powers Owego Apalachin to see $5.7 million of funding from FEMA-- WBNG New York: March 24, 2015 [ abstract] FEMA has officially committed $5.7 million in Funding to Owego Apalachin Central School District for construction after the school was severely damaged during Tropical Storm Lee.
Senators Charles Schumer (D) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D) announced Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will give $5,774,749.20 for construction of Owego Apalachin's administration building.
FEMA announced in December 2014 that it would be awarding Funding for the relocation of both the administration building and maintenance storage facilities that were damaged in the 2011 storm.
However, there were several delays from FEMA from getting the Funding out the door, until Tuesday.
Through the senators urging, Owego Apalachin will receive the $5.7 million, which is just 75 percent of the $7.69 million total project cost.
-- Amy Khuu School district faced bankruptcy, forced to close two elementaries-- mLive Michigan: March 24, 2015 [ abstract] WOODLAND, MI - Lakewood Public Schools Superintendent Michael O'Mara says a budget crisis due to declining enrollment was the driving force behind the district's recent decision to consolidate schools.
"Bankruptcy was a year away," O'Mara said. "We have lost over 500 kids in the last 10 years and are projected to lose 125 students over the next three to five years."
The school board decided earlier this month to close two of its four elementary schools - Clarksville and Sunfield. Next fall, West Elementary will serve students in first through fourth grade and Woodland Elementary will teach preschool and kindergarten students. Lakewood Middle School will expand to serve grades 5 through 8.
O'Mara said he understands closing the small, rural schools is emotional for many in those communities.
"This decision was made in what we believe was the in the best interest of of our kids in school," he said. "Long-term this will keep the health of our district and provide those students the best education possible. This decision had to be about the kids, not the adults."
The move saves the 1,948-student district $900,000. Still, he said it is not a silver bullet because a lot unknowns still exist, including state Funding.
Clarksville has 114 students and Sunfield has 155 students, according to the state. Ten years ago, the schools had 133 students and 202 students, respectively.
-- Monica Scott State facilities program has been funding school construction projects since 1997-- The Marietta Times Ohio: March 14, 2015 [ abstract] A state agency established almost 20 years ago has collaborated with school districts across Ohio to build and renovate about 1,100 school buildings to date.
The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, now the umbrella agency of the Ohio School Facilities Commission, is still celebrating groundbreakings as it continues to fund building projects for school districts who need them.
Funded with about $12 billion, the OFCC is still helping to put up buildings and plans to continue as long as possible.
"In the years since 1997, we've built or renovated about 1,100 schools, and we've addressed building needs in about 250 districts," said OFCC spokesman Rick Savors. "We've dispersed $11 billion so far and we've got more, and the goal is to continue to offer Funding to every school that needs it."
Formed as a result of the Ohio Supreme Court decision on DeRolph v. State that ruled that Ohio's method of Funding public education was unconstitutional, the OFSC went to work in the late '90s to provide matching funds to school districts to make new or updated buildings a reality.
"Out of the thousand or so buildings we've built, we're still talking about 65 percent to 70 percent is new construction and about 35 percent is renovation," Savors said. "A lot of the buildings we deal with are places with low wealth where the buildings were deteriorating so much that they needed a new building."
-- Jackie Runion School construction projects taking shape-- Powell Tribune Wyoming: March 12, 2015 [ abstract] Old building, new purpose; Students, staff settling into renovated Support Services Building
After sitting vacant and dark in recent years, part of the old Powell High School building has a new look and new purpose.
The remaining one-story section of the old PHS " now known as the Support Services Building " underwent significant renovations. Support staff and operations have stayed in the building, and students have returned to its hallways and classrooms.
“There’s a lot more that goes on in the building than people tend to think,” said Alex Spitz, an administrative assistant who works in the building’s main office. “It gives all of the Support Services (maintenance, technology, print shop, warehouse, credit union) departments a home, provides lots of space for any kind of staff development, plus three teachers have brand-new classrooms, which is a great improvement from the deteriorating Home Ec Cottage.”
The Pre-Kindergarten Transition Program, in-school suspension program and classrooms for students with special needs moved from the cottage to the Support Services Building.
Todd Wilder, coordinator of the school district’s support services, said he is glad the district was allowed to keep the 25,414-square-foot section of the former high school and use it for support services and learning.
The Wyoming School Facilities Commission had directed Park County School District No. 1 to reduce its facilities’ overall square footage, based on its student population. Powell leaders put forward a plan to eventually sell the old Home Economics Cottage, while keeping and renovating more space in the old high school to accommodate the programs that had been housed in the cottage. The state agreed and provided Funding for the project.
“I think we’re real fortunate that we were able to get the School Facilities Commission to allow us to do this " they could have just said, ‘Tear it down and just keep the maintenance (part of the building),’” Wilder said.
By keeping more of the old high school, the district was able to create a one-of-a-kind facility, he said.
-- Tessa Schweigert Ample state funding? Not for school construction-- The News Tribune Washington: March 11, 2015 [ abstract] Washington’s public schools have paid roughly two-thirds of their operating costs with state money in recent years. That’s not enough, the state Supreme Court has ruled in the McCleary case, to comply with the state constitution.
But it is extravagant compared to what the state pays to build those schools.
When most of 58-year-old Peter G. Schmidt Elementary in Tumwater is replaced starting in June, the state is expected to kick in just more than 15 percent of the cost. When 91-year-old Arlington Elementary in Tacoma is fully renovated or more likely replaced starting in 2016, not a dime of state money is expected.
All told, according to state figures, the state pays less than a quarter of capital costs.
“If that came up in front of the McCleary court, they would rule it unconstitutional,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Ross Hunter, a Medina Democrat.
No one in the Legislature is proposing having the state take over construction Funding from local property taxpayers. But there’s widespread interest in finding more state money.
A bipartisan group of senators led by Puyallup Republican Bruce Dammeier put forward a bill Monday offering one-time grants for school districts that are adding classes in accordance with state mandates.
-- JORDAN SCHRADER Lakewood school board votes to close two elementary schools-- The Hastings Banner Michigan: March 11, 2015 [ abstract] After several months of budget discussions, the Lakewood Board of Education voted unanimously on Monday to adopt a budget resolution that will close Sunfield and Clarksville elementary schools.
The board’s finance committee began grappling with a massive projected budget deficit in January at which time it began to explore the options that led to Monday’s decision. A $459,000 decrease in state Funding due to a decline in enrollment, paired with a $446,000 increase in expenses for the current year, reduced the district’s fund equity to $729,942, or 4.21 percent of its total budget. With a projected deficit of $1.19 million looming, the finance committee warned that the district could face bankruptcy unless drastic reductions are made.
Along with a sinking-fund millage scheduled for the May 5 ballot, the finance committee proposed three options, each of which included closing at least one school. One option was later removed. The district has elementary schools in Clarksville, Lake Odessa, Sunfield and Woodland, along with a middle school and high school in Lake Odessa.
The resolution made Monday would consolidate elementary buildings from four buildings to two. Woodland Elementary would become a preschool through kindergarten building, West Elementary first through fourth grades; middle school fifth through eighth grades; and high school ninth through 12th grades. In addition, the district would make reductions necessary to have positive fund equity in the 2015-16 budget.
Several community members addressed the board Monday prior to the vote, begging the board to reconsider and to give them more time to increase enrollment.
Amy Byers, Clarksville Village president, asked the board to keep the school open to provide additional time for research before making the decision to close two schools that will affect the lives and the communities in which so many live.
“While I understand the point of making a decision soon so there is enough time to put it in place before next school year, a decision of this magnitude should not be rushed in any way,” said Byers. “Once made, it cannot be undone. Do you feel certain that this is the right choice, that all options have been explored thoroughly?
-- Bonnie Mattson Parents Push for Upgrades to Hill East School-- Hill Now District of Columbia: March 09, 2015 [ abstract] Watkins Elementary School parents are fighting for funds to modernize the Hill East building, after Mayor Muriel Bowser moved to axe nearly $7.3 million from its 2015 budget earlier this year.
The 420 12th St. SE school and recreation center needs more than $27 million for long-delayed upgrades, the parents wrote in a letter to Bowser and other D.C. officials. Parent representatives of the Watkins School Improvement Team are encouraging supporters to sign the letter by Saturday.
Funding of $12.8 million in fiscal 2016 and $15.5 million in fiscal 2017 is “absolutely critical” for Watkins, which was built in 1963, the letter says. Out of the school’s 10 major building systems, eight are “poor” or “unsatisfactory,” according to a 2008 D.C. Public Schools master facilities plan. The recreation center is “aged” and hasn’t received “any substantial improvements,” the letter adds.
-- Andrew Ramonas State Turns Down East Hampton High School Construction Funding Request-- Hartford Courant Connecticut: March 05, 2015 [ abstract] EAST HAMPTON – The state has rejected a request to pay half the cost of renovating East Hampton High School, leaving the project with as much as a $7 million Funding gap, officials said this week.
The news, while expected, has left school officials scrambling to find a solution, with the $51 million renovation project well underway. "None of this is going to be easy," Town Manager Mike Maniscalco said. "It's very unfortunate."
Maniscalco said the school building committee, which is meeting Thursday to discuss options, is weighing a legislative solution as well as scaling back the project.
"I think it's an exercise the town needs to go through," Maniscalco said of the proposal to scale back the project, in an effort to lower costs. "Unfortunately there is no magic bullet."
The high school renovation project – approved by voters in 2013 – calls for demolishing the high school's two aging wings, adding a new science and technology block, a new gymnasium and a renovated library and media center.
Under the "renovate as new plan," the state was expected to fund half the cost to renovate the 119,000-square-foot building.
But on Feb. 18, the state Department of Administrative Services rejected East Hampton's request, because the cost to renovate was more than building a new high school. The school's size, nearly 120,000 square feet, also exceeds the state allowance for the town's projected enrollment.
-- ERIK HESSELBERG Schools for Equity in Education looking to close cost burden between districts-- Northfield News Minnesota: March 03, 2015 [ abstract] The message Schools for Equity in Education has been sending to Minnesota legislators in its 2015 Legislative Platform has been to fund schools fairly for all students, no matter the zip code.
The first three parts of the the “Funding Fairness” series have focused on maintaining school facilities more equitably, effective and equitable assistance to low income, special education and non-English speaking students and closing the gap in the fundamental per pupil basic formula.
In the fourth and final piece, the focus is on the need for additional property tax relief for taxpayers in low property wealth districts where the tax burden is high to support local school levies.
“We simply don’t want to spend more per pupil,” said Northfield Superintendent of Schools Chris Richardson.
The taxpayer cost for school facilities-related bonds and levies is based on the property wealth of the school district. In high-wealth districts, the tax burden can be spread over a larger tax base, which reduces the cost.
Residents and business owners in low-property wealth districts pay significantly more than their peers in high-property wealth districts. According to SEE, adopting the School Facilities Funding Working Group’s recommendations would reduce the disparity and make bonds and levies more affordable in low-property wealth districts.
Richardson is all for the change in the formula.
-- JERRY SMITH GAO: Indian Affairs doesn't know the state of its schools across the country-- FierceGovernment Bureau of Indian Education: March 01, 2015 [ abstract] The Bureau of Indian Education doesn't know the state of its schools across the country due to inaccurate or incomplete data collected by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, says a Feb. 27 Government Accountability Office report. GAO's investigation shows that issues with the quality of data on school conditions – such as inconsistent data entry by schools and inadequate quality controls – make determining the number of schools in poor condition difficult. "These issues impede Indian Affairs' ability to effectively track and address school facility problems," the report says. GAO's found that BIE schools in three states faced a variety of facility-related challenges, including problems with the quality of new construction, limited Funding, remote locations and aging buildings and infrastructure. But even when BIE recognizes a school is in poor shape, there are still challenges to get it back in good standing. GAO found declines in staffing levels and gaps in technical expertise among facility personnel at the schools. And the report found that BIA did not provide consistent oversight of some school construction projects.
-- Ryan McDermott U.S. House holds Congress on record to improve Native schools-- nncnow.com Minnesota: February 27, 2015 [ abstract] St. Paul, MN (NNCNOw.com) -- A push is underway to improve deteriorating tribal schools across the nation.
The U.S. House of Representatives has unanimously approved Rep. Rick Nolan's amendment for tribal school Funding.
The amendment puts Congress on record that Native children should not attend school in buildings that are dilapidated or deteriorating, which may negatively affect academic success.
In his remarks on the House floor, Nolan specifically pointed out the struggles of the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School on the Leech Lake reservation in Minnesota.
Nolan says this school is housed in an old pole building which has severe structural problems.
"The Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School is cold and drafty in winter, hot in summer, and unfit for children and teachers in any season. Students endure rodent and bat infestations, roof leaks and holes, mold and fungus, a faulty air system, uneven floors, poor lighting, sewer problems, and dangerous electrical configurations," Rep. Rick Nolan (D) Minnesota said.
-- Ramona Marozas Wilk introduces school bond accountability bills-- signalscv.com California: February 26, 2015 [ abstract] SACRAMENTO " Today Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, introduced AB 882 and AB 912 to hold local school districts more accountable and protect taxpayer dollars.
AB 882 will prohibit school districts from using voter approved school construction bond funds to purchase non-facility related items that have a short usable life, while still taking decades to pay the bond debt. Many school districts have embarked on new technology programs but are turning to construction bonds to pay for internet infrastructure and iPads. Long-term funds are intended for long-term purposes.
“It is important that school construction bond funds be used for school facilities, and not for things like iPads or other items that will be obsolete in a few years. I can’t think of anyone who would take out a 30 year loan to buy a laptop,” Wilk said. “AB 882 ensures future school construction bond funds are used for long-lasting improvements to our children’s schools.”
In 2013, the Los Angeles Unified School District purchased thousands of iPads, which cost taxpayers $500 million. These iPads have an estimated usable life of only 5 years.
Nonetheless, education without access to technology is unthinkable today. School districts must buy more technology; students would be left woefully behind the college-and-employment curve without it. Identifying an appropriate Funding source should be a top priority but using 30 year bond funds on portable electronics is not the answer.
-- Office of Assemblyman Scott Wilk Schools across county need HVAC fixes-- The Montgomery Herald West Virginia: February 25, 2015 [ abstract] The general indoor air quality review of all Fayette County schools by the state Office of School Facilities outlines the district’s desperate need for funds to upgrade HVAC systems in nearly all schools.
Michael Pickens, executive director of the West Virginia Department of Education Office of School Facilities, wrote, “It will take a substantial capital investment to bring all of the mechanical systems up to current standards and improve indoor environmental conditions. In addition to the IAQ (indoor air quality) concerns, due to the age and exceeding life cycle of the equipment, some of the mechanical systems have the potential to experience a failure that would result in the building being without heating and cooling.”
Gatewood Elementary and Ansted Middle schools have already experienced boiler issues and are being heated with temporary electric units in each classroom.
Pickens said space heaters “are less than desirable and require the county to expend funds that only provide a temporary fix. Those funds would be better utilized toward permanent solutions,” and planning these upgrades should be a priority for Fayette.
Ansted has received Funding for a replacement boiler from the School Building Authority, and the installation is expected to go out for bid soon, said David Keffer, director of operations.
Planning a countywide HVAC upgrade would be cost-prohibitive as the district only has an annual facility repair and upgrade budget of $1.2 million. As an example of cost, the Ansted boiler replacement is expected to cost more than $700,000. In December the School Building Authority allocated $630,000 toward the project.
School system Treasurer Paula Fridley explained the district has an overall maintenance budget of $7.2 million, but that includes all operational funds like custodial salaries ($2.2 million), utilities ($1.8 million), energy management loan payments ($800,000), and cleaning supplies ($400,000).
-- Sarah Plummer Proposed bills would impact rural schools-- The Banner-Press Nebraska: February 22, 2015 [ abstract] LINCOLN--Sen. Al Davis is concerned about rural Nebraska.
The state senator from Hyannis introduced two bills in front of the Legislature's Education Committee on Feb. 17 that would have a direct impact on small communities in the state.
LB595 would create a task force to examine issues of school construction, including infrastructure needs and how to provide Funding.
"My hope is that we can enable the state to ensure that every Nebraskan is educated for success," Davis said at the hearing.
The bill would reduce pressure on local taxpayers and give guidance to smaller communities that don't have expertise, according to Davis.
Kyle McGowan, superintendent of Crete Public Schools, spoke in favor of the bill.
It is "vital to maintain safe and secure locations to students and the general public who use them daily and year round," McGowan said.
Caroline Winchester, superintendent of Chadron Public Schools, also supported the bill.
Schools need information in order to make strategic choices when given limited funds, Winchester said.
Virginia Moon of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators said the task force would help provide a picture of what the needs are across the state. According to Moon, since communities now only have one tool when it comes to Funding--bonds--"the group would allow another set of tools to provide for schools."
The 10-member task force would be made up of two members of the Legislature, a capital construction specialist, and other members of the community.
-- Erika Stewart-Finkenstaedt, Nebraska News Serv Montgomery leaders urge support for school construction funding-- Washington Post Maryland: February 19, 2015 [ abstract] Montgomery County leaders and parents are urging state lawmakers to support a bill that would provide $20 million a year in state funds to help enable the issuance of almost $700 million in school construction bonds for the fast-growing school district.
School board President Patricia O’Neill told a Senate committee in Annapolis that Montgomery’s enrollment jumped by 16,000 students during the last seven years, enough to fill 22 elementary schools. As that growth extends to upper grades, middle and high schools will need about 10,000 more classroom seats, she said.
“That’s the equivalent of four middle schools and three high schools,” she said Tuesday, urging support of Senate Bill 228, sponsored by state Sen. Nancy J. King (D-Montgomery). “No other jurisdiction in Maryland is seeing this unprecedented growth.”
O’Neill appeared before the Senate budget and taxation committee with Interim Superintendent Larry A. Bowers and County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), as well as others from PTAs and the community.
“We continue to see the increase in student enrollment at an unprecedented level, and that will continue for the next five or six years,” Leggett said. The county has come to a point where “we simply do not have very good options available to us,” he said.
But with tough budget times in Maryland, King, the bill’s lead sponsor, said Tuesday night that the measure’s chances are not strong. Political leaders in Annapolis have already told her there is not likely to be Funding available, she said.
-- Donna St. George and Ovetta Wiggins District 30 Schools Still In Need Of Seats-- Queens Gazette New York: February 18, 2015 [ abstract] Overcrowded District 30 schools are receiving Funding for 1,912 new seats in the five-year capital plan for fiscal years 2015-2019, but will still come up short by 941 seats, according to the School Construction Authority (SCA).
The Department of Education (DOE) has proposed a $13.5 billion capital plan for fiscal 2015 through 2019, representing an increase in Funding of $700 million citywide over the previous year, explained Danielle Schaaff during a recent SCA Power Point presentation to Community District Education Council 30 (CDEC 30).
Community School District 30 will receive $187.1 million for the construction of three new school buildings with the District 30 communities of Astoria/Steinway getting 1,000 new seats and East Elmhurst/Jackson Heights getting 912 new seats.
The remaining 941 seats needed in District 30 are as yet unfunded with East Elmhurst/Jackson Heights still requiring 485 seats and Woodside/Sunnyside 456 seats. A new Woodside school, PS 339, opens in September with 472 seats for Pre-K through grade five under the previous five-year plan.
Approximately half the $13.5 billion in Funding is provided by the city and half by New York State. The five-year plan for fiscal years 2015 through 2019 requires approval by the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) and the Mayor and the City Council as part of the budget process. Amendments to the capital plan are released in November.
-- RICHARD GENTILVISO N.H. House sends school funding bills to finance committee-- Seacoastonline.com New Hampshire: February 18, 2015 [ abstract] The House is sending bills that would give more state aid to growing school districts and reinstate money for school construction projects to the finance committee to calculate the costs.
Lawmakers voted to send the bills to finance Wednesday without debate.
Schools receive at least $3,500 per student in state aid, but growing districts cannot receive more than 108 percent of what they got the year before. One bill would raise that cap to 115 percent, a change Gov. Maggie Hassan included in her state budget.
The second bill would establish $50,000 for school construction projects each biennium. Schools used to receive help from the state for building expansions on repairs, but in recent years the state has only spent money on paying off the debt from old projects.
-- Associated Press Schools' capital funding crisis only getting worse-- Reno Gazette-Journal Nevada: February 18, 2015 [ abstract] I know we have heard this before, in fact this call for help for more capital Funding for our schools began over 10 years ago. Now we have 10 years of failed proposals and 5 years of unprecedented growth ahead of us. Our current situation in Washoe County is far worse than most people realize and with no real plan to address this crisis we are watching a train wreck that is happening in slow motion.
So where do we stand right now? Here are some numbers: We have 93 schools, many over 50 years old, which require about $25 million a year just to keep them maintained and safe for our children. In the next two years, only if the legislature approves the governor's proposal for bond rollover authority, we will have just $10 million of bonding authority or $40 million less than the required $50 million to just maintain what we have! That does not even take into account the fact that we added over 500 new (additional) students last year and the regional planning numbers project 61,000 new, additional residents in the next 10 years.
Then we have the portables! I bet if we asked you how many portable classrooms we currently have in Washoe County you would say 20, or even 50 like I did. I doubt you would say 228, which is the real number. That number will grow at a cost of $150,000 per portable classroom, as our schools are at or over capacity, and in many of our elementary schools our classroom size already exceeds the student cap in state law.
-- Mike Kazmierski Legislative analyst proposes new funding system for school construction-- Sacramento Business Journal California: February 17, 2015 [ abstract] California's legislative analyst on Tuesday proposed a new system for Funding school facilities: grants to districts based on enrollment.
The grants would be adjusted depending on local resources. The state would require schools to adopt five-year accountability plans.
The report addresses an issue that is critical not only to public schools, but California's construction industry. It arrives as California's building community and educators have raised concerns that the current school construction-Funding program -- which relies on statewide voter-approved bonds -- is out of money.
In January, Gov. Jerry Brown proposed minor fixes to the program. Days after the governor released his proposal, a coalition of builders and school construction officials announced plans to place a $9 billion school bond on the November 2016 statewide ballot.
-- Allen Young After asbestos problems, Ocean View School District sees 152 students leave-- Orange County Register California: February 16, 2015 [ abstract] The Ocean View School District, already beset by financial woes after closing three campuses because of asbestos problems, lost 152 students in the first half of the school year, district records show.
That decline could mean a loss of $1.3 million in state Funding annually unless those children return to the district or an equivalent number of new students enroll, according to estimates from the California Department of Education.
The number of students who have left this school year as of January is more than three times those who left for that same time period last year, and eight times the number who left during the same period in the 2012-2013 school year, according to school district data obtained through a public records request.
The sudden and drastic enrollment loss could further eat into the district’s $75 million budget, which is already racking up costs related to removing asbestos and moving students to new campuses in the interim. The district had 9,223 students enrolled last academic year, the last year for which information is available from the California Department of Education.
-- Lauren Williams Aging Martha’s Vineyard elementary school faces renovation challenges-- Vineyard Gazette Massachusetts: February 16, 2015 [ abstract] As part of an effort to address a deteriorating school building and a growing student population, the Tisbury school committee will apply again for state Funding to renovate the Tisbury school. The school applied last year to receive Funding from the Massachusetts State Building Association, but learned in December that it had not made the list to receive money from the organization. School committee chair Colleen McAndrews said during a meeting last week that the support of the town would be crucial in order for a school project of any sort to move forward. Wednesday’s meeting brought together members of the town financial advisory committee, planning board, and board of selectmen, as well as school superintendent James H. Weiss and assistant superintendent Matthew D’Andrea. “Obviously, budgets are tough and we have to be financially sensitive,” Mrs. McAndrews said.
The Tisbury School building was constructed in 1929 and is the oldest elementary school building on the Island. Enrollment as of last October was 324 students in grades kindergarten through eight. Discussions about how best to address the need to upgrade the facility have been ongoing since 2011. A feasibility study produced in 2012 provided a number of options, which included relocating the school, renovating the current building, and expanding the current building. At the time, cost estimates were about $40 million.
-- Ivy Ashe Nevada Senate passes school construction bill-- Reno-Gazette Journal Nevada: February 16, 2015 [ abstract] The Nevada Senate passed a bill that would pave the way for new school construction across the state Monday, while ending Nevada's long-standing practice of paying prevailing wages on state-sponsored construction projects.
The bill, Senate Bill 119, would allow an extension of bond rollover funds from property taxes for school districts to keep pace with the need for new schools and major repairs on existing schools. Nevada's two urban school districts — Clark and Washoe counties — are either in dire need of major renovation projects or new schools.
Although Democrats and Republicans both acknowledge the need for Funding school construction, the passage of the bill was on strict party lines.
All 12 Republicans in the Senate voted for the bill and all nine Democrats voted against it. State Sen. Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, was absent for the vote, since she is still recovering after brain surgery in a Houston hospital.
The bill now heads to the Assembly where it must pass a vote in the Assembly Government Affairs Committee and a vote on the floor for the entire Assembly. Like the Senate, The GOP holds the majority in the Assembly.
The bill would then be forwarded to Gov. Brian Sandoval for his signature that would make the bill become law. His office has yet to give an indication about the governor's opinion on ending Nevada's prevailing-wage scale for state-sponsored construction.
-- Ray Hagar School Board continues to scratch heads over renovation waiting list-- fairfaxtimes.com Virginia: February 13, 2015 [ abstract] The Fairfax County school system continued to wrangle with its renovation waiting list this week.
The School Board will decide in coming months whether to revamp the renovation queue, which determines the order of schools for renovation. One-third of county schools currently sit on the list.
School Board members and community members alike have expressed frustration with the current schedule set forth by the renovation queue, which the school system last updated in 2009.
Yet the board failed to reach a consensus at its Monday work session on how to go about revising the queue. While no member wanted to stand pat, determining a fair process for shaking up the list proved no easy feat.
Each county school constructed or renovated prior to 1992 is included. The order of the queue is based on assessments from independent engineering firms, which took into account several factors, including the conditions and age of the school building.
As of the start of this year, three of the 63 school renovations lined up in the queue had been completed and 25 others had received at least partial Funding. A change to the queue would likely affect the schools with projects yet to be funded.
“I have some heartburn rearranging what we’ve already stated on the list, but we do have overcrowding we need to address moving forward,” School Board member Janie Strauss (Dranesville) said.
-- Kate Yanchulis Jefferson Parish School Board may partially finance $135 million in school construction-- NOLA.com Louisiana: February 12, 2015 [ abstract] The Jefferson Parish School Board on Thursday (Feb. 12) will consider allocating $50 million in sales tax bonds to help pay for more than $135 million in desired public school construction projects, much of which are repairs.
It's likely that some of more than 300 projects for 72 schools won't receive immediate Funding, board president Cedric Floyd said.
The board doesn't plan to pare down the list Thursday. Instead, it will simply receive the projects report and take action on the $50 million, Floyd said. The State Bond Commission must also approve the bonds, a process that could take a few weeks.
Though the board on Monday approved new construction for Lincoln Elementary School for the Arts in Marrero, money for that project will come from surplus funds from past construction projects. When Lincoln's project is paid for, there will be little left of that contigency fund, chief operations officer Lale Geer said Wednesday.
The special session meeting will be held at the board's Manhattan Boulevard administration building in Harvey, at 2:15 p.m.
-- Jessica Williams Needy Ward 6 Students Received Unequal School Funding-- Hill Now District of Columbia: February 11, 2015 [ abstract] Eastern High School has more at-risk students than any other public school in Ward 6, but schools with less need received more per-student Funding.
A new interactive graphic shows the designated at-risk funds provided to every D.C. public school in 2014, compared with the number of students eligible to benefit from the money.
The D.C. Council voted in Dec. 2013 to provide $2,097 in extra Funding for every student who is receiving welfare or food stamps, homeless, in foster care or is at least a year behind in high school. But because of a time crunch in the budget process, the funds were used to support programs D.C. Public Schools said were aligned with the needs of at-risk students, as Greater Greater Washington reported.
Here are some of the highlights of the data mapped by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute and the volunteer “civic hackers” group Code for D.C.:
Eastern High School (1700 E. Capitol St. NE) received $1,145 for each of its 609 at-risk students, who made up 60 percent of total enrollment. Uses of the funds included special education teachers and middle grade field trips and activities.
Capitol Hill Montessori @ Logan (215 G St. NE) received $19,297 for each of its 33 at-risk students, who made up 10 percent of total enrollment. Uses of the funds included extended day funds, a guidance counselor, an English teacher and a math teacher.
-- Andrea Swalec Cumberland County schools asking state to change funding formula-- fayobserver.com North Carolina: February 09, 2015 [ abstract] The Cumberland County schools need Funding help from the state, officials from the school system and county government told members of the county's legislative delegation Monday.
The pleas were made during a meeting to discuss legislative goals at the outset of a new session of the General Assembly.
During the meeting, school system officials asked legislators to push to restore lottery Funding for school capital needs, revise the low-wealth school-Funding formula, fully fund state-mandated education programs such as driver's education and oppose shifting the cost of replacing school buses from the state onto the counties.
County government officials asked the legislators to support continued state Funding of Medicaid, the current model of public mental health administration and restoration of state aid Funding for public libraries and to work to reverse changes to a childcare subsidy program for working families.
School and county leaders decided to hold the joint meeting since county funds are a key piece of the school system's operating budget - nearly 22 percent in 2013-14. State funds accounted for nearly 64 percent of the school operating budget, with the remainder coming from federal funds and grants.
"We share Funding goals," said Kenneth Edge, chairman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners. "We thought it would be more efficient to meet together."
John Szoka, a Republican House member from Fayetteville who is chairman of the local delegation, said the joint meeting was "a great idea so we can hear one voice from the county schools and the county commissioners."
-- Catherine Pritchard Bill would promote school construction, suspend wage rules-- mynews4.com Nevada: February 04, 2015 [ abstract] CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) " A Republican-sponsored bill would give Democrats the school construction Funding they want, but weaken wage rules that unions like.
The Senate Government Affairs Committee is set to discuss SB119 on Wednesday.
The bill would give school boards the authority to continue issuing bonds beyond the time period approved by voters. Democrats and Republicans support the idea as a way to build new schools and ease overcrowding.
But the bill would also suspend prevailing wage rules for contractors building schools. Prevailing wages are pay rates set by the state labor commission for public works projects, and they vary depending on the type of work and the county.
-- Associated Press Arlington County Board denies school construction plan-- wjla.com Virginia: January 30, 2015 [ abstract] Arlington County Public Schools will need some new or re-used ideas to deal with overcrowding in the county's schools.
Continue reading
"I think it is too much for one class, 18 {students} and 1 teacher," said Fatami El Moubtehiq, a mother.
This comes after the Arlington County Board of Supervisors rejected construction plans to build a new elementary school next to Thomas Jefferson Middle School.
The Arlington County Board voted 4 to 1 to not grant approval for the project.
However, it released a motion that would allow the Arlington County School Board to reconsider the request if it does the following: provide an analysis of county sites and/or additions that will serve the projected students, strategies that don't include construction should be looked at, and provide an "as close to final: estimate of requested county Funding.
"It's about minimizing impacts to the extent we can and ending up with a network of schools that makes sense for the next 50 years. Because once we build it, it is there," said Mary Hughes Hynes, (D) Arlington County Board Chair.
Hynes said the board is more than willing to take a second look once those questions are answered.
-- Caroline Tucker Schools In ‘Dire Straits’ For Lack Of State Facilities Money-- Payson Roundup Arizona: January 30, 2015 [ abstract] Seems the Arizona Legislature believes school facilities can be kept up simply by magic " or on a wing and a prayer.
At its board meeting on Jan. 12, Superintendent Greg Wyman prepared the Payson Unified School District for bleak times ahead for the district’s facilities because of the state’s lack of Funding.
“There is going to be a real struggle over the next couple of years with the facilities,” said Wyman. “We are in dire straits with our facilities.”
He explained that since the state created the Building Renewal Fund managed by the School Facilities Board, the Legislature has only actually put money in the fund twice.
“(But) it’s a heck of a concept,” said Wyman.
The Legislature created the Arizona School Facilities Board in the late 1990s in response to a court case that required the state to equally fund facilities throughout the state.
Prior to that, districts in metro areas with a wealthier property tax base had a lot more money to spend on each student than rural districts like Payson.
The Legislature set up a system to pay for school facilities statewide, but then never appropriated enough money for the Building Renewal Fund.
-- Michele Nelson Administration to seek $1 billion for tribal schools, target building repair and construction-- StarTribune National National: January 29, 2015 [ abstract] WASHINGTON — The Obama administration says it will ask Congress for $1 billion next year to run schools for Native American children — including millions in new money to help fix crumbling buildings.
The request — $150 million more than in this year's budget — sets aside $58 million in new Funding for school construction and $18 million in new Funding for repairs. It also seeks $33 million to expand the schools' Internet capabilities.
"It's hard not to feel sad or angry when I look at the condition of the facilities," Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told reporters, adding, "We can and we must do better."
The federally run schools situated primarily on remote and impoverished reservations are among the nation's worst performing. About 48,000 students attend the 183 schools in 23 states.
The schools have a tainted legacy dating to the 19th century when Native American children were shipped to boarding schools. The federal government continues to have a treaty and trust responsibility to run them, but they've historically struggled with issues such as financial mismanagement, bureaucracy, poverty and attracting high-quality teachers.
Since President Barack Obama's summer visit to a North Dakota reservation, the administration has pushed ahead with a plan to give tribes more control, but the endeavor has been complicated by the estimated $1 billion in disrepair at the schools.
Mold, mice and leaky roofs are among the problems. More than 60 of the schools are listed in poor condition, and less than one-third have the Internet and the computer capability to administer new student assessments rolling out in much of the country.
-- KIMBERLY HEFLING , Associated Press Renovation of D.C.’s Garrison Elementary delayed again-- Washington Post District of Columbia: January 29, 2015 [ abstract] It is a dream scenario for District leaders: Parents rallying around their neighborhood school and vowing to be a part of its renaissance.
That’s been happening in the rapidly gentrifying Northwest Washington neighborhood of Logan Circle, where a growing number of parents are hoping to send their young children to school down the street rather than move to the suburbs.
Scores of neighbors organized to keep Garrison Elementary School open when low enrollment and poor performance put it at risk of closing in 2012. In response, the city agreed to keep the doors open and committed to modernizing the outdated facility.
But this month, Garrison supporters were disappointed to learn that renovation Funding had been pushed back for a second year in a row " casting the city’s commitment into doubt.
“We really see this as an opportunity to capture these kids in a D.C. public school, and we don’t see any support or reassurance from [D.C. Public Schools] and the mayor’s office that they share the vision,” said Nancy Fox, vice president of the PTO at Garrison and the parent of a 3-year-old in preschool there.
-- Michael Alison Chandler Preservationists suggest alternate funds to restore Central School-- Independent Record Montana: January 28, 2015 [ abstract] Possible uses for historic Central School and costs for its renovation have served as roadblocks to Helena school facility solutions for years.
Central School has sat empty since March 2013, when it was closed suddenly after a report showed seismic inadequacies in the event of an earthquake.
Proponents of historical renovation have approached school officials and suggested alternative options for Funding a seismic retrofit, such as state loan and grant programs that would not require voter approval.
â€"If they decided on a direction and they were to pursue some of these other Funding mechanisms, some of what they intend to do they could actually get going on even before they voted on a bond so they wouldn't leave the Central families kind of up in the air for so long,†said Chere Jiusto, executive director of the Montana Preservation Alliance.
Helena Public Schools Superintendent Kent Kultgen said the district considered a state loan program immediately after the school's closure. A building reserve levy that went before voters in May 2013 included funds to repay the loan, but the levy failed. In November, voters passed levies that did not include money specifically for Central.
-- ALEXANDER DEEDY Bond funds eyed to meet class size demand-- The Burbank Leader California: January 27, 2015 [ abstract] To meet a state mandate to have class sizes at an average of 24 students to one teacher by 2019, Burbank Unified may need to pay for new classroom buildings or portable rooms with bond funds, according to school board member Larry Applebaum.
Applebaum, who was perhaps one of the biggest proponents in seeking voters’ approval of the school district’s $110-million Measure S bond in 2013, said at a school board meeting earlier this month that when school officials put together a wish list for spending that money in 2012, they didn’t anticipate Gov. Jerry Brown’s class-size-reduction plan that was unveiled soon after.
In a few more years, when Burbank schools must report an average ratio of 24 students to one teacher, Applebaum said the requirement will create the need to provide additional classrooms and teachers, and the potential need to pay for additional facilities with bond money that would have otherwise paid for other facility upgrades.
By next school year, he said the district may need to hire 13 additional teachers to reduce class sizes and meet a “hard-cap” requirement of 26 students per teacher.
If the district does not ultimately comply with reducing class sizes, it stands to lose several million dollars annually in state Funding, Applebaum added.
-- Kelly Corrigan Washoe school board backs Sandoval education plans-- Reno Gazette-Journal Nevada: January 27, 2015 [ abstract] Students sardined into schools.
Crumbling campuses.
And an archaic Funding system not accounting for the cost of teaching needy children, who number in the tens of thousands at Washoe County public schools.
Those are the driving forces behind Washoe County School District's stance in the state Legislature this session, according to the platform unanimously approved by the school board on Tuesday.
It will now be up to the school district's lobbyist and government affairs director Lindsay Anderson to make Washoe's case in Carson City, starting Monday.
"We'll be on the floor that first day handing out your legislative platform," Anderson told the board about the session starting next week and continuing into June.
Last session, one of the district's top bills — designed specifically for Washoe and affecting only it — never made it to a vote. That bill would've allowed the Washoe County Commission to create new taxes for the building of new schools and major maintenance projects of old ones.
But the bill went nowhere, and the district still has no Funding dedicated to major school projects and construction. Interim Superintendent Traci Davis has said that securing a Funding source is her top priority this session.
The need is dire, according to a picture recently painted by district Chief Operations Officer Pete Etchart.
Schools need an estimated $308 million in renovations, said Etchart, noting that a third of Washoe's 93 schools are more than 30 years old or have waited that long since their last renovation.
-- Trevon Milliard Salinas schools face loss of state building funds-- The Californian California: January 26, 2015 [ abstract] With a recently passed school bond in hand, officials in the Salinas Union High School District are moving forward with plans to build two schools and make improvements at several others.
However, those plans may be in jeopardy if Gov. Jerry Brown has his way and the state cuts the flow of school construction funds to local districts.
Meanwhile, Brown’s decision bring to a complete halt plans by the Monterey County Office of Education to build a new community school.
Where school districts like Salinas Union High rely on state money for partial construction Funding, county offices of education depend entirely on state Funding for projects.
“We would have broken ground already, but there are no funds available,” said Garry Bousum, MCOE assistant superintendent of business services.
The community school is an alternative education program serving at-risk, court-ordered and incarcerated youth. It now is housed at the county Juvenile Hall is planned for demolition to make way for a new facility.
“If we don’t get any state money (to build the community school) we’ll have to put up portables on the land we purchased,” Bousum said Monday.
County offices are prohibited from raising local bonds, Bousum said, and depend 100 percent on state Funding for construction projects. The situation has educators scrambling for financing strategies.
-- Roberto M. Robledo Schools to get help with broadband infrastructure-- Merced Sun-Star California: January 25, 2015 [ abstract] Four area schools will benefit from part of $27 million awarded to 227 California campuses to help enhance their broadband infrastructure, according to the state Department of Education.
El Nido and Plainsburg elementary schools, Romero Elementary School in Santa Nella and Lake Don Pedro Elementary School in Mariposa County are getting Broadband Infrastructure Improvement Grants from the state. They are intended to help isolated schools administer the new Smarter Balance state achievement tests.
Rae Ann Jimenez, El Nido superintendent-principal, called the state grant a huge step in the right direction for her district 15 miles south of Merced. They applied for Funding last fall.
“Our students deserve to be connected to the outside world,” Jimenez said. “We will get better connectivity to the outside through fiber optics and internal hardware connections so eventually we can move to one-to-one computer learning. It’s expensive to advance. We are taking it one step at a time.”
-- DOANE YAWGER SCHOOLS CHIEF ADMITS NJ MISHANDLED CONSTRUCTION PROCESS IN NEEDY DISTRICTS-- NJSpotlight New Jersey: January 22, 2015 [ abstract] Hespe concedes state didn’t follow legally required procedure, says it’s now complying with law. In a rare show of cooperation with one of its staunchest critics, the Christie administration has agreed with a legal challenge to the way the state Department of Education reviews and approves new school-construction projects in New Jersey’s neediest cities.
State Education Commissioner David Hespe this month sided with an administrative law judge’s recommendation that backed a challenge from the Education Law Center over the operations of Hespe’s own department.
The complaint filed in 2012 by the ELC, which has led the landmark Abbott v. Burke school-Funding litigation, accused the department of failing to ensure that districts covered under the Abbott case completed required long-range facilities plans that would drive the construction projects.
At the time, the ELC maintained that the department had not received new plans in five years, and the case has been central in the ELC’s ongoing challenge to the Christie administration’s slow pace in moving forward with court-ordered projects for these districts.
The school-construction work has since gotten underway, but the ELC has continued to maintain that the administration has still not adhered to the law requiring it to follow long-range plans set by the districts.
-- JOHN MOONEY Leggett proposes $191 million more for school construction-- Maryland Community News Online Maryland: January 21, 2015 [ abstract] As Montgomery County lawmakers fight for more school construction money from the state, County Executive Isiah Leggett is asking the County Council to approve $191.2 million more locally.
Every two years, Leggett (D) issues his recommended capital budget for the next six years. In odd-numbered years, he generally recommends amendments to the spending plan.
His proposed amendments to the $4.66 billion capital improvements program for fiscal years 2015-2020 would provide not just more Funding for public school construction, but also for affordable housing and road repair, according to a county news release.
It also includes money for redevelopment projects in White Flint and Wheaton and $32 million to replace the Shady Grove Bus Depot.
School construction continues to be a top priority for the county. Leggett’s proposal would increase spending for school construction by $191.2 million to speed up the construction of 14 additions, 20 renovations, and one new school and one alternative school, according to the county.
Adding $191.2 million would fully fund the $1.75 billion six-year request from the board of education, according to the county.
Superintendent Joshua P. Starr said that, while he had not seen the details, he was “deeply appreciative” of Leggett’s recommendation.
-- Kate S. Alexander Post navigation
LA Unified making plans to upgrade buildings most in need-- LA School Report California: January 21, 2015 [ abstract] LA Unified is getting close to fixing its schools most in need of repair.
Superintendent Ramon Cortines has developed a priority list for rehabilitating 11 campuses, once the Bond Oversight Committee, then the school board approve his plans.
In a memo to school board members last week, Cortines said he would present his plan to the bond committee on Feb 27, and with its blessing, put it before the board for a vote in March.
The modernization projects, called the School Upgrade Program, represents the next phase of the district’s bond program. The majority of the Funding " approximately, $4.2 billion " would come from the district’s forthcoming Measure Q bond sale, with additional money from bonds that were previously sold.
“Despite the billions of dollars invested in building new school facilities and improving older school facilities, this district still has a facilities crisis,” Cortines explained in the memo. “Due to the size of the district, and the significant need for capital improvements, many aging and deteriorating school facilities were left unaddressed.”
Cortines has talked of embarking on the renovations projects, a mandate begun under his previous superintendency, since his return to the district in October. Over the last few months, he said, “I directed staff to move forward with identifying secondary school sites with the worst physical conditions; those that may pose a health and safety risk or negatively impact a school’s ability to deliver the instructional program and/or operate.”
-- Vanessa Romo Conflict Ahead Over California School Bonds-- Bond Buyer California: January 15, 2015 [ abstract] LOS ANGELES — The budget proposal California Gov. Jerry Brown submitted last week is fueling a conflict over state bond Funding for K-12 education.
The $113.3 billion general fund budget Brown released Jan. 9 would provide a sizable increase in operating Funding for schools.
But the budget documents demonstrate Brown's continued skepticism about whether the state should have a significant role in capital Funding for local school districts.
The state's robust revenue figures trigger additional money under the state's school Funding formula for K-12 schools and community colleges. The governor also budgeted nearly $1 billion toward paying down school Funding deferrals made during lean budget years.
On the capital side, however, citing what he called in his budget summary "significant shortcomings" in the program, Brown wants the state to scrap its current bond program, which provides school districts with matching funds.
That program is almost out of money, and Brown signaled that he won't support a new school bond authorization under its current structure.
The program is overly complex with over 10 different state agencies providing fragmented oversight responsibility, said H.D. Palmer, a Department of Finance spokesman.
Educational lobbyists teamed with the California Building Industry Association in an effort to go around the governor.
Calling the effort Californians for Quality Schools, they filed ballot initiative language with the attorney general's office on Jan. 12 for a $9 billion state school facility bond measure.
Supporters hope the measure will be cleared to start gathering signatures for a measure to be placed on the ballot in 2016, said Dave Walrath, president of Murdoch, Walrath & Holmes, a Sacramento-based lobbying firm that specializes in public education.
-- KEELEY WEBSTER Massachusetts School Building Authority approves over $31 million in accelerated repair grants for commonwealth schools-- Mass Live Massachusetts: January 15, 2015 [ abstract] State officials have approved more than $31.2 million in grants to help fix or replace boilers, doors, roofs and windows in school districts from Springfield to Cape Cod.
State Treasurer Steven Grossman, chairman of the Massachusetts School Building Authority, and Jack McCarthy, MSBA's executive director, on Wednesday announced Funding for 14 commonwealth school districts through the so-called Accelerated Repair Program.
Grossman said the program allows the state to make much-needed repairs to more schools in less time.
"Besides improving the learning environment for our children, the program also makes our schools more energy efficient and generates significant cost savings," he said. "It's a win-win for everyone."
-- Conor Berry In state of the city speech, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announces new school building authority-- Mass Live Massachusetts: January 13, 2015 [ abstract] BOSTON — Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced several new education initiatives during his first State of the City speech at Symphony Hall Tuesday.
Walsh announced the creation of a Boston School Building Authority to oversee construction and refurbishment of city schools. The authority will focus on the design to build process as well as the Funding process with a specific focus on the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The city, Walsh said, has failed to secure its share of potential school building fund.
The effort by Walsh is the first comprehensive push to rebuild the city's schools in decades.
"When I talk about building great schools —I mean it lterally. Too many of Boston's aging schools don't meet the standards of 21st century learning or come anywhere close," said Walsh.
-- Garrett Quinn Marie Reed Learning Center Modernization Major Project Now Starting-- TheInTowner District of Columbia: January 12, 2015 [ abstract] In a long-awaited announcement of the first step by the District government in the development of a modernization plan for the updating of the almost 40-year-old Marie Reed Learning Center in Adams Morgan, the Department of General Services (DGS), which is responsible for all capital improvement projects in DC other than public libraries, unveiled rudimentary drawings for alternative redevelopment proposals for the Marie Reed modernization based on a feasibility study conducted by DGS during 2014.
Presented to a well-attended public meeting held in the Marie Reed auditorium in mid-November of 2014, the study focused on alternatives based on rough understandings of what might be available in Funding from the capital budgets of agencies and contractors who presently share the building and its facilities, beginning with that of the Marie Reed public elementary school, for which almost $44 million is currently available from the DC Public Schools capital budget; at present this is the only firm commitment from a DC agency or program.
-- Anthony L. Harvey Boundary battles: Schools fight for S.F. sprawl-- Argus Leader South Dakota: January 10, 2015 [ abstract] Add school border squabbles to Sioux Falls' growing pains.
Unoccupied farmland can quickly transform into neighborhoods with homes, families and school children — and a new source of Funding for rural school systems surrounding the city.
Officials with the Tri-Valley, Tea Area and West Central school districts welcomed this kind of growth. But some families spurned the rural districts, wanting out for reasons ranging from taxes to transportation. Homeowners and developers filed boundary change requests, hoping to join the larger Sioux Falls School District, to which many of these new families already open enroll.
That attempted flight, though, also has spurred resistance from residents and school officials in the path of Sioux Falls' expansion. A petition drive that wrapped up last week in the West Central School District is the latest stand taken in a smaller district that's seeking to block the erosion of decades-old boundaries as old farmland becomes a potential source of new money for schools and classrooms.
West Central parent Ben Jones wants to see his school leaders embrace an identity.
"Is West Central going to become one of the districts that educates Sioux Falls' children?" Jones said. "Or are we not?"
-- Patrick Anderson District 150 seeks funding for improvements at 25 school buildings-- JournalStar Illinois: January 06, 2015 [ abstract] PEORIA " Manual Academy could end up with a new environmentally-friendly parking lot similar to the one at Fresh Market in Westlake Plaza. Sterling School could finally be fully air-conditioned.
The projects are two of the costliest among dozens that could be completed at 25 Peoria School District 150 schools if the district secures $15 million in bonds through the state’s Qualified School Construction Bond program.
District 150’s board must approve the application before it is submitted to the Illinois State Board of Education, which has the final say on which public school districts are eligible to issue more than $495 million in low-to-zero interest rate bonds.
The district did not escape the disruptions caused by a late-year power outage that left hundreds of area residents powerless for days, Dave Meyers said Tuesday before the board’s building committee met to discuss the construction bond projects.
Affected facilities were back up and running at full capacity by Jan. 1, but not before the district had to lease a generator to get all servers back online.
The construction bond projects are the district’s priorities for structural, plumbing, and electrical repairs, updates to security, lighting and heating and cooling systems, renovations and roofing repairs.
Roofs would be repaired at about 16 schools, ranging from costs of $570,530 at Manual to $20,000 at Rolling Acres Middle School. Structural projects ranged from painting and repairing cracked walls to many schools to replacing or repairing windows.
-- Pam Adams School developer’s use of $41 million called into question-- The Buffalo News New York: January 06, 2015 [ abstract] About a quarter of the $175 million intended to rebuild Buffalo’s crumbling schools during the fifth phase of a massive renovation project cannot be publicly accounted for, leaving two members of the project’s oversight board wondering how much money developer LPCiminelli received as profit.
The $41 million in question is just for the final phase of the $1.4 billion decadelong project to rebuild the city’s schools, leading School Board members Carl P. Paladino and Larry Quinn, who also are on the Joint Schools Construction Board, to demand an audit of the entire project.
In response to continuing questions raised about the difference between what Ciminelli has been paid for its work and how much money was actually spent on project construction, company executives have repeatedly stated that the nature of the project agreement does not require the type of disclosure that some members of the board are demanding.
Buffalo’s “design build” agreement, which required special state legislation in 2000, required the project manager to meet all of the district’s school design and reconstruction requirements and timetables, and assume all construction-related risks, such as cost overruns, in exchange for a fixed payment amount.
This type of arrangement is not common locally for large privately or publicly funded construction projects. It eliminated the traditional requirement for a lengthy and elaborate bidding process with multiple contractors in favor of hiring a single project manager who assumed control of all construction with oversight from the Joint Schools Construction Board and the state.
Given the school district’s poor track record of building schools on time and on budget, and the promise of guaranteed Funding from the state, Ciminelli representatives said the design build model was a natural fit for the district.
A tour of the 48 reconstructed schools, which have repeatedly drawn high praise from district administrators and architects, as well as from the mayor, support the decision, they said.
-- Sandra Tan Wyoming School Facilities launches E-newsletter-- Wyoming School Facilities Department Wyoming: January 06, 2015 [ abstract] CHEYENNE, Wyo. " The Wyoming School Facilities Department (SFD) has launched a new
digital newsletter as part of its outreach efforts to school district, legislative, community and
construction industry stakeholders.
The newsletter, Facilitating the Future, will be a quarterly publication highlighting project
milestones, such as school openings and groundbreakings, Commission and department news, as
well as general information on school construction.
SFD Director, Bill Panos, said the newsletter is one of several initiatives the agency will launch this year to
improve its communication and better inform stakeholders. “We also hope to develop a series of educational
videos on the department’s history and procedures directly affecting school districts, like facility planning,
Funding and project management.”
-- Anthony Hughes Passing levies and improving communication key for districts-- ThisWeek Community News Ohio: January 05, 2015 [ abstract] Licking Heights and Southwest Licking school district officials predict 2015 will center on passing levies and opening public communication for both districts.
Licking Heights
"Our major challenge in 2015 will be the tension of continuing to provide one of the best educational experiences in Central Ohio while our buildings are at or over capacity," said Brian Bagley, Licking Heights School Board president.
"We are up for the challenge and we will continue to be creative in how we approach this problem in 2015," Bagley said.
"In January and February the board is expected to approve a May levy initiative to address overcrowding and facilities," said Philip Wagner, Licking Heights superintendent.
"The board is now debating the best construction plan and the best Funding mechanism weighing an income tax versus a property tax," Wagner said.
Board member Nicole Roth agreed.
"The biggest challenge we face in 2015 is the upcoming levy that will be placed on the ballot in May," she said.
Roth said the district will seek community input about how to solve an overcrowding issue at all the schools.
"We are looking into three different master plans and will need to decide which is the best option for the district," she said.
"We will also need to decide what is the best Funding option for the district.
-- SCOTT RAWDON Spotlight: County school system seeks $234.63M in building work-- dnj Daily News Journal Tennessee: January 02, 2015 [ abstract] MURFREESBORO – Funding for a five-year, $234.63 county school building plan will come before the Rutherford County Commission in 2015.
Rutherford County School Board members approved the plan Dec. 11 and hope to eliminate 57 of the 146 portables now in use in the system.
Projects in the plan to be completed by August 2016 include a John Colemon Elementary replacement, $19.9 million; Roy Waldron School addition, $4.72 million; Smyrna/La Vergne high school stadium improvements, $1.8 million; and Eagle School practice field, $285,000.
County Commission Funding of the full building building program probably will mean an increase in the county property tax, according to Lisa Nolen, county finance director.
"If we do a borrowing, I don't see how we can do this without having a tax increase for this aggressive building schedule," Nolen said earlier this year.
The county would face a tax increase for these school projects even without borrowing money to fund a $72 million judicial building and parking garage project, Nolen said.
The county hopes to construct the new judicial building by 2018 on the east side of Maple Street between Lytle and Burton streets. The future building will be a block north of an overcrowded existing judicial building that opened in the early 1980s on the north side of the Public Square.
-- Mealand Ragland-Hudgens and Scott Broden S.C. Lawmakers Ask Court to Rehear Rural School Lawsuit-- Education Week South Carolina: December 31, 2014 [ abstract] South Carolina lawmakers and Gov. Nikki Haley have petitioned the state Supreme Court to rehear a lawsuit that accuses the state of inadequately Funding rural schools according to an article by The State.
In November, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in favor of the 29 rural districts, which filed a lawsuit in 1993 seeking more Funding from the state. In the ruling, the court ordered rural districts and the state to work together to improve school facilities, recruit better teachers, and update the state's school Funding formula to more equitably distribute funds to poor, rural schools.
In the petition filed Tuesday, state lawmakers say the court "overlooked recent education initiatives put in place by (Haley's administration) and the General Assembly that will directly affect rural school districts in South Carolina." The petition also refers to the court order as "vague and practically unworkable," and contends that the governor and legislature should have exclusive authority to make such decisions for public schools.
More than 40 percent of students in South Carolina attend rural schools, according to a report by the Rural School and Community Trust, and those students score lower relative to rural students in nearly every other state on national standardized exams. Nearly 10 percent of rural adults in the state are unemployed, and 56 percent of rural South Carolina students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
-- Jackie Mader Judges rule school finance inadequate in Kansas-- The Topeka Capital-Journal Kansas: December 30, 2014 [ abstract] A three-judge panel ruled Tuesday that Kansas public school Funding is not adequate, in an opinion that faults the Legislature for linking Funding to local sources.
In a ruling more than 100 pages long, the Shawnee County District Court stood by its 2013 ruling that school Funding is unconstitutionally low, but declined to order the state to inject a specific amount of money.
However, the judges provided potential Funding scenarios that the plaintiff’s lawyer said could cost the state an additional $548 million to $771 million a year.
The judges found that the state’s present public education financing system " in both its structure and implementation " is not “reasonably calculated” to have all students meeting desired educational outcomes. They were also critical of lawmakers for shifting the Funding burden from the state to the local level.
“We find that as the financing system now stands, one cannot classify the school financing structure as reliably constitutionally sound because the legislature has tied its constitutional duty to the unenforceable precept, yet parochial illusion, of local control and local Funding choices as one linchpin for the assurance of constitutionally adequate Funding,” the judges ruled.
Though judges Franklin Theis, Robert Fleming and Jack Burr avoided mandating a Funding level, they did point to a year when they said Kansas school Funding appears to have been constitutional.
In 2009, when the state’s base aid to schools climbed above $4,400 per student and the state was Funding its other kinds of school aid " such as aid for building maintenance " at their full statutory levels, Kansas schools “had the apparent necessary fiscal capacity” to achieve the desired student outcomes.
Since then, however, “financial pillars” were eroded " base aid fell and the state didn’t make its other aid payments in full " which “turned, and still turns, the K-12 system on itself harming its students.”
The judges also put forward a range of Funding scenarios that would be constitutional.
-- Jonathan Shorman and Celia Llopis-Jepsen School funding disparity in Minnesota getting attention-- Spring Grove Herald Minnesota: December 23, 2014 [ abstract] The increasing gap between the “haves” and “have-nots” has been a national, even global, concern over the past several years. Minnesota school administrators, particularly those in Greater Minnesota, have started to raise concern about a similar gap in one particular area " deferred maintenance Funding for schools.
It isn’t quite a 1 percent vs. 99 percent economic gap that has become a rallying cry across the globe, but there is significant inequity between the largest 7 percent of school districts and the rest of the districts in Minnesota regarding deferred maintenance. Funding for deferred maintenance of buildings and other facilities is needed for such things as replacing old, drafty windows, repairing leaky roofs, installing security cameras, repairing sidewalks and taking care of other needs.
The Minnesota Rural Education Association points out that the 25 largest districts in the state, which have half the student population, are able to spend $2.79 per square foot on deferred maintenance while the other 314 districts, with the other half of Minnesota’s students, only spend an average of 58 cents per square foot.
Kingsland Superintendent John McDonald brought this disparity up to his school board during a recent meeting. He also told a community group that the district has invited State Sen. Jeremy Miller and Rep. Greg Davids to discuss the issue in individual meetings this winter and school administrators from throughout southeastern Minnesota will bring the subject up at an annual legislative forum between area legislators and school officials in February.
The MREA contends that rural districts face a fallout in facilities because student safety, technology, space for early learners and deferred maintenance needs go unmet in too many rural districts. This means that either facility life expectancy is reduced or general education dollars are siphoned away from programs and staff to deal with facility needs.
When one of the 25 largest districts has a roof leak or other problem with a building, it can raise tax dollars without voter approval for school facilities through the alternative facilities program. The rest of the districts in the state have to dip into the general fund for sudden repairs or win voter approval of a tax request to pay for costly infrastructure repairs.
-- David Phillips Business Oregon awards $15 million in grants to improve earthquake safety in 13 schools-- Oregonian Oregon: December 22, 2014 [ abstract] SALEM -- Business Oregon, the state's economic development agency, today named 12 school districts and one community college that will receive grants to rehab elementary schools, high schools and gyms so they will be better prepared to withstand a major earthquake.
The grants were awarded through the Infrastructure Finance Authority, a division of Business Oregon.
"At Business Oregon, our mission is to grow our economy and our communities," said Sean Robbins, Business Oregon's director, in a news release. "We're proud that we can use the tools provided by the Legislature to help make Oregon school children safer in Bandon, Salem, La Grande and 10 more communities across Oregon."
The background: Senate Bill 3 in the 2005 Legislature established Oregon's Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program to make seismic improvements to essential public buildings.
The bill created a grant program for schools -- from elementary schools to universities -- and for emergency service buildings, including hospitals, fire stations and police stations. The Oregon seismic program was recently featured in a New York Times' article.
The Funding: In 2013, the Legislature approved $30 million for seismic projects with the Funding split between schools and emergency services.
-- Staff Writer NJ LEGISLATURE MUST ACT TO REPLENISH SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION FUND-- Education Law Center New Jersey: December 22, 2014 [ abstract] In testimony before the Joint Committee on the Public Schools, Education Law Center Executive Director David Sciarra called on the State Legislature to prepare for authorizing an increase in Funding for New Jersey’s school construction program.
“It’s now clear that the funds for school construction projects in urban districts are nearly exhausted and there are no funds left for projects in the rest of the state," Mr. Sciarra said. "State lawmakers must start work now on legislation to replenish the school construction fund to support urgently needed projects across the Garden State."
The NJ school construction program was put in place to comply with a 1998 order of the State Supreme Court in the landmark Abbott v. Burke education equity litigation. Under a law enacted in 2000, the State finances 100% of all school construction projects in 31 urban or "SDA districts," including emergent repairs and capital maintenance on school buildings. The State also provides 40% or more of the share of projects in all other districts " known as "Regular Operating Districts" or "ROD districts" " in the form of grants to match locally raised funds.
NJ Schools Development Authority (SDA) Director Charles McKenna told the Joint Committee that all Funding for grants for the state share of projects in ROD districts has been allocated and there is no Funding for new projects. The SDA has made conflicting public statements about the Funding for urban SDA districts, at first stating that there were no funds left, then reversing itself. The SDA most recently said that $400 million remains available for SDA district projects.
-- Sharon Krengel DPS plan shows big deficit spike, school closures-- Detroit Free Press Michigan: December 19, 2014 [ abstract] Detroit Public Schools plans to close two dozen schools over the next several years and its deficit has grown to nearly $170 million, new financial documents show.
Nine schools could be shuttered in 2015-16. But DPS employees may eventually see small pay increases.
The district's worsening financial troubles are reflected in the latest version of a plan that DPS created to show the state how it intends to eliminate its deficit. The district gave the plan to the Michigan Department of Education on Wednesday. The plan is still awaiting approval.
The deficit as of June 30 has been revised to $169.5 million, more than 30% higher than the $127-million figure DPS officials used at the time. The plan places blame largely on a reduction in state and federal Funding sources.
-- Ann Zaniewski How to build a new future for American Indian schools-- Star Tribune Bureau of Indian Education: December 19, 2014 [ abstract] President Obama had the right reaction after meeting Indian students during his trip to a North Dakota Indian reservation in June. Saying he and the first lady were “shaken” by the kids’ pessimism about their futures, Obama returned home and took action. He ordered his administration to “find new avenues of opportunity” for Indian youths. He instructed every member of his Cabinet to “sit down with Native young people and hear firsthand about their lives.’’ The result of his agenda-setting came earlier this month when Obama announced a series of tribal youth initiatives at the White House Tribal Nations conference. The speech was greeted with cheers. It should have been met with hard questions. The new initiatives, while welcome, are small steps that do nothing to address a critical educational hurdle on reservations: the ragged conditions of school buildings. Online leadership networks, a “youth listening tour” and a “White House Tribal Youth Gathering” are poor substitutes for the safe, modern school buildings that the 183-school Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) system desperately needs. About a third of the schools in this federally funded K-12 system, which serves about 50,000 of the nation’s poorest students, have decrepit facilities. An effort to help Indian youths that does not include an overhaul of these 63 BIE schools cannot be taken seriously. At least $1.3 billion is required for rebuilding or renovation. What’s needed is a swift commitment to secure Funding, not lightweight initiatives.
-- Editorial Board - Star Tribune New Law Requires New Schools To Include Storm Shelters-- News Channel 20 Illinois: December 19, 2014 [ abstract] Lawmakers and school districts in Illinois are now at odds over a new law, set to take effect January 1st.
It requires districts to include storm shelters in any new schools the district builds. This comes just more than a year after tornadoes wrecked several towns in central Illinois.
Decatur Public School District's Mike Sotiroff says he supports the purpose of the bill - keeping kids safe - but he's not happy that the state isn't Funding the extra costs.
Renovations at Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur High Schools are almost complete, the price tag - $80 million. But that doesn't include storm shelters because the district didn't have the money.
Administrators say they wanted money from the state to pay for shelters but that money did not, and for now, will not, exist. Sotiroff says it did once upon a time.
"The state of Illinois at one time provided school construction grants. They had the school construction grants program. We took advantage of that for our Hope academy project back in 2004. So that revenue stream is still there from the state, but they are still like ten years behind in their Funding," Sotiroff said.
Sotiroff says a single storm shelter can cost more than $1 million, but the director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency says school districts should pay up.
-- Staff Writer Rothenberg garden a source of connection, pride and growth for OTR students, community-- SoapBox Cincinnati Ohio: December 19, 2014 [ abstract] When Bryna Bass, rooftop garden program manager, walks into the newly renovated Rothenberg Preparatory Academy each day, she says she feels blessed. It’s a space of community, a space of pride and ultimately a space of beauty.
Bass serves as program manager for the Over-the-Rhine school’s rooftop garden " a project that launched in 2008 and was completed this past summer, thanks to the vision of and support from the Over-the-Rhine Foundation and Funding from other generous individuals and organizations.
The garden sits atop the fourth floor of the more-than-100-year-old building and is home to potted plants, raised beds and a vast array of vegetables " tomatoes, carrots, strawberries, greens, radishes and beets to name a few " that were planted and harvested by the nearly 450 Rothenberg students.
-- Brittany York School Facilities Commission considers long-term funding-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: December 19, 2014 [ abstract] CHEYENNE - Wyoming may be heading for a larger discussion of school financing.
Members of the Wyoming School Facilities Commission heard updates at their meeting Wednesday on two studies looking at long term-Funding for the department and its projects.
One study, being done with the University of Wyoming, is looking at the Funding expected to come into the School Facilities Department and the department's predicted expenses through about 2022, according to study information.
"We had approached the University of Wyoming about the idea of developing an algorithm to model for us, to help predict a little better where we'll be over the next few biennia," School Facilities Director William Panos said.
Looking ahead, the group from UW has found a gap between the predicted expenses of the department and the revenue generated by the current Funding sources, Center for Energy Economics and Public Policy Director Robert Godby said.
"The long and the short of the analysis was the gap that we estimated between the revenues and the costs going through to 2022 would be $676 million," he said. "About 51 percent of that is through the 2018 biennium, so we're not looking at the current fiscal biennium, (in) which we actually forecast a surplus."
The gap starts to develop as the money brought into the department decreases while school district building work continues, he said.
"Unfortunately, the revenue to this agency, which worked for a long time, is fundamentally on coal lease bonuses," he said.
After those bonuses end in 2017, the Funding coming into the department is currently capped at $26 million, Godby said.
The report does predict that the general expenses for the department will drop in a few years as fewer major building projects are needed, he said. But, according to the report, the Funding levels needed during that maintenance period will still be around $187 million to $200 million.
-- Aerin Curtis Without Coal Lease Bonus Money, State Seeks New School Construction Revenue-- Wyoming Public Media Wyoming: December 19, 2014 [ abstract] The state agency responsible for building and maintaining Wyoming’s K-12 schools will face huge revenue shortfalls in the years ahead. That’s according to a report by University of Wyoming economists.
The vast majority of school construction Funding comes from coal lease bonus payments"and those revenues are expected to dry up completely in 2017.
The School Facilities Department expects to spend half as much in 2019 and 2020 as its spending now"as the state shifts from building schools to maintaining them. But in the same period, the associated revenues are expected to drop by 95 percent.
The UW report found that the state needs to come up with just under $700 million between 2017 and 2022 to make up for the revenue losses. Rob Godby at UW’s Center for Energy Economics and Public Policy worked on the report. He says the end of coal lease bonuses isn’t cause for panic.
“The sky is not falling,” says Godby. “Coal lease bonuses were kind of icing on the cake. They were big sources of revenue but they come and they go. We just have to figure out how we’re going to pay for things because the old revenue streams that we used for that are no longer there.”
-- AARON SCHRANK Botetourt school board wants a role in planning the county's vision-- Roanoke Times Virginia: December 18, 2014 [ abstract] FINCASTLE " Botetourt County School Board members want to meet with the county supervisors so they can share with them the tale of two budgets.
One story is the austere rerun playing ever since the Great Recession, in which employees are frozen on the pay scale, the odometers click to 300,000 miles on the school buses and leaky roofs top the buildings.
The other story will show what the school board thinks should be.
“It’s up to us to show them what it costs to have a modern system,” said board member John Alderson.
The board and administrators have been concerned for some time that teachers hired within the past six years are stuck on the first rung of the salary scale. They are also concerned about the condition of school property as capital funds were cut from the budget two years ago.
County supervisors agreed earlier this year to pay for an efficiency study of school facilities that they hope will guide the school board in finding savings that could be applied elsewhere. Results of the audit are not expected until sometime in January. From that, the school board may be tasked with consolidating schools.
Facility capacity, mostly in the northern part of the county, is not aligned with where Botetourt has grown and where the supervisors seek to encourage more growth.
On Thursday, the school board held its first work session since the supervisors developed their vision. Superintendent Tony Brads was invited to one session to brief the supervisors on enrollment and state Funding, but school board members said they had expected to be part of that process.
Basically, the supervisors want the northern part of the county to remain mostly forests and farms while spurring new homes, stores and industry in the southern end of the county.
-- Luanne Rife Cleveland schools balking on campaign promise? School board delays funding for construction watchdog-- Cleveland.com Ohio: December 18, 2014 [ abstract] CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland school board this week delayed keeping an Issue 4 campaign promise and tabled a move to fund the Bond Accountability Commission -- the watchdog of the district's school construction project.
The board on Tuesday voted to hold off on continuing annual Funding of the BAC, the panel set up in 2001, until next year.
The school board first wants changes in how long volunteers can sit on the BAC. And the board also wants issues with the BAC's incorporation papers with the state resolved.
"We have to have some accountability here," said Louise Dempsey, the board's vice chair.
School board members sharply questioned BAC administrator James Darr at the last two board meetings about BAC budgets and structure – two issues the board had never raised until now.
It's a striking departure from promises that district CEO Eric Gordon and board members, including Dempsey, made this fall to keep the BAC going if voters approved the $200 million Issue 4 bond issue in November to continue the district's long-running school replacement and renovation project.
Board members had suggested that a vote for new money for the BAC would be a simple move after the election, but the board this month has reversed roles and is now scrutinizing details about its watchdog.
-- Patrick O'Donnell, The Plain Dealer SCHOOLS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY'S CHIEF CITES GAINS, ACKNOWLEDGES CHALLENGES-- NJ Spotlight New Jersey: December 18, 2014 [ abstract] While a number of projects are in the works, Funding for Abbott districts is running low " and is virtually depleted for non-Abbott school projects
While the Schools Development Authority, under new leadership, continues to make strides in winning support and getting school projects off the ground, it now faces a bigger challenge: the school construction agency is running low on money.
SDA representatives came before the Legislature’s Joint Committee for the Public Schools yesterday " and they managed, by and large, to quiet what has been a drumbeat of criticism of the agency ever since Gov. Chris Christie all but halted its work for two years.
-- John Mooney Civil engineers give Nevada infrastructure C-minus - School Buildings Receive Lowest Grade-- The Fresno Bee Nevada: December 17, 2014 [ abstract] LAS VEGAS — Civil engineers gave Nevada's infrastructure a C-minus grade in its latest report card, saying maintenance Funding isn't keeping pace with the needs of aging school buildings, dams and roads.
The 2014 report card from the Nevada section of the American Society of Civil Engineers is a downgrade from the group's last rating in 2007, when the state received a C grade. The report card is not released annually.
"With Nevada's economy growing again, we've also been presented with new opportunities to diversify our economy, and therefore we must make the investment in infrastructure to match these opportunities," Chuck Joseph, a civil engineer who led the report card committee, said in a statement.
Nevada's school facilities got the lowest grade of any subsection in the report card, with a D. Report authors said the lack of regular maintenance at schools leads to more emergency repairs, which inflate costs four-fold.
-- Michelle Rindels - Associated Press W.Va. authority OKs school construction projects-- The News Center West Virginia: December 16, 2014 [ abstract] Nine counties will receive state Funding for school construction projects.
The Charleston Gazette (http://bit.ly/1qVvlod) reports that the West Virginia School Building Authority approved about $5.6 million for major improvement projects on Monday. The authority also approved about $1.6 million for projects affecting more than one school district.
-- Associated Press GOP lawmaker: fund schools with high-speed rail bonds-- CalWatchdot.com California: December 15, 2014 [ abstract] A Republican lawmaker wants to turn money for California’s high-speed rail project into Funding for schools.
Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, introduced Assembly Bill 6, which would cancel outstanding bond funds approved by Proposition 1A, a 2008 voter-approved initiative to fund the state’s high-speed rail project with $9 billion in bonds. In its place, voters would be asked to spend the remaining funds on constructing and modernizing dilapidated school facilities throughout the state.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love trains and would be happy to be able to take one from Los Angeles to San Francisco for ‘dinner and a show’ and back,” Wilk wrote in a recent piece at the Los Angeles Daily News, “but not at the expense of the people of California.”
Before allocating up to $8 billion for school construction, AB6 first would first pay off the outstanding debts incurred for the state’s high-speed rail project. The bill requires two-thirds approval of the state Legislature and a majority approval of voters.
“Our students deserve to have well-maintained facilities and it is irresponsible to continue prioritizing the crazy train over our schools,” Wilk said, echoing a favorite phrase coined by GOP gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari, who on Nov. 4 lost to Gov. Jerry Brown. “The high-speed rail boondoggle has been a proven failure and it’s time we spend taxpayer dollars in a responsible way.”
-- John Hrabe While tribal schools suffer, military schools prosper-- Star Tribune Bureau of Indian Education: December 14, 2014 [ abstract] SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL: While Bureau of Indian Education facilities languish, another set of federally run schools is upgrading to the state of the art. If federal officials need inspiration and a model for fixing broken-down American Indian schools, they should get out of their Washington, D.C., offices and head a few miles down the road to this military installation in northern Virginia. Nestled in a quiet, wooded spot on the Marine Corps base is the squat, 62-year-old Russell Elementary. Like many aging schools in the federal government’s two separate K-12 school systems — serving the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) — Russell’s worn-out s Structure and mechanicals have pushed the building past its expiration date. But while Funding for BIE replacement schools has faltered due to bureaucratic neglect and congressional indifference, most students in DOD schools will soon attend classes in new buildings. The agency is in the midst of a decadelong, $5 billion push to rebuild 134 of its 181 schools. Next spring, students from Russell will move just across the road into the stunning new $47 million Crossroads Elementary.
-- Editorial Board, Star Tribune Muncie’s newest school sitting empty, future uncertain-- Fox 59 Indiana: December 08, 2014 [ abstract] MUNCIE, Ind. (December 8, 2014) " Muncie’s newest school building is now sitting empty, and district administrators are faced with the difficult financial decision of what to do with it.
This year was historic for students in Muncie. Faced with a $9 million Funding cut attributed to property tax caps and declining enrollment, rival high schools Muncie Southside and Muncie Central were consolidated into one high school.
Muncie Community Schools Superintendent Tim Heller says Central had more space, so the high school students were sent there. Southside, after several million dollars in recent renovations, was converted into a middle school. That left Wilson Middle School on the city’s southwest side vacant.
“When you’re in cost containment, you look at everything,” says Heller. “You look at personnel. You look at facilities. You look at every facet of education.”
He says the district has been struggling financially for several years. A study into the district’s facility usage is expected to be completed next month, and Heller hopes it will guide the school board in deciding what to do with Wilson Middle School.
“We’re not sure of the plans for that building,” he says. “We could even use that as a school down the road.”
-- MEGAN TRENT Voters approve tax extension to maintain New Orleans schools-- The Lens Louisiana: December 06, 2014 [ abstract] New Orleans voters on Saturday approved a $150 million dollar property tax over 10 years to fund maintenance of New Orleans public schools.
The vote means that a property tax set to expire in 2021 will remain in place through 2025. The tax was instituted to repay bonds for school construction and improvements. Now, as those bonds are paid off, the money will shift to a dedicated facilities fund.
The owner of a $200,000 home pays about $62 in that tax.
Though proponents and opponents of the tax generally agreed that the money is necessary to maintain the $1.8 billion federal investment in public school buildings after Hurricane Katrina, they did not agree on the timing of it or how the money will be disbursed.
What was not immediately clear from the text of the proposition, and a chief complaint of opponents, is how the money will be split between the Orleans Parish School District and the Recovery School District.
The two will divvy up the anticipated $15 million each year according to their enrollment. The RSD educates about 70 percent of New Orleans public school students.
The flow of money is guided by Act 543, sponsored by New Orleans state Rep. Walt Leger and signed into law by Gov. Bobby Jindal this summer. Though clearly written with New Orleans in mind, the law is meant to apply statewide " so it doesn’t mention the Orleans Parish School Board by name.
It requires both the RSD and the home school district " the parish school board in this case " to establish parallel facilities offices. Money will be allocated to each district based on enrollment. Funding will be further divvied up by enrollment per campus, with funds required to stay with the campus.
-- Marta Jewson Wyoming Spends Over $85 Million on New Schools-- Wyoming School Facilities Department Wyoming: December 04, 2014 [ abstract] CHEYENNE, Wyo. " Five new schools have opened across the state since the start of the
2014 " 2015 school year, according to Bill Panos, Director of the Wyoming School Facilities Department (SFD). Combined, the schools have received over $85 million in construction Funding from the state, plus additional money for planning and design.
“It’s very exciting to see these projects come to fruition,” Panos said. “We are fortunate to live in a state where both the governor and Legislature are committed to providing children with high quality educational facilities.”
-- Anthony Hughes Why Doesn’t Arlington Ask Developers for School Funding?-- ARL Now Virginia: December 03, 2014 [ abstract] In Arlington, when a developer wants to redevelop a property to replace it with a bigger, taller building, the county often receives Funding for affordable housing, transportation, streetscape improvements and public art. These “community benefits” from the developer are usually worth millions of dollars.
None of it goes directly to Arlington’s public schools, facing a capacity crisis with no end in sight.
The reason, according to officials, is Arlington’s development approval process, which was codified more than 50 years ago. Builders apply for site plans, and, by state law, community benefits from site plans can only legally be used “to mitigate immediate impacts,” according to County Attorney Stephen MacIsaac.
While a public art contribution is considered an immediate impact for a large apartment complex, for instance, a contribution to schools is not.
What the county is allowed to negotiate are “amenities that are contained within the project, like streetscape improvements, public art, the appearance of the building in general,” MacIsaac told ARLnow.com. “That system does not allow for charges for schools or public safety or running the libraries.”
In neighboring, suburban jurisdictions, developers negotiate benefits like these through the proffer system. In Loudoun County, which has opened 12 new schools in the last five years, the government pegs school costs as high as $37,791 per single family unit, and $11,294 per multifamily unit. Through proffer negotiations, Loudoun asks developers to pay for 100 percent of the estimated capital intensity factors, which includes roads and public safety, according to Loudoun Assistant Director of Planning and Zoning John Merrithew.
-- Ethan Rothstein Gov. Chris Christie announces $50M upgrade to Camden High School facilities-- NJ.com New Jersey: December 02, 2014 [ abstract] Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday announced that the state will provide $50 million to renovate Camden High School, stating students at the nearly century-old school deserve a "21st Century building."
The funds are being released by the state Schools Development Authority (SDA), which is currently Funding 41 similar rehabilitation and construction projects across New Jersey, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
Speaking in the Camden High School gymnasium, Christie said one of the major factors holding students in the city back has been a facility that has "fallen behind the students, and fallen behind the times."
"What's holding them back is the building itself," said the governor. "Not the quality of the teachers, and not the effort of the students and not the effort of their parents."
According to Camden Schools Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard, the SDA will begin the bidding process for an architect in the early part of 2015. Construction wouldn't likely begin for at least a few years, he added.
Among Camden High School's numerous structural issues are a chronically problematic boiler system, HVAC issues, inefficient windows, electrical wiring, and a roof in need of work.
The governor also stated the $50 million would also go toward improving the technological capabilities at the school.
"When you have an improved school environment, he have an improved education," he said.
-- Jason Laday - South Jersey Times 'We're going to school in a tin can'-- Star Tribune Minnesota: November 29, 2014 [ abstract] LEECH LAKE INDIAN RESERVATION, MINN.
At the heart of the “seasonal” class Richard Armstrong teaches at Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig High School are outdoor activities such as gathering edible plants, tanning hides and building a sweat lodge. But the lesson plan for this Tuesday morning class calls for staying inside Armstrong’s crowded, damp-smelling classroom. The task: dissecting a long legal ruling involving treaty hunting rights.
The popular teacher does his best to coax responses from his students, but he has little luck. Then, the broken-down northern Minnesota school around them inspires a change. Armstrong notes that the federal government’s educational obligations also flow from treaties, and that gets kids’ attention.
The Bug school, part of the federally funded Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) system, is partly housed in a 30-year-old metal “pole barn” built as an auto mechanic school and bus garage. Tribal leaders and staff on the K-12 campus, which has about 200 students, have been pushing for a new high school for a decade.
But federal Funding for new BIE schools has declined precipitously over the past decade and likely remains years away. Students in Armstrong’s class want their little brothers and sisters to have a modern high school and don’t understand why federal officials responsible for BIE schools aren’t advocating for them.
-- Editorial Board Legislators look to restore school building aid-- Concord Monitor New Hampshire: November 29, 2014 [ abstract] When Toni Weinstein of Newmarket was deciding whether to enroll her fifth grade son in private school, the condition of the town’s junior-senior high school crossed her mind: classrooms so small that some teachers roll supplies around on carts; difficulties updating technology infrastructure because of asbestos in the walls; safety and disability code violations that prompted a threat of closure from the fire marshal.
She chose private school.
“In the end, there are other issues that came into my decision, but had the school issue been resolved, it never would have entered my mind,” said Weinstein, a town councilor and member of Newmarket Solutions, a group focused on improving schools. “It weighs so heavily on this community that you’re constantly weighing your options and constantly questioning different school districts.”
Newmarket voters opposed a $45 million bond this year to construct a new school. In the past, they could’ve received help from the state through a school building aid program that poured millions into school repairs and construction. But facing debt from past projects, the Legislature stopped giving money to new projects in 2010, leaving communities to decide whether residents should shoulder the full cost.
State Reps. Michael Cahill, John Mullen and Rick Ladd have all filed bills for the coming Legislative session that would reinstate money for new projects. The effort to restore Funding comes during what will likely be a difficult budget season. Republicans are predicting a need for cuts, and Gov. Maggie Hassan recently ordered state agencies to reduce their existing budgets to avoid a deficit.
“I’ve already been told, ‘You’ve got to find the money someplace,’ ” said Mullen, a Middleton Republican. “I’ll find the money someplace; it’s around. We have shortchanged our communities’ education.”
-- KATHLEEN RONAYNE - Associated Press Don't reduce city schools' capital funding-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: November 28, 2014 [ abstract] Baltimore should be proud of its tremendous achievement to secure approximately $1 billion to fully rebuild and renovate up to 28 school buildings over the next 5 years — the first phase of the city schools' 21st Century Buildings program. This is the single largest investment in schools and neighborhoods in Baltimore's history, and city advocates and leaders are enthusiastically engaged in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make these schools transformative for students, families and communities. But what about the other 100-plus city school buildings — the oldest in the state — that have critical needs that will not be covered by the $1 billion program?
These older schools, with faulty heating systems, leaky roofs and antiquated fire alarm systems are dependent on a different source of Funding — annual state capital Funding for school construction. Alarmingly, the city's share of this state program's Funding appears to be threatened. We cannot allow the existence of the visionary 21st Century Buildings program to come at the expense of the city's other aging schools.
-- Frank Patinella Charles County school board wrangles over funding renovations-- Southern Maryland Newspapers Online Maryland: November 27, 2014 [ abstract] Republican Gov.-elect Larry Hogan is honing his budget but has not exposed his financial priorities, leading to uneasiness among interest groups and Maryland jurisdictions " none more so than the Charles County Board of Education members, who were left scratching their heads Monday upon realizing state money for school construction could be slashed in the future.
At the Monday work session scheduled to discuss an auditor’s report indicating Charles County Public Schools requires a $600 million infusion to renovate some of its aging buildings, board members attempted to solidify their opinions on whether new schools should be built or additions for existing facilities should be explored.
School board member Jennifer S. Abell, one of two returning to the seven-member board, called for an exact order that the board would follow to fix schools, taking into account the report conducted by contractor GWWO Inc./Architects, which the county commissioners funded at a cost of $250,000.
The GWWO report, which identifies key maintenance issues in each school and offers an order in which to repair them, had been made available to the public in the form of three forums in late September and early October.
Board members, five of whom will depart in December, seemed to agree that overexpansion of schools, particularly at the elementary level, was a poor idea for the county, but offered ew suggestions other than agreeing with the plan to move forward with feasibility studies " essentially cost estimates " for Maurice J. McDonough High School, Benjamin Stoddert Middle School, T.C. Martin Elementary School and Eva Turner Elementary School.
Feasibility studies, funded locally, cost more than $250,000 apiece, reaching $400,000 for a high school.
-- Jeremy Bauer-Wolf Mahoning Valley lawmakers push for state funding reform for school buildings-- Daily Legal News Ohio: November 25, 2014 [ abstract] A new piece of proposed legislation designed to cut local taxes and reduce the costs of Funding school construction has been filed into both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly.
Senate Bill 376, led by Sen. Joe Schiavoni, D-Boardman, and House Bill 650, sponsored by Rep. Ron Gerberry, D-Austintown, would require the state to pay set percentages of school construction costs while decreasing the cost of local school improvement levies by 12.5 percent for local property taxpayers.
In a statement, the lawmakers said the proposed changes would increase the fairness of school construction Funding.
The proposal would cap local matching funds at 75 percent of total school improvement costs through the Classroom Facilities Assistance Program and establish a 50-50 cost share between the state and local districts for construction under the Exceptional Needs Program, a Funding model that prioritizes single building replacement based on student health and safety.
The current Funding system is based on an assessed property valuation per student.
“The state needs to make a greater investment into public education now and into the future,” Schiavoni said. “This legislation will take some of the burden off local taxpayers while ensuring that our young people have more opportunities to succeed.”
If enacted, the measure would reduce the increased cost of local levies for some schools by reinstating the 12.5 percent state cost sharing for local school improvement levies that was eliminated in the last state budget.
-- TIFFANY L. PARKS Fairbanks schools make progress in upgrading technology-- Newsminer.com Alaska: November 23, 2014 [ abstract] FAIRBANKS " As the Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board holds ambitious technology programs in its sights, some district employees are working nights and holidays to upgrade school infrastructure to make sure it’s ready to handle the increased technological load.
During the past several years, the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District has rolled out technology improvements including increases in the number of digital devices in schools and its inter-school distance delivery program. The projects are part of a movement some board members think will help bring the district into the future.
Before the district can consider putting every student on its network, it must upgrade its connectivity inside its schools. To do so, administrators have piggybacked on Funding provided by the Legislature to make security improvements in schools.
The security improvements in schools included upgrading systems such as schools’ video surveillance, intercoms and key fobs. Many of the security improvements require facilities staff to open ceilings and run additional cable. While in there, administrators figured they might as well run cable for other upgrades, Facilities Management Director Dave Norum said.
-- Weston Morrow Point Pleasant Schools Receive $144K From State To Help With Security Cameras-- Point Pleasant Patch New Jersey: November 21, 2014 [ abstract] Grants totaling $144,412 have been awarded to the Point Pleasant School District to help it install security cameras, the state Schools Development Authority announced Friday.
The grants, through the SDA’s Regular Operating District grant program, will help the district install security cameras at all four schools -- Point Pleasant High School, Memorial Middle School, Nellie Bennett Elementary School and Ocean Road Elementary School, according to a news release from the SDA.
The security camera projects have a total estimated cost of $361,031; the grant Funding means the district is paying $216,619 of its own funds, the release states.
In May 2013, Gov. Chris Christie announced the largest single grant offering in the program’s history, making approximately half a billion dollars in Funding available for projects throughout the state’s 559 regular operating districts and 21 county vocational technical school districts across New Jersey. The Department of Education, who determines the selection of school projects to receive grant funds, has approved more than 1,600 ROD Grant projects in 335 school districts throughout the state for this allocation. Between state and local contributions, the total project costs of the eligible projects are estimated to exceed $1.2 billion, representing significant benefit not only to the children served by the state’s public schools but also to the economy and construction industry as this important work advances.
-- Karen Wall North Allegheny redistricting prevented crowding in schools, officials say-- TribLive Neighborhoods Pennsylvania: November 20, 2014 [ abstract] The North Allegheny School District's redistricting helped offset the demographic shifts the district has been experiencing for several years, an official said.
School administrators presented enrollment and facilities and capital Funding plan updates at a board meeting Wednesday.
There were 8,229 students enrolled in the district on the third day of school this academic year, compared to 8,257 in 2013-14 and 8,212 in 2012-13.
In February, the school board approved a controversial plan to redraw school boundaries because Franklin and McKnight elementary schools and Ingomar Middle School were or soon would be crowded because of population shifts, district officials said.
There were 3,549 students enrolled in the elementary schools and 1,927 enrolled in middle schools on the third day of school, but the redistricting plan that took effect at the start of the school year alleviated or prevented crowding problems, said Roger Botti, director of transportation and operations.
Ingomar Middle School, for example, is considered to have a maximum capacity of 600 students. Without the redistricting, 645 would have been enrolled, instead of the 566 enrolled now, according to district data.
Franklin Elementary School can accommodate 550 students. Without the redistricting, 514 would have been enrolled, instead of the 430 enrolled now, according to district data.
-- Tory N. Parrish Worcester schools awarded $9.6 million in grants for accelerated repairs-- Masslive.com Massachusetts: November 19, 2014 [ abstract] WORCESTER " The Massachusetts School Building Authority has awarded the Worcester Public School district with over $9.6 million in accelerated repair grants to make improvements to four school buildings.
The grant money will cover about 80 percent of the cost of window and door replacements at four schools including: Clark Street Developmental Learning School, Goddard School of Science and Technology, Union Hill School and West Tatnuck School. The total cost of these projects is about $12.9 million.
Brian Allen, the chief financial and operations officer for the Worcester Public Schools said this is the third year Worcester has received Funding for these types of repairs.
“Other works on window and boiler replacements have gone a long way toward improving the aesthetic of schools for students and families, but they’ve also an energy saver,” Allen said. He said it’s hard to put an exact figure on the savings since many of the upgrades are still new, but said they’re expecting “good numbers” this year.
He noted the latest projects will bring the total number of school buildings in the district that have received these upgrades to 13 out of a total of 48 buildings.
“We couldn’t do all of these significant projects if it weren’t for the MSBA,” Allen said.
The announcement of Funding for Worcester’s schools came on Wednesday as part of $17,898,910 in grants the MSBA awarded to eight school districts in the state.
-- Lindsay Corcoran Limited funds, old buildings get in the way of school safety-- insurancenewsnet.com North Carolina: November 16, 2014 [ abstract] When checking the boiler room at Florence Elementary School in June, fire inspectors found sprinklers coated with paint, which would block water flow to a blaze.
At Sternberger Elementary last May, they found blocked emergency exit windows in a dozen classrooms.
At dozens of other schools over the past year, they found inoperable exit lights and emergency exits blocked by debris.
In all, fire inspectors have found more than 4,000 code violations in the system's school buildings since October 2013, according to records analyzed by the News & Record. More than three-quarters of the violations have been corrected.
School officials said they try to deal with such safety violations quickly. But, they also said limited Funding, aging buildings and state mandates make it difficult to keep up.
While school systems like Charlotte-Mecklenburg are adding programmable electronic locks on doors, Guilford upgraded one school last year that still was using skeleton keys.
Guilford County Schools spends about $2 million annually on maintenance, including fixes to fire-code violations. It would cost about $20 million to address the system's entire list of safety and security needs.
-- Marquita Brown, News & Record Minnesota schools already busy preparing 2015 levy requests-- TwinCities.com Minnesota: November 15, 2014 [ abstract] Poll workers just packed away the "I Voted" stickers, but several east metro school districts already are eyeing the 2015 election cycle.
School leaders in Stillwater, South Washington County and Burnsville-Eagan-Savage have more than $340 million worth of capital projects they are considering putting before voters next year.
Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan schools are finishing a study of facility and technology needs and soon will decide what to do about an expiring capital levy that raises $1.2 million a year. In Forest Lake, board members are expected to put a bond referendum before voters after a $176 million request was defeated in May.
This year, 48 Minnesota school districts -- the most in 10 years -- sought capital levies. On Nov. 4, voters supported 27 of 37 capital tax requests.
Scott Croonquist, executive director of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts, said he was "pleasantly surprised" at the support those bond levies received. What wasn't a surprise was the number of districts asking for money to build and maintain facilities or update classroom technology.
Croonquist said the high number of bond requests illustrated the struggles that districts across the state face to fund school upkeep. He hopes lawmakers will revisit a task force recommendation from last winter to increase state Funding for school facilities by as much as $300 million a year.
Reforming facilities Funding would not entirely fund the ambitious projects proposed in the east metro for next year.
-- Christopher Magan New LAUSD chief Ramon Cortines prioritizes school maintenance-- Los Angeles Daily News California: November 15, 2014 [ abstract] After years of cutting back on repairs and upgrades on buildings to save money, Los Angeles Unified faces a half-a-billion-dollar price tag for critical maintenance and a backlog of 48,000 requests for repairs from school-based staff.
Superintendent Ramon Cortines presented the cost for repairs to school board members, warning “the district is facing a major cliff.” During a recent interview, Cortines said LAUSD needs a 15-year plan for performing routine maintenance " before they become costly repairs.
“The board is going to have to make some hard decisions,” he said. “And I’m going to have to make some hard recommendations on how we spend our money.”
LAUSD has cut Funding for maintenance and repairs by half in the last six years. In 2008-09, LAUSD’s routine repair and general maintenance budget stood at $209.7 million of the district’s all-purpose general fund spending account. This year, the budget for those repairs was just $101 million.
-- Thomas Himes Q&A: David Sneed, executive director, School Building Authority of WV-- The State Journal West Virginia: November 15, 2014 [ abstract] Since stepping into the shoes left by former School Building Authority of West Virginia Executive Director Mark Manchin on July 1, David Sneed has taken action on some ideas of his own to ensure success.
During a conversation with The State Journal, Sneed shared his specific goals and overall vision for the organization going forward along with how his prior 22 years at the School Building Authority gave him an already-familiar edge to his new position.
The State Journal: What were your expectations coming into the job and how did your expectations match or not match up?
David Sneed: Having worked at the School Building Authority for 22 years prior to returning in July, I understand the mission of the authority and the daily operations. This was a tremendous help upon my return. From that perspective, I felt comfortable from day one and my desire is now to try to improve upon the services already in place and to assist the county boards of education in the planning, development and construction of school improvements around our state.
TSJ: What was one of the first things you did as executive director?
Sneed: Given the limited amount of state Funding available for counties and their construction projects, I felt it was incumbent upon the agency to look for opportunities to increase the amount of Funding we could make available to counties. However, the first action we took was to determine if there were opportunities to save money within the planning, design and construction phases of the projects. We are actively working toward this goal, and if we are able to save project Funding we will simply fund more projects. County boards of education have identified over $3 billion in school capital improvement needs and this cost continues to grow annually.
TSJ: What new programs/goals would you like to see and are working toward implementing?
Sneed: I was fortunate upon my arrival that the authority had requested a work session with staff to discuss the future direction the agency would like to go moving forward. The work session allowed me to listen to the authority's goals, while at the same time to present my own. Some areas of emphasis are refocusing on projects that help counties improve their efficiencies, policies regarding emergency grant allocations, supplemental Funding for projects experiencing deficits, growth county design criteria, cooperation with other state agencies and revising the Funding cycle schedule to improve planning and bidding schedules for projects awarded in the future.
-- Erin Timony Advocates decry scaling back of city school renovation program-- Baltimore Brew Maryland: November 13, 2014 [ abstract] School advocates who cheered last year when city and state lawmakers got Funding for a sweeping plan to rebuild or upgrade 30-35 dilapidated Baltimore schools now are blasting the state agency in charge for scaling back the plan.
The Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) has said that costs for the first phase of the 21st Century Schools Initiative are higher than originally thought.
They are now estimating that, at most, 23-28 schools could be renovated with the $980 million in bond proceeds available for the modernization plan.
Speaking at Tuesday’s school board meeting, Andrew Foster Connors, co-chair of Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD), implored the commissioners and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to “push back” on the MSA and demand the reasons why.
“Someone needs to act like the owner of this project” and ask the authority why they think the costs are so high, Connors said, as about 60 people in the audience with blue BUILD t-shirts cheered.
BUILD has “shopped the numbers” around to developers who have built schools in the Baltimore-Washington area and believes the estimates are not a good value, he told The Brew.
“We think there’s enough money for at least 30 school renovations,” he said.
Connors’ comments came at an evening meeting clouded with other difficult news for school advocates.
-- Danielle Sweeney Bedford County School Board decides to close another school-- WDBJ7 Virginia: November 13, 2014 [ abstract] The Bedford County School Board voted to close another elementary school.
Earlier this year, the board voted to close Body Camp Elementary School at the end of this year.
Now, Thaxton Elementary School will shut its doors at the end of the year too.
Bedford reverted from a city to a town over a year ago.
Because of that reversion, the schools had to conduct an efficiency review, which recommended closing two schools.
People were told that if the school followed the recommendations from that review, then the schools would get over six million dollars in state Funding for the next 15 years.
That's the board's rationale for closing the schools, but it's an argument parents aren't buying.
"Failure to keep this school open will constitute nothing less than a failure by this body to do it's fiduciary responsibility to provide the highest quality of education to the students of Thaxton Elementary School," parent Martin Leamy said to the board.
-- David Kaplan Decades of Neglect Show Starkly as Indian Schools Cry Out for Repairs-- New York Times Bureau of Indian Education: November 13, 2014 [ abstract] BENA, Minn. — When temperatures drop and snow falls, students bundle themselves in heavy coats inside Marlene Stately’s classroom. Winter comes early and bites hard on this Indian reservation in northern Minnesota, and the pole barn that houses part of the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School offers limited protection from the elements. “I think we need a new school,” Ms. Stately said last month after her upper-grade students had practiced introducing themselves in the Ojibwe language. “It’s cold here in the wintertime. They’re not comfortable. And how can you learn when you’re freezing?” In the federal Bureau of Indian Education system, the dreadful facilities of Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig — named for a late member of the tribe — are far from unique. The network of about 185 congressionally funded schools in 23 states is in the midst of a broad overhaul, but decades of neglect have left reservations with schools where students struggle to meet academic standards, turnover among educators is high and the buildings are often in decay. Officials at the United States Department of the Interior, which oversees the bureau, say they are working to improve schools like Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig. But with limited Funding and a huge backlog of repairs — the government estimates that it would cost $1.3 billion to restore all buildings to good condition — some administrators and students wonder when they will see the fruits of those policies.
-- MITCH SMITH S.C. high court ruling for rural schools provides case study for Alaska-- NewsMiner.com Alaska: November 13, 2014 [ abstract] The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in favor of rural school districts in the case of Abbeville County School District v. State of South Carolina after 21 years of squabbles in the state Legislature and in court.
The decision has no direct, or even indirect, legal implications for Alaska. It does provide an interesting case study for rural education the 49th State, however.
The South Carolina case hinged on the districts' argument that the state was not providing an equitable Funding formula and that formula was unfairly hurting the rural, poor districts.
Some 40 school chiefs filed the first lawsuit in 1993, meaning students who were just entering kindergarten at the time would now be something like 26 years old.
There are at least provoking points of interest in the ruling of this case. Firstly, the case hinges on a point of contention that has been risen over and again in Alaska — equitable Funding to rural school districts.
Cases have been brought against the state of Alaska on multiple occasions over the last several decades. Notably and recently, the state agreed to pay a settlement to several rural districts in Kasayulie v. State of Alaska. That case revolved around complaints from the rural districts that they could not afford to properly maintain their school facilities to the same level as urban districts that could levy funds from local voters.
-- Weston Morrow School CIP Reflects A Slowdown In Growth -- LeesburgToday Virginia: November 12, 2014 [ abstract]
Reacting to an anticipation of a slowdown in Loudoun County’s population growth, the school superintendent’s Capital Improvement Program calls for fewer new schools over the next several years and a smaller overall price tag.
Superintendent Eric Williams presented his proposed CIP that will serve as a priority list of the school system’s building needs for fiscal years 2016-2020 to the School Board Tuesday.
It plans for three elementary schools, one middle school and two high schools, among other projects, and requests a total of $481,970,000, down more than $165 million over last year’s adopted CIP.
“Our rates of increases are slowing down,” Sam Adamo, executive director of planning, told School Board members. “Our enrollment increases will start to taper.”
After years of growth in Ashburn, now the Dulles area in the south end of the county is experiencing a swell of families moving in, and the Funding requests follow that trend.
-- Danielle Nadler N.J. says it has no money left for repairs in school districts like Paterson -- NorthJersey.com New Jersey: November 10, 2014 [ abstract] PATERSON " A state agency says its program that pays for “emergent” school repairs in urban districts has no more money available, a disclosure that comes as Paterson education officials say they plan to apply for such Funding for the first time in more than three years.
“All of our Funding allocated toward emergent projects has essentially been exhausted since the 2011 allocation of $100 million,” said Kristen MacLean, spokeswoman for the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA).
Some projects in cities around the state remain under construction with Funding from that $100 million, officials said. But the agency says it has no money for new applications.
In order to fund any new school repair applications, MacLean said the SDA would either have to take money that previously was allocated for capital projects or the Legislature would have to authorize more money for the emergent repairs program.
“Eventually we will need more money,” said MacLean. “The need far exceeds the money that is left.”
-- JOE MALINCONICO Report: 20-year school facilities needs nearly $1 billion -- independenttribune.com North Carolina: November 10, 2014 [ abstract]
CONCORD, N.C. " Staff from Fanning Howey said they were giving “the car keys to the car” to the Cabarrus County Board of Education during the final presentation of the facilities needs assessment at the board’s work session on Monday.
The board approved in April for Fanning Howey to perform the assessment, and Fanning Howey has since surveyed 32 schools. Board members received the draft report in August and asked Fanning Howey to return with the final report.
Dave Burnett, director of construction for Cabarrus County Schools, said not much has changed since the August report.
Carl Baxmeyer, educational adequacy project executive for Fanning Howey, said the system staff reviewed all of the more than 220 line items from the draft report in August and caught a couple of errors, which have been corrected. He said the last effort will be to turn over “the keys to the car” so system staff can access the data and generate reports.
The one major difference is that the review of Royal Oaks Elementary School has been completed and is in the final report, said Steven Hawley, project executive/project manager for Fanning Howey.
NEEDS OVER 20 YEARS
Hawley said the real bottom line in the report is the summary of Funding that provides the district-wide needs on an annual basis. The information begins in 2014, with about $54.4 million needed, and ends with the year 2034, with about $170.4 million in needs that year. The total needs over the next 20 years are $992.3 million, according to the assessment.
-- Jessica Groover Pacek Construction of Maui high school to take longer than expected due to funding structure-- The Republic Hawaii: November 09, 2014 [ abstract] WAILUKU, Hawaii — Some Maui parents cheered the Legislature's approval of $130 million for a new high school last year, believing it meant a new school would open by 2016.
But due to how the Funding was structure, the state Department of Education said the school will have to be built in phases and won't open until perhaps 2020.
At a community meeting in September, department officials said they would be able to access only $30 million next year, the Maui News reported (http://bit.ly/1xcjWC6 ).
The department said the money was split between $30 million bond funds, which became available at the start of the 2015 fiscal year in July, and $100 million in a school facilities improvement fund. But department spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said by email that lawmakers did not put extra money into the fund, meaning "there was no money to back up the commitment."
State Budget Director Kalbert Young said the department would need to use money previously appropriated for projects "that were not executed or to be executed."
-- Associated Press Advocates question Paterson school district’s lack of building repair applications-- NorthJersey.com New Jersey: November 05, 2014 [ abstract] PATERSON " During the past 40 months, Paterson education officials have not filed any requests for state Funding through a program designed to provide money to fix impending health and safety problems in urban schools.
The lack of applications under the state’s “emergent repairs” program has frustrated local education advocates, especially because state-appointed superintendent Donnie Evans has said that the Paterson district ranks high in New Jersey in terms of facilities’ needs.
“So our kids got to sit in run down schools?” said Linda Reid, president of the city’s Parents Education Organizing Council.
“We’re always blaming the state, the state, the state,” said city school board member Flavio Rivera. “But the state has resources and we’re not trying to take advantage of that. Who’s been minding the store?”
Rivera initially made comments about the district’s lack of emergent repairs at a board meeting in October. To verify what Rivera was saying, Paterson Press filed a public records request for all emergent repair applications that the district filed with the New Jersey Schools Development Authority, the agency that runs the program, since July 2011. The district responded that no applications existed.
“That is going to be corrected,” said school board president Chris Irving.
-- JOE MALINCONICO Boulder Valley voters pass $576.5M school construction tax increase -- Daily Camera Colorado: November 04, 2014 [ abstract] Voters handily passed the Boulder Valley School District's $576.5 million capital construction bond issue, the largest K-12 bond in Colorado history.
Issue 3A passed 58 percent to 42 percent, with 69,587 votes counted in Boulder, Broomfield and Gilpin counties, as of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. About 70 percent of the expected ballots had been counted in Boulder County.
The property tax increase will allow the district to repair and upgrade all of its 55 schools, including rebuilding three elementary schools. The 31,000-student school district also will build a new school in fast-growing Erie and add a centralized kitchen and new transportation center.
"I am extremely grateful to the voters of this district for doing the right thing for kids," said Boulder Valley school board President Laurie Albright. "Every kid is going to benefit from this."
Proponents said state cuts to education Funding led the district to defer maintenance, leaving schools in dire need of repairs.
More than half the money in the $576.5 million bond issue will be spent on basic building maintenance and improvements, including new roofs, HVAC systems, interior and exterior doors, electrical wiring, windows, carpet and paint. Bathroom upgrades and renovations to special education spaces also made the list at many schools.
-- Amy Bounds Director calls Sullivan school conditions a 'moral outrage'
-- TimesNews Tennessee: November 03, 2014 [ abstract] BLOUNTVILLE — Things are looking more and more like Indian Springs Elementary's first- and second-grade pod will reopen Wednesday following cleanup of mold from a roof leak.
However, Sullivan County Board of Education members said the issue highlights a dire need for maintenance money and Funding for other likely suggestions — including possible new school construction — that are expected to be recommendations from a facilities study underway by Ohio-based consultant DeJong-Richter.
Director of Schools Jubal Yennie said at least two separate air-quality tests have shown no issues at the school. The 1971 pod was closed to students Oct. 23, with the whole school closed the following day.
-- Rick Wagner Maryland schools need additional $220 million for construction (with video)-- American School & University Maryland: November 03, 2014 [ abstract] Joshua Starr, Superintendent of the Montgomery County School system in Maryland, is asking for an additional $220.8 million in school construction Funding after expansion and renovation projects at 37 schools were put on hold due to inadequate funds.
"We have grown over the last six year by 16,485 students," Starr told CBS affiliate WUSA 9. "That’s enough to fill 22 new schools.”
As a result of the rapid expansion, the school district has had to use more than 400 portable classrooms, the majority of which have no plumbing. The portable classrooms have been utilized mostly at elementary schools. This requires students to have to walk back and forth to the permanent buildings to use the restroom and to wash their hands.
-- Kimberlee Payton-Jones Companies that profit from school construction bankroll bond campaigns -- Sacramento Bee California: November 01, 2014 [ abstract] Construction, architecture, engineering and labor interests that could receive school building contracts are donating money to pass facilities bonds on Tuesday’s ballot.
Donors had directed more than $110,000 toward passage of three Sacramento County bond campaigns benefiting Natomas Unified, Folsom Cordova Unified and Robla school districts as of Oct. 21, according to election records and the campaigns.
Most funds come from companies and unions that could benefit from the building and refurbishing of schools. Bond campaigns use the money to produce mailers, signs and advertisements, as well as to cover the cost of consultants, phone banks and canvassing.
Financing bond campaigns with contributions from people likely to receive construction contracts isn’t ideal, said Michael Day, vice president of the Sacramento Taxpayers Association.
“When all the campaign contributions come from those who stand to make obscene profits, then we really need to question that particular plan,” Day said.
Architects contributed $23,000 of the $69,700 collected by Yes on Measure J, the campaign spearheaded by Sacramento City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby for Natomas Unified. Unions gave $11,700, developers $8,500 and construction interests $8,500.
The building industry would benefit if the $129 million bond passes and a federal building moratorium expires. The community has lived under a building freeze since 2008, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency determined levees in the area were at risk of failing. Levee improvements backed by federal Funding mean construction in the community could resume soon.
-- Diana Lambert EPISD report suggests schools may close, be consolidated, upgraded-- El Paso Times Texas: October 29, 2014 [ abstract] Dozens of El Paso Independent School District schools are on the list for possible closure and consolidation while district officials consider what to do with aging buildings and declining enrollment.
A draft report by Jacobs Engineering Group offers a variety of suggestions, including closing schools, consolidating campuses into kindergarten through eighth-grade schools and redrawing school boundaries.
"These are all options on the table," EPISD spokeswoman Melissa Martinez said. "Nothing is a plan."
Officials will present the options to the public at 6 p.m. Monday at Bowie High School, 801 San Marcial. Community input will be taken into account before Jacobs presents recommendations to the EPISD Board of Managers, likely at the board's Dec. 16 meeting.
The board of managers could decide to implement a number of options, a few or none of them, Martinez said.
District officials said any decisions could take years to execute because they are part of EPISD's yearslong master plan and require Funding.
"This is not going to happen overnight," Martinez said.
The EPISD is projected to lose more than 5,000 students by the 2019-2020 school year. Currently, 61,151 students are enrolled.
By 2019-20, about a dozen schools are expected to have only half as many students as they could house, while another dozen are expected to exceed capacity, according to Jacobs.
More than a dozen schools, primarily elementaries, are mentioned as possible sites that could be closed to save money on maintenance costs and address falling enrollment.
The elementary schools mentioned are Roberts, Putnam, Vilas, Lamar, Beall, Alta Vista, Zavala, Bonham, Cielo Vista, Burnet, Travis, Schuster, Dowell and Fanin. Also mentioned were Charles Middle, and Andress or Irvin high schools.
-- Lindsey Anderson LA Unified getting $26 million in Prop 39 energy efficiency funds
-- LA School Report California: October 28, 2014 [ abstract] Governor Jerry Brown today dropped by John Marshall High School to talk about energy efficiency and the millions of dollars LA Unified schools can expect to receive from the state as a result of Proposition 39.
The governor, who’s up for re-election next week, was on the Los Feliz campus with Tom Steyer, the Democratic mega-donor who backed the initiative; and state Sen. Kevin de Leon. The Clean Energy Jobs Act was passed by voters in 2012 and changed how corporations calculate their tax loads, sending the proceeds to schools and other learning centers for use in improving energy efficiency.
“Two years ago, voters closed a flagrant tax loophole and sent hundreds of millions of dollars to California schools with passage of Proposition 39,” Governor Brown said. “Today, with these funds, schools are starting to repair inefficient heating and air conditioning systems, replace old windows and install new lighting, saving money through energy efficiency.”
As the largest school district in the state, LA Unified has been awarded over $26 million for the first year of Funding from Prop. 39. Funding is based on a district’s average daily attendance. In all, the state has collected over $400 million to fund energy retrofit projects at every K-12 school district in the first year.
-- Vanessa Romo Dollars for schools -- Rawlins Daily Times Wyoming: October 27, 2014 [ abstract] SARATOGA " In many states, governors and legislators struggle to fund school construction projects. Often, large portions of these projects are paid for through property taxes or local improvement bonds.
Wyoming takes a different approach.
The Cowboy State is the only state that pays 100 percent of school construction and major maintenance projects. The state has the ability to provide Funding through a number of sources including the Permanent Mineral Trust Fund.
The Wyoming School Facilities Department (SFD) is the agency responsible for getting the dollars to where they are needed.
The SFD and its commission provide non-matching grants to local school districts for approved capital projects. Project Funding is determined by combining scores from a facility condition assessment, educational functionality and capacity of student enrollment to create a prioritized needs index list.
Anthony Hughes, SFD spokesperson, said the list is broken up into two primary categories " capacity and condition.
Capacity issues most often address meeting the state mandate of a 16-to-1 teacher to student ratio, while condition prioritizes facilities based on more than 50 separate factors such as heating and cooling, electrical issues and the structural and educational condition of classrooms.
“Once the buildings are scored they are ranked by need,” Hughes said. “Condition is condition. Typically there is not a great deal of fluctuation once the schools " whether they have condition or capacity issues " are put into the (SFD) department’s budget. When this happens we start the planning process to determine what is the most cost effective way to fix the issues.”
Since 2002, when the state formed the SFD, Wyoming has invested more than $3 billion in school facility construction and maintenance.
During the 2014 legislative session, nearly $231 million was appropriated for the biennium budget of new and previously funded school capital construction projects. Other funds were also appropriated to SFD for component projects, major maintenance and unanticipated expenses.
The SFD will submit a supplemental budget request of slightly more than $21 million at the legislature’s upcoming general session in January.
Both Carbon County School District 1 and 2 have several projects on the condition list. Both districts have recently benefited from SFD Funding.
The highest item on the list for CCSD1 is the Bairoil School at 31, but that school no longer functions. “We were leasing it until the end of June, so that’s why it’s still on the list,” CCSD1 Business Office Manager Dave Horner explained.
The next is Little Snake River Valley School at 71. Horner said CCSD1 doesn’t have any high-priority facilities because SFD had recently remedied Rawlins High School, Middle School and Sinclair Elementary School.
“Those projects would have been on the top,” Horner said, “But now we’ve dropped to the bottom and we’re working back up again.”
Horner added that every time the district makes improvements to a facility, it might drop down the list further.
-- David Louis & Han Cheung School leaders want buildings torn down-- Chillicothe Gazette Ohio: October 27, 2014 [ abstract] CHILLICOTHE " After a rash of break-ins at the former Smith Middle and Hopewell Elementary schools, Chillicothe City School District officials seem more eager than ever to have the vacant structures torn down.
Superintendent Jon Saxton and the board of education have repeatedly said the buildings are not part of the district’s facilities master plan going forward, but now they’re actively seeking Funding from the Ohio School Facilities Commission to expedite the demolition process.
That comes after a two-week span in which more than a dozen people are suspected to have broken into the buildings and stolen copper pipes and wiring, Saxton said.
Arrests have been made in several incidents, whereas others are still under investigation, he said, adding that two people were taken into custody Monday while allegedly trying to break into Hopewell.
Utilities to the buildings have been shut off several years, but they’re still equipped with security cameras, and maintenance workers frequently have to make sure they’re secured. The structures are now viewed by district leaders as a drain on resources that would be better spent educating students.
In the past, there’s been some hand-wringing over the future of the Smith building because of the sentimental place it holds in the collective memory of so many Chillicothe graduates. Saxton, who attended Smith, has chosen his words carefully, but he went on record Monday saying the time has come to demolish the building.
“As long as they’re there, they’re going to be a problem,” he said, adding that neighbors are growing more concerned by the break-ins.
The district is aiming to significantly reduce its facilities’ footprint to the point where all of its buildings are on three campuses " the high school and middle school and likely two elementary campuses.
-- David Berman Will Bedford County lose state funds if two schools don't close?-- WDBJ7 Virginia: October 27, 2014 [ abstract] BEDFORD, Va. -
The Bedford County School Board has a tough decision to make. In a few weeks, it will decide whether to close Thaxton Elementary.
Earlier this year, the board voted to close another school: Body Camp Elementary. The superintendent and several school board members have said that schools have to close, to keep the school system from losing a special amount of state Funding.
When the city of Bedford reverted to a town last year, the change allowed Bedford County Public Schools to get an additional $6.2-million every year for the next 15 years.
To receive the money, the school system had to undergo an efficiency review. They completed the process in May and one of the document's major recommendations was to close two schools.
Is that action required for Bedford County to get the extra money? The short answer: not necessarily.
Delegate Scott Garrett sits on the House Appropriations Committee, which allocates school Funding. He believes Bedford County was only required to complete the efficiency review itself, not carry out its recommendations.
"The efficiency review has been done. The county and the town are in full compliance with the wishes of the General Assembly," Garrett told WDBJ7 Monday.
But State Senator Steve Newman, who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, believes the school system will have to prove it's being efficient.
"What the General Assembly has said is that we're going to require you to do an efficiency review. Once you go through that process, we expect you to follow most of the recommendations," Newman said.
-- Tim Saunders State will fund Moyer Elementary renovation-- Cincinnati.com Ohio: October 26, 2014 [ abstract] FORT THOMAS – Whether Moyer Elementary School will be renovated or replaced remains an open question, but the city's school district has been given assurances the state will pay the bulk of the estimated $20 million or more cost.
Fort Thomas Independent Schools will be required to use its entire bonding capacity, expected to be about $1 million, next year to help fund work at Moyer scheduled to start summer or fall of 2015, said Superintendent Gene Kirchner.
The Kentucky School Facilities Construction Commission (SFCC) has now promised to pay the difference of the estimated $20 million cost of work at Moyer, Kirchner said.
SFCC officials toured Moyer and met with Fort Thomas officials Oct. 15. In September the SFCC pledged to provide an undetermined amount of Funding for Moyer.
"The clarity that we did receive was that it will be fully funded," Kirchner said.
The cost for renovation or replacement is likely going to be similar, he said.
The district's Local Planning Committee is now being asked to go back and review the existing plans to include consideration of replacing the school, Kirchner said.
"The current plan calls for it to be renovated," he said.
-- Chris Mayhew New York State’s school bond act draws a muted reaction -- The Buffalo News New York: October 18, 2014 [ abstract] ALBANY " What if someone came calling with a $2 billion gift and the intended recipient was ho-hum about taking it?
That’s the reaction the Smart Schools bond act, which is on the Nov. 4 statewide ballot, is getting in many educational circles.
Officials in many parts of the education community say they didn’t propose the money and didn’t ask for its passage in the State Legislature this year, but will likely be happy to take the cash if voters approve the big borrowing " so long as there are none of the usual Albany strings attached.
The $2 billion bond act caught the education community by surprise when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo proposed it last January in his State of the State address. It found its way into the larger state budget and now will appear on ballot boxes across the state in a couple of weeks for voters to consider.
Proponents characterize the borrowing as a way to give schools a technology jolt, allowing classrooms that aren’t wired with broadband to get access to high-speed Internet services, giving students new desktops, laptops and other devices and helping teachers incorporate cutting-edge technologies.
Proceeds of the bond also can be used to fund classroom construction or renovation to make way for new prekindergarten classes, a provision in the plan which critics say would mean New York City would eat up much of the Funding; $783 million is destined for New York City.
Bond proceeds can also be used to replace classroom trailers with new classrooms in a building.
The Cuomo administration has already floated, and put into the 2014 budget contingent upon the ballot item passing, district-by-district allotments for the funds. The allotments were based, in large part, on the school aid formula " used in the 2013-14 school year " that drives state aid to districts.
For Buffalo, it would mean up to $56 million could flow in the coming years for new computers, wireless Internet upgrades, pre-K classroom space, and high-tech school security measures. Other potential amounts locally include Kenmore-Tonawanda at $5 million, Lackawanna at $2.9 million, West Seneca at $4.2 million, Niagara Falls at $8.9 million. New York City schools would be eligible for $783 million.
-- Tom Precious State of California Announces $94 Million for School Construction Projects -- Imperial Valley News California: October 16, 2014 [ abstract] Sacramento, California - The State Allocation Board (SAB) announced today that it has awarded approximately $94 million for school construction projects throughout the state.
The SAB awarded approximately $94 million for 352 Emergency Repair Program (ERP) projects within 51 school districts. The ERP provides grant and/or reimbursement Funding to school districts for the cost of repairing or replacing existing building systems or structural components that are broken or not functioning properly and which pose a health and safety threat to students and staff at eligible school sites. The ERP funds will be released automatically and should be deposited into district accounts within five weeks of today’s meeting.
"The State Allocation Board’s actions today provide cash apportionments for emergency repair projects across the state," said SAB Chair Eraina Ortega, who also serves as Chief Deputy Director, Policy at the California Department of Finance. "The funds will be distributed to school districts within five weeks so local emergency repair projects can move forward as quickly as possible."
-- Staff Writer $2B draft bill for K-12 would be largest in ND history-- Dickinson Press North Dakota: October 15, 2014 [ abstract] BISMARCK " North Dakota lawmakers got their first look at a draft bill Wednesday that proposes more than $400 million in new spending for K-12 education in the next two years, part of a $2 billion package that would be the largest education Funding bill in state history.
Of the roughly $405 million increase in spending, about $280 million would follow students, including a 3 percent bump in the per-student Funding rate in each year of the 2015-2017 biennium.
The other $125 million would be available as low-interest school construction loans to growing school districts.
Sen. Tim Flakoll, R-Fargo, chairman of the Legislature’s interim Education Funding Committee, which requested the draft bill and reviewed it Wednesday, called it “a really a strong bill going into the session.”
“We’re really in a nice time where we are able to do some very nice things with the strong economy that we have,” he said.
The per-student Funding rate would jump to $9,482 in 2015-16 " a $390 increase over the current rate " and to $9,766 in 2016-17.
“There were years when we were excited if we had a $25 per student increase, and we’ve certainly come a long way from that,” Flakoll said.
The rates are derived from a report presented to the 19-member committee in June by consulting firm Picus Odden & Associates, which recommended raising the rates to account for rising pension benefits and health care cost estimates.
-- Mike Nowatzki County Offers Schools Funding for Facilities Growth-- ThePilot.com North Carolina: October 14, 2014 [ abstract]
The Moore County Board of Commissioners has tentatively offered to provide Moore County Schools the money to complete a portion of their facilities master plan provided the school board confirms its priorities.
The school and county boards held a joint meeting Tuesday in what officials say will be the first of many gatherings to decide on issues related to financing the schools' 10-year, $110 million facilities master plan. The prioritized list of 10 items includes additions and renovations to address capacity issues at the Pinecrest High and Union Pines High School campuses in the number one and two positions, with the construction of a new, "concept" high school for specialized studies in number three.
The Pinecrest renovations are expected to cost $11,269,000 with Union Pines at $8,588,000.
County Commissioner Randy Saunders, the county's liaison to the school board, made the monetary proposal after hearing comments from members of both boards.
"We sat down with our Funding team and we looked at your numbers," he said. "We know what we have now, and we understand what you need. You have 10 things that need to be done here, and by January of next year we know we will have about $20 million in a reserve fund plus a little bit extra.
"We see that your first two projects here are less than $20 million, and your timeline is over two years if you started today. If you are sure that these are your first two options, then I think that will put the ball back in our court. We will worry about items three, four and five in 12 to 18 months."
Saunders said his position was shared by other commissioners as well.
"I think this is where we're at, at least where I'm at, and where Commissioner Nick Picerno's at as well," he said.
But Commissioner Otis Ritter, who asked that the board members not take his comments as being "obstructionist," asked that all "keep in mind" the amount of debt the country owes.
-- John Lentz State education secretary seeks lawsuit dismissal over conditions in Phila. schools-- philly.com Pennsylvania: October 12, 2014 [ abstract]
Friday asked Commonwealth Court to dismiss a lawsuit against her that accuses her of failing to investigate complaints from Philadelphia school parents over poor conditions in schools.
The complaints, Carolyn Dumaresq contends in court filings, do not constitute "curriculum deficiencies," so she is not compelled to investigate.
"The petition fails to state a claim of violation of that regulation," the response said in part.
"It is outrageous for the state to disclaim any responsibility for these problems," Benjamin Geffen, staff attorney at the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, said in a statement issued in response and published on the group's website.
"The state's failure to fully fund public education in Philadelphia and in districts across the state is the real reason our students must contend with grim conditions when they walk into schools each day."
The Public Interest Law Center, on behalf of seven Philadelphia parents and the group Parents United for Public Education, filed the lawsuit against Dumaresq in Commonwealth Court last month. They took the action after the state Education Department failed to respond to more than 800 parent complaints ranging from overcrowding to "squalid and insufficient toilet facilities." According to the law center, the schools packed as many as 45 students into a classroom, dropped foreign language and physical education classes, and eliminated guidance counselors.
The complaints were lodged last school year, as the cash-strapped district slashed positions and programs in an attempt to close a deficit. Parents blame the problems on lack of state Funding that forced the budget cuts.
-- Susan Snyder City on Verge of Losing NYU Site That Was Supposed to Become Public School -- DNAinfo New York New York: October 09, 2014 [ abstract] GREENWICH VILLAGE — A new public school that was promised to the community as part of New York University's massive expansion in Greenwich Village is in danger of being axed.
The Department of Education must commit Funding for the seven-story school on Bleecker Street before Dec. 31, 2014 — but so far, the DOE has not even decided whether the neighborhood needs the new school, which means NYU may be able to retake the site, documents show.
The DOE's School Construction Authority did not include money for the school in its most recent 2015-2019 capital plan, noting that Funding could be added later "should [a new school in the Village] be determined necessary."
But local parents who advocated for the school say there is clear need for more seats in the neighborhood, and they plan to present a report on that data at the next Community Board 2 meeting.
"Every empty lot you look at, they're building new condos. And they're building family-size apartments, which means more families moving in," said Jeannine Kiely, co-chairwoman of the CB2 schools committee, which is producing the report.
"It would be a shame to be eight years down the road, have no space for building a school, and people saying, 'Well, we could have had a school but we let this option expire in 2014 because we wouldn't figure it out.'"
-- Danielle Tcholakian Cost of rebuilding Port Angeles High School as much as $120 million-- Peninsula Daily News Washington: October 09, 2014 [ abstract] PORT ANGELES " The estimated cost of a new Port Angeles High School has grown to between $100 million and $120 million.
That’s the amount now estimated by the Long-Range Facilities Task Force, which is working on a proposed bond measure for the February special election ballot, said Kelly Pearson, district director of finance and operations, after a Port Angeles School Board meeting Wednesday.
The earlier estimate was between $80 million and $100 million.
District officials plan to asks voters to approve a bond measure for construction of a new high school on the 39.7-acre sloped campus at 304 E. Park Ave.
The School Board did not discuss the proposal Wednesday.
It will be presented with the task force’s recommendation Oct. 23, when the board meets at 7 p.m. at Jefferson Elementary School, 218 E. 12th St.
The board is expected to vote on the final amount of the proposed bond Nov. 13.
The $80 million to $100 million ballpark figure the district estimated when the process began was a guess, and as the district began to discover the actual costs, the number rose, Pearson said.
The construction cost of the school buildings is still within the original estimate, but all of the equipment that would be needed for the new school increases the amount, she said.
Existing equipment, such as the new security camera system, would be moved to the new school, but worn, broken or obsolete items would be replaced, she said.
Much of the final cost would depend on whether the board keeps the existing gymnasiums, Pearson said.
Updating or replacing the gymnasium at the same square footage is estimated to cost between $15 million and $18 million, she said.
Because of the age and poor condition of the buildings and the high percentage of low-income students in the district, the state’s School Construction Assistance Program would be expected to reimburse a large portion of the construction cost once building was complete.
According to the state Office of the Superintendant of Public Instruction website, in 2014, the district was eligible for state Funding for up to 53.83 percent of approved construction costs.
-- Arwyn Rice Westport ponders modular classrooms due to middle school PCBs-- SouthCoastToday Massachusetts: October 04, 2014 [ abstract] WESTPORT " There is a possibility that modular classrooms could be used to house sixth grade students next year, while students in grades 7 and 8 could move to Westport High School, according to school officials.
This decision could come about as the town continues to battle polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in the middle school building on Old County Road more than three years ago.
At the last School Committee meeting, Vice Chairwoman Melissa Pacheco said she and other school officials will ask for Funding support at the Special Town Meeting, tentatively set for December.
"We predicted that we would need six modular units to house Grade 6 someplace else and move grades 7 and 8 to WHS," Superintendent Ann Marie Dargon said recently. "That would allow us to close the middle school for instructional purposes. At that time, we were also looking to move the administrative offices to the WMS. The estimated cost depends on how long we needed the modular units and whether we leased them or bought them."
Dargon said cost estimates for the modular units are around $400,000 and the district will be turning to the Massachusetts School Building Authority as well.
-- JEFFREY D. WAGNER WCSD officials say they need to build more schools -- KRNV-DT Reno News4 Nevada: October 02, 2014 [ abstract] RENO, Nev. (KRNV & MyNews4.com) -- Tesla is coming to Northern Nevada. So is a UAV company, Ashima, and other tech companies are likely to follow.
With more business comes more people looking for homes and schools.
A big part of the conversation during the Tesla special legislative session was about how Washoe County schools were going to fit extra students.
District officials say - even without growth from Tesla - they need at least three more schools.
"Every week we enroll families who moved into newly built homes in our area," said Double Diamond Elementary School Principal Kristell Moller. "We know the wave is here."
Double Diamond currently has about 850 students in a school built for 738.
Moller said the six portable classrooms they have help, but they don't fix the school's overcrowding.
"That doesn't increase the size of the cafeteria, or the size of the library, or the parking lot, or the size of the hallways," she said. "We need a new school."
Area Superintendent Chad Hicks agrees.
"It will continue to be an issue," he said. "The projected growth over the next ten years I believe is 14 thousand new students."
Hicks said the problem is district-wide and several schools in his area are facing the same challenges as Double Diamond.
"Right now Damonte Ranch High School is over capacity as well," he said. "Teachers they see what's happening in their neighborhoods, all the new growth, and so there's a little bit of concern there."
District Chief Operations Officer Pete Etchart said he doesn't see how they can continue with only the current buildings.
"I think we really need to find a solution to build new schools," Etchart said.
Etchart said they need three schools. That would cost upward of $120 million and the district doesn't have the money to build them.
Government Affairs Director Lindsay Anderson said because of Tesla school Funding should be a major priority in the legislature this spring.
"The importance of addressing the school facilities needs this session [is] undeniable," Anderson said. "I haven't heard anybody doubt that. It will just be trying to find a solution that we can all agree on that will actually address the need."
-- Staff Writer SBA to consider new funding cycle-- WV Metro News West Virginia: September 28, 2014 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. " When the state School Building Authority meets Monday, they’ll consider an old way of doing things. When the authority first starting handing out millions of dollars in Funding for new school construction and renovation more than two decades ago, counties would come to the SBA at the end of the year. The Funding cycle was eventually changed to April.
New SBA Executive Director Dr. David Sneed said he will propose switching things back to the way it used to be.
“In April, we wouldn’t fund projects this year as we normally would. We would wait until December,” explained the executive director.
There’s a good reason for that according to Sneed. It comes down to money.
“It has been determined that it’s actually cheaper, our bids are lower, if we bid projects before June the first,” he said.
That has to do with the construction season and the cost of materials and manpower. Currently there’s more than $2 billion in school construction needs across the state. During this year’s Funding cycle, the SBA had $43 million to hand out. That went to seven counties. It’s proof, according to Sneed, that every dollar counts.
-- Jennifer Smith $21 million unfrozen for Pennsylvania school construction-- TribLIVE Pennsylvania: September 27, 2014 [ abstract] State officials approved $21.6 million in long-delayed school construction money Friday, two years after the government froze the payment process for 360 projects statewide.
The money, a small fraction of what the state owes, will fund buildings and renovations for 41 schools in 27 districts, including five in Western Pennsylvania.
Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq said she is â€"hopeful that as we progress through the current fiscal year, the department will be able to approve additional projects as more Funding becomes available.â€
Among the projects approved were Bethel Park High School, Chartiers-Houston High School, Montour High School and its district administration office, Penn Hills High School and Pittsburgh Public Schools' University Preparatory School, Science and Technology Academy at Frick and Concord Elementary School.
Legislators let a two-year moratorium blocking state Funding for new school construction projects expire in June, expanding a financing process that at the time was overcommitted by $1.7 billion statewide.
PlanCon, the Education Department's acronym for Planning and Construction Workbook, stopped taking applications when legislators halted the process in October 2012. Applications submitted before that progressed slowly but stalled at the step before payments were approved.
-- Megan Harris Extra costs could delay renovations for city's most dilapidated schools-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: September 23, 2014 [ abstract] When Baltimore city schools and the Maryland Stadium Authority adopted a plan to update the city's aging school buildings in January 2013, they hoped to rebuild or restore 30 to 35 schools in the first phase of renovations.
But studies to identify the schools' needs determined that the $977 million in bond Funding the system expects to receive would cover only 23 to 28 schools.
The city school commissioners at their board meeting Tuesday night reviewed a hotly contested recommendation to defer renovations to some of Baltimore's most dilapidated schools because they would be the costliest to renovate.
Other measures proposed by the school system and the stadium authority included increasing utilization rates to 90 percent, reconfiguring grade levels at one school and doing "strategic modernizations" where possible to create more flexible space.
-- Colin Campbell, Sacramento taxpayer group tries new tactic on school bonds-- The Sacramento Bee California: September 23, 2014 [ abstract] The Sacramento Taxpayers Association is changing its tactics when it comes to school bonds.
Instead of simply opposing school bonds they don’t like, representatives from the organization have been meeting with Sacramento County school districts since early summer to collaborate on them. They recently dubbed the effort the Better Ways to Build Schools initiative.
“Schools need to be built,” said the association’s Michael Day. “The goal is to get to the point where they are building schools that we can actively support.”
The arrangement goes beyond what other taxpayers organizations have done across the state, said Dave Walrath, a consultant with California’s Coalition for Adequate School Housing, which advocates for Funding to build schools. Unlike other such collaborations, which focus on the financing of the bonds, the Sacramento Taxpayers Association is involved in discussions on reducing costs in the building and renovating of schools.
The STA also plans to help raise money for bond campaigns, so districts don’t have to take money from businesses that would stand to profit from the construction of schools or the sale of the bonds to build them, Day said. School districts are prohibited from spending public money to fund bond campaigns.
“I’ve never heard of anybody doing that before,” Walrath said. “That seems to be a very interesting and novel approach.”
The effort started in earnest this summer when members of the taxpayers association contacted each Sacramento County school district superintendent to say they would like to be part of the discussion when districts planned to issue bonds or put a bond measure on the ballot. Now, officials from almost every school district are working with the taxpayers group, Day said.
“From my perspective, if there is a way to decrease cost, I’m all in,” said Natomas Unified Superintendent Chris Evans, whose district has a $129 million facilities bond on the ballot in November. The money will be used to build new campuses once a federal building moratorium expires and to upgrade 19 existing schools.
-- Diana Lambert More than 100,000 LA school repairs backlogged; fire safety at risk in some schools-- 89.3KPCC California: September 18, 2014 [ abstract] From burned out light bulbs and cracked concrete to compromised fire safety systems and exposed electrical wiring, Los Angeles Unified schools are waiting on 116,000 maintenance and safety problems reported since January, records show, and officials said they don't have the staff or money to fix them all. An analysis of 165,400 repair requests filed with the school district this year showed less than a third have been addressed."We are very short staffed," said Roger Finstad, head of maintenance and operations at L.A. Unified. "We're operating at less than half the Funding we had just about six years ago." L.A. Unified set aside about $100 million for repairs this year, but Finstad said it would cost about $400 million every year to get all the work done.
-- Annie Gilbertson and Claire Withycombe Nearly 70 city charter schools covered by suit seeking facility funds-- NY Chalkbeat New York: September 16, 2014 [ abstract] A new school Funding lawsuit filed upstate could be a boon for nearly 70 charter schools in the five boroughs.
The lawsuit, filed Monday by four families from Buffalo and one family from Rochester, claims that the state shortchanges students in charter schools by not providing money for space. And while the complaint focuses on Funding disparities in upstate cities, their claims would also apply to dozens of New York City charter schools that still aren’t guaranteed facilities Funding.
The legal attack represents the latest front in a lengthy battle over charter school facilities Funding, which has its roots in the 1998 law that first allowed charter schools to open in New York. Charter schools do receive some state Funding, but they weren’t given access to the state’s building aid program, which subsidizes district school construction projects. When schools opened in private facilities, they had to set aside a chunk of their operating budget"meant for teachers and school supplies"toward expenses like rent, security, maintenance, and renovations.
In New York City, those costs can add up. Brooklyn Prospect Charter School Executive Director Daniel Rubenstein told Chalkbeat earlier this year that he had to set aside a little less than 20 percent of his $13 million budget to replace fire alarms, upgrade bathrooms and install a new science lab in addition to paying rent and other facilities expenses.
Most of the nearly 200 charter schools that opened under Mayor Michael Bloomberg received free space in city-owned buildings. But 68 charter schools, serving 25,000 students, operate in private buildings and spend, according to one tally, an extra $2,300 for every student on facilities.
-- Geoff Decker Group targets 11 recreational spaces in demand over public money for arena-- Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel Wisconsin: September 15, 2014 [ abstract] A new report to be released Tuesday by Common Ground, a community advocacy group that has inserted itself into the discussion involving a new Milwaukee arena, has identified 11 recreational and school athletic spaces in Milwaukee County it says are in most need of improvement.
The estimated cost to improve and upgrade those 11 spaces: anywhere from $63 million to $70 million.
Earlier this year, Common Ground members backed a resolution to support public Funding for a new, multipurpose arena in Milwaukee as long as $150 million to $200 million is invested in the group's Fair Play campaign to improve Milwaukee County public schools' athletic facilities and recreational spaces. If that money is not forthcoming, Common Ground members have said they will oppose the use of public money for the new arena.
In June 2013, Common Ground released a study of 268 recreational sites in the county and determined that 65% of the recreational and athletic spaces were rated terrible, poor or fair. The 65% does not take into account the 16 sites in the county that do not have any outdoor athletic facilities at all.
"The current state of Milwaukee County's public school athletic facilities is unacceptable," the new report states. "They are, in many cases, unsafe and unusable, and in some cases, even nonexistent."
Here are the 11 fields the group says are most in need of improvement:
-- Don Walker Despite building review, schools plan costly renovation studies-- Southern Maryland Newspapers Online Maryland: September 12, 2014 [ abstract] Despite the fact that Charles County Public Schools recently received the results of a pricey and comprehensive study of all its facilities, school officials said they plan to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for examinations of several individual school sites.
The county commissioners ponied up $250,000 for contractor GWWO Inc./Architects to conduct a review of every school building in the system, identify areas where the buildings need repair, provide recommendations for fixing or razing some of the more aged schools and decide in what order to carry out the projects.
At the school board’s regular monthly meeting Tuesday, representatives from the school system’s Department of Planning and Construction requested that board members approve “renovation feasibility studies” for La Plata High School, Dr. Gustavus Brown Elementary School, Eva Turner Elementary School and Dr. Samuel A. Mudd Elementary School. The estimated cost for all the studies totals $850,000.
Officials maintain that the studies are a necessary evil to secure money from the state, which would require a much more in-depth analysis than the GWWO report provided before loosening the state purse strings for future renovations.
The studies would explore the challenges the school system would face in either refurbishing or tearing down a building, said David Clements, supervisor of planning and construction.
The school system will request Funding from the county for the La Plata High study and combined Brown-Turner study, which have been pegged at $400,000 and $250,000, respectively. Officials submit Funding requests as a piece of the Capital Improvement Program for fiscal 2016, one to the local government and one to the state.
-- Jeremy Bauer-Wolf Legislator pushes to revise state's PlanCon program for school construction-- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pennsylvania: September 11, 2014 [ abstract] HARRISBURG " Schools in Pittsburgh and Bethel Park will be among several to receive long-sought Funding for capital projects, a Central Pennsylvania state representative said Wednesday while joining with education officials to push legislation that would remake the reimbursement program for school construction.
School officials have complained about the Planning and Construction Workbook, known as PlanCon, the process by which districts receive state money for building. Legislation in the state budget package in July ended an October 2012 moratorium on districts applying for reimbursement, but hundreds of projects remain in the Funding queue.
At a Capitol news conference Wednesday, state Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, said the existing program is burdensome for school districts, requiring state approval at 11 stages and the submission of plans on microfilm.
“Getting the backlog of PlanCon projects was a first great step, but we also need to reform the entire program to bring it into the 21st century,” Mr. Grove said.
-- Karen Langley Their View | Reforming our antiquated school construction law: PlanCon and House Bill 2124-- Centrer Daily Times Pennsylvania: September 03, 2014 [ abstract] Now under Senate consideration, House Bill 2124 would greatly streamline the arduous 11-step Planning and Construction Workbook process by which the commonwealth reimburses local school districts for a portion of approved school construction costs.
PlanCon has been part of the school code and state regulation for decades. The process is lengthy and requires the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s approval at multiple steps as a district proceeds with a project.
The proposed legislation would reduce the process to five steps and would even allow for electronic submission of paperwork, eliminating the current requirement to submit documents via a combination of printed forms and microfilm. A modernization of this process is clearly overdue.
Just recently lifted, a moratorium on PlanCon Funding had been in place for several years. Before the moratorium, many school districts undertook significant construction or renovation projects for which debt has been issued, contracts have been entered into, and construction has begun " in some cases, even completed " all with department approval and under the reasonable expectation that districts would receive state reimbursement.
With the lack of Funding for projects in the PlanCon pipeline, and districts waiting multiple years after project completion with no reimbursement in sight, a debt is owed to the local school district taxpayers who are currently footing the bill.
HB 2124 would also allow school districts that began construction projects during the moratorium to remain eligible for state reimbursement.
Since the percentage of reimbursement that a district receives is a function of district “wealth,” the failure of the commonwealth to fulfill its obligation has had the greatest impact on our neediest districts, which often lack the means of raising the money necessary to undertake needed construction projects without state dollars.
-- DAVID HUTCHINSON - Opinion EDITORIAL: Booming enrollment worsens school district’s space problems-- LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Nevada: August 25, 2014 [ abstract] The Clark County School District’s space crunch suddenly is far worse than expected. And it was expected to be pretty darn bad when the new academic year started this morning.
Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky told the Review-Journal’s editorial board Thursday that more than 320,000 students are expected to arrive at elementary, middle, high school and alternative campuses today. That’s 5,000 more students than were enrolled at the start of last year " enough children to fill a couple of new high schools or six or seven new elementary schools " and 3,000 more students than were enrolled in June.
Only there are no new schools, just as there were no new schools last year. The district has no capital Funding to spend on school construction.
School officials were expecting an additional 1,500 students for the start of this year. Instead, they’ll get at least twice that number. And it’s normal in Southern Nevada for even more families to show up for the first day of class to enroll on the spot.
And then there’s the additional 2,000 (or more) students who will enroll at schools throughout the new year. It’s entirely possible that the school district will have an enrollment of close to 323,000 students by June 2015. For additional perspective on this number, consider that just nine months ago, the school district was projecting annual enrollment growth of between 0.5 and 1 percent over the next five years. Conservative estimates had enrollment reaching 323,000 by 2018.
That number will arrive about three years sooner than expected. The school district’s enrollment growth rate is 2 percent. That’s a pre-recession figure.
The School Board decided against placing a construction issue on November’s ballot, largely because voters overwhelmingly rejected such a measure in 2012, and this year’s election already features a tax question for schools: Question 3, the business margins tax. Trustees are expected to ask voters in 2016 for a bond extension, but even if it’s approved the first wave of new schools wouldn’t be complete until 2019. By then, the Clark County School District could have 350,000 students.
The school district and its students can’t wait that long for a solution, and elementary schools can only hold so many portable buildings. So Mr. Skorkowsky is pressing for creative solutions for next year. He already has announced a magnet school expansion that should help fill under-capacity schools while relieving crowding elsewhere. And now the district is exploring moving pre-kindergarten and early education programs out of traditional elementary schools and into vacant commercial or office space, creating more room for K-5 classes.
-- Staff Writer Montgomery, state officials optimistic on 2015 school construction bill-- Maryland Community News Online Maryland: August 25, 2014 [ abstract] Some Montgomery County and state officials are hopeful the General Assembly will pass a bill in 2015 that would direct more school construction money to the county after efforts in the last legislative session to secure such Funding fell through.
After a Monday event at Wilson Wims Elementary School " built to relieve overcrowding in the Clarksburg area " Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett said he feels “very confident” state lawmakers can “make some progress” in the upcoming session toward a Funding method that would help the county accommodate its growing student body.
As students returned to class on Monday, the county school system faced its largest enrollment increase from one school year to the next since 2000.
Montgomery schools will have 154,153 students this year " 2,864 more than last year, according to Bruce Crispell, director of the school system’s Division of Long-range Planning.
Leggett and other officials said they think a successful November election for Democratic candidate Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown might provide a boost to school construction legislation in the 2015 session.
Brown already has been part of an administration that has provided “record” investments in the county’s education system, Leggett said.
“I’m confident given at least the expression of the candidates running for governor, especially Mr. Brown, that we have an excellent opportunity of putting together a package collaborating with the local communities to in fact at least move forward and getting us the resolution that we want,” Leggett said.
-- Lindsay A. Powers Superintendents say deferred maintenance in Rhode Island schools is driving up costs-- Providence Journal Rhode Island: August 23, 2014 [ abstract] Two North Providence elementary schools, the state's oldest, were built in 1900. Two schools in Pawtucket date to 1918 and 1919. The last new school was constructed in 2012.
Rhode Island's 276 public schools are aging rapidly, and, at the current rate, it would cost $1.8 billion to bring them up to good condition, according to a state study.
The General Assembly in July extended a three-year moratorium on new construction until May 1, 2015, to give leaders time to devise a way of paying for major school renovations.
But superintendents say that every year the moratorium is in place, crucial maintenance and repairs go undone, driving up the cost and making bond referendums less palatable to voters.
â€"The whole Funding formula was designed to level the playing field,†said Tim Duffy, executive director of the Rhode Island Association of School Committees. â€"We've turned our backs on that with public infrastructure. We are leaving students in classrooms that are woefully inadequate. When you shut off the spigot for everyone, the districts with the most need are the most impacted.â€
Smithfield Supt. Robert O'Brien calls it â€"the perfect storm†— the confluence of tough economic times with a halt to new construction.
â€"Every year they delay it, they are making the problem bigger and bigger,†O'Brien said.
In district after district, years of deferred maintenance have turned small repairs into big ones.
The Rhode Island Department of Education estimates that $600 million worth of projects have been delayed by the moratorium.
Smithfield has schools built in the 1940s and '50s that need new roofs. It has classrooms in the basement that no longer meet code. It has buildings with asbestos and fire-code issues.
-- LINDA BORG California Announces $193.9 Million for School Construction Projects-- Imperial Valley News California: August 20, 2014 [ abstract] Sacramento, California - The State Allocation Board (SAB) announced today that it has awarded approximately $193.9 million for school construction projects throughout the state.
The SAB awarded approximately $100.5 million for 34 School Facility Program (SFP) projects within 21 school districts statewide. The state matching funds for SFP projects are distributed to local school districts to help finance shovel-ready school construction projects or reimburse districts for projects already completed using local funds. State Funding for SFP projects is provided by bonds authorized under Propositions 1A, 1D, 47, and 55.
In addition, the SAB has awarded approximately $93.4 million for 489 Emergency Repair Program (ERP) projects within 53 school districts. The ERP provides grant and/or reimbursement Funding to school districts for the cost of repairing or replacing existing building systems or structural components that are broken or not functioning properly and which pose a health and safety threat to students and staff at eligible school sites. The ERP funds will be released automatically and should be deposited into district accounts within five weeks of today’s meeting. The 2014-15 California Budget provided $188.5 million to fund ERP projects. The Office of Public School Construction expects the remaining amount to become available as early as October. Additional projects will be presented at a future SAB meeting once funds are available.
-- Staff Writer State commits $46.8M for new Plymouth South High School-- The Patriot Ledger Massachusetts: August 02, 2014 [ abstract] PLYMOUTH " The Massachusetts School Building Authority has agreed to provide more than half of the money for construction of a new Plymouth South High School.
The authority’s board of directors voted Wednesday to approve a grant of up to $46.8 million for the project. That is 53.37 percent of the eligible costs.
The approval eliminates the last hurdle for the proposed new school. The school system and the state authority now n need to enter into a Funding agreement that details the project’s scope and budget.
The school will combine academic and technical studies programs for 1,005 students.
Plans call for the new school to be built on playing fields behind the existing school, which will enable the existing school to remain open during construction. The same process was used during construction of the new Plymouth North High School.
Architects will spend the next eight to nine months fine-tuning designs. Construction is expected to begin next June, and the new school should be ready to open in the fall of 2017.
The project has an overall projected cost of $107 million, but not all of the costs are state-reimbursable. For example, the school system must pay the entire cost of improving the school’s sewage treatment plant and demolishing the existing school.
The town approved Funding for the project eight years ago in a vote that also funded construction of the new senior center and Plymouth North High School.
The new building will replace a school built in 1985. The existing school’s roof, windows and mechanical and electrical systems have been cited as problem areas. A study concluded that it would be millions of dollars cheaper and much easier on students and staff members to build a new school than to renovate the existing building.
State Treasurer Steven Grossman, chairman of the building authority, called the Funding a down payment on academic excellence in Plymouth.
-- Rich Harbert Impending school construction project funds in Pennsylvania pipeline-- TribLIVE Pennsylvania: July 31, 2014 [ abstract] Legislators let a two-year moratorium blocking state Funding for new school construction projects expire last month, expanding a financing process that is overcommitted by $1.7 billion statewide.
The state's 11-step approval pipeline contains 340 building projects, of which about 200 remain bottlenecked at the last step before the state pays school districts, said Tim Eller, spokesman for the Department of Education. Even as the process was opened to new applications, Eller said the budget for payouts increased to $306 million, a bump of about $10 million in the fiscal year.
Given the extensive backlog and a modest increase in the state budget, districts locked in are not optimistic that they'll see cash soon.
â€"We're not holding our breath waiting,†said Brett Lago, business manager at Penn-Trafford School District. â€"It's so backlogged, we're not going to count on receiving any money.â€
Ryan Manzer, business manager for Freeport Area School District, said his district is on the hook for a $35 million middle school. Two other projects bank on PlanCon reimbursement, having entered the process long ago, he said.
â€"We planned to not receive that reimbursement in next year's budget,†Manzer said. â€"Until we get notification that money's available, we're not going to count it.â€
PlanCon, the Education Department's acronym for Planning and Construction Workbook, stopped taking applications when legislators stalled them in October 2012. Applications submitted before that date progressed slowly but hit a logjam because requests for money outstripped available Funding.
-- Megan Harris and Matthew Santoni More Schools Open Their Doors to the Whole Community-- Wall Street Journal National: July 28, 2014 [ abstract] WYOMING, Mich.—On a recent weekday here, a steady stream of people dropped by one central location for food stamps, family counseling and job ideas—their local school.
While instruction has ended for the summer, these classrooms remain open as part of a wider trend around the country of "community schools," where public and private groups bring services closer to students and residents year round and, in some cases, help boost student performance.
With backing at local, state and federal levels, the decades-old idea for improving schools and neighborhoods is gaining ground despite some Funding uncertainties and doubts about community schools' success.
The largest coordinator of such programs, Communities in Schools, saw a 6% increase in its reach in the 2012-13 school year, covering schools with a total of more than 1.3 million students in 26 states.
Dan Cardinali, president of the nonprofit group, which focuses on students, said its goal was to maintain the quality of its services at the same time that it reaches a bigger and bigger audience.
Skeptics of the programs contend the case isn't strong enough yet to justify a significant increase in resources. "A lot more pilots and research are needed before we should replicate this on a massive scale," said Jason Bedrick, an education-policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.
Still, the idea is gaining momentum. Last Wednesday, a bipartisan federal bill that authorizes more money for community schools was introduced on the House floor.
Last month, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, announced a grant of $52 million to set up 40 community schools in the city, dubbing it "one of the cornerstones of our education agenda." Last year, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, expanded a program that places state Department of Human Services workers inside schools to 169 sites now from 124 at the start of the 2012-13 school year.
Here in Kent County, a southwest region of Michigan that includes Grand Rapids, the number of community schools has grown to 28 this year from eight in 2006.
-- Caroline Porter Amid coal uncertainty, Wyoming school construction funds projected to waver-- Casper Star Tribune Communications Wyoming: July 27, 2014 [ abstract] When a company wants to dig for coal in Wyoming, it pays a one-time competitive fee to help its bid stand out from what is usually a crowd of companies vying for the right to mine.
Over the past 10 years, those fees " called coal lease bonuses " have paid for more than $1 billion in school construction around the state.
But if the industry continues its current trend, that money will dry up in 2018.
Back-to-back unsuccessful bids on coal-rich lands resulted in no new coal leases in Wyoming in 2013. As a result, the state’s latest fiscal profile shows coal lease bonus revenue dwindling to zero by 2018.
That has Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, concerned.
“As it stands today, it doesn’t look good,” Landen said.
Landen chairs the state Legislature’s Select Committee on School Facilities. Without significant coal leases in the near future, Wyoming must change the way it pays for new schools and school renovations, he said.
Lawmakers say they will resolve the situation. Many point to school Funding as a high priority, and several said enough savings likely exist to fund some school improvements until a long-term strategy can be developed.
-- LEAH TODD School construction work added 95,000 jobs, report says-- Boston Globe Massachusetts: July 24, 2014 [ abstract] In the 10 years since the Massachusetts School Building Authority was created, the agency has distributed $10.5 billion to help build and renovate hundreds of schools to improve the quality of education around the state, but the Funding also has played a significant role in creating jobs and generating tax revenue, a new report shows.
The economic impact was particularly meaningful during the recent downturn, which hit the construction industry hard, according to the report, written by Alan Clayton-Matthews and Barry Bluestone of the Northeastern University Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Planning. The building authority commissioned the report to find out what kind of impact its investments have had on the state’s economy.
“Taxpayers have a right, when they spend money, particularly $10.5 billion, to say how are you doing, what happened, what are your results,’’ said state Treasurer Steve Grossman, who serves as the chairman of the authority’s board of directors. “People need to be reassured that we are on the right track for how we are doing the taxpayers’ business. We have schools, roofs, and boilers, but in addition, it’s about jobs, taxes, revenues, and economic impact.’’
The report, released last month, suggests that between fiscal year 2005 and the year that ended June 30, the spending by the authority led to the creation of nearly 95,000 jobs and generated $4.5 billion in total employment earnings. The boost to the economy also led to approximately $411.9 million in additional state revenues " $296.3 million in personal income taxes, $67.1 million in sales taxes, and $48.5 million in business taxes " the report says.
The report also states that the estimates pertain only to the state funds allocated to cities and towns for their school construction projects, and do not include the local Funding contributed by each community for the construction, renovation, and repair work.
“That much of this investment occurred while the economy was suffering the effects of the Great Recession suggests that MSBA activity played a significant role in boosting what otherwise would have been even more dire economic straits, putting unemployed workers to work, increasing consumer spending power, and augmenting the state treasury,’’ the report states.
-- Jennifer Fenn Lefferts Rockford Public Schools 10 Year Plan: Close 8, Build 2, Consolidate-- Northern Public Radio Illinois: July 23, 2014 [ abstract] A plan to close eight Rockford elementary schools and build two new ones is on its way to a vote by the school board. Last night, the school district held the last of 39 public meetings about the proposal.
Administrators settled on the plan after collecting more than one-thousand comments from the public. It’s a combination of the three proposals first presented in May. Rockford School superintendent Ehren Jarrett says he’s proud of the transparent process: “I think the fact that we DID make some significant changes shows that number one, we don’t have all the answers, or believe we do, and we really value community input when it comes to making a 250-million dollar decision."
Much of that Funding comes from a referendum approved in 2012. But that was only supposed to pay for school improvements, NOT new buildings. So the district is expected to go back to voters this fall for permission to build two new schools. The Rockford School Board will vote on the entire proposal at its August 12th meeting.
-- SUSAN STEPHENS Group discusses state of city school facilities-- Richmond Times Dispatch Virginia: July 09, 2014 [ abstract] It was a day when the harsh realities of Richmond’s decrepit collection of school buildings were tempered by the effusive pleasantries of the people trying to get help fixing them.
For nearly two hours Tuesday, several dozen members of the city’s volunteer School Facilities Task Force checked in with the two School Board members who created the committee and the school employees responsible for building maintenance.
“It’s a really exciting time in Richmond,” said School Board member Kimberly Gray, of the 2nd District. “I’ve been on the School Board for six years, and there have been times when I’ve been really disheartened. … Things are improving rapidly. You might not notice it from the outside, but they are.”
School Board Vice Chairwoman Kristen N. Larson, of the 4th District, said she was “really appreciative of the time you all spent” in the month since the committee formed.
Representatives of the four work groups on the task force reported their progress on topics ranging from creating a baseline of existing school conditions to surveying community members about what they want in schools to finding nontraditional Funding sources.
They also heard a primer on historic tax credits, a means of financing that is rarely used in public schools.
All along, Tommy Kranz, the chief operations officer of the school system, doled out the reality checks.
“The facilities we have in Richmond Public Schools are not very good,” said Kranz, who has been in town for about two months after working for school systems and on school projects in Tennessee, Florida and Louisiana.
-- ZACHARY REID Master plan looks at needs in Fort Bend ISD-- Houston Chronicle Texas: July 08, 2014 [ abstract] A November bond election for Fort Bend Independent School District is becoming increasingly likely since the completion of a master plan highlighting the need for new and improved facilities.
The facilities master plan calls for spending almost $1 billion in three phases over 10 years up to 2023 on facilities, technology, security and transportation, to contend with continued growth, a changing educational landscape and upkeep of existing facilities.
"It is critically important that we have a facilities master plan that addresses current and future needs," Superintendent Charles Dupre said in a written statement. "This plan will guide our work as we continue to provide facilities that support our mission to inspire and equip all students to pursue futures beyond what they can imagine."
Should it come to pass, the bond for the first phase, worth $333.4 million, would go toward Funding capital needs up to 2017. The district would also draw on more than $90 million of unspent funds from previous bonds for the first phase.
-- Annette Baird County Officials Participate in School Construction Funding Study-- Maryland Association of Counties Maryland: June 30, 2014 [ abstract] As reported previously on Conduit Street, Governor Martin O’Malley issued an executive order in May directing the Interagency Committee on School Construction to work with the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Legislative Services and conduct a study on school construction in Maryland.
Last week, county government and school board officials met with the Interagency Committee (IAC) and representatives of the Department of Budget and Management and Legislative Services in a kick-off meeting for the study, which is due in September 2015. More than fifteen county government budget and finance directors and elected officials attended the meeting.
The meeting was held at the Anne Arundel County Board of Education. Dr. David Lever, Executive Director of the IAC, and Rachel Hise of the Department of Legislative Services gave opening remarks. Ms.Hise said,
The legislature is interested in your input and ideas on how to leverage the large amount of money we are investing to meet the local needs of school construction as quickly as we can.
Dr. Lever then opened the floor up for discussion. The many topics raised during discussion included:
-- Staff Writer Harford school officials concerned over lack of capital funding-- Baltimore Sun Connecticut: June 28, 2014 [ abstract] Harford County Public Schools officials are working with their counterparts across the state to find "alternative" and "creative" methods to raise money for badly-needed capital repairs that, in some cases, could get local school systems in trouble with regulators if maintenance continues to be put off because of a lack of Funding.
Prominently cited in the school officials' concerns is maintenance and repair of stormwater management systems at the county's 50-plus school sites.
"This deferred Funding that we've had in the last several years is starting to catch up to us," Joe Licata, HCPS chief of administration, said.
Licata and Superintendent Barbara Canavan are part of a statewide task force, made up of representatives of various school districts, that is working to find ways to get more state and local dollars flowing to capital projects, which Licata called a "revenue problem."
-- DAVID ANDERSON Law allows sales taxes to fund school construction-- SFGate South Carolina: June 28, 2014 [ abstract] COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Voters in several South Carolina counties could decide this November to add a penny to their local sales tax to fund school construction, as allowed by a new law that a conservative senator tried to sink.
The law signed by Gov. Nikki Haley expands to 15 the number of counties where the tax can be collected, if voters approve. An extra penny is already collected for schools in 10 of those counties.
The expansion push originated from Aiken County, where voters soundly defeated a 2010 request to pay for new schools through a property tax hike.
Sen. Shane Massey, a co-sponsor, said the new law provides a fairer Funding method that residents are more apt to support. The additional penny sales tax would be paid by all residents, as well as people traveling from outside the county that borders Georgia, as opposed to a property tax increase that hits business and rental properties the most, he said.
"I don't know that this is a good thing everywhere, but I think it's a better option than having property taxes increased," said Massey, R-Edgefield, whose district includes portions of Aiken County.
As the bill moved through the legislative process, lawmakers from other counties wanted to give their school districts the option too, including House Ways and Means Chairman Brian White. The Anderson Republican said his county's five district school boards, as well as the county board, passed resolutions asking for the option. All but one of the county's legislators supported that.
"We didn't promise them passage, just help in getting it before the people," White said.
-- SEANNA ADCOX, Associated Press $200 million school bonding plan in New London City Council's hands; cost to city put at $34 million-- The Day Connecticut Connecticut: June 18, 2014 [ abstract] New London - The City Council on Monday night passed to its committees the proposal to bond more than $200 million to fund a school construction project that would complete the city's transition to an all-magnet school district.
Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio rolled out the bonding ordinance - which, after state reimbursements, would cost the city roughly $34 million - at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast Friday and said the council will have to approve it by June 30 in order to "lock in" Funding commitments from the state.
The City Council's Finance Committee and its Education, Parks and Recreation Committee will review the plan during a joint meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, according to the committee chairmen.
"My committee will be dealing with the financial bonding package, to take a look at the bonding and be able to hopefully pass it on to the full council," said Wade A. Hyslop, the council's president and chairman of the Finance Committee. "Hopefully all of it will be vetted and then any question that come up can be answered."
Councilor Anthony Nolan, who is chairman of the Education, Parks and Recreation Committee, said he wants the issue to get a full public airing before the City Council takes a vote on it.
"I want us to talk about it so people can understand it and people will know the specifics of the plan," he said. "There seems to be a lot of confusion about it, so I want to make sure everybody understands it."
Because Monday was the last regularly scheduled full council meeting of the month, the council will have to hold at least one special meeting if it is to meet Finizio's June 30 deadline.
At Monday's council meeting, Finizio said he regretted "that the ordinance could not have been brought forward sooner, but it was affected by the result of the legislative session which didn't wrap up until recently."
-- Colin A. Young Proposed State Budget Puts School Construction Projects Up In The Air-- RI NPR Rhode Island: June 10, 2014 [ abstract] Education leaders are raising concerns over the House Finance Committee’s proposed budget. The budget fully funds the state’s formula for providing education aid, but there’s no Funding for school construction.
For the third year in a row, a repayment program which reimburses municipalities for the some of costs of major construction projects is on hold. Districts will still be able to apply for Funding for projects that are deemed emergencies. The proposal has many school districts scrambling because they have already planned construction projects. Without state Funding those projects may prove too costly, said Tim Duffy of the Rhode Island Association of School Committees.
"I think there’s a concern, because if they had plans on when to replace facilities, what they’re facing right now is if they had to do that, they can’t get reimbursed from the state for that.”
-- JOHN BENDER Maximize the impact of school construction funding with effective master planning-- North Bay Business Journal California: June 09, 2014 [ abstract] Throughout California, school districts face a significant need to upgrade and renovate their facilities. Many schools were built in the post-war boom and are nearing their 60th birthdays. At the same time, significant changes in education are occurring as schools adapt to provide learning experiences that prepare students for success in college and careers in the 21st Century global economy.
Many of these changes require additional technology, new types of learning spaces and other upgrades. Compounding these issues are the recent cuts in school facilities Funding and operating budgets that leave schools with limited options for Funding these critical upgrades. To counter this, school districts, including 27 in the North Bay alone since 2010, and their communities are coming together to raise funds to upgrade their schools through local general obligation bond measures. Successful bond measures provide significant Funding to upgrade school facilities and create a healthy, safe and inspirational learning environment for students and teachers.
When a community places its trust and tax dollars in a district’s hands, it is important for the district to have a clear plan to maximize that Funding. The most effective way to go about this is to create a Facilities Master Plan. The goal of a Facilities Master Plan is to identify and prioritize facilities improvements to ensure the available Funding is used to best address the needs of student learning. There are many ways to develop such a plan and the process should be tailored to meet the needs of each unique community, as well as the anticipated Funding and time available. Nearly all school districts face more facilities improvements than they can currently afford and a Facilities Master Plan should include a process to prioritize the needed improvements.
-- Aaron Jobson Pa. House OKs school construction payment process-- Enquire Herald Pennsylvania: June 09, 2014 [ abstract] HARRISBURG, PA. — The state House of Representatives on Monday approved a bill to modernize the handling of state reimbursements for school construction projects amid Democrats' criticism that it won't help cash-strapped districts.
The 109-86 vote will send the measure to the Senate.
The bill would create an electronic database of construction projects and streamline what is now a largely paper-driven system administered by the Department of Education, said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Seth Grove.
A moratorium on new reimbursement applications, proposed by Gov. Tom Corbett and approved by the Legislature, was imposed in October 2012. The state has limited reimbursements to $296 million a year since then.
Grove, R-York, said he hopes an additional $105 million will be appropriated in the state budget that starts July 1 so that about 200 projects that are awaiting reimbursements can begin receiving payments.
"It's a solid bill" that will help school districts, Grove said, noting that supporters of the measure include groups that represent school boards, school administrators and school business officials.
But competition for state Funding is expected to be fierce in the face of a potential $1 billion-plus state budget shortfall. Members of the Democratic minority noted that the additional Funding is not contained in Grove's bill.
"This bill will do nothing to help them get reimbursed," said Rep. Steven Santarsiero, D-Bucks.
-- PETER JACKSON Opposition forms to Brown’s seizure of earthquake funds for schools-- Cabinet Report California: June 06, 2014 [ abstract] (Calif.) Legislative leaders working on a budget compromise this week said they will go along with Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to replenish new-school construction Funding by taking bond authority from lesser-used programs " with the exception of money for earthquake safety, overcrowding relief and charter schools.
The governor has proposed sweeping several hundred million dollars in voter-approved school facilities bonds for overcrowding relief, seismic repair, career technical education and high-performance buildings into the two largest programs " new construction and modernization.
Brown’s plan is intended to ease the backlog of districts in those two latter programs with approved projects that can’t move forward because there is not enough state matching funds.
The governor has argued that not only do these projects provide and improve school facilities, but they create jobs for the people needed to do the work and spur economic growth.
Both houses of the Legislature had planned to go along with the administration’s proposal but dogged determination by at least one state lawmaker led to a decision this week by the budget Conference Committee to retain the seismic, overcrowding and charter school funds for their original purposes.
“We have projects in the pipeline now that have been approved by all of the bodies that have to approve them, and I frankly think we’re putting these school districts at risk [if we take the Funding],” said Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, at Tuesday’s conference hearing.
Support for Hancock’s position within the budget negotiations comes in contrast to the fate of a bill she authored that would have accomplished the same goal but died in committee late last month.
She argued before the conference panel that schools with seismic needs have been identified, have gone through the application process and, perhaps key, the state has the money.
“For us now to sweep that money and not allow them to use and access that money could put the state at risk, too, if there should be a big earthquake and those schools were to collapse,” Hancock said during the budget hearing.
The new legislative proposal could set up a bit of a showdown with the governor’s office, however, since the seismic fund is among the largest of the school facility programs being targeted by the administration.
With so many old and aging school buildings having previously been identified as vulnerable to collapse in an earthquake, California voters in 2006 directed three-quarters of a $10.4 billion facilities bond to the state’s K-12 School Facilities Program. Voters further directed by passing Proposition 1D that that $7.3 billion in bond authority be distributed among the many categories of spending within the SFP.
-- Kimberly Beltran Gov. Abercrombie Releases $87M for School Facilities-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: June 05, 2014 [ abstract] Gov. Neil Abercrombie has approved capital improvement projects at public schools totaling $87.1 million.
The money is going toward a variety of projects that were identified by state lawmakers. More than $36 million of the Funding will be used to repair and upgrade facilities at schools across the state.
Here’s a breakdown of where the money is going, according to a press release:
$36,461,000 " Condition, Various Schools, statewide " Design and construction funds to improve and maintain facilities and infrastructure. DOE’s estimated backlog for repair and maintenance is now down to $265 million. These projects include general school building improvements, electrical upgrades, playground equipment repair and maintenance, and other school repairs and renovations.
$15,070,000 " Program Support, Various Schools, statewide " Planning, design, construction and equipment funds for program support, including new/temporary facilities, improvements to existing facilities, ground and site improvements, equipment and appurtenances to schools, and for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and gender equity.
$14,900,000 " Equity, Various Schools, statewide " Design, construction and equipment funds to improve instructional spaces such as science labs, special education classroom renovations and classrooms on a statewide basis for classroom/learning environment parity. Equity projects also include energy improvements relating to heat abatement in classrooms.
$10,950,000 " Capacity, Various Schools, statewide " Construction and equipment funds for projects at schools nearing their enrollment capacity or are short of classroom space. These funds will provide general classroom portables at four schools, as well as a classroom building for Nahienaena Elementary School on Maui.
-- ALIA WONG Population Surge Helps Drive School Construction-- Virtual Builders Exchange Texas: June 01, 2014 [ abstract] School construction in Texas has soared in recent years, and one of the keys to getting the project done right is picking the winning team to deliver the project. These inferences can be drawn from an analysis of both school construction Funding and the perceptions of those responsible for seeing the construction vision come to fruition.
Texas is somewhat of a textbook case of school construction debt rising with the population. In the aftermath of the decennial 2010 Census, Texas grew so much that through the reapportionment process it gained more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives than any other state. Texas stood alone with a pickup of four new House seats in Washington, with its Census-validated population of more than 25.2 million.
Public school enrollments rose with the tide, according to Texas Education Agency figures. Enrollment in Texas public schools grew by 820,019 students – more than 19 percent – during the decade ending with the 2012-2013 academic year. Indeed 2012-2013 was the first year in which statewide public school enrollment surpassed 5 million students.
The flow of new students helped to drive the expansion of public school physical plants. And expansion helped to drive bond elections and the public school debt incurred by them.
In the May 2014 election cycle, some of the more prodigious bond packages passed included $1.2 billion for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, $775 million for Frisco ISD, $663 million for Arlington ISD, and $648 million for Northside ISD.
In the fiscal year ending in 2013, according to the TEA, the state's public school districts held more than half of the tax-supported outstanding debt that local governments issued – $64.8 billion.
Having polled school districts statewide, the office of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts learned much from the people across the state who took the test before they learned the lessons about school construction. Some of the important lessons learned were as follows.
-- Staff Writer $650-million bond to upgrade Fremont schools goes before voters Tuesday-- San Jose Mercury News California: May 29, 2014 [ abstract] For more than a month, Fremont Unified School District's Board of Education, students and families have been knocking on doors, phone banking and speaking out to urge voters to support Measure E, a 25-year, $650-million general obligation bond to repair the district's facilities.
Sold over the course of eight years, the June 3 bond would replace faulty heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and upgrade technologies to support a 21st century learning environment, school officials say.
The measure, which will need to achieve a 55-percent majority vote to pass, received support in a survey conducted between Jan. 31 and Feb. 5. Nearly 44 percent said they would definitely vote for the bond in June, with 18.4 percent leaning toward approval -- a total of 62.1 percent of respondents.
According to Fremont Unified Superintendent Jim Morris, the district cannot wait to meet the basic needs of school facilities unless it has an approved bond measure.
However, a group of concerned residents and parents have vocally opposed the bond, not because they think the schools don't need the Funding, but they argue a bond is not the correct way to do go.
Fremont Citizens Network says housing developers, not taxpayers, should pay for the increased traffic and student enrollment their developments will bring. Additionally, bond monies could be used to build new schools to meet the growing enrollment needs instead of patching old ones, and would not give seniors exemptions.
In response, district officials say developer fees can only pay for a part of the cost for new schools, which are capped by law. Last year, Morris said Fremont Unified collected about $2 million in developer fees, deemed a small fraction of the district's $278 million annual budget.
Currently, the district collects $5.27 per square foot for residential development, which is higher than the current $3.20 per square foot most school districts across California are authorized to collect.
-- Aliyah Mohammed - Fremont Bulletin $9 billion school construction bond moves toward November ballot-- EdSource California: May 28, 2014 [ abstract] Appropriations Committee has finally put a dollar figure to a school construction bond measure that it wants to place on the November ballot: $9 billion.
Voter approval to issue new 30-year construction bonds would be the first state financing for facilities for K-12 schools and higher education since voters passed a $10.4 billion school construction in 2006. Of the proposed $9 billion, $6 billion would go for K-12 facilities modernization (split $3.25 billion for modernization, $2.25 billion for new construction and $500 million for charter school facilities); $2 billion for community college facilities and $500 million each for the University of California and California State University. According to an analysis by the Appropriations Committee, the bond would meet a small piece of the tens of billions in new or renovated building needs that K-12 districts and higher education systems say they need.
Last Friday, with a 16-0 vote (with Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly, R-Hisperia abstaining), the committee passed Assembly Bill 2235, co-sponsored by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo), who chairs the Assembly Education Committee, and Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills. Since 1998, state voters have approved $35 billion for school construction that has cost the state $2.4 billion in annual debt service, according to the Department of Finance. However, funds in the School Facility Program, which regulates how funds are distributed, are now depleted.
As with past bond measures, school districts would have to pony up their own money to get state Funding. For upgrading buildings, districts must contribute 40 percent of the cost. For new construction, it’s a 50-50 split with the state.
There is no statewide inventory of school districts’ facilities, but Buchanan estimates that the proposed bond measure would take care of districts’ needs for about five years. Some of the money would help clear out the backlog of districts that have passed local bonds with the expectation of matching money. “I get calls constantly from districts that say they would have to cut back on projects they need” without state Funding, she said. “There are 50-year-old schools in need of repair and schools without technology. The job is not done yet.”
-- John Fensterwald Budget plan leaves no money for school construction-- TribLive Pennsylvania: May 27, 2014 [ abstract] Cash-strapped schools desperate to replace leaky roofs and crumbling infrastructure likely will go without state construction money for a third year, school business officials say, since Gov. Tom Corbett's budget proposal continues a moratorium on Funding new projects.
In 2012, Corbett cut Funding to new applications, stalling 354 projects in varying stages of construction or capital planning. At least 200 since have been financed — some even finished — with the expectation of state money that didn't come.
The state Department of Education has estimated it would need at least $1.6 billion to reimburse them all.
â€"School districts do not enter into construction projects lightly,†said Hannah Barrick, advocacy director for Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials. â€"They do so with careful planning, and only once they're sure of what they can expect from the state. So to go through that long process and find out the money you planned for is indefinitely unavailable puts everyone in a pretty huge pinch.â€
When the Corbett administration took office in 2011, Funding for the school construction reimbursement system, known as PlanCon, was overcommitted by $30 million, state spokesman Tim Eller said in an email.
â€"More projects had been approved for reimbursement than the line item could pay,†Eller said. â€"Over the last three years, the Corbett administration has worked to bring in line those projects that receive reimbursement with what is available in the line item.â€
-- Megan Harris Smaller classes will create space crunch in Bremerton, other local schools-- insureancenewsnet.com Washington: May 27, 2014 [ abstract] BREMERTON -- The trend toward smaller class sizes in the state is likely to result in crowded schools, according to a state education official in charge of capital Funding programs.
But the Legislature has no concrete plan to pay for extra classrooms.
The need for more space already is an issue in the Bremerton School District, where a bump in enrollment that cropped up in the fall now appears to be a trend. The district will end the school year with around 200 more full-time students than it projected at the start of 2013-14.
"We don't know exactly why," said Wayne Lindberg, director of finance and operations. "We believe the tide is turning around somewhat."
More than half the state's 295 schools districts, including Bremerton, have seen a net enrollment decline over the past 10 years, but Bremerton's spring enrollment report signals a shift toward growth. Some districts (none local) have experienced marked growth within the past three years, according to a recent Associated Press analysis of data from the state's Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
In Bremerton, a bumper crop of students in this year's all-day kindergarten program accounts for part of the enrollment increase. School officials also cite innovative programs as helping to attract and retain students in all grades.
On top of that growth, the district in 2013 received money from the state to reduce class sizes in kindergarten and first grade. Between now and 2018, the Legislature must ramp up Funding for smaller classes at least through third grade, under a plan outlined in earlier education reform bills and backed up by the state Supreme Court'sMcCleary decision. The court is overseeing implementation of its own order from 2012 that the state must provide full Funding for basic education.
The Legislature started with the lower grades and neediest schools, but eventually classes in all Washington schools will be smaller than they are now.
-- Chris Henry, Kitsap Sun Decaying Alpaugh school gets long-overdue makeover-- The Fresno Bee California: May 26, 2014 [ abstract] ALPAUGH — In this tiny agricultural town in southern Tulare County, the crowing of roosters behind a scrap metal fence mixes with the sounds of children laughing and balls bouncing at the school next door.
But these days, there's also the thud of hammers and forklifts beeping through the otherwise quiet streets. At lunch time, every parking space at Cesi's Cafe, the only restaurant left in the town, fills up with the trucks of hungry construction workers, many only in Alpaugh for the day's work.
Across the street from Cesi's, steel beams are going up on a 2-acre plot where a new gymnasium will soon stand. It's the first phase of a multimillion-dollar project to replace the small town's 70-year-old school buildings, decaying from years of alkali and water damage and now beyond repair.
School administrators have watched the concrete sidewalks crumble and underground septic tank flood too many times. Just a few years ago, a roof flew off with the wind, only to be replaced by now-splitting wood beams past ready for another upgrade.
Replacing the school, whose campus houses kindergarten through high school students, is long overdue, said Alpaugh Unified Superintendent Robert Hudson. But it's taken more than a decade to finalize because of bureaucratic red tape and state Funding formulas that fail to address small schools' facilities needs.
-- HANNAH FURFARO W.Va. School Building Authority sells $26M in revenue bonds to fund construction projects-- West Virginia: May 24, 2014 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, West Virginia " West Virginia schools are set to get millions to fund construction projects.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin says the West Virginia School Building Authority successfully sold $26 million in revenue bonds that will fund $30 million in school construction projects.
Officials say the bonds are the first sold by the state since legislation dedicated additional lottery revenues to support school building projects.
Last month the state provided more than $43 million in funds that will result in more than $89 million being invested into schools when combined with local Funding.
Officials say those funds will benefit students in Wayne, Monongalia, Gilmer and other counties across West Virginia.
-- The Associated Press OHIO LOOKS TO PROVIDE ANOTHER $17 MILLION IN SCHOOL BUILDING SAFETY GRANTS-- Nordonia Hills News-Leader Ohio: May 23, 2014 [ abstract] COLUMBUS -- State officials are touting another $17 million for grants to schools wanting to improve their building security.
The new Funding is included in one of the mid-biennium budget bills moving through the legislature and would be in addition to $12 million earmarked in the last biennial budget for school security systems.
State Superintendent Richard Ross said $10 million of the new Funding will be used for public schools, and $7 million will go to private ones.
"If our students aren't safe in schools, the quality of education they're getting in the classroom quickly becomes a moot point," Ross said during a conference call with reporters May 21. "... This is the No. 1 concern, this overrides everything else. ... We have families of 1.6 million students who come to school every day, and they expect our schools to do everything they possibly can do to protect their children."
State school officials also said they would begin reviewing school safety plans and providing technical assistance when improvements are needed.
Under state law, districts are required to file building blueprints and safety plans with the attorney general's office, updating the information every few years or as new buildings are constructed. The information is not public record but is stored electronically and available to law enforcement as needed.
-- Marc kovac Catania seeks to shift school renovations, add at-risk funds-- Washington Post District of Columbia: May 14, 2014 [ abstract] D.C. Council Education Committee Chairman David A. Catania is proposing to delay reopening the old Spingarn High School for several years in order to pay for renovations at existing schools, where parents have been advocating for improvements.
The move would allow Catania " a mayoral candidate who has made education a key issue in his race against council colleague Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) " to give those parents what they’ve been seeking.
Catania (I-At Large) also wants other changes to Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s proposed spending plan, according to the committee’s draft budget recommendations. Dozens of schools would see up to $100,000 each in additional funds for at-risk students, for example, while a few charter schools would receive a total of $1.4 million to fill gaps in
summer-school Funding.
The committee is scheduled to vote on the proposed changes Thursday before sending them on to the council for consideration.
The most dramatic shifts are expected to be in Gray’s school-renovation budget, which triggered protests from disappointed parents in recent weeks.
Spingarn, in Northeast, is not the only vacant building with a slated renovation that Catania would like to delay. Northwest’s Shaw Middle, which had been scheduled for a $50 million overhaul beginning in fiscal 2016, would have the bulk of its work pushed back to fiscal 2019.
The delays would allow for investments in existing schools, which parents say desperately need renovating. But the changes also would derail Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s plan to turn Spingarn into a vocational training center and a linchpin in the city’s efforts to revitalize career and technology education.
-- Emma Brown Iowa Policy Project calls for state-funded school gardens-- RadioIowa Iowa: May 14, 2014 [ abstract] An Iowa Policy Project report suggests just a few Iowa school districts maintain gardens as a way of teaching students about plant life and raising food for the cafeteria. Jenna Ladd, a research intern for the Iowa Policy Project, is the report’s author and she says gardening is also good aerobic exercise.
“It’s a great way to build community,” Ladd says, “just doing things together, growing food together, watching this project go from start to finish together.”
However, Ladd could only find 40 Iowa schools with gardening projects for students. She expects others may exist, but those gardens likely are privately run and financed. Ladd, who is a junior at the University of Iowa, works on a community garden in Iowa City.
“Many of our members didn’t grow up on farms, might not have any experience gardening prior to college, including myself, but you know really understand the environmental implications of shipping food from across the country,” Ladd says. “And so there’s something very empowering about being able to grow your own food and knowing that you’re not causing the Earth harm by bringing it in from elsewhere.”
Ladd’s Iowa Public Policy report calls for state-Funding for school gardening projects, including $250 for seeds, compost and tools for each student as well as a thousand dollars for the adult who is the garden organizer.
“Providing education for children at a young age about the environment increases the likelihood they’ll be environmental stewards in the future,” Ladd says, “and I think with what we’re facing as a state and as a country in terms of climate change that’s becoming increasingly important.”
-- O. Kay Henderson Md. approves $131 million more for state's public schools next year-- ABC7 Maryland: May 14, 2014 [ abstract] ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Maryland state officials announced millions of dollars in additional Funding for public schools Wednesday.
Continue reading
Gov. Martin O'Malley, Comptroller Peter Franchot, Treasurer Nancy Kopp and members of the Board of Public Works said an additional $131.3 million in unallocated Funding will be budgeted for the Maryland public school system for FY2015, bringing the total amount budgeted for schools to $323.5 million.
In a statement Wednesday, the office of the comptroller said the additional funds were largely recommended by the Interagency Committee for School Construction (IAC), and that he agreed with the recommendation after touring eight "high-priority" schools across the state to observe conditions.
"The tours enabled the comptroller to hear directly from the teachers, students, staff and county school representatives about what was needed to make their schools better suited for continuing the pursuit of high academic standards for the students," Franchot's office's statement indicated.
Five of the aging schools Franchot toured were located in the D.C. Metro area - Severna Park High in Anne Arundel County, North Frederick Elementary in Frederick County, Bradley Hills Elementary in Montgomery County, Glenarden Woods Elementary in Prince George's County and Potomac High in Prince Georges County.
â€"While education experts continue to rank the Maryland public school system number one in the country, we can't afford to have our students fall behind in their education because of substandard learning conditions,†Franchot said.
-- Staff Writer $522 M heading for school construction-- CT Mirror Connecticut: May 07, 2014 [ abstract] The General Assembly gave swift and near unanimous approval Tuesday to spending $522.3 million to build and renovate schools across the state.
The Funding will cover the cost to expand or renovate four schools in Danbury, three each in Fairfield, Newington and Stamford, two in Putnam and a single school in East Hampton, New Britain, New Haven, West Hartford and Wethersfield. (See the list of schools here.)
A Funding bill for school construction projects is approved annually by the General Assembly with little to no pushback from legislators. On Tuesday, only two lawmakers voted against the $522.3 million spending bill that was adopted by the House and Senate and sent to the governor's desk.
The bill includes language that requires school construction projects to reflect the safety guidelines approved in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings. The commissioner of the agency that oversees school construction, however, is authorized to waive certain guidelines when appropriate.
-- JACQUELINE RABE THOMAS Bill Would Allow City Officials To Seek Reimbursement For School Projects-- The Courant Connecticut: May 07, 2014 [ abstract] The state House and Senate on Tuesday adopted a measure that would allow Hartford officials to apply for as much as $4.1 million in reimbursements for previous school construction projects.
The bill must still be signed into law by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. It would take effect upon passage.
Hartford has been trying to collect millions in reimbursement for school projects, some of which date back more than 10 years. Paperwork submitted to the state over the years was incomplete or incorrect, officials have said, and when the state warned city and school officials about the problems, they either did not respond or did not take the appropriate action to resolve them.
City Architect Antonio Matta discovered the issue in 2012 when he began looking at school projects and noticed some of them hadn't been closed out. The city hired a consultant to try to recover as much as $27 million in reimbursements — stemming from 20 projects — that it had not obtained.
The projects were overseen by Diggs Construction, the city's board of education and Pinnacle One.
Under the bill passed Tuesday, the city can apply for up to $4.1 million in reimbursements, even though the deadline to submit the paperwork has passed. The Funding is reimbursement for projects done at R.J. Kinsella Magnet School, Capital Preparatory Magnet School, Annie Fisher Magnet School and the Environmental Sciences Magnet School at Mary Hooker, though it is unclear exactly when the work was performed.
"We applaud the legislature, especially Senator [John] Fonfara and the Hartford Delegation, for getting this bill passed and we look forward to the Governor signing it," Mayor Pedro Segarra's spokeswoman, Maribel La Luz, said in a statement Wednesday. "Once that happens, we will determine how this will impact next year's budget."
-- JENNA CARLESSO Governor O’Malley Issues Executive Order to Study School Construction Funding in Maryland-- Maryland.gov Maryland: May 06, 2014 [ abstract] Annapolis, MD " Governor O’Malley today issued an executive order as part of an effort to build on the record investments Maryland has made in recent years to construct 21st century school facilities across Maryland.
The Governor signed the order directing the Interagency Committee on School Construction (IAC) to work with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Legislative Services (DLS) and conduct a study on school construction in Maryland. Building on the record school construction Funding during the O’Malley-Brown Administration, the State will work to continue investment in school facilities and ensure that we replace temporary learning shacks with 21st century teaching and learning environments to better prepare Maryland students for the new innovation economy.
“We’ve made a commitment to Maryland families to make education a top priority and improve student achievement by 25 percent by 2015. Even in the face of the worst national recession since the Great Depression, we’ve made record investments for the last seven years in our top-ranked public schools, along with $2.7 billion in school construction, to make this goal a reality,” Governor O’Malley said. “We’ve made tremendous progress, and our efforts are paying off, but there is still more work to do. This executive order will lay the groundwork for protecting our hard-earned progress so that every child, parent and educator will have the tools they need to win the 21st century, not just in Maryland, but across the globe.”
“When we invest in school construction, we’re building a brighter future for more of Maryland’s young people and ensuring that every student in our state has the opportunity to learn and train in a safe, high quality facility,” said Lt. Governor Anthony Brown. “While we’ve made record investments in Maryland’s schools and built one of the best school systems in the country, our work is far from finished. Together, we’re going to continue to invest in our children’s futures, giving them the education and training today that they’ll need to compete for the jobs of tomorrow.”
-- Staff Writer Florida lawmakers agree to pour $100 million into maintenance and construction for public schools-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: April 29, 2014 [ abstract] TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers reached a deal on K-12 education Funding Monday that will pump more than $100 million into maintenance and construction for traditional public schools statewide.
District leaders celebrated the news. Most school systems have not received money from the Public Education Capital Outlay trust fund since 2011.
"We're ecstatic," Pasco County assistant superintendent Ray Gadd said. "We could use every penny."
Charter schools, however, were delivered a stinging blow. Despite growing enrollment statewide, they were given a little more than half of the $91 million they received last year.
"We have more students, but the pie is smaller," said Larry Williams, a lobbyist for the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools.
The budget has yet to be finalized, but the PECO plan is unlikely to meet resistance. Gov. Rick Scott has said he also wants to see the dollars shared among districts and charter schools.
PECO has become one of the Legislature's perennial battles.
-- Kathleen McGrory Leggett proposes $41 million more for school construction-- Gazette.net Maryland: April 29, 2014 [ abstract] Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett is recommending the county direct about $41.3 million more than he originally proposed toward school construction projects.
The extra funds would produce a total of more than $1.5 billion for Montgomery County Public Schools’ capital improvement program for fiscal years 2015 through 2020, compared to Leggett’s original proposal in January of about $1.1 billion.
Leggett’s recommendation to increase county Funding for the school system follows unsuccessful efforts in the General Assembly to give Montgomery $20 million more a year in state Funding for school construction projects.
School board President Philip Kauffman said Monday the extra money Leggett is recommending would help the school system “somewhat,” but still leaves a significant Funding gap.
“There still will be significant delays to projects across the county,” he said.
Before Leggett released his recommendation, the County Council’s Education Committee approved Monday a plan aimed at addressing the roughly $230 million gap between the school system’s request for capital funds and Leggett’s original proposal.
Council President Craig L. Rice (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown said the recommended Funding " which come from school impact tax revenue " might alter that plan.
-- Lindsay A. Powers SWS, Van Ness and School Boundary Proposals: Run Down of Hot Topics-- Capital Community News District of Columbia: April 28, 2014 [ abstract] Parents in close proximity to School Within a School (SWS), now located in the Goding building at Ninth and F Streets NE, have been lobbying to gain some sort of local enrollment preference. Locating a citywide school in their neighborhood is a disservice to the community, they believe.
SWS was an In Boundary (IB) school for the Capitol Hill Cluster for many years. If anyone should be frustrated, or feel that their rights' have been circumscribed by the move, it is Cluster parents. With that preference gone, the IB wait-list for Peabody is well into the double digits. The IB school for the families in the immediate SWS neighborhood, Ludlow-Taylor (L-T), has been struggling to attract and retain local students for some years now. For the current school year, only 21 percent of the students its IB.
That said, it is odd that there are only two citywide elementary schools in DCPS, are both on Capitol Hill. (Capitol Hill Montessori School at Logan is the other.). It also does seem unfair that those who have to deal with the ramifications of having a school in their immediate neighborhood – traffic, parking, trash and playground noise – do not benefit from those schools. It is a difficult situation to be sure.
Van Ness Elementary School – Funding Problems?
During the April 17, DC Public School Budget Oversight hearing, David Catania (I-At Large) made a comment about reallocating some or all of the Van Ness renovation funds to other Ward 6 schools. This has the potential of being yet another roadblock in the years-long effort to reopen Van Ness. The school was closed in 2006 due to the razing of the area's former housing projects. Now that the neighborhood has been re-populated, parents in the former Van Ness boundaries have been fully mobilized to get the school reopened as quickly as possible. They presented their own neighborhood studies to the Chancellor's office showing that the school would quickly be filled largely with IB kids.
The current projection is for the reopening of the school, fully renovated, for the 2015-16 school year. When contacted for a response to this latest budget challenge, Van Ness Parent Group President Meredith Fascett stated, â€"Our parents will be launching a robust outreach effort to the DC Council to ensure the school's on time reopening in Fall 2015 with a full renovation and modernization, as promised to the community by DCPS.â€
-- E.V. Downey School Building Authority hands out the cash-- MetroNews West Virginia: April 27, 2014 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.VA. " Monday is the day the state School Building Authority will hand out $45 million in Funding to build new facilities and improve others. The authority meets at Capital High School to go over requests from 21 counties totaling $170 million.
“There’s always much more requests than money available. It’s not uncommon. There’s well over $2 billion in need across the state of West Virginia,” according to SBA Executive Director Mark Manchin.
He expects the SBA to meet for at least a couple of hours to narrow down the projects and then divvy up the Funding to those projects that are most worthy. Manchin explained that’s not easy.
“I know ($45-million) sounds like a lot of money but when a new high schools costs in excess of $40-million, a new elementary school in excess of $15-million and a new middle school in excess of $20 million, it doesn’t take long to go through these funds,” said Manchin.
The school systems gave their presentations to the SBA last month. Some counties were asking for just a little, a few hundred thousand, to add a classroom or build a new secure entry. Other counties need major Funding into the millions of dollars to help build brand new schools.
Manchin said the SBA is focused on a couple key criteria for Funding.
“The health and safety of children is the highest criteria. Second is local participation,” he explained.
The SBA tends to help those counties who help themselves by offering up local funds to go along with the SBA money to complete a project.
-- Jennifer Smith Districts may have funding flexibility to repair and improve school facilities-- EdSouce California: April 24, 2014 [ abstract] To weather deep cuts in public school Funding, many California school districts shifted much-needed dollars away from repairing and maintaining their buildings to keep teachers in the classroom and save instructional programs from being eliminated.
Now, the state’s new Funding formula, which allocates much of the increased school revenue to high-needs students, provides some latitude for districts to fix their ailing buildings too.
While there has been an assumption that only base grant dollars " the funds allocated to districts for all students " can be used for building repairs and improvements, that’s not necessarily the case under the Local Control Funding Formula’s current regulations. But what’s considered an allowable use of money targeted for high-needs students " defined as English-language learners, low-income children and foster youth " gets somewhat murky when it comes to school facilities.
Included in the eight priorities that school districts must address in their state-mandated Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs), which identify how districts will allocate their Funding, is a goal to ensure that school facilities are maintained in “good repair.”
Jeff Vincent, the deputy director of the Center for Cities & Schools at UC Berkeley, said the healthy school facilities goal has “flown under the radar” throughout accountability plan discussions.
The Center for Cities & Schools is hosting a daylong forum Friday at the California Endowment office in Oakland, which will include sessions that will further explore how districts should meet the healthy school facilities goal. The Center for Cities & Schools is a research and technical assistance center that promotes high-quality education as a means to support urban development.
-- Karla Scoon Reid Their school district dissolved, Buena Vista residents must repay $6.6 million in debt-- mlive.com Michigan: April 21, 2014 [ abstract] BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP, MI — Buena Vista Township businesses and residents will repay the defunct school district's debts for at least two years.
Although the Saginaw County district has been closed since July 2013, it still has about $6.5 million in debt. The district has a projected deficit of $4.05 million and $2.5 million remaining on a bond voters passed in 2005. All that money must be repaid to the state.
Next year, district residents also must decide whether renew a tax on businesses and secondary homes to keep whittling away at the deficit.
â€"It's going to be a tough sell to renew a millage for a school district that doesn't exist,†said Chris Frank, Saginaw Intermediate School District assistant director of finance and business operations.
If voters reject the millage, he said, the Michigan Treasury could tax all residents in the jurisdiction of the former school district to complete the debt collection. The state is legally required to collect the money the Buena Vista School District borrowed.
Buena Vista School District dissolved in July 2013 at the order of the Michigan Legislature after a financial crisis left it unable to pay teachers.
The school district closed for two weeks in May 2013 as the state and Saginaw ISD scrambled to find a way to educate Buena Vista students and return enough Funding to the district to complete the school year.
The state released up to $460,000 in the state per-pupil Funding, allowing Buena Vista to provide classes to the about 300 students who remained.
Sharply declining enrollment in the years before the district's demise led to the deficit, which was 60 percent of the school system's general fund budget as of June 2013. Each student took $7,776 in state Funding when heading to a new school district.
-- Lindsay Knake Schools slash heating bills with stimulus project-- CharlotteObserver.com Maine: April 20, 2014 [ abstract] PORTLAND, Maine Years after federal stimulus dollars funded a Maine Forest Service Project to heat with local wood products, schools and other facilities report they have slashed energy bills in half while supporting jobs in the state's struggling timber industry.
However, some project managers say because they had to borrow money to participate, the effort left them with hefty repayment plans that make their net savings far less than they appear.
In the heating season ending in 2013, the Forest Service credited its Wood to Energy Grant Program with helping 24 facilities replace upward of 900,000 gallons of heating oil with locally produced wood chips and pellets that provide the same energy output for less than half the price.
The Forest Service said the project created or retained more than 335 jobs during the construction phase and supports 13 other forestry jobs through increased usage of wood fuel. Trade groups say those jobs, while temporary, supported the struggling timber industry at the height of the economic recession.
The Forest Service paid around half the cost of installing furnaces known as wood boilers that burn wood pellets or chips — which the industry calls "biomass"— for steam or water central heating instead of heating oil or natural gas.
The $11.4 million Funding for Maine came from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which funneled the money through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service to create jobs and spur the economy. Nationally, $10.9 billion in stimulus funds went to energy incentive programs.
-- BLAKE DAVIS, Associated Press State construction money available for private schools-- Southern Maryland Newspapers Online Maryland: April 18, 2014 [ abstract] The state government again next year will offer $3.5 million to private schools to make repairs to facilities.
This year, seven private schools in St. Mary’s County received a total of about $63,000 in public Funding during the renovation program’s first year.
The state also provides money each year " including $6 million this year " for nonpublic schools to use for textbooks and computer hardware and software. Any school eligible for the textbook money can apply for the construction grant money.
The textbook money for nonpublic schools was first put in the state budget as a one-time expenditure, but became an annual expense to the state. The construction money could be headed the same direction.
Del. John Bohanan (D-St. Mary’s) said the governor included the nonpublic aging schools money in next year’s budget and, despite a lot of opposition from House of Delegates members, it remained in the budget.
“We looked out for it and shepherded it through,” Bohanan said, crediting himself and Del. Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore).
The capital budget this year also includes $8.1 million for the aging public schools program, which is distributed based on a formula incorporating the average age of local public schools. The state also funded nearly $350 million for school construction, including new schools and renovation work.
-- Jesse Yeatman USDA Awards Grants for New School Food Service Equipment to Help Schools Dish Up Healthy Meals-- United States Department of Agriculture National: April 18, 2014 [ abstract] WASHINGTON, April 18, 2014 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is awarding $25 million in grants to help schools purchase needed kitchen equipment as they continue to provide school lunches and breakfasts that give children the nutrition they need to learn and grow. Over 90 percent of schools report that they are successfully meeting the updated nutrition standards, serving meals with more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and low-fat dairy, and less sodium and fat. These new grants provide additional support to schools to help them prepare meals that meet those standards.
"We know that there is still a significant unmet need for kitchen equipment in schools, and outdated equipment can make it more difficult to prepare healthy meals," said Vilsack. "With these grants, schools will be able to get the tools they need to make the healthy choice the easy choice for America's youngsters."
In December, USDA awarded $11 million in grants to the District of Columbia, Guam and 14 states. For the latest round of Funding, USDA will ensure all State agencies receive a proportional share of the Funding. States will competitively award the funds to school districts to purchase needed equipment, giving priority to high-need schools where 50 percent or more of the enrolled students are eligible for free or reduced price meals.
Download the list of Funding by state for FY13 and FY14.
The Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project – a collaboration with The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – recently released a report on school kitchen equipment needs that shows most school districts in the U.S. (88 percent) need at least one additional piece of kitchen equipment, and more than half (55 percent) need infrastructure upgrades to serve healthier meals that meet science-based nutrition standards. The report concluded: Investing in kitchens and cafeterias will help schools better serve the nutritious foods and beverages that students need.
-- Office of Communications New Orleans school building repair fund bill clears House committee; $1.8 billion investment underway-- www.nola.com Louisiana: April 17, 2014 [ abstract] A bill to maintain New Orleans' newly built and renovated public school buildings cleared the Louisiana House Education Committee Wednesday with no opposition.
The city's two school systems are collaborating on HB 941, which was sponsored by Rep. Walt Leger III, D-New Orleans. The Recovery School District took over most of the public schools from the Orleans Parish School Board after Hurricane Katrina.
Leger called it "a school facilities preservation program."
The Orleans Parish School Board never had a dedicated Funding stream for facility maintenance; when the storm hit, most of the buildings were in a deplorable state. Now the city is in the middle of an unprecedented school rebuilding plan paid for by $1.8 billion, mostly from FEMA. State and local officials pledge that by 2017, every child will be in a new or renovated school. But the FEMA funds don't cover maintenance, leading to concern that the new buildings could crumble over decades just like the old ones did.
Leger said it was important to protect them. "Not making that kind of investment in maintenance eventually costs us more dollars in the long run," he said.
-- Danielle Dreilinger R.I. Senate task force calls for new way of funding school construction-- Providence Journal Rhode Island: April 16, 2014 [ abstract] PROVIDENCE, R.I. " A Senate task force proposes using 1 percent of the state’s 7-percent sales tax to pay for school construction projects in an effort to reduce the state’s reliance on costly bonds.
Sen. Ryan W. Pearson, D-Cumberland, outlined the report’s major findings and recommendations in an interview Tuesday. The task force, which includes school leaders from Cumberland, Pawtucket, Providence and Woonsocket, will be presented at the State House Wednesday afternoon.
With the three-year moratorium on new construction expiring in June, Pearson, who chairs the task force, said he decided to examine the condition of school buildings and the way new ones are financed.
Pearson highlighted the following findings:
Forty percent of the money spent on school construction goes toward interest on bond payments, not the buildings themselves.
There is no cap on how much the state spends on school construction. The report says that when the moratorium is lifted, the state will face $600 million in pent-up demand for new construction.
In fact, the task force estimates that it would cost $1.8 billion to bring all 276 of the state’s public schools up to an acceptable condition.
-- LINDA BORG NJ school construction agency announces $500 million for 1,600 projects-- nj.com New Jersey: April 15, 2014 [ abstract] The New Jersey Schools Development Authority today announced the start of $500 million in Funding for some 1,600 projects that have been approved by the state Department of Education at a total cost of more than $1.2 billion.
The grants represent the single largest Funding decision in the state's history, SDA officials said. However, the state aid is contingent on voters' approval of the construction projects in 333 districts.
SDA CEO Charles McKenna made the announcement in Allendale, where the SDA will contribute almost $350,000 toward four projects involving upgrades to climate and air conditioning units at two schools.
These projects bring Allendale's state construction aid to more than $3.2 million, according to the SDA.
â€"The SDA and DOE are working together to execute approximately 1,600 grants, the largest single grant program allocation in New Jersey's history,†McKenna said in statement. â€"This grant Funding demonstrates the Christie Administration's commitment to supporting critical school improvement projects throughout the state.â€
-- Peggy McGlone/The Star-Ledger Deteriorating Schools Require Funding for Construction, Upkeep-- TheLedger.com Florida: April 13, 2014 [ abstract] Public school buildings in Florida are rapidly deteriorating because Funding for maintenance and repairs has been declining for several years. The state has relied on the Public Education Capital Outlay trust fund, a program established through an amendment to the Florida Constitution and funded through the gross receipts tax on utilities and land-line telecommunications, to fund maintenance, repair and new construction for all public schools.
Because of rapid growth in the state and the need for new school buildings in the early 2000s, the state issued bonds to generate immediate funds. The downside to this is that the state is now forced to use almost all of the PECO funds collected to pay the debt-service cost of these bonds. As a result, PECO Funding is virtually nonexistent.
School buildings are designed for a useful service life of 50 years. However, systems such as roofs, air conditioning, windows,and cafeteria equipment require regular replacement at 15- to 20-year intervals. When Funding is not available to replace these systems, they become deferred-maintenance costs, simply meaning that you are putting off a problem because you lack the funds to fix the problem now.
The Polk County School District is facing critical needs from both the need for new construction as well as deferred maintenance. We have identified the need for $233 million for new construction and $389 million for deferred maintenance. Without these funds, our students will be housed more and more in portable classrooms, and our existing permanent classrooms will become increasingly substandard because of deteriorating building conditions.
-- Letter - Kathryn LeRoy - Superintendent of Schools School districts owed millions from state-- thetimes-tribune.com Pennsylvania: April 13, 2014 [ abstract] Delinquent state reimbursements may force school districts to hit taxpayers with increases, cut staff and programs or deplete meager reserves to make up the shortfall.
The state owes Carbondale Area, Mid Valley and Western Wayne school districts more than $2.6 million in reimbursements for projects completed as many as three years ago. The districts budgeted debt service payments based on what was expected from the state. State officials claim there is not enough state revenue to make the promised payments.
"We did all the financial planning that was necessary to build this building," said Western Wayne Superintendent Clay LaCoe, Ed.D. "We followed the rules by the state. They're not following through on their obligation."
Reimbursements
When districts start a building project, they can apply for reimbursement from the state through a process called PlanCon, an acronym for Planning and Construction Workbook. After being approved for PlanCon A through PlanCon H steps, gradual reimbursement begins. The percent districts receive varies based on each project. A moratorium on new PlanCon projects that started in 2012 still exists, and districts starting new projects are not guaranteed reimbursement.
The 2013-14 budget includes $296.2 million for reimbursements. As of last month, about half of the appropriation had been distributed. Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed 2014-15 budget also calls for an appropriation of $296.2 million.
As of now, the state estimates that to pay for the 347 projects in Part A through Part G of PlanCon, $1.7 billion is needed. The estimate does not include any project that has received Part H approval and is starting to receive reimbursement.
The state has not told area districts when they can expect payment.
The $296.2 million is in addition to nearly $10 billion in state Funding that is provided to schools through other line items in the state budget, Department of Education spokesman Tim Eller said.
"Perhaps, if pension reform is achieved, additional dollars could be redirected to construction reimbursements," he said in an email.
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association has called for a more sustainable process for construction reimbursements and supports a bill in the House that would simplify PlanCon.
Area legislators said addressing the backlog for reimbursements must be a priority.
-- SARAH HOFIUS HALL DOE approves 6 schools for state-funded construction projects-- The Bangor Daily News Maine: April 11, 2014 [ abstract] AUGUSTA, Maine " Fred P. Hall School in Portland has deteriorating wood siding and windowsills, a roof that leaks periodically and it does not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to Peter Eglinton, the Portland School Department’s chief operations officer. On top of that, the school had an electrical fire in 2012 that forced students out of the building for two weeks.
The condition of the school, which was built to be a temporary building in 1956, “takes both a physical and emotional toll,” Eglinton said.
On Wednesday, the school was put on a path to recovery. It was one of six schools that the Maine State Board of Education voted to add to a list of schools slated for state-funded construction projects.
The other five schools are Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham, Martel School in Lewiston, Monmouth Middle School, Teague Park School in Caribou and Morse High School in Bath. They bring the state’s list of approved projects to 12 dating back to 2012.
Officials from the districts whose schools made the list expressed appreciation for the planned state aid that would be coming their way.
“Replacing Hall has been our district’s top priority for building improvements,” Portland Schools Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk said in a prepared statement distributed Wednesday.
“Combining state and local Funding is the only way we can address our critical needs while reducing the burden on Portland taxpayers,” he said.
Lewiston School Department Superintendent Bill Webster said work on the Martel School will help his district address a rapidly growing student population.
“We’re bursting at the seams classwise,” he said. “We have classes as high as 28 and 29 but we have no additional rooms.”
But it will likely be years before any of the schools that made the list see improvements.
-- Nell Gluckman, BDN Staff Civic Group Ties Bucks Arena Support to Rec Upgrades-- Athletic Business Wisconsin: April 09, 2014 [ abstract] The Milwaukee Bucks want a new arena to replace the BMO Harris Bradley Center. A Milwaukee community group known as "Common Ground" wants better public athletic facilities, playgrounds and recreational spaces. Together, they might both get what they're asking for.
Common Ground is an organization of Milwaukee churches, small businesses, nonprofits and neighborhood groups. At a Tuesday meeting turned pep rally, Common Ground supporters overwhelmingly approved a motion to support public Funding for a new arena as long as $150 million to $250 million goes toward improving public school athletic facilities, playground and recreational spaces, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
If that amount of money is not set aside, Common Ground says it will oppose public Funding for a new arena.
One year ago, Common Ground members launched a Fair Play campaign, arguing that kids in Milwaukee deserved better facilities just as much as the Bucks. In June 2013, the group released a study of 268 sites in the county, in which 65 percent of the athletic and recreational spaces were rated terrible, poor or fair.
"My kids and all of our kids deserve better," Jennifer O'Hear, chair of Common Ground's Fair Play campaign and the mother of three Milwaukee Public Schools students told the paper. "We are going to have to fight for our kids."
-- Michael Gaio Walsh seeks millions from state to renovate schools-- Boston Herald Massachusetts: April 09, 2014 [ abstract] Mayor Martin J. Walsh is making a full-court press with the state School Building Authority for money to overhaul six run-down schools, three of which could run tens of millions of dollars apiece.
The City Council is due to vote today on Walsh’s call to send statements of interest to the authority " which reimburses up to 75 percent of construction costs " for major rehabs of Rogers Middle School in Hyde Park, Blackstone School in the South End and Mario Umana Academy in East Boston, and window and boiler upgrades to Curley School in Jamaica Plain, Excel High School in South Boston and Urban Science Academy in West Roxbury.
It’s a big ask, considering the authority " which has a $500 million annual spending cap " has traditionally granted Boston only one Funding request per year. Last year, out of 201 requests from school districts across the state, only 66 were approved, including $37.3 million to rebuild Roxbury’s Dearborn Middle School. Carleton Jones, head of capital and facilities management for Boston schools, said the price tags of the three major rehab projects could be “on par” with the Dearborn project.
-- Jack Encarnacao LEAs struggle to fulfill new facilities mandates-- Cabinet Report California: April 07, 2014 [ abstract] (Calif.) With the upkeep of school buildings traditionally a key focus of state financing, districts across California are struggling under the new Funding formula not only with finding money for needed repairs but also with meeting a maintenance standard that is not clearly defined.
In the past, the state provided some Funding specifically earmarked for facility maintenance and repair. Under Gov. Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula that money has been absorbed into one big pool to be distributed among districts, which are finding it increasingly difficult to cover everything required by the state " including keeping facilities “in good repair.”
Districts face a deadline at the end of June for adopting their Local Control Accountability Plans "reports to the public detailing how they will use the funds to meet a list of eight state priorities in the LCFF, including the needs of educationally disadvantaged students and maintaining adequate facilities " a directive that may sound simple enough to follow but may need to be further refined by state regulators or the Legislature.
“The question is ‘How is good repair defined? What is good repair for the purposes of meeting LCAP’s requirements?’,” said Ian Padilla, legislative analyst for CASH " the Coalition for Adequate School Housing. “Long story short there really isn’t any kind of a statewide or a local standard for that; it’s really a local decision at this point.”
However, said Padilla, CASH and California school facilities officials can reference as a starting point a state tool known as the Facilities Inspection Tool, or FIT. The index was created as part of the settlement of a 2000 class action suit " commonly known as Williams " that required schools, among other things, to provide students access to to safe and decent facilities.
FIT, said Padilla, offers “very basic” standards for acceptable school building conditions " such as clean, functioning restrooms, pest abatement, working fire alarms and heating and air circulation systems.
But the intent of the Legislature, Padilla believes, is that under the LCFF districts would do more than the bare minimum when it comes to providing a good learning environment for their students.
“Once piece in particular here is to include not just cleanliness and the basic levels of maintenance but also educational adequacy,” he said. “In addition to the very basic FIT assessments, districts should be looking to build capacity to make sure that school facilities are part of the education process " you know, teaching and learning.”
-- Kimberly Beltran School officials discuss facilities maintenance as part of new spending plans-- EdSource California: April 03, 2014 [ abstract] As school districts across California work to craft their school spending and accountability plans, one area that has received little notice is a requirement that school facilities are maintained in “good repair.”
The Center for Cities and Schools at UC Berkeley hosted a webinar today to address how districts should meet the healthy school facilities’ goal in the new Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAP), which are mandated under the state’s new Funding formula. More than 100 people across the state, including district administrators, registered for the discussion. The Center for Cities and Schools is a research and technical assistance center that promotes high-quality education as a means to support urban development.
Jeff Vincent, the center’s deputy director, said a building in “good repair” is defined as a facility that is maintained in “a manner that assures that it is clean, safe, and functional.” But Vincent, along with the other webinar presenters, stressed that “good repair” is merely a minimum standard and urged school district leaders to go “above and beyond” that level when drafting their plans.
Bill Savidge, assistant executive officer of the State Allocation Board in the Office of Public School Construction, said during the webinar that districts would use the state’s Facility Inspection Tool (FIT) to evaluate whether their buildings meet the “good repair” standard. The inspection tool, which was adopted by the State Allocation Board in 2007, is a ranking and scoring system that evaluates the cleanliness, safety, and function of school buildings.
The evaluation system is, in part, a result of the so-called Williams Settlement, the resolution of a class-action lawsuit filed against the state in 2000 that alleged that public school students were denied equal access to instructional materials, safe and decent schools, and qualified teachers. Savidge emphasized, however, that although Facility Inspection Tool is thorough, it does not address the critical modernization needs of California’s schools.
-- Karla Scoon Reid/EdSource correspondent Department of Education budgets $50M to deal with complaints over state of public school bathrooms-- silive.com New York: April 01, 2014 [ abstract] STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Hold everything.
The city's Department of Education is planning to spend $50 million to deal with persistent complaints regarding the poor state of public school bathrooms.
A total of 14 Staten Island schools are in line to receive bathroom renovations under a pilot program announced by the DOE.
Deputy Schools Chancellor Kathleen Grimm told City Council members at recent council finance committee hearing on the budget that DOE will fund a pilot program to find the most cost-effective way to fix dilapidated bathrooms, where students, staff and administrators have long complained of creaky plumbing, broken stall doors and locks, leaky sink faucets and toilets that don't flush.
"Part of the pilot project for us is to get a better sense of how we can do this most economically, without doing a major renovation, but making a much nicer-looking bathroom for our students," the deputy chancellor said. She said that not all of the bathrooms will get attention right away.
Funding to repair the bathrooms would come out of the DOE's capital budget, not from classroom money. Capital money must be spent on long-term repairs or improvements to school facilities, and by law can not be spent for instruction.
-- Diane C. Lore/Staten Island Advance City, schools to combine maintenance in Peabody-- The Salem News Massachusetts: March 31, 2014 [ abstract] PEABODY " The School Committee has given Mayor Ted Bettencourt a green light to move ahead with hiring a city facilities manager to oversee all school and city buildings and develop a strategic plan for their upkeep.
Bettencourt, who chairs the committee, said the city has millions of dollars invested in the city’s schools, public safety facilities and other municipal buildings, and many of them are aging.
“Right now, we deal with issues when they come to the point of emergency,” Bettencourt said, which means it “often costs more to fix.” He wants to implement a citywide maintenance program to extend the life of those buildings and avoid costly emergency repairs.
With one person managing a capital plan and maintenance program for 10 city schools, five fire stations, three public libraries, the police station, City Hall and other municipal buildings, the city can save millions of dollars over the years, he said.
“I think this is really going to benefit our school buildings to make sure the maintenance that’s needed gets done,” said School Committeeman Tom Rossignoll, speaking at a meeting Tuesday night.
Bettencourt said about $1 million in state Funding for the new middle school hinges on hiring a facilities manager who would implement a comprehensive maintenance plan at the school.
-- John Castelluccio Hundreds protest Newark's plan to close schools and lay off teachers-- nj.com New Jersey: March 27, 2014 [ abstract] Several hundred Newark parents, teachers, students and community activists rallied in Trenton today to demand the return of local control of Newark schools and full Funding for the state's largest school district.
Chanting â€"public schools are our schools†and â€"Cami must go,†the crowd marched and cheered for more than 90 minutes in the bitter cold outside the Statehouse.
They criticized state Superintendent Cami Anderson's â€"One Newark†school reorganization plan as well as her proposal to lay off 1,000 teachers over the next few years.
â€"We say ‘no' to One Newark and 'yes' to our Newark,†Newark School Advisory Board chairwoman Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson said. â€" We are ready, willing and we are able to govern and plan on behalf of our children.â€
More than 30 speakers — from parents and students to union representatives and state and local politicians — addressed the crowd, which parents and teachers from Paterson and Camden.
-- Peggy McGlone/The Star-Ledger Pasadena school cafeterias begin health department inspections-- Pasadena Star-News California: March 27, 2014 [ abstract] PASADENA >> The Pasadena Department of Public Health now will inspect Pasadena Unified School District cafeterias and issue them numerical scores as part of the department’s increased effort to enforce food safety standards throughout the city.
The Health Department completed the first round of inspections of the 21 PUSD campuses within city boundaries in December and will conduct a second series of inspections before the school year ends. Before November, school cafeterias had not been inspected by the department, Environmental Health Division Manager Liza Frias said, which raised concern.
“It’s making sure that anybody who is being served food is being served food from a regulated facility to make sure minimum food safety standards are being followed and adhered to,” Frias said.
Frias said the decision to begin cafeteria inspections was mutual between PDPH and PUSD.
All kitchens passed the health inspection, though only six of the schools received an official score, all in the 90s. Frias said the other schools were not issued a score because of time constraints. Violations found by health inspectors included dirty and moldy parts in ice machines, dusty equipment, lack of employee hand washing and dirty floors, according to documents obtained by this news organization.
The six PUSD schools that are not within the city borders have not yet been inspected because the district is still trying to formulate an agreement with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, PUSD spokesman Adam Wolfson said.
Public school food facilities are required to have two health inspections each year in order to receive Funding for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, a requirement that has been in place since 2004, according to a California Department of Education spokeswoman.
-- Lauren Gold School construction funding in line for boost-- HT Politics Florida: March 26, 2014 [ abstract] When Bill Galvano began classes at Manatee Community College in 1984, the campus library was practically new.
Now 30 years later, time and technology have outdated the library at what is now the State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, which serves some 11,000 students. School officials say even finding enough electric outlets for equipment is an issue in the 37-year-old facility.
As chairman of Senate budget subcommittee that oversees education spending, Galvano, R-Bradenton, is in a position to help his former school. Senate and House budget bills advancing in the Legislature now contain between $7.3 million and $10.6 million for modernizing the SCF library.
The project represents a problem across Florida as universities, colleges and public schools struggle with aging facilities and growing student populations.
At the University of Florida, President Bernard Machen said one of the school’s budget priorities is finding an additional $15 million for a multi-year project to revamp an aging chemistry building. “Students and scientists still work in the original chemistry building on campus, completed 70-plus years ago and now woefully behind the times,” Machen said in a letter to UF alumni earlier this month.
He also cited a projected $60 million in “critical maintenance” needs for more than 100 campus buildings that are more than a half-century old.
Rural counties " with limited tax bases " are looking to the Legislature to refurbish aging middle and high schools. Galvano is backing $7.8 million " which is in both the Senate and House budgets " to continue the construction of a new Moore Haven Junior Senior High School in Glades County.
“That to me is so vital,” Galvano said. “On their best day their millage (tax) rate is not going to let them accomplish what they need to do.”
School construction and maintenance of educational facilities are part of what the Legislature calls the Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) budget. And in recent years, PECO Funding has dwindled to a trickle, from more than $1 billion before the recession to about $300 million for the current year.
-- Lloyd Dunkelberger Falmouth High School project again under scrutiny-- Cape Cod Times Massachusetts: March 23, 2014 [ abstract] FALMOUTH — For the third time in six years, a group of Falmouth residents is heading to town meeting seeking answers about how the Falmouth High School renovation project got so behind schedule and so very far over budget.
This time, however, the article being put before voters has its i's dotted and its t's crossed, said East Falmouth resident Margo Finnell, who led the petition drive to get the item included on the April 7 town meeting warrant. The article asks for $25,000 to do a review of the project; similar articles in 2008 and 2012 didn't have Funding attached to them, which she believes scuttled their chances at success.
"This ties that up," she said of warrant Article 22.
The high school renovation project was to last two years and cost $67 million, but when the last of the dust cleared in 2010 it was three years late and $19 million over budget. After voters at town meeting and the ballot box approved a second round of Funding in May 2008 to cover the overages, the push for an accounting of the project's missteps began.
Town meeting voters approved an article in the fall 2008 meeting recommending that the Board of Selectmen "exercise its authority "» and conduct an investigation of the Falmouth High School renovation project." But the issue didn't include a Funding source for said investigation, and selectmen ultimately decided not to proceed.
A second measure at the spring 2012 town meeting asking the town to appropriate an unnamed sum of money for an inquiry into the cost overruns was defeated by a voice vote, according to town records.
Both of those articles were put on the warrant by Brent Putnam, now chairman of the Board of Selectmen.
He's supporting Finnell's article, but he's the only member of the board to do so; at its March 10 meeting, the board voted 4-1 to recommend that town meeting voters indefinitely postpone the article.
-- SEAN F. DRISCOLL Anne Arundel approves plan for new Jessup Elementary-- Maryland Gazette Maryland: March 21, 2014 [ abstract] The Board of Education voted Wednesday to replace Jessup Elementary School and renovate George Cromwell Elementary, projects that could start as early as next year.
The board also voted to replace Arnold Elementary, rejected recommendations that called for a less expensive renovation.
Jessup Elementary, which was built in 1955, has capacity for 435 students. The new building will add more capacity for 575 students, in order to allow for growth. Construction could start in the second half of next year, if Funding from the county and the state is provided.
Students and faculty will remain at the school while a new school is constructed on the multipurpose fields behind the existing buidling during a 24-month construction period. Construction will cost $24.5 million.
Bob Mosier, schools spokesman, said the new design will improve student safety by moving the bus loop away from Route 175.
While renovating the school would have been about $1 million cheaper, it would have take three months more.
Renovation of George Cromwell Elementary in Glen Burnie will four additions and move the parent drop-off to another side of the school. It will add three classrooms, two special education classrooms, a studio lab, a new gym, as well as a new administration suite.
The school currently is almost at its capacity of 322 students, said the school system’s chief operation officer Alex Szachnowicz. Students would stay in the school during renovations.
The new bus loop will move traffic away from busy Wellham Avenue to Olen Drive. Szachnowicz said the board would ask for community comment on the plan before construction starts, as early as next year.
The board unanimously followed the recommendation of interim schools superintendent Mamie Perkins and its feasibility study committee in deciding on the two projects.
But it rejected the recommendation to renovation Arnold Elementary, voting 3-4-1.
The construction costs to replace the school would be nearly $26.4 million and will take 24 months, compared to nearly $20.4 million and 27 months for a renovation. The project would increase parking by 53 spaces, and include a bus drop-off area separate from the one parents use.
-- KELCIE PEGHER Lawmakers face loss of school building money-- WRAL.com Wyoming: March 20, 2014 [ abstract] CHEYENNE, WYO. — The Wyoming Legislature this month approved nearly $231 million in new K-12 school construction for the next fiscal year, but the building bonanza may be coming to an end because the state's main Funding source for school building projects is expected to dry up.
Since 1998, the state has tapped the hundreds of millions of dollars it has received in coal lease bonus money to fund billions of dollars of school construction projects.
"We've ridden a pretty amazing wave," Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, said.
But the federal government's move to toughen federal carbon pollution standards and other regulations on coal is sapping future investment in coal mining.
As a result, Wyoming is seeing fewer coal lease auctions go through, and state budget projections forecast coal lease bonus money virtually nonexistent in a few years.
"Money is really going to be tight with school capital construction," Sen. Eli Bebout, R-Riverton and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said.
This summer, lawmakers will be looking at how best to address school construction and maintenance in the long term. The state has about 375 schools.
"How do we do the best job possible of taking care for those resources so that they do last us the expected lifespan? And along with that, how do you put a plan in place so that when schools are ready you can get them replaced?" Landen, who chairs the Select Committee on School Facilities, said.
However, one member of the state School Facilities Commission, which sets school building standards across the state, said lawmakers aren't doing enough to address the problem.
-- BOB MOEN, Associated Press 19 W.Va. counties ask School Building Authority for construction funding-- The Republic West Virginia: March 18, 2014 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, West Virginia — More than a dozen county school systems are seeking Funding from the West Virginia School Building Authority to help pay for construction projects.
Media outlets report that 19 counties are seeking a total of more than $100 million from the authority. County school officials are presenting the requests during the authority's spring meeting this week in Charleston.
Wayne County is seeking the most Funding. The county is requesting up to $18 million to build two new schools.
Jackson County is requesting more than $17 million to build a new middle school.
The authority plans to award a total of about $45 million. It will announce which projects will receive Funding on April 28.
-- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Higher wages for state-funded construction pass Senate, House-- MarylandReporter.com Maryland: March 18, 2014 [ abstract] Workers on many local school construction projects would be paid at a higher rate under a prevailing wage bill approved Tuesday by the Maryland Senate.
The bill would increase overall construction costs by as much as 5%, estimates the state Department of Legislative Services.
Republican legislators were critical of SB 232, sponsored by Baltimore County Democrat Norman Stone. The bill passed 32-15 and requires that local governments pay the prevailing wage if the state has contributed 25% of Funding or more to a school construction project.
Any other public work project valued at $500,000 or higher will be built by workers paid at prevailing wage if the state has subsidized 50% of the project, which is current state law.
Prevailing wage intended to promote fair compensation
The measure, along with prevailing wage requirements as a whole, is pro-union and meant to ensure construction workers are paid adequately. The state Commissioner of Labor and Industry determines the fair prevailing wage.
The bill would likely only affect 10 of Maryland’s 23 counties " those with school boards which accept roughly 50% from the state to fund school construction projects. The Department of Legislative Services estimated that overall construction costs would rise as much as 5%.
-- Jeremy Bauer-Wolf County’s 10-year school building plan includes phased-in tax increase-- JDNews.com North Carolina: March 14, 2014 [ abstract] Onslow County Schools could see an increase in Funding during the 2014-15 fiscal year " and fewer concerns about losing the land for a new Dixon Middle School " while Onslow County property owners will see a corresponding increase in their future tax bills.
During a Thursday special meeting, the Onslow County Board of Commissioners directed County Manager Jeff Hudson to draft a policy that would include:
a $3.295-million increase in the current expense budget based on per pupil appropriation. The county would appropriate the statewide average of $1,742 for each of the system’s students. The most recent student count had 25,251 students attending Onslow County Schools.
an increase in the capital budget over three years: 2013-14 had $1.775 million in capital budget Funding while the 2014-15 fiscal year would have $2.175 million, 2015-16 would have $2.575 million and 2016-17 would have $3 million. The capital budget Funding would be reviewed again in 2019 and every four years after.
a 10-year building plan that would involve establishing a Public Schools Capital Improvement Program and include eligible projects approved by the Board of Education and Board of Commissioner. To be included, projects would be needed to house the student population following the exhaustion of other methods such as redistricting.
To fund the building plan, the Board of Education would need to contribute $13 million. The funds would come from a one-time transfer of funds from the Public School Current Expense fund into the restricted Onslow County Schools Capital Reserve.
The Board of Commissioners was also presented with four options for the 10-year building plan, and opted for one that involved seven new schools and a 7.25-cents property tax increase over 10 years.
According to information presented to the board, the plan would include the $13 million from the Board of Education and $145.175 million that would be financed over 20 years.
-- AMANDA HICKEY State extends deadline for $58 million Hanson school project-- Wicked Local Hanson Massachusetts: March 14, 2014 [ abstract] HANSON " The state has cleared the way for school officials to revisit a $58 million project to replace two Hanson elementary schools.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority granted the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District permission Wednesday to continue working under a Funding agreement originally approved last July but lapsed most recently on March 3, Superintendent Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said.
Local officials now have until early June to act on the agreement, which provides Hanson $29.3 million to construct a combined elementary school as a replacement for the Indian Head and Maquan schools. Taxpayers would cover the remaining costs, potentially through a 25-year bond.
Gilbert-Whitner said the Regional School Committee is tentatively scheduled to take up the matter Wednesday. At this point, the committee has to decide whether to send the proposal back to the Hanson Board of Selectmen for approval. If that board receives it and votes in favor by a two-thirds majority, it could go directly to the ballot.
-- Joseph Markman Senate considers ways to fund school repair needs-- Northfield News Minnesota: March 11, 2014 [ abstract] Sen. Kevin Dahle (DFL-Northfield) presented legislation this week that focuses financing on needed school facilities.
The legislation is the result of recommendations provided by a working group that during the interim to focus on reforming the financing of E-12 education facilities to create “adequate, equitable and sustainable financing of public school facilities throughout the state.”
“We are hoping to find a plan that gives every district the ability to keep up with repairs and space issues,” said Sen. Dahle. “The ability to keep up with financial demands varies from district to district. The goal of this legislation is to provide safe and adequate classrooms, no matter what school district they are in.”
Sen. Dahle’s legislation which has received early bipartisan support begins the process of the recommended an eight-proposal, three-year phase-in plan provided by the working group.
In the first step, $50 million would be used for districts not included in the Alternative Facilities bonding program. Currently, only 24 school districts qualify. The Funding would be used for deferred maintenance, security and accessibility improvements, or to make fire, safety or other repairs.
-- Kara Hildreth Prince George’s leaders push for additional state funds for schools-- Gazettle.net Maryland: March 07, 2014 [ abstract] Prince George’s school officials have urged state leaders to approve legislation that would provide additional money each year for school construction, helping to more quickly address the $2.3 billion backlog of school maintenance needs in the county.
“At the rate that we’re going right now, it will never be reduced to a manageable rate. There is so much facility need in our county, and our district, like other districts, has not been able to keep up. This gives us the best opportunity to accelerate the replacement, renovation, modernization of our facilities,” county schools CEO Kevin Maxwell told the House Appropriations Committee on March 6.
Maxwell, County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) and others testified on behalf of House Bill 1323, which would provide up to $20 million annually in additional state Funding to counties with student populations of more than 100,000 and maintaining a AAA credit rating. Currently, only Prince George’s, Montgomery and Baltimore counties have populations meeting the requirement.
The funds could be used toward school construction projects or the costs of debt service on construction bonds.
The funds would come from state gambling proceeds, and every state dollar would have to be matched by two dollars of county Funding.
Last year, a similar proposal, with dollar-for-dollar city-state Funding, was passed for Baltimore City Public Schools.
Several committee members asked why the “big three” counties should be singled out.
-- Jamie Anfenson-Comeau Minnesota Legislature: Task force presents ideas to even schools facilities funding-- TwinCities.com Minnesota: March 05, 2014 [ abstract] When a roof springs a leak in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district, it typically gets fixed within 24 hours.
"And I don't mean a bucket under a ceiling tile to catch the drips," said Heather Nosan, a project manager for the district.
To fund the repair and replace the roof when needed, the district taps money raised through an alternative facilities levy.
Only 25 districts are part of the alternative facilities program that allows them to raise tax dollars without voter approval for school facilities. The rest have to dip into the general fund for sudden repairs or win voter approval of a tax request to pay for more costly infrastructure repairs.
Nosan was one of 22 members of the School Facilities Financing Working Group that spent the past six months outlining ways to fix that disparity. The task force summarized its proposals Tuesday at a joint meeting of the state House and Senate education finance committees.
"We can't have a system of financing where some districts have an advantage over others," said Robert Indihar, superintendent of Moose Lake schools and co-chair of the task force.
Next week, a bill incorporating some of the task force's recommendations is expected to go before the Senate Finance Committee. It includes putting $50 million in the 2015-16 budget for school facilities financing.
That's a start, but task force members told lawmakers Wednesday that it could take an estimated $300 million in new Funding annually to make the way Minnesota pays for school facilities "adequate, equitable and sustainable."
School advocates say the current system is unbalanced, with only larger districts with aging buildings eligible for a reliable stream of revenue to address building maintenance. Districts in the alternative facilities Funding program get about $298 per student more annually than districts not in the program, about $750,000 more annually for the average-sized district.
-- Christopher Magan School construction bill gets love in House, cool reception in Senate-- The Seattle Times Washington: March 04, 2014 [ abstract] The state House on Tuesday, by a whopping 90 to 7 vote, approved a proposal to spend $700 million on the construction of new classrooms.
The lopsided vote in the House, however, may have little bearing on how the measure will do in the Senate.
“I don’t see it getting much traction in our caucus,” said state Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside. Honeyford is the capital budget chairman for the GOP-led majority in the Senate.
House Bill 2797, backed by House Capital Budget Chairman Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, and Rep. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, Mason County, would issue bonds to pay for the construction. The bonds would be paid off over time using state lottery revenue.
Dunshee argues that fully meeting the state Supreme Court’s mandate for additional education Funding will mean hiring more teachers to reduce the numbers of students in classrooms. The state should be building the classrooms before the new teachers show up, he says.
MacEwen, during floor debate on Tuesday, said that “as a body we have said we need lower class sizes, we need more instruction. This bill allows for that to happen. We can’t say those things need to happen and then provide no means for it to occur.”
-- Andrew Garber Montgomery parents to rally for school construction money-- Gazette.net Maryland: March 03, 2014 [ abstract] This story was corrected at 6:40 p.m. on March 3, 2014. An explanation follows the story.
As Maryland lawmakers brace for a potential multi-year battle on school construction Funding, the Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations will rally this week to make sure Maryland’s General Assembly knows just how big Montgomery’s overcrowding problem has become.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett, County Council President Craig L. Rice, school board President Philip Kauffman and Public Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr are expected to headline the Thursday evening rally in Annapolis and make the case for Montgomery.
Leggett (D) said the program sought by his county, as well as Prince George’s and Baltimore counties, would establish a steady, predictable stream of state money to leverage borrowing for school construction, similar to the program created last year to provide money to Baltimore City for school construction.
Legislation proposed by Montgomery County delegation leaders creates the Supplemental Public School Construction Matching Fund Program. Under the bill, counties with a triple-A bond rating and school systems with at least 100,000 students would be eligible for up to $20 million each year to fund a portion of school construction projects or project debt.
“We know this is a real tall order,” Leggett said Monday. “It is imperative to get this done.”
He also said last week that election-year politics could stand in the bill’s way.
Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations has organized the rally to tell Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and General Assembly leaders of the immediate need for the bill.
-- Kate S. Alexander And Lindsay A. Powers Ocean Springs school district announces plan to close Keys school, sell property to cut costs-- gulflive.com Mississippi: February 28, 2014 [ abstract] OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- The Ocean Springs school district will shut down the Elizabeth Keys Alternative School and consider selling off unused buildings and property as part of a plan to cut operational costs.
The plan was announced in a press release distributed to media Friday morning.
"Our number one priority is student achievement," said Ocean Springs superintendent Bonita Coleman-Potter. "We are working to ensure that our students have the best services and program offerings available to advance academic achievement across our district."
The Ocean Springs district finished the 2012-13 school year with a $5.2 million deficit which was offset by taking funds from cash reserves. At the start of the current school year, officials were projecting a $2.8 million deficit by the end of the year.
The Ocean Springs school board initiated budget reductions during the 2012-2013 school year and is continuing to look for ways to reduce the operational costs of the system while maintaining the quality of services provided to students.
"We are a system that is experiencing substantial student growth in the past five years," said Coleman-Potter. "However, state Funding continues to be reduced each year and we have every reason to believe that it will be reduced again for the 2014-2015 school year. The result is that the OSSD must continue to implement operational reductions."
To reduce operational costs, the OSSD will take the following proactive steps:
-- Warren Kulo State lawmakers consider borrowing against Lottery to build schools-- The Olympian Washington: February 26, 2014 [ abstract] A bipartisan plan for paying for public schools emerged Wednesday in the state House, offering a creative way to pay for $700 million in school construction by borrowing against $50 million a year in future state Lottery profits.
The Legislature is under a state Supreme Court order to fully fund schools by the 2017-18 school year, and most talk about school Funding has centered on school staffing and operations.
The proposal unveiled Wednesday would help the state meet its duty by providing hundreds of new K-3 classrooms across the state in time for the expected class-size reductions, according to House Capital Budget Committee chairman Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, and Rep. Drew MacEwen of Union, the No. 2 Republican on the committee.
“You need those classrooms before those teachers show up” to teach smaller classes, Dunshee said.
“This is not the Democrats’ solution; this is not the Republican solution. This is the right solution,” said MacEwen in a joint press conference at the Capitol.
Under the proposal, which key Senate members said they had not yet seen or studied, grants would be given to districts to build classrooms for all-day kindergarten and for class-size improvements in grades K-3 " with no local match of funds required.
-- BRAD SHANNON Montgomery unlikely to get school construction funding request-- Gazette.net Maryland: February 25, 2014 [ abstract] A funny thing happened on the way to new school construction money for Montgomery County: reality.
Midway through Maryland’s 90-day legislative session, county lawmakers seem to hold little hope of their top legislative priority passing the General Assembly and establishing a steady, predictable stream of state money to leverage borrowing for school construction.
“We’re not necessarily expecting it to pass,” Del. Anne R. Kaiser said.
Kaiser (D-Dist. 14) of Burtonsville, chairwoman of Montgomery’s delegation, proposed a bill to establish the Supplemental Public School Construction Matching Fund Program. Under the bill, counties with a triple-A bond rating and school systems with at least 100,000 students would be eligible for up to $20 million each year to fund a portion of school construction projects or project debt. Her House bill has 62 sponsors; a Senate version has 19.
Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler (D) said in an interview that it looks like Montgomery will not get the school construction money it seeks, but that it should.
“You know how Annapolis works,”said Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D).
“It’s more election-year politics than anything,” Leggett said. “I think it’s an election year and people are a bit skeptical about what obligations you put in right before an election.”
Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Dist. 18) of Kensington said proponents of the program face an uphill battle for passage, but nothing has been decided.
-- Kate S. Alexander Winners and losers in D.C. school renovation funding shift-- Washington Post District of Columbia: February 25, 2014 [ abstract] Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) is seeking to shift nearly $100 million in school capital funds for the current fiscal year, a move that would accelerate renovations at some schools and delay expected work at others.
One of the biggest winners is Powell Elementary in Petworth, which would receive nearly $20 million for an addition and major renovation. Powell has seen impressive growth in both student achievement and enrollment in recent years, and while part of its building was modernized last year, the school has more children than it can hold.
“I’m so grateful that all of Powell’s students will very soon be learning in a healthy, productive environment,” said Powell PTA President Martha Holley-Miers, adding that the increase “demonstrates that the entire city is behind our powerful Powell community, and invested in the growth and successes we have seen here.”
Other projects need more money than originally expected because the scope of work has expanded or because the District’s post-recession economy has driven up construction costs, said Gray spokesman Pedro Ribeiro.
Stanton Elementary in Southeast, for example, would receive an extra $11.2 million this year to do more renovation than had been previously planned, including an addition to accommodate the growing number of students. Stanton, like Powell, has drawn attention for its improving culture, academic performance and enrollment.
Other schools to see significant increases include Hearst Elementary ($6 million), Janney Elementary ($2 million), Deal Middle ($2.9 million), Marie Reed Elementary ($3 million) and Roosevelt High ($14.8 million), all in Northwest; Stuart-Hobson on Capitol Hill ($2.5 million); and Plummer Elementary ($4.4 million), Kramer Middle ($11.7 million) and Ballou High ($3.5 million), all in Southeast.
-- EMMA BROWN Gov. Hassan: School building aid should be restored-- seacoastonline.com New Hampshire: February 21, 2014 [ abstract] NEWMARKET — Gov. Maggie Hassan said restoring the school building aid program is a priority that lawmakers "need to work on," but gave no indication when they may be able to accomplish this.
Hassan discussed school building aid during a meeting with the Seacoast Media Group editorial board Wednesday morning.
Hassan, a Democrat from Exeter, said there's a general consensus about a new formula for school building aid, but the issue remains how to fund it.
"One of the challenges is that school building aid was funded out of the capital budget for a long time, and for a short time it was funded out of the operating budget," Hassan said. "(Funding it) continues to be an issue we need to build a consensus around."
Legislators put a freeze on school building aid in 2009, after state revenues took a major dip and questions were raised about the building aid formula. The moratorium on new projects was scheduled to end June 30 of last year, but lawmakers chose to extend it for two more years.
"As I recall, we provided support for school buildings of any size, of any kind of building, without the state having a lot of control or say in what a basic school should look like," Hassan said. "What we found was we were often supporting wealthy communities that were building very large, very expensive schools and the state would pay almost the same percent for that as it would pay for a smaller, more minimal school, and districts that had real financial challenges in affording schools would never get their portion of the Funding approved. ... The school building aid funds kept going to the wealthy communities and not going to the ones that arguably needed new buildings the most."
-- Aaron Sanborn More schools may close in Brevard County-- News13 Florida: February 20, 2014 [ abstract] BREVARD COUNTY --
Brevard Public Schools is bracing for the possibility of having to close more schools and cut staff.
The district has come out with a list of potential cuts, based on changes to state Funding for the upcoming school year.
Teaching positions and programs, like after school Lego and robotics Funding and 70 media assistant positions, are all on the list of possible cuts.
One of the proposed cuts for next school year would eliminate 55 elementary art teacher jobs.
The district cut millions from their budget last year, and they are preparing the public for similar cuts, if state Funding gets reduced.
To cover the difference, the district is asking for a half cent sales tax increase on the November ballot. If that fails, 4 schools could also be closed.
-- Jerry Hume Los Angeles Unified parents, teachers criticize iPad rollout, call for school repairs-- Los Angeles Daily News California: February 19, 2014 [ abstract] Critics of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s $1 billion iPad program gathered Wednesday outside a downtown school to call for money to be used on school repairs and Funding for teachers.
Standing outside Esperanza Elementary School, Matthew Kogan, a teacher and creator of the Facebook page “Repairs Not iPads,” accused district Superintendent John Deasy of neglecting basic services at district schools.
The iPad program launched in 47 schools this fall and is being paid for in part by voter-approved construction bonds.
“The bond was intended for repairs and construction ... that money is going for a vanity project,” Kogan said.
Since going live in December, Kogan’s Facebook site has earned more than 1,000 “likes” and features photos of broken school bathrooms, cracked floors and other unsightly images in district facilities. District teachers have shared many of the photos eager to show off the neglect at their schools.
Koegan was joined Wednesday by a dozen students, teachers and parents.
“We have ancient portable classrooms here, where the walls are falling apart and we have termite damage, and like a lot of schools, paint that’s crumbling,” Esperanza Elementary first-grade teacher Anne Zerrien-Lee said.
-- Dakota Smith More than 600 L.A. school buildings need quake evaluations, retrofits-- Los Angeles Times California: February 19, 2014 [ abstract] The Los Angeles Unified School District still has hundreds of school buildings in need of detailed seismic evaluations and strengthening to withstand a major earthquake, according to district data.
The Times requested an update of the school district's inventory of its buildings in need of seismic review.
The inventory shows that 667 LAUSD buildings required detailed seismic evaluations and retrofits. Nineteen school buildings have been retrofitted through a combination of local, state and federal Funding; five buildings have been demolished; 21 have been evaluated or are in the process of being strengthened.
Total retrofitting will cost almost $1 billion, according to the data.
The school district is working on getting more buildings retrofitted and on securing more Funding, said Shannon Haber, a spokeswoman for LAUSD. â€"It's an ongoing effort.â€
-- Doug Smith, Rosanna Xia and Rong-Gong Lin II http Renton school district will need 42 additional classrooms in next few years-- Renton Reporter Washington: February 13, 2014 [ abstract] Experiencing a rapid period of growth locally and statewide, the Renton School District is projected to need 42 new classrooms in the next two-and-a-half to three years, a district committee found.
The Enrollment Review Committee, led by Chairperson Louis Pappas, presented the findings at a district school board meeting Wednesday night.
"Forty-two new classrooms represents the equivalent of two new elementary schools, under normal enrollment growth circumstances it is a five- to seven-year process to justify the expense for new buildings and then convince our taxpayers to fund them," said Lynn Desmarais, board president via email. "Two to three years is a timeline I don't think we've seen since the 1960's during a period of rapid growth.
"But keep in mind," she added, "this is a statewide issue, unlike the local expansion of Boeing back then, and each district's approach will depend on the number and condition of buildings they have available."
It was the task of the 25-person review committee to review enrollment projections, building capacity and analyze portable classroom needs for the 2014 to 2015 and 2015 to 2016 school years. They were also tasked with reviewing last year's middle school boundaries and considering the potential impact on school facilities due to the McCleary decision and district-wide enrollment growth.
The McCleary decision refers to the 2012 State Supreme Court decision that ruled Washington state is not amply Funding basic education under the state Constitution. The specifics and guidelines as to how that will happened aren't know yet, but district officials warn the effect could be significant.
"We've got to be creative and we've got to plan; the clock is ticking," said Pappas.
-- TRACEY COMPTON North Shore Dist. 112 panel makes case for closing schools-- Highland Park News Illinois: February 12, 2014 [ abstract] North Shore District 112 could better educate students if it closed four or six of its 12 schools and directed its resources into fewer school buildings, according to a report released Tuesday by a broad-based citizens’ committee.
While the report does not identify specific schools for closing, it calls for further examination of three possible scenarios using either the current kindergarten-through-fifth-grade and sixth-through-eight-grade scheme, or switching to a grade-centered model of kindergarten through second grade, grades three to five, and sixth- to eight-grade schools.
Created last year by Superintendent David Behlow, the Superintendent’s Citizen Finance and Facilities Advisory Committee has spent more than a year studying the “serious but solvable” challenges of tight finances coupled with an excessive number of outdated facilities.
The committee will present its report and elicit comments during a series of meetings, starting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 13 at the Highland Park Country Club, 1201 Park Ave. West, Highland Park.
The report looks at the implications of keeping all 12 schools open without new Funding through a referendum; renovating and maintaining all 12 buildings through bonds and operating revenue; and investing resources in fewer buildings.
The report presents a strong financial and educational case for closing schools, which the committee argues would allow the district to reduce staff, lower operating costs and redesign instruction around 21st Century learning.
If the community approves a bond issue to invest in fewer buildings, property taxes would increase but operating costs would decrease, allowing the district to avoid program cuts to fund ongoing operations, according to the report.
Members of the reconfiguration subcommittee selected three options for further analysis and community feedback. One option would close four schools and reorganize the district into six schools serving kindergarten through sixth grade and two schools serving grades six through eight. Another option would close six schools and consolidate students into four kindergarten-through-fifth-grade schools and two middle schools.
The third, grade-centered option would upend the district’s current model and reorganize the district into four schools for kindergarten through second grade, two for grades three to five and two middle schools for grades six through eight.
Under all of the scenarios, both the district’s preschool program and the district’s administrative offices would be relocated from the building at 1936 Green Bay Road to schools within the district.
The subcommittee found many advantages to consolidating middle school students at two, rather than three schools. The advantages include staffing efficiencies while maintaining a full complement of courses at multiple academic levels. The consolidation would achieve greater equity in course offerings and extracurricular activities, the group found.
-- Karen Berkowitz CHCCS Considers A $160 Million Renovation Plan For Aging Buildings-- Chapelboro.com North Carolina: February 11, 2014 [ abstract] CHAPEL HILL - The Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board is considering a new renovation plan that will cost more than $160.8 million to repair 10 of its aging facilities and add more space for a growing student population.
The renovation plan, if approved by the school board, will require a bond referendum.
The architectural firm which produced the estimate originally formulated three repair plans, with costs falling between $52 million and more than $215 million"the higher the costs, the more extensive the repairs. This left it up to the discretion of the board to weigh its available funds versus the necessity of the repairs.
However, Ashley Dennis of Moseley Architects explained to the Board at its retreat Tuesday that it has been determined that the firm needed to reassess its estimates, in order to factor in additional costs.
Dennis said the $160.84 million estimate was a more realistic figure. It would include $2.98 million in temporary facilities costs to house students during the construction phases.
“It wasn’t fair to just come in and say, ‘Look at these pretty pictures. You can do this.’ You couldn’t just do it. You really would have to think about where the kids would go and where the staff would go.”
CHCCS approved the Capital Investment Plan last week which fell significantly short of Funding of basic repairs needs.
-- Rachel Nash State funds to ease cost of Randolph school fix-ups-- Wicked Local Randolph Massachusetts: February 10, 2014 [ abstract] The Randolph school district has been awarded a $1.4 million state grant that will be used to purchase and install new boilers at the middle school and pay the cost for repairs to the roof at the high school.
The program provides Funding for the repair or replacement of roofs, windows, and boilers in schools that are considered "functionally and educationally sound."
The RHS roof replacement covers a major section of the roof of the original building, which opened in 1950, as well as the auditorium roof. The existing roof was installed more than 30 years ago and has failed in many areas, causing water to drip into classrooms.
At the Randolph Community Middle School, built in 1968 and renovated in 1999, the grant will be used to replace three aging boilers.
Interim Superintendent Steven Moore said the boilers need to be replaced because the original boilers that were installed in 1999 are failing "due to known defects that had been previously remediated."
"Unfortunately, the repairs made to the boilers to fix the problems have now failed and the boilers were once again losing their ability to hold water," Moore said.
Both projects were identified in the 10-year facilities capital improvement plan authorized by the school committee in 2012.
"Being able to receive a grant from the SBA to fund these repairs provides significant financial relief to the taxpayers of Randolph as well as assures the operating integrity of the building for years to come," Moore said.
There are 704 pupils enrolled at the middle school and 776 at the high school.
-- Allan Stein Gov's Budget Highlights Maintenance And Construction Woes Of Public Schools-- WFSU Florida: February 07, 2014 [ abstract] For the first time in years, Florida's public, K-12 schools are slated to get state money for construction and maintenance. But school officials say while they're grateful for what's been proposed, they're not ready to start counting those dollars just yet.
Governor Rick Scott's proposed budget allocates $80 million for new roofs, air conditioners and other overdue maintenance projects at the state's more than 3,500 public schools. It may sound like a lot of money, but Halandale Beach Democratic Representative Joe Gibbons says it won't go very far.
"Just looking at Broward County alone, they need like $40 million just for roofs by themselves and I don't expect that you would have that responsibility, but I want to know how we come up with the figure of $80 million," he told the state Office of Policy and Budget Director during a hearing on the Governor's proposed education Funding.
Florida School Board Association Chairman Wayne Blanton says the state's 67 school districts need four to five times as much as the governor is suggesting.
â€"If we could get a consistent amount of dollars in the range of $360-$400 million a year, that would allow us not only to keep our schools up, but start replacing some of those older schools, which quite frankly, cost more than a newer school," Blanton said.
Florida's Public Education Capital Outlay, or PECO, Fund is the pot of money used to finance construction and maintenance at state-owned schools, colleges and universities. The fund pulls in money from taxes on services such as landline telephones. But since many people have abandoned their house phones in favor of cell phone service only, resources for PECO have dried up. So much so that what few dollars PECO has had left in recent years have gone to charter schools. The reason: many of those charter schools, while a part of school districts—don't get the same local maintenance funds districts raise through property or sales taxes.
This year, Governor Rick Scott is proposing to spend $90 million PECO dollars on charter schools – several million more than public schools would get. But some lawmakers see a problem with that too. There are 3,500 public schools, and around 400 charter schools. Even if the figures were the same, the charters would each get a much larger share. But some school districts, like Leon, have already given up on PECO.
-- LYNN HATTER Washington County schools ask state for full funding of proposed capital budget-- Herald-Mail Media Maryland: February 06, 2014 [ abstract] ANNAPOLIS " The Washington County school system is asking the state for about $2.32 million in construction money that was requested by the district but not allocated in the proposed capital budget unveiled last month for fiscal 2015.
Washington County Public Schools asked for $8.2 million in school construction money for the upcoming fiscal year, and close to $6 million of that request was funded, county Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said.
Wilcox was speaking Wednesday at a state Board of Public Works meeting before panel members Gov. Martin O’Malley, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy Kobb.
The district wants $1.55 million for the construction of a “West City” Elementary School in Hagerstown in addition to the $4.56 million that was set aside in the proposed capital budget, Wilcox said.
It wants another $767,000 for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning improvements to Washington County Technical High School, he said.
The operating capital budget already allocated $980,000 to the high school.
The nearly all-day meeting is an annual event in Annapolis, where school officials from around the state ask the board to allocate more money for requests that have been partially funded or remain unfunded.
“This (West City Elementary) is an extremely important project for us, because what it allows us to do is to create seating capacity and close two schools that have lived beyond their useful life,” Wilcox said.
-- Kaustuv Basu FCC to Boost Broadband Funding for K-12, Libraries-- Education Week National: February 03, 2014 [ abstract] Federal officials are planning to double support for schools' and libraries' broadband connectivity through the E-rate program, a step that comes amid increasing demands in the education community for faster, more reliable Internet service.
The E-rate program is currently funded at about $2.4 billion annually. The Federal Communications Commission will call for raising the portion of money flowing specifically to high-speed broadband to schools and libraries from $1 billion to $2 billion a year, a federal official told Education Week.
The new money would come through a rechanneling of existing E-rate money rather than through an infusion of new Funding, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed federal officials.
President Obama last year pressed for deep changes to the E-rate program, including directing money to the kinds of technologies schools need the most, rather than antiquated ones. Specifically, Obama said his goal was to ensure that 99 percent of U.S. schools have access to high-speed broadband technology within five years.
Not long after that, the FCC, which oversees the program, unveiled a broadly worded proposal that reflected many of the president's priorities—calling for trimming waste and streamlining the flow of money to applicants seeking aid.
In describing Obama's proposal last year, administration officials did not offer a definitive price tag for making those changes to the E-rate, which is supported through fees on telecommunications providers and their customers. But back then, White House officials said if fees needed to be raised, it would result in a temporary charge of no more than $5 in annual fees on phone bills.
In his State of the Union Address last week, Obama signaled that a definitive plan for providing schools with more technology support was coming soon.
-- Sean Cavanagh Funding for school facilities needs sparks sharp debate-- IndependentTribune.com North Carolina: February 02, 2014 [ abstract] CONCORD, N.C. -- A decision to move Cabarrus County’s $29.5 million surplus to the county’s capital reserve fund for the construction of a new elementary and middle school has left little wiggle room for unexpected expenses or emergencies that could arise, Commissioner Steve Morris said Friday following the decision.
He said the decision also neglected to set aside the Funding that will be needed to pay for a 1 percent raise, also approved Thursday, for Cabarrus and Kannapolis school employees who make up to $70,000.
“They moved all of those funds into capital reserve last night without holding onto enough to pay for those raises. Everything else has been budgeted,” Morris said Friday. Morris voted for the raises, but voted against moving the full $29.5 million surplus into the capital reserve fund.
Commissioner Jason Oesterreich, though, said the decisions made Thursday were a compromise toward achieving his plan to shift the county from increasing its more than $450 million in debt to paying cash for future capital needs. The allocation of $29.5 million for two schools was a step in that direction, he said.
“I would say that the commissioners worked together to find a compromise and
prove that we can build schools with cash if we are fiscally responsible,” he said. “I commend commissioners (Liz) Poole, (Chris) Measmer, and (Larry) Burrage for showing courage in that vote to move away from the status quo, which is not sustainable.”
-- Karen Cimino Wilson Gansler supports county push for school construction dollars-- Gazette.net Maryland: January 31, 2014 [ abstract] Montgomery County has a new ally in its fight for more school construction money.
Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the governor’s race, is backing the executives of Montgomery, Prince George’s and Baltimore counties in their push to create a program for Funding school construction.
In a statement Friday, Gansler said the portable classrooms, leaky roofs and inadequate bathrooms cited as issues at many aging schools are not hallmarks of the best education system in the nation, but rather symbols of a system that serves some and not others.
Maryland was previously ranked no. 1 in education by Education Week, but this year that publication changed its system from a ranking to a grade and Maryland fell below seven other states.
“With the endless stream of gambling revenue that the administration promised will fund our schools, we should fully expect Lt. Gov. [Anthony] Brown to submit this as one of the signature pieces of legislation for the administration this session,” Gansler said.
Gansler, Brown and Del. Heather Mizeur are all running for governor this year and will face each other in the June 24 Democratic primary.
In his letter of support to the county executives, Gansler called the proposal “fiscally responsible.”
-- Kate S. Alexander Minnesota school buildings task force says $300 million more needed-- Grand Forks Herald Minnesota: January 31, 2014 [ abstract] It will take $300 million more a year in state aid to give all of Minnesota’s school districts the resources they need to maintain their school buildings.
That’s the recommendation a task force created last year to study how to fund school facilities will send to state lawmakers in February. The new money would be phased in over several years, come primarily from state coffers and should have minimal impact on local property taxes.
The proposal comes after the DFL-led Legislature pumped $485 million of new money into the latest education budget for things like full-day kindergarten and expanded preschool scholarships. Lawmakers also gave school boards more control over local property tax levies.
School advocates say the task force’s recommended changes would correct the state’s flawed system for Funding school facilities that gives some districts advantages over others.
“We realize the system we have right now is broken,” said Robert Indihar, Moose Lake schools superintendent and co-chair of the task force. “Our goal is to simplify the system and make it adequate, equitable and sustainable.”
Only 25 districts are part of the state’s alternative facilities Funding program that allows them to raise local taxes for infrastructure without voter approval. Other districts are forced to win voter approval for building and maintenance projects.
Under the task force’s recommendation, all districts would have access to local funds to address maintenance needs included in 10-year plans approved by the Minnesota Department of Education. State dollars would equalize the cost of those projects to help communities with a smaller tax base.
-- St. Paul Pioneer Press Massachusetts Authority announces full funding of 2 tornado-damaged Springfield school construction projects-- The Republican Massachusetts: January 29, 2014 [ abstract] The Massachusetts School Building Authority, as pledged by its chairman, State Treasurer Steven Grossman, on Wednesday announced approval of full reimbursement of funds for the $27.9 million Elias Brookings Elementary School project and the $15.2 million Mary Dryden School project in the aftermath of severe damage from the tornado of 2011.
At a press conference at City Hall, local officials, including Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, praised Grossman and the state authority for fully Funding the projects with the aid of approximately $4 million in federal disaster funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Grossman had visited the city days after the tornado of June 1, 2011, seeing the severe damage at Brookings on Hancock Street, deemed beyond repair, and the serious damage at Dryden School on Surrey Road, including the need for major renovations and a new wing.
“He gave us his word at that time that he would make Springfield whole,” Sarno said. “True to the testament of the man, he has done that.”
-- Peter Goonan, The Republican City Kids: Nurturing Detroit's gardens of love-- model D Michigan: January 28, 2014 [ abstract] Over the last two years, schoolyards at Detroit Public Schools all over the city have begun sprouting raised garden beds. Not only do these beds grow produce that nurtures students' bodies, the gardens nurture their minds as well, being used in lessons across the curriculum from science classes to math and language arts.
The gardens are part of the Detroit School Garden Collaborative, a partnership between the Detroit Public Schools and The Greening of Detroit. The DSGC got started in 2012, with Funding through the Healthy and Hunger Free Schools Act. Betty Wiggins, the executive director of the office of school nutrition for DPS, earmarked some of the funds the school district got from the government to start the program. When the gardening season gets started this April, the program will be active at 51 schools.
The school district provides six raised beds and clean soil to fill them, along with seedlings to plant. The principal at each building assigns a key teacher to helm the program and implement the curriculum. The district also provides a garden attendant to help the teacher keep the garden weeded and watered and assists with some of the lessons. And at some schools, they hire students age 14 and up to be garden assistants, who help tend the garden through the summer months and get to participate in field trips to see agricultural producers all over the state.
The district produces most of its own transplants for the garden beds as well, from a greenhouse maintained by students at the Randolph Vocational Center. Some classrooms also produce their own transplants in half the beds, the key teacher can grow whatever produce they want to use; in the other half, they grow what's called "stoplight salad" -- red tomatoes, yellow squash, and green zucchini. That goes on the menu at the school, so the kids are actually eating food the helped grow. It also goes to charter schools for which DPS is the school food authority.
-- Amy Kuras Capitol Alert: California school-construction needs as high as $12 billion, subcommittee reports-- The Fresno Bee California: January 27, 2014 [ abstract] California needs as much as $12 billion in additional school-building money and almost $5 billion in modernization money, according to estimates in a report to the state board that oversees school-construction dollars.
Voters have approved about $35 billion in school-construction and modernization bonds since 1998, most recently in 2006. But the money is nearly exhausted amid talk of crafting another school bond for a future ballot.
Officials, though, have called for changes to the state School Facility Program that awards bond Funding. Last Wednesday's report to the State Allocation Board by the subcommittee on the school facility program included recommendations to discourage the use of bond money for portable classrooms, to require districts to commit to spend money maintaining bond-funded buildings, and to conduct an inventory of all school facilities.
The report does not suggest a specific dollar amount for a future school bond. The state needs anywhere from $6 billion to $12.3 billion in school-construction dollars, according to the report, and about $4.7 billion in modernization Funding.
-- JIM MILLER Everett schools seek $259M for new schools, remodels-- HeraldNet.com Washington: January 27, 2014 [ abstract] EVERETT " A new high school. A new elementary school. And $41 million in improvements at North Middle School. These are three of the biggest construction projects included in the Everett School District’s $259 million bond issue, which voters will decide on Feb. 11.
The school district says there are good reasons these were selected for Funding though the 20-year bonds.
Two of the district’s high schools " Jackson and Cascade " are above capacity. Projected growth and a drive for smaller class sizes for the district’s youngest students are behind the need for a new elementary school. And North Middle School, which opened in 1981 and has more than three decades of wear and tear, is in need of a major renovation, district officials say.
Mail-in ballots, which were sent to registered voters in the Everett district last week, actually have two money issues listed: the capital-improvement bond measure and a measure for the regular renewal of the district’s maintenance and operations levy.
If both the bond and levy measures are approved, property owners would pay $6.55 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. The owner of a $250,000 home would pay $1,637 per year in taxes for schools. Of that, a little more than half " $3.54 per $1,000 in valuation " would go toward the regular levy’s renewal and $3.01 per $1,000 in valuation would cover the capital-improvement bonds.
Everett school officials say the levy provides 23 percent of the school district’s $203 million operating budget and needs to be continued to cover staff salaries, textbooks and classroom programs.
-- Sharon Salyer District makes ‘win-win’ finance move-- Sandusky Register Ohio: January 25, 2014 [ abstract] Clyde-Green Springs Schools refinanced its 2003 school facilities construction and school improvement bonds this past year, taking advantage of significantly lower interest rates.
The risk-free result: Taxpayers will save more than $400,000 total throughout the life of the bond issue, which will now be completely paid off by 2030.
Joyce Dupont, the district’s treasurer, compared the “win-win” move to homeowners refinancing their mortgages to take advantage of lower interest rates.
“There was no cost to the district or taxpayers, only savings,” Dupont said. “The board of education wants to take every opportunity to reduce taxes to our constituents, and with favorable bond market conditions, we think this reFunding provides a great opportunity to save money for the community”
School districts can’t refinance callable bonds until 10 years after their issue date.
Clyde-Green Springs Schools’ bonds, approved by voters and issued in 2003, funded renovations to Clyde Elementary School and the construction of Clyde High School’s auditorium, Dupont said.
-- ALISSA WIDMAN Bill could offer alternate funding method for Maryland public schools-- Carroll County Times Maryland: January 23, 2014 [ abstract] Pushing for a 13th high school and boxed in by a lack of cash and restrictive state law, a bipartisan group of Anne Arundel County lawmakers is backing legislation that could help private companies build schools in Maryland.
Del. Cathy Vitale, R-Severna Park introduced a bill on Wednesday that would exclude lease payments made by local school districts from the state "maintenance of effort" law.
The law requires local governments, if they are to qualify for increased state aid, to spend as much per pupil each year as they did the year before. Lease payments are included in the calculation.
Vitale said she has heard that at least one private company is interested in building a new high school in Anne Arundel County and leasing it back to the school system, transferring the property to the system at the end of the lease.
But to make such a deal the school system would likely need financial assistance from county or state government, its two primary sources of Funding.
Anne Arundel is one of many jurisdictions pleading for more state school construction cash this year. Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed capital budget for fiscal 2015 includes less than half of what Anne Arundel school officials requested.
As the law stands now, with lease payments included in maintenance-of-effort calculations, county assistance in paying for a leasing deal would mean an increase in the maintenance-of-effort level or cuts to staff or school supplies.
Vitale said her bill would remove that hurdle, and offer a way to deal with burgeoning enrollment at county high schools.
"At this point, that's the only way we're going to get a 13th high school," she said.
-- ALEX JACKSON Malloy proposes school security boost-- ctpost.com Connecticut: January 23, 2014 [ abstract] NEW HAVEN -- Having passed through a metal-detector gauntlet at Wilbur Cross High School, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Thursday proposed spending an additional $10 million to bolster school security statewide.
The new money, part of a budget Malloy will present to the state Legislature next month, would be on top of $21 million already invested by the state in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings that claimed the lives of 20 first-graders and six educators 13 months ago.
Already, 604 schools in 111 Connecticut school districts -- all that applied -- have received grants to help pay for surveillance cameras, electronic locks, entry-door buzzers, scan-card entry systems and panic buttons.
"Providing safe learning environments for our students and educators is a basic responsibility," Malloy said.
Calling it a robust effort, Malloy said the new pot of money -- if approved by the Legislature -- would go to the best applications. The money would also be available to state technical high schools and interdistrict magnet schools, which were shut out of the first Funding round. Schools and districts that have already received funds could also apply.
Like last time, the state funds would require a match of funds from applying municipalities, based on the state's school construction reimbursement rate. The poorest communities, such as Bridgeport, would have to contribute 20 percent; the richest communities, like Westport, 80 percent.
-- Linda Conner Lambeck Repairs, renovations to OPS buildings could cost up to $650 million-- Omaha.com Nebraska: January 23, 2014 [ abstract] Repairs and renovations to Omaha Public Schools buildings could carry a price tag of up to $650 million.
The school district's latest facility study identifies $570 million in building upgrades for 79 schools, whose needs range from relatively simple maintenance projects — paint touch-ups and roof repairs — to multimillion-dollar classroom additions to ease overcrowding.
Additional work on alternative schools and outbuildings like school stadiums could send costs swelling to somewhere between $600 million and $650 million, said John Sova, a principal at RDG Planning & Design, the architecture and engineering firm that conducted the analysis.
The $570 million figure addresses infrastructure needs at existing buildings and does not include costs, or recommendations, for building new schools.
That amount would fund extensive improvements, especially in aging schools left out in OPS's last two bond issues, in 1988 and 1999. Some haven't seen major renovations or repairs in more than 25 years, including schools built from the 1950s to 1970s.
The initial report presented at Wednesday's school board meeting is not the final word on OPS's building needs, Sova said.
A final report could be completed in the next 60 days, Sova said. The school board and OPS administration will ultimately decide which, if any projects, are recommended for Funding.
So is an OPS bond issue imminent?
Board members were mum on that, but they said the district would discuss in coming months how to pay for the lengthy list of improvements as part of a larger conversation that ties in with the district's new strategic plan.
-- Erin Duffy Garrett commissioners OK Capital Improvement Program for schools-- Cumberland Times-News Maryland: January 22, 2014 [ abstract] OAKLAND " The Garrett County commissioners unanimously approved the board of education’s 2015 Capital Improvement Program during their public meeting Tuesday and gave the board the green light to go ahead with the design phase of the Southern Middle School renovation project, according to Monty Pagenhardt, county administrator.
The $582,400 design Funding for the project is included in the county’s fiscal 2014 budget.
“All projects on the CIP will be reviewed and approved as part of the fiscal year budget approval process,” said Pagenhardt.
Last year the commissioners voted to defer the Funding of the project for a year and voiced concerns about being able to fund the project without a tax increase. There weren’t any changes to the county’s budget, ac-cording to Pagenhardt.
The project construction date for the renovation is still under consideration and has not been approved yet.
“At this time the county is not certain what actual revenue projections will be for forthcoming budget years although our financial model shows an improvement in expected revenue in the next several years,” said Pagenhardt.
The renovation of Southern Middle School may need to be deferred but the design phase will be completed, which will allow the project to commence when funds are identified by transferring from reserves, by financing, by state match or in other ways, according to Pagenhardt.
-- Elaine Blaisdell School districts still waiting for $1 billion from state-- The Morning Call Pennsylvania: January 19, 2014 [ abstract] For weeks, Gov. Tom Corbett's administration has been warning that next year's budget could have an estimated $1.2 billion deficit due in part to a spike in pension payments needed to help cover decades of unfunded liabilities.
Last Thursday, about two dozen public school officials and one lawmaker gathered in the Capitol to remind the governor and the Legislature about another unfunded liability: construction costs.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education owes about $1 billion to numerous school districts, including several in the Lehigh Valley, for about 350 state-approved renovation and construction projects.
In 2011, the administration cut reimbursement payments by $20 million to $296 million. Then the department put a moratorium on approving new projects for reimbursement by essentially shutting down the construction review process known as The Planning and Construction Workbook, or PlanCon.
The moratorium is in place until June 30, unless the Legislature extends it. But public school officials want the money now, saying losing the state funds has caused them to dip into their own finances, lay off staff, or cut programs.
"The need for legislative action regarding the Funding of PlanCon is critical and necessary without hesitation to avoid financial ruin of our district and the many others who are facing the same peril due to what I consider to be a deliberate and unconstitutional act," said Richard Bernazzoli, superintendent of the rural Portage Area School District in Cambria County, which has yet to receive $6.1 million in reimbursements for a 2009 elementary school project.
"If we had been informed prior to entering into such a project, knowing full well that this would happen, we would have never started," Bernazzoli said. "So I ask you, why are we being punished for doing what was right by our students and district residents?"
State Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, said the moratorium has put school districts in a bind. The department did a poor job running its PlanCon process and approved far more projects than the state could afford, he said.
-- Steve Esack and Adam Clark Local taxpayers may be paying for future schools-- Sahuarita Sun Arizona: January 17, 2014 [ abstract] Public schools can expect more Funding from the state this year but when it comes to new construction, they're likely going to be on their own.
State Schools Superintendent John Huppenthal told the Green Valley News last week that the state is not likely to approve any funds for new school buildings in the foreseeable future, hinting that it may turn that responsibility back to local school districts.
The Legislature has informally done that by declining to fund the School Facilities Board for several years — the state agency that funds new schools.
The Sahuarita and Continental school districts have funded recent expansion through local voter-approved bonds. Sahuarita expects that it will need another school in three years; Continental, which is undergoing a major campus expansion, also is in a growing area.
Arizona schools can expect at least 2 percent more Funding this year per student, which will cover inflation, Huppenthal said, and those in Green Valley and Sahuarita can expect growth funds ranging from 4 to 10 percent.
Continental Superintendent Virginia Juettner welcomes the increase because about 15 percent of her students are higher-cost special education students — about double the statewide average.
The 2 percent inflation increase would amount to about $40,000, but Juettner noted that it simply allows the district to keep up with costs.
And if the state does start to fund the SFB again, Continental does not expect to qualify for funds under the agency's current formula, which counts cafeteria space and hallways as instructional space, Juettner said. That may not come into play in the short term with the campus expansion, but Juettner foresees big growth, starting with 100 new houses that are to be built in Madera Highlands soon.
-- Philip Franchine Beach Channel gets $5M for Sandy fixes-- Queens Chronicle New York: January 16, 2014 [ abstract] Nearly $5 million in federal funds has been allocated for major Hurricane Sandy-related repairs and emergency protective measures at Beach Channel High School and related cleanup in Jamaica Bay.
The total Funding, $4,902,607.21, will reimburse 90 percent of the costs the School Construction Authority undertook for post-storm repairs at the school on the shore of Jamaica Bay. They include cleaning up an oil spill caused by the school’s ruptured oil tanks; rental and installation of temporary power generators, including staging for more than two dozen other schools in the disaster zone; rental and installation of a temporary boiler and a fuel oil tank; and new fire alarms.
The grant was announced by U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) last Thursday.
“This new Funding will go a long way in helping Beach Channel High School move forward with their recovery and ensure our children continue to receive the quality education they deserve,” said Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Park), who pushed for federal reimbursments for Beach Channel and several other schools in the disaster zone. “I commend Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for staying on the forefronts of Sandy relief and I will continue to work with them until every school in southern Queens and Rockaway makes a full recovery.”
-- Domenick Rafter Gainesville City Schools using sales tax revenue for construction needs-- Gainesville Times Georgia: January 16, 2014 [ abstract]
For the first time in her career with Gainesville City Schools, Superintendent Merrianne Dyer feels comfortable about how the buildings are operating.
“I’ve been here a long time,” she said. “It’s the first time I remember that ... there’s a very short list with what we need to do with our facilities. I’m very proud of that.”
Funding for building repairs comes in part from the education special purpose local option sales tax, a 1 percent tax with proceeds used to fund capital outlay projects like buildings, equipment and land for local school systems.
For Gainesville’s E-SPLOST IV projects, general obligation bonds are issued to fund construction. The tax receipts are then used to pay the principal and interest on the bonds.
Gainesville City Schools began drawing from E-SPLOST IV funds in November 2012 after a March 2011 vote, when 67 percent of Hall County voters approved the extra funds. Collections will go through 2017.
“On the ballot we put a lot of things,” Dyer said. “Textbooks, technology, we just threw it in there.”
From November 2012 through December 2013, the school system has received a little more than $6 million in E-SPLOST proceeds.
Multiple construction projects have since taken place.
“(In) the original budget we had some roofing that needed to be done at Enota Multiple Intelligences Academy, Wood’s Mill Academy and Centennial Arts Academy,” Chief Financial Officer Janet Allison said. “All of that’s completed.”
The roofing work at all three schools was completed for $1.4 million.
-- Carly Sharec The Editor's Desk: Engineers take state to school on infrastructure-- OnlineAthens Georgia: January 16, 2014 [ abstract] As the Georgia General Assembly convened this week, the Georgia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers issued a report grading the state at “C” in terms of its infrastructure.
To arrive at their final assessment, Georgia ASCE members evaluated 14 components of infrastructure " aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water, energy, parks, ports, rail, roads, school facilities, solid waste, stormwater, transit and wastewater.
According to the ASCE website, the infrastructure components were graded on the basis of capacity, condition, Funding, future need, operation and maintenance, public safety and resilience.
The state graded out particularly poorly on dams and transit, earning a “D-” on both. Georgia earned only a “D+” on stormwater and parks, got a “C-” on bridges and roads, a “C+” on drinking water, school facilities, solid waste and ports, a “C” on wastewater " and here the news gets better " a “B” on rail and energy, and a “B+” on aviation.
The ASCE’s overall evaluation is unchanged since 2009, but in fairness, the state is doing better than the nation, which rated a “D+” overall in the engineering group’s 2013 report card.
-- JIM THOMPSON M&O levies are critical for schools-- The News Tribune Washington: January 14, 2014 [ abstract] School measures come in different flavors. Some pay for school construction, some pay for technology, some pay for what’s called “maintenance and operation.”
Capital and technology levies (we’ll address these another day) are usually very important. When voters reject them, education gets hurt. But M&O levies are not just important; they pay for basics. When voters reject a levy twice in a row, they set off a neutron bomb in their local schools.
Many school districts around the state have M&O levies on the Feb. 11 ballot. In the South Sound, they include Tacoma, University Place, Puyallup, Franklin Pierce, Bethel, Sumner, Federal Way and Fife. Smaller districts include Steilacoom, Orting, Dieringer, Eatonville and White River.
These are all designated “Proposition 1” on the ballot. They are replacement levies " though not necessarily replacement of the exact amount, because inflation and expanding enrollments often drive up a district’s expenses. What they replace is the previous M&O levy, keeping existing essentials in place.
For the school districts, M&O levies " which come from property taxes " make all the difference. Statewide, they provide districts with an average of 20 percent of their Funding. Some school systems depend on them even more " 24 percent in the case of Tacoma, for example, and 25 percent in the case of University Place.
This money isn’t spent on luxuries; it’s spent on such items as textbooks, student safety and plumbing repairs. Schools that suddenly lose a fifth or more of their ability to pay for these things move right into crisis mode.
-- Staff Writer School construction apples and oranges [Editorial]-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: January 14, 2014 [ abstract] The county executives from Baltimore, Montgomery and Prince George's counties went to Annapolis today to present a united front in an effort to get the state to commit to a long-term, enhanced Funding stream to help them build and renovate schools. Though they did not make it an explicit part of their pitch, the unmistakable subtext for lawmakers was the state's decision last year to commit to just such an arrangement with Baltimore City. If the state was willing to commit $20 million a year to support more than $1 billion in construction borrowing for the city, why not for three counties that together comprise 44 percent of the state's schoolchildren?
We certainly agree with Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker and Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett that school construction should be a top priority and that their three counties have significant needs based on growing enrollments and aging buildings. That said, there are some key differences between their situation and the city's — and between the way the city went about building support for its program and what they have done so far — that should give lawmakers pause before jumping behind this idea.
As much as those three jurisdictions have need of modernized schools, the scope of the problem is entirely different in Baltimore City, where two different analyses identified more than $2 billion in needs and where it had become clear that the state was throwing good money after bad by putting Band-Aids on crumbling buildings. Moreover, Baltimore City, because of its high poverty rate, high tax rates and profusion of tax-exempt property, had far less capacity than those three suburban jurisdictions to do something on its own.
Even so, Baltimore City officials didn't just show up in Annapolis one day, hat in hand. Their proposal was the product of years of work by education activists and, eventually, then-schools CEO Andrés Alonso and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. Mr. Alonso accompanied his request with a controversial plan to close dozens of schools and realign the district's facilities to meet its current and future needs. Ms. Rawlings-Blake came forward with a plan to dedicate a portion of Baltimore's future casino funds to school construction, and despite the fact that city residents already struggle under a much higher tax burden than the residents of Montgomery, Prince George's and Baltimore counties, she pushed through the City Council a new beverage container tax to provide additional Funding. The city school district is dedicating a portion of its budget to the project, too. The state may be kicking in $20 million a year, but it's a minority partner in this venture.
-- Editorial School building advocates not ready to drop bond plan-- Cabinet Report California: January 13, 2014 [ abstract] (Calif.) The state's longstanding commitment to split facilities costs with districts could be a thing of the past now that Gov. Jerry Brown has reiterated his preference for reducing the state's role in building and repairing schools.
Brown, who unveiled his 2014-15 budget late last week, set aside only minimal dollars for emergency facility repairs and sounded a warning tone that while he's willing to listen to proposals, he's not likely to support measures that would further burden state resources or taxpayers.
But school advocates and legislative leaders familiar with the School Facility Program are pushing forward with plans to place a statewide facilities bond measure on this November's ballot – and they are hoping to convince Brown to support it.
Alamo Democrat Joan Buchanan, who chairs the Assembly committee on education, is carrying a bill this session to put a bond before the voters.
She is hopeful, according to a legislative staffer, that the right proposal might win the administration's support.
â€"I appreciate the governor's willingness to continue to discuss the need for a new statewide school facilities bond,†said Buchanan, also a member of the State Allocation Board, which oversees the School Facility Program. â€"Public education is an arm of state government, and I believe the state must continue to be a partner in this critical program.
â€"Safe, adequate facilities promote positive learning outcomes,†the Assemblywoman added.
Brown has not taken a formal position on the school facilities bond issue, but his budget language calls for a Funding source that doesn't add to the state's wall of debt.
According to Brown's finance department, debt service on previous bonds to fund the School Facility Program costs the state some $2.4 billion annually.
â€"Any future program should be designed to provide districts with the tools and resources to address their core facility gaps, but should also avoid an unsustainable reliance on state debt issuance that characterizes the current school facilities program,†the governor's K-12 budget reads.
It was in last year's budget that Brown first indicated his desire to reexamine the program that, since 1998, has funded school building projects using $35 billion in general obligation bonds.
-- Kimberly Beltran State Leaves Ocean City in Limbo on School Construction Fund-- Ocean City Patch New Jersey: January 12, 2014 [ abstract] Ocean City voters will cast ballots in a special election March 11 to decide on borrowing to pay for a $6.6 million renovation of the Ocean City Primary School.
Gov. Chris Christie promised last month that the state would pay $2.4 million to Ocean City for school construction. The news was part of an announcement from Christie's office about $507.7 million in new state Funding for 1,538 school projects statewide.
But a month after the announcement, Ocean City has yet to receive confirmation from state education officials that the money is really coming.
The school district does not know how much of the project cost to ask voters to fund and even if it's advisable to hold the March 11 special election on schedule.
In an update for the Ocean City Board of Education last week and again at a presentation to the Fairness in Taxes community group on Friday, new School Business Administrator Pat Yacovelli talked about a "period of uncertainty" for the district.
Yacovelli said information from the state Department of Education has been "very, very limited," and he knows only that the department is still reviewing applications and tentatively may release decisions on Jan. 21.
-- Douglas Bergen Savannah-Chatham school construction changes cause costs to soar-- savannahnow.com Georgia: January 11, 2014 [ abstract] Consumers in Chatham County paid an extra penny in sales tax from 2007 to 2011 to raise $310.6 million, which was used to build seven new school buildings, pay off bond debt and upgrade facilities and technology at every public school in the Savannah-Chatham district.
After the first collection period ended, residents voted to extend the education sales tax, called ESPLOST, for another five years.
But the first ESPLOST building campaign, ESPOST I, fell short of initial expectations. In fact, district officials plan to complete six ESPLOST I projects with Funding from ESPLOST II.
The bulk of the ESPLOST I shortfall was the result of the tax collecting less money than expected, but midstream construction alterations " called change orders " helped drive up costs by millions of dollars. New Hampstead High, the most expensive ESPLOST project to date, had $12.9 million in change orders.
Click here to see the details of where the pennies went.
Some of the pricey changes were unavoidable " required by state and local code or created by unforeseen issues with the economic downturn, bad weather, soil problems and previous construction.
“You can run into issues with contractors raising costs even if you’re just renovating a bathroom,” said school board president Joe Buck. “Change orders happen. But in ESPLOST I many of the changes were initiated by us.”
-- Jenel Few Renovate schools or redistrict, state says-- Journalinquirer.com Connecticut: January 10, 2014 [ abstract] The State Board of Education has approved a racial balance plan developed by local education officials that would lead to the redistricting of students should a school building renovation project not move forward.
Officials are keeping a close eye on Verplanck and Robertson elementary schools. If the racial imbalance in those schools increases in the fall, state officials say, they will require redistricting if voters do not approve Funding to create a grade 5 and 6 complex at Bennet Academy.
The redistricting plans haven’t been developed, as officials hope voters will approve Funding to renovate the buildings at a referendum.
The state board’s approval of the plan was contingent on the referendum passing. If voters reject the renovation plans, state education officials said they want local leaders to come up with a new plan within 90 days of the failed referendum.
Interim Superintendent Richard Kisiel assured State Board of Education members that any school renovation plans in the future will adhere to the state’s racial-balance requirements.
“The key to this whole plan rests with the creation of this grade 5/6 school,” Kisiel told the State Board of Education. “Without that piece in place, we’re essentially back to 2012 planning and looking at each school again.”
The next step in the renovation plan would be to ask voters to approve bonding millions of dollars to renovate and expand Robertson and either Verplanck or Waddell elementary schools.
Under this plan, two elementary schools would likely close. Officials are hoping to make these changes within the next six years.
While several school board members were pushing to have a referendum in April, officials are now talking about delaying a vote until November when voter turnout likely would be higher.
-- David Huck Despite moratorium, Bethlehem schools seeking state reimbursement for Nitschmann project-- The Morning Call Pennsylvania: January 07, 2014 [ abstract] Bethlehem Area School District's outlook toward receiving state reimbursement for its new Nitschmann Middle School is in line with the old adage, "It never hurts to ask."
Despite Pennsylvania's indefinite freeze on construction funds, the district will submit an application to the state for its planned new Nitschmann, pending approval by the school board later this month.
By submitting the documents, the district gives itself a chance to get money if the backlog of projects waiting for Funding eventually clears, Superintendent Joseph Roy told the school board Facilities Committee on Monday. The district has projected it could receive about $7 million from the state for the $53 million school.
Over the past few years, hundreds of schools across the state have waited longer than expected for reimbursement from the Planning and Construction Workbook, Pennsylvania's complicated system for overseeing and reimbursing school construction projects.
As of July 2013, 188 projects had reached the final stage of the "PlanCon" process but had yet to receive reimbursement. Another 166 were in the PlanCon pipeline.
The state's moratorium is in place until June 30, and the state Education Department reported to the Legislature last May that it could take three years until new projects will be accepted, assuming the budget for PlanCon remains flat.
The backlog is partially caused by a roughly $20 million cut to PlanCon line item in 2011. The rise of charter schools has also cut into the available money, representing about 2.7 percent of PlanCon spending in 2012-12, because charters receive lease reimbursement through the same pot of funds.
The Department of Education has attributed the backlog to prior management of PlanCon, saying simply that more projects were allowed into the program than the state could afford to reimburse.
By submitting the PlanCon forms, Bethlehem is agreeing to follow the PlanCon process. That includes holding public meetings about the new school.
The new Nitschmann will be built on the tract behind the current school at Eighth Avenue and Union Boulevard in west Bethlehem. When the school opens in 2017 it will have the functionality of a modern middle school, including a floor plan designed for team teaching and the separation of sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
The school design is also supposed to improve the traffic flow near Nitschmann.
In other business Monday, the Facilities Committee reviewed nearly $1 million in capital projects that will take place this summer, pending full board approval.
The projects include replacing the gymnasium roof at Spring Garden Elementary School and the emergency generator at Asa Packer Elementary School.
The district will also continue upgrading its security cameras, with a focus on Liberty High School.
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-- Adam Clark To pay for upgrades, schools hoping to come up with a wiser way-- TwinCities.com Minnesota: January 05, 2014 [ abstract] A crumbling track, antiquated heating and cooling systems, outdated classrooms -- those are some of the problems that could be fixed in the Forest Lake school district if voters approve a $176 million tax request in May.
After more than a year of studying building needs, the school board voted in early December to put a capital bond request before voters. If approved, the money would be used to remodel a junior high and the high school, improve building security and make myriad repairs.
"We have not had the money to keep up with maintenance as well as we should have," said Linda Madsen, superintendent. "It has built up over the years and we have to make some decisions."
Forest Lake's tax request comes after school districts had record-setting success on the November ballot, with all but a few requests for operating and capital funds winning approval. But officials in Forest Lake, where voters said no in 2010 to a request for $24 million in capital funds, know such success is far from certain.
Testimony from Forest Lake leaders helped drive Minnesota lawmakers to create a committee last spring that has spent the past six months studying how to make Funding for school facilities more equitable. The group of legislators and education advocates will make a recommendation to the Legislature in February.
Now, just 25 Minnesota districts have authority to raise taxes for facilities without voter approval. Those districts are eligible for what is called "alternative Funding" for facilities because they have a certain mix of student enrollment, building square-footage and facility age.
Other districts mostly are dependent on voter-approved taxes to improve technology, maintain schools or build new ones.
-- Christopher Magan State again rejects Hudson school roof project-- Metrowest Daily News Massachusetts: January 04, 2014 [ abstract] For the third time in a little over a year, the Massachusetts School Building Authority rejected the district’s request for money to replace the cracking roof at Mulready Elementary School.
The district submitted a statement of interest with the state agency in August for money to replace the Mulready Elementary School roof, but learned recently its application had been denied due to a high number of requests for Funding, said Facilities Director Len Belli.
More than 115 school districts across the state sought money for 201 different projects during the most recent round of Funding, according to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).
"Everybody is clamoring for a very little amount of money," said Belli.
The MSBA also denied the district’s request to fund the roof replacement project at Mulready Elementary School in December 2012 and in August citing a large number of applications for Funding. The roof was last replaced in the early 1980s.
Belli plans to re-apply for Funding with the MSBA later this month. School districts can begin submitting statements of interest with the MSBA on Jan. 10.
Replacing the roof of the 50-year-old school is expected to cost about $1.2 million. The district hopes to receive about half from the agency, with the remainder raised at a future Town Meeting.
During the fall, employees patched some flashing and filled holes around roof drains. Last year, contractors patched a handful of holes and cracks and repaired broken and loose flashing on the Mulready School.
-- Jeff Malachowski Notable in 2013: School landscapes get facelifts-- Chillicothe Gazette Ohio: December 31, 2013 [ abstract] The landscape in which area students attend classes and enjoy extracurricular activities changed dramatically during the past year, with some good news about other changes on the horizon arriving late in the year.
The Chillicothe City Schools received that news earlier this month that it could begin the active planning process in conjunction with the Ohio School Facilities Construction Commission as the first step toward securing the Funding in a state-local split.
The district " which has been awaiting that word from the state to move forward with plans to either construct two new elementary school campuses to handle all district elementary students or a single elementary school for all K-6 students " has until Jan. 17 to decide whether to take advantage of the opportunity.
District Superintendent Jon Saxton told the Gazette in mid-December that, if the district goes ahead and everything goes according to plan, funds couild arrive in 2014 or 2015.
The good news comes after residents of the district already had the opportunity to enjoy newly renovated athletic facilities at the Herrnstein Field complex. Thanks to a community fundraising drive conducted by the Cavalier Club, the newly named Obadiah Harris Family Athletic Complex boasts an artificial surface for Herrnstein Field, a new grandstand, new press box and a video scoreboard.
-- The Gazette staff Florida should better fund school construction and maintenance, leaders say-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: December 30, 2013 [ abstract] Over six years, local Funding for Florida school construction and maintenance needs has fallen by $1.5 billion, from a high of $3.46 billion in 2007 to a projected $2.005 billion for the coming year.
One big difference is the amount that school districts could tax property owners for such projects. In 2007, the maximum rate was $2.00 per $1,000 of taxable value. A year later, the Legislature dropped the cap to 1.75 mills, and the following year it lowered the cap again to 1.5 mills. At the same time, property values steeply declined, and state Funding for capital projects also shrank, with most of that money going to charter schools.
State education leaders are calling for a reversal, as growth returns in some areas and ignored repairs are taking their toll on several districts.
The Florida Association of District School Superintendents, for one, has made one of its legislative priorities the provision of "adequate Funding for the growing need for maintenance and repair of district operated public schools." The Pasco school district has separately urged its legislative delegation, which includes the House speaker and Senate education chairman, to restore districts' maximum capital tax rate to 2.0 mills.
-- Jeffrey S. Solochek Alabama community unites to renovate one of six remaining historic schools in Pickens County-- al.com Alabama: December 26, 2013 [ abstract] BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The Alabama schoolhouse remains a part of American history from an era when more than five thousand schools through the country were built primarily for the education of blacks in the early 20th century.
The Rosenwald School, was built around 1925 and is the only remaining of six Rosenwald School buildings constructed in Pickens County.
Now, Paulette Locke-Newberns, a former student, is among those leading efforts to renovate the facility.
"The ultimate goal there is to restore the building so that it can serve as a full-fledged community center not only for the citizens of the area, but for the people around the area," said Locke-Newberns, the Rosenwald Pickensville Community Center project coordinator. "There is no community center . . . the closest community center is about 10 miles away.
The school, closed since the 1960s, was founded when Booker T. Washington, principal of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now Tuskegee University), developed the Rosenwald School program with Funding from Julius Rosenwald, then CEO of Sears & Roebuck. The schools were created to promote collaboration between white and black citizens.
"My experience was going there meeting loving teachers who cared a lot about me," said Locke-Newberns. "One of the things that stands out is I always did love the arts. A music teacher came in once a week and he would teach us music in the form of a choir. He saw something more in me, and my dad supported it. I learned to play the piano because of that."
The renovation has been the focus of community efforts for several years, but was delayed during the devastating tornados April 2011. Before the storm damage, roof, window, and other exterior repairs had been completed.
Locke-Newberns said the next phase is to strengthen the foundation structure.
-- Tamika Moore Chillicothe schools can begin plans to build-- Chillicothe Gazette Ohio: December 16, 2013 [ abstract] Superintendent Jon Saxton said the district was notified Friday that it could begin the “active planning process” with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, which is effectively the first step toward securing the Funding with a state-local split.
Chillicothe has to decide whether to move forward with the OFCC by Jan. 17. Saxton on Monday recommended the board do so. Assuming all goes according to plan, Funding could arrive sometime in 2014 or 2015, he said.
Chillicothe has been awaiting state Funding for the construction of new elementary schools since 2004, when a facilities master plan was created. It called for the construction of two elementary school campuses " one at Mount Logan Elementary School and another at Worthington Elementary School " and the closure of Tiffin and Allen elementary schools.
In June, estimates by the district’s architecture firm pegged project costs at $45 million.
More recently, the board of education began discussing two other options. One would involve building a single elementary school to house all of the district’s students in kindergarten through sixth grade. The other would create two buildings with upper and lower grades split between the two.
The board will have to decide which option is best, and that decision might involve feedback from the community, Saxton said.
-- David Berman Budget shortfall may close, consolidate schools-- Mountain View Telegraph New Mexico: December 12, 2013 [ abstract] Sixth-graders in the Moriarty-Edgewood School District will most likely be taking their classes in the district's two middle schools starting next August.
In addition, the district will likely close two of its five elementary schools at the end of this school year, but it's up in the air which schools that will be.
The district Board of Education had two special meetings within a week — one on Tuesday and another on Dec. 4 — to chip away at a solution for its financial woes in which the district will face up to $1.1 million in a budget shortfall for the next school year without action. The focus of both meetings was to look at several options an advisory committee and district officials came up with to address the use of facilities.
"There is no pleasure in this process," said Superintendent Tom Sullivan. "We need to address this problem and move forward."
The cause of the district's money woes is that enrollment has dropped nearly 40 percent since 1999, with the most dramatic drops since 2008. That means the district is getting less money from the state to educate students.
Since 2008, the district has seen a $5 million drop in its state Funding. This has resulted in cuts in staffing, furlough days for remaining staff and dipping into the district's savings account to pay its bills.
The district had about $2.1 million in savings in 2008. The board has dipped into those savings over the past couple of years to balance its books and now about $542,000 remains.
-- Rory McClannahan CCSD seeks money to add portables for kindergarten classes-- Las Vegas Sun Nevada: December 12, 2013 [ abstract] The Clark County School District is applying for $13.5 million in state Funding to lower kindergarten class sizes and purchase 105 double-wide trailers for portable classrooms.
Earlier this year, the Nevada Legislature approved additional state Funding to cap kindergarten class sizes at 21 students. Lawmakers argued the lower class sizes would allow teachers to give more individualized attention to students.
Prior to this school year, kindergarten class sizes were not capped, and some kindergarten classes ballooned to more than 35 students.
Starting this school year, the School District began capping kindergarten class sizes to 21 students at schools with high numbers of English-language learners. By the start of next school year, all kindergarten classes district-wide must be capped at 21 students.
However, lower class sizes means the School District now needs more classroom space. To accommodate more kindergarten classes, the School District plans to purchase enough portables to create 210 additional classrooms at elementary schools across the valley " in time for the kindergarten class cap’s full implementation next school year.
-- Paul Takahashi 9 W.Va. counties receive school renovation grants-- Times Leader Online West Virginia: December 10, 2013 [ abstract] he West Virginia School Building Authority has awarded more than $4 million for school renovation projects in nine counties.
The Charleston Gazette (http://bit.ly/19eCUeJ ) reports that the SBA approved grants on Monday for projects in Grant, Harrison, Marshall, Mason, Mercer, Monroe, Morgan, Raleigh and Ritchie counties.
The SBA also awarded more than $2 million to seven projects that are regional or statewide in scope. The Funding includes $234,950 awarded to the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind for a new roof, gutter replacement and other renovations.
-- Associated Press County offers funding for new elementary school in western Rowan-- Salisburypost.com North Carolina: December 10, 2013 [ abstract] Rowan County leaders will offer to fund up to $22 million for a new consolidated elementary school in the western part of the county after the board voted 3-2 on Monday.
Vice Chairman Craig Pierce added the plan to fund the once-controversial school to Monday’s special meeting agenda. Commissioners Chad Mitchell and Mike Caskey approved the idea.
The new school would serve the students of Woodleaf and Cleveland communities.
Pierce called the conditions at Woodleaf Elementary “horrendous” and said the school is currently providing water for school facilities by truck and dealing with ongoing septic troubles.
Both elementary schools, he said, are very old and need to be replaced.
But Chairman Jim Sides and Commissioner Jon Barber voted against the measure.
Barber said community members were adamant?against a consolidated school when the plan cropped up more than five years ago.
“If we had put community input in before the proposal, I would feel much more satisfied,” Barber said.
Sides said he would not vote for the school because the county has several offers on the table with the school system and would like to see some of the matters resolved in case the board overextends itself financially.
“My argument all along has been I’m willing to meet any capital needs the schools have or identify, but with Funding streams that we have. I see no reason to raise taxes in order to do that.”
Sides pointed out two revenue streams for the project: lottery funds and state-generated sales tax money that is allocated for the county to use on capital needs.
-- Nathan Hardin Mayor Helps Plant CPS' 100th 'Learning Garden' at Pierce School-- DNAinfo Chicago Illinois: December 07, 2013 [ abstract] Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined students at Helen C. Pierce Elementary School Friday to install Chicago Public Schools' 100th "Learning Garden."
In 2012, the mayor pledged his commitment to working with a nonprofit organization, the Kitchen Community, to put 100 gardens in public schools across Chicago, a $1 million effort funded by Funding left over from the NATO summit and Chicago philanthropists.
The initiative was aimed at instilling healthy eating habits, countering trends of childhood diabetes and obesity, while also bolstering academic performance with the opportunity for garden-based nutrition and science education.
Pierce held an assembly and ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by the mayor and Kitchen Community Executive Director Kimbal Musk.
Andrew Lajom, an 11-year-old sixth-grade student chosen to speak about the garden, said the garden would "provide many fruits and vegetables for all students at Pierce," and "give us another opportunity to have healthy choices as students."
The garden consists of several concrete planters near the school's field and playground area.
-- Adeshina Emmanuel NJ announces $508 million for school construction-- NJTV News New Jersey: December 04, 2013 [ abstract] New Jersey’s School Development Authority has announced plans to use $508 million to help pay for construction projects in the majority of the state’s school districts.
The state said Wednesday that it will pay 100 percent of the costs in 31 lower-income districts and at least 40 percent of the costs in other districts for projects that address health and safety concerns and overcrowding.
Including the local districts’ contributions, the total costs of the projects is estimated at $1.1 billion.
The state’s portion of the Funding comes from $3.9 billion in bonds the Legislature authorized in 2008 for school facilities projects.
Overall, more than 1,500 projects are planned in 331 districts.
-- Associate Press Report Identifies Newark's Most Decrepit School Buildings-- Newark Patch New Jersey: December 03, 2013 [ abstract] A Newark-based advocacy group Tuesday identified the 20 worst buildings in the Newark public school system, all of which are more than a century old.
The Education Law Center based its assessment on the district's own data, which utilized an index employed nationwide to rate the quality of school facilities.
Click here for a complete list of the schools.
The ELC also noted that despite being eligible for state school construction funds, only five new schools have been built in the district since 2002, even though a district facility plan from that year identified a total of 17 schools that needed to be replaced.
â€"An Education Law Center analysis shows that, despite State control and eligibility for state Funding, NPS schools remain among the state's most neglected, dilapidated and unfit for student learning. Every day, thousands of Newark school children attend school in facilities that are unsafe, overcrowded and inadequate to provide a 21st century education,†ELC said in a statement.
-- Paul Milo Schools may join push for sales tax increase-- Sun Sentinel Florida: November 26, 2013 [ abstract] Raising the sales tax could be an easier sell to voters if school improvements — along with park and road upgrades — are among the spending plans, according to a new Palm Beach County proposal.
County officials are considering a potential 1/2-cent-per-dollar sales tax increase to raise about $100 million a year. That would help pay for a backlog of overdue facilities maintenance and other infrastructure improvements.
Now, in hopes of building voters' support for a sales tax increase, county officials and school district representatives are in talks about teaming up to make the sales tax hike push. After sharing with the county and cities, the school district's cut of the increased sales tax revenue could be about $40 million a year.
"We have had some conversations," said Mike Burke, the district's chief operating officer. "It's something we are considering."
County and school officials contend that budget cuts during the economic downturn added to a growing backlog of public facilities upkeep needs that require a Funding boost to get fixed.
But business leaders have raised questions about whether now is the right time to be raising the sales tax.
"There's a cautious wind out there," said Dennis Grady, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches. "We would like to grow the economy. … Let's not do anything to impede that."
-- Andy Reid District explains proposed $44 million bond-- Casper Journal Wyoming: November 25, 2013 [ abstract] “I would kick a dog if it would help school kids do better,” said Casper attorney John Masterson. As a member of a citizen-led school bond task force organized by the Natrona County School District, Masterson asked the big question at a recent task force meeting: will bigger buildings or more computer equipment help the district meet their basic mission of graduating every kid from high school?
The 31-member committee has been charged with analyzing and advising the school board on a proposed $44 million property tax bond that would pay for enhancements to Natrona County schools. Most of the money would be used for educational space, equipment and building safety features specifically not funded by the Wyoming’s School Facilities Department on the more than $285 million of construction the department is currently Funding in Natrona County to renovate or construct all the high schools and one new grade school.
As part of analyzing the proposed school bond, task force members will consider a number of questions: are they willing to shoulder additional property tax to support the proposed projects for local schools; would their neighbors support the bond; and after reviewing all the proposed projects and their associated costs, do they make sense to the committee, would they make sense to the community; and perhaps most importantly, should the district pursue the property tax bond in a special election next May?
At a recent bond task force meeting, Chairman Margo Sabec, also a Casper attorney, encouraged members to speak honestly about what they think of the bond election ideas and how they think the community will react.
-- Dale Bohren Residents, board weigh altering 10-year facilities plan-- press-citizen.com Iowa: November 20, 2013 [ abstract] Opinions vary on a recent Iowa City School Board decision to approve only the first year of the Iowa City Community School District’s 10-year time line for renovations and new school construction and wait until December to approve the rest.
Some community and board members said they support taking more time to change the time line " including accelerating plans for construction of a new northside elementary and renovations at Mann Elementary " while others said they don’t want to delay the plan for any of the facilities.
Concerns about a potential general bond referendum slated for 2017 also have affected opinions, residents and school officials said.
Board members approved the first year of the time line at a recent meeting, allowing district officials to move forward on projects at six of 30 buildings.
The decision allows officials to continue seeking building designs and preparing for construction at Twain, Penn, Van Allen, Hoover and the new southside elementaries, as well as a new high school to be built near North Liberty. It also allows officials time to continue creating committees of staff and residents for gathering feedback about these six projects, Superintendent Steve Murley said.
Board members plan to approve a time line for the remaining nine years of projects Dec. 10.
Board member Chris Lynch said he’d like to accelerate projects and construction, including renovations at Mann Elementary and the time line for the new northside elementary.
He said moving quickly could save money, allow for more options and minimize the number of times students would move from school to school while the district updates and builds new facilities.
“When you look at this overall, there’s a whole domino effect,” Lynch said.
But Murley said Funding may be a barrier to accelerating the projects. He said administrators would either need to delay some projects to move others forward or schedule a $119 million bond referendum earlier than planned.
-- Holly Hines Lee County School Board explores new tax-- news-press.com Florida: November 19, 2013 [ abstract] Rapid student growth and lack of space and money have the Lee County School District considering something historically unpopular: a hike in the sales tax.
For months, district officials have lamented the lack of building, maintenance and technology dollars that have come from the state to make up the capital budget. Bringing the sales tax up from 6 percent is looking more viable as an option.
“This may be the time for a half-cent sales tax,” said board Chairwoman Mary Fischer. “It requires no new debt and we are able to pay for a lot through tourism. Twenty-three percent of the money from sales tax comes from tourism, so it wouldn’t be a total burden on the local taxpayer.”
Discretionary sales surtax rates vary by county. Rates range from 0.5 cents to 1.5 cents on top of the 6 percent, according to the state Department of Revenue. Neither Lee nor Collier have a sales surtax.
Lee County has seen a decrease in capital dollars. All state Funding for capital goes to charter schools, and earlier this year, Lee County commissioners cut impact fees by 80 percent. The district’s $219.1 million capital fund goes to maintenance, technology and construction and makes up 17 percent of the district’s $1.3 billion budget.
-- Ashley A. Smith Middle schools take center stage in D.C. boundary debate-- Washington Post District of Columbia: November 15, 2013 [ abstract] The state of the District’s long-struggling middle schools took center stage at a packed D.C. Council hearing Friday as school leaders discussed the city’s plans to overhaul school boundaries and feeder patterns for the first time in more than three decades.
It was the first citywide opportunity for the public to weigh in on the boundary-change effort, a politically charged and long-delayed process that could reshape city neighborhoods and limit access to some of the city’s most sought-after schools.
Many parents testified that the city won’t be able to keep its growing number of young families " and won’t fix the lopsidedness of city schools, which tend to be overcrowded in a few affluent neighborhoods and under-enrolled most everywhere else " unless it solves the middle-school problem.
Weak middle schools across much of the city create a stampede for a few desirable options in affluent Northwest, parents said, and end up pushing many families into charter schools, private schools or the suburbs as they seek a predictable K-12 path. It is middle schools that are causing attrition at many elementary schools and low enrollment at many high schools, they said.
“Our children deserve a great middle school, where the amazing work and progress of their elementary schools can be continued,” said Carla Ferris, a parent at Powell Elementary in Petworth, who described the heartbreak of watching students go in many different directions after fifth grade.
Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson acknowledged that most of the District’s traditional middle schools and its K-8 education campuses have failed to attract families. She suggested that perhaps the city should figure out how to funnel children to charter schools in the middle grades, arguing that “they know how to do middle school really well.”
Education Chairman David A. Catania (I-At Large) bristled at that suggestion and called on Henderson to produce a middle school improvement and Funding plan.
“If whoever you have in your administration can’t figure out middle schools, get someone else,” Catania said. “I’m not about to outsource middle schools to charters.”
Deputy Mayor for Education Abigail Smith is leading the boundary effort, which will determine which schools students have a right to attend based on their city addresses. The changes could affect real estate markets and could shift the racial and class makeups of the city’s schools.
-- Emma Brown Malloy announces additional funds for school security-- WFSB Connecticut: November 12, 2013 [ abstract] Gov. Dannel Malloy announced Tuesday that an additional 75 school districts covering 435 schools will receive funds as part of the School Security Grant Program, part of the Gun Violence Prevention and Children's Safety Act.
Speaking at the Farmington Club for the Connecticut School Construction Coalition's "School Facility Security Products and Services Day," Malloy said an additional $16 million in state Funding will be used to reimburse cities and towns for a portion of the costs associated with improving school security following the Sandy Hook shooting.
"This allows us to continue to get resources out to the cities and towns that have begun work to modernize their security infrastructure and ramp up safety procedures at school buildings in the wake of the horrific events on Dec. 14," Malloy said Tuesday. "We will never be able to prevent every random act of violence, but we can take the steps necessary to make sure that our children and our teachers are as safe as possible. This Funding allows an additional 435 schools to implement modern security measures that will make schools safer."
School security has been discussed at length in the wake of a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School last December that took the lives of 20 children and six adults.
The $16 million in state Funding will be combined with $5 million approved by Malloy in September.
Malloy said on Tuesday that he would likely ask for more money during the next legislative session.
-- Steven Yablonski, Joseph Wenzel IV, and Kim Luce Richmond schools begin 'rightsizing' process-- The Augusta Chronicle Georgia: November 12, 2013 [ abstract] Educators and community members on Tuesday took the first step in reorganizing school facilities in Richmond County by discussing what kind of role schools should play in a neighborhood, and how they should be maintained.
A roughly 50-member focus group answered questions about what they want to see in the educational climate, facilities and operations so Philadelphia-based Montgomery Education Consultants can develop suggestions about which schools could potentially consolidate, merge or close.
The “rightsizing” process is needed about every five years to adjust facilities for enrollment shifts and changes in building usage, according to Richmond County Board of Education attorney Pete Fletcher.
“Year to year, people will move so some schools will have less students, some will have more,” Fletcher said. “Even if the student population is not changing, it’s always shifting.”
The consulting group will combine feedback from Tuesday’s focus group with data collected on student enrollment, housing and zoning trends and birth rates to create profiles on how efficiently each building is being utilized. They will develop suggestions for changes by January, and could adopt a plan after another community meeting and board approval in February.
The group was in almost unanimous agreement about the need to provide equitable Funding for all schools, and to maintain safety. Opinions were more spread out on whether schools should be in walking distance for children, how long the school system should maintain buildings and whether or not schools should be made available for community use after hours.
-- Tracey McManus Debate to begin on school construction in overcrowded Montgomery-- The Washington Post Maryland: November 05, 2013 [ abstract] Montgomery school leaders are scheduled to examine a $1.55 billion plan for school construction and other capital improvements Thursday during the first of several public meetings to consider building projects in the fast-growing Maryland school district.
The school board will take up the issue at a work session this week and at public hearings next week following a proposed six-year plan offered Oct. 28 by Superintendent Joshua P. Starr.
Starr’s plan seeks to relieve overcrowding with the construction of five new schools and 22 school additions. But it also calls for the delay of 20 school revitalization projects " postponements that are likely to spur community concern.
Fifteen projects at elementary schools would be pushed back one year, and five projects at secondary schools would be put off two years. In many cases, so-called “revitalization” projects involve rebuilding a school from the ground up and adding capacity.
At a news conference in late October, Starr said that meeting the district’s capital needs would require a $2.2 billion plan and partly blamed Funding shortages on state officials, saying they do not give the district its “fair share” of Maryland construction Funding.
-- Donna St. George Balto. Co. to fund new school buildings to ease overcrowding-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: October 30, 2013 [ abstract] Baltimore County plans to overhaul its elementary school buildings to add more than 1,700 seats in its central and southwestern neighborhoods, where overcrowding has pushed students and teachers into portable classroomsand hallways for their lessons.
The proposal announced Wednesday by schools Superintendent Dallas Dance calls for reopening Loch Raven Elementary and moving Catonsville Elementary to the Bloomsbury Community Center as well as additions and renovations at other sites. All of the projects are tentatively scheduled to be finished by the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year.
County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said Wednesday that the county government strongly supports the plan.
"We are committed to Funding the construction and renovation of these schools to solve long-term overcrowding problems," Kamenetz said in an interview. "It's a smart investment because we're investing in the future of our county through our kids. ... Strong schools also result in strong neighborhoods."
The school construction in the southwestern and central communities is expected to cost "in excess of $100 million," he said, adding that officials do not know all the details yet. A bond issue to help fund the projects is slated for the ballot in November 2014. The county also will seek state money.
The county has proposed $600 million in school construction over the past three years, Kamenetz said.
Dance said the construction would "do much more than create more room for our students," adding that it will make schools safer and give students better technology.
In the county's central area, Dance has recommended reopening Loch Raven Elementary to provide 500 seats, and moving students and staff from Halstead Academy there. The county would renovate the existing Halstead Academy for a new school and build a 289-seat addition at Cromwell Valley Elementary.
Despite a series of public meetings about overcrowding, some community leaders felt they were brought into the process too late.
-- Alison Knezevich Montgomery schools chief proposes more schools, classrooms, to relieve overcrowding-- Washington Post Maryland: October 28, 2013 [ abstract] Montgomery County’s schools chief proposed a $1.55 billion capital improvement budget Monday that seeks to relieve overcrowding in Maryland’s fastest-growing school district with the construction of five new schools and 22 classroom-addition projects over the next six years.
But citing budget constraints, Superintendent Joshua P. Starr also said that he plans to delay 20 school revitalization projects by one to two years. He placed some of the blame for the Funding shortages on state officials, saying they did not give the school system its “fair share” of Maryland construction Funding.
Montgomery has 17 percent of Maryland’s student enrollment, but the county typically gets about 11 percent of state construction Funding, officials said.
“Montgomery County does not receive what we should from the state,” Starr said, offering details of his program at Highland Elementary School in Silver Spring.
Starr emphasized that Montgomery’s rapidly increasing enrollment has become a major challenge for the school system. Montgomery’s student population has jumped by 14,000 since 2007, and the schools are expecting an increase of 11,000 in the next six years. Enrollment is 151,607, with an uptick of 2,800 students " enough to fill four elementary schools " this school year alone.
“Let me be clear: We are bursting at the seams,” Starr said.
-- Donna St. George School officials hope for financial help with building-- Minot Daily News North Dakota: October 24, 2013 [ abstract] School officials don't think there's any legal way to get the Board of University and School Lands to help pay for new school construction, but they're going to check to make sure.
Minot Public Schools business manager Scott Moum said Wednesday that the district will ask local legislators to seek an opinion on the matter from North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem. Legally, the school district is not allowed to seek an opinion directly. Moum said the attorney general's office has not previously issued an opinion on this topic.
Minot voters will be asked to approve a $125 million bond issue on Dec. 10 that would pay for new school construction that supporters say is needed to address overcrowding and expected future growth in the school district.
Opponents of the bond issue, including Robert Hale, who wrote a letter to The Minot Daily News on Sept. 1, have countered by saying that the district should seek the Funding from the Land Board, which administers school trust lands in the state.
Lance Gaebe, land commissioner for the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands, said that, under the state constitution, the funds distributed during a biennium from the permanent trust funds are to be 10 percent of the five-year average value of trust assets, excluding the value of lands and minerals. That represents roughly 5 percent each year. To change that state of affairs would require that the state constitution be altered and federal law be changed, said Gaebe. The money from the trust that is distributed to K-12 schools provides about 5 percent of the cost of educating each public school student in the state; other state Funding for education comes from other areas.The primary responsibility of the Land Board and the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands is to manage the Common Schools Trust Fund and 12 other permanent educational trust funds that are governed by Article IX of the North Dakota Constitution, said Gaebe.
-- ANDREA JOHNSON Marijuana tax would boost school facilities-- Post Independent Colorado: October 22, 2013 [ abstract] A proposed statewide tax on the new recreational marijuana trade would steer an estimated $27.5 million per year into a special fund that provides construction grants for public school facilities across Colorado.
In addition to a 10 percent tax on consumer sales to support state and local regulation of the industry, Proposition AA proposes a 15 percent excise tax on the wholesale end between suppliers and retailers.
The campaign group in favor of the proposal, Committee for Responsible Regulation, estimates the excise tax will generate $27.5 million annually for the state’s Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) program.
Up to $40 million per year in future taxes could go to public school construction under the proposal, which is before Colorado voters in the Nov. 5 mail ballot election.
It’s one of the primary selling points touted by the pro-Prop AA campaign, according to a statement read at the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association’s Issues & Answers Forum last week.
The money allocated to the BEST program will go to “renew and renovate old facilities, address air quality issues and overcrowding in Colorado schools,” according to the statement.
BEST grants are awarded annually through a competitive application process, utilizing a mix of lottery and state land trust funds and requiring a local match, according to Ted Hughes, director of capital construction assistance for the Colorado Department of Education.
“This would allow us to take care of a lot more public school needs around the state, and increase the amount of Funding we are able to work with,” he said of the proposed marijuana tax.
-- John Stroud Officials fear if levy fails, state facility dollars will disappear-- ThisWeeknews.com Ohio: October 20, 2013 [ abstract] Southwest Licking School District Board of Education members, administration and staff see the Nov. 5 ballot as a "now or never" opportunity for taxpayers to revamp overcrowded district facilities.
District officials are working hard to convince voters to approve a 6.04-mill tax issue that would help the district to begin a massive $109 million construction and renovation project, of which the State of Ohio would fund roughly 45 percent, or a little less than $42.5 million.
District officials said they worry if voters do not approve the bond issue soon, the state will divert the Funding to another district willing to take advantage of it and the opportunity would be lost.
"It's not just a want, it's a need," said Robert Jennell, SWL superintendent.
"Our facilities need an upgrade and this is the opportunity to do it."
Jennell said all district buildings are overcrowded and the district must enhance its academic programming to compete with surrounding schools and prepare students for the modern world.
He also said the state Funding is available for one year after it is offered, which in Southwest Licking's case was this past summer.
So, Jennell said if the bond issue is defeated Nov. 5, there will be very few opportunities to place the bond issue on the ballot again before the state Funding vanishes.
The bottom line is the total cost to the Southwest Licking taxpayers for the entire $109 million project would be a little more than $66.5 million. In property tax terms, the tax issue would cost the owner of a $100,000 house $211 per year.
-- SCOTT RAWDON Council passes bill on school building-money swap-- philly.com Pennsylvania: October 17, 2013 [ abstract] Philadelphia City Council unanimously gave Mayor Nutter the authority Thursday to transfer $50 million to the School District in exchange for a portfolio of shuttered school buildings.
The question is: What will the mayor do now?
He and his cabinet have raised repeated objections to Council's plan to swap money for empty schools.
Ultimately, the mayor may not have much choice. Late this summer, he pledged $50 million of city money so the district would have the Funding to start the school year on time.
The district needs to have the cash in the bank by December or January.
Nutter has been supporting a state Funding package that calls for the city to borrow the $50 million against future collections of Philadelphia's extra 1 percent sales tax.
But a bill key to that plan has not been introduced, because no one in Council will sponsor it.
Through a spokesman, Nutter said Thursday that he was committed to working with Council to find the $50 million.
On Wednesday, while answering questions about Gov. Corbett's decision to release a $45 million piece of the school-Funding package, Nutter was asked whether he would sign off on Council's plan.
"I never predict what I'm going to do with a piece of legislation before it gets to my desk," he said.
He did not restate his opposition to the building swap, nor did he repeat his reasons for wanting to borrow the money.
-- Troy Graham, Inquirer Staff Writer Quinn again suspends funding to UNO, puts $15 million on hold-- Chicago Sun-Times Illinois: October 17, 2013 [ abstract] For the second time this year, Gov. Pat Quinn has suspended state Funding to the scandal-scarred United Neighborhood Organization, the biggest charter-school operator in Illinois.
A Quinn spokeswoman said Thursday the state has frozen the final $15 million of a $98 million state school-construction grant that the Illinois Legislature promised UNO in 2009 to help build a network of charter schools.
“As a result of our own internal review conducted earlier this year, we have not approved any new projects, and we have suspended future capital projects,” spokeswoman Sandra M. Jones said.
Her statement came a day after the disclosure that the federal Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the clout-heavy group for possible securities violations.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported Thursday that, in a Sept. 20 letter to UNO’s board, an attorney from the SEC’s enforcement division in Chicago notified the organization that the agency “is conducting an investigation . . . to determine if violations of the federal securities laws have occurred.”
The SEC is asking UNO for records related to $37.5 million that the group raised by selling state-backed bonds in 2011.
-- DAN MIHALOPOULOS If new Marianna K-8 is built, what becomes of 3 aging schools?-- Jackson County Floridan Florida: October 16, 2013 [ abstract] The fate of three schools is on the mind of many in Marianna and the surrounding communities.
On Tuesday, the Jackson County School Board gave Facilities Director Stuart Wiggins the go-ahead to advertise for architecture firms interested in working on a proposed new $50 million K-8 school in Marianna, but there are still many decisions the board has yet to make regarding the construction project that may not break ground for years. Key among them is whether to apply for the next available round of state Funding or hold off and plan for associated costs during their next budget cycle.
Regardless of whether the board moves forward or bides its time on the “Special Facilities” Funding issue, discussions have already begun on the matter of what would become of the aging schools the new facility is set to replace: Golson and Riverside elementary schools and Marianna Middle School.
In a Wednesday phone interview, we asked Wiggins to discuss preliminary “repurposing” plans for the three campuses, which are referenced in an information packet he recently presented to Superintendent Steve Benton and board members.
F. M. Golson Elementary School
This 63-year-old school located on Second Avenue could possibly be sold to a private party or to nearby Jackson Hospital. Wiggins said, to date, there have been no discussions with hospital officials about that possibility.
-- Angie Cook Massachusetts Enterprise Targets Inadequate Preschool Facilities-- Education Week Massachusetts: October 16, 2013 [ abstract] For years, Community Action Inc., in Haverhill, Mass., ran a Head Start program for more than 200 children in a building that once was a turkey coop.
The facility, located on land once owned by a religious order, came with low rent and pastoral surroundings, said John Cuneo, the executive director of Community Action. But the kitchen didn't meet local code, the walls lacked insulation, and in the winter, frozen pipes in an outbuilding used as classroom space regularly required Mr. Cuneo to run a hose from the main facility so the children and staff members could have water.
Many preschools that serve low-income and rural communities are managing programs in makeshift spaces that were never built with the needs of young children in mind. But thanks to a nonprofit in Boston called the Children's Investment Fund, Mr. Cuneo and other preschool providers in the state are getting training and money to renovate old facilities or build new ones.
A bill that is expected to win approval in the Massachusetts legislature would set the stage for a constant source of money for the work of the Children's Investment Fund.
At a time when early education is getting attention from leaders at the federal, state, and local levels, the approach to Funding and technical assistance that Massachusetts and some other states are pursuing is seen by advocates as a model for expanding high-quality preschool options.
"What we've seen in the last four or five years, when the economy has been bad, is that borrowing for improving facilities has really leveled off and virtually disappeared," said Mav Pardee, the program manager for the Children's Investment Fund. "Programs have been very concerned about mere survival."
But the current national conversation has provided a boost, and an opportunity to think, once again, about the facilities where children may spend hours each day. Facilities "are another dimension of quality," Ms. Pardee said.
-- Christina A. Samuels Massachusetts School Building Authority marks milestone in Fall River-- The Herald News Massachusetts: October 16, 2013 [ abstract] In its nine years, the Massachusetts School Building Authority has invested more than $10 billion in new school construction and renovation projects throughout the commonwealth, state and city officials announced Wednesday afternoon during a press conference in the Morton Middle School auditorium.
That investment includes 11 school projects in Fall River, for which the MSBA provided a little more than $222 million in Funding. Those projects include construction the new Morton Middle School, Matthew J. Kuss Middle School and Spencer Borden Elementary School.
Morton was a $52 million project, for which the MSBA funded $37 million.
Created in 2004 by state statute, the MSBA is funded by the Massachusetts sales tax. One percent of the 6.25 percent sales tax goes toward MSBA projects.
Speaking at the press conference, Massachusetts Treasurer Steven Grossman said he is a “huge believer in this region,” adding that investing in public education is the SouthCoast’s “ticket to long-term success.”
Fall River has one of the state’s higher unemployment rates, but, Grossman said, investing in education helps “give this region a sense its future is brighter than its been in a generation.”
“We are already seeing returns on the investment,” Grossman said. “My commitment is to keep the momentum going, to keep building a sense of optimism.”
“It’s hard to believe we’re approaching ten years... The system we had was broken,” said Sen. Michael Rodrigues (D-Fall River, Westport). “We would not be able to build wonderful education institutions like we have at Morton if we did not reform.”
“First of all put a three year moratorium on building new schools. Stop, let’s take care of our backlog. We pay up front. Communities no longer have to incur short term borrowing costs.
Pact governing city school facilities plan finalized-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: October 16, 2013 [ abstract] The pact that will facilitate the $1 billion, decade-long effort to upgrade Baltimore city school facilities was finalized today, with a unanimous vote of the Maryland Board of Public Works to approve a Memorandum of Understanding that will serve as a blueprint for revitalizing the city's dilapidated school infrastructure.
The memorandum, which outlines the roles and responsibilities of state and local agencies over the course of the system's 10-year facilities plan, was a condition of the law that allows the district to orchestrate and fund 30 to 35 renovations and new structures.
Of note, the memorandum -- which can be read here -- sets in stone critical roles and responsibilities in oversight and Funding of the 10-year-plan.
The school system, city government and state will each contribute $20 million annually to the projects in order to leverage up to $1.1 billion in bonds.
The Maryland Stadium Authority, whose involvement was critical to the school district securing financial backing from the state, will leverage the bonds and also manage all new construction. The school system will oversee renovations.
â€"In these past months, as we've worked together to forge this agreement, the four entities have developed a partnership based on trust and mutual respect,†Michael Frenz, executive director of the Maryland Stadium Authority, said in a release sent by the agency. â€"We believe this will carry over into the actual building program and make it an unalloyed success.
-- Erica L. Green State audit slams Colorado school construction fund for mismanagement, conflicts of interest-- The Daily Caller Colorado: October 16, 2013 [ abstract] A Colorado Department of Education program meant to help school districts maintain buildings and repair unsafe ones has spent more than $1 billion since 2009, but a scathing state audit has found that only a quarter of the 70 schools identified as being in the worst condition have seen any Funding.
Auditors found that an oversight board for the Public School Capital Construction Assistance Fund awarded grants to relatively low-priority projects while denying other projects considered to be high priority.
They also uncovered questionable expenditures approved under the program, including $877,000 spent on 1,346 laptops and iPads that were approved for one school but which were used at another.
“Auditors noted that those funds could have been made available for other health and safety projects that didn’t receive Funding,” according to the report’s summary.
The audit, released last week, is especially timely, considering that Colorado voters are considering a new tax on recreational marijuana that will contribute up to $40 million annually to the fund.
But as the audit shows, the program has a poor track record of ensuring the funds make their way to the districts that need them the most.
The statute governing the capital construction program requires that a board of overseers " called the Assistance Board " prioritize projects based on the most dire health and safety needs.
But a $12 million “priority assessment” of all the state’s schools and related facilities completed in 2010 “was not conducted in a manner that clearly identified all health-and-safety related deficiencies,” the audit reported.
-- Greg Campbell Lynchburg school board votes to approve capital improvement plan-- newsadvance.com Virginia: October 15, 2013 [ abstract] Lynchburg City School Board voted Tuesday to approve a plan calling for the renovation of three elementary schools " along with other infrastructure projects including the replacement of Heritage High School.
The division’s long-term capital improvement plan spells out building and maintenance goals through the 2018-2019 school year.
Under the plan, the upcoming fiscal year would include major expenditures for division infrastructure " a combined total of more than $95.3 million.
Most would fund the replacement of Heritage High School, slated to cost almost $83.3 million, according to the plan. The division expects to spend about $8 million on renovations for Sandusky Elementary School, with most of the rest divided up between various maintenance projects across the division.
One potential hurdle for the school division could be getting money from city leaders for the Sandusky Elementary School renovation " plus renovations at Linkhorne Elementary and Paul Munro Elementary in the years ahead. School leaders have said the buildings have a variety of challenges and don’t meet needs for 21st Century education.
Lynchburg’s City Manager Kimball Payne told a joint meeting of the school board and Lynchburg City Council he hadn’t included the elementary school renovations in a Funding plan aimed at securing money for the Heritage High School project and other city building goals. Payne has said his Funding plan could be accomplished without raising taxes.
-- Jessie Pounds Report: Better Equipped Schools Mean Better Learning, Student Advantages-- Arkansasmatters.com Arkansas: October 15, 2013 [ abstract] State Funding for school facilities should be increased to meet the needs of all districts. The official standard, that facilities need only be warm, safe, and dry, is not good enough.
According to a new report by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, the quality of school facilities can have a major impact on the education that our children receive and whether they succeed in school. Research, court decisions, and states have long recognized that disparities in access to basic school facilities can lead to differences in educational outcomes, especially for low-income students.
According to the report, “Why School Facilities Matter: And what we can do to fix the disparities,” all students should have access to a high-quality learning environment.
“In some wealthier zip codes in the state, students have access to state-of-the-art facilities that promote hands on learning, “ says Jerri Derlikowski, author of the report and Director of Education Policy and Finance at AACF. “They have things like television broadcast facilities, performing arts centers, and health careers rooms with computerized college quality equipment. That’s not always the case for lower-income districts.”
According to the report, students in low property-wealth areas of the state are typically educated in outdated, no-frills facilities that do no more than meet minimal state standards for being warm, safe, and dry. They often do not have access to state of the art facilities that do more to enhance learning. This creates an opportunity gap that limits the success these students can have in the competitive environments of college and careers. These inequities don’t just occur from one side of the state to the other. They occur within the same county and even within the same school district.
The report is accompanied by a 15-minute video (attached to this page) aimed at highlighting why the state of school facilities is so important. The film was produced by Bailey Perkins, a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma who spent the summer as an intern for AACF. The goal of her internship was to examine school facility disparities in the state and develop recommendations with local stakeholders for more equitably resourcing school buildings state-wide.
“This project was an eye-opening experience and one that taught me the importance of investing in our public school facilities,” Perkins says. “A quality educational environment should be available to all of our students, not just the districts that can afford it. Our lawmakers need to take a stronger role to ensure that our school facilities are more than just ‘warm, safe, and dry.’ They need to be equitable and fair and provide innovative learning environments that prepare ALL students to thrive in an evolving and globalized world.”
-- Staff Writer State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces Funding For School Construction and Modernization Projects-- California Department of Education California: October 14, 2013 [ abstract] The State Allocation Board (SAB) External link opens in new window or tab. today disbursed $285 million for school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools throughout the state for new construction and modernization projects, said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.
"These funds help support our districts with additional resources to revamp or construct new schools," Torlakson said. "We can't expect our children to prepare for the challenges of the 21st century when they work and study in facilities from the past."
The construction and modernization of school facilities, utilization of new technology, energy efficiency, and facilities for science and career technology education are recognized in Torlakson's Schools of the Future Initiative (PDF; 1MB) as among fundamental elements for achieving "21st century learning."
The SAB convenes monthly to distribute state matching funds for the construction of new classrooms, the modernization of existing schools, and other programs to improve learning environments, and adopts policies and regulations regarding SAB programs. The funds allocated by the SAB are from voter-approved general obligation bonds that cannot be used for school operational expenses.
For the complete list of allocations, go to the State Allocation Board's online agenda
-- Giorgos Kazanis Audit: Colo. school construction not prioritized-- Seattle PI Colorado: October 08, 2013 [ abstract] More than $1 billion spent on Colorado school construction projects has failed to always reach the neediest places because a board overseeing the spending hasn't prioritized the funds, state auditors said Tuesday.
The report released to lawmakers concluded that only a quarter of 70 schools identified as being in the worst condition have received grant Funding since 2009.
Auditors said the problem stems from the fact that the board in charge of the grants has not developed a methodology to identify critical projects or a prioritized list. Without such a tool, the board "cannot demonstrate the rationale for approving or denying each grant application," the report said.
Lawmakers created the Public School Capital Construction Assistance Program in 2008 to help the infrastructure needs of school districts and other public education organizations. So far, the program's board has distributed $1.1 billion for 211 construction projects. The state has funded $759 million of that, while districts have spent about $330 million in matching funds.
Auditors said they found instances in which the board denied Funding for some projects that were considered critical but funded others that were not.
"Each dollar spent on one project is a dollar that is not available to help another school to provide a safe, healthy, uncrowded environment for the students, teachers, and members of the public who use those facilities," the audit said.
Democratic Rep. Angela Williams, chair of the state's Legislative Audit Committee, said she was concerned about a lack of transparency.
-- IVAN MORENO, Associated Press Districts seek to replace deteriorating schools despite funding uncertainty-- philly.com Pennsylvania: October 06, 2013 [ abstract] Mark Wilicki has been principal of Bristol Township's George Washington Elementary School for five years.
But on most days, his job seems more like caretaker of an aging facility.
During rainstorms, the windows leak. Classroom floors tilt. Turning on six computers at once can blow out the power. And the doors leading outside rarely shut properly, necessitating a violent Wilicki pull.
"We're doing the best we can," he said last week, standing outside a closet turned classroom.
Like many area districts, Bristol Township has a plethora of old, deteriorating buildings. Washington was built in 1958.
So the district has proposed spending about $150 million to consolidate its elementary schools into three new buildings.
That places Bristol Township on a list of districts embracing costly capital projects, as officials seek to utilize favorable building conditions and funds from a state program with an uncertain future.
Not all of the projects are popular. In Neshaminy, a plan to spend $50 million has spurred opposition from skeptics like parent Angie Manning.
"There's so many open questions that we still don't have answers to," she said.
No one tracks whether school construction projects are up or down. Beyond Bristol Township and Neshaminy, another Bucks County district involved in building is Bensalem, which hopes to spend $78 million to renovate its high school.
In Delaware County, Wallingford-Swarthmore is spending $16.5 million to upgrade an elementary school. Unionville-Chadds Ford, in Chester County, completed a $55 million makeover of its high school in January.
-- Chris Palmer Lease-leaseback popular for school construction projects-- San diego Source California: October 06, 2013 [ abstract] The lease-leaseback delivery method for construction projects is regaining popularity among those who improve educational campuses and facilities, according to a panel of contractors, designers and former school officials at an executive roundtable Tuesday at The Daily Transcript.
Lease-leaseback is a method of selecting a team to design and complete a construction project based on prior experiences.
The architect and general contractor work together on scheduling and cost before pre-construction work begins, and with the owner to form the best plan to complete the work.
Under lease-leaseback, owners lease the property to the general contractor, and the general contractor leases the facilities back to the owner, covering the cost of completed construction. At the end of the project, the owner assumes full property ownership.
Doug Mann, former executive director of facilities for the Poway Unified School District, said lease-leaseback was created in the 1960s, when there was enough property tax Funding for school improvements.
“It certainly serves the client in today’s climate because you do get value,” said Chris Rowe, president of Echo Pacific Construction. “And I think if nothing else, the biggest value you are going to get is when you have changing programs and changing Funding. From the time you start a project, design it, you might have a change in staff, change in mindset, change in socioeconomics with the kids. Those kinds of things you can adjust under (lease-leaseback).”
Rowe added that costs can be trimmed from 10 to 12 percent with lease-leaseback, compared with traditional hard bid and design-build method.
“Whatever cost increases, if there are any (associated with lease-leaseback), are going to be at bid time rather than down the road, (which would cause) delays and a change order,” Rowe said.
-- CARLOS RICO Memphians fight to save elementary school-- WMCTV.com Tennessee: October 05, 2013 [ abstract] Students and parents are rallying to save their school.
Westhaven Elementary School, formerly in Memphis City Schools before the merge, was put on a list of schools to be considered to close.
Saturday, the community rallied to save its school.
Parents do not believe there is a reason to close the school.
"This school is a level 5 school. That's the highest you can get in the state of Tennessee. It has the highest enrollment of any school in this area right now we have 517 students in this school," explained the President of the Parent Teacher Organization, Bridget Bradley.
Bradley is a passionate advocate for the school to remain open.
"We are really fighting to save this school," exclaimed Bradley.
He and other parents believe one reason officials are trying to close the school is because the structure is older.
"It was built in 1957. But, it's structurally sound. It just need repair and there's Funding out there," continued Bradley.
At Saturday's rally, students and parents urged administrators to reconsider before the making final decision.
"They have the best teachers and they have the best principals right at Westhaven. What we need is here. We don't want our kids going anywhere else," explained Bradley.
-- Anna Marie Hartman Districts 118 and 120 end 10-year-wait for state grant money-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: October 02, 2013 [ abstract] In Mundelein Consolidated High School District 120 and Wauconda Community Unit School District 118, a decade-long wait for state grant money has finally ended.
District 120 and District 118 were two of 24 school districts in Illinois waiting for promised state grant funds intended for the construction of new classroom space.
Officials in each district, which applied for the grants in 2003, said they were getting to the point where they were talking about writing off the money.
District 120 Business Manager Andy Searle said he and other administrators had just discussed the improbability of ever getting the cash when, an hour later, the phone rang telling him the money was approved.
"We were very surprised," Searle said. "We're really excited just going forward with the 21st Century classrooms."
Dave Blanchette, communications manager for the Capital Development Board, one of the state agencies that oversee the grants, said the wait was due to Illinois not having a capital plan for about 10 years.
He said every district promised Funding from that 2003 application now will get the money.
"We had a couple of years where the program was funded, but for almost 10 years, the state of Illinois did not pass a capital construction program," he said. "We have reached all of the schools that were promised Funding under the current capital plan."
-- Dan Waters Mount Greylock reaches next step for school building project with state-- North Adams Transcript Massachusetts: October 02, 2013 [ abstract] Mount Greylock Regional School District has been invited into the state School Building Authority's (MSBA) eligibility period, Superintendent Rose Ellis said Wednesday, the first step in securing a school building project for the aging Mount Greylock Middle and High School building.
The MSBA Board of Directors unanimously voted to accept the district at their meeting Wednesday morning in Boston, she said. Ellis attended the meeting with School Committee Chairwoman Carrie Greene.
It's the first time the district, which serves grades 7-12 in Williamstown and Lanesborough, has been invited into the MSBA program. The state entity is responsible for Funding school construction projects.
The vote in favor begins a 270-day period where the district must show it can financially support a building project. If requirements are met, the district would then become eligible for invitation into the feasibility study phase, subject to a positive vote of the board of directors.
-- Edward Damon School receives state help for hail damage-- wwlp.com Massachusetts: October 02, 2013 [ abstract] Springfield's Chestnut Accelerated Middle School will get some help from the state to repair its roof that was damaged in a hail storm.
The hail fell on the Chestnut Middle School in Springfield and initially no damage was found, but when heavy rain fell, the roof leaked from very small holes from the hail, causing water damage in the school.
The school will now be part of the Massachusetts School Building Authority's Accelerated Repair Program.
The program provides Funding to schools to make energy efficient repairs.
-- Elysia Rodriguez After Funding Failure, What's Next for Austin School Facilities Plan?-- KUT News Texas: October 01, 2013 [ abstract] The Austin School Board last night approved a set of principles to direct them as they begin to create a Facility Master Plan, a document that will guide the board's decision making process as it deals with facilities across the city. The principles were approved with an emphasis on community engagement.
â€"We need to educate all our constituents about a topic that is quite complex. You're dealing from safety to facility construction, to financial to communications to academics," says School Board President Vincent Torres.
Torres says a lack of communication between taxpayers and the district was obvious in the May 2013 Bond election. Two of the four bond propositions failed—including the one that aimed at addressing overcrowding at some schools.
â€"If we are not explaining what we're doing, why we're doing and what we're really doing, certainly all kind of misunderstandings can occur. That's why one of the first steps we the board want to look at next is, 'how do we make sure community is brought along with us in the process?'" Torres says.
Other board members expressed similar concerns.
-- Kate McGee From renovation to demolition for Lincoln-Jackson Elementary School-- thetimes-tribune.com Pennsylvania: October 01, 2013 [ abstract] Instead of renovating Lincoln-Jackson Elementary School and turning the building into a Scranton School District alternative education center, the district may demolish the facility to make way for tennis courts.
The Scranton School Board on Monday balked at bids that would put the renovation project at approximately $5.1 million and shifted its focus to using the site to help expand West Scranton High School's athletics facilities.
"This is a lot of money to put into a school for (150 students at the most)," Director Bill Fox said at the board's buildings and grounds committee meeting.
The alternative education program will instead operate at the former St. Mary's School, which Superintendent William King said the district can lease for $3,500 to $4,000 per month.
Mr. King agreed it makes more sense to put the Funding toward a "new, state-of-the-art elementary school" to reduce the amount the district would have to borrow.
If school officials decide to build a $17 million school, Mr. King said the building would house students from William Prescott Elementary School and those displaced from the now-closed John Audubon Elementary School. Prescott would then house the alternative education program.
He said that would ease overcrowding in three South Scranton elementary schools about three years from now. For now, Mr. King is negotiating to lease space at the former Nativity school in South Scranton.
Meanwhile, school directors told Jonathan Loiselle of the architectural and engineering firm Palumbo Group to expand seating in a gymnasium proposed in a $6.2 million overhaul of West Scranton High School's athletics facilities.
The plan calls for building an addition behind the school's gymnasium, turning the surrounding tennis courts and softball field into parking lots, tearing down Lincoln-Jackson and placing four new tennis courts there.
-- KYLE WIND Drake: School facilities underfunded-- RGJ.com Nevada: September 30, 2013 [ abstract] Since 1997, Nevada law has required school districts in the two largest counties each to have an independent “Oversight Panel for School Facilities” of six elected officials from the county and cities (not district trustees) and five private-sector members with expertise in structural and civil engineering, public works construction, financing or construction cost estimation, a representative of the gaming industry, and a community member at large with interest in education.
This panel reviews the programming of district capital projects (new construction, revitalization, renewal, and technology infrastructure) and is required to submit on July 1 of even-numbered years a report “... setting forth recommendations to the Legislature, approval or denial for issuance of bonds by the board of trustees, and recommendations for financing the costs of new construction, design, maintenance and repair of school facilities.”
A review of these reports since 2006 demonstrates a consistent message regarding Funding for the Washoe County School District’s capital needs. Here are some excerpts:
-- Daryl Drake MANTUA CENTER SCHOOL ADDED TO NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES-- Record-Courier Ohio: September 29, 2013 [ abstract] A century-old schoolhouse in Northern Portage County has secured a lasting place in history.
The National Park Service in Washington D.C. has named the Mantua Center School in Mantua Township to the National Register of Historic Places, affirming the structure's historical significance and its eligibility for federal Funding supporting its preservation.
Members of the Mantua Historical Society and the Mantua Restoration Society pushed for the school's addition to the register. The building is the third in the vicinity to make the national list following the civic center and township hall located on S.R. 82. It was approved for inclusion on the National Register on Sept. 4.
Township residents have big plans for the neo-classical building and are excited at the prospect of seeing the school used for generations to comes.
"That building is at the absolute heart of the township, and now it can be a source of township identity and civic activity for another 100 years," said Carole Pollard, secretary for the non-profit Mantua Restoration Society, which focuses on the preservation of the township's historic properties.
The former school, located at 11741 Mantua Center Road, opened in 1914 in the wake of the infamous Collinwood school fire of 1908 in present-day Cleveland that claimed the lives of 172 children.
That horrific incident led to leaps in fire safety for school buildings, which the Mantua Center School reflects, National Register Chief Paul Loether said.
The Mantua Center School was designed around a thick, fire-retardant concrete endoskeleton with an exterior of heavy masonry bricks -- a major change from the wood-framed Collinwood school.
Loether said the building is also one of the "better, intact" examples of a school transitioning away from the one-room schoolhouse.
The school introduced flushable indoor toilets, which gained popularity with the advent of new technologies and a blossoming understanding of disease in the 1900s.
"Old timers will remember that instead of going to the bathroom at home, which were outhouses then, they'd wait until they got to (Mantua Center School) to use the indoor plumbing," Pollard said.
-- Jeremy Nobile Plan for new middle school-- Hudson Reporter New Jersey: September 29, 2013 [ abstract] While embracing Gov. Christopher Christie’s reelection effort may not have helped local officials win reprieve from a statewide school construction Funding ban, it certainly didn’t hurt, said Mayor Michael Gonnelli last week.
Christie had suspended a state program to reimburse school districts for construction projects, but Secaucus was among a number of school districts that recently appealed to the governor for relief from the ban. Now, the town has received notice that the school district can get some state Funding toward a new middle school " that is, if Secaucus voters approve a $27.4 million school construction referendum in a special election in December.
Should the voters approve the measure, the district will receive approximately 25 percent reimbursement from the state.
Separate from the high school
Gonnelli said that the money would go toward providing Secaucus with a “true” middle school, rather than one connected to the high school. It would open up classroom and other space in both elementary schools and the high school that could be used to accommodate the increased school population
The Middle School/High School complex has been under pressure to expand for more than a decade. While elementary schools expanded during that time to accommodate more students coming into the system, the Middle School/High School complex has largely remained unchanged since its construction in the 1970s " except for relatively minor changes.
The state rebate program was designed to help offset some of the costs local districts faced since the cost of construction had to be raised by taxes locally otherwise.
Christie had suspended the rebate program for review, partly because of perceived abuses elsewhere in the state.
-- Al Sullivan Prince George’s loses $1.4 million for school construction-- Washington Post Maryland: September 25, 2013 [ abstract] he Prince George’s County school system was forced to return $1.4 million in state funds this year after it failed to approve school construction contracts within a two-year deadline.
The county lost the Funding in May after it failed to sign agreements with contractors to handle upgrades to science classrooms at Potomac and Crossland high schools, according to David Lever, executive director of the Maryland Interagency Committee on School Construction, which oversees school projects in the state. Lever said it is unusual for a school system to miss such a deadline and lose Funding.
“We have had some jurisdictions that have come to the cliff,” Lever said. “But it is rare to go over. . . . We’re working with them to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Prince George’s County officials were “in the process” of awarding contracts for the work when the deadline hit, schools spokesman Max Pugh said. He said they missed the deadline because of unforseen hurdles.
“Delays in the award were due to difficulties in the bidding process, as well as some delays completing the designs,” Pugh said.
The state allocated $25.3 million to Prince George’s in May 2011, to build schools and renovate and repair the county’s aging facilities. The school system had two years " until May 31, 2013 " to award contracts, or the Funding would be rescinded.
In a July 26 letter to Clarence Stukes, the county’s chief of supporting services, Lever blamed the school system’s “apparent late start . . . in initiating design and procurement.”
“It is extremely troubling that the awards of contracts have been made at virtually the last minute after the elapse of two years from BPW [the state Board of Public Works] in the spring of 2011,” Lever wrote.
-- Ovetta Wiggins Quincy's public school buildings earn low grades in facilities review-- Quincy Herald-Whig Illinois: September 24, 2013 [ abstract] The Quincy School District hopes to find out quickly what the community feels about the idea of repairing, replacing or reconfiguring the district's aging schools.
Depending on what feedback it gets from the public, the board may decide to put a tax issue before voters by as early as next March. The tax issue would provide a Funding source to carry out any proposed building improvements.
A facilities assessment to be presented to the School Board Wednesday night shows only one of the district's elementary schools — Adams — received a "satisfactory" score in a recent appraisal of the district's buildings.
The six other K-3 schools — Berrian, Dewey, Ellington, Madison, Monroe and Washington — were listed as "borderline," as was Baldwin Intermediate School, which serves grades 4-6. Irving Elementary School, which was closed a couple of years ago but is still owned by the district, was listed as "poor."
All other facilities in the district were judged "satisfactory," including Quincy High School, Quincy Junior High School, the Early Childhood and Family Center and the Regional Safe Schools programs housed in the Board of Education headquarters, 1416 Maine.
However, it's the condition of the elementary schools — and how the district's grades are configured — that's causing concern for school officials and board members.
To view a report summary, click here.
"We really, truly have great schools. We just don't have very great facilities," Business Manager Joel Murphy told the board's Building Committee at a meeting Monday.
Murphy said many of the district's elementary schools are 75 to 100 or more years old, and most have severe space limitations and other issues that stand in the way of optimal education.
-- EDWARD HUSAR San Francisco schools growing greener and smarter-- San Francisco Examiner California: September 24, 2013 [ abstract] When you pass by a San Francisco Unified School District school, you might notice a new colorful mural, or perhaps you see that the windows could use a little washing.
But what you probably don't see is how our schools are part of San Francisco's greening revolution. They are making big reductions in how much water and electricity they use, turning their blacktop yards into leafy gardens and contributing tons (literally) of food scraps to The City's compost pile.
Go outside and learn something!
Since 2001, San Franciscans have contributed nearly $14 million in bond Funding for the development of green schoolyards at 84 public schools in San Francisco, possibly the largest green-schoolyards system of any public school district in the country.
While bond funds help transform school buildings and yards, it is also crucial to have a trained, on-the-ground outdoor classroom and eco-literacy expert to harness the educational power of our green schoolyards and spearhead important school greening efforts — an impossibility for many schools with limited financial resources.
Education Outside (formerly the San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance) has led the effort to foster the next generation of environmental leaders. Right now, there are 22 trained, energetic and eco-literate Education Outside Corps members at our schools teaching students science, ecology and even math on their green schoolyards.
-- Richard A. Carranza Schools wonder: If they build, will state reimburse?-- phillyburbs.com Pennsylvania: September 24, 2013 [ abstract] A state moratorium on reimbursements for approved school construction costs has some districts concerned the money might not come.
“You kind of worry about the future,” said Bob Riegel, Quakertown’s business manager, “and whether the money’s going to really be there for reimbursement.”
The worry stems from a moratorium of the state’s so-called PlanCon reimbursement. PlanCon refers to the Education Department’s $300 million a year “Planning and Construction Workbook,” a complicated review that runs from justifying the need for a project to designing it, acquiring the land, building it and paying for it.
Schools, under financial pressure from growing pension obligations, are concerned the moratorium could lead to the program’s elimination.
This is no more evident than in Bucks County, where officials warned of “devastating effects” to districts if the moratorium continues.
Mark Klein of Council Rock and Samuel Lee of Bristol Township told members of a state House Democratic Policy Committee this summer that putting off renovations would force taxpayers to pay more in the long run.
Churchville Elementary School in Northampton was completed in 2011 for $13.8 million. Yet, despite approvals from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Council Rock has not seen the state’s $3.2 million reimbursement.
“It’s forced us to continue to drain our reserve fund,” Klein said. “The Funding has stopped, but the regulations are still in place.”
When Riegel, Quakertown’s business manager, sees what Council Rock is dealing with, he worries about Quakertown’s budget.
“If they’re complete already and not getting the subsidy, maybe there’s not enough money in the allocation,” he said. “My biggest fear is we may never see it.”
Quakertown High School, built in the 1950s, was renovated in the 1960s. Decades after the presidencies of Eisenhower and Kennedy, the school is undergoing $71 million worth of improvements.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to upgrade what is a substandard core building,” Riegel said. “With interest rates this low, now is the time to get the building up to today’s standards.”
But with $4.6 million of the money due from PlanCon, Riegel said the district could have “a backlog making debt service payments. ... It will affect our budget.”
-- Gary Weckselblatt Morgan BOE returns $3M in state funding-- journal-news.net West Virginia: September 23, 2013 [ abstract] The West Virginia School Building Authority has accepted Morgan County School's request to return approximately $3 million worth of state aid - money that would have been used in conjunction with local funds to do work at Berkeley Springs High School.
It was necessary because the school system can't supply its share of the project cost after county voters rejected the school levy in May, according to superintendent David Banks, who wrote two letters to SBA members explaining the situation.
In a letter dated July 3, Banks said his board was returning a $824,000 Qualified Zone Academy Bond allocation that was to have been used in conjunction with $1,176,000 that was to have been provided from the local levy.
These monies were targeted for additions and renovations at BSHS.
"We received a 2011 allocation that must be sold by the end of 2013. Because our excess levy election failed, we cannot meet that deadline. Therefore, we are returning the allocation to the SBA so that it can be utilized by another school district," his letter reads.
He indicated a similar problem in a Sept. 6 letter, explaining that despite the $2.2 million granted by the state for renovations at BSHS' building C, the county BOE doesn't have the "financial means to move forward with the project."
SBA Executive Director Dr. Mark Manchin understands why county education officials took this action.
-- Jenni Vincent District explores building projects-- Sandusky Register Ohio: September 20, 2013 [ abstract] At a meeting Monday, board members agreed to begin gathering information from the Ohio School Facilities Commission, a state organization that provides partial Funding for construction or renovation projects it oversees.
The process is free and does not commit the district to a project, but it begins a necessary community conversation,superintendent Eugene Sanders said. The commission will analyze the district’s existing buildings, identify problem areas and provide cost estimates for various projects. Estimates in previous years indicated the Ohio School Facilities Commission could cover about half the cost of a Sandusky Schools building project, Sanders said.
The district will host a series of meetings this fall to get community members involved in the facilities discussion, one at each district building. The first is 6 p.m. Monday at Hancock Elementary School.
The hour-long gatherings will include a brief presentation and an opportunity for audience members to ask questions and address any issues, not just facilities. The events are geared toward district parents, but anyone can attend.
“We want to talk specifically to each school community about our overall priorities for the district this year,” Sanders said. “It’s not exclusively about facilities, but having that discussion is one of our priorities.”
The district’s academic transformation plan will be another key point during the presentations.
Ultimately, academic plans and community member input will determine what facilities the district pursues, board president Faith Denslow said.
-- ALISSA WIDMAN School facilities commission mulls $860,000 for Natrona County School District-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: September 19, 2013 [ abstract] The state board overseeing school facilities Funding is considering a request from the Natrona County School District to reimburse nearly $1 million in swing space construction costs paid for by the district.
The district paid $858,161 for the temporary classrooms, or swing space, during construction of Cottonwood Elementary about three years ago, Natrona County School District Superintendent Steve Hopkins told the School Facilities Commission on Wednesday.
The space now hosts classes for displaced students of the still under-construction Southridge Elementary School in Casper, and will continue to be used as swing space for the district as necessary during future projects.
“It was planned all along,” Hopkins said of the reimbursement. “This is kind of closing the loop in that process.”
-- LEAH TODD Malloy: 50% of public schools to get post-Sandy Hook security upgrades-- the ct mirror Connecticut: September 18, 2013 [ abstract] The $15 million that state lawmakers authorized to enhance security at schools across the state after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings was not enough, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Wednesday as he announced the first round of school-security grants.
More than 600 public schools applied for money to install items and additions like security cameras, bullet-proof glass, panic buttons and safe rooms, requests that totaled $21 million.
â€"Because we didn't have as much money as the original requests were for, we prioritized… I asked them to prioritize based on the conditions present on the ground in the school systems,†Malloy said. â€"It is our intention to fund all of the applicants that we had.â€
The governor said his budget chief is looking for ways to fund the $6 million shortfall in the existing construction budget approved by the legislature so that all 604 requests can be fulfilled.
While announcing which districts will receive the first $4.9 million –- including 23 schools in Bridgeport, 17 schools in East Hartford and nine schools in New Britain -- the governor said that he plans to ask the legislature to provide Funding for another round of security upgrades.
â€"I suspect that the legislature will agree that we should appropriate additional funds,†Malloy said at Wednesday's news conference at the State Capitol. â€"We believe this money would be well spent.â€
-- Jacqueline Rabe Thomas Montgomery County officials contend school system gets shortchanged by the state-- Washington Post Maryland: September 17, 2013 [ abstract] The matter before the Montgomery County Council’s Education Committee was largely procedural, but elected officials did not miss the chance Monday to press a perennial concern: The state, they argue, shortchanges the school system on Funding.
Montgomery County is Maryland’s largest school system, with more than 150,000 students, and has grown markedly in recent years.
“The state clearly is not ponying up what we believe we have coming to us,” said County Council Member Valerie Ervin (D-Eastern County), education committee chair, at a meeting where members approved two state grants worth $1.2 million.
The Funding is slated for capital improvements such as doors, windows or flooring.
Council Member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg-Rockville) said Montgomery County received 11 percent of state money slated last year for school construction, even though it accounts for 17 percent of Maryland’s students.
Council Member Craig Rice (D-Upcounty) commended James Song, the school system’s director of facilities management, for trying to “keep things together with spit and tape.”
Still, state Funding falls short, he said. “We are not getting our fair share,” Rice said.
-- Donna St. George Lakewood school district superintendent argues for bond and levy passage-- www.cleveland.com Ohio: September 12, 2013 [ abstract] The school district has an opportunity to rebuild three elementary schools and one-half the high school with 50 percent state Funding if voters approve a bond issue and permanent improvement levy this fall, Superintendent Jeff Patterson told about 150 community members Wednesday night.
Patterson offered residents an update on plans to tear down and rebuild Grant, Lincoln and Roosevelt elementary schools and replace the eastern, or oldest, half of Lakewood High School.
The Ohio School Facilities Commission earlier this year approved providing matching funds, totaling almost $50 million, for the improvement projects. However, for the district to receive the Funding, voters must approve a nearly $50 million bond issue and a 0.5 mill permanent improvement levy.
The bond issue and levy, if passed, would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $131 per year or almost $11 per month.
The district may never again have an opportunity to rebuild these schools with matching funds, Patterson told the audience.
If voters approve the money issue and construction moves forward, it would provide increased safety and security for students in what are now older buildings. Lincoln Elementary is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and Patterson said modern buildings are designed to offer greater security to students by limiting access.
The district also would save operating expenses because the new buildings would be more energy efficient, Patterson said. In addition, the new buildings would provide for easier student access to new technology, like high-speed Internet.
The district estimates rebuilt schools should last for at least another 50 years, Patterson said.
Asbestos abatement and demolition of the old buildings would begin next summer, and construction would start in spring 2015, according to school estimates. The earliest elementary schools would be completed would be in the fall 2016, Patterson said. The high school wouldn’t be competed until January 2017 at the earliest, he said.
-- Bruce Geiselman West ISD officials discuss next steps for rebuilding schools-- WacoTrib.com Texas: September 12, 2013 [ abstract] West Independent School District board of trustees discussed the next steps for rebuilding its damaged schools at its Wednesday meeting.
West ISD’s intermediate, high school and parts of the middle school were destroyed in the April 17 explosion at West Fertilizer Co.
FEMA already has given West ISD $2.75 million to pay for several modular buildings that are housing classes in the interim, but trustees must decide which FEMA Funding method it will choose for rebuilding the schools.
The board could opt to rebuild the schools in one of three pre-Hurricane Sandy methods, or the post-Sandy method.
The pre-Sandy methods do not cap the amount of Funding the district can receive, but there are more restrictions on how the money can be used.
The post-Sandy method caps the amount of Funding to the district, but the money is given upfront and there are fewer restrictions on it.
Superintendent Marty Crawford gave trustees a report Wednesday evening on the Funding methods, but a decision is not expected until October.
“(FEMA) can’t tell us what method to choose, but they were steering us in the direction of the post-Sandy method,” board president Larry Hykel said. “They never said this is what you should do, and they never will. It’s up to us to make the decision.”
The intermediate school already has been demolished, and the high school should be demolished by the end of the year, Crawford said. Construction on the new high school is expected to begin early next year, he said.
School officials hope to have all new buildings finished by the summer of 2015, or winter 2015 at the latest.
-- HOLLIE O’CONNOR Decatur’s State of Schools & Five Year Strategic Construction Plan-- WHNT19 Alabama: September 10, 2013 [ abstract] Dr. Ed Nichols, the superintendent of Decatur City Schools, discussed the system’s five-year strategic plan and proposed school construction during a State of the Schools address Tuesday.
Nichols says the system has spent the past year working on a strategic proposal called the ’2020 Plan’. During that time he says community involvement played a large role as nearly 1,000 community members provided feedback and suggestions.
Out of the plan the school system has been able to begin tackling 2 pivotal initiatives; career-tech opportunities and technology.
“One of those of course is allowing our kids to find out their career pathways,” says Nichols. “Working with Calhoun Community College we have almost 200 more kids this year taking courses out there.”
33 students are currently participating in a welding program at Calhoun every Tuesday night. Nichols says the co-op program along with middle school exploratory curriculum with courses ranging from aviation mechanics to cosmetology gear students toward a specific skilled discipline.
“We are working those schedules out so our kids that want to get into a career pathway can go ahead and start that their junior or senior year of high school and start building those credits toward that degree.”
Nichols says over the past few years decreasing enrollment across the system gave reason for concern. But a boost of 180 students this year will help with additional state Funding, Nichols says. The system already bank rolled laptops for grades 5-8 last year.
“And we’re looking at the high schools next year with a bring-your-own-device type of activity.”
The system is also ready to move forward with a plan to construct two new high school buildings in the city.
-- David Wood Local school to become community arts center-- Yale Daily News Connecticut: September 10, 2013 [ abstract] On Grand Avenue in Fair Haven, an unoccupied school building is undergoing a transformation into a new home for New Haven’s local arts scene.
The Strong Performing Arts Center, or SPACe, is an initiative led by Lee Cruz of the Chatham Square Neighborhood Association to convert the former Strong School building in Fair Haven into a venue for community arts performances, exhibitions and education. In addition to common spaces that can feature work by any tenant, the building will be occupied by various community arts organizations and businesses. The project has progressed significantly in the past few months, with the most recent development being an environmental study conducted on the building and submitted to the city for review at the end of August.
“This is a relatively poor neighborhood in New Haven that is looking to lift itself up by creating an economic engine that also serves the social good,” Cruz said.
Cruz explained that SPACe will have a sustainable business model in which revenues from the building’s occupants will cover its operating costs in addition to paying for a building administrator. He added that the only outside Funding the group is applying for will go toward bringing the facility up to certain standards, which necessitate the installation of handicap-accessible ramps and bathrooms among other features.
Anika Singh Lemar ’01, a visiting professor at Yale Law School who represents the Chatham Square Neighborhood Association in the project, said the association has conducted a careful analysis of project costs and has shown its viability effectively. Cruz said that in its consideration of whether to grant approval for the project, the Board of Aldermen requires an economically sustainable building plan.
“If I said that I needed 80 or 90 percent of the building to be rented out at all times to cover the cost, it would not be considered a reasonable business plan,” Cruz said, explaining that it is standard to expect only 70 percent of the building to be rented out at any given time.
-- DANIEL GIRALDO BELLEVILLE: High school to purchase wind tunnel-- Heritage Newspapers Michigan: September 09, 2013 [ abstract] he Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education unanimously approved purchasing a wind tunnel for the new physics lab at Belleville High School Aug. 26.
The new lab is dubbed the “Einstein Room” by school officials.
According to Abdul Madyun, Belleville High School principal, it is the only wind tunnel of its kind being used by a high school in the entire nation.
It is hoped that the Einstein Room will encourage students to work on science projects, either as assignments or on their own. The room will feature large windows to enable passersby to see what’s going on inside.
Board Vice President Martha Toth said at a recent meeting that the new high school facilities will be better than what her daughter had when she attended college.
The wind tunnel will cost $46,000 and is being paid for using Funding from the Belleville High School bond project. It is 6 feet tall, and weighs more than 600 pounds. The wind will travel up to 145 miles per hour in an enclosed chamber to ensure personal safety.
Madyun confirmed there will be a “wind trail” feature to enable students to “see” wind traveling over and around the object being tested.
-- Jerry LaVaute Washington County BOE unanimously approves six-year capital improvement plan-- herald-mail.com Maryland: September 08, 2013 [ abstract] The Washington County Board of Education unanimously approved its six-year capital improvement plan Sept. 3.
Although in recent years the school board had considered its requests for county and state capital Funding separately, this time, the board considered them together.
The requests, which include major school construction as well as systemic projects, such as replacing roofs and HVAC systems, are reflective of the Educational Facilities Master Plan the board approved in June. That plan can change from year to year.
For the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2014, the school board is asking for $7.1 million from the state and $4.6 million from the county, according to a presentation document.
The board is asking for final Funding for the new Bester Elementary School, requesting $1,491,500 from the county and $378,000 from the state. That school is on track to open in August 2014.
The board also is asking for $5 million from the state and $3.1 million from the county to begin construction of the new “West City” elementary school, which is planned for an August 2016 opening.
State Funding of $1,747,000 is being sought to help pay to replace Washington County Technical High School’s HVAC system. The school system would need to provide $933,000 for the local match because the county’s capital improvement plan did not list that Funding, Rob Rollins, the school system’s director of facilities planning and development, told the board.
-- JULIE E. GREENE Over $5 Million In Federal Funds At NYC Public Schools In Queens After Superstorm Sandy-- Longisland.com New York: September 04, 2013 [ abstract] U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder today announced $5,277,661 in federal FEMA Funding for the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) in support of various public schools throughout Queens that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy. The schools include P.S. 43Q The School by the Sea, Q816 Temple Beth Elementary School (PS 256 Annex) and Goldie Maple Academy/PS 198Q.
“There is no better federal investment than one that helps educate students in a safe and learning-friendly environment,” said Schumer. “Many of the public schools in Rockaway were hit hard by Superstorm Sandy and these funds will help reimburse the cost of repairs to these schools.”
“Too many hardworking families in the Rockaways have lost so much as a result of Sandy and I commend Senator Schumer for staying on the forefronts of Sandy relief and recovery,” said Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder. “It’s been nearly a year since the storm tore apart our schools and this Funding will help rebuild our schools and ensure our children receive the quality education they deserve, while assisting their families to make a full recovery.”
The award provides $1,640,589 in federal funds in support of emergency protective measures at PS43Q The School by the Sea. During Superstorm Sandy, PS 43 sustained damage from storm surge and hurricane force winds. The storm surge pushed water up to 48 inches on the exterior of the building. The boiler room had 46 inches of floodwater and the basement and first floor were flooded up to 6 inches. Between November 20, 2013 and March 22, 2013, work was performed that included a temporary boiler, temporary fuel oil tanks, pumps, insulated piping, motors and other systems associated with the boiler system. A temporary electric water heater was also installed and the walls and floors of the boiler room were washed down. Additionally, mold was removed from the mailroom. Other work included installing a fence around the temporary boiler, generators and other temporary equipment, installing a fence through the playground for students’ safety and providing Hazmat visual inspection and playground sewage inspection.
-- Staff Writer School officals question funding requests-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: September 04, 2013 [ abstract] Members of the local school board disagree with each other and school district officials about how to maintain the district's non-school buildings.
Laramie County School District 1 trustees are trying to decide how to pay for renovations and maintenance work for support buildings like the administration building and the transportation facility.
â€"This is the second time we've muddled through this stygian swamp, and I think we need to ask ourselves where we're going with it,†trustee Nate Breen said.
Some trustees said the money should come from the state through capital construction Funding.
â€"Even though (the state) hasn't addressed them in the past, eventually they're going to have to if we leave them there and they get in such bad shape,†trustee Tim Bolin said.
But other trustees and district officials said the funds should come from money set aside for maintenance work.
â€"It would be nice if state capital construction dollars paid for it, (but) my fear is the state would say, ‘Why do you think we give you square footage dollars for (the) transportation (building) if not to make improvements on (the) transportation (building)?'†trustees Chairman Brian Farmer said.
â€"Absent the catastrophic event, that's how they expect you to take care of it.â€
At a recent meeting, trustees almost voted against continuing with a maintenance and remodeling project at the transportation facility that will cost the district about $69,000. The project had already been approved once, and an architect was involved, officials said.
â€"You would pay the architect for services rendered and not use it,†assistant superintendent of support operations Dave Bartlett said. â€"So we'd be out the $69,000.â€
Trustees ultimately voted 4-2 to approve the project.
Trustees Hank Bailey and Bolin voted against it. Both said at the meeting that the money could be better used for school work.
â€"A school is a different proposition than a transportation facility, to me, personally,†Bailey said.Bolin agreed.
-- Aerin Curtis Greenfield, Felder & NYC Parks Break Ground on New Boro Park Playground-- Brooklyn News Corp New York: September 03, 2013 [ abstract] Councilman David G. Greenfield was joined at P.S. 192 on 18th Avenue between 47th Street and 48th Street in Boro Park on Friday by State Senator Simcha Felder, Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Kevin Jeffrey, Community Board 12 Chairman Yidel Perlstein and schools officials to break ground on a new public playground under construction in the school’s rear yard. This project, which is part of the city’s Schoolyards to Playgrounds initiative, is expected to be completed by next summer and will be the first new park in that section of the community in decades. In addition, it will include a play area designed specifically to accommodate children of all abilities, including those in wheelchairs.
“We are finally living up to our neighborhood’s name " Boro Park " as a result of this project and the fact that we are Funding improvements to every single park around the area. I am especially proud that this new playground will include play equipment that can accommodate children of all ages and abilities, including those in wheelchairs. Thanks to Mayor Bloomberg, Commissioner Jeffrey and the entire P.S. 192 team for their hard work on this project. I especially want to thank my friend Senator Felder for starting this project five years ago when he was our councilman, and I am thrilled to have secured the Funding to finish it,” said Councilman Greenfield.
“Thanks to generous allocations from Council Member Greenfield, Senator Felder and Mayor Bloomberg, we are transforming the lot at P.S. 192 into a destination playground. As a part of the Schoolyards to Playgrounds initiative, the new park will feature sports fields and new play equipment, and it will be fully accessible so that children of all abilities can enjoy it,” said Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Jeffrey.
“I worked years to plan for and secure the necessary Funding for this new park in the heart of the community. I applaud Councilman Greenfield for sharing my commitment to bettering our community and for seeing this project through to completion,” said Senator Felder.
“This is a very exciting moment for our school and our students. We have been eagerly awaiting this since the new playground was first announced and can’t wait to see what the final product looks like. I especially want to thank Senator Felder and Councilman Greenfield because without them this project would not be where it is right now,” said P.S. 192 Principal Liset Isaac.
-- Staff Writer Supervisor wants to rethink school facilities-- The News Virginian Virginia: August 31, 2013 [ abstract] While the Augusta County School Board considers future facilities needs, Augusta County Supervisor Tracy Pyles thinks it would be wise to look at the county's declining birth rate and consider putting funds toward teacher salaries, equipment and retirement Funding.
The analysis by Pyles came at Wednesday's board meeting. The supervisor offered the fact that birth rates in the county were less in 2010 and 2011 than in both Staunton and Waynesboro combined. And during the same span, deaths were greater in the county than births.
"We have enough capacity now and we're not going to have growth," Pyles said. He suggests rather than building new facilities, the school district would be better served by replacing buses and computers, dealing with Virginia Retirement System costs and raising teacher salaries.
Pyles thinks enrollment is also impacted by other education offerings. "Apply the money to teacher salaries and programs," he said. The supervisor said the loss of students to home schools and private schools indicates it's not about buildings.
-- BOB STUART District Changing Shuttered Schools Sale Process-- NBC Philiadelphia Pennsylvania: August 29, 2013 [ abstract] The School District of Philadelphia is changing the way it plans to sell more than two dozen shuttered school buildings.
District officials announced Wednesday they will now lean on the city to help sell 31 properties that were closed under the district's Facilities Master Plan. Twenty-four of those buildings were shut down forever in June.
Called the Philadelphia Schools Repurposing Initiative, the new plan will allow the district to expedite the sale of "highly marketable" properties to generate Funding more quickly.
The district will work with Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Alan Greenberger and other officials to identify possible reuses for the buildings.
The plan was announced as the district continues to try and close a budget deficit of $304 million. That deficit forced the layoff of more than 3,800 employees and ending of art programs and sports.
City officials have guaranteed $50 million in emergency Funding to the district under two plans. One proposal, put forth by Philadelphia City Council, would generate cash through the sale of these buildings.
Under the district's old facilities sale plan, the Adaptive Sale and Reuse Policy, an evaluation team of up to 10 people -- including community members -- would have been put together for each school. That team would then review potential buyers and recommend the best.
The new plan gets rid of that process. Instead, city officials will assess each property and provide recommendations for reuse. A series of meetings will also be held by City Planning Commission officials to listen to public input before facilities are sold, according to the district.
-- Vince Lattanzio Westfield Schools Could Receive $2.7M in State Aid for Remaining Roof Repairs-- Westfield Patch New Jersey: August 29, 2013 [ abstract] The Westfield school district could receive $2.7 million in state aid for the remaining roof repairs that will begin during the summer of 2014, business administrator Dana Sullivan told the Board of Education at Tuesday's meeting.
Sullivan explained that as of May 30, Gov. Chris Christie announced that state aid is available to fund school construction projects. The district immediately prepared applications for the remaining roof projects and received word Monday that the state approved those applications, which amount to approximately 40 percent of the cost of the remaining roof bonds.
But in order to receive those funds, voters must approve a $6.7 million replacement referendum that will be placed on November's ballot. Sullivan explained that for several years prior to the December 2012 referendum for $13.6 million passed by voters to finance roof replacements and repairs, Funding was not available for school construction projects. Further, she noted that at this time Funding is not available retroactively and therefore could not be sought to help pay for current repairs taking place at Westfield High School, Roosevelt Intermediate School, or Washington Elementary School.
-- Elizabeth Alterman City considers school facilities study-- The News Virginian Virginia: August 27, 2013 [ abstract] Unless things change at the next city council meeting, a facilities study will be approved to look at certain Waynesboro schools. Council members discussed the idea during their Monday, Aug. 26 meeting.
“I believe a facilities study is an appropriate next step in determining needs,” City Manager Michael Hamp said.
The Waynesboro school board passed a resolution requesting Funding for the study during their Tuesday, Aug. 13 meeting. In that resolution, they asked for a study looking at the needs of Waynesboro High, Berkeley Glenn Elementary and Wenonah Elementary. The last facilities study looking at any of the local schools was done in April of 1997. The three schools meanwhile have seen limited renovations in the last 30 years. Waynesboro High opened in 1937, with an addition built in 1956. Since that time, there’s been two renovations to the property, once in 1974 and the last time in 2001. Berkeley Glenn meanwhile opened its doors in 1968. Since then, records don’t show any significant renovations. Wenonah Elementary opened in 1975 and also has seen limited renovations since then.
The school board requested $35,000 to work on the project, but Hamp said he felt that wouldn’t be enough to complete the work.
“Given what the schools hope to accomplish, I recommend $50,000,” Hamp said. “I believe that’s the amount needed to accomplish what the school system has in mind.”
In exchange, Hamp suggested that the city be included throughout the process. That means taking part in the process of selecting the firm to do the study, as well as helping to establish what exactly will be studied.
“That way, at the end of the day, the study’s complete [and] the council and municipal [staff] have had a chance to see that work unfold,” Hamp said.
Waynesboro city council members asked Hamp what would happen to any funds left over, if the study doesn’t cost that much. He suggested that any part of the $50,000 remaining be given to the schools to help put the study’s recommendations into action.
-- Brian Carlton It's time to revisit school desegregation orders, black education group says-- The Times Picayune Louisiana: August 27, 2013 [ abstract] On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, the leader of a prominent national black education group says school desegregation orders might no longer be useful. Ken Campbell, president of the Black Alliance for Educational Options, was responding to a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit charging Louisiana's school voucher program hurts desegregation efforts.
Today, Campbell said, educational excellence is more important for racial progress than equity in a given school. "We can't ignore the kind of history of efforts to stop or block integration in schools in the South in the '60s and '70s," he said. But he added: "I think in 2013 we have to have a very different viewpoint in some regards.
"In the name of racial harmony or racial integration, we're going to assign kids to failing schools? These aren't easy issues."
The Black Alliance for Educational Options has been the loudest institutional voice in support of the Louisiana Scholarship Program, which lets low-income children in C-, D- and F-graded schools attend participating private schools at taxpayer expense. The group held a news conference Tuesday morning in Amite City to urge the Justice Department to drop the lawsuit.
Also attending were representatives of the right-wing American Federation for Children.
Almost 60 years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that separate school facilities were inherently unequal, 34 of Louisiana's 69 local school systems, including those of Plaquemines, St. John the Baptist and St. Tammany parishes, remain under court-imposed desegregation orders. These orders dictate that the systems must try to attain racial balance in schools, typically involving magnet schools and busing.
The Justice Department argues that Louisiana voucher program undermines these efforts by Funding students to leave their public schools. For instance, Independence Elementary School in Tangipahoa Parish lost five white children to vouchers, "reinforcing the racial identity of the school as a black school."
-- Danielle Dreilinger Rural schools funded: But the money isn’t spread widely, given each school’s cost-- Daily News-Miner Alaska: August 27, 2013 [ abstract] The equity of the state’s school construction Funding system has been a controversial topic for decades, with the divisions often falling along urban-rural lines.
The construction figures for the current fiscal year should allay some of the complaints. The state is spending a substantial amount of money on rural schools.
After an initial boom in the 1970s and early 1980s, state Funding for rural school construction tapered off. The schools aged rapidly, in part because maintaining them was difficult and extremely expensive.
As the schools wore out, rural districts felt the Legislature was not responding fairly to the need to replace them. Districts in organized municipalities received a reliable, annual appropriation to reimburse them for the majority of their debt payments on bonds issued to raise school construction money. In contrast, the Rural Education Attendance Areas " with no ability to issue bonds " have no structure to deliver Funding with such annual reliability.
So they depended more upon annual legislative appropriations. As the state struggled through two decades of low oil prices, that spending became pinched. It didn’t help that rural areas lost some powerful champions, such as the late Sen. Al Adams, D-Kotzebue.
The debate filled not only the halls in Juneau but also leaked into state courthouses.
In recent years, though, an effort to address rural school needs has helped turn around the situation.
This fiscal year, for example, the school construction grant fund will spend $73 million, up about $12 million from the previous fiscal year.
-- Staff Writer Volusia mulls school sales tax, impact fee-- The Daytona Beach News-Journal Florida: August 24, 2013 [ abstract] A preliminary plan for moving ahead toward a 2014 referendum seeking to extend the current Volusia County half-cent sales tax to raise money for school construction, technology and buses will be presented to the School Board Tuesday.
The current sales tax, approved by voters in 2001, will expire at the end of 2016. The School Board agreed in late June to ask voters to approve its extension in November 2014.
Superintendent Margaret Smith said she’ll discuss next steps with the board when it meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the School Administrative Complex, 200 N. Clara Ave. The board also will vote on reinstating a school-impact fee in January after a two-year moratorium.
Smith said she’ll recommend appointment of two committees with wide representation of school- district and community interests " one to identify school-system needs that could be financed through an extension of the sales tax and one to spearhead a campaign to sell it to voters.
The sales tax raised about $343 million between its inception and June 30, covering about half the cost of a building program that included 18 new or replacement schools. With enrollment declining now, the 2014 project list is expected to focus more on renovations, technology and buses than new schools.
School Board Chairwoman Diane Smith said the district’s capital budget has been “decimated” in recent years as state lawmakers have shifted Funding to charter schools and cut the board’s taxing authority for capital projects.
-- Linda Trimble School construction up despite reduced capital budget-- ALASKA JOURNAL OF COMMERCE Alaska: August 22, 2013 [ abstract] Despite cutting the capital budget by more than 20 percent this fiscal year, the State of Alaska increased spending on large education infrastructure work by 18 percent.
Lawmakers appropriated $98.8 million to such projects for the state’s 2014 fiscal year, which began July 1. The Department of Education and Early Development’s Major Maintenance Grant Fund was allocated nearly $23 million for 13 projects. The department’s School Construction Grant Fund garnered more than $73 million to go towards three renovation and new construction projects.
Additionally, the state-run Mt. Edgecumbe boarding high school in Sitka received $2.8 million for heating system upgrades and deferred maintenance repairs. The current capital budget is about $2.2 billion, compared with $2.8 billion in fiscal 2013.
Last fiscal year the state spent $78.8 million on schools through the funds. The Major Maintenance fund received nearly $17.9 million and $60.9 million was appropriated to the School Construction fund.
In recent years the construction Funding has gone to a few schools in large chunks. All three of the construction projects that were awarded state money in fiscal 2014 are located in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region in Western Alaska. The Nightmute School received $32.9 million for renovations and building expansion.
The Kuinerramiut Elitnaurviat school, a K-12 facility in Quinhagak, was appropriated $13.2 million for a major remodel and growth and $25 million was appropriated towards design and construction of a new K-12 school Kwethluk near Bethel.
Building and maintaining even small schools in rural Alaska communities can be extremely expensive because of the cost of shipping building materials to remote locations and housing construction crews.
The maintenance Funding often ranges from less than $100,000 for upkeep projects such as roof or siding replacement and fire alarm and sprinkler system upgrades, to multimillion dollar heating and ventilation system overhauls.
-- ELWOOD BREHMER School funding overhaul proposed-- Arizona Daily Star Arizona: August 18, 2013 [ abstract] A state lawmaker wants to create a new Funding structure that would eliminate school district override and bond elections.
At the same time, it would equalize Funding for traditional and charter schools, and, he hopes, quell conflicts between between education and state officials over how education should be funded.
Sen. Chester Crandell, R-Heber, made the proposal last week to county school superintendents from around the state, saying the state would create a dedicated fund for kindergarten through 12th-grade education.
Under this proposal, school districts would no longer receive Funding from property taxes within their boundaries. It would all come from the fund.
Districts would also lose the ability to ask voters to approve bonds and budget overrides, and would not receive other locally allocated money to pay for desegregation and other programs.
Funding sources from the state for school construction, classroom equipment and other needs would be eliminated.
Instead, the state would allocate the money equally to districts and charters, likely giving a lump sum to school officials to use as they please.
There are no final numbers, but Crandell said Funding would at least rise to the levels of charter schools, which receive about $6,100 per student.
Crandell said the idea is in the early stages and he is pitching it to education officials around the state to see if this type of Funding structure would work.
-- Jamar Younger System considers building larger schools-- Forsythnews.com Georgia: August 10, 2013 [ abstract] Forsyth County school officials are thinking bigger as they plan for the next five years.
Building new schools was a given for the fast-growing system. But in addition to quantity, some of those schools also will be larger.
It’s being recommended that future elementary and middle schools be built to house as many as 1,500 students. The capacity at high schools would increase from 2,100 to 2,500 students.
Current school sizes are 1,500 students for elementary schools, so there would be no change at that level, and 1,100 for middle.
Tim Amerson, the district’s facilities planner, presented the recommendations to the Board of Education during its meeting Thursday. Those included seven construction projects. The final plan is slated for approval in November, following more discussion, planning and revisions.
Due to Funding constraints, however, it likely will be some time before the system’s five-year facilities plan kicks in.
As proposed, the increased school sizes won’t begin until 2015, when future elementary school No. 14 could be built in southwest Forsyth to relieve crowding at Midway, Shiloh Point and Vickery Creek elementary schools. The site is proposed to be between Union Hill Road and McFarland Parkway.
Amerson said the 71-classroom campus is the system’s first priority. An application is being sent to the state next week to begin the process.
However, system spokeswoman Jennifer Caracciolo noted after the meeting that the state “does not fund the entire construction of a school and we have no local Funding to make up the balance.”
“If voters approve a [bond] referendum in November 2014, then it is projected construction would begin in March 2015 with the school opening August 2016,” she said.
-- Jennifer Sami When schools close, look around the corner-- The Detroit News Michigan: August 09, 2013 [ abstract] A year and a half ago, I toured the halls and classrooms of Baylor-Woodson Elementary School in Inkster. I came away impressed with the well-behaved young students and dedicated teachers and administrators who worked there.
The school, part of the city’s public school system, came to my attention because it had won a national award for delivering strong academic results despite most of its students coming from minority and low-income households. The students’ standardized test scores put some of them on par with their peers in Grosse Pointe and Bloomfield Hills.
“You need one vision and one goal " to increase student achievement,” Inkster Public Schools Superintendent Mischa Bashir told me then. And she seemed to be succeeding.
So it came as a shock that this school won’t exist anymore. The district is closing, an unprecedented move in Michigan, because it ran out of money. For the more than 500 students who attended the elementary school " half of whom came from outside the district " this means finding someplace else to learn.
At the end of July, a new state law allowed for the dissolution of the Inkster and Buena Vista school districts, after administrators could not come up with the Funding necessary to stay afloat financially.
Now it’s up to the Intermediate School Districts in Wayne and Saginaw counties to ensure the children in these schools make their way legally to neighboring districts.
Inkster had 2,200 students and Buena Vista had 432. Buena Vista made lots of news in May when the district ran out of money and had to close down for two weeks " leaving students in the lurch.
-- INGRID JACQUES Austin ISD celebrates construction on districtwide performing arts center-- Community Impact Newspaper Texas: August 07, 2013 [ abstract] Breaking ground on Austin ISD's districtwide performing arts center signals the beginning of a new era, Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said Aug. 6 at a ceremony and all-city band performance to celebrate the project.
â€"This facility is a symbol of our vision for the future of fine arts in AISD,†she said. â€"We're going to shift away from that culture of high-stakes testing and focus on the whole child to ensure that our students come out well-balanced and prepared for life and college and careers.â€
Construction has already begun on the 68,000-square-foot building, which will house a 1,200-seat auditorium, a 250-seat black-box theater, sound and lighting demonstration classrooms and a recording studio for student use, among other amenities. It is slated to open during the 2014–15 school year, according to Vincent Torres, president of the AISD board of trustees.
â€"Today we get to see real progress is being made on our bond and evidence that AISD is keeping its promise to voters that twice—not once, but twice, in 2004 and 2008—approved bond Funding for purchase of land and construction on a districtwide performing arts center,†Torres said, adding: â€"This is a long-awaited and momentous occasion.â€
In 104-degree heat, AISD students in the band, color guard and Anderson High School drill team performed at the Browning Airport Hangar.
Color guard member Charity Copeland, a sophomore visual arts major at McCallum High School, said she is excited about the prospect of being able to use the new building.
â€"It looks like a gorgeous theater,†she said.
-- Kelli Weldon Clover Park School District Bringing Six New Schools To Joint Base Lewis-McChord-- Lakewood-JBLM Patch Washington: August 06, 2013 [ abstract] These projects, the Clover Park School District says, will inject nearly $150 million into the local economy over a three-year period.
In September, two new elementary schools will open on Joint Base lewis-McChord.
Construction on two other schools began this summer. Two more schools will begin construction next year.
With all of that new construction that's funded mostly with federal money, the Clover Park School District says, comes an influx of economic activity for local business.
Construction began on Carter Lake Elementary and Hillside Elementary Schools in July 2012, and both schools will open Sept. 3 for the upcoming school year.
Clarkmoor Elementary and Greenwood Elementary broke ground last month, which will make the two buildings operational in time for the beginning of the 2014-15 school year. Additionally, Beachwood Elementary and Evergreen Elementary are scheduled for completion in time for the beginning of the 2015-16 school year.
The school district says the construction projects will inject nearly $150 million into the economy over a three-year period. The projects requires the work of an array of local services and companies, including architects, engineers, ironworkers, carpenters, electricians, masons, drywall workers, plumbers, roofers, metal workers, painters and landscapers.
More than 80 companies worked on the Carter Lake and Hillside Elementary School projects. Many of these companies are based in Pierce County, the school district says.
Funding for the new schools comes from the Department of Defense's Office of Economic Adjustment and Washington state school construction funds.
-- Brent Champaco Dighton-Rehoboth gets help with school repairs-- The Sun Chronicle Massachusetts: August 04, 2013 [ abstract] Several schools in the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District will be getting some financial assistance with much-needed roofing and HVAC repairs.
The schools - Dighton Elementary, Dighton Middle, Beckwith Middle and Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School - have been accepted for the Massachusetts School Building Authority's accelerated repair program.
The program, launched this year, provides Funding to schools for improvements to windows, roofs and boilers.
It can be a lengthy process, school officials say, and the district will have to pay a percentage of the costs.
The agency typically reimburses from 31 to 80 percent of the costs.
-- LAURA CALVERLEY Eight months later, schools still upping security-- thetimes-tribune.com Pennsylvania: August 04, 2013 [ abstract] Some Lackawanna County school leaders brought additional armed police officers into their districts.
Others upgraded school infrastructure and equipment and tried to change their districts' culture through training and drills.
Eight months after a gunman murdered 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., the incident still weighs on the minds of Northeast Pennsylvania's top school officials.
District leaders spoke of efforts to keep children safe, fears that no amount of preparation could stop some tragedies and striking a healthy balance between security and an atmosphere conducive to learning, during recent interviews.
"Every single measure we're taking right here, all the money being spent, all the enhancement of security might not have prevented Newtown," Scranton School Board President Nathan Barrett said.
School officials are still intent on doing their best, however, and Mr. Barrett said security improvements continue even now.
A series of additional security-related infrastructure upgrades are planned for the opening of the 2013-14 school year, Mr. Barrett said, noting bids recently came in for 46 new doors and new surveillance cameras to cover blind spots in some of the current systems.
School officials also decided to close school on Election Day starting this school year rather than having a half day like in the past because all of the people coming in to vote is a compromise of security, he said.
Mr. Barrett said the administration is researching grant Funding to bring more school resource officers to the district.
The Riverside school district did not have any school resource officers before the mass killing on Dec. 14, 2012. Over Christmas break, the school board approved adding three officers to its schools for the rest of the year.
Superintendent Paul Brennan said his district will keep the officers for 2013-14 and, he believes, for much longer. School leaders were discussing details with Moosic and Taylor police chiefs, but Mr. Brennan said the trio will likely cost about $90,000 for the full school year.
"They deter a lot of problems just with their presence," Mr. Brennan said. He cited domestic situations where parents who do not have custody try to take children home as one example.
The superintendent hopes teachers can begin using the officers as resources for classroom instruction, like a science lesson on forensics; and counselors can use the policemen as resources for topics like bicycle and Internet safety or anti-bullying programs.
-- KYLE WIND CPS School Closing Ruling: Judge Says City Can Proceed With Mass Shutdown Plan-- Chicago Defender Illinois: August 01, 2013 [ abstract] Members of the Kelly High School marching band drum line lead demonstrators to the Chicago Public Schools headquarters to protest Funding and staff cuts to their neighborhood schools on July 11, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. Earlier this year Chicago Public Schools announced it will close more than 50 elementary schools shifting 30,000 students and eliminating or relocating 1,000 teaching jobs as the school board tries to rein in a looming $1 billion budget deficit. (Photo)
CHICAGO (Reuters) - An Illinois judge on Wednesday allowed Chicago to proceed with the closing of 50 public schools by denying a request from the teachers' union to keep 10 of them open.
A lawsuit filed by the Chicago Teachers' Union argued that the school district ignored the recommendations of independent officials questioning 10 of the proposed closings.
"This unfortunate ruling ... does an injustice to the parents of these students," Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said in a statement.
Parents backed by the union have other litigation objecting to the closings pending in federal court. Attorneys for the union and parents are considering an appeal in the state case, according to attorney Josiah Groff.
The Chicago Board of Education voted last May to close 50 schools, including about 10 percent of all elementary schools, in the largest mass school closing in the nation.
The closings in mainly Hispanic and African-American neighborhoods have drawn protests by parents and union leaders, who say they will expose children to greater gang violence in a city that recorded 506 murders in 2012.
-- Staff Writer - The Huffington Post Panel puts Portland schools renovation plan on hold-- The Forecaster Oregon: July 29, 2013 [ abstract] Despite a push from the School Board, parents and school administrators, a $39.9 million project to renovate three elementary schools will likely have to wait until June 2014 before going to voters.
City Council Finance Committee members last week shot down a board proposal to hold a November referendum on work at Presumpscot, Lyseth and Reiche elementary schools, citing a need for clarity about state Funding for two other high-priority elementary schools, Hall and Longfellow.
Committee members were skeptical about receipt of an expected $30.9 million in state Funding for Hall and Longfellow, which state officials have previously said is likely, but is not guaranteed. The fate of the money will not be known until early next year.
The 3-0 committee vote came after School Department officials, administrators, teachers and parents urged a November vote in hope that voters would approve the bond and begin renovations as soon as possible on schools considered in desperate need.
-- Will Graff Lake School Board turns down chance to request cash for school growth-- Orlando Sentinel Florida: July 28, 2013 [ abstract] Lake County School Board members, at odds with each other, voted down two recommendations last week that could have raised much-needed capital dollars for the district to pay for school-building needs.
At issue are school-impact fees, which are charged by the county to developers when they build new homes. The fees previously raised $9,324 per home to pay for school needs but have been suspended since January 2011 in an effort to spur development — a move that has cost the district $23.8 million.
A majority of School Board members previously supported asking county commissioners to reinstate the politically-charged fees at $5,146 — half the amount recommended by a 2011 impact-fee study. But when put to a vote, board members couldn't collectively make up their minds over what to charge.
In one failed vote, board members Debbie Stivender and Rosanne Brandeburg supported charging half the fee countywide while members Tod Howard, Bill Mathias and Kyleen Fischer opposed the idea.
In a second failed vote, Howard and Mathias supported reinstating a $5,146 impact fee only in south Lake. Howard supports the slashed fee for that area because he believes the money is needed there because of growth. Mathias earlier voiced support for the entire $10,292 fee. No vote was taken for levying the entire fee.
All board members said they want to further discuss Funding options such as a sales-tax increase or special taxing districts.
-- Erica Rodriguez Ongoing tax dispute may force Covert Public Schools to close its doors-- M Live Michigan: July 27, 2013 [ abstract] A cash-flow problem stemming from a tax dispute involving the New Covert Generating Co. may prevent Covert Public Schools from operating in the 2013-14 school year, its superintendent says.
"It's a very real possibility" that the district may not open this September, Campbell said.
He said the closure will happen unless the district quickly gets a $2.5 million loan from a bank or the state, or New Covert pays at least $2.5 million from the $9.2 million that Covert Township officials claim it owes in back taxes.
"We need New Covert to be a responsible corporate citizen or we need to get a bridge loan," Campbell said.
Holley Salmi, spokeswoman for Tenaska Capital Management, the Omaha, Neb.-based company that owns the plant, said late Friday that her company is open to discussing the situation with local officials, but disputes the contention that the company owes $9.2 million in back taxes to Covert schools.
Tenaska has been protesting the plant's property tax assessments since 2010, and has decreased its tax payments while awaiting final outcome of the dispute.
This May, the Michigan Tax Tribunal reduced the plant's assessed value by 40 percent for 2010 and by 24 percent for 2011. That decision is being appealed by Van Buren County.
Based on the Tax Tribunal's recent decision and a $2.4 million settlement paid by Tenaska last summer to cover school tax liabilities through 2011, Salmi questioned whether the school district is owed any back taxes.
But she added that the company is "committed to keeping lines of communication open in hopes that we can work with the township and county leaders to find an equitable solution that both meets their critical needs and helps maintain Covert Generating Facility's position as a strong employer and contributor to the regional economy."
Covert is the only area school district to rely entirely on local property taxes versus state Funding for operating revenues. Because of the revenue shortfalls related to the New Covert dispute, the district doesn't have enough cash to operate until it receive its next round of tax revenue in February 2014, Campbell said.
Covert is the only area school district to rely entirely on local property taxes versus state Funding for operating revenues. Because of the revenue shortfalls related to the New Covert dispute, the district doesn't have enough cash to operate until it receive its next round of tax revenue in February 2014, Campbell said.
"Technically, we could open on Labor Day, but we only have enough money to operate through September," Campbell said. "It isn't ethical or fair" to start classes this fall if it seems likely the district can't stay open.
Covert had 485 students in 2012-13, 56 percent of whom were Hispanic and 26 percent of whom where African-American. About 95 percent of Covert students qualify for the subsidized lunch program.
If the Covert schools do not open, its students could enroll in other districts through Schools of Choice. Covert is bordered by the South Haven, Bangor, Coloma and Watervliet school districts.
But that's not a palatable solution for Covert residents, who see the school system as the centerpiece of their community, said Douglas Cultra, Van Buren County administrator.
"It's a crisis, an absolute crisis," Cultra said. "I don't think you can underestimate the impact on that community" if Covert school district closes down
-- Julie Mack First public school seized by parents set to open-- Politico California: July 26, 2013 [ abstract] A grand experiment in letting parents seize control of their neighborhood schools is unfolding in an impoverished Mojave Desert town " and lawmakers as far away as Pennsylvania, Florida and Michigan are watching, and pondering the implications for troubled schools in their own states.
Desert Trails Preparatory Academy in Adelanto, Calif., will open for the academic year on Monday as the first school in the nation to have been remade under a law that gives parents the power to take over a low-performing public school and fire the principal, dismiss teachers or bring in private management.
The law, known as “parent trigger,” passed in California in 2010 and has since been adopted by six other states " Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas " though parents have not yet taken over schools in any of them.
(Also on POLITICO: Morning Education)
Parent Revolution, a nonprofit dedicated to organizing trigger campaigns, anticipates a surge of interest in other state legislatures as Desert Trails and three other California schools transformed by parent activism reopen over the next month. Parent empowerment has strong bipartisan support in many states " a sign of the diminished clout of teachers unions, which oppose trigger laws but have not been able to stop their traditional allies in the Democratic Party from endorsing the concept.
In Pennsylvania, for instance, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and state Sen. Anthony Williams, both Democrats, have led the charge for parent trigger. And on Friday, Democratic Rep. George Miller of California touted the law, and urged other states to adopt it, in a media call with Parent Revolution. On the Republican side, prominent supporters include former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Parent Revolution has been stoking grass-roots support as well. Drawing on $5.5 million in Funding from donors including the Walton Family Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the group, which has 33 staff members, has been training mom-and-pop activists in states that don’t have trigger laws, including Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Florida.
“Over the next few weeks, American public education is going to enter a new era of parent power,” said Ben Austin, the group’s executive director.
-- STEPHANIE SIMON District Receives Grant to Reopen O Street NW Adjacent to New Dunbar High School as a ‘Green Street’ -- The District of Columbia District of Columbia: July 24, 2013 [ abstract] Mayor Vincent C. Gray was joined today by representatives from the Chesapeake Bay Trust and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in announcing $400,000 in Funding to seven municipalities and nonprofit organizations through the Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns (G3) initiative. The District of Columbia received one of the awards " a $95,000 grant to support stormwater management and green street development along a new section of O Street NW, adjacent to the site of the brand-new Dunbar Senior High School.
“Not only am I proud to announce this green street project will be built next to my alma mater’s new campus, but I also welcome the opportunity we have as a District to help improve local and downstream environmental conditions in the Chesapeake Bay,” said Mayor Gray. “From a single 1.2-inch rainfall, this project will capture more than 39,000 gallons of stormwater runoff. That means 39,000 gallons of untreated stormwater will be kept out of our local water bodies.”
The project along O Street will include the installation of 6,125 square feet of bioretention cells that will collect stormwater from the school and surrounding area. It supports the Mayor’s Sustainable DC initiative to make the District the nation’s greenest, healthiest, most sustainable city.
Jointly funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the EPA, G3 supports green-infrastructure projects that improve water quality, community livability and economic vitality throughout the region. Today’s grantees and their projects were unveiled at the press event.
“Local governments around the country are seeing the benefits of utilizing green infrastructure for controlling stormwater,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “G3 grantees are leading the way " providing valuable examples to others on the road to creating sustainable communities and healthy watersheds.”
G3 was created in 2011 to support projects that reduce stormwater runoff through the creation of “green streets.” A green street is one that minimizes the environmental impact of a roadway by practices such as reducing the amount of water that is piped directly into streams and rivers; rain gardens; installing new street trees; using energy-efficient lighting; and encouraging pedestrian and bicycle access. Green streets also provide aesthetic and economic benefits.
With construction of the new Dunbar Senior High School, the District’s Department of General Services (DGS) realized there was a unique opportunity to reopen O Street NW with the addition of aggressive stormwater management. DGS approached The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) in the fall of 2012 about making the section of O Street a green street and partnered to install bioretention cells as a means for retaining 1.2” of runoff from a 1.2-acre drainage area.
-- Staff Writer Forest Hills to have buildings evaluated-- Cincinnati.com Ohio: July 24, 2013 [ abstract] School District Board of Education has approved a new facilities study.
The school board recently voted unanimously in favor ofhaving the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission conduct a study of its buildings.
The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission conducts facility evaluations and provides Funding for school construction.
The Ohio School Facilities Commission, which is part of the Facilities Construction Commission, conducted a study of buildings in the district in 2004. The study indicated three of the elementary schools, Maddux, Summit and Wilson, needed to be rebuilt.
Last month the school board asked Superintendent Dallas Jackson to contact the commission. The board expressed interest in having an evaluation of the buildings conducted, but had concerns about signing a contract which would involve the district having to implement specific recommendations by the commission prior to knowing what the specific recommendations might be.
As a result, the board approved two resolutions - one a general resolution to participate in the commission's School Building Assistance Program, while the other allows for certain exceptions to the agreement.
For example, the district does not have to commit to a local ballot initiative following the study, nor does it have to commit to certain projects recommended by the commission.
-- Forrest Sellers School’s garden provides for hungry-- Sentinel New Jersey: July 24, 2013 [ abstract] More than just young minds are being nurtured at the Martin Luther King Elementary School (MLK) in Edison.
Behind the school lies a garden that, under the care of now-retired MLK secondgrade teacher Louise Lippe, who started the garden 10 years ago, teaches children how to grow vegetables that help feed the hungry in the community.
With the help of student volunteers and fellow educator Frank Roettinger, along with a grandmother named Alka Patel, a bountiful harvest of cabbages, beans and tomatoes were picked from the ground July 16 and prepared for delivery to the Hands of Hope Food Pantry and soup kitchen located in St. James Episcopal Church, 1236 Woodbridge Ave. in Edison.
“They have 150 families which they help out, so this is a very worthwhile project,” Lippe said.
Because there is no Funding for the project, Lippe said she is very grateful for the strong cooperation and support it receives from the Board of Education, which pays for the water and maintenance of the sprinkler system, and the school’s principal, Diane Wilton, who supports the endeavor with fertilizer and Territorial Seed Co.’s seeds. Lippe also credits the school’s grounds crew staff members who till the garden in the fall and spring, and the custodians who mow and weed-whack the exterior to make everything look nice.
Donations from local businesses also help keep the garden growing. Home Depot provides $100 worth of plants each spring, and Patel’s Cash and Carry of Iselin provided a huge box of potatoes to plant, which will grow more potatoes. Bartel’s Garden Center in Clark provides free seeds and advice, and the Bonnie Plant Farm donated cabbages.
In an effort to utilize ground space productively,
Lippe tried an experiment this year " planting cabbages on top of potatoes, since potatoes grow under the ground and cabbages grow above the ground.
-- AMY ROSEN EXPLAINER: ABBOTT V. BURKE, CHANGING THE RULES FOR FUNDING SCHOOLS-- NJspotlight.com New Jersey: July 23, 2013 [ abstract] A series of state Supreme Court rulings starting in 1985, Abbott v. Burke continues to shape and reshape education -- especially for New Jersey's poorest kids.
Summary
The state Supreme Court's landmark school-equity rulings starting in 1985, referred to in shorthand as "Abbott," as in Abbott district or Abbott school. Actually a series of decisions made over the past 30 years, Abbott remains the centerpiece of how the state funds its urban and suburban schools. Abbott's core principle is to ensure that schools in 31 of the New Jersey's poorest communities receive the "thorough and efficient" system of education guaranteed by the state constitution.
What it means
With a legal history dating back to the early 1970s, the Abbott rulings remain one of the most important set of decisions on school equity in the country and are still a major force in New Jersey. It was Abbott that led to universal preschool in the state's poorest districts, the state's massive school construction and renovation program, and the addition of extra programs and Funding for the disadvantaged initiatives in and outside Abbott schools.
Recent decisions
In 2009, the court ruled as part of its Abbott v. Burke deliberations that the state's existing school Funding formula met its constitutional standards under Abbott, and then two years later in 2011, ordered that Gov. Chris Christie and the Legislature had to provide an additional $477 million to Abbott districts to meet the provisions of the Funding law.
-- JOHN MOONEY Ohio’s new schools look great but do little to solve inequities-- Vindy.com Ohio: July 20, 2013 [ abstract] Few would dispute the progress made in Ohio over the past 15 years in building or renovating about 1,000 public school buildings at a cost of about $10 billion.
In the Mahoning Valley alone, a majority of school districts have undergone remarkable transformations in their physical plants. In Youngstown, for example, the state chipped in 80 percent of the nearly $200 million cost to completely renew and reinvent district facilities.
Today, the Ohio School Facilities Commission is more than half-way along its path toward reconstruction or renovation projects in all 612 public school districts serving 1.8 million students. That mission evolved in part from the landmark 1997 Ohio Supreme Court DeRolph ruling that declared Ohio’s system of Funding public education unconstitutional because it fell woefully short of affording all Ohio children a thorough and efficient education. As it applies to OSFC, some students were taught in Taj Mahal settings; others learned in squalor.
But 16 years later, shiny new brick-and-mortar physical plants have done little to erase the more internal inequities in Funding education or the ongoing financial crises local school districts struggle through largely because of the state’s overworn overreliance on local property taxes.
The OSFC-funded new buildings may give the appearance of wholesale progress but in some respects they’re little more than impressive-looking smokescreens for lingering inequalities in school Funding and student performance among urban, suburban and rural school districts.
Disparities remain crystal clear. According to data from the Ohio Department of Education, in 2011, Youngstown City Schools spent an average of $15,408 on each of its 6,057 students compared with the $8,241 spent to educate each of Austintown Local’s 5,149 students.
Disparities in student performance are even more stark. In last year’s state report cards for example, Youngstown schools received a D; Austintown schools received an A+.
-- Staff Writer Building schools, building communities-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: July 18, 2013 [ abstract] The $1.2 billion approved by the Maryland General Assembly for city school construction is a historic opportunity for transformation in Baltimore. But if, after 10 years, the outcome is just new schools, we will have missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to affect not only schools but entire neighborhoods. As an architect, I believe in the value of good facilities and their ability to create healthy environments that promote learning. But better buildings alone are not enough to restore communities. The challenges faced by Baltimore communities are deeper and more complex than the problems of city schools. True transformation will require a larger, more comprehensive vision for community development that addresses both the problem of failing neighborhoods and the problem of failing schools.
After decades of decline, many of our neighborhoods are bereft and neglected, stripped of dignity and humanity. They lack basic necessities such as fresh groceries or safe places to play and gather, preventing individuals and families from thriving. Challenges related to violence, poverty, public health and family structure compound the problem of education as a seemingly intractable Gordian knot.
Certainly, the city schools cannot solve these problems alone. True transformation will only be possible if the schools, Funding community, business community, programs and politicians rise together to an unprecedented level of cooperation toward a unified vision for change. By aligning forces to form a comprehensive approach, the city can capitalize on the construction of schools, combining it with strategic development and community services to create not just new schools but new neighborhood catalysts.
To do so, the immediate area surrounding each new school can be designated what I call Community Revitalization Zones. These zones can encompass a multitude of elements that together holistically serve to heal and rebuild the community. Recreation centers can be established to provide healthy environments for children and youths to socialize and be active. School grounds can double as neighborhood parks that hold community activities. Police can have a heightened presence utilizing foot patrols and surveillance to increase a sense of security and encourage families to gather.
-- Davin Hong NC Senate panel backs new Wake school construction bill-- News Observer North Carolina: July 18, 2013 [ abstract] New legislation that would make the Wake County Board of Commissioners the only such body in North Carolina to take over school construction from the local school board passed a state Senate committee Thursday.
The Senate Rules Committee converted a bill originally approved by the House dealing with school Funding into legislation giving Wake commissioners school construction authority. The vote comes as a different bill affecting nine counties, including Wake, has stalled in the House.
“The bill got hung up in the House, so we decided to take the other counties out and make it more simple,” said Sen. Neal Hunt, a Raleigh Republican.
Hunt said he’s confident that a Wake-only bill will be passed by the House.
House Bill 726 would more than quadruple the amount of real-estate assets the commissioners control, as well as potentially giving them authority over hundreds of millions in new construction contracts.
Hunt said that the bill would allow the school board to focus on education while the more business-minded commissioners could deal with construction.
-- T. Keung Hui State awards North Ridgeville Schools $8.9 million for construction of new school-- North Ridgeville Press Ohio: July 18, 2013 [ abstract] The dream of a new school building for the North Ridgeville City Schools took another step toward reality last week.
The North Ridgeville City Schools learned July 11 it will receive $8.9 million in state Funding for a proposed new school that will house students in grades three through eight if it is constructed.
The $8.9 million represents 17 percent of the original cost of the building, which was estimated to be $52.8 million.
“I’m pretty excited about it,” North Ridgeville school Superintendent Jim Powell said. “It means great potential for the community.”
The proposed building would cover at least 232,802 square feet. Extra square footage will likely be added to create a buffer space to keep the students in grades three through five separated from the students in grades six through eight.
The district has been discussing upgrades to the building that are called Locally Funded Initiatives, or LFIs. These LFIs include an $8 million stadium, an upgraded gym that would seat more than 1,500 people and a performing arts center, as well as upgrades to items like flooring, the exterior and the HVAC system. Powell estimates the total cost of the LFIs at $13.1 million. He said many of the upgrades would pay for themselves over time.
The state will not be able to provide the district with any additional Funding for the project, according to Ohio Schools Facility Commission spokesman Rick Savors. That means that upgrades like the stadium, or stain-polished concrete floors, which the district is discussing, would have to be paid for by taxpayers.
“Once you’ve accepted a project budget and you are going to go forward, that is the amount of money that we expect to be able to build that building for. If they want to make other choices like that, they have that ability, and they can do it two ways. They can either fund it locally or make different choices and trade off the cost of one system versus the cost of another,” Savors said.
-- Michael Fitzpatrick Is Charter School Co-Location Tearing Public Schools Apart?-- Huffington Post National: July 17, 2013 [ abstract] For more than 30 years each, Cheryl Smith-Vincent and Cheryl Ortega have shared a passion for teaching public school in Southern California. Smith-Vincent teaches third grade at Miles Avenue Elementary School in Huntington Park; before retiring, Ortega taught kindergarten at Logan Street Elementary School in Echo Park. Both women have been jolted by experiences with a little-known statewide policy that requires traditional public schools to share their facilities with charter schools. Ortega says she has seen charter-school children warned against greeting non-charter students who attend the same campus. Smith-Vincent reports that she and her students were pushed out of their classroom prior to a round of important student tests " just to accommodate a charter school that needed the space.
“It was extremely disruptive,” Smith-Vincent says of the incident.
The practice of housing a traditional public school and a charter school on the same campus is known as “co-location.” Charters are publicly funded yet independently operated, and are intended to encourage innovation and improve student performance. Under Proposition 39, a school-Funding ballot initiative adopted by California voters in 2000, charter schools were given the right to use empty classrooms and share in underutilized public school facilities.
Proponents of the measure, including the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA), claim that it ensures that all public school students, including those enrolled in charter schools, share equally in school district facilities. But critics contend that co-locating siphons key resources from the already-underfunded traditional public schools, depriving students of playground space, library time and other resources.
“One of the difficult things about having a charter school co-located on a district public school campus is that . . . the two schools end up competing for those things that are necessary to provide a quality education for the students,” says Robin Potash, an elementary school teacher and chair of the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) Proposition 39 Committee. “That includes competing for the same students.”
-- Gary Cohn Locals rally against adding new school to Martin Van Buren High School-- NEW YORK DAILY NEWS New York: July 16, 2013 [ abstract] More than two dozen civil leaders and teachers rallied Monday against a city plan to place a new school in a large Queens Village high school building.
The city wants to trim enrollment at the struggling Martin Van Buren High School by about 500 " which would cause a commensurate loss in classroom space and Funding " to open a new, smaller school inside the same Hillside Ave. building.
The city’s Panel for Educational Policy is slated to rubber-stamp the plan in October. The new public school wouldn’t move into the building until 2014.
“We have seen far too many comprehensive high schools experience co-location, resulting in underfunded programs, overcrowding classes and ultimately a spiral of academic decline,” Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows) said in a statement.
“We will not allow this reckless reorganization to occur,” he said.
-- CLARE TRAPASSO Panel faces up to hard choices for city schools-- Warwick Beacon Rhode Island: July 16, 2013 [ abstract] The School Department’s long-term planning facilities committee met last week to discuss a mission statement for the group, but it turned into a discussion of what went wrong during the hearings on closing Gorton Junior High School.
“What I saw was the School Committee being pitted against administration. The long-term facilities committee being lumped into the category of a negative entity that’s a sub-committee of the administration, when in fact we are a sub-committee of the School Committee,” said Jacqueline Harris-Connor, a member of the committee who joined as a concerned parent, community member and taxpayer.
At the July 11 meeting, she said the way the discussion to close Gorton occurred and the hearings regarding the issue were an “embarrassment” to the city.
Harris-Connor said the committee should have been in front of the story, and part of the problem was the division of the group into a long-term and short-term committee.
“When you subdivided us, you left an entire portion of the committee out of the conversation,” she said, adding that those left out were, for the most part, community members.
She also recalled her 11-year-old daughter coming home from school saying her science teacher had told the class to get their parents to the hearings because they wanted to close their school.
“Because we weren’t ahead of it, it became bigger than it needed to be,” said Harris-Connor.
Harris-Connor also admitted that she did not fully understand that Funding from closing a building would not be found elsewhere, and hopes that the message will be able to reach the community this time around.
-- Jennifer Rodrigues Humble ISD upgrading security at admin building, more than a dozen schools-- The Tribune Texas: July 15, 2013 [ abstract] As students and teachers enjoy their summer break, Humble ISD is busy at work making security upgrades at the main administration building and 18 elementary schools around the district.
The district is redesigning the entire front entrance to the administration building, adding controlled-access doors to the lobby. This will help restrict access to the administration building to visitors. District officials say individuals will have to check in with the receptionist before they can gain access to the interior of the building.
“Visitors will continue to check in and be issued a visitors’ badge,” said Public Information Director Jamie Mount. “The receptionist will then push a button to electronically unlock a door that permits access beyond the lobby.”
Mount added that the security upgrades will not require additional personnel or police officers, and that visitors will continue to be welcomed at the main administration building.
While construction of the new security upgrades goes on at the administration building, similar security upgrades are taking place at 18 elementary schools around the district. The security upgrades include the installation of security vestibules that will restrict entry by unauthorized visitors. The schools where these renovations are taking place do not currently have this feature. Visitors will be required to check in before they can access the school. The district’s nine other elementary campuses already have security vestibules and do not need this upgrade.
“Humble ISD is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for students, volunteers, employees and patrons of our community, said Martha Buckner, Assistant Superintendent for Support Services. “The security upgrades this summer at 18 of the district’s older campuses will provide secure and controlled access at all of the District’s 27 elementary campuses.”
Construction costs for adding the security vestibules at the 18 elementary schools and the administration building is approximately $1 million. Funding from the project was provided by bonds from the 2008 bond election and the General Fund Capital Assignment fund.
-- Rick Janacek Lake School Board wants to reinstate impact fees after losing $24 million-- Orlando Sentinel Florida: July 15, 2013 [ abstract] Lake school district leaders Monday said they want impact fees reinstated to help pay for future school building needs after losing $24 million because of a two-year suspension.
School Board members said they want the fees reinstated to help pay for new growth and also suggested they want to discuss raising taxes in the future. The fees are charged by the county to developers and are passed along to homebuyers in the price of a house. County Commissioners have suspended the fees until December to try to promote building, but School Board members say growth is happening and the cash is needed.
"In the South end, in my district, we have real issues," said board member Tod Howard, who lives in Clermont. "We have real capacity issues, and we're going to have to have a Funding source to deal with it."
-- Erica Rodriguez Lack of Funds to Push Back FCPS School Renovations?-- Burke Patch Virginia: July 12, 2013 [ abstract] airfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has a five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which covers new schools and renovations among other issues, but the system is struggling to find Funding for many renovation projects.
The Department of Facilities and Transportation released its annual report for the 2011-2012 school year Tuesday and revealed that many of the projects won’t be completed within the required 25-year timeframe under current bond limits, according to the Washington Post.
The lack of Funding could affect the system’s plans to alleviate capacity issues at schools across the county and push back the construction completion dates for many schools slated for renovations in the FCPS queue.
FCPS uses a ranking system to determine the order in which schools are placed in the renovation queue. The rankings are determined by a list of weighted criteria ranging from how the buildings serve "Fundamental Educational Requirements (FER)," to their age and physical condition. The criteria to determine the order of schools in the queue was last approved in 2008.
Of the 63 schools in the renovation queue, six of those are in the Burke-area. In the past few years, parents, teachers and local officials have been outspoken about the need for renovations at West Springfield High School, which is ranked 23 in the queue. The other schools are:
-- Sherell Williams Local school districts receive state facilities money-- Today's Pulse Ohio: July 12, 2013 [ abstract] Two local school districts have been approved for a combined $60 million in state Funding to support school construction projects.
The Ohio School Facilities Commission on Thursday announced $406 million in state Funding for 19 school districts across the state. Fairfield City Schools will be granted $19 million, while the Middletown City School District will be granted $40.4 million.
“This is a critical step in ensuring that our children are in new or renovated facilities that help support academic achievement,” said Richard Hickman, executive director of OSFC.
The Funding is contingent upon approval from the State Controlling Board.
In Middletown, officials will need to raise a local share of $55 million through a November bond issue to support building a new middle school near the high school on North Breiel Boulevard, as well as renovations and an expansion onto the high school.
“It’s no longer a good educational environment; it’s outlived its purpose,” said Marcia Andrew, school board president, of the 100-year-old middle school facility.
Of the district’s total $172 million facilities master plan " $77 million of local investment construction was completed in 2006 to construct six new elementary schools and renovate two additional elementary facilities.
Andrew said she’s excited the facilities commission has announced its intent to fund the district’s construction projects. Andrew said the state originally estimated that Middletown would be selected for Funding in 2010.
-- Hannah Poturalski Settlement will aid school construction-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: July 12, 2013 [ abstract] Funds for school construction planning are part of a recent agreement between Laramie County School District 1 and the state School Facilities Department.
The agreement lets the district move forward with planning work on both a proposed new elementary school in the east triad and the rebuild of Cheyenne’s Davis Elementary, which is currently at 6309 Yellowstone Road, according to the settlement.
“(The) two biggest parts of the agreement (were) they went ahead and agreed that the Davis project would move forward with some additional capacity, and the school would be replaced and expanded, and they agreed to put (in) planning and design money for an east capacity school,” LCSD1 Superintendent Mark Stock said.
The proposed capacity school is slated to be a fifth and sixth grade building near Cheyenne’s Anderson Elementary, which is at 2204 Plain View Road, southeast of Storey Boulevard and Converse Avenue, assistant superintendent of support operations Dave Bartlett said.
However, the district also is waiting on final approval from the school facilities director to free up some of the Funding, he said.
“There’s $10 million out there to help with the schools,” Bartlett said. “We’re waiting for the interim director to approve our grade reconfiguration request.”
The district needs approval from the Wyoming Department of Education and the school facilities director of its request to change the grade-level configuration at the elementary level, Stock said. The change would split elementary schools into kindergarten through fourth grade buildings and fifth and sixth grade buildings n much like the current split in Cheyenne’s Deming and Miller elementary schools.
The grade reconfiguration is part of the district’s plan to reduce overcrowding and forced busing, he said.
The Education Department has already given its approval, he said. However, the district is still waiting to hear from the school facilities director.
-- Aerin Curtis LO man predicted school closures 30 years ago-- Portland Tribune Oregon: July 11, 2013 [ abstract] Kent Myers was not surprised when the Lake Oswego School District recently consolidated elementary schools to save Funding " for the former assistant superintendent, the move was more than 30 years in the making.
Myers contends that school administrators and the school board made a titanic mistake when they chose to build Westridge and Hallinan elementary schools in 1980.
The Lake Oswego resident said they made the wrong decision based on invalid projections showing elementary school enrollment would grow when, in fact, it was falling. School district enrollment figures support his assertion " in the present and the past. Enrollment had been dropping for more than a decade prior to the schools’ construction.
The current elementary school enrollment is below the projected figure school district documents said would be reached by 1983, 3,846 students. Last school year, there were 3,222 kindergarten through sixth-grade students on Oct. 1, 2012, according to Oregon Department of Education records. That’s about how many students Lake Oswego public schools had in seven elementary schools in the 1970s, one more elementary school than there is today. Enrollment has been falling for the last 15 years.
There just isn’t enough land in Lake Oswego’s approximately 11 square miles to accommodate enough houses to increase the population and student enrollment, Myers said. There aren’t many vacant lots, plus the population is aging.
“It’s basically built out,” said Peter Jurney, a former school board member.
Myers, who turns 81 on July 31, said he wants to clear his name, and the recent school closures in some ways validate what he said decades ago about the choices of the school board and district administrators.
-- Jillian Daley Groundbreaking for New Elias Brookings School-- WGGB Massachusetts: July 10, 2013 [ abstract] Two years after a tornado ripped through the Elias Brookings School in Springfield, construction is finally underway on a new facility.
Today, city and state officials broke ground at the site where the new school will stand.
“When I came back into the school and saw the damage that took place, I immediately started to cry and thought, ‘Thank the lord nobody was in there when the tornado came through,’” says Elias Brookings School Principal Terry Powe.
Since then, the students have been going to school in modular units while the Massachusetts School Building Authority worked to secure millions in Funding for a new facility.
“They had a school that was operating,” says Jack McCarthy of the Massachusetts School Building Authority. “A tornado " nobody’s fault " comes and destroys the building, they can’t operate it anymore, so what would be more deserving?”
“It’s been very different, we don’t have a formal gym,” says Powe. “The girls in the upper grade building have had to share three bathrooms, so we’ve definitely had to accommodate and make some adjustments.”
It’s estimated that the new Brookings school will take about two years to build. Once construction is complete, students will move from cramped mobile classrooms to a new, state-of-the-art facility.
-- Staff Writer In Pittsburgh, magnet schools losing their racial balance-- thetowntalk.com Pennsylvania: July 07, 2013 [ abstract] While magnet schools in Pittsburgh Public Schools historically ensured racial balance, city magnet schools now operate as schools of choice without any guarantees or deliberate measures racially balancing them.
Some magnets have become less racially balanced than they were two decades ago. Some essentially are feeder schools where as many as 95 percent of students are black.
Most of the city's magnet programs started in the late 1970s and 1980s as a way to desegregate schools by offering attractive, specialized programs and allotting spaces by race.
Beginning in 2010-11, the district discontinued considering race in magnet admissions as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on race-based admissions in Seattle, Wash., and Jefferson, Ky., in 2007.
In addition, population has dropped, and school closings — many in 2006 and later — have led to reassignments, including assigning students in feeder patterns based on street address to schools that had admitted students only through the magnet process.
"Without diversity goals, without oversight with the goals and then without Funding to help boost the magnetism of the thematic offering, it can be hard to maintain that desegregation," said Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, assistant professor of educational leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University and a research associate at the University of California, Los Angeles Civil Rights Project.
City School Board President Sharene Shealey said the figures point to the importance of the district's equity plan set in motion last fall.
"I think it moves us to a place where we get high-quality education in all of our schools versus in pockets of schools," she said. "Hopefully, that would affect the way parents choose so that we have a better distribution."
The district offers 28 magnet programs, some schoolwide and some partial programs in a school.
Open via lottery to students from throughout the city, magnets offer themed studies, including the arts, classical studies, college prep, international studies, computer science, JROTC, science and technology, teaching and traditional studies.
-- ELEANOR CHUTE Alaska Gov. signs school construction funding bill-- JuneauEmpire.com Alaska: July 03, 2013 [ abstract] Schools that were previously in a Funding black hole " including three Southeast districts " are now eligible for support from the State of Alaska for construction projects. On Tuesday Gov. Sean Parnell signed a bill that adjusts the state’s Funding formula for school construction.
The signing of SB 62 allows five rural schools to take advantage of a 2011 Alaska Superior Court decision that ensures equitable Funding of school construction in rural towns and villages.
The case Willie and Sophie Kasayulie et al., v. State of Alaska addressed the reality that some rural communities couldn’t benefit from the state’s bond reimbursement program. With no tax base and no local government, some communities relied solely on pleading their case to the Legislature for Funding.
The Kasayulie decision helped create the state’s Regional Education Attendance Area program which helps schools in communities without local government fund construction projects. Schools in Klawock, Kake, Hydaburg, Tanana and St. Mary’s were initially left out of the REAA program because they are in first class cities with governing bodies.
Despite having a local government, these communities aren’t large enough to qualify for a bond and so they’ve continued to rely on earmarks and grants from the Legislature.
Klawock City School District Superintendent Richard Carlson said the exclusion made things very difficult.
“We were kind of in this no man’s land,” Carlson said.
About six years ago an earthquake badly damaged the school’s gym floor. They were able to make temporary fixes but the floor remained unlevel.
“It was kind of amusing,” Carlson said. “During a basketball game the referee would put the ball on the floor during a break and it would roll away. We’d all look around wondering where it went.”
Klawock was eventually awarded a grant from the state to repair the floor, but they almost lost it. The school had five years to come up with funds to match the grant.
“It really is a struggle,” Carlson said. “We were right down to the wire with that.”
-- JENNIFER CANFIELD Arizona voters could decide enhanced bonding capacity for school districts-- verdenews.com Arizona: June 29, 2013 [ abstract] Arizona voters may get the final word on a controversial provision in the state budget that doubles the bonding capacity of school districts around the state, opening the door for higher property taxes.
Wesley Harris said lawmakers are not living up to their constitutional obligation to provide adequate funds for construction of new schools and making repairs on existing ones.
So rather than come up with the cash, Harris said legislators have decided to dump the obligation onto local taxpayers.
To do that, he said, they voted to allow unified school districts to borrow up to 20 percent of the total assessed value of all property within the district, twice as much as now allowed. The same legislation also doubles bonding capacity of elementary and high school districts to 10 percent.
The referendum seeks to overturn that.
Backers have to file 86,405 valid signatures before Sept. 12 to put the issue on the 2014 ballot. Harris, founder of the Original North Phoenix Tea Party, said he believes there are enough people upset with what he sees as an inevitable increase in school taxes to get the necessary signatures.
Rep. Eric Meyer, D-Paradise Valley, conceded that Harris is correct in his basic assessment.
"The state isn't Funding its obligations,' he said. But Meyer, who voted to increase bonding capacity, said there were really no other options since there were not the votes to provide the necessary state dollars for new construction and repairs.
"We did the best we could, given the circumstances we find ourselves in,' he said.
Harris, however, said the move amounts to a political cop-out by legislators.
"They're saying, 'We're not going to fund it, you go somewhere else,' ' Harris said of legislation.
-- Howard Fischer Forest Hills considers building evaluations-- Cincinnati.com Ohio: June 27, 2013 [ abstract] ANDERSON TOWNSHIP " The Forest Hills Local School District is considering an external evaluation of its facilities.
During its June meeting, the school board recommended Superintendent Dallas Jackson contact the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.
The agency conducts facility evaluations and also provides Funding for school construction.
In 2004, the Ohio School Facilities Commission, which is now part of the Facilities Construction Commission, conducted a study of buildings in the Forest Hills district. The study indicated three of the elementary schools, Maddux, Summit and Wilson, needed to be rebuilt.
The district also has had several facilities committees which conducted their own evaluations. Most recently a steering committee organized by Jackson provided facility recommendation for a bond issue that was defeated in May.
Board Vice President Jim Frooman said a previous study by the Ohio School Facilities Commission provided “a lot of valuable information about the facilities to help guide us.”
Board member Julie Bissinger agreed. “I think it’s a good way to move forward,” she said.
However, the board did have concerns about signing a contract which would involve the district having to implement specific recommendations by the commission prior to knowing what the specific recommendations might be.
-- Forrest Sellers Illinois schools facing less funding from State-- Shelbyville Daily Union Illinois: June 25, 2013 [ abstract] Illinois schools will be facing less Funding from the state for the 2013-2014 school year.
That was the news presented at Thursday’s school board meeting by Shelbyville superintendent Denise Bence.
Bence said the state is Funding only 89 percent of foundation level Funding in 2014.
The district will have to look for ways to fill the other 11 percent.
QZAB low-interest bonds would not be available for the high school as the qualification is 35 percent of the building’s population on free or reduced lunches.
“Even including the kindergarten students, we had 34.5 percent. And they won’t round up,” Bence said.
QZAB bonds were used to help fund the new windows and geothermal system at Moulton Middle School. The district is looking for ways to fund the HVAC system at the high school building.
Bence added that because of the tighter school budgets, county superintendents are once again considering the sales tax referendum for the March 2014 ballot. The referendum has failed twice in recent years.
-- Valorie Eversole Recovery School District, Inspector General end $1.2 million construction oversight contract-- The Times-Picayune Louisiana: June 21, 2013 [ abstract] New Orleans Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux and the Recovery School District have ended their three-year, $1.2 million contract for fraud oversight on the school building master plan two years early. Quatrevaux said Friday it was "a business decision made by both parties."
The master plan uses $1.8 billion in FEMA settlement funds to reshape the city's school building landscape. The plan was amended in 2011 and calls for 86 new or rehabbed campuses.
Quatrevaux's office initiated the termination on June 7, saying the district had breached the terms of the contract by not allowing access to its records and requiring district attorneys to sit in on interviews between the IG's staff and its own employees and contractors.
However, Recovery School District Superintendent Patrick Dobard said the key issue was Funding the contract. The district also has fraud oversight contracts with the Louisiana Legislative Auditor and the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
-- Danielle Dreilinger, NOLA.com State lawmakers increase bond capacity for Arizona school districts -- East Valley Tribune Arizona: June 21, 2013 [ abstract]
Arizona school districts will be able to ask voters for more funds for building repair and construction under a plan lawmakers approved this month.
Currently under state statute, unified school districts can ask voters for approval to issues bonds that equal up to 10 percent of the assessed valuation of the district. High school and elementary school districts can use half of that. Voters " in giving approval " agree to tax themselves to pay those bonds back over several years.
Under the new plan, lawmakers doubled school districts’ debt capacity to help address the failure of the state to fund “building renewal” funds and new school construction, as well as reductions to capital Funding during the last few years as Arizona faced the recession and declining revenues.
“There’s a misnomer that this is going to double and triple people’s taxes. It’s not,” said Chuck Essigs, director of government relations for the Arizona Association of School Business Officials. “It gives districts the ability to issue more bonds. But you don’t sell them one year and pay them all off the next. You pay them off over time. Most of the districts that will benefit from this, their tax rates won’t go up at all or be modest increases.”
The law is retroactive so that districts that had received voter approval to sell bonds " but found themselves unable to do so because of decreased property values " can now sell those bonds.
Mesa Unified School District was facing that issue under the $230 million bond sale approved in November. It had the capacity to sell less than half of that amount this year and next until. But hoped and anticipated the change as it went to voters last fall for the bond approval.
-- Michelle Reese State budget committee approves measure granting relief for school district debts -- The Current New Jersey: June 20, 2013 [ abstract] EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – If the state's 2014 fiscal year budget is adopted on Monday, Egg Harbor Township School District and some others will receive financial relief from unexpected increases in debt services, Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic City, announced today, Thursday, June 20.
A plan to grant relief from increased payments on New Jersey Economic Development Authority School Facilities Construction Bonds was approved today by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and is scheduled to adopted as part of the state's 2014 fiscal year budget up for a vote on Monday, Whelan said.
For Egg Harbor Township, the EDA debt assessment went up by more than 55 percent, from approximately $400,000 last year to about $700,000 this year. The Board of Education and the administration trimmed all afterschool transportation among other reductions to compensate for the increase.
The new measure restores those payments to last year's amount.
Board member Pete Castellano, who travelled up to Senate and House of Representative hearings on behalf of the district said the help of Atlantic County's elected officials was appreciated.
â€"I am very pleased that our work with the legislature has led to additional Funding for the EHT School District. We are very grateful for the help and support of Sen. Whelan, and Assemblymen Amodeo and Brown,†he said. â€"Although we have more work to do to restore full Funding to the District, today's news marks a step in the right direction for EHT.â€
-- Laura Stetser Parnell signs boarding school, construction bills-- Anchorage Daily News Alaska: June 19, 2013 [ abstract] Gov. Sean Parnell has signed legislation aimed at rural education.
SB47, from Sen. John Coghill, relates to boarding schools. It increases the per-pupil monthly stipend to cover room and board expenses and expands to schools that started after 2005 eligibility for the stipend program.
SB62, from Sen. Donny Olson, allows for small school districts to qualify for school construction Funding.
Parnell's office says he signed the bills Tuesday at the Northwest Magnet School in Kotzebue.
-- The Associated Press State Senate Votes On School Repair-- WABI-TV5 Maine: June 19, 2013 [ abstract] On Tuesday, the Senate voted 22"13 in favor of a measure to allow schools in need of repair to begin the process of rebuilding.
The measure would allow the top 12 schools on the Major Capital School Construction Priority List which have not been approved to receive state aid for reconstruction to begin the pre-planning process for building or rebuilding their schools. Schools seeking state aid must apply with the State Board of Education. School projects are ranked based on need, and the State Board approves schools as funds become available. Schools not approved for Funding by the State Board must wait for assistance.
Seventy-one schools applied for aid, and only six were approved. The remaining sixty-five schools, all with various levels of need, will be penalized by the State Department of Education if they move forward with their projects.
The bill, LD 1235, “An Act Regarding School Construction,” now moves to the House for further votes.
-- Staff Writer Many school expansions still not funded for 2013-14-- theadvertiser.com Louisiana: June 16, 2013 [ abstract] The Lafayette Parish School System is at a stalemate.
A six-year turnaround plan to improve schools probably will be suspended in the 2013-14 school year because of a lack of Funding.
Relations between Superintendent Pat Cooper and some Lafayette Parish School Board members remain strained, and a committee of about 30 Lafayette citizens appears to be balking at consideration of a parishwide tax that would raise money to improve school facilities and enhance programs.
Concerns are growing that efforts to improve the district will stagnate without more money and better communication.
“It’s as critical as you can get,” Cooper told The Daily Advertiser recently. “From day one, what I’ve told people is that if you want to be an ‘A’ school district and you want to do this turnaround plan, it’s going to take more money. ... (The committee members) know we don’t have the dollars right now to do what we want to do, and they know as they get educated in school finance that we’re not going to be able to survive " even if we don’t do the turnaround plan " if we don’t get some additional dollars.”
-- Amanda McElfresh School Construction Reimbursement Coming for Naugy High-- Naugatuck Patch Connecticut: June 16, 2013 [ abstract] State Senators Joseph J. Crisco, Jr. (D-Woodbridge) and Joan V. Hartley (D-Waterbury), whose districts each include a portion of Naugatuck, announced today their successful efforts to secure ‘significant’ school construction Funding for planned renovation and alteration at the Naugatuck High School. Final authorization was part of this year’s omnibus school construction legislation.
All told, 27 local school construction projects were authorized, along with reauthorization for seven additional projects, wherein the scope and cost of the project had changed.
“I’m delighted by the favorable consideration given to Naugatuck’s application for school construction Funding because parts of the building are now more than 50 years old and the entire building will benefit from improved energy efficiency,” Senator Crisco said. “I know how much the administration, faculty, and students are looking forward to having like-new facilities and I’m confident Naugatuck taxpayers will appreciate news about this significant state grant.”
Senators Crisco and Hartley said Funding for the construction project at Naugatuck High School was approved at a generous 74.6 percent reimbursement rate. That means the state will cover almost $58.5 million of the nearly $78 million cost of the planned renovation and alteration.
-- Paul Singley Chairwoman Stabenow Joins Students to Launch New School Garden Collaborative in Detroit -- Michigan Chronicle Michigan: June 13, 2013 [ abstract] U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, joined students to launch a new school garden collaborative at Nichols School in Detroit. The new garden is part of an innovative new education program at Detroit Public Schools called the Garden Collaborative, which will create gardens at 46 schools throughout the district. The new garden will provide Nichols' students with a hands-on agricultural learning experience where they can plant a variety of vegetables that will be used in the cafeteria for school lunches. Each of the gardening locations will feature raised beds, compost bins, rainwater collection equipment, gravel walkways and a Farm to School Learning Center.
During the event, Senator Stabenow toured the garden and planted vegetables with students. She also helped announce the winners of the Golden Shovel Awards to honor local organizations for supporting the Garden Collaborative. The winners were the Eastern Market Corporation, Home Depot, and the Henry Ford Hospital West Bloomfield Greenhouse. Senator Stabenow has been a champion for Eastern Market, securing critical Funding to expand the Market and working closely with community leaders to establish a new community kitchen at Shed 5 and improved street signage.
Chairwoman Stabenow said: "All children should have access to healthy fruits and vegetables during the school day. Everyone is a winner with this innovative Garden Collaborative, as cafeterias gain a supply of fresh produce and students have an opportunity to learn about farming by doing it themselves. I will continue leading the effort to increase access to Michigan-grown food choices for children and families, which will support our local farmers and help boost Michigan agriculture."
-- Michigan Chronicle Staff Arizona House passes school bonds bill -- azdailysun.com Arizona: June 10, 2013 [ abstract] Arizona lawmakers have slashed $1 billion from public education dollars in recent years and gone to court to avoid mandatory increases in school Funding. Now they want taxpayers to directly cover the costs of new construction, repairs, equipment and school buses.
The Arizona House of Representatives passed legislation Monday that would allow school boards to increase local property taxes to pay for bonds to cover long-term capital costs. The 31-26 vote on Monday illustrated a division among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle over how to fund Arizona schools hit hard by the recession.
Supporters described the measure as a temporary salve until the state comes up with a permanent plan to restore school Funding, while conservative Republicans said it would wound homeowners still recovering from the economic downturn.
"Many families are hurting. This bill says let them eat cake," Republican Rep. John Allen of Scottsdale said.
House Bill 2399 would allow school districts to set bond limits of up to 20 percent of its tax base, up from the current limit of up to 10 percent. The bill was revived recently after months of inaction and came to the floor late Monday with little notice.
Jeremy Calles, chief financial officer of the Kyrene School District in Phoenix, said educators need more money to cover basic repairs, including leaky roofs and broken pipes that emit sewer fumes and distract students.
The bill faces a difficult road to passage because it still needs to move out of the Senate, but lawmakers appear eager to end the legislative session soon. It's also unclear if Republican leaders will support a measure that could potentially increase property taxes by up to $400 million statewide, according to state estimates.
-- Associated Press Griffin: Seminole needs to use tax hike for $25M in school improvements-- Orlando Sentinel Florida: June 09, 2013 [ abstract] Superintendent Walt Griffin has a long list of school needs that he says justifies an additional 1-mill tax on Seminole County property, but he has not convinced the School Board.
Replacing leaky roofs and failing air-conditioning systems tops the list, along with a slew of improvements to school programs such as expanding world-language offerings and adding science labs.
"These are essential to preserve our A-rated school system," said Griffin, noting that six years of budget cuts are showing in the schools.
Griffin hopes Tuesday to nudge School Board members toward the special tax that county voters authorized in a November referendum. He'll ask them to approve his needs list, which has a price tag of $25.6 million — the approximate amount the 1-mill would raise for the coming school year.
The added millage would boost school taxes to about $8.50 for each $1,000 of taxable property value. The owners of an average home assessed at $155,000 with the Homestead Exemption would see a $130 increase to their school-tax bill.
Griffin's recommendation to the board specifies that approving the list Tuesday would set it up for "incorporation in the 2013-14 budget." A first vote on the budget, which district officials have been crafting for months, comes June 25, with final approval set for Sept. 10.
Bill Kelly, finance officer for Seminole schools, said that, although the Legislature has increased Funding for Seminole schools, it also has largely spelled out how the money will be spent, leaving little for local needs. Raises for teachers and increased contributions to employee retirement take most of that cash, with increased employee-health-insurance costs swallowing much of the rest.
Still, School Board members remain noncommittal about the tax. Three of five board members responding to an Orlando Sentinel query said they had not decided. Board members Diane Bauer, who opposed the tax referendum last fall, and Amy Lockhart, did not comment.
"There are many needs. Of that I am certain," School Board Chairman Karen Almond said. "I won't make a decision until the evening of the vote."
Board member Tina Calderone was equally convinced that the district is wanting for cash.
"We need to go back and catch up on everything with facilities that we have been postponing," Calderone said.
But Calderone said she must balance school needs against increasing taxes.
-- Dave Weber Study: Improved classroom ventilation could reduce student absences-- EdSource California: June 07, 2013 [ abstract] California could significantly improve elementary school student attendance and health by increasing the amount of fresh air coming into classrooms, according to the largest U.S. study to date of ventilation rates in classrooms.
Poor ventilation in classrooms is correlated with student absences due to illness, researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found, and they calculated that increasing air flow in all California classrooms to state-mandated ventilation rates may have potentially significant effects: reducing student absences caused by illness by 3.4 percent and, because schools are funded based on average daily attendance, increasing overall state Funding to schools by $33 million.
“Our overall findings suggest that, if you increased ventilation rates of classrooms up to the state standard, or even above it, you would get net benefits to schools, to families, to everybody, at very low cost,” Berkeley lab scientist Mark Mendell, lead author of the study, published in the journal Indoor Air, said in a news release. “It’s really a win-win situation.”
The Berkeley Lab scientists collected data from 28 schools in three California school districts in the Central Valley, the Bay Area and the south coast, but the study did not identify the districts. Instrumental to the study were small environmental sensors placed in 162 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classrooms, which allowed researchers to measure carbon dioxide levels as 5-minute averages. The data were transmitted online to the researchers, who compared indoor carbon dioxide levels to estimates of outdoor carbon dioxide levels to calculate ventilation rates.
-- Jane Meredith Adams No guarantee of state funding help for Portland school renovation plan-- Bangor Daily News Maine: June 06, 2013 [ abstract] While the School Board is betting on $30 million in state Funding to help build a new elementary school and renovate another, the state remains hesitant to make any promises.
On Tuesday night, the board was expected to hold the first public reading of the final, nearly $40 million renovations plan for several elementary schools developed by Oak Point Associates of Biddeford.
Board members and School Department staff are pinning hopes on receiving the state Funding they applied for two years ago for two of the most urgent school projects: a new Hall Elementary School and expansion of Longfellow Elementary School. The aid would significantly reduce the potential borrowing burden for renovations at three other elementary schools.
The amount the district is planning to bond is lower than earlier projections of $46 million and far less than the $72.4 million proposed in other, more elaborate renovation proposals presented by Oak Point.
Peter Eglinton, the department’s chief operations officer, wrote in a recommendation to the board released Friday in support of the renovation campaign that the district is likely to receive state Funding to renovate Hall, and possibly Longfellow elementary schools. Neither one is factored into the borrowing proposal.
“We recognize the challenge of acting on Lyseth, Presumpscot, and Reiche schools in the absence of a formal state decision on Hall and Longfellow,” Eglinton said in the May 31 memo. But, “an official from the Maine Department of Education has indicated a virtual certainty of state Funding for Hall; with a good chance for support of Longfellow.”
But Jim Rier, deputy commissioner at the Department of Education, said while there is a “high likelihood” that the state will identify Hall for Funding in the next construction round, how quickly the district will get the money is uncertain.
-- Will Graff, The Forecaster No guarantee of state funding help for Portland school renovation plan-- Bangor Daily News Maine: June 05, 2013 [ abstract] PORTLAND, Maine " While the School Board is betting on $30 million in state Funding to help build a new elementary school and renovate another, the state remains hesitant to make any promises.
On Tuesday night, the board was expected to hold the first public reading of the final, nearly $40 million renovations plan for several elementary schools developed by Oak Point Associates of Biddeford.
Board members and School Department staff are pinning hopes on receiving the state Funding they applied for two years ago for two of the most urgent school projects: a new Hall Elementary School and expansion of Longfellow Elementary School. The aid would significantly reduce the potential borrowing burden for renovations at three other elementary schools.
The amount the district is planning to bond is lower than earlier projections of $46 million and far less than the $72.4 million proposed in other, more elaborate renovation proposals presented by Oak Point.
Peter Eglinton, the department’s chief operations officer, wrote in a recommendation to the board released Friday in support of the renovation campaign that the district is likely to receive state Funding to renovate Hall, and possibly Longfellow elementary schools. Neither one is factored into the borrowing proposal.
“We recognize the challenge of acting on Lyseth, Presumpscot, and Reiche schools in the absence of a formal state decision on Hall and Longfellow,” Eglinton said in the May 31 memo. But, “an official from the Maine Department of Education has indicated a virtual certainty of state Funding for Hall; with a good chance for support of Longfellow.”
But Jim Rier, deputy commissioner at the Department of Education, said while there is a “high likelihood” that the state will identify Hall for Funding in the next construction round, how quickly the district will get the money is uncertain.
He said Funding could take a few years, and added that Longfellow is more of a long shot.
“With Longfellow, I’m less confident,” he said. “There’s a possibility we’ll get to it in this particular round, but I can’t be certain of that.”
School districts receive Funding from the state based on where they rank on a priority list that is periodically updated at the discretion of the education commissioner.
-- Will Graff, The Forecaster State schools have 85 safe rooms-- Tulsa World Oklahoma: June 03, 2013 [ abstract] Oklahoma schools have spent more than $35 million during the past 12 years to build 85 safe rooms where students can hold band or wrestling practice but also take shelter from a tornado, records show.
Most of the funds for the safe rooms, $26 million, came from Federal Emergency Management Agency grants. The remaining 25 percent, or $9.1 million, was funded by school districts themselves, usually as part of bond issues for new construction.
â€"I really think it benefits the kids,†said Karie Kellert, assistant superintendent of Cleveland Public Schools. The district has four shelters, built with a combination of FEMA funds and bond funds.
â€"They know from the beginning where the storm shelters are. Of course everyone gets anxious when a big storm rolls in. When they know they are just steps away it makes quite a difference,†Kellert said.
Kellert and other school officials who have been able to build safe rooms say the reinforced structures give them peace of mind. However, those numbers mean only 5 percent of the 1,700 school buildings in Oklahoma have a FEMA-approved shelter or safe room.
There are no schools in the Tulsa Public Schools district or its suburban districts with safe rooms on the list.
Officials say it's possible schools built their own safe rooms without using federal funds and did not inform the state. Those schools would not appear on the list of 86 schools with safe rooms.
State Emergency Management Director Albert Ashwood said at Gov. Mary Fallin's request, his agency is examining possible sources of money in addition to FEMA to build more safe rooms in the state's schools.
â€"We need to come up with a plan that gives opportunities out there that does not make schools wait for Funding,†Ashwood said.
-- ZIVA BRANSTETTER - World Enterprise Editor Christie administration announces $455M in school construction grants-- NJ.com New Jersey: May 30, 2013 [ abstract] The Christie administration said today it will distribute nearly half-a-billion dollars in grants for school construction projects across New Jersey.
Most of the money " $425 million " will go to the state’s 559 “Regular Operating Districts,” which include all but New Jersey 31 neediest school systems. An additional $30 million will go to county vocational schools, the governor’s office said.
“In this critical time of rebuilding the Garden State, it is more important than ever for these school projects to move forward with state financial support,” Gov. Chris Christie said in a statement. “With this largest single offering of grant Funding in history, it is clear that this administration is committed to providing modern and efficient educational facilities for students in all school districts across New Jersey.”
The grant program is run as a partnership between the state education department and the School Development Authority, also known as the SDA. The Christie administration has already distributed 902 similar grants, totaling nearly $645 million, the governor’s office said.
-- Ryan Hutchins - The Star-Ledger Broward struggling to fix aging schools-- Sun Sentinel Florida: May 28, 2013 [ abstract] With no major boost to capital Funding approved by the state Legislature this year, the Broward County school district is running out of options to fund long-term fixes for its deteriorating schools.
On Tuesday, School Board members reviewed the district's five-year facility plan and acknowledged there was simply not enough capital money in the budget to meet all technology, transportation and maintenance needs. The capital budget pays for technology, transportation and construction costs and is separate from the operating budget, which pays for classroom expenses.
"The way we have to do it right now is priority based. The ones that are the very worst get addressed first, and that's an unfortunate way to have to run the district," said School Board Chair Laurie Rich Levinson.
The Legislature raised per-pupil Funding and approved raises for teachers, pumping an additional $93 million into the district. But they failed to restore the district's millage rate that allowed them to levy $2 per $1,000 of assessed property value for capital projects. That was slashed to $1.50 after 2008.
"They considered it a tax increase and wouldn't do it," said district lobbyist Georgia Slack. "[Lawmakers] basically said go to the people, let the people decide."
That could mean the public could be asked to foot the bill.
"At some point we have to begin to address it," said board member Rosalind Osgood. "We have to have some serious conversations with ourselves, with the community."
District officials, however, haven't made any final decisions over a bond issue.
Meanwhile, budget officials said they don't expect a capital deficit next year because they plan to use the bulk of the district's reserve money. However, as much of the already limited budget is allocated to paying off school construction projects built prior to 2008, it leaves the district little room for major renovation projects.
And the needs they can meet are minimal.
-- Karen Yi Clark school board votes to move ahead with controversial facilities plan-- kentucky.com Kentucky: May 28, 2013 [ abstract] The Clark County Board of Education voted to move ahead with a controversial district facilities plan Tuesday night, ceding to a state ultimatum to proceed or risk losing education Funding.
Board members voted 3-2 to adopt a resolution pledging to move the facilities plan forward "with all possible haste," as the state had demanded.
They also gave the go-ahead to plan for renovations of Clark Middle School and the old George Rogers Clark High School in preparation for implementing the plan.
However, members agreed in a series of split votes to reduce the amount earmarked for the George Rogers Clark renovation from $16.5 million to $8.4 million. The amount planned for Clark Middle's renovation would remain at $2 million. The renovations are to prepare for a merger of county middle schools as called for in the facilities plan.
That move to reduce the amount allocated for the renovations came at the suggestion of board chairman Michael Kuduk, who questioned allocating $18.5 million to prepare for a middle school merger that is opposed by many county residents. If the plan ultimately goes through, it would be easy to increase the allocation later, Kuduk said.
It wasn't immediately clear, however, whether the reduced amount will satisfy state officials.
The facilities plan has been on the books since 2007, but has been opposed by some Clark County residents since the beginning.
-- Jim Warren Lakewood Schools in line for $50 million to complete master facilities plan-- Sun News Ohio: May 28, 2013 [ abstract] School administrators announced this week the district is in line for $50 million in state Funding to rebuild three elementary schools and finish reconstruction at Lakewood High School.
In order to qualify for those funds, however, voters likely will have to approve a bond issue and small permanent improvement levy to cover the district’s portion of the construction costs.
Speaking to a crowd of more than 200 at Grant Elementary on May 28, Superintendent Jeff Patterson said the Lakewood schools soon will have a tremendous opportunity to complete their master facility plan with financial assistance and guidance from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.
"But we must prepare for this opportunity together," Patterson said.
The announcement means in addition to rebuilding Roosevelt and Lincoln elementary schools, that Grant elementary, once designated to be closed, not only will remain open, but also be included in the reconstruction.
The key, Patterson said, was the district’s ability to persuade the construction commission based on two different independent 10-year enrollment projections that show growth expected at an average of 35.8 students each year for a total increase of 358 students.
"More and more people are seeing Lakewood as a destination rather than a stepping stone," Patterson said. "People are realizing what we’ve known for a long time. Lakewood is a great place to raise a family."
-- Joe Noga Official: Funds will be approved for Portland school replacement-- Portland Press Herald Maine: May 25, 2013 [ abstract] Portland's $20 million replacement of Hall Elementary School will be approved for Funding through the state's Major Capital School Construction Program, a state Department of Education official said Friday.
"There isn't any question that this round of projects will get to (Hall.) I just don't know when," Deputy Education Commissioner Jim Rier told city and school board officials at a City Hall meeting.
Every few years, the Education Department seeks applications for state Funding, evaluates and scores project proposals based on need, and issues a priority list that will be the basis of capital improvement Funding decisions for the next few years. The state has already approved Funding for the first six projects on a priority list announced in 2011; the Hall school project, expected to cost $20 million, is ranked 12th.
Almost the entire cost of the Hall project would be covered, Rier told officials. The State Board of Education pays for as many projects from the list as funds allow.
"We're enormously encouraged that we can get Funding for Hall," Portland Mayor Michael Brennan said Friday.
-- Noel K. Gallagher Schools devastated by Oklahoma tornado had no safe rooms-- RT.com National: May 22, 2013 [ abstract] Two Oklahoma schools destroyed by the devastating May 20 tornado lacked “safe room” shelters that cost up to $1 million, but could have potentially saved the lives of children who died in the wreckage.
Two elementary schools were destroyed in the EF-5 twister that killed at least 24 people on Monday and injured hundreds of others. Seven children were found dead in the debris of the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla.
Authorities believe that everyone who was at Briarwood Elementary School survived the deadly tornado, which ravaged the building with 200 mph winds.
“You could just feel the pressure just building like you were in an airplane, just the pressurization of the cabin and your ears popping and the debris starts flying and the roof falling in,” Briarwood’s first-grade teacher Sheri Bittle told ABC. “And everything in your classroom falling in on you.”
Both of the destroyed schools lacked tornado shelters, which would have potentially prevented many of the casualties and fatalities that occurred on May 20. More than 100 Oklahoma schools currently have metal safe rooms, which can be built above ground or underground and sustain winds up to 250 mph.
These rooms may be the difference between life and death in states where the tornado risk is high, but lack of Funding to build them has prevented elementary schools like Plaza Towers and Briarwood from constructing shelters of their own.
Retrofitting a school with a safe room shelter costs an estimated $600,000 to $1 million per building, Bloomberg News reports. Albert Ashwood, director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency, told the news agency that his department can’t afford to provide every school with a shelter, but that he is looking into whether the two schools had ever even applied for federal Funding to build safe rooms.
Some residents believe that safe rooms should be a priority in Oklahoma " particularly in Moore, since it has a history of falling victim to tornadoes.
“If they can afford a $5 million football stadium, they can afford a safe room,” 67-year-old John Lemmon, a Moore resident who lives near Plaza Towers Elementary School, told Bloomberg. “They should have done it right after they had the last big one.”
-- Staff Writer State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces Funding
for School Construction and Modernization Projects -- California Department of Education California: May 22, 2013 [ abstract] SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today that the State Allocation Board [http://www.dgs.ca.gov/opsc/AboutUs/sab.aspx] (SAB) disbursed more than $519 million for 230 school construction and modernization projects across 92 school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools throughout the state.
"Our schools are community centerpieces and play a key role in preparing young people for the future," Torlakson said. "Local districts now have additional resources to bring to bear on constructing and rebuilding schools, which in turn creates jobs and improves our students' chances for success."
Torlakson's Schools of the Future Initiative (PDF) lays out the framework for "21st century learning" through the construction and modernization of school facilities, utilization of new technology, energy efficiency, and facilities for science and career technology education.
The State Superintendent is one of 10 members of the SAB, which meets monthly to allocate state matching funds for the construction of new classrooms, the modernization of existing schools, and other programs to improve learning environments, and adopts policies and regulations regarding SAB programs. The funds allocated by the SAB are from voter-approved general obligation bonds that cannot be used for school operational expenses.
-- Giorgos Kazanis Baltimore County hires consultant to assess facilities needs-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: May 20, 2013 [ abstract] The Baltimore County school system has hired a local architecture firm to help document its long-term school facilities needs, following a similar strategy the city school system used to generate a $2.4 billion plan and secure some of that Funding from the General Assembly.
The county school board entered into a $500,000 contract with GWWO Inc./Architects last month to help take an inventory of the second-oldest school infrastructure in the state. The county's school buildings suffer from overcrowding and a lack of air conditioning, and its overall needs are estimated to be at least $1.7 billion.
In a letter Wednesday to the state's Board of Public Works, schools Superintendent Dallas Dance said the county hired the company in "an exciting undertaking," adding it was "not the easy path. We could continue to simply address single facility issues year after year."
Dance initially intended for the district's chief operating officer to lead an in-house comprehensive study, and the consultant was brought in as the process got under way, according to his spokesman, who added that Dance monitored the city's plan as it made its way through the General Assembly.
The General Assembly approved a $1 billion plan that will pay for about 15 new city schools and renovate about 35 others over the next six years, after the city paid $1 million to Jacobs Project Management to assess and outline the needs of every school building in Baltimore.
The Jacobs assessment laid the foundation for a 10-year plan that would close 26 buildings, end or relocate 29 programs, and renovate or rebuild 136 facilities.
-- Erica L. Green Tucson Unified School District closes 11 schools to cope with huge budget shortfall-- KJZZ Arizona: May 20, 2013 [ abstract] Many Arizona public school students start their summer vacation this week, but it is a bittersweet time for school districts facing massive budget shortfalls and a lot of uncertainty about the level of state Funding they will receive next school year.
We are offering a series of reports about the financial challenges some Arizona public schools are facing. Our first report focuses on the budget woes of Tucson Unified School District which is closing 11 schools this summer.
TUSD is one of the largest public school districts in the state with more than 50,000 students. TUSD Governing Board President Adelita Grijalva said it has been confronted with some serious financial problems and declining enrollment.
“We’ve had a decline of about ten-thousand students in the ten years that I’ve been on the board," Grijalva said.
Grijalva is leading efforts to reduce the district’s $17 million budget shortfall. Tax revenues for the district shrunk dramatically when Tucson property values plummeted during the recession. Plus, Grijalva said what was once a reliable money stream for TUSD has nearly dried up.
“Over the last ten years, the state has cut Funding for TUSD significantly so we’ve had about a $50-million drop in Funding," Grijalva said.
State Funding for TUSD is partly based on enrollment, but TUSD’s Superintendent John Pedicone said the district has seen far fewer students because of Arizona’s tough immigration policies.
“In this district with the population that we serve some of the legal implications of laws like 10-70 affected this whole region, with many of our Latino families reconsidering locating here in Tucson and Arizona quite frankly," Pedicone said.
-- Steve Shadley Vt. schools face challenges funding construction-- WCAX.com Vermont: May 15, 2013 [ abstract] Rumney Memorial School, with its idyllic setting in the hills of Middlesex, appears neat and tidy at first glance.
"It's been painted, but it's nonetheless-- it's worn and it's got some rot," Principal Adam Rosen said.
But on closer inspection there's a backlog of work on the 1961-era building.
"The original part of the building from 1961, the big wooden beams that support the roof have actually been downgraded and we've seen some deflection under the snow load and they need to be reinforced," Rosen said.
From inadequate support beams to a tiny kitchen that was never designed to cook food. Of the 400 plus schools across Vermont, it's a prime example of the aging infrastructure of some schools.
"A lot of the building stock is quite old, built post World War II, you know '50s, '60s, and even the buildings built in the '90s. You know over 20 years or so, you need to do work on your school, just like you do work on your house," said David Epstein of TruexCullins Architects.
But since 2007, when the Legislature suspended school construction aid, individual communities have had to shoulder the financial burden. The $4.5 million Middlesex bond measure that failed Tuesday would have meant a property tax increase for some upward of $300. Despite what is normally strong support for the school, voters said no by a 230-168 margin.
"With the economy the ways it's been the last few years, people are just concerned about the uncertainty of things economically," said Dexter Lefavour, who opposed the bond.
East Montpelier residents went through the same exercise last spring, rejecting a $10 million school construction bond before they approved a scaled-down version.
State education officials say despite the absence of state aid, a handful of renovation projects have gone forward and that communities are doing their best to maintain their schools. But it hasn't been without its challenges.
-- Alexei Rubenstein Fairfax County School Board delays review of renovations process-- Washington Post Virginia: May 14, 2013 [ abstract] The Fairfax County School Board decided Monday to postpone a review of the district’s criteria for school renovations.
The board opted to delay the review of the so-called renovations queue until November, after the new superintendent, Karen Garza, begins her tenure.
Board members and school administrators said many school buildings are badly in need of renovation, but that the district lacked the Funding to begin the projects. There are 63 schools due for renovation in the current queue.
-- T. Rees Shapiro Baltimore schools prep for massive renovations-- BeaumontEnterprise.com Maryland: May 12, 2013 [ abstract] Baltimore public schools are on the verge of a system-wide makeover that officials hope will provide safer learning conditions for students and spark an era of academic achievement.
About $1 billion in new Funding is expected to transform some of Baltimore's most run-down schools — where students and staff endure leaky pipes, undrinkable water and inadequate heating and air conditioning — into state-of-the-art learning sites with science and computer labs.
Recent data has shown a small but positive relationship between the quality of a public school's building and its academic outcomes. School districts across the country, including Los Angeles and New Haven, Conn., saw gains in student performance when they improved outdated or dilapidated schools.
Baltimore's teachers and families are hoping for a similar result.
Despite gains in graduation rates and declines in suspension and dropout rates over the past few years, Baltimore schools struggle to meet state and national standards. Data collected from states by the National Center for Education Statistics show about 78 percent of students across the country earned a diploma within four years of starting high school. That compared with 83 percent of students in Maryland, but just 66 percent in Baltimore.
Experts say that higher rates of student attendance and, in some cases, teacher retention make sense when dilapidated schools are revitalized.
"Students and teachers don't really want to be in very poor conditions, so they don't show up to school as much. They are not as engaged," said Mary Filardo, executive director of the 21st Century School Fund, a nonprofit organization in Washington that advocates for improving school buildings.
Daisha Wood, a fifth-grade honor roll student at John Eager Howard isn't seeking anything fancy at her school.
"Cleaner bathrooms and lockers that close," is what Wood said she would implement if she could help plan a new school.
School officials say that the benefits of new and renovated facilities extend beyond improved test scores.
"It's about creating a set of conditions that articulate how we value you," Alonso said. "That message gets internalized in communities and in kids."
-- MICHELLE JANAYE NEALY - Associate Press GARRISON COMMUNITY STANDS UP FOR FULL MODERNIZATION OF SCHOOL-- Garrison PTA District of Columbia: May 09, 2013 [ abstract] At a Logan Circle Community Association meeting held at Garrison Elementary last night, DC City Council Education Committee Chair David Catania (I, At-Large) announced that he has identified resources that will accelerate the Phase 1 modernization of Garrison to FY2014, rather than 2015. The crowd gathered at Garrison - one of the schools in greatest need for strategic investment according to the Deputy Mayor for Education 2013 Master Facilities Plan - cheered out loud.
Councilmember Jim Graham (D, Ward 1) stated "I will support expediting that Funding to support Garrison." Budget Chair Councilmember Jack Evans (D, Ward 2) said, "I have vowed to make Garrison the gem of a neighborhood school that it should be. The Funding I was able to secure for the field renovations last year was a first step, stopping it from closing was next and making sure that the renovations take place in an expeditious manner is part of that commitment."
Initially Garrison was scheduled for a Phase 1 modernization in 2012. In subsequent budget years Garrison's phase 1, 2 and 3 were all postponed. Even under the currently proposed budget, Garrison's phase 2 and 3 won't be completed until 2022. Ann McLeod, Garrison PTA president said, "This is just unacceptable! The school has not been updated since it was originally built in 1964 and its facilities rank among the worst in the district. The $8mm is a great start. But the Garrison community, led by the PTA, will continue pushing for a full modernization by 2015, as we have been all along."
ANC 2F and ANC 2B both passed resolutions asking that the City Council appropriate $16 million to fully fund Garrison's modernization in Fiscal Year 2014 to allow for a complete modernization.
-- Ann McLeod In Midst of Mass Closings, Chicago Still Lacks Long-Term Schools Plan-- The Chicago Bureau Illinois: May 07, 2013 [ abstract] At a small church with boarded windows in Far South Side Chicago, Jackie Leavy is scrambling for a microphone. She rushes from one side of the wood-floored sanctuary to the other, trying to set up a makeshift sound system between checking that every student, parent, teacher and activist has signed in and grabbed a flyer as they trickle into the room. By the time the room is full, she gives up and heads for the stage.
“We couldn’t get a mic, but we’re in a Methodist church,” Leavy bellows across the hall over the quieting bustle of the audience. “So we’re just going to have to use our big Methodist voices.”
It’s the second Saturday of the month, meaning that it’s time for the Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force to hold an open forum on the state of the city’s public school facilities. This month’s meeting is at the Fernwood United Methodist Church on 101st street, about 14 miles south of City Hall.
But that doesn’t stop representatives of schools from neighborhoods like Andersonville, O’Hare, Austin and Humboldt Park from coming and sharing stories of crisis. All the while Leavy, a pro-bono adviser to the task force, keeps looking for a microphone to make sure all the indignant voices are heard.
The meetings are always well-attended, but today is different. Because today is the first meeting since the city’s March 20 announcement that it would close 53 elementary schools and one high school in predominantly low-income areas.
In the three weeks since the announcement, parents and advocacy groups across the city have launched widespread protests based on the move’s potential to displace much of the city’s at-risk youth. The city, in response, has maintained that the move is a necessary measure to improve the physically-outdated, and in some cases altogether dilapidated, condition of schools.
“Consolidating schools is the best way to make sure all of our city’s students get the resources they need to succeed in the classroom,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel in a statement following the announcement.
CPS released a supplemental capital spending plan last Saturday in an attempt to chart out the additional Funding that would be allocated to the “welcoming schools,” or schools that would be receiving displaced students.
But when it comes to getting hard data over which schools are most in need of maintenance and renovation, 2013 has seen a constant struggle between the school system and observers like the CEFTF.
-- Alex Nitkin Wake school board changes student assignment policy-- News Observer North Carolina: May 07, 2013 [ abstract] The Wake County school board took the first steps Tuesday toward trying to ensure again that schools have diverse enrollments, but members said they’re not proposing to force children to attend schools far from where they live.
In a 7-1 vote, the board gave preliminary approval to a revised student assignment policy that seeks to minimize high concentrations of low-performing students and students from low-income families at each school.
But board members also noted that the policy says students should be assigned to a school within a reasonable distance of their homes and should be given an opportunity to stay at the schools they attend.
“We’re not going back to where we’re just going to yank kids from here and move them to there to balance out numbers,” said board member Tom Benton, a Democrat.
At schools that can’t be balanced by means of student assignment, board members said, the system will make use of a new Office of Equity and Diversity. The office is included in an $8.3 million Funding increase for the coming fiscal year that the board voted Tuesday to request from county commissioners.
Joe Bryan, chairman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, said Tuesday that an $8.3 million increase was a “reasonable request” that he thought commissioners could approve.
-- T. Keung Hui More money for Madison Co. schools-- waff.com Alabama: May 03, 2013 [ abstract]
The Madison County School Board can move forward with its capital improvement plan.
Friday, the Madison County Commission voted to help them match a BRAC bond that will pay for those construction projects.
The school district is set to receive nearly $56-million in BRAC, or Base Realignment and Closure, Funding. In order to receive that money, the district must match that amount with its own money. The district was $23 million short.
The County Commission is helping them secure that $23-million in bonds. The Commission has pledged $5 -million over the next 10 years to obtain those bonds.
When the 10 years is up, the financial burden will be transferred to the school district.
The eligibility of BRAC Funding and the matched money, gives the Madison County School district the green light on its capital improvement plan.
The Funding will allow the school board to address the district's overcrowding issues and renovation needs.
A new high school in Monrovia is now on the table thanks to this money.
All three school districts within Madison County have capital projects in the works in the combined amount of $147-million.
The County Commission Chairman Dale Strong said the bonds will become available immediately.
-- Diana Crawford School board, county agree: State must pony up more -- StAugustine.com Florida: April 25, 2013 [ abstract] Members of the St. Johns County Commission and School Board met in joint session Wednesday, and they quickly agreed that the state is not doing enough to help St. Johns County pay for the growth in the county.
For schools, it means that the district doesn’t have enough money to build the schools it anticipates needing " about one a year.
For the county, it means it doesn’t have enough money to build roads, drainage projects and other infrastructure needed to handle the people moving here. The county has more than 46,000 homes approved for construction in Developments of Regional Impact and an unknown number in smaller planned developments.
“The problem (of Funding schools, infrastructure) is this is more Tallahassee’s fault,” County Commissioner Ron Sanchez, District 2, said of the growth issues. “We need to go after our legislators good and heavy. … We need to do whatever we can to wake those people in Tallahassee.”
School Board member Patrick Canan, District 5, elected in November of last year, said the thing he had learned since taking office was “the financial situation is somewhat bleak.” Districts don’t get the same money as in the past and even with some monies being restored haven’t caught up, he said.
He noted a “disconnect” between the Florida Legislature and the counties.
Since the economic crisis began, Florida counties have seen drops in property values and thus taxes as well as cutbacks in Funding from the state. That comes as St. Johns County, unlike many counties in Florida, continues to grow.
-- MARCIA LANE State awards $130 million to 92 Arkansas school districts for construction projects, repairs-- KSPR.com Arkansas: April 25, 2013 [ abstract] More than $130 million has been awarded to 92 school districts for construction projects next year.
The projects were approved Wednesday by the Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation. The largest single project was granted to the Bentonville School District, which received more than $15 million for the possible construction of a high school.
-- Associated Press Hawaii lawmakers negotiate $23.8B budget proposal, including $400 million for school infrastructure repairs-- sfgate.com Hawaii: April 24, 2013 [ abstract] Hawaii legislators charged with negotiating the state budget have agreed to a $23.8 billion biennium budget proposal that dedicates millions to capital improvement projects, improving information technology infrastructure and drawing down the state's unfunded liabilities.
A committee made up of House and Senate negotiators approved the bill Tuesday evening, along with budgets for the judiciary and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The bills go next to the House and Senate floors for approval.
Lawmakers say the state budget proposal falls about $262 million short of Gov. Neil Abercrombie's request. The draft does not provide Funding for some of Abercrombie's key initiatives, such as his early childhood education proposal and a plan for encouraging entrepreneurship.
Sen. David Ige says that lawmakers have set aside an additional $30 million for these initiatives and others that are still being debated in the Legislature.
Tuesday's budget proposal dedicates more than $3 billion for capital improvement projects, including more than $400 million for school infrastructure repairs.
"You can't have a 21st century school with 20th century electrical wiring," said Rep. Sylvia Luke, chairwoman of the House Finance Committee. Luke says the Funding will help nearly every school in the state.
-- ANITA HOFSCHNEIDER - Associated Press School Building Authority Issues $49 Million to 5 Local Schools-- WBOY West Virginia: April 22, 2013 [ abstract] The School Building Authority issued more than $49 million in Funding to 12 school systems across the state at its meeting Monday.
Five local counties benefited from the grants including Harrison, Lewis, Preston, Ritchie, and Webster.
Lumberport Middle School will move into a new building next to Shinnston's Lincoln High School.
The new building will be made possible by Funding from the school building authority.
Superintendent of Harrison County Schools Susan Collins said work on the new building will begin right away.
"It's been a long journey for the people of Lumberport and the people here in Shinnston, this feeder area, because there is a need for the school. There's been a need because of safety and health issues that we've wanted to get this project done. We're just happy we were able to get it for them here today," Collins said.
Lewis County will receive more than $3 million for an addition/renovation at Jane Lew Elementary School, Preston County will receive $4 million for a New West Preston Middle School, Ritchie County will receive about $4.5 million for an addition/renovation at Harrisville Elementary School, and Webster County will receive nearly $4.5 million for renovations at Webster County High School.
Preston County also received $451,021 for a new vocational educational space for Preston High School.
-- Staff Writer Orange moves toward five new K-8 schools-- Orlando Sentinel Florida: April 18, 2013 [ abstract] Students in Orlando's Parramore neighborhood are coming back home.
The school district has been busing hundreds of Parramore students to eight elementary schools as part of the district's former desegregation order. But the Orange County School Board agreed Thursday to build a K-8 school for them in their own neighborhood, ending the need for busing.
"We're going to try to get these children home, into one community, like we all want to be," said Board Member Kat Gordon, who represents the Parramore area.
Gordon and other School Board members expressed support for opening as many as five new K-8 schools in the next five or six years.
The district already has three K-8 schools, which are favored by parents because they give students a comfort zone during the difficult middle school years. The schools also have been credited with increased student achievement that lasts into high school.
The Wedgefield community in East Orange, which is too small to support an elementary school, will get a K-8 under the plan. The K-8 schools in Wedgefield and Parramore can be paid for with a combination of already-allocated Funding, cost savings and philanthropic donations, Superintendent Barbara Jenkins said.
The board also showed support for new K-8 schools in Audubon Park, Lake Como and on the site of Pershing Elementary. The work on those schools, however, is contingent on county taxpayers continuing to support school construction with a half-penny sales tax, which runs out in 2015. The board is expected to formally decide in a few months to put the question to a ballot.
-- Lauren Roth Fairfax school officials explain TJ renovation price tag -- Loudon Times Virginia: April 09, 2013 [ abstract] A $90 million price tag on renovations to Thomas Jefferson High School raised eyebrows among parents at other high schools awaiting similar renovations.
However, School Board members explained last week during a vote to approve Funding of Thomas Jefferson High School’s renovations that the costs have fallen to $67.44 million. The decrease is the result of a competitive bidding process, after which the School Board approved the lower cost bid.
Several School Board members said they had received emails and other feedback from the community about the estimated $90 million price tag for TJ’s renovations, which was approved by voters under the November 2011 school bond referendum.
TJ was one of six high schools receiving renovations under the fiscal 2014 to 2018 Capital Improvement Program. Other schools included: Marshall ($73 million), Langley ($90 million), West Springfield ($83 million), Herndon ($94 million) and Oakton ($94 million).
School Board members said they did not want parents of students at other schools to think TJ was getting special treatment.
“Every school has a right to be renovated eventually in the queue and I have some very important ones like West Springfield [High School] coming up,” School Board member Elizabeth Schultz said. “So, to have gone from $90 million to $67 million is critical for the taxpayers to know because I think that there was an impression that [TJ students] were getting this $90 million-palooza renovation. One, the facility was sorely in need of it. And I think a lot of the impressions were a stereotype of TJ without knowing the condition of the facility.”
-- Holly Hobbs Governor’s budget proposal impacts HCPS-- Roanoke Chowan News Herald North Carolina: March 31, 2013 [ abstract] “Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.”
That how Hertford County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Perry describes a plan to shift state education funds from one department to another.
According to information provided by the North Carolina County Commissioners Association (NCACC), Governor Pat McCrory’s 2013-14 budget proposal keeps county school construction lottery Funding at the recessionary amount of $100 million, despite an improving state revenue outlook. Increased and reallocated lottery funds are directed instead at school technology and Pre-Kindergarten slots.
“Sure, we can use the funds to upgrade technology and ensure that every eligible child in Hertford County can enroll in the Pre-K program, but in the same breath we have aging elementary school buildings that are in need of replacement,” Perry said.
Perry said the state is requiring technology upgrades, thus the plan to shift of portion of the lottery funds to that specific area of the educational process.
“We have to invest in the future of education in Hertford County and that future is built around having modern facilities in which our children can experience a positive learning environment,” Perry stated. “We need the lottery construction funds to help us offset those costs.”
The Governor’s budget proposal appropriates to counties slightly more than half of the lottery funds for school capital needs that counties are statutorily due. It also permanently redirects the county share of the corporate income tax (ADM Fund) to the state’s general fund.
-- Cal Bryant More than just Hanover: Pa. owes many school districts money-- Evening Sun Pennsylvania: March 30, 2013 [ abstract] School districts waiting years for construction reimbursement from the state are banding together in hopes of initiating a change in Harrisburg.
In an effort to bring the topic to the forefront of the state's 2013-14 budget conversation, representatives from the Pennsylvania School Boards Association are asking affected districts to sign a letter urging government officials to allocate additional Funding for construction next year.
Hanover is one of more than 100 districts that have been affected by insufficient Funding for the Planning and Construction Workbook, also known as PlanCon, according to the association.
"I believe it's a no-brainer," Superintendent Al Moyer said.
In Hanover's case, the Department of Education guaranteed partial reimbursement for the $10.5 million renovations of Washington Elementary and Hanover Street Elementary schools, which were completed in 2011, Business Manager Troy Wentz said. He estimated the department owes Hanover roughly $700,000 to date and the number will continue to rise over the next several years.
"This is one of the big issues that's impacting districts," said Hannah Barrick, government relations director for the association. "We're hearing about it from districts all over the state."
Under Department of Education PlanCon regulations, districts must get approval for projects in each of 11 steps - Part A through
-- KATY PETIFORD Charter school facilities funding bill approved by Idaho Senate-- NSBA Legal Clips Idaho: March 29, 2013 [ abstract] The Idaho Statesman reports that the Idaho senate in a 20-15 vote has approved a bill that would begin directing about $1.4 million next fall to the 40 charter schools across the state, for the purpose of helping the schools pay mortgages and other facilities costs. The schools will get a share of tax dollars"based on a Funding formula that factors in the total number of school levies and the number of public school students in the state"to support facilities and maintenance costs.
The annual payout would grow to $2.1 million in the second year, and even more in subsequent years. The measure has already passed House and is en route to the desk of Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter.
Proponents say the money"estimated in fhe first year as $34,000 per charter school"is essential to helping the nontraditional schools survive and leveling the playing field with traditional public schools. Unlike traditional schools, charters don’t have the authority to ask local voters to approve bond levies to offset expenses, build new schools or pay for remodels. But Republicans and Democrats who opposed the bill criticized sending money to charters when traditional schools are in just as much need.
Sen. Shawn Keough said charter schools were designed as a testing ground for new education techniques that could be applied to the state’s K-12 system. She argued it’s time for lawmakers to look at integrating those methods across schools instead of passing measures that reinforce two separate systems, each battling for state dollars.
-- Staff Writer Editorial: Bill to give commissioners control of school construction bad for Davie County -- Winston Salem Journal North Carolina: March 20, 2013 [ abstract] If history is any indication — and it usually is — then a legislative bill that would give county commissioners control of school properties, including renovation and construction, would not be in the best interest of public education in Davie County.
School administrators and the school board are the experts when it comes to designing and equipping schools to meet the changing educational needs of students — not county commissioners. Giving that responsibility to commissioners could mean more austere cuts to school Funding.
Davie County's school system is already one of the poorest-funded in the state, and last year commissioners attempted to force a $2.2 million budget cut on the school system — 23 percent — before a group of concerned mothers, the DC Moms, fought back and helped stop the cuts. The commissioners also have dragged their feet on the issue of replacing the county's 56-year-old high school. They will be asked by school administrators on April 1 to place a bond referendum on November's ballot to finance a new $53 million high school.
â€"In most jurisdictions, the school board has a lot more experience with construction than the county commissioners,†Leanne Winter, director of governmental relations for the North Carolina School Boards Association, told Journal West's Lisa O'Donnell. â€"There's a huge body of research on the linkage between school design and maintenance to student learning and behavior.â€
Winter said she opposes Senate Bill 236 sponsored by Sens. Pete Brunstetter, R-Forsyth; Neal Hunt, R-Wake; and Tom Apodaca, R-Henderson, because it would destroy the checks and balances that currently exist when it comes to the quality of education at the local level.
Brunstetter told the Winston-Salem Journal that the bill would â€"put the financial responsibility and accountability†for school construction and maintenance in one place — the board of county commissioners.
-- Journal Editorial Board School construction bill moves out of committee-- Associated Press Alaska: March 20, 2013 [ abstract] Five small Alaska municipal school districts are trapped between Funding mechanisms for school construction, but one lawmaker proposed a bill he hopes will remedy the problem.
HB133, by Rep. Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, would add Saint Mary's, Tanana, Kake, Klawock, and Hydaburg to those districts eligible to receive Funding for construction using the Regional Educational Attendance Area School Construction Fund. REAAs are small, rural school districts.
School construction currently can be funded through the capital budget using two mechanisms: The district can issue bonds - which statute says the state will reimburse 60 to 70 percent of annual bond debt - or seek resources from the REAA fund, according to Edgmon.
But the five school districts that Edgmon's bill targets don't qualify for the REAA fund and don't have the resources to issue bonds.
"While most municipal districts are able to bond for school construction and subsequently access the state's debt reimbursement program, REAA schools and schools in districts without realistic bonding capability lacked such a clear route for financing," according to Edgmon's sponsor statement.
Before the REAA existed, the Alaska Supreme Court found that the process by which rural schools received Funding was "arbitrary and inadequate" in comparison to the process used by most municipal districts.
-- JOSHUA BERLINGER Assembly leaders back financing plan for $1 billion in city school construction-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: March 18, 2013 [ abstract] General Assembly leaders have agreed on a financing plan to allow Baltimore to spend nearly $1 billion on a sweeping program to replace and repair dilapidated school buildings over the next seven years.
House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas Mike V. Miller said Monday they fully support and will line up votes for the plan, which would use state lottery revenue and the expertise of the Maryland Stadium Authority to borrow enough to build 15 new city schools and renovate dozens more.
The plan — which is fundamentally different from the block grant proposal city officials pushed — would require Baltimore, the city school system and the state to put up $20 million a year each to help pay back $1 billion in bonds over the next 30 years. The stadium authority would sell the bonds and oversee the construction program.
Miller and Busch both described the investment in city schools as a way to entice young couples and families to stay in the city.
"We want Baltimore City to have a renaissance and revitalization that makes them self-sufficient," said Busch, a Democrat from Anne Arundel County. "Without an injection of Funding for schools, as well as public safety and economic development, they're not going to come out of a downward spiral. You look at this 20 years from now, and you have situation like Detroit."
Miller, a Calvert County Democrat, called the deal "unprecedented" and "a huge victory for the schoolchildren of Baltimore City."
A House committee is set to consider and vote Tuesday on the proposal — which still requires the approval of both chambers of the legislature. Under the plan, the state would pledge $20 million a year in lottery revenue.
"As the presiding officer, I'm going to do my best to sell it to them," Miller said. "And I think I can."
Gov. Martin O'Malley, who has let the legislature take the lead on school construction discussions, said in a statement he was "encouraged by the progress."
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Monday night the city is pleased with the new proposal. "This deal is incredibly close to the amount of resources" the administration and other education advocates had been seeking, she said. "There are very few people who go to Annapolis and get 100 percent of what they want."
She said Baltimore's $20 million annual share would come from its general fund and from additional revenue from the city's bottle tax and casino table games.
-- Erin Cox and Luke Broadwater School repairs a must in Norfolk-- The Virginian-Pilot Virginia: March 18, 2013 [ abstract] Hampton Roads has been crippled by choke points at bridge and tunnel crossings; residents will soon pay crushing tolls as a result of the legislature's decades-long inability to resolve Funding issues. Norfolk finds itself in a similar situation with its schools. Two of its oldest elementary schools, Larchmont and Ocean View, were built in 1929 and 1939, respectively. At Ocean View, buckets placed in hallways substitute for a sound roof; during rainstorms water streams down the walls. Antiquated heating and cooling systems alternately freeze and bake students. Ancient wiring cannot support modern technology.
-- Editorial Counties could take over school facilities under proposed bill-- News Record North Carolina: March 08, 2013 [ abstract] The school takeover bill was filed in the state Senate yesterday.
It stems from a Wake County dispute but has statewide implications " which haven’t been thoroughly considered yet.
The bill allows a county government to assume ownership of and control over all public school facilities. If it’s passed " and it has powerful support already " it could set off some pretty spirited battles across the state.
One of the primary sponsors is Sen. Neal Hunt, R-Wake. In that county, the Republican-controlled Board of Commissioners and the Democrat-controlled Board of Education have been tussling over a number of issues. The Republican legislature is weighing in, heavily, on the side of commissioners.
If this is enacted, would it trigger a debate in Guilford County? Totally without a doubt. Commissioners might decide they need to control school facilities, especially when it comes to questions about costly construction, expansion and renovation projects.
Commissioners already hold the purse strings, but they don’t get to directly manage property. Should they? On one hand, that would let them set overall priorities for countywide capital needs, weighing a proposed school building against a proposed health department building, for example. On the other hand, although the school board isn’t a Funding agency, its members have been elected to tend to school facilities, among their other duties. They are very families with school facilities and needs, as well as constituent concerns. Are they doing so badly that they should be stripped of this responsibility? Do we even need to have this discussion? Well, it’s probably coming.
-- Doug Clark Palm Springs Unified School District must borrow to build, but risks maxing out-- mydesert.com California: March 02, 2013 [ abstract] The Palm Springs Unified School District will pursue a bond of up to $107 million to finish construction projects at local campuses, but the school board must still decide to prioritize savings or flexibility.
The bond money is needed to finish some projects that have already begun, including the construction of Bella Vista Elementary in Desert Hot Springs and a new performing arts building at Palm Springs High School.
The Funding will also provide a new home for the Desert Hot Springs Alternative Center. For the past five years, the alternative high school has taught about 200 students out of a rented storefront at the corner of Palm Drive and Hacienda Avenue. Students and staff long for a campus of their own.
“We have no sports. We have no drama. We have no band. We don’t have the space for it,” said Joddi DeMarco, assistant principal at the center. “There is no space for students to really just relax. But at the new facility, we will have volleyball courts and tetherball and lots of things we just don’t have here, which is great.”
Currently, the district is looking at two bond options to pay for these projects.
• The district could borrow $70 million, pushing itself very close to a borrowing limit for about four years. This bond will provide enough money to finish the current round of construction projects, but will guarantee that the district has to borrow again to finish any future construction.
• Or the district can borrow $107 million, maxing out its borrowing capacity for 20 years while most likely securing a better overall rate. Generally, districts can receive a better deal if they borrow more money, similar to how a shopper can find cheaper prices if they buy in bulk. This larger bond will also allow the district to wait longer before it returns to the bond market to borrow again.
-- Brett Kelman School construction waiting on Gov. Christie: Opinion-- Star-Ledger New Jersey: February 28, 2013 [ abstract] New Jersey school children who want safe, productive learning environments got a useful civics lesson this month from Gov. Chris Christie: “Watch out for politicians who say one thing but do another.”
Christie appeared at recently built Colin Powell Elementary School in Union City to take credit for the new construction.
He said that, when it comes to modernizing the state’s schools, he is proud to be delivering “results and not just talk.”
Here are the “results” Christie has delivered:
Before he took office, the Legislature made $3.9 billion available for school construction and repairs in low-income districts where the need was greatest. This Funding was mandated by the courts because teaching and learning conditions were completely substandard in those districts " problems that included hazardous electrical systems, leaking roofs and pipes, and air contaminated with deadly asbestos, lead, mold or other toxins.
Moving forward with school modernization would have not only protected school children and improved education, it also would have supported thousands of jobs during the worst recession in decades.
But Christie had other priorities. He stopped action on all 52 approved school construction projects in the state. At the same time, he gave more than $1 billion in new tax loopholes to corporations.
-- Star-Ledger Editorial Board Thousands rally for Baltimore City School Building Funding-- abc2news Maryland: February 26, 2013 [ abstract] Thousands of people turned out at a Rally Monday night in Annapolis in support of rebuilding Baltimore City schools. The rally was in support of a Block Grant Bill.
It's a plan to renovate and rebuild the city's school buildings. The bill includes the creation of a new construction authority that would oversee planning, financing and construction of school projects.
Supporters say the bill is needed because the current system for financing school renovation will not catch up to the needs of Baltimore City School buildings.
Teachers, students and parents at the rally described bad conditions at city schools including: broken windows, hot classrooms and inadequate computer labs. They called upon lawmakers to provide the resources to rebuild the state's oldest school buildings.
The rally was sponsored by the Baltimore Education Coalition. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake and City Schools CEO Dr. Andres Alonzo led the effort to encourage the General Assembly to pass the School Construction Bill.
It comes up for a hearing in the House of Delegates on March 5th.
-- Sherrie Johnson New Baltimore City School Construction Bill-- CPHA Baltimore Maryland: February 13, 2013 [ abstract] Last year, the ACLU and partner organizations worked with city delegates to organize a $1.1 billion school construction program for Baltimore City. The state’s Interagency Committee on School Construction then examined the proposal and released a report outlining their findings. Additionally, Baltimore City schools and Mayor Rawlings-Blake’s administration developed an extensive proposal to resolve Baltimore’s school construction crisis and prepare for the implementation of Baltimore City Schools’ 10-Year-Plan.
The new bill-Senate Bill 743 and House Bill 860-outlines how Baltimore City School’s 10-Year-Plan will be effectively financed and managed. The bill also sets in place the current spending amount for school construction in the city as part of the financing plan to carry out the first phase of the 10-Year-Plan.
The main components of the Senate Bill 743 and House Bill 860 are:
State provides $32 million or 12% of Funding annually
•$32 million of state funds will be leveraged to borrow $1.1 billion up front for the first phase of the 10-Year Plan.
•Baltimore City Schools has received an average of $36 million in state school construction Funding annually since the 2007 fiscal year. The bill asks for a lower amount, $32 million, to guarantee that the state meets this level of Funding if the school construction budget is lower than average.
•For years that the state allocates a higher amount of school construction Funding, 12% of that portion will certify that Baltimore City gets its fair share of the Funding.
-- Staff Writer Panel OKs spending for proposed Montana school funding bill-- Missoulian Montana: February 12, 2013 [ abstract] A proposed school Funding bill that increases state money for schools and cuts local property taxes got another political boost Tuesday, as a legislative budget panel approved spending that aligns with the proposal.
On mostly bipartisan votes, the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education made its recommendations for state public school Funding for the next two years.
Sen. Llew Jones, R-Conrad " the sponsor of Senate Bill 175, the comprehensive school Funding bill " said most of the panel’s votes set spending levels that coordinate with the spending framework of his bill.
Denise Juneau, the Democratic state superintendent of public instruction and a supporter of SB175, said the votes were “a great morning for schools.”
“Throughout this entire (legislative) session, I’ve been telling people it’s been very heartening to hear all the talk about supporting public schools,” she said. “There’s been a lot of bipartisan discussion. … It showed itself today.”
Nonetheless, Juneau said the school Funding proposal still has a “long journey” through the Legislature.
SB175 cleared a Senate committee last week and may be on the Senate floor later this week, Jones said.
Jones’ bill would increase state Funding for public schools by about $60 million the next two years, route more funds to school construction, more widely distribute oil-and-gas revenue to help eastern Montana schools deal with impacts from oil-and-gas development, and cut local school property taxes by $19.5 million a year, at a minimum.
Yet while Jones’ bill directs the changes, it doesn’t directly appropriate all of the money.
-- MIKE DENNISON Districts owed more than $1 million in construction reimbursements-- Times Tribune Pennsylvania: February 11, 2013 [ abstract] Three area school districts are owed more than $1 million from the state for construction project reimbursements.
The delays are straining districts' finances, as bond payments are due and money expected from the state is nonexistent. The longer the delays, the greater chance student programs or jobs could be affected.
Students at Western Wayne's $21 million EverGreen Elementary School have been in the building for 18 months. The district expects to receive a $6 million reimbursement for the project, but has received nothing.
"If we were to not get any of that, it would cripple us," Interim Superintendent Clay LaCoe, Ed.D., said.
When school districts build new or renovate existing buildings, the state offers the opportunity to apply for reimbursement through PlanCon, an acronym for Planning and Construction Workbook. After being approved for PlanCon A through PlanCon H steps, gradual reimbursement begins.
Area districts experiencing a delay have submitted PlanCon H, but months, even more than a year later, are still waiting approval.
As Funding is available, projects are approved, said Tim Eller, Department of Education spokesman. There is $296 million in the current budget and another $296 million in the proposed 2013-14 budget for the reimbursements, and 355 projects are within the PlanCon process.
Last year, the state Legislature approved a moratorium on new projects through PlanCon. In his budget unveiled Tuesday, Gov. Tom Corbett proposed extending the moratorium. Projects already in the PlanCon process are able to continue going through the steps.
At Mid Valley, officials expected to receive a reimbursement of 17 percent, or $2.7 million, for the $15.9 million expansion and renovation of the elementary school.
The district is already behind about $500,000 in reimbursements from the state, business manager Joseph Caputo said. As bond payments come due, the district must make up the money by taking from other places, he said.
The Carbondale Area School District expects to be reimbursed for about one-third of the $15 million cost for its high school renovation project.
-- SARAH HOFIUS HALL Washington state Senate approves $544 million school construction measure-- Oregon Live Washington: February 11, 2013 [ abstract] The Washington state Senate has unanimously approved a measure authorizing $544 million in bonds for school construction - a day before several school districts vote on school construction Funding packages of their own.
Included in the package is $10 million for safety upgrades to schools that include installing panic alarms to alert local law enforcement of emergencies.
Traditionally, the Legislature passes a construction bonding measure late in its annual session that covers everything from building upgrades to parkland acquisitions.
Republicans in the Legislature, however, are pushing a "fund education first" agenda that would allocate K-12 dollars separately and in advance of other moneys. With two Democrats joining 23 Republicans to form a one-vote majority in the Senate, the measure's passage on Monday can be seen as part of that broader effort.
-- The Associated Press
-- Associated Press Bill would allow Baltimore to use road taxes for school construction-- Washington Examiner Maryland: February 09, 2013 [ abstract] Legislation that would allow new transit authorities to raise property taxes in Baltimore and the Washington suburbs would allow Charm City to use its earnings to fund schools instead of roads.
Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., D-Prince George's and Calvert counties, is sponsoring a bill to apply a 3 percent sales tax to gas sales, allow counties to raise their own gas tax up to 5 cents per gallon, and create regional transit authorities in Baltimore and the Washington suburbs that could raise property taxes to fund transportation projects.
However, a provision in the bill would allow Baltimore to use some of the money from its property tax increase for school construction. It is the only city or county given this ability under the bill.
Increasing taxes on gasoline "is a tough push for Miller, and he's going to need to find any way he can to get votes for this gas tax bill," said Nick Loffer, grassroots director for the conservative think tank Americans For Prosperity-Maryland.
Seventy-three percent of the state doesn't want this gas tax hike, and he's going to have to try to sweeten the pot to get votes from legislators who are sitting on the fence."
The school Funding would be contingent on the General Assembly approving bond sales for school construction.
Miller's office did not respond to calls or emails for comment.
Baltimore has 160 schools in bad need of repair and renovation. Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Andres Alonso appeared before state legislators from his city last month to lobby for $30 million a year over the next 10 years. That money would back the sale of millions in bonds to fund school construction.
-- Andy Brownfield West Haven school facilities managers warn of future equipment break-downs if not funded-- New Haven Register Connecticut: February 09, 2013 [ abstract] Security upgrades top the school district’s capital improvements request, but investments in the high school pool, ice rink and other equipment are also critical, facilities managers said at a meeting this week.
Without some Funding over the next few years, the Board of Education could see equipment break-downs and significant replacement costs, they added.
“We’re trying be realistic and identify what’s important. ... The infrastructure is technically owned by the city. But it’s really their property. They need to recognize the fact that they’ve got to make an investment to maintain the property or we’re going to have huge costs or catastrophic failure,” Al Barbarotta said.
Barbarotta and Joseph Falzone, of AFB Construction Management in Bridgeport, presented a seven-year capital plan to the school board Monday night with a list of 15 projects worth $15.78 million. They suggested the city commit to $3.98 million of work next year and between $1.15 million and $2.9 million each of the six years after so arts of various projects can be completed over time. Barbarotta is the company’s CEO and Falzone is the facilities director for the Board of Education for AFB.
The school board voted to forward the capital plan to Mayor John M. Picard, who will present a city and schools budget to the City Council this spring.
The capital plan proposes $250,000 for security upgrades next year, including better camera equipment, intrusion alarms and repairs or replacements of door locks, the capital plan document says. This is separate from the $200,000 Superintendent of Schools Neil Cavallaro included in his proposed 2013-14 operating budget, which would include upgrades such as security guard positions
-- Susan Misur It's Time to Separate Facilities From Operations-- Education Week National: February 08, 2013 [ abstract] The way we build, manage and maintain public school buildings is inefficient and exacerbates some of the biggest challenge in public education. With the recent growth of the public charter school sector, the rise of tech-infused learning models, and the migration of student populations across options and geographies, it's time for us to rethink the relationship between learning programs and public facilities. It's time to decouple the delivery and the ownership of school buildings.
School districts are usually granted two special powers by their state constitution: the right to grant diplomas and the right to levy taxes. Most districts run an annual operating levy that (which in most states) augments state Funding. Districts periodically propose a tax to build and remodel schools.
There are some old problems with this way of provisioning facilities:
1. The tax base (specifically aggregate value of property per capita) is much lower in high poverty communities; hence beautiful schools for the rich, and run down schools for the poor.
2. Most districts can only raise money in big chunks repaid over 30 years. In between districts don't have a reliable way to pay for regular maintenance. As a result, districts let schools get really run down and then do major remodels when they can raise money (state matching incentives can exacerbate this perverse behavior).
3. Because few districts can pass a separate levy for technology (and other 3-5 year assets), districts buy lots of technology and pay for it with 30 year bonds.
4. A medium sized district with 20,000 kids probably has a real estate portfolio worth several billion dollars, but there is often no one charged with actively managing the portfolio and balance sheet.
There are some new problems with the way we provision schools:
-- Tom Vander Ark Wake schools chairman accuses county commissioners of ‘power grab’-- News Observer North Carolina: February 07, 2013 [ abstract] Wake County school board Chairman Keith Sutton accused county commissioners Thursday of attempting a “power grab” with proposed state legislative changes that he said would “decimate” the school system.
Commissioners want to change state law to take over the school board’s job of building, maintaining and owning schools. They also want the authority to give charter schools money to help build facilities, and to require that four of the nine school board seats be elected at large.
“The plan is to decimate the public school system as we know it and build it up in some other way,” Sutton said in a meeting Thursday with News & Observer reporters and editors.
But Joe Bryan, chairman of the board of commissioners, said the public sees the changes as “the right answer.”
“The public sees the linkage between the county owning and building schools,” he said. “The public sees the sense of being able to elect a majority of school board members.”
Sutton said there’s a reason why state law puts school boards in charge of construction while putting commissioners in charge of Funding. He said giving all the authority to commissioners would be like “putting the fox in the hen house.”
“It seems to me the intent was a clear separation of powers,” he said.
Sutton also pointed out that the school system builds and maintains far more buildings than the county, and receives awards for its work. He said it doesn’t make sense to turn school construction over to people with no experience.
-- T. Keung Hui More than sports arenas-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: January 24, 2013 [ abstract] A proposal making the rounds in Annapolis to enlist the Maryland Stadium Authority in overseeing a massive overhaul of Baltimore's aging school buildings is clearly an attempt to bring the issue to the front burner in this year's General Assembly session. As a practical matter, there's little enough difference between this idea and one previously put forward by city schools CEO Andrés Alonso that it's worth adopting if doing so would prompt lawmakers to support the investment necessary to meet Baltimore's massive needs.
No one questions that the problem is urgent: Seventy percent of city schools are in poor condition, with leaky roofs, broken heating and air-conditioning systems, boarded-up windows and outmoded science labs. Baltimore can't thrive or attract new residents if its schools are dilapidated and unsafe, and asking parents to send their children to learn in them sends a terrible message about how little the city values their education.
Mr. Alonso's plan was announced last year after a systemwide survey of city school buildings that found more than half of them in serious need of repair or replacement. That survey echoed earlier findings by the ACLU and other groups, which estimated the costs for needed construction at $2.8 billion — more than Maryland has allocated for all school construction in the state over the last decade. The state school construction funds the city presently receives are a drop in the bucket compared to the need, and the piecemeal way those funds are allocated essentially only allows the city to manage the continuing decline.
The Alonso proposal, modeled after an approach that has been successful in other states but which is untried in Maryland, involved creating a private, nonprofit entity that would raise money for school construction by issuing bonds. The bonds would be backed by existing state and city Funding streams for school construction, but instead of getting the funds on a project-by-project basis, as the schools now do, the state would send them to the third-party agency in the form of a block grant every year. Under this novel Funding mechanism, the schools chief estimated as much as $1.1 billion could be raised for the first phase of the effort.
-- Our View Section Loudoun school community fights possible closing of Lincoln Elementary-- Washington Post Virginia: January 20, 2013 [ abstract] Faced again this year with a difficult budget process, the Loudoun County School Board last week raised the possibility of closing one of the county’s oldest and smallest schools: Lincoln Elementary, a national blue-ribbon school that serves 136 students in the village of Lincoln, in western Loudoun.
It’s become something of a familiar routine in Loudoun. When searching for ways to close Funding gaps, the School Board often considers closing one or more of the county’s older, smaller schools to eliminate the costs of maintaining aging facilities.
More than $300,000 would be required to pay for upgrades to Lincoln’s fire alarm and electrical systems and to replace several HVAC units, Loudoun school officials said
School Board Chairman Eric Hornberger (Ashburn) asked School Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III last week to report back to the board with more details on what would be involved in closing the school.
In the past, strong resistance from parents and other community members has prevented similar proposed closings from going forward. That has not changed: Members of the Lincoln Elementary community made it clear that they would not watch their school close without putting up a fight.
At a public hearing Tuesday evening, about 40 parents and members of the school community implored the School Board to keep Lincoln open, pointing to the school’s impressive academic record, as well as its place as the center of a historic community.
“Yes, Lincoln Elementary is small and maybe not as efficient or high-tech as the bigger and newer schools,” said Colleen Gustavson, a Loudoun native and the parent of two children at Lincoln, “but it is the center of a community and has been for generations. . . . If you add up all the ways Lincoln Elementary serves the community, you will see it is well worth the investment.”
Ian Tillman, parent of a first-grader at Lincoln, pointed to the school’s success as evidence that high-tech expenditures aren’t necessary for students to excel academically. The school is a small building with no gymnasium, auditorium or cutting-edge classroom technology, but its students have consistently scored 100 percent on Standards of Learning exams, he said.
“All you need is great teachers, a great administration and a high level of parent involvement, both in the classroom and at home,” he said.
Kerry Blake, a sixth-grader at Blue Ridge Middle School, said she wanted her two younger siblings to have the chance to finish elementary school at Lincoln, as she did.
“Lincoln won the governor’s award for five years in a row, and in the year 2011, Lincoln won the blue-ribbon award,” Kerry said. “I’m proud to be going on from Lincoln, because I know that no other school could ever work as hard for me.”
-- Caitlin Gibson Will Zombies Keep a Philadelphia School From Closing Its Doors?-- Yahoo News Pennsylvania: January 18, 2013 [ abstract] Despite their zombie makeup, there was nothing lifeless about the members of the Philadelphia Student Union on Wednesday. PSU members, dressed as zombies, gathered in front of the Philadelphia Public School District (PPS) building to protest the district’s plan to close 37 public schools. The students executed a flash mob dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in protest of the potential school closures. Their zombie attire, and signs reading “RIP Philly’s Schools,” symbolized their ‘dead’ futures without the education of Philadelphia public schools.
The zombie students are not the only ones up in arms about the school closure proposal. When Philadelphia Superintendent William Hiite announced his plan to shut several public schools in December, the backlash from parents, kids, and teachers was immediate. To date, Hiite plans to close 21 elementary schools, five middle schools and 11 high schools.
The main reason for shutting down the schools is a lack of Funding. PPS believes they will save $28 million annually by closing these 37 schools. Deirdre Darragh from the School District of Philadelphia spoke with TakePart about the specific benefits of the proposed closures. She said, “The idea is that we have over 50,000 empty seats in the school district. We’re looking to redirect the funds we spend on heating and cooling large school buildings that aren’t being utilized back into the classroom. This way we can provide more enrichment programs and things that help the academic performance of schools.”
The Philadelphia School District is extremely underfunded. Superintendent Hiite has said that if action is not taken soon, the district will run out of money to operate its existing public schools.
Opponents to the district’s plan, the dancing zombie students included, believe that the negatives outweigh any foreseeable gains. Critics say that the annual $28 million the district plans to save does not account for new expenses that will be incurred from transitioning students into new schools. Another major concern is safety; many students anticipate violence from bringing new students from different neighborhoods into an existing school. Parents are also worried that closing public schools will cause increased enrollment in charter schools. This could cause a further decline in the quality of Philadelphia’s traditional public school system.
-- Takepart.com
Brown contemplates withdrawing from school construction funding
-- SIA Cabinet Report California: January 11, 2013 [ abstract] With one hand, Gov. Jerry Brown gave school facility managers the proposed benefit of $450 million generated by the closing of tax loopholes from the passage of Proposition 39 in November.
But with the other hand, the governor raised the specter of the state leaving altogether its traditional role as a Funding partner in school construction projects overall.
Brown’s January budget narrative, released Thursday, ominously references the notion that it might be time for the state to reconsider its long-standing commitment to raising and managing billions of dollars in debt for school facility projects.
“Currently, there is no bond authority remaining in the core school facilities new construction and modernization programs,” Brown’s fiscal staff reported. “As a result, now is an appropriate time to engage in a dialogue on the future of school facilities Funding. Central to this discussion must be a consideration of what role, if any, the state should play in the future of facilities Funding.”
Brown’s budget writers go on to condition the future participation of the state “in the context of other competing education and non‑education priorities and needs,” and on a desire to give local officials “appropriate control of the school facilities construction process and priorities.”
The disclosure follows discussions that have been taking place for months among members of the State Allocation Board and the Office of Public School Construction about restructuring the enormously complex school facilities Funding program " a goal that was intended to mirror the governor’s ambition to restructure the state’s role in school Funding overall, replacing it with a more simplified grant formula.
The proposed policy shift also comes forward as the last few dollars left from prior bond issues for school construction are being distributed among the many needy districts. The last major state bond issue with significant funds targeting school construction was approved by voters in 2006.
Efforts to place a new statewide bond issue on the ballot have fizzled the last three years and once again last month another attempt has been made. Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, introduced legislation that would put a school facility bond measure on the ballot in 2014.
-- Kimberly Beltran Construction firms counting on school bonds for more work-- Sacramento Business Journal California: January 11, 2013 [ abstract] For Sacramento’s slowly recovering construction industry, November was a very good month.
Voters in the 2012 general election approved $832 million in new construction bonds for San Juan Unified, Sacramento City Unified and Folsom Cordova Unified school districts combined. The new Funding mostly will pay for renovation and maintenance projects, including efficiency retrofits, new heating and cooling systems, and technology upgrades.
Construction firms hope the bonds will bring a windfall to the local building industry " although they’re not sure how big that windfall will be.
Unemployment in the capital’s construction industry was 19.5 percent in November, according to California’s ...
-- Christopher Arns Windham school board OKs $176M school renovation plan-- Norwich Bulletin Connecticut: January 11, 2013 [ abstract] Decades of neglect are catching up to the Windham schools, and the plan to fix them comes with a hefty price tag.
The Board of Education approved a 10-year facilities master plan that will require renovations to every building in the district and cost about $176.2 million, which will be spread over three phases.
“This is what we need to do to have our schools in adequate condition,” said board member Nancy Tinker, who is the director of facilities at Eastern Connecticut State University. “It may not be a 10-year plan. It may take 15 or 20 years. Or maybe the economy will turn around in five years, and we’ll have plenty of money to bond.”
The price tag would not be the burden of the town alone, said Bob Roche, of Friar Associates, the firm that worked with the board to create the plan. The state reimbursement was maximized with each planned project, Roche said, meaning many of the projects would receive 80 percent of their Funding from the state. Roche said he will present the Board of Finance with an estimate of the town’s portion of the Funding at its Jan. 16 meeting.
-- FRANCESCA KEFALAS City school board OKs 10-year facilities plan-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: January 08, 2013 [ abstract] The Baltimore school board approved Tuesday a sweeping plan that would close or renovate more than 150 schools, with the goal of bringing the oldest school infrastructure in the state up to 21st-century standards in one decade.
The board voted unanimously to approve the $2.4 billion plan, introduced by city schools CEO Andrés Alonso in November. The vote came on the eve of the 2013 legislative session, and a day after Gov. Martin O'Malley said he would devote $336 million to school construction this year.
The system's 10-year plan will rely heavily on persuading lawmakers to approve a measure that would allow the system to borrow more than $1 billion, and pay it back by securing at least $32 million in Funding from the state over several years in the form of a block grant.
The district, with the support of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and advocates, plans to use the 10-year plan to lobby lawmakers for the block grant commitment this session. The city's delegation has identified school Funding as its top priority.
"We haven't made history yet, but we will," Jimmy Stuart, co-chair of the Baltimore Education Coalition, said of the board's approval. The coalition will hold a rally in support of the plan in Annapolis in February.
In response to a question Monday, O'Malley said he was open to the idea and looked forward to learning more about the proposal.
School officials in Baltimore County, which has a larger population and the second-oldest infrastructure in the state, are considering a similar plan. Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said Tuesday that education Funding will be his top priority in the Assembly session and that he'll seek $123 million for school renovation and construction projects.
The city's plan would close 26 buildings, shut down or merge 29 programs, and renovate or rebuild 136 facilities. All of the actions will require annual school board approval.
The first schools affected will close at the end of this school year: Baltimore Rising Star Academy, Garrison Middle, Patapsco Elementary/Middle and William C. March Middle.
Northwestern High School, which is recommended for closure in 2015-2016, is the only high school on the list. Alumni and community leaders said they also plan to take their fight to Annapolis.
"We plan to protest and question the decisions about several schools and about the whole process," said the Rev. C.D. Witherspoon.
The district built the plan from a $1 million study it commissioned, known as the Jacobs Report, that detailed the infrastructure needs of every school building in the city. The report also identified where the system's buildings were grossly underused.
-- Erica L. Green O'Malley plans $336 million for school construction, AC-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: January 07, 2013 [ abstract] Gov. Martin O'Malley said Monday that his administration proposes spending $336 million on school construction aid next year, including $25 million to add air conditioning to older schools.
At a news conference at Overlea High School —- more than 50 years old and without air conditioning — O'Malley said the construction spending would yield an estimated 8,199 jobs. The money set aside for air conditioning addresses an issue of particular concern in Baltimore County, which has about 65 of the 180 schools in the state that lack cooling systems.
While the governor stressed the importance of investing in modern facilities to improve learning, he was noncommittal about a plan advanced by the administration of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to put Baltimore school renovations on a fast track. The city wants the state to agree to a multi-year Funding stream that would let the school system borrow enough to launch a $2.4 billion renovation program.
In response to a question, O'Malley said he was open to the idea and looked forward to learning more about the proposal. School officials in Baltimore County are considering a similar plan.
The governor was joined by Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and members of Baltimore County's General Assembly delegation for the announcement, one of several he will hold this week to unveil plans for the General Assembly session that begins Wednesday.
The amount he is allocating for school construction in his proposed budget for next year is well above the $250 million recommended by a commission headed by state Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp in 2004 but is less than the $396 million devoted to school construction this year — the second-highest amount on record.
-- Michael Dresser TRUE or FALSE? Closing DCPS Schools Will Make the System Stronger?-- Capital Community News District of Columbia: January 07, 2013 [ abstract] This month, DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson will announce which schools will be closed at the end of the school year, from a list of 20 announced last fall. She says that these schools are under-enrolled and expensive to operate. The implication is that closing schools will allow DCPS to create stronger education environments in the consolidated schools.
Unfortunately, the Chancellor has not shared much with the public to demonstrate just how expensive the under-enrolled schools are, how much would be saved by closing them, and how the savings would be used. Perhaps that is because there really won’t be major savings. Right now, smaller DCPS schools receive only slightly more per pupil Funding than larger schools and have teacher-student ratios that are roughly the same as in larger schools. Together, these don’t suggest that the smaller schools are overly expensive or under resourced relative to larger schools.
This means cost savings from closing and consolidating schools may not be substantial. We estimate that savings in staffing costs next school year would be about $10 million, but the transition costs of closing schools will be very close to that, erasing any savings in the first year.
If closing schools does not generate much savings or greater benefits to students, what is the point? Even if all 20 schools are closed, there will still be under-enrolled schools, particularly if enrollment drops as it did after the 2008 round of school closures. Chancellor Henderson has set a bold goal of improving test scores in low-performing schools, but the school closure plan does not say what will be done to improve overall quality of the remaining schools, which is needed to improve outcomes and draw families back into DCPS.
In other words, the real question is not which schools will be closed, but what will be done with the schools that stay open to make them better?
-- Soumya Bhat School construction money tops city's priorities for Assembly session-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: January 03, 2013 [ abstract] An ambitious plan to secure tens of millions of dollars in state Funding to fix Baltimore's dilapidated school buildings is the top priority for city officials in the General Assembly session that begins next week.
The city's delegates and state senators are also united in opposition to Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to build a new juvenile jail in Baltimore.
"The governor had planned on building a new juvenile jail. That kind of flies in the face of the philosophy for most of us," said Del. Curt Anderson, who chairs the city's House delegation. "We want new schools, not jails."
Though Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has not taken a position on the jail, the mayor will be pushing legislation attempting to reduce juvenile arrests. The mayor will back a measure that would allow police officers to give civil citations for certain nonviolent juvenile offenses, such as disorderly conduct, trespassing, loitering and gambling, said Ryan O'Doherty, Rawlings-Blake's spokesman.
The legislation also would allow authorities to keep some young offenders out of the juvenile justice system by offering a "comprehensive treatment plan" instead.
"We believe this legislation will serve to allow law enforcement to divert juvenile arrests by over one-third and more appropriately deal with the problem behavior," O'Doherty said.
The administration, delegates and senators all say their top priority is seeking legislative approval for the school system's plan to fund school construction. The plan hinges on securing at least $32 million a year in capital Funding from the state in the form of a long-term block grant, which would allow the system to borrow to carry out the plan quickly and pay back the money over time. The 10-year plan would rehabilitate 136 school buildings while closing 26 others.
Critics have expressed concern that the block grant is another liability for the state and could hurt its bond rating. But Anderson said further study has allayed some of those fears.
"We really want to push that so we can take care of the bad school stock and aging infrastructure," said state Sen. Verna Jones-Rodwell, chairwoman of the city's Senate delegation.
The second priority, Anderson said, is to "avert the building of a new juvenile detention facility." The state plans to build a new $70 million juvenile detention center in East Baltimore to hold teens convicted of violent crimes who are now housed at the city jail with adults. The federal government says the facility is needed so the teens aren't kept in poor conditions, but city legislators believe spending millions on a new jail sends a poor message to Baltimore's youth.
-- Luke Broadwater 37 Philadelphia public schools may close in June -- The Grio Pennsylvania: January 02, 2013 [ abstract] In early December, the Philadelphia school district announced its proposal to close 37 public schools by June " a proposal that has left tens of thousands of K-12 students in disbelief concerning what will happen next for their education.
With a $1.1 billion cumulative budget deficit over the next five years, superintendent William Hite Jr. said that the announcement to close and consolidate around 15 percent of the district’s public schools is a “painful” and “emotional” decision for the board, according to the New York Times. But Hite has emphasized that these school closures come at a year when the district has experienced a $419 million education state cuts, the end of federal stimulus Funding and the increase of pension costs.
“We are about to embark on a very difficult process,” said Superintendent William Hite Jr. at press conference in early December. “As an educator and as a parent, I realize that the recommendations will be shocking, painful, emotional and disruptive for many communities, not least our students, our families and our staffs.”
But Hite has reassured that though the proposal may at first seem shocking and drastic, it is a necessary step to get the Philadelphia school district back on its feet in the long run. He argues that many of the school buildings are underused with almost 27 percent of the nearly 200,000 seats standing empty. The district plans on selling the buildings, transferring students to the remaining schools and converting middle schools into high schools and vice versa.
-- Brittany Tom School Funds On Trial Again In 10 States -- Huffington Post National: December 26, 2012 [ abstract] This piece comes to us courtesy of Stateline. Stateline is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news service of the Pew Center on the States that provides daily reporting and analysis on trends in state policy.
Next month in an Austin courtroom, two-thirds of the school districts in Texas will resume their argument that the state's school finance system is inadequate and inequitable and that it creates a de-facto statewide property tax, forbidden by the state constitution.
The school districts filed their lawsuit in October 2011, but Texas has been here before: Since 1984, the state's school finance system has been challenged six times, most recently in 2005. In that case, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state, but schools have won earlier rounds of litigation.
Lynn Moak, a lobbyist for school districts and former executive deputy commissioner at the Texas Department of Education, has been a witness in all six trials.
"It's sort of a personal history of my last 30 years," he jokes.
While the arguments in the current case aren't new, Moak says that the case--which is actually the combination of six separate lawsuits--represents a broader coalition of plaintiffs than in the past.
"It's a relatively united public education community," he says, "which has been rare."
Texas isn't the only state facing a legal challenge to its school-Funding system. Next month, a three-judge panel in a Kansas District Court is expected to rule on a lawsuit arguing that that state isn't spending enough on education. And next spring, the Colorado Supreme Court will review last year's District Court ruling that the state's Funding system is "unconscionable" and does not meet the state constitution's requirements for a "thorough and uniform" education system. If they lose in court, Colorado and Kansas might have to spend billions more on education.
Overall, ten states have school finance challenges working their way through the courts, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Four other states recently wrapped up legal challenges.
-- Ben Wieder Mary Cheh, Vince Gray fight over NW's Hearst Elementary School-- Washington Examiner District of Columbia: December 13, 2012 [ abstract] Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh delivered a brutal tongue-lashing to D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray Thursday over repeated delays to the renovation of a Northwest elementary school. But Gray disagrees with her analysis.
Hearst Elementary was due to be upgraded this fall, but its modernization was delayed until January 2013. Then, Cheh says, she was told the work would be done in two years, before Gray informed her Wednesday night that no timeline for Funding or rebuilding the school even exists.
Hearst is more than 100 percent over-enrolled, built for 110 students but serving 280, and has no auditorium, gymnasium or cafeteria. At least half of classes are taught in trailers, said Cheh, who is "livid."
"So, yet again, the mayor has broken his promise to the students and the community... It's amazing that our youngest students have done as well as they have under these grim conditions. But, really, to be content with leaving students in these circumstances is shameful," Cheh said in an emailed statement Thursday, adding that, "apparently, this is not a budget priority for the mayor."
But that's not the whole story, said Gray's spokesman, who added that Cheh is "confused or something else." According to Pedro Ribeiro, the original Hearst renovation plans did not include significant upgrades, but the mayor learned through talking with parents that the community wanted a more expansive project, including the creation of common space like a gym or cafeteria. Ribeiro says the mayor made it clear to Cheh that the project would take longer because it would be more extensive and deliver more to the school's community.
-- Lisa Gartner Humboldt: School Capital Appreciation Bonds in the spotlight-- Willits News California: December 09, 2012 [ abstract] A recent Los Angeles Times analysis of statewide school district bond financing has district officials and financial advisers buzzing after it highlighted the use of capital appreciation bonds for construction projects. Some local districts that used the financing are preparing to reexamine their options, while others readying to authorize bond sales are under increased scrutiny after the practice entered the media spotlight in recent weeks.
Education officials point to a broken system for Funding school construction and modernization, which they say forces districts to turn to bonds to cover costs.
California Treasurer Bill Lockyer is quoted in the Times report as saying the school boards and staffs that approved the bonds â€"should be voted out of office and fired,†while others say the state needs to take the lead in coming up with a solution to the larger issue of how school construction is financed.
A report by UC Berkeley's Center for Cities & Schools states that a dedicated and predictable Funding system for capital improvements is needed to â€"curtail the process inefficiencies and facility deficiencies that result, in part, from California's current episodic and unstable bond-driven K-12 infrastructure investment program.â€
What's a Capital Appreciation Bond?
Most school bonds, called current interest bonds, are like
-- Staff Writer School closing protesters march along Michigan Ave.-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: November 12, 2012 [ abstract] Several hundred protesters marched along Michigan Avenue Monday morning to voice opposition to the school closings plan being put together by Chicago Public Schools.
Organized by the Chicago Teachers Union and Stand Up Chicago, a coalition of labor unions and community groups, marchers walked from Cityfront Plaza on East Illinois Street to the Hyatt Hotel at 633 N. St. Clair Street, banging drums, blowing whistles and then crowding into the lobby of the hotel where they called on Chicago Board of Education member Penny Pritzker to give back $5.5 million in TIF Funding.
The CTU and school closing opponents allege that Pritzker, who sits on the board of the Hyatt Hotels Corp., has taken TIF development funds for a new hotel in Hyde Park.
A spokeswoman for Hyatt said in an email the protesters have their facts wrong. The company has not received any money from the city for the construction of the Hyde Park Hotel, which is being developed by outside companies under a franchise agreement with a Hyatt affiliate, the spokeswoman said.
The developer received $5.2 million in TIF funds, the spokeswoman said.
CTU members taped a sign similar to a past due library bill to a pillar outside the Hyatt, demanding Pritzker return the money to CPS.
“We’re here to serve notice to the appointed (school) board that if you close our schools, we’re coming after you,” said CTU vice president Jesse Sharkey. “We’re serving notice to billionaires hoping to close our schools, if you close our schools we’ll expose you. And we’re serving notice to elected officials, if you close our schools, there will be no peace in the city.”
-- Norreen Ahmed-Ullah With building grants, almost everybody wins-- Ed News Colorado Colorado: November 12, 2012 [ abstract] The state Capital Construction Assistance Board has made its final recommendations for 2013 Funding from the Building Excellent Schools Today, and the decisions were good news for some districts and schools that have been on the bubble since June.
One school went away disappointed, the Ross Montessori charter in Carbondale, a 217-student K-8 school that had sought $11.8 million in state support for a new building to replace crumbling modular units located in an industrial area.
-- Todd Engdahl Seattle Schools to ask voters for $1.25 billion in levies-- mynorthwest.com Washington: November 08, 2012 [ abstract] The Seattle School Board will go back to the voters in search of more money, voting unanimously Wednesday to place two new levies on the February ballot.
The two combined would cost voters $1.25 billion over six years, The Seattle Times reports.
A $695 million levy for school construction would pay for the district to build, remodel, or expand 13 schools to update aging facilities and ease overcrowding.
The money would also be used to update middle-school science labs, improve technology, provide wireless for every school, and improve earthquake protection.
The district also wants the money to improve technology, provide wireless for every school, update middle-school science labs, and improve earthquake protection at 37 buildings.
The second measure, a $552 million, three-year operations levy, would replace an existing levy that provides about 27 percent of the district's annual budget, according to the Times.
The levies, taken together, are the largest ever requested. If both pass, the owners of a $400,000 house would pay an additional $135 to $160 each year in school taxes.
District leaders say they need the money to prepare for a projected 7,000 student increase over the next decade. But they argue the levies will do far more dollar-for-dollar than past levies. They also say the district faces aging buildings, inadequate core facilities, and other Funding issues that need to be addressed now.
If approved, the levies would run through 2019.
-- Josh Kerns Chesterfield considers funding plans for school renovation-- Richmond Times Dispatch Virginia: November 05, 2012 [ abstract] Chesterfield County school officials are considering a hybrid five-year capital improvement plan that would balance facility needs with the best use of Funding.
Two versions of the 2014-2018 CIP were unveiled to the School Board on Monday afternoon with a debt service difference of $167 million between them, but the more likely scenario is that the board will meet somewhere in the middle.
One plan calls for the full revitalization of 10 current schools and the construction of a new elementary school during the five-year period and comes with the total price tag of $341.1 million, including debt service of $298.6 million.
A scaled-back plan for the same time frame renovates seven schools – three can be added if the board chooses – and builds a new one for a budget of $174.1 million with a debt service of $131.6 million.
Budgets for each of the projects were determined in consultation with the architectural firm Moseley Architects, which designed the new Clover Hill High School in Chesterfield and Glen Allen High School in Henrico County.
The more expensive option falls in line with the county's recently adopted comprehensive plan, which defines revitalization as the full modernization of the facility while enhancing the overall learning environment.
Funding is not currently available for the more-extensive renovation projects, said David Myers, the assistant superintendent of budget and finance.
"This is something that has got to be a joint effort between the School Board and the Board of Supervisors with regard to moving forward with the plan," Myers said.
-- Jeremy Slayton Expert slams state for financing shortfalls-- My San Antonio Texas: November 05, 2012 [ abstract] The state of Texas is not doing its job to help school districts finance new buildings, an expert witness testified Monday in an ongoing school Funding trial.
“A lot of the growth of new construction has been shifted to local taxpayers to an inordinate degree,” Dan Casey of Moak Casey & Associates told Judge John Dietz. “I think it results in some disparities.”
Casey also maintained that some fast-growth school districts are reaching capacity for issuing debt and some are having to use operating funds to pay off debt because of a limit on borrowing called the 50-cent rule, which is enforced by the Texas attorney general.
That rule also is prompting school districts to finance debt for longer terms, which ends up costing more, Casey said. Thirty-five districts now levy more 40 cents of their tax rate for debt and are nearing capacity, he said.
Assistant Attorney General Bill Deane questioned whether Casey had any firsthand knowledge of the alleged shortcoming in facilities Funding. He also showed that almost half the school district debt will be retired within 10 years and inquired how much of the bond debt had been issue for non-instructional facilities, such as stadiums.
Responding to a follow-up question from school district lawyer David Thompson, Casey pointed out the infamous $60 million stadium in Allen ISD was built without any state assistance.
-- Gary Scharrer Commissioners battle over school funding, facilities study -- Carrol County Times Maryland: October 13, 2012 [ abstract]
The decision to close a school should not be driving the board of commissioners’ decision whether to minimally fund the school system, according to the president of the Carroll County Board of Commissioners.
The Carroll County Board of Education is performing a Comprehensive Facility Utilization Study at the urging of the board of commissioners to find cost savings within the school system. There is a strong feeling on the school board that if it doesn’t close a school, it will be funded by the board of commissioners at Maintenance of Effort, according to Commissioner Doug Howard, R-District 5. Maintenance of Effort is a law requiring counties to provide schools with Funding per pupil no less than the prior year.
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The board of commissioners had a spur-of-the-moment 90-minute discussion at the very end of its Thursday afternoon meeting. The heated discussion left commissioners hurling accusations at one another and making their case to close or keep schools open. The battle was primarily between Howard, who does not support closing schools, and Commissioner Richard Rothschild, R-District 4, who supports closing schools.
Howard, the board’s liaison to the school board, argued that the facilities study and how much the board of commissioners chooses to fund the school system’s operating and capital budgets should be completely different discussions. The school board should not be feeling pressured to pick a school to close because they are worried about the county giving them less money, Howard said.
The discussions on taking cost-saving actions and making decisions about the schools operating budget should not be divorced from one another, according to Commissioner Dave Roush, R-District 3.
“There’s a cost associated with every seat whether it’s full or empty,” Roush said. “To the extent that there are an excessive number of empty seats means their costs are being wasted and we’re being asked to fund them.
“I think we have a right to be concerned about the efficiency and effectiveness of the way the money we give them is being spent.”
There is confusion on the school board, Howard said, over what the goal is for the board of commissioners regarding cost-saving measures for the school system. Howard expressed concern that the board of commissioners is sending the wrong message, since it remains split on whether schools should be closed.
-- Christian Alexandersen State throws wrench into Newton mayor’s plan to pitch tax increase to pay for new schools, other costs-- boston.com Massachusetts: October 13, 2012 [ abstract] As Mayor Setti Warren prepared last week to pitch a property tax increase for a range of new buildings and expenses, including schools, state officials made a demand that may make it tougher to sell the increase to voters next spring.
Warren has spent the past several months meeting with aldermen to gather support f or an approximate-ly $11 million override of Proposition21/2 that would go toward three new schools, a fire station, road improvements, more police officers, and dealing with the increasing school enrollment, according to several officials who heard the proposal.
He was scheduled to present his plan on Monday.
But the Massachusetts School Building Authority notified Newton officials last week that Funding for each school project must be voted on individually by city residents, throwing a wrench into Warren’s initial plan to go to voters just once and avoid splintering different constituencies.
Newton is seeking help from the authority to pay for the school projects and must follow the state’s guidelines to get Funding.
Alderwoman Greer Tan Swiston said she anticipates Warren will have a new plan by Monday.
“I’m expecting him to have some sort of plan,” said Swiston, who is also running for state representative. “I’m sure they’re scrambling right now.”
Warren sent an e-mail to aldermen Wednesday night letting them know about the authority’s decision. On Thursday and Friday he was meeting with surprised elected officials to explain what had happened and how he plans to move forward.
Warren declined to comment on what he will specifically propose.
“I am presenting my capital plan and forecast on Monday evening,” Warren said.
-- Deirdre Fernandes Closing Schools Not the Way to Improve KO Finances, Stropkaj Says-- Dormont-Brookline Patch Pennsylvania: October 09, 2012 [ abstract] During a public meeting held Wednesday morning, Keystone Oaks Superintendent William Stropkaj discussed the district’s financial situation, and various issues that affect the district’s finances.
One of the topics he covered was how closing"or not closing"neighborhood schools could affect the district’s financial status.
In short, Stropkaj said closing any of the schools in the district would do very little to pull the district out of looming financial difficulties. Closing a building would not make up for the increasing expenses that occur as Funding from the state and federal levels dwindle, and costs within the district continue to rise, he said.
He also said he simply does not think closing buildings is the right thing to do.
“It’s not the right thing to do. Not the good thing to do,” he said. “As long as we can continue to sustain all of our buildings, on my agenda, we’re not looking to close buildings.”
The previous school board considered closing Aiken and Myrtle Elementary schools last year. That decision was overturned by the current sitting school board, which voted to keep all of the district’s elementary schools open.
Stropkaj said public meetings, such as the ones held Wednesday, are the right thing to do. He said keeping district residents informed, and keeping lines of communication open between residents and the school district are priorities.
In addition to a more detailed budget process, Stropkaj said curriculums also are being reviewed, and that he wants to work toward raising state test scores within the district.
To hear Stropkaj’s full analysis regarding neighborhood schools and finances, watch the video, above. In the video, he also discusses the size of classrooms in the elementary schools and what the buildings were built to handle.
-- Erin Faulk School closures an issue in Oakland school board race-- Oakland Tribune California: October 04, 2012 [ abstract] Until now, Thearse Pecot's decades-long involvement in Oakland's public education system has focused mainly on the schools her children and grandchildren have attended. But the latest round of school closures -- which included Santa Fe, her grandchildren's school -- prompted her to challenge Jody London for the District 1 seat on the Oakland school board.
"We've got to stop tearing down our communities by closing neighborhood schools," Pecot said.
Pecot sued the district in April to block the closures, alleging that it was discriminating against poor and minority families. While the case has yet to make it to court, she said it demands the reopening of Santa Fe Elementary. Pecot said that if she succeeds in unseating London, she will fight to prevent additional school closures. None are being considered at the moment, though if statewide tax measures fail and education Funding "trigger cuts" proceed, schools throughout California will face some painful choices.
The other priorities Pecot listed -- from improving safety on school campuses to lowering the dropout and truancy rates -- were broad and ambitious, though she offered few specifics of how her approaches would compare to the district's current policies and initiatives. She said she would advocate giving children more enriching activities to keep them interested in school. She said she'd work to stabilize the special education department, which has experienced turmoilthis year, and encourage parent involvement in district decisions.
London, whose children attend Claremont Middle School, characterizes the closures as tough choices that the board was forced to make to keep the district fiscally sound. It remains to be seen how much the district actually saved by closing five elementary schools, especially now that one of them, Lazear, has remained open as an independently run charter. But London said that she stands by the decision.
"The days in California where you could operate a school with 200 kids are over," she said.
-- Katy Murphy Frederick County plans 10 new schools, additions-- Gazette.net Maryland: October 01, 2012 [ abstract] The Frederick County school board has approved a proposed 10-year school construction plan with one caveat: It reflects the difference between what that school system needs and what the Board of Commissioners are planning to fund.
The Board of Education voted unanimously on Sept. 26 to approve the master facilities plan, which outlines projects for the next decade and includes more than $305.3 million in requested Funding. Of that request, $183.4 million would come from the county.
However, as they approved Schools Superintendent Theresa R. Alban’s proposed plan, board members chose to point out the differences between the system’s requested projects and those the commissioners have approved for Funding.
“We would like everything funded today,” said board member April Miller, who suggested the change. “But that is not how it works.”
The additional information should help avoid confusion about the purpose of the system’s facilities master plan, Miller said. Although the document maps out the school construction needs, it still is more of a wish list and does not guarantee projects will be completed on the schedule outlined in the plan, Miller said.
For example, although the school system is asking to build another elementary school in the Urbana area in fiscal 2016, that project is not scheduled for construction Funding until fiscal 2017 in the county’s approved plan. And although school officials have Urbana Elementary scheduled for modernization in fiscal 2018, the commissioners have approved Funding for the project in fiscal 2019.
The decision to include such information follows criticism from Commissioners’ President Blaine Young (R) that the school system’s master plan was “unrealistic” and “overly aggressive.”
-- Margarita Raycheva Governor signs bill allowing schools to sell their produce to fund gardens-- mercurynews.com California: October 01, 2012 [ abstract] Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that will allow schools to sell their garden produce and reinvest the money in their garden programs.
Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, who authored Assembly Bill 2367, said it should help to protect gardens from school budget cuts.
"I have seen in my own district the successes that can be achieved by integrating a school garden into the curriculum of various subjects," she said in a prepared statement. "AB 2367 is a simple and common sense solution to recognize a sustainable source of Funding and immunize school gardens from the threat of closure due to lack of state or federal Funding."
In addition, she said gardens help schools decrease obesity by encouraging students to get outdoors and eat more fruits and vegetables.
-- Theresa Harrington School building plans in limbo-- tallahassee.com Florida: September 27, 2012 [ abstract] The Leon County School Board, taking nothing for granted, this week approved a construction plan chock-full of zeroes.
That’s necessary until voters have their say in November on an extension of an existing half-cent sales tax that would bring in a projected $17 million a year. But it’s also indicative of the uncertain future of capital-project Funding school districts around the state face.
Under the Leon plan, the district would not be able to afford a long list of planned projects, from renovations at Sabal Palm Elementary to a remodeling of the cafeteria at Astoria Park Elementary and campus renovations at Deerlake Middle School.
“You can really see the impact that losing the half-penny will have,” Assistant Superintendent Barbara Wills said, referring to the half-cent sales tax that helps the district pay for building upgrades, repairs and technology purchases. The district cannot assume the revenue in advance, so if voters approve a measure to renew it in November, the district will be able to plan for coming renovations and technology upgrades.
Leon County Schools face the same problem as districts throughout Florida. State support has fallen away at a time when the need is mounting for technology purchases and the renovation of aging buildings.
When voters first approved the referendum for the sales tax 10 years ago, a major concern facing the district was growth, which demanded more classroom space. Since then, growth has slowed, buildings have gotten older, and technology is placing new demands on districts around the state.
Beth Overholt, who leads the District Advisory Council, noted that parental involvement can only go so far when more than three out of five school buildings in the district are more than 35 years old.
-- Travis Pillow State Task Force Proposal Would Require School Districts To Fund Charter School Facilities-- State Impact Florida: September 27, 2012 [ abstract] A state task force is considering a proposal which would require local school districts to give money to charter schools for facilities.
Construction, maintenance and other capital expenses has been a growing concern for Florida schools as the state Funding for those programs has decreased.
A Florida Department of Education task force will meet this afternoon to talk about a new proposal to change state law for district and charter school facilities Funding.
Under the proposal, districts would be required to provide facilities Funding to charter schools based on the number of students enrolled. Funding would be compulsory, ending the current practice of choosing facilities Funding by need.
School districts would have the option of raising local property taxes an additional .15 mills to pay for charter school facilities. Districts can currently levy 1.5 mills on taxpayers for school facilities.
How to fairly fund school facilities has been a difficult issue for school districts to solve.
-- John O'Connor MSBA cleans up school building process-- Metro West Daily News Massachusetts: September 23, 2012 [ abstract] After eight years and billions spent, the Massachusetts School Building Authority has nearly cleaned up the mess left behind by its predecessor.
The School Building Assistance Program, before it shut down operations in 2004, had $11 billion of debt, 1,156 projects lost at sea " 428 waiting to break ground and 728 seeking a first payment " and 788 unaudited projects.
Beacon Hill acted swiftly, first curtailing Funding for school projects, then drafting a bill that would eliminate the debt-ridden program and create the MSBA, which set out to reform the way districts request and obtain improvement funds.
It was given a steady stream of capital to work with, collecting one penny of the state’s 6.25-percent sales tax that’s deposited into the School Modernization and Reconstruction Trust Fund, and can approve up to $500 million in projects.
To date, the MSBA has delivered more than $8.7 billion in grants to school districts statewide and audited 777 of 788 projects the former program had previously funded, totaling $14.7 billion in submitted costs. As of October 2011, it had paid in full its share of 357 of the 428 waiting list projects and 351 of the 728 previous grant projects.
And along the way, the MSBA developed a reputation for speed, reliability and commitment, school officials say, scrupulously monitoring the multi-million dollar facilities it helps fund.
-- Matt Tota Silverton school celebrates major upgrades " including heat-- Denver Post Colorado: September 21, 2012 [ abstract] Four years ago, students in the Silverton School were bundled up in coats and hats in their classrooms because the century-old school's coal boiler had wheezed out its last bit of heat.
Now, they are celebrating an $11.8 million renovation that includes a state-of-the-art electric thermal-storage heating system that dwarfs anything else of the kind on the Western Slope. They also have fully wired classrooms, a stage for school performances, a cafeteria, revamped art rooms and a science lab. The school is now fully handicapped accessible.
"The teachers and students are giddy," said Silverton superintendent Kim White as she prepared for the grand reopening Friday.
The project also brought the K-12 school in compliance with 110 state health and safety code requirements the building missed back then.
Students and teachers in the remote mountain town where temperatures regularly fall into double digits below zero made do with space heaters until the complicated renovation of their two-story red brick building began. For the past two years, classes have been held in temporary modular buildings.
Funding to redo the school came from a combination of state Building Excellent Schools Today grants, school district reserves and a local mill levy increase. State historical funds were used to restore the outside of the 1911 building, and Department of Local Affairs dollars went toward removing asbestos.
-- Nancy Lofholm Frederick County school construction plan splits school board, commissioners-- Gazette.net Maryland: September 14, 2012 [ abstract] When it comes to school construction, Frederick County School officials think they need to be advocates for the actual needs of the system and seek Funding for all the schools struggling with overcrowding or in dire need of renovation.
But members of the Frederick County Board of Commissioners, which must provide the Funding for all of the projects, are concerned that such an aggressive approach is unrealistic in the face of the current economy.
In a letter to the Frederick County Board of Education on Wednesday, commissioners’ President Blaine R. Young (R) criticized the school system’s proposed 10-year facilities master plan for being too “unrealistic” and “overly aggressive.”
The master plan includes the school system’s proposed six-year fiscal 2014-2019 Capital Improvements Program, which lists proposed construction projects totaling $305.3 million. Of that request, $183.4 million is county Funding.
In the current poor economy, the county cannot fund the timeline of construction and renovation projects in the proposed plan, Young said in the letter.
“It should be reflective of the current economic status of the county,” Young said Friday. “... When we communicate something to the public, we want to communicate something that is real.”
Young submitted the letter as his comment on the school system’s proposed facilities master plan, which the school board is expected to approve Sept. 26. In the letter, Young asked the school board to review the proposed plan and come up with a more realistic school construction schedule.
But school board President Angie Fish defended the facilities plan proposal and said it simply outlines the real needs of the school system.
“Our job is not to advocate for the needs of developers, our job is to advocate for the needs of our students,” Fish said Friday.
She noted, however, that she is not opposed to development, as long as it is accompanied by the appropriate infrastructure.
The master plan was the subject of a public hearing before the school board Wednesday.
-- Margarita Raycheva School by School Breakdown of Superintendent's Proposed Capital Budget -- Broadneck Patch Maryland: September 12, 2012 [ abstract] The Anne Arundel County Board of Education discussed Superintendent Kevin Maxwell's recommended capital budget for fiscal year 2014 Tuesday night, specifically examining projects where state Funding is being sought.
Of the superintendent's nearly $240 million proposed capital budget, Maxwell is asking the state to cover almost $48 million worth of upgrades and renovations at Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS). That leaves about $194 million to be funded by the county itself.
AACPS Chief Operating Officer Alex Szachnowicz and AACPS Director of Facilities Lisa Seaman-Crawford broke down the proposed capital budget piece by piece, inspecting each project's history, status and potential progression.
Szachnowicz explained that the state considers Anne Arundel County to be one of the most affluent counties in all of Maryland. Because of that, AACPS is only eligible to request that 50 percent of its budget come from the state. Other counties, such as Baltimore City schools, may request up to 94 percent of their budgets come from the state, Szachnowicz said.
â€"We are tied for the lowest eligibility to receive state Funding,†Szachnowicz said, along with Montgomery, Queen Anne's and Talbot counties.
While the $47.9 million requested by Maxwell only accounts for about 19 percent of the total capital budget, Szachnowicz said it's the maximum the school system can request due to the established review processes. For example, feasibility studies—which will cost about $12.5 million in fiscal year 2014—cannot be funded by the state, Szachnowicz said.
For families in Broadneck, here is a breakdown of how the superintendent's proposed capital budget for fiscal year 2014 affects local schools.
-- Jonathan Moynihan Barras: School closings: Wasted money, empty promises-- Washington Examiner District of Columbia: September 10, 2012 [ abstract] Here's the argument: Closing underpopulated schools yields savings that can be invested in the remaining facilities to enhance the quality of academic programs.
That's what D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray, Deputy Mayor for Education De'Shawn Wright and Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson have said over the past several months, as they have advocated for school closings.
That's what their predecessors said in 2008, when they closed 23 schools. Then, many folks, including myself, believed them.
But two reports have cast doubt on the accuracy of such assertions.
Earlier this year, an analysis conducted by the 21st Century School Fund, the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute found that school closings in 2008 stripped the DC Public Schools of critical operational funds. Students from closed facilities opted to enroll in charters, taking $5 million in per-pupil Funding with them.
Now, in a new report, DC Auditor Yolanda Branche has brought more disappointing news: The District spent a bunch of money in 2008, and there was serious financial mismanagement.
The closures cost $17.7 million -- $8 million more than former Mayor Adrian Fenty originally reported, according to the audit report, a copy of which was obtained by me. If the reduction in value of the school facilities -- some of which remain vacant today -- was included, the price tag would jump to $39.5 million.
-- Jonetta Rose Barras City Courts Investors to Fix Schools -- Wall Street Journal New York: September 06, 2012 [ abstract] Officials in Yonkers, N.Y., are looking to partner with investors to raise $1.7 billion for renovating the city's crumbling public schools, in an unusual approach to education Funding that is being watched by other cash-strapped school systems.
U.S. school districts traditionally finance infrastructure improvements by issuing bonds backed by local tax revenue, and they routinely maintain facilities through their operating budgets. The Yonkers school district, which sits just north of New York City, is weighing plans to contract with investors to pay for improvements and maintenance for as long as 30 years on more than three dozen school buildings with an average age of 73.
In exchange, the investors would receive a steady stream of payments from the city and the state—which helps fund the district. The investors also might be able to use school facilities after school hours for profit, sharing any proceeds with the district.
Joseph Bracchitta, chief administrative officer for Yonkers schools, said the district would consider ideas from investors such as a for-profit health club at a new school gym. "Everything is on the table," he said, emphasizing that the district would have to agree to any plans.
"It's definitely to our benefit if [private investors] can develop separate revenue streams," he said.
Low interest rates make issuing debt relatively cheap right now. But district officials say there are advantages to the idea of contracting with private investors.
Such a contract could help minimize the need for new local taxes or budget cuts to cover the renovations, while offloading the risk of cost overruns to private investors and avoiding the need to staff-up for a huge, multi-phased construction project. Investors, meanwhile, potentially would get returns above standard bonds, with the added security of an investment in hard assets.
Similar partnerships with the private sector have been used widely in the U.S. to finance revenue-producing infrastructure like toll roads and bridges. If it proceeds, the Yonkers plan could set a model for adapting the structure to large public school systems at a time when many are having to slash budgets while struggling to maintain aging facilities.
"We're following [Yonkers's effort] with a good deal of interest," said David Lever, executive director of Maryland's Public School Construction Program, which oversees Funding for the state's school projects. Mr. Lever said Maryland officials are exploring public-private partnerships, among other means, to help pay for more than $15 billion in needed renovations and new construction, though he noted that for-profit, after-hours operation of school facilities isn't currently among the considerations.
-- BOB SECHLER School officials concerned about lack of state aid for new building projects-- Nashua Telegraph Florida: September 04, 2012 [ abstract] While something is better than nothing, school officials are concerned that the $50 million in annual state aid being made available for new construction projects is woefully insufficient.
“It’s really an inadequate amount of money,” said Nashua Superintendent Mark Conrad. “That $50 million could reflect the cost of one new middle school.”
For the past three years, school districts have had to put new building projects on hold or forge ahead without state aid.
The state has since unveiled a new construction aid law, which ends a practice in place since 1955 that set no limits on who could get aid, and replaces it with one in which schools compete for limited aid dollars. The new system will take effect in fiscal 2014.
Districts will apply for Funding and will be ranked depending on their need and a number of other factors.
The new system caps building aid at $50 million each year. The majority of those funds will be earmarked over the next 30 years to pay off the state’s approximately $540 million share of existing building projects funded under the old system.
Only about $7 million will be available for new projects when the new system begins next year.
“The question will be, as districts get backed up on waiting lists that go on for years … do they wait for years as school facilities crumble to qualify for aid, or do you go forward without it?” Conrad said.
-- DANIELLE CURTIS STATE: Eroding schools -- THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE California: August 29, 2012 [ abstract] Meeting California’s future school needs requires a more strategic approach than haphazard improvisation. The Legislature needs to create a clear long-range plan for school construction and renovation. And that program should ensure that school facilities Funding goes to the areas of greatest need " and does not leave upkeep of existing schools as an afterthought.
A report from the Center for Cities and Schools at UC Berkeley, released last month, sets out the infrastructure challenge facing the state’s public schools. California taxpayers, through a combination of state and local Funding, have invested $118 billion in school facilities since 1998. But the report projects that schools will require about as much " $117 billion " in infrastructure spending over the next decade.
Meeting that daunting financial challenge will require a new focus for local districts and the state, the report notes. Over the past decade, districts concentrated primarily on building new classrooms to handle increasing enrollment. But the next decade will require a heavier emphasis on renovating and repairing existing structures.
The Legislature should start by demanding a more effective method for disbursing state school construction money. State school bond measures have generated $35.4 billion for school facilities since 1998. Yet the state distributes that money with little sense of priority. California has no statewide inventory of what buildings school districts have or what they lack. Rather than allocating the money to give the greatest needs first call, the state offers school bond money on a first-come, first-served basis
-- Editorial Wired classrooms and air conditioning for Leith Walk “a small step”-- Baltimore Brew Maryland: August 28, 2012 [ abstract] The word “new” was announced, shouted and chanted at the First Day Celebration and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the Leith Walk Elementary School yesterday.
Students were unveiling a new addition to their 61-year-old elementary school building in northeast Baltimore, completed in time for the opening day of the new school year.
“The brrrand newww building” is “like Christmas, Easter and spring vacation rolled into one!” said Kabir Ishamail, a fifth grader, welcoming parents, students and dignitaries to the ceremony.
Intended to house grades 2-5, the structure has modern classrooms, with smart boards and wirelesss data networks, as well as a media center with computer stations and a gymnasium. The new building, connected to the existing structure, is part of the conversion of the school to serve pre-K through eighth grade, beginning in 2014.
“There is even a little stage in the library,” exclaimed fifth grader Amber Peoples, pointing to a cozy, raised carpeted area in the well-lit media center, dedicated to reading.
But the star attraction was something the guests could only feel " cold air on a warm August day.
“Felt like 100 Degrees”
Built in 1961, Leith Walk’s aging air conditioning units, boiler and windows have been, by all accounts, never up to the challenge of keeping children cool in hot weather and warm in the winter.
“We used to send the kids to school with water bottles we froze the night before,” said Kristyn Hockaday, a Leith Walk parent with a kindergartner, 2nd grader and 4th grader in the school system.
Having grown up in the local Loch Raven neighborhood, Hockaday remembers the poor conditions of the school back when she attended with her brothers.
“It felt like 100 degrees in class” back then, she recalled.
One Small Step. Will Giant Leap Follow?
The dignitaries gathered yesterday described Leith Walk as just the beginning of larger plans to renovate and rebuild across the city’s network of dilapidated school facilities. The school’s new addition is “one small step,” Del. Curtis Anderson said, preceding “a giant leap.”
This spending is a fraction of the $2.5 billion said to be needed to renovate all of Baltimore’s public schools.
School construction advocates were on hand to make this point, as well as applaud the shiny new building on Sherwood Avenue and the Funding expected to be generated for school repairs by casino revenue and the mayor’s bottle tax.
But these current strategies only generate “a small trickle of money” compared to what’s needed, said Bebe Verdery, director of the Education Reform Project of the ACLU of Maryland and a leader of the Transform Baltimore coalition. The needs were described in detail in the June “Jacobs report,” commissioned by city schools.
-- Laura Flynn Wyoming School Facilities Commission discusses stabilizing school priorities list-- Star-Tribune Wyoming: August 24, 2012 [ abstract] The Wyoming School Facilities Commission acknowledged that state school districts lack confidence in the organization that oversees school construction Funding in the state and will try to address some of those concerns.
One major concern is the needs index list, which prioritizes school construction projects.
The School Facilities Department oversees, re-evaluates and adjusts the list annually per state statute. In addition, the methodology of evaluating the facilities has changed over the past years, which in turn changes where schools fall on the list.
The School Facilities Department manages planning, design and construction of school projects. The School Facilities Commission, whose members are appointed by the governor, oversees the department.
Commissioners said the changes can make it difficult for districts to plan schools and agreed to discuss with legislators an idea of how to create a more stable list that won’t change as much from year to year.
“I think we need to first admit that what’s going on now is a bit chaotic,” Commissioner Pete Jorgensen said in a work session Wednesday. “And whether that’s a perception by the districts or a perception by the Legislature, I think we ought to look to making a solid statement ... if we can come to an agreement on what that statement would be.”
The state again is adjusting to a new method of evaluating school needs. This past year, the SFD contracted with Facilities Engineering and Associates Inc. to complete a condition assessment of all of the Wyoming schools. The company developed standards that include illumination, air quality, technology readiness and the appropriateness of educational space.
-- ELYSIA CONNER Board vows to upgrade all Rockford schools in 5 years-- Rockford Register Star Illinois: August 15, 2012 [ abstract] The Rockford School Board made no promises tonight to build a new school in the next five years. Instead, officials promised to touch every school building within the district with much-needed upgrades through an estimated $311 million, 10-year plan.
The board unanimously approved a 10-year facilities master plan that includes upgrades to all district schools; work on the first phase of projects would cost an estimated $212 million, start in 2013 and be completed within five years.
Board member Tim Rollins said he couldn’t vote to build a new school somewhere " as was initially pitched " knowing that could shortchange another school of much-needed upgrades.
“The best thing we could do for the district is to use this opportunity to bring all our facilities up to standards,” Rollins said.
Funding the first phase of the plan also earned board approval tonight: Voters Nov. 6 will be asked to approve $139 million in bond sales to upgrade the district’s facilities in Phase 1 of the 10-year plan. Board members amended the bond referendum question to remove reference to building a new school. That means even if voters approve a bond sale, none of that revenue can be put toward building a new school.
Officials say they’ll be able to repay that bond sale debt without increasing the tax rate; those bonds will replace other retiring bond debt. School leaders are also counting on revenue from $20 million in Health/Life Safety bonds, and another $26 million in alternative revenue bonds. That estimated $46 million in bond sales doesn’t require voter approval. Officials could also use reserve cash set aside in a capital fund.
-- Cathy Bayer Parade Magazine decries poor state of public school facilities -- Economic Policy Institute National: August 15, 2012 [ abstract] Parade Magazine published an excellent report by Barry Yeoman about the sad state of the nation’s school facilities this past weekend. It’s a surprisingly detailed look at a deficit"the backlog in school maintenance and repair"with much bigger consequences for our children than the federal budget deficit. By some estimates, the nation would have to spend $271 billion just to bring the public schools up to a decent state of repair, while a state of world class excellence would require investments several times larger.
All of the talk about testing our way to educational excellence has only diverted attention and Funding from the desperate state of the nation’s school buildings and grounds. Crumbling, antiquated facilities are, as Yeoman makes clear, hostile to learning and depressing to the children and teachers who spend so much of their lives there.
State and local governments too often look the other way or blame teachers for the educational shortcomings of the students. Education seems to be the place where many people don’t believe “you get what you pay for.”
Today, more than 14 million children attend class in deteriorating facilities; the average U.S. public school is over 40 years old. In the worst of them, sewage backs up into halls and classrooms, rain pours through leaky roofs and ruins computers and books, and sinks are off the walls in the bathrooms. As Mary Filardo, CEO of the 21st Century School Fund, puts it, they are “unhealthy, unsafe, depressing places.”
It doesn’t have to be that way, and with Filardo’s leadership and encouragement, the Obama administration and key members of Congress are working to close this investment deficit. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), and dozens of cosponsors have introduced legislation (Fix America’s Schools Today, or FAST) to provide $30 billion a year to repair and renovate school facilities, bring them up to code, and make important energy-saving improvements.
-- Ross Eisenbrey 58 D.C. Schools Will Reopen Without Librarians -- Huffington Post District of Columbia: August 14, 2012 [ abstract] When Marla McGuire was hired as a librarian at Cleveland Elementary School in the District of Columbia some four years ago, she was first librarian at the school in eight years. McGuire worked to raise $50,000 for new materials, collaborated with other teachers to create an outdoor classroom and encouraged parents to read with their children.
"I really tried to embed myself in the school community," McGuire told The Huffington Post. "I wanted to focus on a love of learning and really get a spark going."
Soon, children who came to her knowing nothing about libraries -- a student once asked her timidly how much it might cost to "rent" a book from the school's collection -- got excited about reading, she says.
But McGuire will not be returning to Cleveland Elementary next year. D.C. Public Schools announced in May that it was cutting allocated Funding for librarians at schools with less than 300 students, and that the job is now a â€"flexible Funding†position rather than a â€"core†one at schools of all sizes, meaning librarians' salaries will be drawn from a general pool of money that the school must disperse for many needs.
According to Chancellor Kaya Henderson's office, 58 of the 124 D.C. schools will not have a librarian this year -- up from 34 last year.
As the cuts take effect, parents, local librarians and national experts are voicing concern that an achievement gap could emerge between wealthier neighborhood schools with better outside resources and their poorer counterparts, like Cleveland Elementary, located in D.C.'s Shaw neighborhood.
-- Eliza LaJoie Richmond County officials may have found school compromise-- Northern Neck News Virginia: August 14, 2012 [ abstract] Officials in Richmond County announced this week that they may have found the middle ground to address school construction needs while placing the smallest burden possible on area taxpayers.
During an Aug. 8 school board meeting, Chairman John Brown announced that he had met with District 5 Supervisor Lee Sanders a week prior and arranged for a joint meeting between the two political entities to discuss the future of local education and the need for new and adequate facilities.
On Aug. 13, Schools Superintendent Greg Smith discussed the impetus behind the latest development.
“We have come up with a compromised proposal which addressees many of the concerns, desires and goals of the previous plan, including the auditorium, gym along with much needed additional space and will facilitate the closing of the middle school by 2015,” Smith said, adding that with deadlines for financing “set in stone” and swiftly approaching, the need to meet with supervisors was “urgent.”
“There are unique Funding options available, but we are on a time schedule that has to be met in order to take advantage of them,” Smith said, adding that the monies " a mixture of state and federal funds " may not be available at such historically low rates again.
“We had already been approved for $5 million in qualified school construction bonds at zero percent interest but we received notification on July 31 from Virginia Secretary of Education Laura Fornash that there are additional monies in the program that Richmond County has the ability access,” Smith said. “Two awards have been approved, one at $885,505 and another at $960,504.”
-- Staff Writer Pa. school building aid closing for evaluation-- Times Leader Pennsylvania: August 12, 2012 [ abstract] A $300-million-a-year state program that helps school districts pay to construct or renovate buildings will soon be closed to new projects, at least temporarily, as state officials decide if it needs to be changed or eliminated.
Some districts are rushing to get their plans into the pipeline before the October start of a nine-month moratorium that was quietly enacted along with the state budget earlier this summer.
School districts already under financial pressure from growing pension obligations and state Funding cuts are eyeing the moratorium warily, concerned that it could be the first step toward eventual elimination of the so-called PlanCon reimbursement.
PlanCon refers to the Education Department’s “Planning and Construction Workbook,” a complicated review that runs from justifying the need for a project to designing it, acquiring the land, building it and paying for it.
“We’re really in this incredible squeeze because we’re just trying to get through operational costs, much less construction costs,” said Jay Himes, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials. “Without some state support, those building projects are going to be more and more and more difficult.”
Republican Gov. Tom Corbett first raised the idea of a moratorium when he proposed a 2012-13 budget in February, but what eventually passed was scaled back so that it did not take effect until October and covered only new projects, not those already in the PlanCon pipeline.
The Funding for the current year remained level " there are about 230 projects currently in PlanCon " but the moratorium is likely to mean that less construction and renovation will get under way in the coming years.
-- MARK SCOLFORO GRPS losing students, closing schools-- woodtv.com Michigan: August 10, 2012 [ abstract] Grand Rapids Public Schools will be closing between eight and twelve schools by the end of next year. The move, 24 Hour News 8 was told, is to â€"prioritize classrooms over roofs and boilers."
The Grand Rapids Public School Board spent all day Friday talking about the future of the district and the changes they will have to make for it to survive and thrive.
GRPS officials told 24 Hour News 8 they do not want the same thing that happened to other districts, like Muskegon Heights, to happen at West Michigan's largest school district.
"I think if we continue down the paths that we are, it would not take long for us to be in the situation that other districts are in," said GRPS Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal. "I think that is why we have to be proactive, we have to do it quickly and we have to involve our stakeholders in making the decision."
Grand Rapids Public School officials said they know they've lost students in recent years and know they need to change how they do business.
Weatherall Neal said the goal is to create a new curriculum and new standards for each grade level. She said in Friday's meeting this issue is personal to her – she mentioned she's thinking about what kind of education and opportunities she would want her grandchildren to have.
She said the goal is to figure out what would be best for each grade level first, and to worry about Funding later.
The goal is not only to try to attract back students who have left, but to offer a better education for all students who choose Grand Rapids Public Schools.
"A year out we are going to look very differently than we do today," said Weatherall Neal.
-- Dani Carlson $10 billion for Ohio school rebuilding covers half the need -- Columbus Dispatch Ohio: August 06, 2012 [ abstract] More than 15 years after its creation, the Ohio School Facilities Commission has invested nearly $10 billion in state and local funds to replace and repair school buildings once rated the worst in the nation.
“As it stands, we’re about half done,” said Richard Hickman, executive director of the commission.
“If we are able to fund about 25 districts each year and those districts are able to secure their local share to move forward with construction, we think it will take until 2025.”
Wrought from the 1997 court ruling finding Ohio’s system of Funding public schools unconstitutional, the massive construction program was created to aid all 614 school districts and 49 joint vocational districts. Starting with the poorest districts, the state has been working through a list of projects, with work beginning after local voters approve levies to provide matching funds.
Overall, nearly 1,000 schools have been built or renovated since the commission was created in 1997. Funds have been offered to about 450 districts, Hickman said, with about 100 unable so far to secure local matching funds.
-- Catherine Candisky $100 million in Mobile County school construction underway-- al.com Alabama: July 29, 2012 [ abstract] Mobile County won’t be opening any brand new schools when classes resume on Aug. 20.
But they’ll be making ready to do so by this time next year.
The state’s largest school system has about $100 million worth of construction projects that are either in motion or in the bid process, according to Facilities Manager Tommy Sheffield.
Those include completely new schools for Augusta Evans Special School in west Mobile, Whitley Elementary in Prichard and Calcedeaver Elementary in far northwest Mobile County. The system is also getting a new school, Taylor-White Elementary, designed to relieve overcrowding in west Mobile.
Also, several schools are receiving major renovations.
Funding for most of these projects is coming in the form of low-interest loans from the state and from federal stimulus initiatives.
“Everyone’s just got to have some patience and hang in there,” Sheffield said, adding that for many of these schools, “it’s been a long time coming.”
The school board is also considering taking out another $100 million construction bond to build and renovate more schools. Mobile County has completed more than $400 million in school construction projects over the last 15 years.
Here’s an update on some of the ongoing construction projects, according to Sheffield:
-- Rena Havner Philips District's wish list for facilities projects doesn't line up with funds -- Iowa City Press-Citizen Iowa: July 28, 2012 [ abstract] The Iowa City Community School District’s wish list doesn’t line up with its coffers. Local school leaders have a long list of facilities projects they’d like to take on in the next few years, but there’s a significant gap between the money the district has to complete those projects and their likely cost. The size of the gap? As much as $50 million, according to one board member’s calculations. The likely solution? A bond referendum to be decided by district voters.
Possible projects on the district’s horizon include a new comprehensive high school, one or two new elementary schools, major additions to a few buildings and minor improvements to others. Most Funding for facilities projects in the district comes from two designated places. • First, the physical plant equipment levy, last approved by voters in 2004, is a property tax of 67 cents per $1,000 of assessed land value within the district. • Second, the school infrastructure local option sales tax approved by voters in 2007 gives school districts in Johnson County 1 percent of the value of all taxable sales in the county. By 2015, the Iowa City district expects to have collected about $43 million in sales tax revenue.
About $25.6 million of local option sales tax revenue is being set aside to build a new high school, but that probably won’t be enough to complete the project. Superintendent Steve Murley said district administrators are aware that the board may pursue a bond referendum to help pay for the projects they want to complete. “We’re doing some behind-the-scenes work to ensure we’re ready for it if the board chooses that direction,” Murley said.
-- Adam B Sullivan Education leaders call for modernization-- San Francisco Chronicle California: July 25, 2012 [ abstract] The California Legislature needs to devise a clear plan for modernizing and replacing the state's aging schools or it will be harder to persuade voters to approve Funding for K-12 construction, the state schools chief said Wednesday.
"Education is transforming and our buildings where learning takes place need to transform with it," state Superintendent Tom Torlakson said at a news conference at Oakland's nearly completed La Escuelita Education Center. "When (voters) have a chance to see a well-thought-out bond measure in the state or locally, they say yes to our future, they say yes to kids."
Torlakson and Oakland Unified School District officials were on hand to unveil a new report from UC Berkeley, which called for an increased focus on school infrastructure at a time when shrinking education Funding from the state has put schools in a "fiscal emergency."
"We can't afford to not be strategic," said Jeff Vincent, the deputy director of UC Berkeley's Center for Cities & Schools and lead author of the report. "At the state level, the funds for contributing to K-12 facilities are at their end."
-- Neal J. Riley Maryland invests $25 million to cut schools' energy bills -- Baltimore Sun Maryland: July 25, 2012 [ abstract] Public school districts across Maryland can now apply for state Funding to reduce their energy consumption as part of a new $25 million "green schools initiative," the Maryland Energy Administration announced Wednesday. The effort is meant to help "accelerate" the state's goal of reducing its overall energy consumption by 15 percent in the next three years, the administration said. The Funding will come from the state's capital budget for schools planning, the administration said. New construction efforts and changes to lightbulbs and heating and air conditioning units in schools will save the state an estimated $80 million over the lifetime of the new equipment, the administration said. School districts with engineering design costs incurred between June 15 and Oct. 15 of this year are eligible for reimbursement through the program, though costs associated with joined "design-build projects" are not eligible, according to the administration's website. School districts must apply for the Funding on the administration's website by Nov. 9.
The project is being run by the state's Public Schools Construction Program and is part of a $373 million budget for school construction. In a statement, State Superintendent of Schools Lillian M. Lowery called the program an "outstanding opportunity" for the state's public schools districts.
-- Kevin Rector State education chief unveils report to guide new generation of California schools-- California Department of Education California: July 25, 2012 [ abstract] As the need for new school construction slows over the next decade, California should refocus on updating and replacing aging school buildings with schools designed to be more environmentally friendly and better suited to the needs of the next generation of students, according to a new UC Berkeley report released today by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.
The UC Berkeley Center for Cities & Schools prepared the report, titled “California’s K-12 Educational Infrastructure Investments: Leveraging the State’s Role for Quality School Facilities in Sustainable Communities.” The full report is available online.
In the report, authors analyze California’s K-12 infrastructure policies, regulations, and Funding patterns before providing recommendations that re-envision the state’s traditional construction role in K-12 infrastructure as one of modernizing facilities, supporting 21st Century education, and contributing to more sustainable communities.
“California has a lot to learn about building the schools of the future " and the time to get started is now,” Torlakson said. “The way we build and maintain schools over the next generation will of course make a huge difference to our 6.3 million public school students and to the teachers and school employees who serve them. But our schools matter in other ways as well: as community centers and leaders in sustainability. That means that every dollar we invest in our school facilities is a dollar that can change the future of our state.”
Californians have invested about $118 billion from both state and local sources in school infrastructure since the 1998 School Facilities Program went into effect. Torlakson co-authored the 1998 bond measure, which passed with more than 60 percent of the statewide vote. The UC Berkeley report finds that a similar amount"about $117 billion from all sources, including local and state " will be needed over the next decade to address the need for new and updated schools, eliminate the deferred maintenance backlog, and allow for preventative maintenance.
“Californians all across the state know the key role our schools play in our state’s future, and they have supported them again and again,” said Torlakson, noting that better than two-thirds of local school bond measures passed in the June 2012 election. “I believe they will be with us again, whether it be locally, on the November ballot or on a 2014 bond measure.”
-- Lara Azar What could DC do to encourage diversity in schools? Part 4-- Greater Greater Washington District of Columbia: July 23, 2012 [ abstract] This is part 4 of a series on education in DC. See part 1, part 2, and part 3.
If diversity is a worthwhile goal for DC schools, but the numbers are moving in the opposite direction, what could DC do?
We've talked about how some DC public schools are becoming so desirable that they're attracting in-boundary, wealthy families and pushing out the kids from elsewhere in the city who have gone to these schools in the past. This may create greater segregation in the public schools, where only well-off families can enjoy the good schools but can't enjoy the benefits of diversity.
Raleigh, North Carolina had an explicit policy of trying to draw school boundaries or include kids from out of boundaries so that each school had some lower-income students in it, but no more than 35%.
Raleigh found that the 35% threshold was a good one to include many kids from disadvantaged backgrounds who could benefit from being a part of a school with more privileged kids, but not so much as to create overconcentration and diminish the outcomes for the highest-performing students.
Should DC set a similar goal?
There are essentially 2 ways to include out-of-boundary, poorer children in the most exclusive public schools: make the schools bigger, and entice some in-boundary families to go elsewhere.
The old status quo was essentially that not enough families felt the school was "good enough" and therefore opted out of public education, making room, but that's ending.
One option is to add more school capacity, creating new space for out-of-boundary kids. Mary Cheh has secured Funding to expand Deal Middle School, and is pushing for a new middle school in Ward 3. If there were more and larger schools to fit more kids, then there would again be out-of-boundary spaces.
Some argued, when Wilson High School was being modernized, that it was good to keep the school smaller. In part, the reason was to avoid having a huge high school that could become impersonal, but there was another oft-cited reason: if not all families who want to go to Wilson can, some will go to others, like Eastern, and in doing so make that a better school. Eastern, at Stadium-Armory, does not yet have many well-off families sending kids there, but that is poised to change.
-- David Alpert Valley schools raise facility fees to cover costs-- azcentral.com Arizona: July 21, 2012 [ abstract] The Valley's school districts own hundreds of well-kept fields and air-conditioned gyms that are available for rent, mostly for cheap. But with cutbacks in state Funding, schools are having to strike a balance between giving taxpayers a break on using the facilities and covering their costs.
Two districts, in Phoenix and Cave Creek, were the latest to adjust their facility rental fees this summer to recoup the money they spend on irrigation, air-conditioning and maintenance. But the impact of fee changes on some of the biggest users -- youth sports leagues -- can be dramatic. And huge variations in the rates that districts charge mean some teams pay big rents while others nearby pay nearly nothing.
This month, the Madison Elementary School District kept its $20-per-hour fee to rent gyms but removed the daily cap and added a custodial charge. The Cave Creek Unified School District switched from unlimited field or gym use for $5 per player to an hourly system.
Both districts cited the need to cover their costs -- and in Cave Creek's case, the state Office of the Auditor General recommended raising the rental fees.
The new $2.50-an-hour fee will mean the Cactus Foothills South Little League will pay an extra $800 to use baseball fields at two Cave Creek elementary schools during its spring season, according to Aerin Jacob, the league's president.
While Jacob called the new rate fair, "it still is rising by more than 50 percent."
-- Mary Beth Faller Schools decay as they await state emergency repair funds for years-- Sacramento Bee California: July 18, 2012 [ abstract] Eight years after California settled a landmark lawsuit promising hundreds of millions of dollars to repair shoddy school facilities, more than 700 schools still are waiting for their share of funds as students take classes on dilapidated campuses with health and safety hazards.
As California struggles with chronic budget shortfalls, it has funded less than half of the $800 million required by the Emergency Repair Program, which grew out of a class-action lawsuit against the state that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed to settle. Since then, schools in 39 counties have waited as long as four years for the money to fix leaking roofs, crumbling pavement and clogged sewer lines.
As their projects languish without Funding, schools are watching buildings deteriorate and hairline fissures split into cracks wide enough to swallow pennies. They're scraping by with temporary fixes, diverting money from their classrooms and delaying other critical facility repairs.
-- Joanna Lin School districts get state money for construction-- Tri-city Herald Washington: July 14, 2012 [ abstract] The Kennewick School District will receive more than $17.5 million in state matching dollars to remodel and add on to two elementary schools.
More than $213 million will be distributed to districts across the state, according to a release from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The Othello and Moses Lake school districts also received millions in Funding from the state to help with construction projects.
"We're glad the state matching (funds) are still healthy," said Lorraine Cooper, spokeswoman for the Kennewick School District.
Kennewick's share of the state money will go toward the renovation and modernization of Cascade and Lincoln elementary schools. Work on Cascade began this summer, and work at Lincoln will start next summer.
-- Ty Beaver Washington State Districts receive state funding for local school projects that will inject $213 million into economy -- WA Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Washington: July 12, 2012 [ abstract] Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn today announced that more than $213 million in capital construction money made available by the legislature and approved by the Governor is being released to school districts throughout the state. This money, coupled with nearly $317 million in local school district funds generally available by capital bonds approved by voters in communities, will bring more than $530 million into the state’s economy through school construction.
“The state money is a critical piece to the Funding that local districts rely on in order to fulfill obligations that are made to school district voters for school construction,” Dorn said. “This money will help make vast improvements for kids by building new school buildings and school building modernizations, while also helping create jobs across the state.”
A total of 16 districts are ready to begin or continue work on 22 new school buildings and school modernization projects.
The school districts funded this year are Clover Park, East Valley (Yakima), Eastmont, Kennewick, Lake Washington, Marysville, Meridian, Moses Lake, Othello, Sedro-Woolley, Spokane, Vashon Island, Wapato, Warden, Willapa Valley and Yakima.
Approval for Funding was determined by a number of factors, including specific school district criteria regarding enrollments, assessed property values, and existing inventory. Details of the application process can be found in the School Facilities Manual.
The state’s school construction assistance program also includes approximately $540,000, which will fund public art allocations for new facilities.
For more information on school construction projects, visit School Facilities (OSPI).
-- Dan Thesman Sacramento students identify energy-saving projects for schools-- Sacbee.com California: July 05, 2012 [ abstract] In an innovative program, the Sacramento City Unified School District is relying on its students' expertise to make its schools more energy efficient.
The school district asked its students of all ages to become the experts by conducting "green audits" of their school facilities.
"Our students went around and evaluated our schools to see where we needed to make changes," said Terry Smith, principal at O.W. Erlewine Elementary in Larchmont Riviera. "They came up with the list themselves."
Fourteen schools and the McClaskey Adult Center were awarded a combined $5 million in bond Funding for their student-generated green school ideas as part of the district's program called Project Green.
The $5 million was set aside out of remaining Funding from the district's $225 million bond measure that passed in 2002.
Students presented their ideas in April to a panel of local experts in architecture, engineering, energy and water management.
"The kids spoke very knowledgably about their proposals," said district Trustee Patrick Kennedy. "It was very impressive."
Last month, the student teams learned how much their projects would be awarded.
-- Melody Gutierrez Wyoming legislators voice concerns about school construction process-- Star-Tribune Wyoming: July 01, 2012 [ abstract] Wyoming lawmakers talked about â€"analysis paralysis†and â€"red tape†as they discussed concerns about the school construction approval process with representatives of the Wyoming Schools Facility Department early last week.
Schools with approved Funding await groundbreaking across the state, but they are hung up in the pre-construction process, some members of the Legislature's Select School Facilities Committee told SFD representatives Wednesday. During a discussion with the SFD about Funding and construction timelines, committee members including Rep. Gregg Blikre, R-Gillette, and Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, cited constituents' concerns about the delays.
SFD Director Ian Catellier agreed that schools must be built in a timely fashion.
â€"This is not something we take lightly,†Catellier said. â€"We work very hard each day getting the projects under contract and being built. It's not a simple process and there are many complicating factors and we address those as they come up. We strive to get our projects on the ground just as quickly as we can.â€
Some of the complications and challenges facing the SFD have come from actions taken by the Legislature, Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, said after the meeting.
Several changes in state statute in the past two years placed a greater burden on the SFD, according to Rep. Steve Harshman, R-Casper. Those changes also cleared up vague statutes that left wide room for interpretation and therefore caused disputes and delays, he added after the meeting. Adding to the SFD's workload, the organization also switched from an independent commission to an agency under the governor in the past two years.
â€"We're really appreciative, they've (the SFD members) done a herculean amount of work,†Harshman said. â€"We've kind of gotten over the hump … of getting everything squared away. Now it's time to really get moving.â€
"I think they will get things moving now that we've given them the direction to do so," Rothfuss said.
-- ELYSIA CONNER School districts receive reprieve on construction-- triblive.com Pennsylvania: June 30, 2012 [ abstract] A change to Gov. Corbett's proposed state budget could save the Kiski Area School District from losing upwards of $240,000 each year for the next 25 years.
That's how much administrators were saying the moratorium on state payments to school districts for building projects would have cost.
But in the run-up to the Saturday deadline for state lawmakers to approve a budget, the Senate's Education Committee approved an amendment assuring that projects already in the state's review and approval process will not be impacted by the moratorium.
"It sounds like we missed the bullet," Kiski Area School Board President Bob Keibler said.
Armstrong School District's extensive construction plans also were endangered but now appear to be OK.
Freeport Area and Highlands, which have been considering building plans, won't be affected, officials said.
Under the amendment, the state Education Department would be limited from accepting or approving school building construction or reconstruction project applications received after Oct. 1.
School districts get state reimbursement money for building projects through an 11-step process. Under Corbett's original proposal, a project would have had to have reached the eighth step to receive reimbursement, said Tim Eller, an Education Department spokesman.
In addition to saving money, the moratorium is meant to give time for the state to review the process and the state's role in it, Eller said.
Corbett proposed keeping Funding for reimbursements flat, about $300 million
-- Brian C. Rittmeyer California Announces $637.6 Million for Shovel-Ready School Construction Projects-- Market Watch California: June 27, 2012 [ abstract] The State Allocation Board (SAB) announced today that it has awarded approximately $637.6 million for shovel-ready school construction projects across the state. The state matching funds will help finance 198 school construction projects within 96 school districts. Funds for these projects are provided by bonds authorized under Propositions 1A, 1D, 47 and 55.
"Today's apportionments will be put to work statewide to fund 61 new construction projects, 97 modernization projects, and 40 projects from additional programs," said SAB Chair Pedro Reyes. "These funds will be distributed within 90 days to quickly benefit school districts and local communities."
The SAB's accelerated Funding rules permit participating school districts with approved projects to submit advance certifications that they will meet requirements for fund release within 90 days of receiving an apportionment. These requirements include having local matching funds, usually 50 percent of the total project cost, in hand, and at least half of the construction contracts in place. School districts in financial hardship are also able to compete for priority-ordered Funding to purchase sites or begin design work.
-- The State Allocation Board Colorados BEST board starts culling the field for big school construction projects -- ED News Colorado Colorado: June 27, 2012 [ abstract] A handful of big school construction projects made the first cut Wednesday, and some others were turned away, as a state board began working its way through dozens of applications from districts and charter schools seeking help with building and repair needs.
The state Capital Construction Assistance Board, in the first of three days wading through applications for 2012-13 grants from the Building Excellent Schools Today program, put big projects in Denver, Sheridan, Buena Vista and Salida on its short list.
The BEST program is the only source of state funds for school construction and renovation and attracts scores of applications every year from districts that want new schools, need to get rid of asbestos or hope to replace aging boilers, leaky roofs, mold-infested modular buildings and obsolete alarm systems.
Some $439.8 million in projects is being sought by 48 districts, 12 charter schools, one board of cooperative educational services and the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind. The requests seek $297.7 million in state Funding and promise $142.1 million in local matching funds.
The BEST board decided at the start of the meeting to set a ceiling of $178.5 million on the state funds that will be devoted to 2012-13 grants. So, as has happened every year since the program started, most applicants will leave empty-handed.
-- Todd Engdahl New school rises from old facility. A grade school remodeled from a middle school takes shape -- Register Guard Oregon: June 13, 2012 [ abstract] The lockers are gone. The front doors have extended windows so you can see even the smallest students coming and going. There’s bright new flooring, spiffed-up wood paneling and attractive built-in wooden benches. After a year of work, Two Rivers/Dos Rios Elementary School is taking shape in the Springfield School District’s old middle school on G Street, closed last year in a cost-saving measure.
You’ll have to forgive Jeff DeFranco for looking about as proud as a new parent in showing off Two Rivers/Dos Rios " or TRDR as district employees have begun to call the new school. DeFranco, the district’s communications director and facilities manager, has been shepherding the project for the past year. He’s excited that it’s all coming together, and that it will cost a whole lot less than a brand-new school " about $750,000 as opposed to $16 million to $18 million. Refurbishing the building so it will suit much younger " and smaller " students included $390,000 in bond money, which voters agreed to several years ago, to get rid of asbestos and put in new floors, as well as $50,000 in previously approved Funding to replace windows. The remaining $310,000 comes cobbled together from other funds the district had on hand for maintenance and other projects, including $18,000 from the Springfield Utility Board for energy efficiency upgrades. “We redirected resources,” DeFranco said. “We didn’t increase resources.”
-- Susan Palmer High Schools Go Green to Save Some Green -- USA News Education Report National: June 06, 2012 [ abstract] Schools may be closed for summer vacation, but they aren't getting a break from Funding cuts. In fact, lawmakers in many state capitals aren't arguing over whether to trim education Funding, but how much to cut. Illinois, for instance, cut $161 million in state aid for schools in a 2012-2013 budget approved last week. Oregon's Beaverton School District cut 344 jobs, eliminated elementary school art and technology teachers, and either cut off or decreased Funding for several other programs this week in order to compensate for reduced state Funding.
For high schools struggling to fill holes in their budgets, investing in energy efficiency may be the least of their concerns. But it should be near the top of their priorities, says Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools, part of the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit group. "This is something you can't afford not to do," Gutter says. "A green school … is actually one of the only opportunities, in a moment when budgets are already stretched so thin, to be able to unearth funds that are available for the taking." By turning off lights, powering down computers, and optimizing heating and cooling systems, schools can drop their average utility bills by as much as 25 percent, Gutter adds.
Installing motion sensors on light fixtures and swapping out light bulbs for more energy-efficient models, as well as other green enhancements, helped Loveland High School in Ohio save $350,000 in one year, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Loveland was one of 26 U.S. high schools recognized as a Green Ribbon School by the Department of Education and the Center for Green Schools. In total, 78 schools—50 percent of which serve high poverty areas—were honored for their commitment to the environment.
Officials at another Green Ribbon School, Gladstone High School in Oregon, created a Green School Club, which helped shave $250 per month off the school's electrical costs by conducting energy audits.
-- Kelsy Sheehy NH Senate votes to end school building moratorium-- Union Leader New Hampshire: June 06, 2012 [ abstract] The Senate has voted to lift the moratorium on new school building projects, sending House Bill 533 to the House, where it is also expected to be approved.
While lifting the moratorium, effective next year, the bill imposes a $50 million annual cap and establishes graduated state Funding from 30 to 60 percent of a project's cost.
â€"Passage of HB 533 will end the building-aid moratorium while ensuring future building-aid grants are paid upfront with general funds, not new long-term debt, saving dollars for our communities,†said Sen. Nancy Stiles, R- Hampton, in a statement. â€"These important reforms are long overdue, and I look forward to their becoming law very soon.â€
Currently the state is obligated to pay about $550 million on more than 350 building projects over the next 30 years.
The program would not begin until the next biennium, which begins July 1, 2013.
-- TED SIEFER Natrona County School District drops last lawsuit against Wyoming School Facilities Commission -- Star-Tribune Wyoming: May 22, 2012 [ abstract] Natrona County School District trustees voted to end its legal battle over school enhancement Funding with the state. “The legal slate is clean,” NCSD Superintendent Joel Dvorak said after the meeting. “We have cleared the deck so we can accelerate the design and construction of the high schools in Natrona County.” The school board voted to withdraw a lawsuit that refuted the SFD’s decision to deny the district’s request for state major maintenance funds to fix the Kelly Walsh High School pool and replace artificial turf at Natrona County High School. The board discussed the legal issue in an executive session prior to Monday’s unanimous vote in a public meeting.
The SFD identified the pool and turf projects as enhancements, meaning beyond what’s needed to deliver curriculum " and therefore not an appropriate use of the state funds. School districts can use up to 10 percent of their annual allocation for projects considered to be enhancements. So far, NCSD has paid for the two projects out of its board priority funds to complete the projects which were finished in 2011, according to Dvorak. The district had a different interpretation of enhancements but chose to drop the lawsuit and accept the School Facilities Commission’s interpretation.
The lawsuit was a barrier to progress on school construction projects because it left questions unanswered about the definition of enhancements that impact the school design process, according to Dvorak. Three projects are planned to renovate NCHS and KWHS and build a new, shared high school that will also house Roosevelt.
-- Elysia Conner Oregon school districts not taking full advantage of energy efficiency programs -- Portland Tribune Oregon: May 22, 2012 [ abstract] Oregon school districts are missing out on taking advantage of subsidy programs that could lower their utility bills and save energy, according to a new state audit. Auditors overseen by the Secretary of State’s office pored through 6,859 measures identified in school energy audits from 2002 to 2010, and found school districts often didn’t implement the most cost-saving recommendations. Often school districts could have taken advantage of Energy Trust of Oregon benefits, or similar ones provided elsewhere in the state, that would reduce the costs of the projects
Auditors estimated that 111 school districts could have collectively saved $40 million in their utility bills and reduced energy use by 70 percent over the lives of the measures.
“I recognize the Funding challenges facing districts, and that a school district might choose to replace a boiler so students weren’t faced with cold classrooms, even if that wasn’t the most energy efficient option,” said Secretary of State Kate Brown. “At the end of the day, lower utility bills would mean more money available for the classroom.”
-- Steve Law Critics struggle to end 'pay to play' in school construction bonds -- Bay Citizen California: May 15, 2012 [ abstract] Critics of the practice in which financial firms help pass school bonds that they profit from are continuing to push for reforms, but so far have faced resistance and failure. In California, underwriting companies hired by school districts to sell bonds often make campaign contributions to help convince voters to pass the bond measures. A California Watch investigation found that leading underwriters gave $1.8 million over the last five years to successful bond measures, and in almost every case school districts gave underwriting contracts to those same firms.
Underwriters are essentially middlemen, buying bonds from districts and selling them to investors at a higher price. Underwriters say they generally only give campaign contributions after getting hired; school districts argue the money has no influence. But critics call it a â€"pay to play†system that potentially costs taxpayers more than a strictly competitive process would.
The California Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors has been pushing to end the practice for years. Last year, it sponsored a bill to prohibit financial firms from providing both underwriting and campaign services for bond measures. The bill failed in committee, but its author, Assemblyman Chris Norby, R-Fullerton, vows to bring it back next year and add limits on campaign donations. "It's a clear conflict of interest. Wall Street brokerage houses are buying local elections," Norby said. "The whole democratic process is being subverted and corrupted." Norby acknowledged his efforts face determined opposition from school districts and some underwriting companies. Similar bills failed in 2010, 2009 and 2008. "You have the public school establishment in an unholy alliance with Wall Street," Norby said. "It's hard to beat it."
School districts are worried that Norby's legislation would freeze underwriter campaign donations, which are needed to successfully pass bonds, said David Walrath, legislative advocate for the Small School Districts' Association. "We believe this bill, if enacted, would make it less likely that we could pass bonds, which would mean we'd be less able to provide adequate facilities for our students," Walrath said. Walrath said the proposal would especially harm small districts in rural areas, which are less able to raise money for bond campaigns from residents. He also takes issue with the bill for singling out financial firms, while architects, builders and unions also routinely give money to bond campaigns.
-- Will Evans Agency withholds payments for Hyde Park school-- boston.com Massachusetts: May 13, 2012 [ abstract] The Massachusetts School Building Authority quietly has been making good on its threat to stop reimbursing Boston annually for a $40 million renovation of Hyde Park High School, six months after the city closed the building in violation of state Funding rules.
The decision was issued in a Dec. 19 letter to Superintendent Carol R. Johnson that was obtained by the Globe last week. In the letter, the authority said the remaining payments for the Hyde Park project, totaling $12.7 million, are currently on hold “pending additional information from the city.’’
Matt Donovan, a spokesman for the school building authority, said in an interview that the payments remain on hold and that this year’s annual payment of $1.5 million would not be sent. He said the agency is still waiting for additional information about the School Department’s plan to reopen Hyde Park in September as the new home of two small high schools.
“Those dollars are on hold, but if they do come back with a sufficient plan [for Hyde Park] within two years they could recoup the money,’’ Donovan said.
The School Department, which has received public criticism for putting the funds in jeopardy by closing Hyde Park, never told the School Committee about the payments stopping, even though that board oversees all spending. The Rev. Gregory Groover, chairman of the School Committee, said he first learned of the development last week from a Globe reporter.
-- James Vaznis Amid budget politics, Arizona school buildings crumble-- Green Valley News and Sun Arizona: May 10, 2012 [ abstract] Districts like Kyrene School District are facing the summer’s scorching heat with coolers that could break down at any moment, which could send kids home to their parents so emergency repairs can be made. Higley’s situation mirrors the larger problem of Funding for school facilities in Arizona: not only are schools breaking down, but there’s no way to fix the problem. After budget talks about overhauling school building maintenance flopped, the legislature has continued to cut off Funding to regular school repairs in violation of the state Constitution and a previous court order.
-- Kellie Mejdrich State cuts force Pasadena schools to scale back projects-- Pasadena Sun California: May 01, 2012 [ abstract] Vastly reduced state Funding for school construction projects is forcing Pasadena education officials to downsize plans for the $350-million Measure TT bond.
When Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre voters approved Measure TT in 2008, officials drew up plans for $465 million in school renovation projects based on eligibility for state bond proceeds and other matching funds.
But due to the state budget crisis, much of that money has dried up " reducing the total bond budget to about $371.3 million, said Pasadena Unified School District Chief Facilities Officer David Azcárraga. That’s a 20% drop.
The impact will be spread out relatively evenly over the district’s 31 schools, said Bond Program Manager Robin Brown.
Azcárraga and Brown said they are meeting with campus leaders to determine which renovations are most important and which they can live without. Downscaled proposals are expected to reach Pasadena Board of Education members in June or July for final approval.
“It’s challenging, but we have to make sure we can finish what we say we’re going to do,” said board member Tom Selinske.
Officials said auditorium, playground and lunch shelter improvements are more likely to feel the pinch than upgrades that would impact academics and safety.
“We’re going to try to keep the cuts as far away from the classroom as possible,” said Azcárraga. “It’s important for the community to understand that the initial $350 million [in locally generated funds] is still intact. Our budget is still beyond that $350 million.”
The district has so far committed about $100 million to projects that have broken ground or are already finished, the largest being the rebuilt Blair Middle School campus.
-- Joe Piasecki As school facilities crumble, executive suites get remodeled-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: April 26, 2012 [ abstract] New furniture, a flat-screen television, decorative light fixtures, interactive white boards — these are among amenities the city school system bought during $500,000 in renovations to the central office, even as administrators decried the state of crumbling school buildings and sought Funding to fix them.
The biggest project was a $250,000 face lift of an executive suite for the district's chief of information technology, who said the remodeling work was done in part to impress job candidates and repair unsafe conditions.
The renovations, undertaken since January 2011, were outlined in contracts and invoices obtained by The Baltimore Sun through a Maryland Public Information Act request.
City school officials said the renovations were necessary upgrades, but city schools CEO Andrés Alonso called the executive suite remodeling "a bad judgment call." Alonso has sought support for a proposal to leverage state dollars to finance $1.2 billion in school construction. The district's school buildings need an estimated $2.8 billion in repairs.
"This was a bad judgment call, given our focus on improving outcomes for children," Alonso said of the suite. "Especially at a time when we are trying to find a way to renovate our schools."
-- Erica L. Green Philadelphia School District announces its dissolution -- Philadelphia City Paper Pennsylvania: April 24, 2012 [ abstract] Philadelphia public schools are on the operating table, reeling from a knockout blow of heavy state budget cuts. It was too much to bear after decades of underFunding and mismanagement at the hands of shortsighted Philadelphians and mean-spirited politicians in Harrisburg.
So the District is today announcing that it's going to call it quits. Its organs will be harvested, in search of a relatively vital host.
â€"Philadelphia public schools is not the School District,†Chief Recovery Officer Thomas Knudsen told a handful of reporters at yesterday's press conference laying out the five-year plan proposed to the School Reform Commission. â€"There's a redefinition, and we'll get to that later.â€
He got to it: talk about â€"modernization,†â€"right-sizing,†â€"entrepreneurialism†and â€"competition.â€
Forty schools would close next year, and six additional schools would be closed every year thereafter until 2017. Closing just eight schools this year prompted an uproar.
Anyhow, the remaining schools would get chopped up into â€"achievement networks†where public or private groups compete to manage about 25 schools, and the central office would be chopped down to a skeleton crew of about 200. District HQ has already eliminated about half of the 1,100-plus positions that existed in 2010.
This is all aimed at closing a $218 million deficit for the coming year, part of a $1.1 billion cumulative deficit by 2017. Charter schools will teach an estimated 40 percent of students by 2017.
And this rosy picture is premised upon City Council agreeing to fork over $91 million in additional property tax revenue. If not, things are even worse.
There will be $156 million cut from personnel costs and $149 million from payments to charters. (Looks like everyone was eating from the same shrinking pie after all.)
-- Daniel Denvir SBA splits $38M among 12 counties-- West Virginia Public Broadcasting West Virginia: April 24, 2012 [ abstract] The West Virginia School Building Authority is giving out $38 million to 12 counties to complete a variety of projects. The big winners from the SBA’s Monday meeting were Gilmer and Lewis counties.
Jointly, the two receive $9.6 million for the construction of a new elementary school that would bridge the county line along U.S. Route 33 and 119. State superintendent of schools Jorea Marple said a project like it hasn’t been attempted.
“This is the first time there’s been a multi-county project,” Marple said. “It’s precedent setting. There’s been a lot of work to develop the MOUs and the logistical things to bring together two counties to build a new school.”
Coming into the meeting, 23 counties had requested $130 million worth of Funding. It took two rounds of votes and cuts to pare the list down to what the SBA had available. Executive Director Mark Manchin said the most pressing needs are the one’s that get taken care of first.
“Generally we prioritize, when you’re talking about an HVAC system or an aging school,” Manchin said. “Replacing an aging school will be a higher priority, but that will also cost more. Sometimes the authority will fund smaller projects, such as an HVAC or additional classrooms, that allows them to fund additional projects.”
-- Adam Cavalier Decision Time For School Building Authority -- WV Metro News West Virginia: April 22, 2012 [ abstract] The state School Building Authority meets Monday to choose the school construction projects that will be largely financed by the state.
SBA Executive Director Mark Manchin says the authority is very limited this year with only $38 million to hand out, federal economic stimulus money had that figure at $100 million the last three years, so there will be some very good projects that won't be funded.
"There are about 170 million dollars in requests but unfortunately some counties won't get funded that are certainly deserving," Manchin said.
A unique inter-county elementary school project between Gilmer and Lewis counties will likely find itself on that final list for Funding according to Manchin.
"There seems to be a lot of sentiment that the authority members want to fund that project, which would close two of our older and worst schools, Alum Bridge and Troy," Manchin said.
The request for that project is $11.1 million, which would leave about $27 million for the other projects. Manchin expects a few larger projects and a few smaller projects to get what's left.
-- Staff Writer Massachusetts school building is a major player in heavy construction -- The Republican Massachusetts: April 22, 2012 [ abstract] In 2010, the most recent year for which figures are available, school building projects in Massachusetts accounted for $1.07 billion in construction costs and created 5,350 construction jobs.
“We are a major player in the construction industry in Massachusetts,” said Jack McCarthy, the executive director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority. “Some construction people say we were really the only player. That’s a credit to the way we are set up.”
What McCarthy meant was that because the authority gets a dedicated one-cent share (or 16 percent) of the state’s sales tax revenue, it doesn’t have to go to the legislature for a yearly appropriation. It also means it gets a steady stream of revenue when Funding for other projects, both public and private, dried up.
Also, the state had a moratorium on school building projects in the early 2000s, creating a backlog of facilities that need to be replaced, expanded or renovated.
-- Jim Kinney 2 school districts could face closure by state this year
-- The Texas Tribune Texas: April 05, 2012 [ abstract] In July, two Texas school districts received what amounted to notices of execution: letters from the state education commissioner saying the Texas Education Agency was shutting them down.
The reason? Years of poor academics and financial mismanagement.
The result? Their students -- and their tax dollars -- would go to neighboring districts, which many residents feared would have a cataclysmic effect on local communities.
It's rare for the state to revoke the accreditation of an entire school district. Since 1995, it has happened only four times. The two districts marked for closure last summer, the Premont district in South Texas and the North Forest district in northeast Houston, challenged the decisions. And for the first time in TEA history, both the districts, which are in the midst of sweeping reforms, have received one-year reprieves to make financial and academic turnarounds.
Of the state's 1,024 school districts, nearly 50 have been identified as "unacceptable" -- which means less than 65 percent of their students passed state math exams and less than 70 percent passed them in reading. The ratings also take dropout and graduation rates into account. Those worst-performing districts serve a higher percentage of low-income and minority students -- and on average, receive less in Funding -- than their higher-rated counterparts.
Although there isn't much research on whether closing a district helps students -- and there's indication that in certain situations it could harm them -- some educators question whether the state is doing enough to monitor chronically poor-performing schools. Others wonder why the TEA isn't closing more underperforming districts and why it takes the threat of imminent closure to galvanize such districts to action.
Part of the problem is that closing a school district arouses strong emotions and can be a political minefield.
-- Morgan Smith Deteriorating Building Conditions Persist in Harford County’s Older Public Schools; Asbestos, Mold, Leaks Cited-- The Dagger Maryland: April 01, 2012 [ abstract] Deteriorating building conditions in Harford County’s older public schools were the subject of evocative comments by members of the public and a photo presentation by the president of the teacher’s union at a March 12 meeting of the Harford County Board of Education. ...a lack of Funding has put a planned replacement of both buildings on hold, along with other major school improvement projects county wide. Such projects are paid for by a combination of state and county funds. At Prospect Mill Elementary School in Bel Air, the winter temperature in one teacher’s classroom averaged in the mid to low 50s, and mold in the building caused her to suffer from asthma and allergies resulting in missed time from work...
-- Cindy Mumby NH bills would prioritize school building aid-- Boston.com New Hampshire: March 28, 2012 [ abstract]
New Hampshire lawmakers are moving ahead with a new school aid construction proposal that uses a ranking system to determine which projects get state aid.
The Senate passed its plan Wednesday without debate, and the House did the same a few hours later on a similar bill. Both propose the state continue paying down its share of loans taken out to build current projects. Money would be awarded in lump sums to new projects based on criteria such as whether the school to be replaced is unsafe or too small for the student population.
The two chambers differ on the scale of Funding.
The Senate bill leaves it to lawmakers to set the aid amount in the budget.
The House bill would limit aid at $50 million per year, but most of that money would be used to pay the state's roughly $540 million share of 360 existing projects. Opponents argue that would leave only $7 million for new projects over the next few years. It will take 30 years to pay off the projects already in progress, but as the state pays the debt, more money would become available for new projects.
The bills' goal is to target state aid to communities with the greatest need, something Democratic Gov. John Lynch has been calling for to ease the cost to New Hampshire while helping poorer communities renovate and replace schools. Lynch submitted a letter to the Senate Education Committee in February supporting "legislation that will establish a building aid budget, prioritize projects and increase the match available to school districts with the greatest needs."
Lynch spokesman Colin Manning said the governor supports the concept proposed by the two bills.
The ranking system would end the state's current blank-check approach to Funding local aid requests. The state would instead choose projects that meet criteria such as unsafe conditions; obsolete, inefficient or unsuitable facilities; enrollment shifts; and any other conditions the state thought necessary. Lawmakers also want to be sure communities maintain buildings built partly with state aid.
-- Garrett Brnger Parents deserve more details on Ward 5 middle school plan-- Greater Greater Washington District of Columbia: March 20, 2012 [ abstract] Parents and policymakers worry that two newly planned middle schools may not go far enough to improve the mediocre middle school options for Ward 5 families. DCPS should create Local School Advisory Teams for these new schools, before they are built, to leverage parental initiative to ensure the success of these schools.
Critics include a councilmember and the leader of the movement to establish a standalone middle school in Ward 5.
Ward 5 is the only ward with only preschool through 8th grade (PS-8) middle schools, and no standalone middle schools. The goal, these critics say, shouldn't be simply to switch models from PS-8 to standalone middle schools, but to make the new school succeed.
Switching from standalone middle schools to PS-8, and back to standalone
Ward 5 parents are right to be outraged about their middle schools. The class entering the District's two top public high schools, Banneker and School Without Walls, in the 2011-12 school year included only 5 students from Ward 5.
Much of the parental dissatisfaction with the 7 PS-8 schools in Ward 5 stems from their lack of programs and facilities for middle schoolers, which parents argue affect educational outcomes. Many PS-8 schools lack multiple levels of math including algebra, foreign languages, robust before and afterschool programs, age-appropriate desks and toilets for older children, and so on.
DCPS says that their Funding model prevents them from offering the full range of programs at a school when enrollment falls below a certain level.
-- Ken Archer W.Va. school supers seek $170 million for building projects-- Sunday Gazette Mail West Virginia: March 19, 2012 [ abstract] School superintendents throughout West Virginia asked the state School Building Authority for more than $170 million on Monday to build new classrooms and renovate crumbling public schools.
The SBA considered building proposals from 23 counties jockeying for a portion of the $40 million the SBA will award in a meeting next month.
Frank Blackwell, superintendent of Wyoming County schools, was among the dozens of superintendents who approached the SBA on Monday.
He asked for about $7.6 million in state funds to build a new school to replace flood-prone Huff Consolidated Elementary School in the state's southern coalfields.
Blackwell said Huff Elementary, squarely in Wyoming County's flood plain, has been flooded twice in the last three years.
"The question is not if the school will be flooded again, but when," said Blackwell.
He said the elementary school was stripped and remodeled after being flooded in 2009 and 2010, but the water seriously damaged the foundation on the southwest side of the school and has deteriorated the masonry walls.
Authority President Mark Manchin said deciding which schools to fund is always an issue, particularly during this and next year's Funding cycle, which he called "extremely lean."
"There's nearly $2 billion worth of needs in West Virginia schools' 10-year plans for facilities alone," said Manchin. "The SBA can only identify about $800 million of that. Needless to say, there are certainly not enough funds to address all the needs out there. But we'll do our best to give money to the schools that need it and look at alternative Funding plans."
-- Amy Julia Harris Fix them now-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: March 15, 2012 [ abstract] Building maintenance has long been a weakness of Harford County Public Schools. Certainly, school buildings are used hard and can't be expected to last forever. Then again, most school buildings are constructed rather solidly using the best techniques of the day. Even when the old Bel Air High School building was demolished a few years back, it wasn't falling apart and, with enough work, probably could have been kept serviceable for another half century.
This isn't to say old school buildings should never be torn down and replaced. To the contrary, the new Bel Air High building compared to what it replaced is a wonder of modern educational technology, even as the old school building was still serviceable.
But that doesn't mean maintenance issues should be given the rudimentary attention they generally receive at the leadership levels in Harford County Public Schools. A case in point is the recent presentation by the leadership of the Harford County Education Association, which revealed in some detail problems with mold and rust in William Paca/Old Post Road Elementary School in Abingdon.
Similarly, problems with mold and other cleanliness and maintenance were pointed out by parents from the Prospect Mill and Youth's Benefit elementary schools communities.
The presentations amounted to pleas for increases in Funding for the purpose of replacing the existing buildings, which are among the county's older schools and are probably in line for replacement in the next few years no matter how you look at it.
Unfortunately, the plea for new buildings to replace those that are aging has generally overwhelmed any call for improved building maintenance. No doubt when William Paca/Old Post Road Elementary School opened, it was a shining model of an educational facility and it has taken years of neglect for it to devolve into something of a poster case for increased school maintenance Funding.
Mold and rust, however, are hardly insurmountable. Sure, they can be expensive to deal with as their collective root cause is probably some sort of drainage or ventilation problem, but that cost pales compared to the cost of school replacement.
-- Editorial from The Aegis Will Your School Get an Earthquake Safety Review?-- South San Francisco Patch California: March 15, 2012 [ abstract] The school district's new bond program director recently laid out a nine-step plan for moving forward on Measure J school construction project projects. Second on his list was hiring structural engineers to evaluate the safety of schools on the state's AB300 list, a list of public school buildings that may be unsafe in the event of an earthquake.
Last year, Patch did a report on seismic safety in public schools and found that seven South San Francisco public schools have languished on the AB300 list for close to a decade. They are:
•Spruce Elementary School
•Los Cerritos Elementary School
•Alta Loma Middle School
•Parkway Heights Middle School
•El Camino High School
•South San Francisco High School
•Baden High School
Along with 7,500 buildings or projects statewide, these seven schools have structures which have been identified by the state as potentially, though not definitely, risky in the event of an earthquake. If a school is on the list, it means that the state hasn't received certification that the school district has made seismic improvements.
Why have these seven schools gone without upgrades for so long?
"Lack of Funding," according to Jonathan Barth, former assistant superintendent of business services.
-- Drew Himmelstein Elementary school gardens teach math, science and patience-- The Tennessean Tennessee: March 09, 2012 [ abstract] If all goes well, Franklin Elementary School’s fourth-graders will be eating some fresh vegetables come May.
About 80 students got busy last week planting broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, cabbage and carrots, and other edibles they hope to harvest from their teaching gardens at the school.
Students worked in eight beds with the help of UPS and the American Heart Association. Both organizations supported the effort with elbow grease and Funding to promote healthy eating habits and an understanding of where food comes from.
Teachers love the project because of all the curriculum ties, particularly science and math.
It turns out Franklin Elementary School is not the only school digging in the dirt to teach students important lessons. Nolensville Elementary School recently revived its garden as an outdoor classroom, Chapman’s Retreat Elementary School has a garden under construction with a ribbon cutting planned for April and Fairview Elementary School has special learning gardens for its kindergartners.
“For me, I like to get the kids outdoors,” Franklin Elementary School teacher Michelle Pieczura said. “In our society, there’s a lot of media usage and kids don’t get outside very much. It’s a unique opportunity for them.”
-- Maria Giordano Arizona school funding gap grows between ‘have’, ‘have-not’ districts-- Tucson Citizen Arizona: March 03, 2012 [ abstract] The cracks in the school walls are still spreading. The fire alarms sound too often or don’t sound at all. Mechanics struggle to keep old school buses running one more year. Budget managers try to figure out where the money will come from to fix leaky roofs, wheezing air-conditioners and broken vents.
Across Arizona, school districts struggle to find the funds to fix and maintain their buildings, in large part because state lawmakers over the past decade have countered laws and legal rulings meant to help all public-school facilities meet or exceed a basic standard.
-- Bob Ortega Legislature Approves School Construction Reform Bill-- Gig Harbor Patch Washington: March 02, 2012 [ abstract] The state will no longer spend money building classroom space for online, out-of-district students under a bill approved by the Legislature and sent to the governor Thursday.
â€"Especially in tough economic times, we need to spend our tax dollars wisely. Building classrooms for students who will never show up in them just doesn't make sense,†said Sen. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, who sponsored the bill. â€"With this reform, we're making sure we provide funds to build schools for kids who will actually be there.â€
Senate Bill 6002 is expected to save as much as $13 million this year alone by addressing an issue caused by a surge in the number of students enrolled with school districts in Alternative Learning Experience programs, or A.L.E. students.
In some cases, these students are essentially studying at home, under direction and with an agreement from the school. They may never show up in the district's brick-and-mortar buildings, often interacting with the instructors only online. Many actually live outside the school district's boundaries.
Recently, the State Auditor's Office pointed out that the state's school construction Funding formula doesn't distinguish between students who sit in classrooms and learn in laboratories and students who participate online from home. The state pays its share of construction costs as if every A.L.E. student uses the district's buildings.
-- Staff Writer Wyo. Legislature passes school construction bill -- trib.com Wyoming: March 02, 2012 [ abstract] A proposal to spend about $600 million on school construction and renovations over the next two years is on its way to Gov. Matt Mead.
The Wyoming House voted 51-8 to give final approval to Senate File 105 on Thursday.
The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports that representatives rejected an amendment to reduce the Funding to $245 million.
Rep. Matt Teeters, a Republican from Lingle, said the bill had grown by over $83 million since it was first introduced. With revenues declining, he said the amendment would give the Legislature time to consider what it can afford.
But Rep. Steve Harshman, a Casper Republican, said several districts are dealing with capacity problems.
Among the things the bill would pay for are a new school building and property for four new schools in Cheyenne.
-- Associated Press Chicago Public School parents take concerns to mayor's doorstep-- ABClocal Illinois: February 20, 2012 [ abstract] A group of parents marched past the home of Mayor Rahm Emanuel Monday night, protesting Chicago Public Schools' plans to turn around or close 16 underperforming schools.
About 200 protesters marched from Lakeview High School where several groups held a rally before walking about a half dozen blocks over to Emanuel's home. They held a candlelight silent vigil just feet from the mayor's front door.
Activists say the turnaround plan destabilizes schools and communities while displacing good teachers who just lack resources.
Wendell Smith Elementary School is on the list, once again leaving some parents shut out.
"This is outcry to have everybody all over the world pay attention," said Sharisa Lee Vaval, parent. "It's not just happening here, it's happening everywhere."
"We have been pushed to the last step," said Darcell Ezell, Wendell Smith school aide.
District officials say Smith is not meeting educational standards and has been chronically underperforming for years.
In a statement CPS spokesperson Becky Carroll writes, "with almost one out of two students not graduating high school, and only 7.9 percent of our 11th graders testing college ready, we can no longer accept schools that fail."
Officials also created the new Office of Community and Family Engagement last July. The purpose of the little-known office is to focus on solely on parents and school communities.
Still, the turnaround program angers those at Smith who blame a lack of Funding for the problems at the South Side grade school.
-- Evelyn Holmes Charter schools seeking cut of school districts' construction dollars-- Sun Sentinel Florida: February 18, 2012 [ abstract] A legislative plan to give charter schools a cut of local school districts' construction money would steer millions of additional dollars to large charter-school networks that are already sitting on tens of millions of dollars in cash, records show.
The charter-school industry is lobbying hard to gain a share of tax dollars raised by school districts to cover the construction and maintenance costs of traditional public schools — tax revenue that has dropped dramatically in recent years with plummeting real-estate values.
School districts say the proposal could cost them as much as $140 million a year statewide and cripple their ability to repair aging buildings and pay debts for past construction. But charter school operators say the lesser Funding for their students is unfair, and argue that withholding construction money has stifled charter schools' growth.
Many charter schools collect more tax dollars than they spend, and sock away the unspent cash. The Doral Academy charter-school network, with five Miami-Dade schools, had net assets of $13.6 million last year, much of it cash, records show.
The Doral Academy network is one of four large South Florida charter-school chains run by Academica, the state's largest charter school operator. These four school networks — the Doral, Mater, Somerset and Pinecrest academies — had combined assets of more than $83 million last year, records show. This money is held by nonprofits that own the schools, which are managed by Academica, a for-profit company based in South Miami.
These schools could stand to gain millions more every year from the construction tax dollars, which would be distributed on a per-student basis. For example, the Doral, Mater, Somerset and Pinecrest academies would receive an additional $14.5 million from the Miami-Dade school district this year alone under the proposal.
Lynn Norman Teck, spokeswoman for the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, said charters should not be cut out of construction Funding because some schools have been financially savvy.
"Their reserves are for a rainy day," Teck said.
-- Kathleen McGrory and Scott Hiaasen Quinn announces school construction funding-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: February 16, 2012 [ abstract] More than two dozen Illinois school districts will get around $623 million in capital funds to update and repair schools.
Gov. Pat Quinn announced the money Thursday at an elementary school in Hazel Crest, a suburb south of Chicago.
Quinn says the Funding will help improve students' educational experiences.
State officials approved 31 districts for the Funding. The districts' proposed projects had to be approved.
The Funding includes about $114 million for Chicago Public Schools, and about $34 million for Peoria schools.
-- Associated Press State reimbursement cuts could undermine Pennsylvania school construction projects -- The Mercury Pennsylvania: February 16, 2012 [ abstract] Hidden in the fine print of Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed 2012-13 budget is a Funding freeze for Pennsylvania’s program to reimburse school districts for construction projects.
Tuesday night, both Pottstown and Pottsgrove school districts " each in a different phase of construction " grappled with what that might mean.
For Pottstown, it may mean a whole different plan for renovating its elementary schools (that decision may be made at tonight’s meeting); whereas for Pottsgrove, it means the potential loss of $3.2 million in reimbursement for the renovated Ringing Rocks Elementary School, which just re-opened in January.
They’re not alone.
Phoenixville Area School District has three building projects in various stages of state reimbursement and the Western Montgomery Career and Technology Center in Limerick is trying to close out its $40 million expansion and renovation project.
Officials in all of these districts are scratching their heads, trying to figure out what it all means.
“Some things we thought were engraved in stone may turn out not to be,” said Pottsgrove Business Manager Dave Nester.
He said the 2012-13 budget he is now working on anticipates a $686,000 debt payment, of which the state would be responsible for 20 percent, or roughly $137,000.
With questions surrounding PlanCon, as the state reimbursement program is known, the possibility exists that Pottsgrove taxpayers will have to make up that difference, Nester said.
He said the decisions made about the Ringing Rocks project were made with the belief that the state reimbursement would be available.
“The PlanCon process is pretty cumbersome and the only reason you go through it is to get that reimbursement,” Nester said. “We knew we needed to upgrade Rocks, but if we had known there was a possibility that state reimbursement might not be there, or be delayed, we might have done some things differently.”
-- Evan Brandt New York state owes poor schools $5.5 billion: advocates-- WTAQ New York: February 15, 2012 [ abstract] Education advocates on Wednesday pushed New York State to increase Funding for schools in impoverished areas in the budget for the new fiscal year, saying those schools are owed $5.5 billion under a 2007 court ruling.
The Education Law Center, which absorbed the advocate group that had won the historic school Funding lawsuit, did not specify how much extra Funding it is seeking in the budget for poor school districts for the budget for fiscal 2013, which starts April 1.
New York's top court in 2007 had ruled that the state had failed to provide students in poor areas with the constitutionally required "sound, basic education."
New York had started to fulfill the court ruling by agreeing to a four-year increase in aid for students in so-called high needs areas. Spending rose more than $1 billion in 2007 and 2008, according to the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, the group that had won the lawsuit. There was no Funding increase in 2009, however.
The state's tax revenue sank during the economic downturn, and education Funding was cut by $2.7 billion in 2010. Children in poor school districts bore the brunt of those cuts, the Campaign for Fiscal Equity said.
"We're asking the legislature to revise the Executive's budget by allocating increased funds to the Foundation program to put the State back on track towards constitutional compliance," David Sciarra, executive director, of the Education Law Center, said in a statement.
-- Joan Gralla Public schools must come first-- Gazette.net Maryland: February 15, 2012 [ abstract] For those who spend a lot of time in Prince George’s County schools, reports of leaking roofs, heating and air conditioning problems, and deteriorating facilities come as no surprise.
So it also should come as no surprise to state lawmakers that residents would be outraged over proposals to provide state aid for private school projects; legislators have proposed bond bills for $50,000 to be used for new windows at Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg and $350,000 to help build a sports complex at Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro. In both pieces of legislation, the items are listed as state debts that will be used as grants to the schools’ boards, requiring the grant recipients to match the funds within a certain time frame or risk losing the money.
In better economic times " and with better public school conditions " the plan to use public funds to help private schools wouldn’t be a big deal. As state Sen. Victor Ramirez (D-Dist. 47) of Cheverly, who proposed the aid for Seton, said, public-private partnerships can be beneficial to the community at large, which often uses private institutions for meetings or other neighborhood events.
However, as the ongoing belt-tightening in the school budget demonstrates, better times have not yet been reached.
For fiscal 2013, county school officials are requesting $57.7 million in state Funding for school construction and renovations, but will likely get much less. For the current fiscal year, the school system requested $55.7 million and received $31.3 million in state Capital Improvement Plan funds.
And much more is needed. A 2008 study of 184 aging Prince George’s school facilities identified $2.8 billion in backlogged and future capital needs for the facilities.
-- Staff Writer House Stops Public School Construction Funds Going to Charter Schools-- The Ledger Florida: February 14, 2012 [ abstract]
A House subcommittee shot down language that would have allowed charter schools to tap local education construction funds, maintaining a significant gap in language between the two chambers on the legislation.
On a 7-7 tie vote that included opposition from both Democrats and Republicans, the House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee rebuffed an effort to return a pared-back version of the language to the bill (HB 903).
The original provision, which would have given charter schools a share of local capital outlay dollars on a per-student basis, was removed in a committee substitute crafted by the K-20 Innovation Subcommittee.
The overall bill, which would impose new accountability on charter schools and allow state colleges to create charters, passed 11-3 after the construction-Funding amendment was defeated.
The construction language is still in the Senate version of the legislation (SB 1852).
-- BRANDON LARRABEE School construction could be on hold in NEPA
-- thetimes-tribune.com Pennsylvania: February 14, 2012 [ abstract] Area school districts are owed millions in construction reimbursements from the state, superintendents say.
The delay in promised payments comes at the same time Gov. Tom Corbett is proposing a moratorium on reimbursements for any new construction projects, as well as a review of the program.
The moratorium makes an uncertain future for renovation projects superintendents say their schools need, and the stall in Funding has Western Wayne waiting for $6 million.
"If we don't receive that money â€Â¦ it could bankrupt us," Superintendent Andrew Falonk said.
Waiting for Funding
Western Wayne's EverGreen Elementary School opened in the fall. With a cost of $21 million for the environmentally friendly school, the district planned to receive $6 million in reimbursements from the state.
As of Monday, the district has received nothing.
"We just received notice from them that there was no light at the end of the tunnel," Mr. Falonk said.
Even if the district eventually receives all of the reimbursement, that Funding is needed now so loan payments can be made, he said.
In the last decade, the state has spent more than $3.5 billion for school construction reimbursements. The percentage districts are eligible to be reimbursed varies greatly with the scope of the project. A spokesman from the Department of Education said he was unsure why the districts were experiencing a delay, and further information was not available late Monday.
The Carbondale Area School District has also not received any of its reimbursement for the district's ongoing renovations to its junior-senior high school, Superintendent Dominick Famularo, Ed.D., said.
The district planned to receive 30 percent of the project's $14 million cost, he said.
-- SARAH HOFIUS HALL Robbing public schools-- Miami Herald Florida: February 13, 2012 [ abstract] As roofs sag in old school buildings, air conditioners break, electric panels blow and mold grows in classrooms where students are expected to learn, the maintenance costs keep adding up in this unwinnable game of catch-up for Florida public school districts facing billions of dollars in needed repairs.
So what does the Florida Legislature propose to do about it?
Nothing substantial. Forget about alleviating this mounting public need or fixing an antiquated Funding mechanism that’s shortchanging public schools. Yet public education is the state’s “paramount duty,” as voters made clear when they passed a constitutional amendment in 1998 seeking “adequate” Funding for education.
-- Miami Herald Editorial In Montgomery, dozens testify against cut in school construction funding-- Washington Post District of Columbia: February 10, 2012 [ abstract] Dozens of Montgomery County parents, school officials and municipal officials testified this week against a proposed cut in school construction Funding by County Executive Isiah Leggett (D).
The Montgomery County Council held public hearings Tuesday and Thursday for the county’s upcoming six-year capital spending plan, which dictates how construction Funding is allocated among schools, roads and other infrastructure projects.
Last month, Leggett proposed the first cut in school Funding in recent memory, despite record-high enrollment growth and what school officials describe as low construction costs.
Of the proposed $4.21 billion in capital Funding, Leggett proposed $1.36 billion for schools, a 0.3 percent decrease from the previous capital plan. The Board of Education had requested $1.49 billion, or a nearly 10 percent increase.
Leggett is proposing seven school additions and the construction of two new elementary schools and a new middle school. But he is, among other things, delaying the modernization of most middle schools and all high schools.
School officials have made guarded public comments about Leggett’s proposal. Board of Education President Shirley Brandman (At Large) has said she understood the “difficult balancing act” the county is in. Nonetheless, in prepared remarks Thursday, she urged the County Council, the body that ultimately approves construction Funding, to support the school board’s proposal.
Parents stood up and waved multicolored signs several times Thursday to support additional school Funding. Several families from Poolesville " home of one of the highest-ranking public high schools in the nation " wore matching Poolesville Elementary School T-shirts.
“We have the No. 1 school academically in Maryland, and 64th in the nation, in a tired, deteriorating building,” said Jerry Klobukowski, a town commissioner for Poolesville.
-- Victor Zapana DC Council chairman wants charter schools facilities allowance at least $3,000 per student-- Washinton Post District of Columbia: February 09, 2012 [ abstract] D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown is urging Mayor Vincent Gray to keep Funding for public charter school facilities at least $3,000 per student.
Brown tells The Washington Post that charter schools need more stability and certainty in their finances (http://wapo.st/xaUXWS ). Public charter schools use the facilities allowance to cover rent, mortgage, debt service and renovations.
In the 2010 fiscal year, former Mayor Adrian Fenty cut the allowance from just more than $3,100 per student to $2,800. Federal Funding has helped keep it at $3,000.
Charter school Funding has been the focus of mayoral commission, which recently recommended that the allowance remain at $3,000 but said that further study is needed.
-- Associated Press Newark to break ground on long-awaited Teachers Village-- NJ.com New Jersey: February 09, 2012 [ abstract] Elected officials, real estate developers and international investors will gather in the heart of downtown Newark today to break ground on the city’s most ambitious project since the Prudential Center, one Mayor Cory Booker says will transform the entire downtown.
Teachers Village is a nearly $150-million mixed-use development that will rise along four blocks of Halsey Street, between the Prudential Center and University Heights. Once completed, the site will have eight buildings, including three charter schools, a daycare center, more than 200 apartments for teachers and 70,000 square feet of street-level retail and restaurant space.
The project is largely being built through public financing, and Funding for the first building " which includes two schools, a gymnasium and retail " closed last Friday.
"This is yet another game-changing project for the city of Newark," Booker said, citing the Courtyard by Marriott hotel that is under construction downtown and Panasonic Corp., which will move its North American headquarters to the city next year. "And in a down economy like we’re experiencing globally, Newark is having its greatest economic development period in generations."
-- Sarah Portlock School Closures Are Coming to a District Near You-- Yahoo News National: February 08, 2012 [ abstract] When I grew up, "school closure" usually meant something related to the weather, like a snow day. Now there's a different kind of storm threatening whether or not your school stays open.
As I drove home Monday, I listened to National Public Radio, where Elizabeth Fiedler reported the story "Pennsylvania School District Goes Broke." It was a heart-rending story of the Chester Upland School District, a poor area south of Philadelphia on the verge of bankruptcy. It was sad, but it was still someone else's problem in a state far away.
The next morning in my small Georgia town, I was immediately greeted by a panic-stricken colleague, who begged me for the contact information and application of the private school where my wife teaches and my daughter attends. It didn't take too long to figure out why: A local public school that once served as the model institution is facing a similar predicament.
And it doesn't just stop at our local school. According to the LaGrange Daily News, the county faces an $11.1 million budget deficit. It plans to lay off more than 50 art and music teachers, slashing its budget and closing the venerated West Side Magnet School.
Though Georgia and Pennsylvania are far apart, the story of the two districts is strikingly similar. Both have tapped out federal stimulus funds. Both have had state grants significantly cut, though the reasons are somewhat different. In Pennsylvania, a charter school sued to get the funds that would normally go to the district. In Georgia, the arrival of the Kia Automotive plant led state legislators to increase the value of the county in its rating system for school Funding, and thereby reduce the state money once allocated for needy counties.
-- Professor John A. Tures, LaGrange College Connecticut to cap school building costs-- Hartford Business Connecticut: February 06, 2012 [ abstract] Based on a law passed during last year’s legislative session, a yet-to-be-formed School Building Project Advisory Council will impose a cap on the per square foot cost of all education construction projects, limiting Funding for the segment serving as a lifeline for the struggling building industry.
The state currently caps the size of schools based on the number of students, but there is no limit on the project cost. By law, the state has to reimburse each local school district a set percentage of the construction expense, regardless of the total. The reimbursement percentage varies by district " ranging from 20 to 100 percent " and is based upon community wealth.
Magnet schools get 100 percent reimbursement, leaving little incentive for local school districts and designers to skimp on plans.
Meriden engineering and design firm BL Companies designed the $42-million, 100,000-square-foot Mary M. Hooker Environmental Studies Magnet School in Hartford, which was built to some of the highest energy efficiency standards because of its magnet mission. Some of its amenities include a butterfly vivarium and a planetarium.
“It is a unique approach based upon the program of the school and the uniqueness of the site,” said Scott Pellman, senior project manager for BL Companies. “We are not putting in bells and whistles for the sake of putting in bells and whistles.”
-- Brad Kane 1/3 U.S. Schools Have Serious Mold and Dust Making Kids Sick-- Eco Childs Play National: February 03, 2012 [ abstract] Schools are germy places, almost as bad as hospitals. As a teacher, I’m suffering from my second illness this school year.
Children are in and out of class with various viruses and bacterial illnesses, but sometimes, those illnesses come from the school facilities themselves.
Astonishingly, “a third or more of U.S. schools have mold, dust and other indoor air problems serious enough to provoke respiratory issues like asthma in students and teachers.”
CNN reports:
Dr. John Santilli, a Connecticut allergist, says he has treated dozens of students sickened by school air. Even when children don’t miss school, he said, the medications they take for asthma and conditions like rhinitis, an allergic reaction to mold or dust, can make it harder for them to do their best work.
“They’re on antihistamines, they’re on nasal sprays, they’re on asthma medications, and this limits their ability to perform,” Santilli said. “These kids can’t concentrate. They can’t focus on what’s going on.”…
Researchers and others who follow the issue say school air problems have probably been exacerbated in recent years by Funding cutbacks that have resulted in less money for building upkeep and maintenance…
Researchers at the New York state Health Department found a correlation between building maintenance at the public schools and hospitalizations for asthma. The condition of roofs, windows, walls and boilers were all related to the health of children at the school, researchers found.
A similar study in Boston schools found a link between asthma rates and leaks, mold, lack of repairs and visible signs of insects or rodents.
-- Jennifer Lance State (MD) OKs School Improvements-- MD Coast Dispatch Maryland: February 03, 2012 [ abstract] The state’s Board of Public Works last week approved roughly $250 million in public school improvement projects across Maryland, including several significant upgrades in Worcester and Wicomico counties.
The Board of Public Works, which includes Gov. Martin O’Malley, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy Kopp, last week approved a laundry list of recommendations from the Interagency Committee on School Construction (IAC) for the fiscal year 2013 budget totaling roughly $250 million statewide.
Among the projects approved last week for Worcester County included new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for Berlin Intermediate School, Pocomoke Middle School and Snow Hill Middle School totaling $47,000 each. The three county schools are all at least 40 years old and each has HVAC units at least 30 years old.
For years, the Worcester Board of Education has tried a piece-meal approach to replacing the school’s failing heating and air conditioning systems but the process has been a slow one. For example, the current proposed budget identifies a total of 21 HVAC units that need replacing, but the spending plan only includes Funding for two or three replacements.
-- Shawn J. Soper Schools the site of more emergency shelters -- Southeast Missourian Missouri: January 27, 2012 [ abstract] A growing number of emergency shelters in Missouri in recent years may mean more people scramble toward the nearest school the next time a tornado siren sounds. Since 2005, 32 facilities classified as "safe rooms" by the Federal Emergency Management Agency have been built statewide in public school districts or community colleges. Nine projects are in progress, according to the most recent information available from the agency.
FEMA enters into a cost-sharing agreement with schools to build safe rooms, in most cases providing 75 percent of Funding through its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, as long as the facilities meet emergency shelter specifications set by the agency. FEMA's requirements for safe rooms vary based on areas of the country where they are built. Areas more at risk for tornadoes, for example, require steel-reinforced, foot-thick concrete walls that can withstand winds of an EF-5 tornado, or up to 250 mph.
loomfield, Mo., the school district will open bids the first week of February for a $1.6 million multipurpose building with FEMA safe-room standards. It will have classrooms, a gymnasium, locker rooms, a concession area and storage areas. "We felt like every community needed a place for the community to go, and if something happened during the school day, we are obligated for the safety of the students," said Dr. Nicholas Thiele, school superintendent.
FEMA will pick up $1.1 million of the tab for the project, which Thiele said should be completed by December. Puxico, a district next door to Bloomfield, is working on a similar FEMA safe room.
Entities covered by a local hazard mitigation plan are eligible for a safe room grant, said Mike O'Connell, spokesman for the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, which manages the grants. Those entities are typically counties, cities, school districts, colleges and universities. A private entity could be eligible if a city or county applied on its behalf. For example, O'Connell said, a county government could apply on behalf of a private school.
-- Erin Ragan Many public schools in D.C.’s poorest area should be transformed or shut, study says; more charters recommended-- Washington Post District of Columbia: January 26, 2012 [ abstract] A new study commissioned by D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray recommends that the city turn around or close more than three dozen traditional public schools in its poorest neighborhoods and expand the number of high-performing charter schools.
( Read the full text of “Quality Schools: Every Child, Every School, Every Neighborhood” )
The findings of the study by the Chicago-based IFF, to be made public Thursday, are likely to rekindle impassioned debate about possible school closures and the future of public education in the District. The study also signals the start of an unprecedented attempt to coordinate decision making between two school sectors that have operated independently and at times competed for Funding and other resources.
More than 40 percent of the city’s 78,000 public students attend publicly funded, independently operated charter schools, the largest concentration in the nation outside of New Orleans. At current rates of growth, a majority of the city’s public enrollment could be in charters within three to four years.
Some advocates of traditional public schools have raised questions about possible bias in the study. IFF, which provides financial support and real estate consulting to nonprofit organizations, has made more than $57 million in loans to charter schools, according to information it provided the District. The study was underwritten by a $100,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation, one of the nation’s leading benefactors of charter schools. Walton is also a major private donor to D.C. Public Schools. Company officials have said that their work looks at both school sectors objectively.
The study could also eventually serve as the basis for another major round of traditional public school closures, a politically and emotionally bruising process last undertaken by then-Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee during Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s administration. Although traditional public school enrollment has leveled off at about 46,000 after decades of decline, the system still has an excess of capacity. More than 40 schools have 300 or fewer students, many of them struggling academically.
City officials said that decisions about any major restructuring will not be made for at least a year and only after close consultation with affected communities.
Gray (D) said Wednesday that there is no basis for concerns that he will hand the city school system over to charter schools, especially given the hundreds of millions of dollars the District has invested in renovating and rebuilding traditional school campuses.
“It’s ludicrous,” he said. “I believe very strongly in both sectors, and I’m looking for the best education solutions.”
-- Bill Turque Baltimore Citys Schools Chief wants to borrow $1.2 billion to repair city schools-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: January 25, 2012 [ abstract] Baltimore City's schools chief told state legislators Tuesday that he hopes to borrow $1.2 billion— six times more than the school system's current bonding authority — to pay for a massive and rapid overhaul of the city's crumbling public school buildings.
"What is unique is the extent of the need in Baltimore City," said Andrés Alonso, the school system's CEO, ticking off a list of problems from faulty heating systems to broken windows. "This will allow us to really target, in a short period of time, huge systemic needs."
Alonso told members of the Senate's Budget and Taxation committee that such a plan could save the city time and money by combining the needed repairs into a single construction initiative and that work would begin as soon as Funding becomes available.
But the plan hinges on financial commitments from the state and an increase in the city's bottle tax — both of which could prove tough sells. Sen. James E. DeGrange Sr., an Anne Arundel County Democrat, raised concerns about increasing the city's tax on bottled beverages, a proposal that has drawn opposition from retailers and the beverage industry and citizens weary of the city's high tax rates.
-- Julie Scharper Marion school official outlines how upgrades have lowered energy costs-- Marion Star Ohio: January 25, 2012 [ abstract] As the public continues to scrutinize school Funding, Marion City Schools told a group of business leaders this week that it is watching its dollars.
Assistant Superintendent Roger George outlined ways the district is saving on utility costs during the district's monthly business leaders luncheon at the administration center. He attributed much of the savings to new and renovated school buildings that were a result of a $97 million Ohio School Facilities Commission project completed in 2004.
He also spoke of more recent upgrades that improve monitoring of energy costs.
"We are doing our best to save some nickels and dimes," Superintendent James Barney said.
Marion City Schools partnered with the OSFC in 2001 to reduce the number of buildings from 15 to nine. OSFC money and revenue generated by a bond issue and 1999 tax levy funded the project.
George said the district spent about $1.43 million on utility costs during the 2004-05 school year. By the 2008-09 school year, the expense had dropped to about $1.36 million, and during the 2010-11 school year was about $1.1 million.
"We keep working every year to do a little better," he said.
New schools have allowed for more automation of utilities and more opportunities for energy efficiency.
-- Kurt Moore Assemblyman to Probe Stalled NJ School Projects-- New Jersey Public Radio New Jersey: January 23, 2012 [ abstract]
The chairman of the New Jersey Assembly Education Committee said he plans to hold investigative hearings in February about why the Christie Administration has begun so few school construction and repair projects.
"It's an absolute disgrace that the School Development Authority has not started construction on even one school in the state of New Jersey,†said Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan (D-East Brunswick), who chairs the Education Committee.
The New Jersey Schools Development Authority has spent $50 million a year running its agency, Diegnan said.
The SDA had so many problems when Christie took office that it first had to first change the way building projects were evaluated, according to its spokeswoman Kristin MacLean.
But Diegnan doesn't accept that explanation.
â€"Two years to straighten it out and they still have not started construction on one school in New Jersey?†Diegnan said. â€"They've put on a few roofs, done a few safety and health issues. It's just incomprehensible to me.â€
The Education Law Center in Newark said hundreds of school building and repair projects in the state's low-income cities are shovel-ready but stalled. The center is well known for its advocacy for state Funding of low-income school districts and has won a series of lawsuits against the state over the past 20 years.
The organization is calling for an investigation and says it may sue the state if building projects do not begin soon.
-- Nancy Solomon Leggett plans cut in school construction funding-- Washington Examiner Maryland: January 17, 2012 [ abstract] Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett proposed the first cut to school construction Funding in more than 20 years, delaying middle and high school modernizations amid an enrollment boom that is straining the school system.
Leggett's $4.21 billion capital improvement program proposal offers $1.36 billion to Montgomery County Public Schools, a 3 percent cut from two years ago
and 9 percent less than the $1.49 billion that Superintendent Joshua Starr requested.
Leggett's proposal covers the cost of two new elementary schools, one new middle school, six elementary school additions and one middle school addition. But Leggett recommended one-year delays for middle and high school modernizations, which replace part or all of aging school buildings.
"Secondary school modernizations have been very expensive -- making it challenging to meet other critical schools capital needs," he wrote in a memo to the County Council. He said officials must "revisit the costly practice of 'tear down and rebuild' modernizations."
School enrollment has boomed by nearly 9,000 students since 2007, topping out at a record 146,497. By 2017, the school system expects to be serving more than 156,000 students, with most growth occurring in the early grades; 90 percent of the district's 350 portable classrooms are at elementary schools.
-- Lisa Gartner Florda Gov. Scott halts funding for school construction-- The Real Deal Florida: January 16, 2012 [ abstract] A $2 billion state budget shortfall forced Governor Rick Scott to discontinue Funding for construction projects at public schools, colleges and universities across Florida, the Associated Press reported, including stopping payments for some work that is only half complete.
A new forecast showed the state would have no new construction money ready for schools and colleges in the next two years. As a result, in addition to halting payments, Scott ordered state education officials to give him a list that details funds left over from older construction projects that can be shifted to cover $250 million worth of school construction work that’s been approved but not funded. Many school construction projects are planned over several phases and years.
The suspension does not apply to previously approved and financed projects, the AP said, and education officials insisted the halt suspension of Funding was only temporar as it works to restructure its budget. [AP via NBC Miami]
-- Staff Writer Paterson Still Waiting For $4.4 Million in "Expedited" School Repairs-- The Alternative Press New Jersey: January 14, 2012 [ abstract] At School 26, bricks have fallen from the building. At School 15, there are problems with the sewage system. At School 16, retaining walls are defective. At Kennedy High, a boiler used to heat classrooms needs to be replaced.
These were among 15 emergent projects which are defined by state law as those "where health-and-safety reasons dictate that rehabilitation work is necessary on an expedited basis" - for which Paterson Public Schools has sought $4.4 million in Funding from the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA).
Paterson's application was submitted back in March, along with hundreds of other requests for repairs from urban school districts in New Jersey. More than nine months later, the SDA has yet to approve any of the repairs requested by Paterson or by any other school district in the state.
"It leaves our children with no heat, or leaky roofs or other problems that impede their ability and the ability of their teachers to focus on the learning they need to do," said Irene Sterling, head of the Paterson Education Fund, an advocacy group.
"These emergency conditions impact the health, safety and well-being of thousands of students, teachers and other staff every day," said David Sciarra, executive director of the Newark-based Education Law Center. "By failing to promptly correct these conditions, the DOE (Department of Education) and SDA have put thousands of children, young people and adults in harms' way. The lack of action by the State is inexcusable."
-- Joe Malinconico HUNDREDS OF EMERGENCY REPAIRS IN URBAN SCHOOLS IGNORED BY NJ CHRISTIE ADMINISTRATION-- Education Law Center New Jersey: January 12, 2012 [ abstract] As Governor Christie¡¯s shutdown of the State school construction program enters its third year, hundreds of requests by districts for emergency health and safety repairs in urban school buildings have gone unanswered for months by the NJ Department of Education (DOE) and the Schools Development Authority (SDA).
In a sharply worded letter to the DOE Office of School Facilities, Education Law Center (ELC) demands that the Department immediately advise districts whether their requests for emergent projects have been approved, and that all approved projects be sent to the SDA for completion of the repairs. Under the state facilities law and the landmark Abbott v. Burke rulings, the DOE and SDA are responsible for Funding and completing emergency repair projects in urban school buildings on an ¡°expedited basis.¡±
In June 2011, the DOE and SDA asked urban districts ¨C designated as ¡°SDA districts¡± under State law ¨C to submit requests for emergency health and safety repair projects for review and action under an initiative called the ¡°Potential Emergent Projects Program¡± (PEPP). In response, almost all SDA districts submitted extensive lists of health, safety and other hazardous conditions in need of emergent repair for State review. Below are just a few examples of district submissions:
¡ñ Camden submitted over 150 emergent projects, including fixing water filtration systems to provide potable water in several schools, replacing collapsed ceilings, shoring up falling structural building facades, replacing leaking roofs and boilers, and fixing fire alarm systems.
¡ñ Trenton requested approval for nearly 100 emergent projects, including replacing windows and outdated security equipment, upgrading electrical wiring, and fixing leaking roofs.
¡ñ Newark filed 128 requests for emergent projects to address a wide range of health and safety defects, including antiquated fire alarm systems, faulty and broken heating boilers and HVAC units, leaking roofs, and falling brick and masonry facades and chimneys.
Despite the urgent and compelling need, the DOE and SDA have yet to make a decision on any one of these hundreds of requests. As ELC states in its demand letter to the agencies, this failure to act ¡°directly conflicts¡± with clear legal requirements in the State facilities law, DOE regulations and the Abbott rulings.
-- Sharon Krengel Maine State board sets school construction funding priority list-- Kennebec Journal Maine: January 12, 2012 [ abstract] School construction projects in Newport and Sanford make up two-thirds of a list of projects the State Board of Education has committed to fund.
The board voted Wednesday to place six schools on the approved projects list of the Major Capital Improvement Program. The projects topped a priority list developed last year based on ratings of needs by state facility evaluators.
Monmouth Middle School, ranked ninth on the priority list, did not make the approved roster, but that does not rule out Regional School Unit 2 from receiving future state Funding for a renovation or replacement.
The priority list will remain in place for at least a few years, so if more money becomes available during that time, Monmouth Middle School would be among the first projects to be approved, board members said.
"It's not the end of the road for Nos. 7, 8, 9 and the rest of them," state board member Martha Temple Tardy said.
The approved projects are a high school and an elementary school in Sanford, a high school and an elementary school in Newport and elementary schools in Corinth and Fryeburg.
Department of Education staff will work with those school districts to develop solutions to existing facility needs, whether that means renovating or replacing buildings.
No one yet knows how much the six projects will cost. It's also not clear how much Funding will be available, as money for school construction comes out of the state's general aid to education.
"We wanted to be on the conservative side of this as we move forward, because we don't know what the economy is going to bring," Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen said.
-- Susan McMillan Bill seeks to create funding to rebuild schools-- Birmingham Business Journal Alabama: January 09, 2012 [ abstract] State Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow has pre-filed a legislative bill that would provide Funding to help rebuild six schools in Alabama that were severely damaged by last April’s tornadoes that swept through the state. According to the Times Daily, the bill will make a supplemental appropriation of more than $32 million from the Education Trust Fund to the five school systems.
The DeKalb County School System would receive $3.8 million for Plaiview High School; the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education would receive $2.4 million for Alberta Elementary and University Place Elementary schools; the Tuscaloosa County School System would receive $1.1 million for Holt Elementary; the Marion County School System would receive $13.8 million for Hackleburg High School; and the Franklin County School System would receive $11.6 million for Phil Campbell High School.
-- Staff Writer Christie Pledges School Aid Battle -- Wall Street Journal New Jersey: January 09, 2012 [ abstract] Gov. Chris Christie plans a new challenge to a court-ordered state education Funding formula that has provided billions of dollars in extra Funding to poverty-stricken schools within the so-called Abbott districts.
While he didn't discuss specifics of how he would continue the fight, Mr. Christie said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that he would nominate two state Supreme Court judges this spring who won't "grossly" overstep their powers—as he argues the court has by ordering more school Funding.
"Eventually, the court is going to admit it was wrong or I'm going to be able to change the court so that the new members are not as tethered to the Abbott decision," Mr. Christie said during a 45-minute interview with the Journal ahead of his State of the State speech Tuesday. "They will be able to admit on behalf of their predecessors that they were wrong."
Mr. Christie was referring to a 3-2 decision in May by the state Supreme Court that the governor's cuts to education Funding were unconstitutional. The court ordered him to send about $500 million more to 31 of New Jersey's poorest and most underfunded school districts.
The Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Christie's budget violated the state constitution by shortchanging the school Funding plan adopted by the Legislature in 2008 and affirmed by the court in 2009. The case, Abbott v. Burke—a legal challenge filed more than three decades ago—has led to the state pouring billions of additional dollars into some of its poorest districts over the years.
David Sciarra of the Education Law Center, the Newark-based advocacy group that brought the lawsuit against the state, said the court has already upheld the school spending plan, and Mr. Christie's energies would be better directed toward providing "adequate and equitable Funding" to all New Jersey public schools.
"We need to move past this kind of discussion about the courts. That's over," he said.
Still, Mr. Christie stands to have new power to shape future decisions made by the state's highest court. Mr. Christie could nominate two new Republicans to the court in March to fill seats held by Democrats, potentially tipping the traditionally liberal-leaning court toward a GOP-majority.
-- HEATHER HADDON O’Malley to push $350 million for Maryland school construction-- Washington Post Maryland: January 09, 2012 [ abstract] Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on Tuesday will propose spending more than $350 million next year on public school construction, the second highest amount in state history, according to several people familiar with his plans.
O’Malley (D) will cast his proposal as one in a series of initiatives meant to spur job creation as the state recovers from the national recession, aides said.
With the General Assembly set to reconvene Wednesday, O’Malley has scheduled two other events this week to lay out key parts of an ambitious agenda for the 90-day session. One of them may detail a plan to raise revenue for transportation projects.
O’Malley, whose office declined to comment publicly Monday on his plans, has sought to make school construction a priority since he first ran for governor in 2006. News of an uptick in Funding was welcomed by officials in the Washington suburbs.
“We have a host of schools where people still don’t have gyms, where they are sitting in closets, where they don’t get fed until 2 o’clock in the afternoon because the cafeteria isn’t big enough,” said Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner (D-Potomac-Bethesda).
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) said the proposed Funding would spur local job growth in the construction sector. “Of course,” he added, “you have to make certain that you get your fair share of that amount.”
Thomas Himler, the deputy chief administrative officer for budget, finance and administration in Prince George’s County, said its expected share of the $350 million would put the county in range of what it is seeking from the state.
-- John Wagner NH House voting on school construction bills-- boston.com New Hampshire: January 02, 2012 [ abstract] New Hampshire’s 57-year tradition of helping pay for public school construction without limits on who gets aid would change to a system with the state prioritizing projects.
The House votes this month on legislation that would create a ranking system. The goal is to target state aid to communities with the greatest need, something Democratic Gov. John Lynch has been calling for to ease the cost to the state while helping poorer communities renovate and replace schools.
The ranking system would end the state’s current blank-check approach to Funding local aid requests. The state would instead choose projects that meet criteria to be developed by the Department of Education over the next two years.
-- Associated Press |
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