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Facilities News - Since 2001
Justice Department Webinar on Designing Accessible Public Schools is a Key Resource for School Safety Planning-- U.S. Department of Justice Federal: September 17, 2024 [ abstract] An important area for school safety planning that is often overlooked is school accessibility for students with disabilities. Accessibility barriers in public schools remain pervasive even decades after passage of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which bars disability discrimination by recipients of federal financial assistance, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Some of these barriers pose significant problems for ensuring school safety for students with disabilities. For example, students who use wheelchairs or mobility scooters must have an effective means of evacuating during a safety threat situation, such as a fire emergency, when elevators may not be used.
-- Staff Writer School Gardens Encourage Overall Learning-- HillRag District of Columbia: September 03, 2024 [ abstract] In March 2020, as the pandemic struck, St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School (4700 Whitehaven Pkwy NW) faced a dilemma shared by many schools: how to safely educate its 465 students ranging in age from nursery school to grade 8. Assistant Head of Lower School and Director of Sustainability Sam Mason had already been considering building a garden on property near to the school’s athletic field at 8101 Foxhall Rd. NW. The school accelerated the process.
During the summer of 2020, the school community partnered with District landscaping and gardening company Love & Carrots to design and build the fenced-in garden, complete with three outdoor classrooms.
Having the outdoor space was especially valuable for classes and activities during the pandemic when indoor spaces had more restrictions, Mason said. But it continues to serve that role today, encouraging the development of the whole child while reinforcing and broadening learning possibilities in science, art and environmental learning.
-- Elizabeth OGorek Pender County Schools kicks off start of construction on the district's newest K-8 school-- Star News Online North Carolina: August 21, 2024 [ abstract] Pender County officials gathered this week to kick off the start of construction for the school district's newest K-8 school.
The new school is designed to accommodate the district's increasing student population and went through a significant redesign earlier in the year, according to a press release from the district. The redesign added an additional 24,000 square feet of classroom space by incorporating a second story on the middle school wing. This will enable the school to accommodate 312 more students, bringing the total school capacity to 2,312.
"Today's groundbreaking is a testament to our district's commitment to providing exceptional educational facilities that meet the evolving needs of our community," Superintendent Brad Breedlove said, according to the release. "The expanded capacity of this new K-8 school will ensure that our students have access to the resources and space they need to thrive academically and socially."
-- Madison Lipe San Antonio ISD designates 4 shuttered campuses as backup schools amid HVAC concerns-- San Antonio Report Texas: August 12, 2024 [ abstract] Four San Antonio Independent School District schools shuttered over the summer are already being reopened as “swing campuses” where students will be transported in the event temperatures become too hot at their home campuses.
The contingency is one of three developed in response to aging HVAC infrastructure, which buckled during a winter freeze in January, prompting a facilities assessment and overhaul of the district’s operations department.
As part of that overhaul, the district created a dashboard, where conditions can be monitored by district staff in realtime. It’s color-coded based on conditions with green for fully operational and red for ongoing issues.
-- Isaac Windes More community schoolyards coming for Tacoma-- Tacoma Weekly Washington: July 29, 2024 [ abstract] Tacoma Public Schools is celebrating the completion of 17 new playgrounds, marking a significant milestone in the district’s commitment to fostering vibrant and inclusive recreational spaces.
Stanley Elementary recently unveiled its new Pre-k and K-5 playground set. The Pre-k play area is designed to support students with diverse needs. The K-5 playground equipment includes an outdoor fitness obstacle course, safety surfacing, slides, shaded area, swings and climbing structures that are ADA compliant. The new play structures have perimeter fencing that secures the site while also providing access for the public to use the play areas during non-school hours.
Newly constructed schools Skyline, Downing, Fawcett, and Bryant (currently under construction) also got new playgrounds with their new building.
Additionally, as part of the Community School Yard program, Reed and Stafford received new playgrounds, while Mann, Larchmont and Whitman elementary schools will receive new playgrounds next year.
Community School Yards is a national project of The Trust for Public Lands in partnership with Metro Parks Tacoma. Learn more at metroparkstacoma.org/project/community-schoolyards.
-- Staff Writer 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 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 Bids sought for new K-5 elementary school in Amherst-- Daily Hampshire Gazette Massachusetts: July 04, 2024 [ abstract] AMHERST — A municipal advertisement is seeking bids from general contractors interested in constructing the planned $97.5 million, net-zero energy elementary school building next to the existing Fort River Elementary School at 70 South East St.
On Wednesday, the advertisement for bids was published in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and bid forms and contract documents were posted online for the 105,750-square-foot building where 575 students in kindergarten through grade 5 will be taught beginning in the fall of 2026. Electronic bids are due by Aug. 14 at 2 p.m., with an optional prebid conference and site visit set for July 17 at 9 a.m.
The advertisement states that $78 million is the estimated cost of construction for the building designs, completed by DiNisco design of Boston. The total cost for the project includes so-called soft costs, such as equipment and furnishings.
-- SCOTT MERZBACH Montgomery ISD to purchase $534K of entry-resistant glass for exterior buildings-- abc13.com Texas: July 02, 2024 [ abstract] MONTGOMERY, Texas -- Entry-resistant safety glass will be installed at Montgomery ISD buildings after the district's board of trustees unanimously approved the $533,598 purchase on June 25.
The specifics
About 21,000 square feet of safety glass for exterior windows will be purchased, Brad Mansfield, MISD's chief facilities & operations officer, said on June 25. The glass is not bulletproof or bullet-resistant, but it is designed to slow the entry of someone trying to break into the building, he said.
"You can't put enough rounds through (the safety glass) to where you can just shoot the glass out. ... It's still going to be three (to) six minutes of hacking away at one window to get in," Superintendent Mark Ruffin said.
-- Emily Lincke 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 Bond bill: 5 school districts will share $160 million for projects-- Delaware Live Delaware: June 25, 2024 [ abstract] The state will invest $160 million for school projects in six districts and $100 million in deferred maintenance and capital improvements in state buildings, according to the $1.1 billion capital budget introduced Monday.
The $160 million for school construction projects is the largest amount of money designated and will go to Smyrna, Red Clay, Colonial, New Castle County Vo-Tech, Polytech and Christina school districts. It represents the state’s share of construction after all six districts applied for the construction money, were approved and then had to get residents to vote for tax increases to pay the district share.
The capital budget includes investments in roadway enhancements, school construction, state building renovations, economic development initiatives, and various projects to protect Delaware’s natural resources.
House Bill 475, known as the Fiscal Year 2025 Bond Bill, is created by the Joint Capital Improvement Committee, a 12-member panel of legislators who draft the state’s capital spending plan.
-- Betsy Price Inflation impacts school construction projects-- WJAR Rhode Island: June 13, 2024 [ abstract] Voters in Warwick approved $350 million in bonds in 2022 to replace Toll Gate and Pilgrim High Schools, but rising construction costs are impacting the price tags.
"We have had to make some alterations so that way we can get those schools done within the $350 million price point," said Warwick School Committee Member Shaun Galligan. He added, "For Toll Gate, we had to change up the initial design to minimize the excavation costs, so we had to follow the lay of the land over on that side of the city."
In November of 2022, voters approved a bond measure to build two new high schools on the fields of the existing schools.
Since then, construction costs have spiked across the nation.
-- LIZ BATESON Inside a New School Built to Be Climate-Resilient-- Education Week Oregon: June 05, 2024 [ abstract] The Lake Osewego school district in Oregon is no stranger to climate crises and their impact on students, families, and the broader community.
After years of close encounters with extreme weather and wildfires, as well as the constant threat of earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest, the district south of Portland rebuilt one of its elementary schools in the hopes of never again being caught flat-footed.
The 79,000-square-foot facility can accommodate 600 students. But what sets it apart is that it’s specially designed to withstand the compounding and often difficult-to-predict fallout of climate change, which the community has experienced over and over in recent years.
It is believed to be one of first K-12 schools in America to get its energy from a microgrid—a self-sufficient energy system that can operate independently from the area’s electric grid, supplied in part by an onsite solar panel array. The setup means the school’s power can stay on, even when the rest of surrounding area goes dark. That could translate to fewer emergency school closures as the building is able to maintain power and heating and cooling systems. And it’s part of what makes the school suitable as an emergency shelter for the community during natural catastrophes.
-- Caitlynn Peetz Some emergency officials dropping the word ‘shelter’ as Hawaii buildings don’t meet standards-- khon2.com Hawaii: May 31, 2024 [ abstract] HONOLULU (KHON2) – From an engineering standpoint, emergency officials say most Hawaii buildings do not meet hurricane shelter criteria.
“The state has criteria for shelters depending on construction and design and most of the buildings in our inventory don’t meet that criteria,” explained Honolulu’s Department of Emergency Management Director Hiro Toiya.
Kauai and Honolulu have sought alternatives known as hurricane refuge areas which are mostly in state Department of Education school buildings, like gyms or cafeterias.
“So, while these buildings do not meet the criteria and definition of a hurricane shelter, they do serve as better alternative and they are the best we have in our building inventory to make available to the public,” Toiya explained.
-- Nikki Schenfeld Scorching schoolyards: California groups want more trees, less asphalt at schools-- Cal Matters California: May 21, 2024 [ abstract]
Schoolyards are hot and getting hotter, but only a tiny fraction of California’s grade school students can play in the shade.
Researchers and advocates are pushing the state to allocate money for green schoolyards, which can include trees, grass or gardens in place of the flat asphalt or rubber play surfaces at most schools.
With the help of more than $121 million in state grants, 164 schools already are on their way to either designing or building green schoolyards. Many more applied for the school greening grants, with requests totaling more than $350 million for projects they hoped to build.
The high applicant numbers highlight growing demand for greenery at schools as the climate gets hotter. But with California’s Green Schoolyards program depleted and a state general budget deficit of $56 billion over the next two fiscal years, where will the money for green school projects come from?
Some environmental groups are pushing for a proposed climate bond that would include $350 million for the green schoolyards program. They also are pushing for a $1 billion carve-out in a proposed $14-$15 billion school infrastructure bond that could go before voters this November.
-- ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE 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 Santa Monica school expansion delayed by toxic dry cleaning chemicals in soil-- Los Angeles Times California: April 22, 2024 [ abstract] For years, school district officials had grand designs to revamp the campus of McKinley Elementary in Santa Monica.
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District intended to build a two-story building with eight state-of-the-art classrooms and a modernized front office. The project had already been funded by a previous bond measure and splashy renderings were publicized by district staff.
Last year, however, a district-hired inspector discovered dangerous levels of toxic vapors percolating in the soil at the proposed construction site, a parking lot on the northeast end of campus. Since then, state regulators have concluded the contaminants likely migrated underground from a dry cleaner across the street.
Although these hazardous fumes were not detected above state health limits inside school buildings, regulators determined the contamination could pose a risk to public health if the ground were disturbed or new construction was sited on top.
-- Tony Briscoe First phase of LCSD1 school facilities study complete; more to come-- Wyomingnews.com Wyoming: April 12, 2024 [ abstract] CHEYENNE — It’s been almost a year since students from Arp Elementary School were moved into a swing space, and it’s been more than two years since the local school district asked for money to demolish and rebuild the south Cheyenne school.
The good news is that the funds to design and build two new elementary schools in Laramie County School District 1 has been secured from the Wyoming Legislature. However, school district officials are still in conversation with the State Construction Department (SCD) about where those buildings should go.
-- Hannah Shields Surprise, surprise: Students excel in modernized K-12 school buildings-- Building Design + Construction National: April 10, 2024 [ abstract] More than 49 million students were enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools as of fall 2021, according to the Digest of Education Statistics. Coincidentally, that number (the “49” in 49 million) matches the average age of a main instructional school building in the U.S., according to the National Center for Education Statistics. More alarming, nearly four in 10 schools (38%) were built before 1970—and half of those have never had a major building renovation or addition.
Clearly, too many of the nation’s school districts are having to make it work with less-than-ideal educational facilities. But at what cost to student performance and staff satisfaction?
Newly released findings from a 28-school research study by Drexel University and Perkins Eastman reveal a strong correlation between the quality of school building environments and key educational indicators like test scores, graduation rates, enrollment, teacher retention—even community health and wellness.
The study, “Addressing a Multi-Billion Dollar Challenge” (140-page PDF download at BDCnetwork.com/2024-school-study), investigated the differences between modernized and non-modernized elementary, middle, and high schools—17 modernized, 11 non-modernized—throughout Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.
-- DAVID BARISTA Bringing staff and student voices into the school design process-- K-12 Dive National: April 09, 2024 [ abstract] When the class of 2021 at Putnam City High School was asked where they wanted to hold their prom, district administrators were anticipating suggestions for a variety of picturesque venues around Oklahoma City.
But their request was a pleasant surprise to staff — the students chose to hold prom at nearby James L. Capps Middle School, a then-new building in Putnam City Schools.
The school, which opened in 2020, sits on 38 acres and features a spring-fed creek that runs under a glass skybridge connecting different wings of the building. With its tall glass windows and large indoor gathering areas, Capps is a source of pride for the community.
“It has become a destination for all of our schools,” said Putnam Superintendent Fred Rhodes. “It’s just off-the-charts cool.”
The enthusiasm for the building can be traced to the district’s efforts to include student and staff voice in the school design process, Rhodes said.
-- Kara Arundel School Overcrowding Once Again Is the Main Topic at School Committee Meeting
-- Everett Independent Massachusetts: March 21, 2024 [ abstract] The issue of overcrowding at all the city’s public schools once again had School Committee members looking for more information at Monday’s night meeting of the Everett School Committee.
“Class size is closer to 32-35 students per classroom, as opposed to the 28 pupils that classrooms have been designed to accommodate,” School Superintendent William Hart told the committee.
The issue of overcrowding in the local schools has been a problem for the past several years with no easy solution in sight. As of today, the newest school building, Everett High School, which was designed to hold 1,800 students, is now housing almost 2,200 students. Many students for special programs are being taught in converted storage closets or reconfigured spaces such as the old print shop at Everett High. The new library at Everett High has been adapted to accommodate some of the one-on-one tutoring that is needed by students.
-- Staff Writer $94 million in school construction projects identified-- The Transylvania Times North Carolina: March 05, 2024 [ abstract] The county’s recent school facilities assessment recommends spending at least $94 million dollars on construction projects in the next 10 years on all structures owned by the Board of Education.
That proposed price tag, which is expected to increase to $121 million once all design fees, permits, insurance and professional fees are factored in, was presented to members of the Board of Education and the Transylvania County Board of Commissioners at a special joint meeting of the two boards Monday afternoon.
Last year both boards established a special education capital work group composed of Transylvania County Manager Jaime Laughter, School Superintendent Lisa Fletcher, retired Henderson County Manager Steve Wyatt, retired Henderson County Schools Superintendent Bo Caldwell and representatives from the Axias consulting firm to assess all school buildings and identify repairs that need to be made throughout the school system within the next decade.
“Our recommendation is that you take the reality of where you are and you make the best decisions that you can make,” Wyatt said to the gathering of the two groups Monday. “Those decisions lead to investments because time is money and you’ll get more bang for your buck the sooner you can make decisions and move forward.”
“Now is the opportunity to fix things and fix them right,” added Caldwell. “Here you have an opportunity as county commissioners and the school board to work as a group to provide the facilities that these children can learn in for the next several years.”
-- Jonathan Rich New middle school, more space needed as Central Maui schools are over capacity-- khon2 Hawaii: March 05, 2024 [ abstract] HONOLULU (KHON2) — With a growing population in Central Maui, the Legislature already approved designing a new Maui middle and a new elementary school in the area before the Maui wildfires. Following the disaster, the School Facilities Authority, a state agency tasked with building new schools, said this is needed more than ever.
“A significant portion of the population has moved to both central and south Maui because there’s just no housing and more will come right as people get placed in long-term housing,” said Ricki Fujitani, School Facilities Authority Interim Executive Director.
The School Facilities Authority said the projects need to be completed within the next four years. Its statistics already show Paia Elementary School is at 164 percent capacity, Iao Intermediate is at 120 percent, and Maui High School is at 116 percent.
-- Kristy Tamashiro Jefferson Parish is building 2 new state-of-the-art schools. But one may have to move.-- Nola.com Louisiana: March 01, 2024 [ abstract]
When Jefferson Parish School Board shuttered six schools at the end of last year, they agreed to build two new state-of-the-art facilities for students, one at Bunche Elementary in Metairie and one at St. Ville Elementary in Harvey.
The new school on the east bank would serve students from the newly combined Washington Elementary and Bunche Elementary. Students from St. Ville were temporarily sent to Woodmere Elementary while the district completes the school.
But district officials say the footprint of the St. Ville school is too small for their designs, leaving its future location up in the air.
Where could it go?
Officials have considered several sites for the school, including the Martin Luther King playground site, at 2400 Leicester Street, and the Helen Cox High School site, at 2200 Lapalco Blvd. Helen Cox is slated for demolition soon.
David Lachin, of Lachin Architects, told the school board facilities committee this week that building the school on the playground site would require about significant prep work.
They would have to move municipal utilities that run through the site, a project that would cost around $1.5 million and would include moving 30-inch lines buried between six and ten feet under the ground, Lachin said.
The footprint of the building would also be limited to 90,000 square feet based on the size of the property and would need to go up two stories, he said.
-- Marie Fazio ‘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 Construction of DoDEA 21st Century School taking shape at Fort Campbell-- U.S. Army DoDEA: February 26, 2024 [ abstract] Construction of DoDEA 21st Century School taking shape at Fort Campbell
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A new 167,000 square-foot Department of Defense Education Activity middle school at Fort Campbell, Kentucky., is more than 70 percent complete with a majority of the 35 learning neighborhoods having drywall in place.
"Constructing the new Fort Campbell Middle School is not just building walls and classrooms,” said Charles King, Facilities Engineer and DoDEA Project Manager. “We're creating a student-centered 21st Century learning environment where future generations will thrive.”
Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, 55th Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer toured the middle school and spoke with USACE personnel and contractors to get an overview of how DoDEA’s 21st century learning concepts are designed into the school.
The project includes 69,000 square feet of building demolition and 41,000 square feet of renovation to the old middle school.
-- Charles Delano 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 ‘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 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 Bill to allow localities to charge 1% sales tax to fund construction, renovation of schools advances in Senate -- WRIC.com Virginia: January 23, 2024 [ abstract] RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Help could be on the way for schools across Virginia, because on Jan. 23, the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee advanced a proposal designed to dedicate more money toward school infrastructure.
The bill, authored by State Senator Jeremy McPike (D-Prince William), would allow all localities in Virginia to charge an additional 1% sales tax to fund school construction and renovation, but only if voters of that locality approve the increase through a referendum.
“This will give the local citizens the opportunity to choose whether they want to increase the local sales tax so they can improve schools for kids in their community,” explained Washington County School Superintendent Keith Perrigan, who also represents 81 school districts as President of The Coalition of Small and Rural Schools of Virginia.
Currently, only nine municipalities have approval from the Virginia General Assembly to charge such a tax.
Perrigan said many localities can’t afford the cost of renovating their existing schools or building new ones.
-- Tyler Englander 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 Helena schools consider array of cuts, including closures, to offset budget shortfall -- Montana Free Press Montana: January 10, 2024 [ abstract] Helena Public Schools will consider an array of options, including the closing of schools, to help cope with the maintenance backlog throughout the district, the schools’ superintendent said.
The district has about $8.3 million budgeted to spend on its buildings during the current school year, while the maintenance updates are expected to cost close to $90 million, Superintendent Rex Weltz recently told Montana Free Press.
Because the district cannot afford to update every building’s needs at the same time, it hired SMA Architecture and design to help develop a plan that will frame the options the district can take to approach the budget shortfall, including the possible closure of some buildings.
Weltz, who took on the position in 2021, explained that the plan will help the district better strategize how it moves forward.
-- JoVonne Wagner FACT SHEET: Inflation Reduction Act Tax Credits Can Fund School Facilities Upgrades and Reduce School District Energy Bi-- U.S. Department of the Treasury National: January 04, 2024 [ abstract] According to the U.S. Department of Energy, K-12 school districts spend nearly $8 billion annually on energy costs, the second largest expense after teacher salaries. Aging facilities combined with limited school budgets can result in deferred maintenance of facilities, with current estimates of around $270 billion needed for infrastructure repairs.
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a grant program funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) focused on energy improvements at public school facilities, especially in the highest-need districts, and designed to save schools money. Similarly, the White House released a toolkit on federal resources for addressing school infrastructure needs in April 2022. And today, the Department of Education is announcing its grantees under the Supporting America's School Infrastructure grant program, which 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.
Maryland Energy Administration to help public schools reduce carbon emissions-- Maryland Daily Record Maryland: January 03, 2024 [ abstract] The Maryland Energy Administration on Wednesday unveiled an ambitious plan to help K-12 public schools across the state reduce and eliminate carbon emissions. The Decarbonizing Public Schools Program will provide capital to help local education agencies more fully incorporate a wide range of clean energy and energy efficiency measures into Maryland’s public schools.
The program provides incentives for a comprehensive suite of grants focused on capacity building, infrastructure upgrades, renewable energy adoption and the use of new, sustainable construction methods. Notably, the Decarbonizing Public Schools Program will expand statewide construction and access to net zero energy schools – school buildings that create and save as much renewable energy as they use.
Under a precursor to this program, Maryland built and opened its first three net zero energy schools. The first was Wilde Lake Middle School in Howard County, followed by Holabird Academy and the Graceland Park/O’Donnell Heights Elementary/Middle School, both in Baltimore City. This new initiative will help local education agencies retrofit, design and construct state-of-the-art, net zero energy campuses that produce enough on-location renewable energy to meet their total annual electricity demands.
-- Staff Writer Helena Public Schools working on Facilities Master Plan-- KTVH Montana: December 15, 2023 [ abstract]
HELENA — Helena Public Schools is currently working on a Facilities Master Plan. This plan will set the course on how the school district allocates funds to repair and maintain school property.
“Without that document, then we’re really just being reactive to emergencies,” says Helena Public Schools Superintendent Rex Weltz.
Helena Public Schools commissioned SMA Architecture + design to create plan options for elementary, middle, and high schools.
“We have a great example of three brand new buildings, that’s amazing for our students and we have 100-year-old buildings. And so, the board’s gonna need to make, and we will make, recommendations to the board on where do we think that money’s best spent,” says Weltz.
Weltz says that the options will span from comprehensive remodels to full school closure and consolidation. Weltz says that if that option is chosen, there will be plenty of notice for families.
Much of the reason for this Facilities Master Plan is budgeting. While the school does have a building reserve fund, it’s not enough to cover about $90 million worth of deferred maintenance. With rising costs, inflation, and declining attendance the school’s dollar doesn’t go as far as prior years. This impact was seen earlier this year when the district made the decision to close the Ray Bjork Learning Center, relocating programs to other school property.
-- Tom Buchanan School Building Authority advances new school projects in Belchertown, South Hadley-- Daily Hampshire Gazette Massachusetts: December 15, 2023 [ abstract] BELCHERTOWN/SOUTH HADLEY — A new Jabish Brook Middle School in Belchertown and a replacement building for Mosier Elementary School in South Hadley are continuing to make progress, with the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s board of directors moving both projects forward this week.
The MSBA Board of Directors voted to have the Belchertown project go to the schematic design stage, while its vote gets the South Hadley project into a 270-day eligibility period.
Plans for the new Jabish Brook include replacing the current building, on the same site on North Washington Street, with a new three-story building to serve 475 students in grades 6 to 8, with a completion date in summer 2027.
School Committee Chairwoman Heidi Gutekenst said the MSBA vote allows for a robust schematic design plan that will both meet the needs of students and educators and is cost effective for the community.
If the project comes to fruition, the district would close Cold Spring School and redistribute students in the K-8 schools.
-- SCOTT MERZBACH Coal-producing West Virginia is converting an entire school system to solar power-- pbs.org West Virginia: November 29, 2023 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — An entire county school system in coal-producing West Virginia is going solar, representing what a developer and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s office touted on Wednesday as the biggest-ever single demonstration of sun-powered renewable electricity in Appalachian public schools.
The agreement between Wayne County Schools and West Virginian solar installer and developer Solar Holler builds on historic investments in coal communities made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democratic Sen. Manchin had a major role in shaping as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Manchin, who announced this month that he wouldn’t run for reelection in the deep-red state, citing an increasingly polarized political system, was quick Wednesday to tout U.S. President Joe Biden’s 2022 landmark climate, health and tax law, which placed special emphasis on creating new clean energy jobs.
“Let’s be clear — this investment in Wayne County is a direct result of the Inflation Reduction Act,” he said in a written statement. “This type of investment in rural America to create jobs, make our country more energy secure and lower electric costs is exactly what the IRA was designed to do.”
-- Leah Willingham Lockers, once icons of American school life, disappearing from some new SC campuses-- The Post and Courier Columbia South Carolina: November 23, 2023 [ abstract] COLUMBIA — Many thousands of students who studied in the now-demolished Wando High School buildings in Mount Pleasant spent part of their days walking from class to class, past banks of lockers in their school’s hallways.
But the image of lockers in American school life — of teenagers letting gym clothes rot in them, gossiping and perhaps getting shoved into them — is slowly disappearing. The students who now attend Lucy Beckham High, opened on the old Wando’s grounds in 2020, don’t have that space to store their books or meet up with friends between periods.
That design choice is part of what school architects say is a trend: district officials prefer to leave banks of hallway lockers out of newly built campuses.
“Maybe 20 years ago, the expectation was that you would put lockers in every single school that you designed,” said Ben Thompson, K-12 studio director at McMillan Pazdan Smith, the South Carolina architecture firm that designed Lucy Beckham and other schools. “Now, it’s rare that you include them in buildings.”
-- Ian Grenier One Greenwich school has a geothermal heating system. It's 'failed across the board,' officials say-- Greenwich Time Connecticut: November 19, 2023 [ abstract] GREENWICH — Hamilton Avenue School is heated and cooled with a geothermal system — at least, it should be.
“The system that's there failed across the board,” Greenwich Public Schools facilities director Dan Watson told the Board of Estimate and Taxation budget committee on Nov. 8. “We have experts telling us that it wasn't installed right, it wasn't operated right, it wasn't probably designed right.”
The Board of Education needs to replace the bad geothermal system and it is seeking $3.2 million to do so. Watson and other schools officials are also asking that the town not use geothermal at Hamilton Avenue or at other schools in the future, primarily because current staff are not well versed in these systems.
-- Andy Blye LAUSD Board approves wellness center at L.A. High School-- Beverly Press California: November 15, 2023 [ abstract] The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education approved more than $195.7 million in bond-funded projects to provide upgraded, state-of-the-art facilities.
The board approved $45 million for the development of wellness centers at Los Angeles High School and Wilmington Middle School STEAM Magnet. Wellness centers are LAUSD-built facilities operated by independent medical providers and partners who focus on prevention, education, early intervention and screening. The wellness centers will offer free and low-cost comprehensive medical, dental and mental health services for students, families and community members.
The 32nd Street USC Magnets School was also approved for a $108 million major modernization project. The multi-phase project will construct 23 new general and specialty classrooms including media, filmmaking, engineering and graphic design spaces, as well as a chemistry lab.
-- Staff Writer San Antonio ISD board votes to close 15 schools, merge others-- San Antonio Report Texas: November 13, 2023 [ abstract]
The San Antonio Independent School District board of trustees voted 5-2 Monday to close 15 schools and merge others, capping a four-month process that will shutter over 15% of the shrinking urban school district’s educational facilities.
Trustees voted, after a lengthy discussion, on a list of closures and mergers finalized by district staff that was formulated based on student enrollment, facility usage and cost per pupil. The moves are designed to better align the district’s resources with the student population.
Trustees Art Valdez, Christina Martinez, Alicia Sebastian, Leticia Ozuna and Ed Garza voted for the measure while Stephanie Torres and Sarah Sorensen voted against it.
Before the vote, Sorensen attempted to remove six schools from the closure list, and then two, but both adjustments failed on 5-2 votes.
Parents, teachers and community members continued to protest the closures until the final hour, with 57 speakers signing up to comment during the meeting, mostly in opposition to the closures.
Many pointed to an equity audit that, among other findings, explored past school closures in the district, which resulted in academic declines.
-- Isaac Windes 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 Renovate or replace? That's the big question facing Lindley Elementary-- Grennsboro News & Record North Carolina: November 06, 2023 [ abstract] GREENSBORO — A parent whose children attended Lindley Elementary is mounting an effort to save a portion of the aged school from being demolished.
“If you believe that the Guilford County school board should preserve and renovate the 1928 historic building for continued use ... please sign this,” parent Samuel Cook wrote in a petition he posted this week on change.org.
He also called for preservation of the wooded trails, open landscape and community garden on campus.
The petition had 166 signatures as of early Friday evening.
Superintendent Whitney Oakley said Thursday that a previously planned school board vote on a contract for a design to replace the school is still on pause.
“It’s the recommendation of the designer, but we are in conversation with the community and will continue to be,” she said.
The school administration, she added, will continue to hold more community meetings.
Oakley said there’s a possibility she might bring the issue to the board in December.
“We haven’t put it back on the board agenda because we are still working with the Lindley community — we’ll keep doing that,” she said.
Julius Monk, the district’s deputy superintendent for business and operations, explained last week that three or four additions have been made to the original 1928 structure. He said the conversations the district is having now are about whether work could be done to save just that 1928 section and incorporate it with a new building.
He clarified that district plans call for Lindley to remain an elementary school. In negotiating for the contract design, Monk said the potential designer reported that the site wasn’t conducive for a kindergarten through eighth-grade school as leaders had hoped.
-- Jessie Pounds Washoe County School District holds heated meeting about how Incline schools fit in its facility plan-- Tahoe Daily Tribune Nevada: October 20, 2023 [ abstract] INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – More than 50 people including parents, Washoe County School District staff, board members, local teachers, and longtime residents filled the Duffield Theatre at the Incline Village High School on the evening of October 12 to discuss the School District’s Facility Modernization Plan in the hopes of creating some guidelines for a working group that can help move the District forward regarding its capital improvement options for Incline’s schools.
The District has held more than two dozen public meetings throughout the region over the past year to discuss the FMP and its potential outcomes while also collecting input from the community before any decisions are made.
The District hired Cannondesign to help complete a comprehensive facility assessment and assist in a transparent planning process with key stakeholders. At the October 12 meeting, outside consultant Margaret Schultz facilitated the meeting, showing a presentation that noted the key takeaways from the April 5 and May 3 meetings and ensured the audience that “any change that takes place needs your input”. She then said that the goal of the meeting was to create guidelines for a working group, and wanted the audience’s input on who the membership should be.
-- Kayla Anderson GL long-range facilities plan sparks more debate-- Latrobe Bulletin Pennsylvania: October 18, 2023 [ abstract] The Greater Latrobe School District’s recently adopted facilities master plan continues to spark discord from taxpayers as several took the opportunity to speak out Tuesday against tax increases attached to the plan.
During the portion of public comment when those in attendance may speak on any subject, several people got up and spoke out against the board’s decision to plan, design and construct new facilities rather than just simply maintain the buildings they have. Both options presented to the board and recommended by the facilities, operations and planning committee involved a significant and long-term tax increase.
Nick Carota, a 1968 graduate of Greater Latrobe, said he wanted to have an open mind about the process, but he is concerned that the tax increases could be a burden on too many taxpayers, a burden that they just can’t handle.
It is estimated that tax increases of up to 2.5 mills would be required yearly for anywhere from 10 to 15 years.
-- Amy Fauth Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Ensure Safe Schools-- New York State Governor New York: October 18, 2023 [ abstract] Governor Kathy Hochul signed the “Safe Schools by design Act” that will require all school districts’ five-year capital facilities plans to consider incorporating design principles that will provide a safe, secure, and healthy school environment. The legislation also expands eligible expenses for Extended Day and School Violence Prevention Grants to include programs that facilitate and promote community involvement in school facility planning.
“A safe school environment is an essential component to providing the best education for our students,” Governor Hochul said. “This legislation highlights our commitment to our students and educators by ensuring that health and safety are considered at the outset of all school construction projects.”
Current law requires that five-year capital facilities plans are developed by each school district to include a building inventory, estimated expenses for building construction, repairs, or renovation, and estimated expenses for building maintenance and energy consumption.
Legislation S.2629A/A.286A amends the education law by requiring that school districts consider the incorporation of design principles and strategies, pursuant to guidance issued by the Commissioner of Education, in their five-year capital plan as part of a comprehensive approach to providing a healthy, secure, and safe school environment. In addition, the legislation includes programs which facilitate and promote community involvement in school facility planning to be eligible expenses for Extended Day and School Violence Prevention Grants.
-- Staff Writer 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 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 Is Amidon-Bowen Swinging Too Far?-- Hillrag District of Columbia: October 02, 2023 [ abstract] The Amidon-Bowen Elementary School community is reeling, frustrated after DC Public Schools (DCPS) suggested a swing space for the 2027 fiscal year that is 3.5 miles away from their home campus at 401 I St. SW.
Amidon-Bowen is slated to be modernized in 2027 and reopened in 2029. The Amidon-Bowen population is set to move into a temporary space from 2027 to 2029 during the planning, design and construction phases. The fully modernized school is scheduled to reopen for the 2029-2030 school year. The project will cost an estmiated $84.2 million and the new building will be able to serve 373 students.
Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!
Through the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Planning Actively for Comprehensive Education Facilities (PACE) Annual Supplement for Fiscal Year 2024-2029, Amidon-Bowen community members learned the former Meyer Elementary School (2501 11th St. NW) would be the temporary campus for their PreK to Fifth grade students.
“It was frustrating to hear about the swing space plan for the first time because a parent happened to see the reference to Meyer in the Mayor’s CIP plan,” said Sarah Buckley,a member of the Amidon-Bowen PTA Advocacy Group (ABPTAAG). “We feel like we can’t count on DCPS to keep us informed, let alone take the community’s views into account.”
-- Rachel Royster Take a look inside Rockford’s new $28M elementary school before it opens next year-- MLive Michigan: September 28, 2023 [ abstract]
ROCKFORD, MI – Construction is well underway on a new Rockford elementary school building that was intentionally designed to strengthen student identity and belonging.
The new, $28 million Edgerton Trails Elementary School is expected to be completed by summer 2024 after over two years of construction. The building, located at 9605 Edgerton Ave. NE, is the ninth elementary school being added to the Rockford Public School District that serves around 7,700 students.
The 85,000-square-foot building will be able to house up to 750 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. It features two main academic wings, collaborative learning areas, a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) room, an outdoor learning patio, and more.
Rockford school administrators visited schools across the state, including some schools in Washington D.C., to come up with the designs for Edgerton Trails.
-- Melissa Frick DODEA awards $125 million contract for fifth ‘21st Century’ school on Okinawa-- Stars and Stripes DoDEA: September 27, 2023 [ abstract] CAMP MCTUREOUS, Okinawa — A Tokyo construction firm won a $125 million contract last month to update a Defense Department school on Okinawa based on a state-of-the-art design.
Nishimatsu Construction Co. Ltd. will start renovations and new construction for Bechtel Elementary on Marine Corps base Camp McTureous sometime this fall, Miranda Ferguson, spokeswoman for Department of Defense Education Activity-Pacific, said by email Tuesday.
The project, expected to take three years, will make Bechtel the island’s fifth “21st Century school,” after Bob Hope and Kadena elementary schools on Kadena Air Base and Killin and Zukeran schools on Camp Foster, she said.
As part of a decade-old building campaign, DODEA has built and renovated schools according to the same concept at several other bases in the Pacific and Europe.
-- MATTHEW M. BURKE HEB ISD proposes $1 billion bond to upgrade aging schools-- KERA News Texas: September 26, 2023 [ abstract] When the bell rings at Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD’s L.D. Bell High School, the volleyball team heads to the locker room, changes into their athletic clothes and walks past the gymnasium to the double doors leading outside the school.
Without a court available for their practice, the team instead sets, spikes and serves on the school’s tennis court.
To address this and many other issues, including outdated school buildings, HEB ISD is seeking approval of a nearly $1 billion bond package in the upcoming Nov. 7 election.
“It’s a size issue, it’s an infrastructure issue,” Deanne Hullender, chief public relations and marketing officer for the district, said of two of the district’s high schools.
The bond aims to replace the aging L.D. Bell and Trinity High School campuses with new facilities, as well as revamp an elementary school designated to accommodate the alternative KEYS High School.
Early voting begins Oct. 23 and ends Nov. 3. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 10.
-- Matthew Sgroi Clock ticking on schools’ HVAC project-- Crossville Chronicle Tennessee: September 21, 2023 [ abstract] Cumberland County Schools are watching the delivery date for three HVAC units, hoping they can arrive before Sept. 30.
That’s the cutoff to obligate funds for the second round of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER.
“We have four rooftop units that have yet to ship,” Kim Chamberlin with Upland design told the school board’s building and grounds committee Sept. 11. “One of those is supposed to be coming fairly quickly. The other three are not shipping until the end of October.”
Cumberland County budgeted $2.3 million for replacement of HVAC units and controls across the county’s school facilities.
All ESSER 2.0 funds are to be obligated by Sept. 30, 2023, and spent by Dec. 15, 2023, as recommended by the Tennessee Department of Education to allow time for grants to be closed. Funds are considered obligated when the school system commits the money to a specific purpose, such as contracts, services, materials or subscriptions. Liquidation is when a purchased item or service has occurred and payment has been made.
Chamberlin said he has been asking all contractors on projects to keep records of when items are ordered to document supply chain challenges on the federal projects.
-- Heather Mullinix 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 Hamilton County's school facilities recommendations spark debate: A look into the future of education or a step too far?-- News Channel 9 Tennessee: September 14, 2023 [ abstract]
HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. — Last month, a task force revealed its specific recommendations designed to improve Hamilton County Schools.
But some school board members raised concerns at a meeting on Thursday and said that these recommendations are just the beginning of a larger conversation.
It can be a big pill to swallow when talking about closing the schools some of your children attend.
"They might not get to do fun stuff because there's too many kids," says Finn, an Alpine Crest student.
What will the Hamilton County Schools district look like in the year 2030?
That's a question Hamilton County leaders want to answer with new recommendations aimed at saving taxpayer dollars and improving the educational experience for students.
"I'm the president of the PTA at Alpine Crest. What I do, we couldn't do at a school that large," says Laura Ellinor.
Alpine Crest Elementary is one of 3 Hamilton County elementary schools that the task force recommended be consolidated into one big school at Dupont Elementary.
"It's not good for the teachers. It's not good for the students. It's not good for the parents sitting in a car line with 1,000 other families," says Ellinor.
Some parents calling the new proposal a ‘mega school.’
-- Jordan Karnbach 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 Accelerated repair projects approved for Holyoke schools-- Masslive.com Massachusetts: September 01, 2023 [ abstract] The Massachusetts School Building Authority has given the green light for facility upgrades in four Holyoke public schools as part of the state’s Accelerated Repair Projects.
The initiative aims to improve learning environments in schools while making strides in energy efficiency and achieving cost savings.
State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg recently announced the approval of these projects. “The Accelerated Repair Program allows us to make critical repairs to more schools in less time,” she said. “By improving the learning environment for our children, the Program also makes schools more energy efficient and generates significant cost savings.”
The MSBA’s recent allocation covers up to $25,897,256 for Accelerated Repair Projects. The MSBA reimburses school districts up to 80% of the cost for improvement or complete construction projects.
Holyoke schools have been designated a substantial portion of the latest amount, primarily targeting structurally, functionally, and educationally buildings needing specific repairs or replacements.
-- Dennis Hohenberger New Miller Middle School building is taking shape-- The Durango Herald Colorado: September 01, 2023 [ abstract] Steel beams have been erected for the new Miller Middle School building, according to Durango School District 9-R Chief Operations Officer Christopher Coleman.
In January, the middle school began constructing a 60,000 square-foot three story building east of the existing school building where the football field used to be. The project will cost $45 million.
The Cuningham Group, in collaboration with Reynolds Ash + Associates, helped design the new building and the renovations to the existing school.
The plan also called for keeping a more modern portion of the building, which was added in 2004. That part is located on the school’s east wing. An elevated bridge will connect the buildings.
“It is exciting to see the structure taking shape, and other work is progressing in the background including site utilities and renovations,” Coleman said.
-- Tyler Brown State has money for new Cheyenne elementary school; details to be worked out-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: September 01, 2023 [ abstract]
CHEYENNE — The Wyoming School Facilities Commission announced during a special meeting Wednesday the proposed replacement of a Cheyenne elementary school as part of the $95 million the Legislature set aside for school construction this year.
Laramie County School District 1, under the design and construction portion of the state’s budget, flags on three capacities and three conditions, with two of the conditions being “very high,” according to Jerry Vincent, director of the State Construction Department. Three Laramie County elementary schools have the highest capacity need in the state, with Arp Elementary School in the lead, according to the SCD report
Capacity need refers to the number of students which can be legally contained in a classroom, and condition refers to the safety and functioning space of the physical building.
Andy Knapp, executive director of facilities and planning for LCSD1, said the state would not specifically name what the project funds are for, and there are “several schools in need of condition remedies” in the district.
“I would anticipate we would be making some sort of plan to deal with Arp,” said Knapp, who confirmed the south Cheyenne elementary school was one of the top priorities.
-- Hannah Shields Keeping students safe a priority for districts as school year begins-- Observer-Reporter Pennsylvania: August 26, 2023 [ abstract] HDG Architects has been designing school buildings for three decades – from elementary schools to buildings for college campuses – and safety is always top of mind.
The Pittsburgh-based architecture firm completed its work on the new Peters Township High School last year, and is currently working on renovations to Independence Middle School in the Bethel Park School District.
“The need for school security has been prevalent going back to Columbine (Colo.). Unfortunately, because of the continued mass shootings in the United States, it continues to increase in people’s consciousness as a potential danger,” said Kevin Hayes, founder of HDG. “We continue to advise and work with our clients in helping them maintain the best security for their staff.”
Hayes explained that the firm’s philosophy in designing a school building is to “harden” the perimeter, but to ensure the interior of the building is not intimidating.
“The issue is always attention between security, but not presenting a building where students and particularly the staff feel like they’re learning in a prison,” Hayes said.
Mostly, that means adding features such as bollards in front of entrances, and generally having as few entrances to the building as possible.
According to Hayes, this can be accomplished by making most doorways exit-only and having fewer windows. However, it remains a balancing act to make sure the overall design remains conducive to learning.
-- Jon Andreassi State and local leaders cut ribbon on new Stratton Elementary School building-- lootpress West Virginia: August 18, 2023 [ abstract] BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – An exceptional assembly of community members, state and local leadership, and members of the Raleigh County Board of Education both past and present came together on Friday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony commemorating the brand-new Stratton Elementary School building.
A momentous project which has been ongoing for some time, the state-of-the-art learning facility stands where Cain Memorial Stadium once stood and features school colors from years gone by, including green, blue, and yellow accented walls and furniture as well as pawprint designs throughout the halls featuring the same color aesthetic.
Recently appointed Superintendent of Raleigh County Schools Serena Starcher served as master of ceremonies for the occasion and took time to address those who had gathered for the event.
“Stratton Elementary School is a vision fulfilled for Raleigh County Schools. The school district is thankful for the partnership established with residents of the East Beckley community and those who once walked the halls of Stratton High School,” said Starcher.
-- Cameron B. Gunnoe 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 4 ways schools are rethinking building design-- K-12 Dive National: August 08, 2023 [ abstract] Schools investing in campus upgrades are putting more emphasis on spaces that encourage student engagement, allow flexibility for changing enrollments, and ensure student and staff safety, according to experts in school architecture.
Before new spaces are built or existing areas reconfigured, however, there’s a lot of planning between school officials and designers about how best to maximize a district’s desires with what is practically and financially possible.
″It was with that kind of question that we pulled together diverse thought leaders … to come together and kind of try to answer this question of what is the school of the future,” said Melissa Turnbaugh, a board member of the Learning Environments Action Research Network, or LEARN, and partner at PBK, a K-12 and higher education school design firm. LEARN, a new nonprofit organization, is a collaboration of education design experts, district officials and others working to promote safety, access, innovation, health and sustainability in schools.
-- Kara Arundel 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 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 IPS plan to sell closed school buildings could tee up conflict with charters, GOP lawmakers-- Chalkbeat Indiana Indiana: July 27, 2023 [ abstract] Indianapolis Public Schools says its planned sale of two school buildings that closed this year is exempt from a state law designed to make such district facilities available to charter schools for $1.
The school board on Thursday voted unanimously to authorize officials to begin the sales process for Raymond Brandes School 65 and Francis Bellamy School 102, two of the six schools that closed at the end of the 2022-23 school year as part of the district’s Rebuilding Stronger reorganization.
But the district will only consider transferring the properties to another government agency or selling them to a nonprofit organization for the first 30 days of the process before opening up the sales to other buyers.
The state’s so-called $1 law in general requires districts to make such buildings available to charter schools or state educational institutions for a sale price or annual lease of $1. But IPS maintains that changes to the statute that lawmakers approved earlier this year mean the law does not apply to its sale of the two facilities. That interpretation of the law has garnered pushback from charter supporters.
-- Amelia Pak-Harvey Lower Energy Costs, Healthier Air: How Energy CLASS Prize Winners Are Transforming Their School-- NREL National: July 21, 2023 [ abstract] Every day, students around the country attend school in buildings that are outdated—sometimes more than a century old. Without sufficient budget for infrastructure upgrades, those aging buildings might have leaky roofs, moldy ceilings, or a lack of air conditioning—all of which make for less-than-optimal learning environments.
The Energy CLASS (Champions Leading the Advancement of Sustainable Schools) Prize was designed to give underserved communities a leg up when it comes to making those needed upgrades in their schools. Now, 25 local education agencies (LEAs) have been named Energy CLASS prize winners and awarded $100,000 each, along with the training and one-on-one coaching needed to put those funds to work helping their schools meet health and energy-efficiency goals.
-- Tiffany Plate Jefferson County schools to benefit from energy efficiency, system upgrades-- Alabama News Center Alabama: July 20, 2023 [ abstract] Seven schools in Jefferson County will benefit from energy efficiency and system upgrades that are designed to not only save costs, but create healthier and safer learning environments for students.
Jefferson County Schools (JEFCOED) is among the first-round recipients of a federal Renew America’s Schools grant from the Department of Energy. In partnership with Alabama Power, JEFCOED will use the funds for upgrades at the following facilities.
“This grant award is big for Jefferson County Schools for a lot of reasons,” said Superintendent Walter B. Gonsoulin Jr. “We’ll be able to improve facilities at these schools, not to mention save on energy costs. That money can be put towards other programs that will improve student learning and student outcomes. We are very grateful for this grant and our partnership with Alabama Power.”
-- Anthony Cook Holualoa Elementary classroom renovations make significant progress over summer break-- Hawaii State Department of Education Hawaii: July 04, 2023 [ abstract] HOLUALOA — Holualoa Elementary students and staff will be starting the new school year with refreshed learning spaces following extensive renovation work over the summer break to address campuswide environmental concerns.
“It's been a complete transformation. We've seen everything from the wall colors change to new flooring, for a whole new atmosphere and environment that our students and our teachers are very fortunate to come back to in this coming school year,” said Principal Kristin Muramoto. “Elementary school is really the foundation for success, and I think the classrooms create a safe and healthy environment where students can learn.”
The Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association helped bring attention to some of the environmental concerns and challenges facing the school. The renovations were designed to reduce interior environmental conditions conducive to mold growth in Holualoa’s damp and humid climate zone, situated at an elevation of approximately 1,400 feet above sea level. Classroom renovations began in October 2022 with the majority of work completed during the spring and summer breaks when rooms were not in use to minimize impacts on student learning. A total of 16 classrooms have been overhauled with new tile flooring, interior paint, dehumidifiers, and other improvements.
“We’ve repainted the classrooms with mold-inhibiting paints and removed old floor carpeting to promote better air quality,” said Randall Tanaka, assistant superintendent for HIDOE’s Office of Facilities and Operations. “Open windows and fans will help air circulation during the day and dehumidifiers will help to reduce moisture in the air overnight, which will create an environment well-suited for students to learn.”
In addition, 10 other office and work spaces were renovated, covered walkways were power washed and new furniture was installed in several classrooms at an approximate cost of $1.27 million to date. Throughout the renovations, school leaders have kept the school community informed with progress reports.
-- Staff Writer $80 million approved for Little Rock school projects-- Northwest Arkansas Arkansas: June 25, 2023 [ abstract] LITTLE ROCK -- The Little Rock School Board on Thursday approved the expenditure of more than $80 million in construction costs, including $60 million for the construction of a three-story science building and a two-story field house at Central High.
The board approved a guaranteed maximum price of $60,627,694 for the additions on the south side of the historic campus, plus $10.96 million for the full renovation of Rockefeller Early Childhood Center and $10.5 million to do early site work for the building of a new west Little Rock high school on Ranch Boulevard adjacent to Pinnacle View Middle School.
The construction plans and costs were presented at a meeting in which the capital city's nine-member school board also:
Approved a $6.4 million expenditure for an online tutoring program in reading for some 2,500 elementary school pupils
Supported proposals to contract with Imagine Learning of Scottsdale, Ariz., to provide instruction for a virtual academy for sixth-through-12th graders
Voted to contract with the Power School Group of Folsom, Calif., to develop three to four interim tests to track student achievement through the school year
Authorized the sale of the now vacant David O. Dodd Elementary to what is expected to be the operator of an open-enrollment charter school
Wesley Walls, principal with the Polk Stanley Wilcox architecture firm, which has designed the Central additions, told the board that the significance of Central's history and its architecture "is not lost on us."
-- Cynthia Howell State shouldn't make districts fight for construction dollars-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: June 24, 2023 [ abstract] One of the first lessons we’re taught in school is that there are more important things in life than money. However, that lesson doesn’t seem to apply when it comes to, well, schools.
Arp Elementary School was designated for demolition by LCSD1. Among the many reasons for this decision were age (the school was built in 1961), overcrowding (the school is currently at 165% capacity, nearly double what it is meant to hold) and condition (reports of backed-up sewers, rodent infestations, and lessons being performed in hallways and converted janitor closets). At a May 1 meeting of the Laramie County School District 1 Board of Trustees, the district determined that demolition was the appropriate option. But to move forward, they need approval from the Wyoming School Facilities Commission. Which is where things hit a snag.
The commission voted June 8 to take no action on the request for demolition, citing, “the District has not held a public hearing, as required by statute, and the Department lacks sufficient information to determine whether the demolition of Arp Elementary is in the best financial interests of the state or otherwise in the public interest.”
-- Staff Writer Colorado's education board approves $180 million in construction projects | CLASS NOTES-- The Denver Gazette Colorado: June 19, 2023 [ abstract] The Colorado Board of Education approved $180 million in grants across the state from a prioritized list of 17 Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) school construction projects.
Board members approved the grants during their monthly meeting last week.
Lawmakers enacted the “Building Excellent Schools Today Act” or “BEST” in 2008 to address the limited capacity many Colorado schools have to replace aging facilities.
Since 2008, BEST has contributed more than $3.5 billion in grants — which are designed to improve health, safety, security and technology in Colorado’s public schools.
More than half of the grants will be funded, in part, by the Colorado State Land Board, marijuana excise tax, the Colorado Lottery and earned interest. Projects include roof replacements, fire alarms and security upgrades as well as other major renovations.
-- Nicole C. Brambila Board of Ed Approves Groundbreaking Energy Pl-- Jersey City Times New Jersey: June 16, 2023 [ abstract] Big changes are coming to energy consumption at Jersey City schools. Last night, the Board of Education approved an Energy Savings Improvement Plan, or “ESIP,” that is expected to be the largest such project in New Jersey history.
The ESIP, as presented to the Board at Monday’s caucus, is widespread and designed to increase student productivity in the classroom and save money in the budget for re-allocation. Priorities in the ESIP include new HVAC equipment for eight schools, boiler replacements, roof restorations for 21 schools, and district-wide interior and exterior LED lighting. There will also be a new unified energy management system across the district and increased use of renewable solar energy.
In addition to energy conservation measures, there are also educational programs provided, such as working with the district to incorporate lessons about energy conservation across grade levels. There will also be a program specifically tailored to increasing the number of women in STEM/STEAM, engineering, and construction industries.
-- Ryan Kilkenny 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 RIDE Launches $3 Million W.E.L.L. Initiative to Support School Wellness Spaces-- Governor Dan McKee Rhode Island: May 09, 2023 [ abstract] PROVIDENCE, R.I. – As Rhode Island celebrates Teacher Appreciation Week and observes Mental Health Month, Governor Dan McKee, Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green and the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) today announced the launch of the $3 million W.E.L.L. Initiative (Wellness in Education Leads to Learning), which will support the development of wellness spaces in schools statewide and provide funds for accompanying professional development and programming. The design of these spaces allows students and staff to experience a quiet atmosphere and have a chance to decompress. The initiative comes as education systems nationwide reimagine education and school facilities to meet the holistic needs of students in the wake of the pandemic.
“Every child deserves to attend a 21st century learning environment that not only supports a comprehensive educational experience but also supports the social, emotional, mental, and behavioral health needs of students,” said Governor Dan McKee. “We encourage schools to browse offerings and look forward to the positive impact the W.E.L.L. Initiative will have for students and teachers across Rhode Island.”
“Any educator can tell you that even in the best of times, students and teachers alike can become overwhelmed at school. RIDE’s W.E.L.L. Initiative ensures that if they do, they have a space available to them that can help meet their needs,” said Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos. “These funds are going to provide oases of calm in our schools, as well as the training and resources necessary for faculty to use them to their full effect.”
-- Staff Writer New Westside middle school to start construction thanks to half-cent sales tax-- News 4 Jax Florida: April 10, 2023 [ abstract]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Duval County School Board will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday to mark the beginning of a new place to learn for sixth through eighth graders.
Chaffee Trail Middle School is the first middle school to be built funded by the half-penny sales tax, which was approved by Duval County voters in 2020.
Students will perform and school district leaders will share remarks about the Westside’s new addition to education.
The 6-8 grade school is estimated to cost $38.6 million and is just one of four transformational projects that will be funded by the sales tax.
In September, the design meeting between stakeholders for the new middle school was completed, and the district said it has received conceptual floor plans and proposed building elevations for the new school.
-- Kendra Mazeke The Impact of Daylight on a School Renovation Project in Copenhagen - Denmark-- Arch Daily International: April 07, 2023 [ abstract] Architects have always considered the positive influence of natural light on the health and mood of a building's occupants, but measuring its actual benefits was a challenge for a long time. However, the past few decades have seen significant progress in this area, with research such as the comprehensive study conducted by the Heschong Mahone Group, which analyzed more than 21,000 student tests in three school districts in California, Washington, and Colorado. The results showed that students in classrooms with more natural light had a 20% faster learning progress in math tests and 26% on reading tests, compared to students in classrooms with less natural light. Many other studies reinforce that including natural light in spaces has immense long-term benefits for societies, especially during a child's valuable formative years, who spend about 90% of their time indoors and about 200 days a year in classrooms.
The renovation and extension project of the Grøndalsvængets School in the suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark, by JJW Architects, is an excellent example of how to apply architectural research in a practical way. The school is an almost 100-year-old building that has been expanded with new spaces for sports, music and learning. The success of the project was achieved through two vital design strategies. First, the reuse of 250,000 bricks from a nearby dilapidated hospital, which allowed them to maintain the local aesthetic and reduce the environmental footprint that producing new bricks would have had.
-- Eduardo Souza Facility plan report shows need for major investments in Dearborn Public Schools-- Press & Guide Michigan: March 24, 2023 [ abstract]
Dearborn Public Schools has retained the services of architectural consultants, Fielding International, to conduct a discussion of its work to create a long-range plan for the district’s buildings.
Fielding has been conducting a survey of all of the DPS properties based on a 30-year master plan.
The plan evaluates all buildings for structural integrity, classroom utilization, current building layout, as well as possible improvements and new methods in both design and function for teaching students vital educational needs for the future.
As part of the process, representatives from Fielding International presented the work so far to the Board of Education.
The presentation was given to the board, along with a sparse crowd, on March 21.
Representatives explained their firm used a few factors in evaluating 31 district school buildings including the need for deferred maintenance, adaptability of the structure for projected future learning needs, and building utilization.
-- DAVE HERNDON Austin school district prioritizing safety, maintenance as 2022 bond projects get underway-- Austin American-Statesman Texas: March 01, 2023 [ abstract] The Austin school district is prioritizing security and maintenance upgrades to improve safety at some older campuses and replace aging infrastructure as it begins rolling out its $2.4 billion bond projects, according to a timeline it recently released.
The district last week announced its project timeline, with work beginning this year and expected to be completed in 2028. It has about 300 projects planned on all of its 116 campuses and a few other facilities.
The district has planned full, comprehensive upgrades at 14 campuses and completing part of a full upgrade at an additional 11 campuses, according to the district’s timeline.
Four other schools will get renovations to their open concept floor plans, a design popular in the 1960s and 1970s that featured fewer doors and walls. The design layout was meant to promote collaboration, but since then, officials have called it distracting and unsafe.
-- Keri Heath 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 Committee passes bill to provide exemptions for education facilities as emergency shelters-- Florida's Voice Florida: February 17, 2023 [ abstract] TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – A Florida House subcommittee unanimously passed a bill that would provide exemptions for upgrades at education facilities that are used as emergency shelters during storms.
The bill will exempt any costs that is less than $2 million for upgrades that improve the capability of education facilities that serve as an emergency shelter from the Cost Per Student Station.
Since 1997, Florida has used the CPSS analysis to quantify construction costs related to traditional kindergarten through grade 12 school facilities, according to the Florida Department of Education.
Eligible upgrades are limited to those “necessary for an area to be designated as an enhanced hurricane protection area.”
These upgrades include electrical and standby emergency power systems, renewable energy source devices, and energy storage devices.
The bill’s co-sponsors, Rep. Joe Casello, D-Boynton Beach, and Rep. Lindsay Cross, D-St. Petersburg, introduced the bill in the PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee. The bill passed with a vote of 15-0.
-- Amber Jo Cooper Kingston School District weighing priorities as cost of five-year capital plan soars-- Hudson Valley One New York: February 15, 2023 [ abstract] The Kingston City School District (KCSD) is reassessing its facilities needs after learning that the cost of a five-year capital plan has risen from an estimated $107.1 million in 2020 to around $162.1 million today.
The KCSD Board of Education heard a presentation earlier this month, led by Armand Quadrini, managing principal of KSQ design, the New York City and Tulsa, Oklahoma-based architecture firm that’s had a decades-long relationship with the district. Much of those plans were centered on air-conditioning and other ventilation upgrades, and Quadrini explained that due to a variety of reasons, the estimates in the original five-year plan had risen by around $55 million once costs were adjusted to reflect 2023 market conditions.
“A lot of the cost increases occurred in the mechanical and electrical areas,” Quadrini said. “It’s been super difficult to get air handling units and equipment associated with mechanical systems. Not only is the pricing going up but it takes a long time to get that equipment, so that expanded construction schedules.”
The plans cover both of the district’s middle schools and all seven of its elementary schools, but does not include Kingston High School, or the former Meagher and Anna Devine elementary schools. Kingston High underwent a recently completed comprehensive renovation that came in around $16.5 million under its $137.5 million budget. Meagher was also thoroughly spruced up recently when it was converted into a pre-kindergarten hub and district headquarters, and Anna Devine is currently being leased to BOCES for use in its Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning program for special education students.
-- Crispin Kott 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 jonetta rose barras: School boundaries are more than just geographic lines-- The DC Line District of Columbia: February 10, 2023 [ abstract]
DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson may have been right to persuade his colleagues to use the 2023 Budget Support Act to mandate a DC Public Schools (DCPS) boundary study — but not so much on his narrow perspective on its scope. The resulting document and recommendations must be delivered this year.
“We need to address school boundaries. Some jurisdictions do it on a regular basis,” he told me during a telephone interview last week. A predictable schedule is a way to make the process less “traumatic” than it’s been in the past, he suggested.
DCPS operates chiefly through a system of neighborhood schools, most with specific geographic boundaries. Associated with those designations are “feeder patterns,” pathways that help direct the flow of students as they progress from elementary to middle school and then on to high school. By law, students have a right to attend any K-12 school within their boundary and feeder pathway. District charter schools are exempted from that law, however.
The DCPS boundary process was supposed to ensure adequate, predictable enrollment at each facility and yield an equitable public education system. It hasn’t, however.
Some schools are overcrowded; others are underpopulated, explained Mendelson, citing as an example Plummer Elementary in Ward 7. He said it has a “catchment of 1,300 but only has an enrollment of 300. Do we keep the boundaries?”
-- jonetta rose barras 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 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 Q&A: How Durham Public Schools’ reassignment plan will impact elementary students, families-- WUNC North Carolina: January 24, 2023 [ abstract] For the first time in 30 years, Durham Public Schools is undergoing district-wide changes to the school boundary lines that determine where students will go to school.
School board members and district leaders say this is part of a strategic effort to give students more equitable access to education programs and to ensure school and classroom sizes will be more sustainable as the population continues to grow in parts of the county.
Last week, the Durham School Board approved plans for elementary school assignments. Later, the school board will turn its attention to middle and high school boundaries, to propose and vote on those changes later this spring.
All changes will take effect in Fall 2024.
Will the elementary school designated for my home change in 2024?
You can search the elementary school designated to your home address for the 2024-2025 school year here.
If you don’t know your current 2023 elementary school assignment – maybe you have a toddler or you recently moved – you can find that here.
-- Liz Schlemmer 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 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 State bill banning school construction by highways vetoed by Gov. Hochul-- New York Amsterdam News New York: December 29, 2022 [ abstract] Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed the Schools Impacted by Gross Highways Act (SIGH Act)—which bans constructing schools 500 feet from highways unless there’s special approval—this past Thursday, Dec. 23. The bill was passed by state legislatures earlier in the summer.
The SIGH Act was drafted by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and co-sponsored by State Sen. Rachel May (D-53) and Assembly Member Latoya Joyner in an attempt to combat long-standing environmentally racist urban design in a state ranked first in schools built within 500 feet of highways.
“Governor Hochul’s veto of the SIGH Act is an enormous disservice to Black and brown communities who have suffered most from the devastating health and academic impacts of highway pollution,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman in a statement. “We hoped the governor would heed the call of directly impacted students and residents, who have been organizing for years against this kind of systemic racism.
-- Tandy Lau School Board Passes $1.3B, 6-Year Construction Budget-- LoudonNow Virginia: December 16, 2022 [ abstract] The School Board adopted the $1.3 billion FY2024-FY2029 Capital Improvement Program and Capital Asset Preservation Program budgets Dec. 13 to cheers from Park View High School community members gathered in the meeting room.
The board passed it unanimously with one amendment from Harris Mahedavi (Ashburn) to add $500,000 to the fiscal year 2025 budget for older elementary schools to get updated signs. That amendment passed 5-3-1 with Chair Jeff Morse (Dulles), John Beatty (Catoctin), Tiffany Polifko (Broad Run) opposed, and Denise Corbo (At-large) absent for the vote.
Included in the plan is a $221.7 million reconstruction of Park View High School, a $38.9 million renovation of Banneker Elementary, a $20 million renovation of Waterford Elementary and a $271 million to build a new high school in the Dulles north area designated as HS-14.
-- Alexis Gustin School Construction Authority missing in action-- The Riverdale Press New York: December 16, 2022 [ abstract] Community Board 8 was forced to cancel a much-anticipated meeting on the public school proposed for 160 Van Cortlandt Park South last Friday when School Construction Authority officials backed out with only a few days’ notice, citing a mysterious lawsuit against them.
“SCA has been advised by counsel that they cannot attend this meeting due to pending litigation.
“Therefore, this meeting with SCA is canceled,” wrote district manager Ciara Gannon in a Dec. 5 email notice.
CB8’s officers could only speculate about the details of the suit emanating from a small group of neighbors on Van Cortlandt Park South, a shady thoroughfare in Kingsbridge that cuts across the Major Deegan Expressway.
“I’ve been told it’s a group of residents representing themselves,” said CB8 chair Laura Spalter. “But I know nothing further.”
Spalter wanted a meeting with the SCA to take place before the end of the year in time to weigh in on the architectural designs of the new school, she said. Now, her hopes have been dashed.
The board’s committee chairs aired their frustration and bewilderment in the executive committee meeting two days later.
Whether or not the litigation has any merit, “it has enabled SCA to hide behind the pendency of a lawsuit and cancel the meeting,” land use chair Charles Moerdler said.
“I sincerely believe they just don’t want to meet,” he said.
And he may be correct. But CB8 has little recourse at this point.
The education committee voted to approve the SCA’s site selection a year ago, concluding the community board’s brief advisory role in the new school construction process. Like other public authorities that maintain New York’s bridges and highways, finance higher education, and run its mass transit systems, the SCA’s public accountability is limited. It does not follow the city’s land use review process or register its contracts in the city checkbook.
Community participation in new school construction is comprised of a series of public hearings and a 45-day comment period after SCA announces its site selection but usually before it begins environmental assessment or design.
-- Abigail Nehring Audit: Dozens of WCSD school buildings receive failing marks-- Reno Gazette Journal Nevada: December 14, 2022 [ abstract] The Washoe County School District will build a new Vaughn Middle School and tear down the existing building after an independent audit found school facilities unfit for student learning.
The initial findings came from Cannon design, an architecture and engineering the district hired in September to create a five-year construction project plan.
Dozens of WCSD schools received poor marks on everything from energy efficiency and bathrooms to safety and classroom sizes.
The report revealed the district’s middle schools are a story of “the haves and have nots,” according to Paul Mills, vice president of Cannon designs. He said many of the district schools in areas of high poverty that were built more than 50 years ago have issues.
Of the district's 17 middle schools, seven were identified as having inadequate facilities. Of those seven, Vaughn, Dilworth, Traner and Sparks middle schools were also identified as also having students with the highest needs.
-- Siobhan McAndrew 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 EPA recommends closing elementary school in St. John due to toxic exposure-- KNOE Louisiana: October 24, 2022 [ abstract] ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH, La. (WVUE) - The Environmental Protection Agency is encouraging the state of Louisiana to shut down an elementary school in Reserve over toxic exposure it calls environmental discrimination.
The EPA said it has evidence that Black residents living near the Denka plant in LaPlace face an increased risk of cancer from a nearby chemical plant and that state officials have allowed air pollution to remain high and downplayed its threat.
Denka is the nation’s only emitter of chloroprene, a toxic volatile liquid byproduct from the creation of the synthetic rubber neoprene, and has been designated by the EPA as a likely carcinogenic.
The agency’s 56-page letter to Louisiana officials describes early findings of racial discrimination by two Louisiana departments involving the entire corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, a plant that EPA said emits large amounts of a cancer-causing chemical and a proposed plastics complex.
-- Rob Masson Columbia school board adopts a new approach to school construction-- Columbia Daily Tribune Missouri: October 11, 2022 [ abstract] The Columbia Board of Education will use a new system for some upcoming construction projects.
The vote was unanimous to adopt what is termed a "construction manager at risk" system for a new elementary school on the property of John Warner Middle School, addition and renovation of Columbia Area Career Center, and an addition at Battle Elementary School.
"We believe this is our best way to move forward with our bond dollars," said CPS Chief Operating Officer Randy Gooch.
The district currently uses what is termed as a "design-bid-build" system, where the contractor is hired after the design and bidding process.
In the "construction manager at risk" system, the construction manager acts as the contractor and is involved early in the design process for a team approach from the start, Gooch said after the meeting.
-- Roger McKinney 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 Survey respondents want Beachwood Schools to renovate Hilltop, Bryden elementary schools-- cleveland.com Ohio: September 24, 2022 [ abstract] BEACHWOOD, Ohio -- Beachwood Schools have learned that those who responded to a recent survey on its elementary school properties want to renovate and update Hilltop and Bryden schools, both built in 1956, rather than tear them down, and do not want to consolidate the buildings into one.
On Sept. 12, residents gathered at the Fairmount School/Board of Education building to hear the results of the survey, and three days later at Bryden School, to work in small groups to give input to representatives of Thendesign Architecture (TDA), the firm that will design what residents prefer, and Project Management Consultants, the company that is overseeing the entire project.
At the Sept. 12 meeting with residents, Clint Van Dine, senior partner of Triad Research Group, went over the results of the predominantly online survey. In all, 564 adult residents answered the survey, which took place from July 27 to Aug. 15. “We had, what I think, is a very good response rate,” Van Dine told those in attendance.
-- Jeff Piorkowski City gives approval, seeks state support for 10 year multi-school construction plan-- The Valley Breeze Rhode Island: September 14, 2022 [ abstract] CENTRAL FALLS – With unanimous approval from both the School District and City Council, Central Falls will move forward to present a 10-year plan to construct two new schools and renovate multiple existing buildings, to the state.
The School District and City Council approved a proposal for the Rhode Island Department of Education on Sept. 7 and 12, respectively. The proposal includes plans for construction of a new high school, a new dual language pre-k to eighth grade school, and renovation of three existing elementary schools – Dr. Earl F. Calcutt Middle School, Veterans Memorial elementary School and Ella Risk Elementary School – over the next decade.
Sam Bradner and Erica Schechter with the Peregrine Group, and Jim Jordan from Ai3 architects, led the presentation to the City Council Monday evening. The proposal highlights the construction of a $110 million high school at the site of the city-owned Higginson Avenue/Francis Corrigan Sports Complex, located at the corner of Lonsdale and Higginson Avenue.
The vision for the leading high school design is to create “a focal point, home, and identity for the Central Falls School District.” One half of the new high school will include all of the academic wing. The other half of the building would incorporate the existing athletic facilities, and new arts facilities.
The first five years will prioritize construction of the new high school serving approximately 750 students, followed by conversion of the existing high school facility. After students and teachers move out of the current high school on Summer Street, the building will be turned into a dual language school for an additional $60 million – totaling approximately $170 million for the two schools.
“What we’re trying to do is get students out of the existing high school as quickly as possible so that building can come down, and that construction can start,” Bradner told the City Council Monday night.
-- ZACK DELUCA 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 Marshall County Schools working to build two community tornado shelters-- WPSD Kentucky: September 02, 2022 [ abstract] MARSHALL COUNTY, KY — Storm preparedness is a new focus for the Marshall County Board of Education. The board unanimously voted to allow Paducah-based CMS Architects to design two storm shelters, which can be used by the community.
The designs will need to be approved by FEMA before the process can move along any further, and the Kentucky Department of Education will also need to allow the school system to build the new facilities. The goal of the shelters is to provide safe spaces for students, and the community, in the event of a tornado.
The impact of the December 2021 tornado outbreak can still be felt throughout the Local 6 region, especially in areas like Marshall County. Marshall County Schools Facility Director Jeff Stokes says building shelters addresses a specific need in the community.
"We just don't have any community-wide storm shelters that's available, and we applied through this grant, FEMA grant, for three different items to be selected. They've selected two of the three, and these are the two," Stokes says.
-- Jack Kane More ‘21st century’ schools are under construction or planned for Pacific bases-- Stars and Stripes DoDEA: August 22, 2022 [ abstract] YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Hundreds of millions of dollars in construction is underway or planned to upgrade schools on overseas U.S. military bases in the Pacific, according to Department of Defense Education Activity officials.
Major projects underway in Japan include a $150 million replacement for Nile C. Kinnick High School at Yokosuka Naval Base south of Tokyo and the $95 million replacement of Bechtel Elementary School at Camp McTureous on Okinawa, DODEA Pacific chief of staff Todd Schlitz told Stars and Stripes by phone July 28.
A $175 million replacement for Kubasaki High School on Camp Foster, Okinawa, is in the design phase, he said. Work has also started on a new $20 million DODEA Pacific East District Superintendent Office at Yokota.
Plans to replace Joan K. Mendel Elementary School at Yokota have been delayed at least five years due to the project’s “size and executability concurrent with other school projects,” although they will be reviewed yearly, DODEA Pacific spokeswoman Miranda Ferguson said by email June 22.
Over the past five years, DODEA has completed projects to build, renovate or add on to Zama Middle-High School, Sasebo Elementary School, Kadena Elementary and High schools, Bob Hope Elementary School, Killin Elementary School, E.J. King Middle School, Edgren Middle School, Yokota High School and Zukeran Elementary School, Schlitz said.
-- SETH ROBSON New Loudoun County elementary school wins top recognition for energy efficient design-- Fox5dc Virginia: August 16, 2022 [ abstract]
STERLING, Va. - A brand new elementary school opening in Loudoun County is raising the roof on solar energy. The Elaine Thompson Elementary School is the first school in Sterling to have solar panels built into its design, providing 40 percent of the school's power needs.
"From the environmental perspective, this is an appropriate design model for us to do and to become more energy efficient," said Tim Sparbaine, the school's principal.
"The energy we receive is stored from the solar panels just like a battery so where it's sunny outside and we are getting more storage from the energy to where it's cloudy outside we are getting less storage so that all feeds into the overall electrical operation of our system."
The school is one of four national level award winners. The challenge recognizes new construction projects that are achieving ENERGY STAR certification for energy efficient and preventing carbon dioxide emissions.
-- Ayesha Khan Guilford County Schools will need more money for first 8 facilities projects-- myfox8.com North Carolina: August 10, 2022 [ abstract]
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) – A group called the Joint Capital/Facilities Committee for Guilford County – members of the Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education – heard during an educational summit on Tuesday that cost overruns will require about $170 million more dollars in capital to complete eight rebuild/replace projects school officials have planned.
Voters in 2020 approved $300 million in bonds for the first phase of repairing, rebuilding and replacing every facility for Guilford County Schools, and in May they added the remaining $1.7 billion to complete the list.
For the projects scheduled to be completed in 2024, officials said they were not able to lock in prices and that they continue to rise. Steel prices, as an example, have increased by 128% since the bonds were passed.
Commissioners asked school officials to take a look at their design plans and find ways to save money.
-- Steve Doyle, Daniel Pierce ‘Breathtaking.’ New $84.5M Tates Creek High School building opens on first day of school-- Lexington Herald Leader Kentucky: August 10, 2022 [ abstract]
The first day of school in Fayette County Wednesday was also the first day that the new $84. 5 million-plus Tates Creek High School building opened. The building for 1,800 students replaces the old high school built in 1965 by the same name on Centre Parkway. “The students deserve a building like this,” Assistant Principal Kevin Crosby said, pointing to tree-filled views from floor to ceiling windows in the cafeteria.
Students and staff helped design the building, which is built around a learning academy model that gets kids career, college or military service ready. “The learning environment which you go to every day makes a huge difference in your experience,” not just in what students learn but in how they interact with others, said principal Marty Mills.
“It’s breathtaking,” Mills said.
“Opening a brand-new building is a once in a lifetime event,” Mills told families in a recent letter. Senior Adam Lynch said he hopes the new building will bring memories as his class will become the first to graduate from it. He said it was “the best school” to go to.
-- Valarie Honeycutt Spears Many Eastern KY schools sit in flood zones. Should they be rebuilt there after floods?-- Lexington Herald Leader Kentucky: August 09, 2022 [ abstract]
Nine years ago, severe flooding in Eastern Kentucky’s Floyd County buried McDowell Elementary School in a layer of mud, temporarily displacing about 300 students. Flooding had hit the school at least three other times since 1989, which isn’t surprising. It sat next to Frasure Creek in a FEMA-designated flood hazard zone. Although insurance helped the school district pay for cleanup, because of its soggy history, the cost of flood insurance on that property soared to more than $100,000 a year. “I was in there shoveling out mud myself,” recalled Henry Webb, who was superintendent of Floyd County schools at the time. “It was not a great situation. We want schools for our kids that are safe and secure.”
Recognizing that the floods would only continue, if not worsen, the Floyd County Board of Education voted to close McDowell Elementary in 2017 and move its students as part of a countywide consolidation plan. Now, following the catastrophic July 28 flooding that devastated much of Eastern Kentucky, other school districts in the region might need to weigh similar decisions.
Gov. Andy Beshear last week estimated the expense of rebuilding, repairing and refurnishing the region’s flooded schools at more than $100 million. “Think about, when we build a new school, what that costs,” Beshear told reporters at a news conference. “That’s significant work.”
-- JOHN CHEVES New school opening 6 years after 2016 flood-- WAFB9 Louisiana: August 02, 2022 [ abstract] DENHAM SPRINGS, La. (WAFB) - A new school in Livingston Parish will soon open six years after the flood of 2016.
The new campus, which is located on the former Southside Junior High site, incorporates the students of the previous Southside Elementary and Southside Junior High.
Both previous campuses were severely damaged during the flood. Officials say water reached as high as six feet above ground in some areas. FEMA even declared the buildings could not be restored due to the extent of the damage.
To avoid any potential future flood damage, the new school buildings are constructed more than nine feet higher than the previous complex.
“This facility truly is a showcase structure,” Livingston Parish School Superintendent Joe Murphy said of the new campus. “The design and layout are the result of much research and collaborative input to ensure that every aspect of the campus enhances learning.”
-- Michael Simoneaux 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 State officials urge Westerly to reconsider state reimbursement for school project needs-- The Westerly Sun Rhode Island: June 24, 2022 [ abstract] WESTERLY — A high-ranking state education official is encouraging town officials and residents to move forward with plans to address deficiencies in the town's school buildings while the state remains able to offer special reimbursement funds.
Joseph da Silva, who serves as school construction coordinator and architectural design reviewer for the state Department of Education's School Building Authority, which administers financial reimbursements to districts that participate in the department's "necessity of construction" program, and William Trimble, the authority's finance officer, walked through the town's three elementary schools on Wednesday before reviewing the program with the School Building Subcommittee.
The presentation by da Silva and Trimble focused on the 35% base reimbursement that the town qualifies for, as well as an additional 17.5% that could be attained if the building project meets incentive thresholds. They both stressed the need to have a project that is ready to commence construction by December 2023 or else the town will risk missing out on the incentives, which are expected to expire.
-- Dale Faulkner 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 Muncie school's renovation is improving safety, learning conditions-- WTHR.com Indiana: June 10, 2022 [ abstract]
MUNCIE, Ind. — One Muncie school is undergoing an $8 million renovation, pivoting away from an open-concept school plan toward a more traditional classroom design.
Even before the changes are done, the improvements are helping teachers feel more safe.
With students home for summer, construction workers fill East Washington Academy. The school's interior is getting a complete makeover.
Friday morning, teachers Courtney Williams and Angela Butler walked through the new classrooms to check on construction with Principal Sarah Anglin at their side. The teachers said they're already in awe of the changes.
"It is so weird to walk through it now, because you've seen it in the old way and now you're seeing the renovations and it's just unbelievable," said Williams, a third grade high ability teacher at East Washington Academy.
The school's previous open-concept plan was popular in the '80s but ended up being problematic for many schools. The lack of walls and doors make for a loud setting, hard for students to concentrate. But safety is also at the top of everyone's minds.
"Our walls were partial walls around the building and then our side wall that went out to the hallway was just simply cabinets that weren't up to the ceiling and you could hear everything going on in the hallways if someone was passing by," said Angela Butler, a master teacher at East Washington Academy.
“That was definitely a concern, safety, but also just the noise level and the distractions that you’re constantly hearing throughout the building. So the renovation that we’re going through is definitely going to help with so much of that,” Williams said.
-- Rachael Krause 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 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 FEMA allocates $35M to retrofit public schools to resist earthquakes-- News is My Business Puerto Rico: June 03, 2022 [ abstract] The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has allocated a total of $150 million — of which it is obligating nearly $35 million in a first phase — to modify the structures of some 55 public schools to make them more earthquake-resistant and meet updated building codes.
The “seismic retrofit” — defined as “the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes” — seeks to improve those structures that were not damaged by the 2019 and 2020 earthquakes.
FEMA confirmed that the initial obligation has been allocated to the Puerto Rico Public Buildings Administration through its Hazard Mitigation Grants Program (HMGP).
Specifically, the HMGP project proposes to evaluate, design, and reinforce those buildings to reduce the risks to future seismic events and mitigate loss of life and damage to critical infrastructure.
The funds for the first phase of the project will be used to evaluate and determine if the properties are historic, if they are in a flood zone, among other considerations.
Work will also be done to develop designs, specifications, and the corresponding estimate for each facility to carry out the refurbishment work. During the second stage, funds will be allocated to cover the costs of auctions, permits and construction.
The total estimate for the two phases of the project hovers at around $150 million, the federal agency noted.
-- Staff Writer 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 Facilities Master Plan forum highlights need for sustainability and equity at LBUSD schools-- Signal Tribune California: May 24, 2022 [ abstract] Long Beach Unified parents, students, and community members gathered at Browning High School to provide suggestions for the district’s Facilities Master Plan at a community forum yesterday.
Through interactive and collaborative activities, around 40 attendees shared their thoughts as a group on what school buildings need to look like and provide to ensure an equitable and adequate education for all student populations. Some common suggestions included more green spaces, transitioning off of fossil fuels, and access to healthier cafeteria food.
As per LBUSD’s website, the Facilities Master Plan is a “long-term blueprint” that outlines the constantly changing needs of facilities in the district. The plan looks both at how facilities are designed and how they are used and intends to properly align facilities with the district’s overall educational mission.
The update process typically takes over two years, incorporating a needs assessment for every school, community input, and equity analysis. The district is working with the architectural firm Cannon design to run assessments, gather community feedback and draft the plan that will be submitted to the school board this summer.
-- Briana Mendez-Padilla Riverside schools flip the switch on new solar array-- KAIT8 Arkansas: May 10, 2022 [ abstract] CARAWAY, Ark. (KAIT) - A school district has “flipped the switch” in new efforts to reduce costs and become energy efficient.
The Riverside School District celebrated its newly active solar array on Tuesday. The panels are located on-site at East Elementary School.
The project was a partnership between Little Rock-based Entegrity, who together designed and installed the array that would offset 95% of Riverside’s total consumption and save them about $1.5 million over the project’s lifetime, according to a news release.
“By deciding to build a solar array, we have found a way to reduce facility costs while being good stewards,” Superintendent Jeff Priest said. “Having this array on school grounds provides students and faculty access to unique learning opportunities and garners the importance of promoting energy efficiency in our community.”
-- Staff Writer McClymonds High School community has high hopes for campus overhaul-- The Oaklandside California: May 09, 2022 [ abstract] McClymonds High School will soon be getting a makeover. The West Oakland school, which has occupied the same campus since 1938, is set to receive $65 million over the next three years—part of a $735 million bond approved by Oakland voters in 2020 to modernize and upgrade Oakland Unified school sites. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2024, but community members, school and district officials, and architects must first agree on a vision for the campus revamp.
All those involved agree that the renovation of McClymonds’ campus, located on Myrtle and 26th streets, is long overdue. In addition to needed technology and seismic upgrades, there are environmental and safety concerns to address, including elevated lead levels in the plumbing infrastructure and carcinogens in the groundwater. School and community leaders are hopeful that a modernized campus will also attract more students to McClymonds, where enrollment in recent years has plummeted.
While optimism about the project is high, there are concerns: Some community members worry the funds won’t be enough to realize all of the desired improvements, and that a renovated campus could catch the eye of charter schools looking to expand or relocate. And the level of community engagement in the planning process thus far hasn’t been what many had hoped.
“This is not going to be an easy process,” said VanCedric Williams, the school board director for District 3 where McClymonds is located. “We’re all in agreement that McClymonds deserves some new energy and some new designs. We’re going to continue to push through this conversation.”
-- Ashley McBride BOE Approves Change That Will Allow More Design Flexibility-- Cheshire Herald Connecticut: April 29, 2022 [ abstract] The Cheshire Board of Education has been knee-deep in discussions over future efforts to modernize local school buildings.
Last week, the group took a step that should help provide options for sustainability when shovels finally meet dirt.
On Thursday, April 21, the BOE voted in favor of modifying language specific to educational specifications for new school buildings that will provide for more design options. The amendment modifies one sentence in the wording pertaining to building systems when constructing new school facilities — important language, officials stated, as the Board and Town Council are considering a multi-million dollar school modernization plan.
Originally, the regulation stated that the building systems for new construction would have to be designed in accordance with state and LEED silver rating standards, as well as consideration of renewable energy resources and net zero emissions. The new language, introduced by Board member Samantha Rosenberg and read aloud by Chief Operating Officer Vincent Masciana, modifies the standards to state: “In addition, utilizing renewable energy resources including solar and geothermal as well as net zero energy and/or emissions will be considered in the building design in the context of a 50-year estimated useful life.”
-- Michael Torelli Prince George’s schools are going green with new climate action plan-- The Washington Post Maryland: April 29, 2022 [ abstract] The Prince George’s County school system is embarking on a climate action plan that would reduce its carbon footprint and offer more robust curriculums on environmental justice.
The plan includes 58 recommendations from a work group of students, parents, teachers and administrators and was unanimously approved by the school board Thursday. The recommendations include initiatives that would reduce the amount of food waste and nonrenewable energy from the school system. The plan also includes adding lessons for students on topics like construction design using recyclable materials.
The plan started developing last year after students pushed the board of education to prioritize climate action initiatives. In March 2021, the board passed a resolution that included pledges to run the school system on 100 percent clean-sourced energy by 2030, and contribute zero landfill waste by 2040.
-- Nicole Asbury 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 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 FACT SHEET: The Biden-Harris Action Plan for Building Better School Infrastructure-- The White House National: April 04, 2022 [ abstract] Today, Vice President Kamala Harris is announcing the Biden-Harris Action Plan for Building Better School Infrastructure to upgrade our public schools with modern, clean, energy efficient facilities and transportation—delivering health and learning benefits to children and school communities, saving school districts money, and creating good union jobs. The action plan activates the entire federal government in leveraging investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and American Rescue Plan to advance solutions including energy efficiency retrofits, electric school buses, and resilient design.
The science of learning and development has shown that students need school environments filled with safety, belonging, and health to learn and thrive. Yet many schools rely on outdated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that make classrooms less comfortable and may pose health risks to students and teachers exposed to contaminants or particles in the air that can trigger allergies or asthma attacks and potentially spread infectious diseases – including COVID-19. Dirty diesel buses pose additional health risks for students on board and the neighborhoods they travel through — and exhaust from idling buses can pollute the air around schools. Studies show that poor air quality inside classrooms takes a toll on student concentration and performance, and diesel exhaust exposure is linked to increased school absences. Reducing this pollution will provide better health and educational outcomes — particularly in low-income communities and communities of color that have long faced underinvestment and the burden of high pollution.
-- Staff Writer 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. How an ancient design technique helped one Hawaii public school save $500,000 on energy-- Fast Company Hawaii: March 25, 2022 [ abstract] Living in harmony with the land and sea has been a pillar of Hawaiian culture for centuries. But you wouldn’t think it if you’d visited one of Hawaii’s 270 public schools. Stark lighting, stiflingly hot classrooms, and loud air conditioners are the norm, much like in the rest of the country.
Many of Hawaii’s public schools were built decades ago with insufficient funds and a lack of good natural ventilation for the tropical climate. As a result, the Hawaii Department of Education is the third largest electricity consumer in the state.
But in other areas, Hawaii has been a leader when it comes to going green. In 2015, it was the first state to set a deadline to run completely off renewable energy by 2040, and it’s still on track to achieve that goal. Now, Hawaii’s public schools are starting to be redesigned so that they align with the surrounding climate.
Future-proofing, or passive design, is an ancient technique that leverages natural elements to build comfortable structures. Today, passive design focuses on creating tight, energy-efficient building “envelopes” that work with the local climate and rely less on air conditioning or electric heating. This doesn’t just reduce energy usage, but it also lowers utility costs. Hawaii has a fairly stable climate—Honolulu rarely drops below 65 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes it an ideal place to implement climate-responsive designs that other schools across the country can learn from.
-- KATHLEEN WONG In Blow to School District, County Would Allow Unlimited Development Whether Or Not There Are Enough Schools-- FlaglerLive.com Florida: March 21, 2022 [ abstract] The Flagler County Commission is considering ending a long-standing smart-growth rule: There would no longer have to be sufficient school capacity for new development to go forward.
Under a proposed revision of the county’s Comprehensive Plan, the blueprint that frames the county’s long-range development policies, the “school concurrency” requirement would be eliminated. The state no longer requires it, making it optional for counties to keep or discard. The plan unveiled only hours before a commission workshop today would discard it.
The proposal is still just that. Today’s workshop was designed to brief the County Commission on the work of the Northeast Florida Regional Council, which drafted the plan. The council is one of 10 such regional councils around the state, created by the Legislature to promote regional cooperation and problem solving. It gathers 26 municipalities and seven counties, including Flagler, and operates under the aegis of a 35-member board, including, from Flagler, county commissioners Dave Sullivan and Joe Mullins, and Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson.
-- Staff Writer 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 Students & teachers want building renovations for Park View High School in Loudoun Co.-- WIJLA Virginia: February 23, 2022 [ abstract]
Students and teachers are sounding off about current conditions at Park View High School in Sterling, Virginia.
They told school board members the school is in desperate need of repairs.
“Last week, there was a flood in a section of hallways which flooded some nearby classrooms,” said student Ibrahim Ahmad.
“We can’t keep painting a few walls and replacing a few tiles and acting like everything’s ok. It’s time we discuss a real renovation, one that gives our students a safe as efficient learning environment,” said teacher Sophie Fowler.
It comes at a time when the school is set to undergo a $42 million renovation.
The design phase is set to start in July with construction set to begin in July 2023.
-- Justin Hinton 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 6 simple clues to know if my school is exposed to asbestos-- The News 24 National: February 08, 2022 [ abstract] Phenomena such as digitization or energy efficiency have completely changed the way in which a large number of public spaces are designed or built in our country in recent years or decades. Buildings such as hospitals, sports facilities or educational centers welcome a large number of advances in their construction and maintenance that, a priori, make them more sustainable and efficient.
In the case of schools, the implementation of this digitization and new construction techniques has not reached all communities equallyand there are still too many of them with outdated infrastructures and, what is worse, highly harmful to the health of the little ones.
In recent years, various specialists in environmental health have focused on the presence of asbestos in schools and institutes, especially those built in the 70s and 80s. And this substance, banned since 2002 and whose useful life It is between 30 and 35 years old, it becomes highly carcinogenic and not only if it is handled, but by the mere fact of being exposed to it continuously. For this reason, David Abolafio, manager of Amisur, a company specializing in the detection and removal of asbestos, gives us some simple keys to find out which are the areas or infrastructures where there is a greater probability of finding asbestos and, even more importantly, what steps we must take to remove it as soon as possible and safely.
-- Staff Writer 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 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 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 Three Wood County Schools receive Energy Star certification-- The Parkersburg News and Sentinel West Virginia: January 15, 2022 [ abstract] PARKERSBURG — Three Wood County schools have earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star certification for superior energy performance, officials announced this week.
Parkersburg and Parkersburg South high schools and Jackson Middle School have received the Energy Star designation for 2021, outperforming similar U.S. buildings on measures of energy efficiency, Energy Star representatives said.
“Wood County Schools is proud of the improvements made in our facilities and thrilled to have three of our schools nationally recognized for energy efficiency,” Wood County Schools Superintendent Will Hosaflook said. “Wood County Schools teamed with CMTA Energy Solutions beginning in 2020 to evaluate and improve energy performance in all of our schools. By March 2021, the energy plan had already resulted in more than half a million dollars in savings for Wood County Schools. The Energy Star designations announced this week show those improvements are continuing and have a direct impact on our energy usage and cost.”
-- Staff Writer 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 Forest Edge Elementary School becomes the largest net zero verified education project in the U.S.-- BDCnetork.com Wisconsin: January 04, 2022 [ abstract] Forest Edge Elementary School in Fitchburg, Wis., has become the largest net zero verified education project in the United States. The 126,600-sf project features 1,700 solar panels, 90 geothermal wells, and an energy-maximizing design.
The solar panels are on the building’s roof and, after one year in operation, the panels have provided all the power the school needs to operate. The rooftop solar panels produce 646 kW of energy in one year and offset CO2 emissions equivalent to 623,249 pounds of coal burned. In addition to being energy-efficient, the school’s design connects students to the natural environment and leverages its unique features as a teaching tool.
Each section of the school is themed to highlight natural energy sources: Life, Light, Thermal, and Wind. Viewing areas in the building offer views of the solar panels, vegetated roofs, and geothermal pumps. The library is designed as a “nest” that faces toward the forest adjacent to the school, immersing the students in nature while indoors.
-- DAVID MALONE Mason City school facilities in 'good condition'-- Globe Gazette Iowa: December 21, 2021 [ abstract]
The facilities for the Mason City School District are in "very good condition," according to facility supervisor Todd Huff.
"Over the years, historically, Mason City has taken very good care of their school buildings," said Huff. "We have some buildings that have been in renovation longer than others; Hoover Elementary is a good example."
Repair and maintenance projects that have taken place in the past few years include new roofs for Hoover and Pinecrest Center, boiler work at Hoover, and some gymnasium work at John Adams Middle School.
"We sanded and redid the gym floor at John Adams. That's a big project — looks brand new," said Huff. "We added some skylight windows at John Adams during the renovation out there so that gym area has really changed a lot in the last few years."
Huff said updates have also been made to buildings, such as replacing windows, brick work, and sidewalk repair.
Every year, Huff walks and inspects every inch of a facility to help guide him on what maintenance needs to be done. From the inspections, Huff designs a five-year maintenance-projection plan to determine when certain items will need a repair.
-- Abby Koch 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 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 Forest Edge is cutting edge: FES is first net-zero energy school in Wisconsin-- The Oregon Observer Wisconsin: December 12, 2021 [ abstract] The sun is shining brightly on the future of the newest facility in the Oregon School District -- Forest Edge Elementary.
The Fitchburg school was recognized this past weekend as one of Dane County’s 2021 Climate Champions.
The Climate Champions program through the Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change recognizes local entities that are leading on climate action.
Entities are recognized using four designation levels (one to four stars), depending on the sustainability practices that they have implemented. Out of the 29 entities recognized as 2021 Dane County Climate Champions, only five achieved the highest level of achievement, and Forest Edge was one of them.
During a press conference on Saturday, Dec. 4, Forest Edge was championed for becoming the first net zero school in Wisconsin, meaning after one full year of operation, the building has generated as much energy as it has used for all school activities, including heating and cooling.
-- Neal Patten 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 district capital projects continue to see cost increases-- Lehigh Acres Citizen Florida: November 27, 2021 [ abstract] Another capital project update was given to the School Board of Lee County last week, with many projects going before the capital committee to discuss costs.
Construction Project Management Director Scott Reichenbacher began the discussion with G. Weaver Hipps Elementary School new construction for the pre- K addition. He said with the current requirement of 30,000 square feet, there has been a scope done on the project.
On Oct. 22, the design team was informed the addition will need to be designed as a shelter.
“We talked at the last construction meeting involving this, it looks like GMP will come in between $14 to $15 million. The original concept was 20,000 square feet, which is similar to what we did at James Stephens,” he said.
With additional square footage and an interior play area required the district had to move the existing bus loop out on the campus, which Reichenbacher said was a million dollars worth of site work.
“Everything snowballed,” he said, as the playground had to be moved, too. “So we put that out there. We are going to be discussing that further internally in the capital committee to see if we could fund and move forward.”
The new J elementary school and MM (LAMS) addition was also discussed.
The MM addition, as of Nov. 4, had a 90 percent completed drawing of the structure.
“I have alerted to the potential look at some of the steel at AAA if you choose not to go forward to that,” Reichenbacher said. “That would repurpose that steel if I need to, if we cannot get a credit for it.”
-- MEGHAN BRADBURY Simplify approval of school construction for earthquake safety-- Seattle Times Washington: November 15, 2021 [ abstract] Washington lawmakers have known for years that few of the state’s public-school buildings meet earthquake safety standards.
A new report shows just how widespread the problem is and how that has overwhelmed many Washington school districts. State and federal lawmakers must step in to help.
State lawmakers can take an appropriate first step during this coming short session that starts in January by lowering the threshold for voters to approve school construction bonds to a simple majority. Since lawmakers raised the threshold to 60% more than 70 years ago, it’s been difficult for too many districts to get voter approval for building needs.
Although Washington has one of the highest risks of earthquake in the United States, most public-school students attend class in buildings that predate modern seismic safety standards. Ninety-three percent of 561 school buildings across the state surveyed in recent geological and engineering assessments received the lowest-possible rating — one star in the five-star rating scale developed by the U.S. Resiliency Council. According to that group of experts, an average building designed to meet modern building codes should expect to achieve a safety rating of three to four stars.
A Seattle Times investigation in 2016 found that 1 in 3 pupils enrolled in Washington schools — about 386,000 students at the time — lived in earthquake-prone areas and attended schools built before seismic construction standards were adopted statewide in 1975.
-- Editorial Proposed six-year plan for Anchorage includes building 3 new schools-- Must Read Alaska Alaska: November 13, 2021 [ abstract]
State law requires Alaska school districts to have a six-year capital plan; that includes major maintenance projects such as new roofs, large remodeling projects and new schools.
The Anchorage School District administration reports a maintenance backlog of about $800 million. For years before the 2018 earthquake, the Anchorage School Board had a formal policy to maximize the coverage of new bond funds, by prioritizing needed remodeling and roof replacements, rather than building new replacement schools.
School board members were told that policy needed to be repealed to do the needed earthquake repairs, and the board did so.
It appears that wasn’t all that was really intended by that policy repeal.
A newly proposed Six Year Capital Plan proposes bonding to tear down three existing elementary schools and replace them with three new schools at a total cost of close to $100 million. The three schools are Inlet View, Wonder Park, and Tudor Elementary. The first of these is Inlet View and the School Board is deciding, at the November 16 meeting, if it is on the 2022 School Bond.
This comes at a time when over the past five years the ASD student population has dropped from about 50,000 to this year’s projected 42,800.
Wonder Park is currently about 58 percent occupied and Tudor is at 70 percent occupancy. In 2020, Inlet View Elementary’s design costs was combined with the earthquake repair projects bond by a 4-3 Board vote. In the 1980-90s the District had proposed to close Inlet View.
Inlet View absolutely needs at least a major remodel costing about $15-20 million but possibly more. The new school has a total price tag of over $30 million and seems to be growing.
-- Guest Contributor - Dave Donley After years of waiting, new Mt. Adams school building features modern upgrades-- YakimaHerald.com Washington: November 07, 2021 [ abstract]
Harrah Elementary School Principal Rob McCracken’s voice echoes across the empty new gymnasium as he lists off its exciting features: a drop-down screen to bisect the space, half-and full-size basketball courts, room enough to host local tournaments.
Seemingly every inch of the new building has some state-of-the-art feature.
The “cafetorium” — that’s a combination cafeteria and auditorium — boasts high ceilings and seats nearly 300 students. Classrooms come with high-tech smart projectors that double as whiteboards. Some energy-efficient outlets sense motion and turn off automatically when the building is empty. A huge library with big glass windows has so many movable shelves that the school likely will not have enough books to fill them all at first.
And there’s more to be discovered.
Walking into what he described as a typical classroom, McCracken finds a black, oval-shaped device charging on the counter. A worker tells him it’s a mini microphone system that each classroom is equipped with, allowing teachers to amplify their voices easily. McCracken tests the system out, delight quickly spreading across his face.
The new building will house Mt. Adams School District’s kindergarten through eighth grade students in January. Though it’s just down the road from the 85-year-old Harrah Elementary School where K-fifth grade students currently learn and play, the two buildings are literally decades apart in terms of design and technology.
-- Vanessa Ontiveros Education Department opposes proposal to lower class sizes-- NY1 New York: October 27, 2021 [ abstract]
The Education Department objects to a proposal to lower class sizes by requiring more space per student — testifying at a hearing Wednesday that the plan would lead to a shortage of school seats across the city.
“The proposed legislation would create a seat deficit at every grade level, require the building of hundreds of thousands of new seats across the city, and be incredibly disruptive to the school system as a whole,” DOE Chief Academic Officer Linda Chen said.
Under mayoral control, the Council has little ability to set school policy. The bill uses a workaround: it would amend the city’s administrative code to require 35 square feet of space per child in all grade levels, compared to the 20 square feet required now. That would mean many fewer students per classroom.
Chen said the city would need to create the space for 200,000 more seats to meet the requirement.
“Our typical new elementary school has approximately 500 seats and typically takes about five years or longer to site, design and construct. It can take even longer if the site is complicated or the school is not a simple design,” she said.
The School Construction Authority estimates that, under the current capital plan, it would take about 15 years to build 75,000 seats.
“It would take several decades for SCA to construct enough seats to meet the mandate,” Chen said.
-- JILLIAN JORGENSEN City officials wrestle with how to pay for a long-anticipated new $75 million middle school-- Charlottesville Tomorrow Virginia: October 08, 2021 [ abstract] Charlottesville city leaders are preparing to dig deep in the city’s budget — and raise local taxes — in order to build a new $75 million middle school within the next five years.
The City Council this week gave the green light for the school division to finalize its plans for the new, state-of-the-art facility at Buford Middle School.
“This is an extremely expensive project,” Councilor Michael Payne said at Monday night’s council meeting, minutes before the council voted unanimously to set the project budget at $75 million. “There is still a lot of work to figure out how to make it happen, and I think we’re just going to have to take a really honest, clear-eyed look at our budget as part of being committed to make this happen.”
Monday’s vote does not commit the city to spending the money — or building the school. It simply directs an architect to create detailed plans for how the new facility will look and set a construction schedule.
Once those plans are finished, the firm will return to the council in March seeking final approval. That is when the council will decide if the project will go ahead.
“There is not a request for allocation of public funds tonight, but setting a budget,” said Wyck Knox, an architect at VMDO Architects, the Charlottesville-based firm hired by the city to design the new middle school. VMDO is also a Charlottesville Tomorrow sponsor. That “is incredibly important so that we have the parameters to design to.”
-- JESSIE HIGGINS School Board: Hillsborough’s south county ‘crisis is now a reality’-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: September 29, 2021 [ abstract] Amber Dickerson, head of growth management for the Hillsborough County School District, said she knows what she sounds like.
“I may sound a lot like Chicken Little sometimes,” she told the 14 members of the county commission and school board sitting in a joint workshop Wednesday.
She offered the self-description immediately after reminding commissioners she had visited them a year ago and warned “there was a school capacity crisis brewing” in southern Hillsborough County.
“Unfortunately,” she said Wednesday, “this crisis is now a reality.”
Sumner High School in Riverview, which opened 13 months ago, is one third, or 700 students, above capacity. Shields Middle School has 528 students in modular classrooms and would be 17 percent over its designed capacity without those portables.
The continuing fast pace of residential growth in south county is exceeding school capacity, Dickerson said.
-- C.T. Bowen Bipartisan Coalition’s New K-12 Climate Action Plan Says Net-Zero Schools, Infrastructure Changes are Key to Mitigating -- The74 National: September 28, 2021 [ abstract] A new bipartisan coalition with some high-profile education leaders has released an action plan outlining how the sector can model climate change solutions.
Recommendations include ways schools can reduce carbon emissions, utilize infrastructure as a teaching tool, support communities of color disproportionately affected by weather crises and create pathways for students to pursue green jobs.
“Ultimately, there are a lot of technical fixes that we need in addressing climate change. But we will need people to actually advance a sustainable society,” said Laura Schifter, senior fellow with the Aspen Institute and founder of the new initiative, K12 Climate Action.
Synthesizing a year of listening tours and research, the report connects one of the country’s most sizable public sectors to actionable climate solutions — like mitigating warming effects by replacing the nation’s largest diesel fleet with electric school buses and swapping the common asphalt plots that surround schools with green spaces.
Organized by federal, state and local impact, all recommendations detail what partnerships can and do look like with business, philanthropy, media and advocacy organizations across the country.
In comparison with private homes, public safety offices and businesses, schools lead in the proportion of buildings producing net-zero emissions, according to the New Buildings Institute, a nonprofit that tracks and helps to redesign commercial spaces’ energy performance. Annually, K-12 schools in the U.S. produce emissions equivalent to 18 coal-fired power plants or roughly 15 million cars. Energy is the second most costly expense for school districts on average.
The K12 Climate Action commission of students, teachers, education administrators and environmental leaders includes incoming Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, researcher and president of the Learning Policy Institute Linda-Darling Hammond and the presidents of the country’s two largest teachers unions, representing roughly 4 million educators combined. The group is co-led by Republican Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey governor and head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush, and Democrat John King, former U.S. secretary of education under President Obama who is now running for Maryland governor.
With the action plan now live, the commission is coalition building with districts and businesses nationwide. Their focus is educating more leaders about how small and large school infrastructure changes or partnerships can support a cleaner environment, so that they’re able to follow through on recommendations.
“All the things that we’re calling for are achievable. There’s someplace somewhere that is doing each of the things we recommend,” King told The 74.
-- Marianna McMurdock Study Finds Natural Outdoor Spaces Are Less Common at Schools-- NC State University News North Carolina: September 21, 2021 [ abstract] Spending time in nature can have mental, physical and social benefits for children. While schools offer a chance for students of all backgrounds to get outside in nature, researchers from North Carolina State University found natural spaces like woods or gardens were relatively rare in a small sample of elementary and middle schools in Wake County.
Published in the journal Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, the study found that for schools that did have green natural spaces, teachers played a key role in helping kids experience and enjoy those natural areas.
“When children connect with nature at a young age, it can provide lifelong benefits,” said the study’s lead author, Zhenzhen Zhang, a graduate student in forestry and environmental resources at NC State. “We wanted to know – how can we promote children connecting with nature using the most accessible green space they might have, which is the school yard?”
In the study, researchers visited eight elementary schools and one middle school in Wake County to see if they had gardens, woods, athletic fields or playgrounds. They also measured the percentage of impervious surface, or concrete and asphalt, outdoors at each school. They also surveyed students and teachers to understand the extent that students were aware of, and used, the natural outdoor spaces.
They found all nine schools had athletic fields, and all of the elementary schools had playgrounds. Just three schools had woods, some of which were blocked off by a fence, and six had gardens. Researchers noted that while having athletic fields and playgrounds was likely a result of standard school system landscape design plans, the presence of green natural spaces was not.
-- Laura Oleniacz School Construction Projects Jump In Cost-- Washington County Enterprise-Leader Arkansas: September 01, 2021 [ abstract]
FARMINGTON -- Farmington's plan to build onto the junior high school and expand Folsom and Williams elementary schools has jumped in price by more than $3 million, from $9.5 million to $12.96 million, according to Tyson Reimer, senior project manager with Kinco Constructors.
Reimer gave the news to Farmington School Board at its Aug. 23 meeting.
With 30% of the design plans finished, the firm estimates the junior high addition will cost $9.5 million; the Williams' expansion, $1.7 million; and Folsom's expansion, $1.74 million.
The district plans to add to the junior high school in two locations: a two-story building at the location of the former old high school gym and a second addition at the site of the old "H" Hall.
The district also plans to add six classrooms and bathrooms to Folsom and Williams.
Reimer said Kinco and Hight Jackson Associates, architects for the projects, are looking for ways to reduce the cost by $800,000 to $1 million, at the request of Superintendent Jon Laffoon.
Reimer told board members the construction industry has seen costs increase by 25-30% over the past six months to one year.
"That's what we're seeing today," Reimer said, based on the estimated budget for the Farmington projects a year ago.
-- Lynn Kutter 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 Mayor Bowser Cuts the Ribbon on Newly Renovated Eaton Elementary School-- Executive Office of the Mayor, D.C. District of Columbia: August 26, 2021 [ abstract] (Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser, DC Public Schools Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee, and Interim Principal Jacqueline Anderson cut the ribbon on the newly modernized Eaton Elementary School. Mayor Bowser was joined by Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, Director of the Department of General Services, Keith A. Anderson, and community members.
“We cannot wait to bring our students back to fantastic facilities like this one – spaces specifically designed to support the needs of young learners,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser. “We thank all of our educators and staff members who are working hard to get ready for this school year. We thank our families for working with us to get everyone back. And we thank everyone in the community, whether they have children in school or not, who’s supporting our students by getting vaccinated.”
The modernization of Eaton Elementary School, a $57.7 million project, initially began in 2018 with the renovation of two existing buildings totaling 40,000 square feet and the demolition of interconnecting 1930s- and 1980s-era buildings that allowed for the construction of a new 45,000 square feet three-level building. The new facility features a new gymnasium, library, and cafeteria to serve the student body.
“We are excited to welcome our Eaton community back to their school home,” said Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee. “The new school building celebrates our history and embraces the bright future of our students at the heart of the design. As we prepare to welcome back our students on August 30, we’re excited to see our students joyfully learning in Eaton and all our schools.”
-- Staff Writer Proposed bond aims to replace aging Kilgore High School building-- KLTV.com Texas: August 17, 2021 [ abstract]
KILGORE, Texas (KLTV) - Last Friday, the Kilgore ISD school board proposed a $113 million bond to renovate Chandler Elementary as well as replace the current Kilgore High School.
“We’ve got some challenges that have been here for a while, they aren’t new needs, they are recurring needs and our board thought that now was a good time to go ahead and start to address those needs,” said Kilgore ISD superintendent Dr. Andy Baker.
The original Kilgore High School building was created in 1932. At the time, the building was intended to house elementary, junior high, and high school students. Today, it sees about 1,200 high school students walk through it’s halls every school day.
“Its original square footage, its original design was never intended for the design and use we are putting it through today,” Baker said.
And with it’s age comes different issues.
“The moisture issue on the exterior of the walls, those walls are original 1932 walls, the exterior is still the same brick and mortar that was there 89 years ago, the mortar on the inside is now starting to deteriorate given the moisture coming in from outside, so its not coming down from the roofs per say, its coming down from the outside,” Baker said. “So that is a challenge that we have in multiple classrooms, multiple window seals, and multiple exterior walls are just starting to crumble every time a kiddo brushes up next to it, every time a desk hits it, the walls begin to crumble.”
Baker says so far he’s had some feedback from members of the community who hope with a new building, some of the architecture and tradition of the past can be retained.
“There’s a lot of nostalgia incorporated in the tradition of this high school, a lot of the community would like to see even if they believe there might be a need at this point in time they’d still like to see us keep a lot of the tradition, maybe some of the architecture looks,” he said.
-- Arthur Clayborn and Christian Terry Jefferson schools set aside money for long-term maintenance needs-- Daily Jefferson County Union Wisconsin: July 30, 2021 [ abstract]
JEFFERSON — With additional revenue coming in during the last school year and a reduction in some costs the district would have faced in a normal year, the Jefferson school board Monday was able to set aside a substantial sum for future maintenance/capital project costs.
The board voted to transfer $950,000 from the 2020-21 year-end balance into Fund 46, a special fund established in 2018.
The district had until July 30 to take any leftover balance from the 2020-21 school year and move it into the Fund 46 long-term capital maintenance fund.
When the fund was established in 2018, the district had to follow some strict parameters. First, the district had to develop a 10-year maintenance plan. Secondly, the district was not allowed to touch any money set aside in this special fund for five years.
Thus, the first year that Fund 46 money will be available will be 2023, at which point the entire fund will be available to address targeted maintenance concerns.
Prior to Monday night’s decision, the School District of Jefferson had a $1.1 million balance in Fund 46.
Any money designated toward this fund goes into the state aid formula for the next year, being treated as if the district spent it. That provides a budgetary advantage down the line.
The district did not make a transfer into Fund 46 after the 2019-20 fiscal year. The current balance in Fund 46 is $1,169,570.16.
This includes a $700,000 deposit in 2017-18, a $400,000 deposit in 2018-19 and investment income of $69,570.16, said Laura Peachey, director of business services for the Jefferson schools.
-- Pam Chickering Wilson 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 BCPS, Baltimore County release updated recommendations for long-term school construction-- NottinghamMD.com Maryland: July 14, 2021 [ abstract] TOWSON, MD—Baltimore County Public Schools and Baltimore County Government on Wednesday released updated recommendations for the County’s Multi-Year Improvement Plan for All Schools (MYIPAS), developed by Cannondesign, a nationally recognized architecture and planning company.
Under the recommendations, every school in Baltimore County would receive equitable capital improvements within 15 years and could be completed without any additional revenue increases.
“I am proud of the way that our communities, families, and staff have come together to plan for every school to have a modern and equitable learning environment as called for in The Compass, our strategic plan,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams. “The thoughtful MYIPAS process has ensured that our way forward is guided by multiple stakeholder perspectives as well as independent, objective advice.”
“Every child and every educator deserves a modern, safe, and supportive learning environment. These recommendations from Cannondesign provide a comprehensive, equitable, and fully funded roadmap to accomplish just that,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “These data-driven recommendations will help guide our work with the Board of Education, BCPS, and our communities to ensure high quality schools in every ZIP code and to fulfill our County’s obligations to the Blueprint for Maryland’s future.”
In total, the recommendations call for $2.5 billion in school construction, including all remaining Schools for our Future projects. The Cannondesign proposal also outlines strategies to bring school capacity down to 100 percent through additions and redistricting – eliminating the need for makeshift spaces or trailers.
-- Chris Montcalmo Black mold infestation leads to future new campus at Weed Elementary School-- mtshasta news California: July 02, 2021 [ abstract] After dangerous black mold was found in Weed Elementary School's buildings, the district is constructing a new, state-of-the-art campus.
People in the neighborhood of the school are seeing bulldozers and ground movers working in the school's field. This summer, portable module buildings as an interim temporary campus will be popping up for the next school year as the school will be torn down and rebuilt due to black mold and other structural noncompliance issues.
In October 2020, the school's main building, quad rooms, and music room were found to be contaminated with black mold in the walls and closed down. Inspections showed that the 60s style construction of the school's buildings that were designed for Southern California has open rafters and can not meet the snow load compliance. It was also found that the building that houses the water boiler not only contains asbestos and lead paint, but is also not seismically sound. So that building, too, will be replaced.
-- Shareen Strauss Facilities study for BG schools proceeds as boiler costs top $300,000
-- Sentinel-Tribune Ohio: June 29, 2021 [ abstract] The Bowling Green City Schools Board of Education is going to start a capital improvements program which may include renovations and additions to existing buildings as well as new construction.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the board also approved spending $333,884 for boiler work at two elementaries.
The board hired Fanning/Howey Associates to design a master plan.
Fanning/Howey will perform an onsite review of facilities to determine current conditions, using the 2015 Ohio Facilities Construction Commission facility assessment as baseline data.
“I think this is certainly a very positive step forward to address the needs of our district’s academic facilities,” said Superintendent Francis Scruci.
The architects also will gather existing site information to identify current conditions and possible constraints; facilitate an educational visioning process with staff to understand facilities improvements that may be needed to support curriculum delivery goals; facilitate a community engagement process to share facilities data and to gather stakeholder preferences regarding facilities improvements.
They will then develop a facilities master plan that summarizes all recommended improvements and related budgets and offer conceptual graphic representations to help illustrate facilities improvement goals.
The cost to the district is not to exceed $40,000.
-- Marie Thomas-Baird 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 Growing schools see building boom-- bddailynews.com Kentucky: June 25, 2021 [ abstract] School facilities took center stage this week as the Warren County and Bowling Green school boards held meetings to review their construction and renovation priorities.
On Wednesday, the Bowling Green Independent School District Board of Education reviewed design drawings for phase four renovations at Bowling Green High School.
Ultimately, the board approved the designs and authorized the school district to spend up to $22,434,420 on the project.
Superintendent Gary Fields said the revised $22.4 million project cost estimate includes a cost increase of 15% to 20% over the previous cost estimate, a change he blamed on an increased demand by school districts across the state for construction-related services.
That said, the district isn’t actually planning to start bidding the renovations until later this year.
“As of June 2021, we’re seeing some significant jumps in cost,” Fields said. “The good news is, we’re six months away from going out to bid.”
-- Aaron Mudd Seattle Public Schools: Construction Starts This Summer-- Patch.com Washington: June 19, 2021 [ abstract] Two years of planning pays off this summer as construction starts on several major building projects.
There are three elementary school replacement projects that are scheduled to take two years to complete. Phase II modernization of a high school will take place over the next year. Plus, three school addition projects are scheduled to take one year as is a project to replace several systems in one school building. Lastly, the end of the school year kicks off multiple smaller projects traditionally done during summer break.
Replacement Projects
All three schools include sustainable design features that work toward the district's net-zero energy goals and eliminate the use of fossil fuels. Geothermal heating and energy-efficient LED lighting reduce energy usage. Each school is being built to accommodate installation of solar panels in the future.
-- Staff Writer Grand Forks referendum: Proponents say 'there's something for every campus'-- Grand Forks Herald North Dakota: June 14, 2021 [ abstract] Voter approval of the June 22 school referendum will set the stage for the future of education in Grand Forks, bring facilities up to date, and provide a safe and equitable learning experience for all K-12 students – no matter where in the district the student lives, proponents say.
A yes vote “really illustrates that there’s support for the entire school district,” Superintendent Terry Brenner told the Herald editorial board.
Within the $86 million bond issue, “there is something for every campus, whether that’s safety and security, reconfiguring our front doors and office designs, moving offices to create safer sightlines to allow people in or not allow people in,” Brenner said.
“Classrooms really ought to have more than two outlets for the technological world we live in and our learning environments need spaces where our students can create and critically think and collaborate,” he said, noting the need for flexible spaces, unlike the traditional classroom, “that can be repurposed for anything from extra- to co-curriculars to academics – that just provides more opportunities.”
Safety and security, equity and learning spaces have been among the primary factors in much of the conversation about whether to renovate structures or build a new school, Brenner said.
“We really want to set up the community for the next generation with how our schools will be,” he said. “We also know that we’re part of this economic engine that drives the community.”
-- Pamela D. Knudson 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 Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools: Lincoln opening to mark first new school in 26 years-- ThisWeek Community News Ohio: May 26, 2021 [ abstract]
The Gahanna-Jefferson Public School District's new Lincoln Elementary School, 261 Helmbright Drive, will be dedicated during a ceremony to be held there at 11:30 a.m. June 5.
Steve Barrett, G-J superintendent, said the ribbon-cutting ceremony represents the culmination of Phase 1 of the district’s master facilities plan.
“Lincoln Elementary was the centerpiece of Phase 1, and we are incredibly proud of the learning space that was designed for our community,” Barrett said. “The opening of Lincoln Elementary is an exciting milestone in the history of our district.”
Barrett said the opening will mark the first time the district has opened a new school in 26 years.
Judy Hengstebeck, G-J communications coordinator, said the school is expected to open in August with approximately 700 students.
“We are grateful to our GJPS community for its support,” Barrett said. “We look forward to opening the building for community tours on June 13.”
He said tour sign-up information should be available on the GJPS website and social-media platforms soon.
Special guests are invited to tour the building immediately after the ceremony, with a tour for the community scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. on June 13, Hengstebeck said.
A rain date for the ribbon-cutting ceremony is June 12.
Hengstebeck said all incoming Lincoln Elementary School families are invited to a pizza party and building tours starting on the playground at 12:15 p.m. June 5.
-- Marla Kuhlman AIA Names 2021 Education Facility Design Award Winners-- Architect Magazine National: May 25, 2021 [ abstract] Today, The American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for Education revealed the winners of its 2021 Education Facility design Award, naming 11 exemplary "state-of-the-art designs of schools and learning centers." This year, five projects of "superior quality" received an award of merit, while six projects received an award of excellence, which recognizes designs that meet "a host of criteria, including enhancing learning in classrooms; balancing function with aesthetics; establishing a connection with the environment; being respectful of the surrounding community; demonstrating high-level planning in the design process; and integrating sustainability in a holistic fashion," according to an AIA press release.
-- MADELEINE D'ANGELO Chemically contaminated Burlington High School needs to be rebuilt, superintendent says-- VTDigger Vermont: May 04, 2021 [ abstract] That decision, however, was overshadowed by the news that the discovery of more PCB chemicals in the high school had made remediation untenable.
The presence of the cancer-causing carcinogens forced the school to shut down last fall and required students and staff to find a new home in a renovated Macy’s department store downtown.
At the board’s May meeting Tuesday night, Flanagan put a final nail in the coffin. The building could not be renovated, he said, so the district would have to build a new high school.
“It is no longer possible to meet our stated goals of the ‘ReEnvisioning project,’” Flanagan said, referring to its plan to rehabilitate the facility. “The remediation that will be needed to address the contamination pushes us over the threshold of what is possible in this building. And I believe that we need to start fresh with a new build.”
Remediation would cost the district between $7 million and $12 million, he said. Even then, it’s unlikely that the building would meet state safety thresholds due to the extensive nature of the contamination.
School board members said they agreed with Flanagan’s request to call off the renovations and find new land upon which to build a new high school. They unanimously approved his directive to end the “ReEnvisioning project” and cease all contracts related to the work.
The project was originally designed to renovate the aging high school with a $70 million bond approved by voters in 2018. But when PCBs were found while the project was underway, some of that money was redirected toward remediation.
-- Grace Elletson $69 Million 21st Century Design School to be Built at Fort Knox-- Spectrum News 1 DoDEA: April 29, 2021 [ abstract] FORT KNOX, Ky. — Fort Knox plans to build another 21st century elementary school at the installation. The features and amenities are designed to bolster the education and give students valuable skills to unlock their potential.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have set aside $69 million for the project. Schools on military installations are built to higher anti-terrorism and force protection standards than schools that serve civilians; this impacts the cost, as does the large, open spans and integrated technology that is part of 21st Century design.Community Superintendent Josh Adams with the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) said that 21st Century designs like the Kingsolver Elementary at Fort Knox will help set children up for long-term success.
-- MICHAEL CADIGAN Outdated school facilities hinder efforts to combat Covid and improve indoor air quality-- American School & University National: April 29, 2021 [ abstract] A report from the Center for Green Schools says too many school buildings cannot accommodate strategies and equipment that improve air quality.
In their efforts to combat the spread of Covid-19, schools across the nation have pursued many strategies to improve air quality in their facilities. But many administrators say that those efforts have been hindered by aging and inadequate buildings.
A report from the Center for Green Schools, “Preparation for the Pandemic: How Schools Implemented Air Quality Measures to Protect Occupants from Covid-19,” details the steps schools have taken to reduce the spread of the virus through improved air quality.
But it concludes that in too many of the nation’s school buildings, systems are outdated or not designed to carry out recommended strategies for improving indoor air quality (IAQ).
"School districts still have unmet needs in addressing indoor air quality, in particular, when faced with cost constraints and outdated building infrastructure in the face of changing conditions," the report says. "The most frequently cited challenge to carrying out protective air quality measures at schools was that school buildings were not designed to support the strategies that were being recommended."
-- Mike Kennedy ELCO explores $25-30 million major overhaul to 1962 high school building-- Lebtown Pennsylvania: April 07, 2021 [ abstract]
The only true constant is change. Over time, things naturally change.
And if we don’t change, we’ll be left behind.
Education should be at the forefront of change. Not only should education react to change, it should anticipate it.
Society changes. Vocations change. Educators change. Students change. Needs change.
But, for the most part, structures – buildings – don’t change.
The Eastern Lebanon County School District (ELCO) is exploring the feasibility of a $30 million renovation project that would change the face of ELCO High School. Although still very much in the exploratory phase, the project would be designed more to address the changing needs of education than wear and tear on the building.
It’s been 30 years since ELCO High School has been treated to a major renovation project.
For all of us, needs have changed,” said Julia Vicente, who’s been ELCO’s superintendent for four years. “Just think about technology and the way it has affected our society. Some of our current technologies weren’t even being used in 1991. The value of collaboration, of working together, is different now than it was in 1991.”
“Environment is critical in a student’s education,” Vicente added. “We have to create spaces to collaborate. We can really create some important dynamics.”
-- Jeff Falk School district construction and renovation projects estimated to top $140 million-- ParkRecord.com Utah: April 03, 2021 [ abstract] The Park City Board of Education continues to zero in on a timeline and dollar amount for its master planning projects, including grade realignments and expansions at all of its schools.
At a work session Wednesday morning, the board was given an estimate of nearly $150 million to complete the work, including nearly $25 million for green enhancements.
The detailed analysis was provided by Salt Lake City-based architecture and design firm MHTN Architects. Dave Hart, of MOCA, which was contracted by the board to provide guidance for the projects, presented the information to the board.
At a previous meeting, the board asked Hart to bring a detailed cost analysis for the expansion projects at Park City High School and Ecker Hill Middle School, as well as cost estimates for the planned additions at Parley’s Park, Jeremy Ranch, McPolin and Trailside elementary schools. The board also named carbon neutrality and green construction as one of its priorities — with the district’s intention to align with Park City’s 2030 carbon-neutral goal — and asked Hart to include that in the cost analysis.
The board previously heard cost estimates for the PCHS and Ecker Hill construction and renovation projects. This past week Hart provided new estimates for those as well as the projects at the elementary school sites intended to enhance wraparound services like preschool and community learning programs.
-- Jeff Dempsey Four schools close due to fears of roof collapse-- South Florida Sun Sentinel Florida: March 30, 2021 [ abstract]
Four Broward schools will remain closed until further notice as inspectors make sure their roofs won’t be the next to collapse.
While most students returned from Spring Break this week, 1,425 students at Lauderdale Lakes Middle, Lauderhill 6-12, Apollo Middle in Hollywood and Plantation Middle are learning remotely while the schools are inspected.
Combined enrollment at the four schools is about 3,600 students, but most were already learning at home due to the pandemic.
The four schools — all built in the late 1960s — have the exact same structural design as James S. Rickards Middle in Fort Lauderdale, where the roof over the media center collapsed March 5. Students there have been e-learning since the breach. The roof had just been replaced within the past year.
Initially after the Rickards incident, the school district decided to keep the four other schools open but close the media centers and adjacent classrooms.
“In an abundance of caution while this process continues, our school will revert to 100% e-learning,” Ryan Reardon, principal of Lauderhlll 6-12, wrote in a note to parents Sunday. “As always, our highest priorities are the safety of our students and staff.”
-- Scott Travis 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 School renovations may be in jeopardy-- Mooresville Tribune North Carolina: March 26, 2021 [ abstract] Renovation projects at two Mooresville Graded School District elementary schools may be in jeopardy after construction bids came back $3.2 million higher than initially forecast due to COVID-19-related global production price increases and supply chain issues.
The MGSD had planned to spend $16 million for new HVAC systems, kitchen and cafeteria renovations and the addition of a 12,500-square-foot combination gymnasium and auditorium at both Park View and South Elementary schools.
But, bids for the project came back 20 percent higher than expected to Performance Services, the Indianapolis-based design-builder hired to head the projects.
Without new financing to fund the now $19.2 million project, the MGSD could be forced to reduce the scope of the project, officials said during a virtual Board of Education meeting March 24.
“We do not have $19.2 million that we can borrow at this point or supplement with local funds or something like that to be able to proceed at this point,” said Superintendent Stephen Mauney. “We are trying to keep all our options open.”
-- Kate Stevens New school construction could save lives
-- 6WBRC Alabama: March 16, 2021 [ abstract] JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) - Schools are always looking at new ways to keep students, faculty, and staff safe during severe weather, and now even the way schools are built has new guidance.
Deputy Superintendent of Operations for Jefferson County Schools, Neal Underwood, said back in 2012, the Alabama legislature passed a bill that requires all new school construction to have storm shelters in the building, and any additions to existing buildings will have to be able to withstand winds of up to 250 miles per hour.
Underwood said the school district is in the process of building six new schools, and all of them will have a wing designed to be a storm shelter.
Warrior Elementary School just opened on March 8 and it also meets those new specifications.
The 80,000 square-foot building has three wings on the back, one of which is a storm shelter that safely houses all students, faculty and staff in the event of a tornado, or other severe weather.
“The roofing is different from normal roofing on an area that is not a storm shelter, the walls, whether it’s the block with poured concrete with rebar, all of those are designed differently. The heating and air components to that particular area is designed differently…and that’s so that if we ever have to go in there and then there is damage, we can sustain ourselves inside that area for several hours,” Underwood explained.
-- Chasity Maxie New Columbia middle school storm shelters follow updated building codes-- KMIZ17 Missouri: March 03, 2021 [ abstract]
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia Public Schools is continually working to ensure its buildings have a safe place for students and staff to go in the case of severe weather, and the newest additions John Warner Middle School is no exception.
"This is the first year that John Warner has been open. We completed construction over the summer. It was a multi-year project. It's obviously a significant one for our community," said Michelle Baumstark with Columbia Public Schools.
"Just like any of our new facilities that have been constructed over the last several years, it does include some additional features related to storm shelters," she said.
There are three areas in John Warner Middle School that serve as storm shelters: the auxiliary gym, a locker room area, and a self-contained special education room.
"With the design of a building overall there are spaces that are specifically designated as areas where students can shelter, and so that might be a hallway that's reinforced with no windows," she said.
-- Sydney Olsen Evanston-Skokie District 65 launches committee to modernize district, address inequities-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: March 02, 2021 [ abstract]
Officials with Evanston-Skokie School District 65 are looking for parents, staff, caregivers and community members to serve on a Student Assignment Advisory Committee.
The group will help advise the district on where kids in different neighborhoods should attend school. The creation of the group comes as the district re-imagines its Student Assignment Plan, which designates the school to which students around Evanston are designated to attend.
The effort comes as officials seek to “modernize (District 65′s) structure and address historic inequities that continue to most significantly impact students of color,” said Superintendent Devon Horton, in the release. “This may include changes to school attendance areas, reconsideration of a more equitable selection process for magnet schools and programs, and establishing a local school for Fifth Ward families.”
District 65 has not reviewed its boundaries or recommended broad changes in the past 25 years, despite shifts in enrollment, student demographics, academic services and programs, according to the release.
-- GENEVIEVE BOOKWALTER West Virginia Board of Education unanimously approves motion to return to 4- or 5-day in-person instruction by March 3-- WVNews West Virginia: February 23, 2021 [ abstract]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WV News) — The West Virginia Board of Education passed a motion Tuesday requiring grades pre-K to eighth to return to full, five-day instruction. The motion replaces a Jan. 13 one that required counties to offer at least blended learning for families.
During a special meeting Tuesday, board members heard from the state’s coronavirus czar, Dr. Clay Marsh, who presented data on the transmission of COVID-19 within schools and noted minimal transmission, especially among younger students.
“Early in the pandemic, we thought school transmission was closely tied to community transmission rates,” said Marsh. “We’ve since learned this is not correct. We are finding that when mitigations are followed, schools are among the safest places for our children.”
In a unanimous vote, board members approved the motion to send pre-K-8 students back to school in-person five days a week no later than March 3, regardless of the county’s designation on the Department of Health and Human Resources’ County Alert System map.
The board also voted unanimously to include in the motion a provision that high school students will attend classes in-person unless their county is red on the County Alert System map. Also included in the motion is a recommendation that students in grades 9-12 in counties that are not red attend school five days per week.
-- Kailee Kroll Permanent Concretables as an Immediate Solution for School Capacity Needs-- Hernando Sun Florida: February 22, 2021 [ abstract] Brian Ragan, Director of Facilities and Construction presented to the Hernando County School Board on February 9, 2021, a proposal to install Permanent Concretables to solve imminent and future capacity problems in Hernando County schools.
Permanent Concretables, commonly called “prefab” or “pre-cast” are concrete structures manufactured in a plant, and shipped to the school campus. These can be assembled on a traditional foundation and classified as Permanent capacity per state School Concurrency regulations. These one or two-story buildings can be finished to match other campus buildings. Rated for 220 MPH winds, the structures have bullet-resistant concrete walls and roofs.
Maintaining School Concurrency is a legal obligation of the district. This is a system of land use regulations designed to meet the demands placed upon public school capacity by new residential development. Before approving proposed residential development, local governments and school boards must jointly determine whether adequate school capacity will be available to accommodate the development. Local governments must deny applications for new residential development if adequate permanent capacity will not be available or under construction within three years of approving the application.
-- Lisa Macneil School Construction Authority prez Lorraine Grillo tapped as ‘recovery czar’ by de Blasio-- amNY New York: February 22, 2021 [ abstract] To help rebuild New York in the post-pandemic era, Mayor Bill de Blasio is turning to one of his administration’s biggest construction experts to help get the job done.
On Monday, de Blasio named President and CEO of the New York City School Construction Authority and Commissioner of the Department of design and Construction Lorraine Grillo senior advisor and “recovery czar” tasked with “supercharging” New York City’s rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We want a recovery that is strong, that vibrant, that brings New York City back to where it was and then some in terms of economic activity and people’s livelihoods,” said de Blasio during a Monday press conference. “Every single city agency must be a part of the recovery effort. Recovery for all of us is about everything.”
-- Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech Carmel School students build air filters for campus buildings-- WWBT Virginia: February 20, 2021 [ abstract]
RUTHER GLEN, Va. (WWBT) - Engineering and robotics students at Carmel School built and designed three air filters for each building on campus. The students learned about air quality and filtration before building the units.
The systems will be used in the Lower School, Middle/Upper School, and Athletic Center buildings.
The filters were built based on the “Comparetto Cube” design by Neil Comparetto.
“This project is exciting because the students built working units capable of filtering COVID-19 as well as many allergens. The units can be used by the school to help us continue to stay safe and healthy,” Ms. Kember Forcke, Robotics & Engineering Teacher said. “Each unit should last six months and will filter approximately 60,000 cubic feet per hour,” she continued.
On February 10, the class teams presented the units to Mrs. Carolyn Williamson, Head of School, Mr. Stephen Griggs, Head of Middle and Upper School, and Dr. Melanie Casper, Head of Lower School.
-- Adrianna Hargrove Beloit School District approves 10-year capital improvement plan-- Beloit Daily News Wisconsin: February 10, 2021 [ abstract]
BELOIT—The Beloit School Board’s oversight and finance committee passed a 10-year capital improvement after it was presented by Facilities Director Sean Winters on Tuesday evening. The facilities capital improvement plan for the 2020-2021 school year from Fund 10 is not to exceed $781,000.
The presentation also included a plan by Director of Food and Nutrition Dawn Smith for food service projects paid for through Fund 50 planned for the next decade which was also approved. The Fund 50 plan for food service for the 2020-2021 school year, is not to exceed $978,600.
Both items will go before the full board at an upcoming meeting.
Winters said the district’s intent is to budget $2 million dollars annually in its facilities budget which consists of $1 million for capital improvements such as bathroom and classroom upgrades, boiler replacements, flooring, cabinetry and equipment such as lawn mowers and tools and $1 million for repairs, preventative maintenance, mechanical certifications and materials.
The district may use Fund 46, which allows the district to set money aside for the use of future capital improvement projects. As part of the criteria of Fund 46, the board must approve a 10-year capital improvement plan annually. Currently there is only $100 in the Fund 46 account which was set up a couple years ago.
Winters explained the capital improvement plan is fluid but is designed to give a rough outline of what projects the district intends to address. The individual projects and accompanying dollar amounts would go before the board for approval as they come up.
“This is purely to show the board we are having some foresight in plans for our district,” Winters said.
-- Hillary Gavan Should Schools Become Vaccination Sites for Everyone?-- Education Week National: February 04, 2021 [ abstract] An increasing number of school district leaders are setting up creative partnerships to vaccinate teachers and staff—and now some are pressing local health officials to let them expand to the community at large.
Sprawl, gentrification, and cycles of disinvestment have led to markedly different access to drug stores, supermarkets, and medical facilities across the United States, but nearly all communities still have schools, the leaders note. Centrally located and often at walkable distances for most residents, schools have the potential to serve as powerful vaccination hubs.
It’s unclear how many of the nation’s school districts currently host on-site vaccinations. Partly that’s a function of how much vaccine each state has received and where teachers and other school personnel fall on their tiered plans for rolling out vaccinations.
But if the idea picks up traction, it could increase public confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines and potentially also help prioritize communities that have been hardest hit by the virus—and face the most hurdles in access to vaccinations.
“What’s the one thing more Americans do together every year than anything else? Vote. And where do most people vote? At schools,” noted Austin Beutner, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, who is pushing hard to situate vaccination clinics in some of its more than 1,000 schools. “We’re in the neighborhood. We’re the only civic institution that, by design, is located in communities. Even McDonald’s can’t get the real estate we get.”
-- Stephen Sawchuk Stanwood High puts finishing touches on new construction as remote learning continues-- King 5 Washington: January 27, 2021 [ abstract]
STANWOOD, Wash. — It’s been a dramatic week for the staff at the newly built Stanwood High School in Snohomish County.
This week Principal Christine Del Pozo watched the demolition of the former school while welcoming back a very small portion of students to begin in-person learning.
Students who have special needs, require language assistance and students whose families are experiencing homelessness are back to the classroom this week. That's around 60 students.
Teachers have been moving into their classrooms and Del Pozo says around 25 teachers are coming in daily and several are teaching online students from their new classrooms.
Until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted the massive student body of more than 1,200 will continue to learn virtually. The new school replaces the original campus that was built in 1971.
The building was designed with safety measures in mind. A big part of the new design is having all of the students in one building that features a single entrance that locks each morning when school begins.
Lockers are also mostly a thing of the past. Only a few dozen are available. That's another safety effort as the school is designed with massive open spaces and emergency situations in mind.
The school itself is around 260,000 square feet and has state-of-the-art facilities like a wood and metal shop, performance theater, and a multi-level gymnasium.
The construction pays tribute to the past with a two-story wall where much of the original gym wood flooring is displayed vertically.
-- Chris Cashman St. Paul Public Schools to curb construction spending this year-- Pioneer Press Minnesota: January 25, 2021 [ abstract]
Despite halting planning on new capital projects, St. Paul Public Schools plans to borrow $67 million this year to pay for ongoing construction at several schools.
The school board already has signed off on $15 million in bonds covered by the annual property tax levy. In the coming months, they’ll be asked to consider an additional $52 million for several projects.
That’s actually far less debt than the district has been taking on of late.
Under plans initiated by former superintendent Valeria Silva, the school district since 2016 has been spending $112 million a year on building maintenance and capital projects, up from around $30 million before then. The idea was to improve the look and function of the district’s aging schools, not necessarily to increase capacity.
But those projects have cost far more than anticipated.
Following a Pioneer Press report detailing how much the estimates have grown, Superintendent Joe Gothard in 2019 put a stop to pre-design work on any new projects, further delaying improvements that already had been pushed back because of a lack of funds.
However, several projects, including renovations at American Indian Magnet and Frost Lake, were approved last year because preparations already were well underway when other planning was stopped. The $67 million in borrowing this year will help pay for work at those schools as well as projects near completion, such as renovations at Humboldt and Como Park high schools.
Gothard’s administration was expected to release a new five-year construction plan last spring but postponed it because of the coronavirus pandemic. That plan finally is set to go before the school board in February, with a vote expected in March.
School district spokesman Kevin Burns did not say Monday whether the district intends to go back to borrowing $112 million in future years.
-- JOSH VERGES City's growth prompts construction of $24 million school building-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: January 23, 2021 [ abstract] CHEYENNE – The city’s growth has pushed Wyoming’s largest school district to build another new school building, called Coyote Ridge Elementary, to serve 556 fifth and sixth grade students.
Earlier this month, the Cheyenne City Council annexed from the county a 24-acre plot of land at the corner of Powderhouse Road and East Carlson Street in Laramie County School District 1’s Central Triad. But that was simply a rezoning effort designed to put the property under the city’s jurisdiction.
The steadily expanding district bought the land in 2014 in anticipation of the need for a new school building in the future. Last year, the Wyoming Legislature approved the construction of a $24 million building, which is set to open in August 2022.
-- Kathryn Palmer This nonprofit is turning empty schoolyards into vibrant public parks-- Fast Company National: January 12, 2021 [ abstract] In cities around the world, the pandemic has heightened awareness of the need for parks and natural spaces. After months of lockdowns, with many people spending most of their time inside their homes, something as basic as a patch of lawn or tree-shaded corner park has become a vital urban refuge. But space for urban parks is in short supply, and the time it takes to plan, design, and build a new park can stretch on for years. To meet the need for parks more quickly, some cities are taking advantage of a source of open space they’ve long ignored: schoolyards.
“Schoolyards are a cost-efficient and a space-efficient way of bringing opportunities and dramatically increasing access to green space,” says Benita Hussain, director of 10 Minute Walk, an effort focused on increasing access to public space in cities.
Most school playgrounds provide acres of open space but are mostly locked behind gates after school hours. 10 Minute Walk works with cities and school districts to develop partnerships for governing and maintaining these spaces as public parks once the school day is over.
Hussain says that as the pandemic drags on, more cities are putting in the work to make these kinds of conversions happen.
-- NATE BERG New storm shelters coming for four Springfield schools, funded by surplus bond issue money-- KY3 Missouri: January 08, 2021 [ abstract]
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - With $15 million left over from the April 2019 bond issue, the Springfield Public School district has decided to go ahead and add new storm shelter/gyms to four elementary schools. The shelters are expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
Horace Mann, Mark Twain, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Eugene Field elementary schools will be getting the storm shelters, which are currently found in only nine of the 53 schools in the district.
“It’s been more than a wish. It’s really been a need,” said Janell Bagwell, the current principal at Field elementary and former principal at Twain.
How much of a need? Well, at Field elementary for instance, the 410 students can’t be placed in the hallways when severe weather strikes because there’s glass in the doors and windows that line the ceiling.
“So our designated areas are our bathrooms that we basically cram as many people as we can into one space ,” Bagwell explained.
The new gyms will also provide some much needed space for other activities.
“This is our ‘cafagymatorium’,” Bagwell said with a smile as she pointed to a part of the school that has a stage area facing a large floor space that includes basketball goals and long folded tables against the walls. “We use it for P.E., breakfast, lunch, any assemblies. But actually it’s not really big enough to hold our entire student body. It’s really, really tight.”
“It really makes a huge difference for our buildings when we have to plan around curriculum,” added Stephen Hall, the SPS Chief Communications Officer. “In addition to expanding the space for programs and activities we’re also pleased to be able to offer that storm shelter space for the community so in the event there is a storm, that will help keep our staff and students safe but it’s also a space that the community can be safe.”
-- Joe Hickman Westerville City Schools in 2021: Renovations, construction to dominate priorities-- This Week Community News Ohio: December 29, 2020 [ abstract] Additional Westerville South High School renovations, a new wing at Annehurst Elementary School and construction at a new elementary school are a few of the building projects going on this year within the Westerville City Schools.
Scott Dorne, Westerville City Schools' executive director of facilities and operations, said various projects will be going on within the district and the South space is a big portion of that work.
“There are a lot of exciting things going on for our students coming down the road,” he said. “A calendar year from now, we will have three phases completed at Westerville South.”
The first phase of South’s renovation was completed in December and included new academic spaces and a new wing with a gymnasium and restrooms.
Jeff LeRose, facilities director, said Phase 2, to be completed in August, includes the renovation of the first-floor north academic wing and café.
He said Phase 3, to be completed in December, includes the renovation of the second-floor south academic wing.
“We designed this most recent wing as the water wing and included elements reflecting water,” LeRose said. “The next two phases, we’ll incorporate fire and air elements of nature.”
In terms of classrooms, he said, classrooms that are 600 to 700 square foot will be expanded to the recommended size of 900 square feet.
-- Marla K. Kuhlman Kraus-Anderson starts six White Bear Lake school-expansion projects-- StarTribune Minnesota: December 15, 2020 [ abstract] Kraus-Anderson Construction has begun building six school-expansion projects in White Bear Lake as part of that district's $326 million school bond referendum that was passed last year.
The projects, built by Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson and designed by Wold Architects and Engineers of St. Paul, represent the first phase of a 16-school construction plan that will stretch into the White Bear Lake 2024-25 school year, officials said.
The district expects enrollment to increase by roughly 2,000 students by the year 2030, so school officials took their construction needs to the voters late last year. The referendum passed 13 months ago, marking the largest successful school bond referendum in the state's history.
Now it's time for the excavators.
The renovations are the latest in a long line of school-building plans for Kraus-Anderson, which has completed more than $1 billion in K-12 school construction projects in five years. The company is the 12th-largest K-12 building-services firm in the country and expects to work on another 42 projects in 16 school districts next year that are worth more than $300 million.
The largest of the projects starting this week include an addition and renovations to White Bear Lake's Lincoln Elementary, a $9 million expansion that will add a gym, storm-shelter area, conference room and offices. The cafeteria, kitchen, media center, bathrooms, parking lot and bus loop are being renovated.
-- Staff Writer 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 U.S. Virgin Islands - Bill Seeking to Establish Authority for Maintenance and Construction of Public Schools Held in Com-- The Virgin Islands Consortium U.S. Virgin Islands: November 22, 2020 [ abstract] Senator Donna Frett-Gregory's plan to reform education in the territory began with a comprehensive measure that sought to create a school construction and maintenance authority. But the bill was held in committee Tuesday following opposition from the Dept. of Education and the Office of Management and Budget.
Also heard Tuesday was Bill No. 33-0239, an Act amending V.I. Code relating to public schools' permanent closure, sponsored by Sen. Myron Jackson.
Ms. Frett-Gregory's bill, numbered 33-0302, seeks to ensure that children of the territory have a safe, modern and secure educational environment for them to learn. It would also be responsible for the functions of regular and timely maintenance, inspection, construction, renovation, upgrade, repair, and modernization of educational facilities. The authority would further establish, acquire, construct, develop, improve, renovate, upgrade, operate, and manage all public schools and public educational facilities territory-wide.
"We have to build for future generations. This legislation is not about me or any of my colleagues, it's about the future of the Virgin Islands," said Ms. Frett-Gregory.
The senator said the new authority would be governed by the Virgin Islands School Facilities and Maintenance Authority Board of Directors, composed of seven members. The members would consist of the commissioner of Education or the commissioner's designee, and six other members appointed by the governor. She added that those six members should consist of two former educators, one from each district, one current educator, two engineers, one from each district, and one member with business or finance experience.
-- Maxiene K. Cabo Humble ISD in the midst of building boom -- Houston Chronicle Texas: November 07, 2020 [ abstract] Humble ISD held another morning of groundbreakings on Nov. 6.
Groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the North Transportation Center, North Agricultural Science Center, and the new Kingwood Middle School. These locations are part of the $575 million 2018 bond program designed to build new schools, rebuild aging facilities, renovate and repair existing school facilities, and update technology and safety enhancements in Humble ISD according to their website.
The new North Transportation Center, located at 24755 Ford Road, will promote operating efficiency that is expected to save the district about $2 million each year in operating costs by way of shortening routes, according to an Humble ISD press release. Expected to open in 2021, the new center will have offices, bus maintenance bays, a bus wash, a fueling station and parking for a portion of the district’s school bus fleet, according to the press release.
-- Savannah Mehrtens Audit finds Clay County school portables deteriorating, maintenance costs rising-- News4JAX Florida: October 30, 2020 [ abstract]
CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – One of the issues on the ballot for Clay County voters is whether to approve a half-cent sales tax aimed at updating and repairing building infrastructure and lessening the Clay County School District’s reliance on portable classrooms.
According to Florida law, the programs associated with any referendum on a discretionary sales surtax have to undergo a performance audit overseen by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA).
The Austin-based accounting firm chosen to audit CCSD, Ressel & Associates LLC, published an initial audit report in September 2019, but the school sales tax resolution that year wasn’t approved by the County Commissioners.
When a sales tax resolution was approved in June 2020, Ressel & Associates was retained to update its audit findings. Its report released in August provided both the initial audit findings and an overlay of the updated findings and observations to reflect current conditions.
“As the district continues to adjust to new leadership, during the global pandemic, we will work collaboratively with the school board and community stakeholders to manage and resolve the suggested observations and recommendations," Clay County superintendent David Broskie.
The district was audited on the following six criteria:
The economy, efficiency, or effectiveness of the program.
The structure or design of the program.
Alternative methods of providing services or products.
Goals, objectives, and performance measures
The accuracy or adequacy of reporting
Program compliance Economy, efficiency, effectiveness
-- Joe McLean Portland schools push to renew bond for ‘100-year investments’-- Koin6 Oregon: October 26, 2020 [ abstract]
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — There is a billion-dollar tax issue on the ballot for Portland-area residents this year. Measure 26-215 is a Portland Public Schools bond measure that would raise more than a billion dollars to continue to improve the city’s aging school buildings.
Wilson High School is among the schools that would benefit if the $1.2 billion bond measure passes.
The bond money is designed to complete the renovation of Benson Polytech High School and get to work on renovations for Jefferson High School. Work would also get underway for design and plans to renovate Cleveland and Wilson High.
“Jefferson is really at the heart of this package. We have a 20-30 year plan to remodel and renovate all of our schools, and the renovation of Jefferson would be in this package. This school was built in 1908,” said Julia Brim-Edwards, Portland School Board member.
Even though students are not in the buildings this year due to the pandemic, the school board says the bond is part of the district’s long-term goal to update and modernize school facilities.
“These are investments, not just for next year, but really these are 100-year investments,” said Brim-Edwards. “Like in 1908, the community made an investment in this community.”
-- Lisa Balick Prince George’s School Building Backlog Shines Light on Limits of P3 Approach-- Nonprofit Quarterly Maryland: October 26, 2020 [ abstract] COVID-19 has elevated the nation’s many gaps in public infrastructure. Take public schools. The poor condition of too many school buildings has made returning to classes risky for students and faculty. The lack of widely accessible high-speed broadband service has made remote education difficult or even impossible for too many families.
Maryland’s Prince George’s County—which borders Washington, DC—faces many of these challenges. According to Maryland Matters, its “school buildings are on average 45 years old, the second-oldest school stock in the state.” Unmet maintenance for those schools would cost an estimated $8.5 billion in investment. What’s more, several new schools must be built as soon as possible to accommodate a growing student population.
What is the solution? Clearly, increased public dollars for upgrading school buildings are needed, but that has never stopped folks from looking for shortcuts. What if the county could solve its investment shortage through “more businesslike management”?
Such is the approach adopted last week by the Prince George’s County Board of Education, which has entered a public-private partnership (P3) to address its $8.5-billion facility challenge. As described by the Engineering News-Record, the school board has approved a six-school, $1.2 billion construction program to be led with a team of six corporate partners that design, build and operate “five new middle schools and one K-8 facility…serving a total of 8,000 students. The team will maintain the six facilities for 30 years, after which each school is expected to avoid major maintenance costs for another 15 years. The county will own the buildings…the P3 will cut delivery time for the new schools by two-thirds and save the county…$174 million in deferred maintenance and construction costs.”
-- Opinion - Martin Levine Voting during COVID-19: Some Vermont schools will be open for polling, but with restrictions-- Burlington Free Press Vermont: October 23, 2020 [ abstract]
For those who plan to vote in person Tuesday, Nov. 3 for the general election, school-based polling places will be open, with some changes.
The Vermont Agency of Education released guidelines about what schools should do to keep the public and school students and staff safe, and in particular, to keep the two groups from intermixing.
Each district's school board had to approve a request from the town clerk to use the facility as a polling location.
What are the state's guidelines on voting in schools during pandemic
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Agency of Education has stipulated that additional health precautions must be taken. The voting space must have its own exterior door where election officials and the public can enter and exit. This area needs to be in a location where the public and school-goers won't come within 6 feet of one another.
Expect clear signage for where to go and which areas are off-limits to the public. The school may designate a nearby restroom to be for public use only during the election. But, it should not be in an area that would bring the public within 6 feet of those attending school.
Elections activity must still adhere to maximum indoor group size allowable by the state to promote social distancing. General Polling Place Health Guidelines would also apply, including wearing a facial covering and bringing your own pen.
Election officials will arrange for a thorough cleaning and disinfecting of the polling spaces afterward.
-- April Barton The Story Behind the Creepy, Once-Abandoned Annie Lytle Public School Building-- The Costal Florida: October 21, 2020 [ abstract] For four decades, the former Annie Lytle Public School building has sat vacant along Chelsea Street in Brooklyn – or Riverside, depending on who you ask – accruing structural damage from fires and weather exposure and unintentionally growing a local mythos based around transients, ghost stories, and even devil worshippers.
For the first five decades of its lifespan, however, the building operated as a regular grammar school. Specifically, it was known as the Riverside Grammar School, or Public School No. 4, when it first opened in 1917. designed by local architect Rutledge Holmes, the school building had two stories as well as a basement, and it was made primarily of concrete, red brick, and wood. The words “Public School Number Four” were etched into its front façade.
Unfortunately, development of the interstate highway system in the 1950s would bring the noise of construction – and, later, highway traffic – right to the front door of the school, which by that point had been renamed Annie Lytle Public School to honor a longtime teacher. The path from the Fuller Warren Bridge to the I-95 and I-10 interchange was constructed over a stretch of land between the school’s front entrance and Riverside Park.
The project’s location effectively rendered Public School No. 4 unusable as a school. It would officially close in 1960, after which Duval County School Board used the building for storage. By the early ‘70s, though, the property had become a target for crime, leading the organization to close off access to the building altogether.
The locally-based Ida M. Stevens Foundation acquired the property from the school board in the ‘80s with plans to convert it into an apartment complex for seniors. The foundation had just completed a similar project, the Stevens-Duval Apartments, within the old Duval High School building downtown. Ultimately, the project proved financially unviable, and the foundation dropped its plans.
-- Staff Writer This Tulare school district is spending $400K to reduce indoor transmission of COVID-19-- Visalia Times Delta California: October 16, 2020 [ abstract]
COVID-19 can linger in the air for up to three hours.
Those infected with the disease transmit particles to those nearby, according to Harvard Medical School.
Tulare City School District leaders wanted to avoid the risk of the virus infecting its more than 10,000 students within its 15 schools. That’s why the district’s school board approved more than $400,000 to install a patented technology designed to reduce the air transmission of COVID-19.
TCSD joined other districts and educational institutions across the country that are either in the planning stages or have already installed similar types of technology due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic and how it will affect those working indoors.
The technology, called needlepoint bipolar ionization, will be installed by Fresno-based New England Sheet Metal & Mechanical Co., which was awarded the contract after a bidding process.
The district hopes to complete the project by mid-December, according to David Lawrence, the district’s administrator for maintenance and operations.
“The good thing about it is (the technology is) not a one-time thing,” Lawrence said. “This is not only a COVID-19 product. This is an air product in general for a cleaner environment.”
“We are trying to make the environment as safe as possible to move forward,” he added.
-- Kristan Obeng 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 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 How safe is your kid’s class? Tarrant schools struggle to meet all COVID guidelines-- Fort Worth Star-Telegram Texas: September 08, 2020 [ abstract]
The bell rang at 3:45 p.m. and in a few minutes, hundreds of students began to stream out of Keller Middle School. Most wore masks and kept to themselves as they hurried to catch their ride or waited in socially distant lines to catch the school bus.
The Keller school district opened its doors Aug. 26 for in-person-learning. Less than half, or about 15,000 of the district’s more than 35,000 students, opted to come back to class. Nine have tested positive for COVID-19 in eight schools.
“I still think it’s wonderful that children are back in school,” said Stacy Harris on Wednesday. She has two children at Florence Elementary. “I think the district is doing a good job and virtual learning was a nightmare.”
At least six more Fort Worth area school districts return for in-person-learning Tuesday. Like Keller, they will be opening their doors at a medium risk level based on their re-entry plans, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The safety plans follow CDC and Tarrant County Public Health guidelines. But not all schools will be able to put in place all recommendations because of campus design and classroom sizes, according to a survey of 16 districts by the Star-Telegram.
-- KRISTIAN HERNANDEZ Will the Outdoors Become the New Classroom of the COVID Era?-- Governing National: August 28, 2020 [ abstract] Schools are reopening, and there’s pressure for teachers and students to wean themselves off remote learning and return to their classrooms. Politicians, working parents and pandemic skeptics aren’t the only ones demanding a return to normal learning. The American Academy of Pediatrics has urged that “all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.”
Anxiety and uncertainty about how and when campuses can open safely, complicated by ups and downs in COVID-19 transmission rates, make progress toward this goal extremely difficult. At present, only four states have statewide orders for in-person instruction and even those are subject to modification by districts.
The situation has brought together a national coalition of educators, architects, school administrators, landscape designers, curriculum experts and other stakeholders who are thinking outside the box and developing guidelines and resources for learning outdoors.
Even if local health authorities allow schools to reopen, it’s virtually impossible to accommodate every student indoors, says Sharon Danks, a Bay Area-based environmental city planner and landscape designer. The founder of Green Schoolyards America and author of Asphalt to Ecosystems, Danks leads the National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative.
-- CARL SMITH Connecticut’s first ‘net-zero’ schools, tapping solar and geothermal energy, to be built in Manchester and Mansfield-- Hartford Courant Connecticut: August 25, 2020 [ abstract]
MANCHESTER — A Hartford-based architectural firm is designing two Connecticut elementary schools as “net-zero” buildings, which generate as much energy as they use.
TSKP Studio is touting the projects as the first such schools in the state, “establishing a new standard for sustainable design in our communities.”
The renovation and addition project at Buckley Elementary School in Manchester and construction of a new Mansfield Elementary School are both to begin next year.
Both projects will use roof-mounted solar panels and geothermal wells. Plans also focus on reducing energy demand through lighting, window placement and strategic IT design, the architects said in a news release Tuesday.
“This validates what we’ve been doing all along if you look at our portfolio of work: incorporating daylight, planning efficient spaces and simplifying forms,” TSKP partner Ryszard Szczypek said.
With built-in tools for monitoring energy generation and consumption in real time, the buildings also will be educational resources, the architects said, providing students and teachers with dashboards to gauge energy performance.
“Connecting the school community to the environmental mission of their learning space will provide a rich opportunity for an ongoing dialog about sustainability,” the release said.
-- JESSE LEAVENWORTH Schools Face Their Biggest Test Yet-- Commercial Observer National: August 22, 2020 [ abstract] For school administrators and property owners, the novel coronavirus pandemic is like a test that no one studied for, and no one can find an answer key.
Managing school space has never been more complicated, and there are more questions than ever before for education systems and institutions across the country as they confront a rapidly changing landscape.
Strategies vary dramatically by location and education level, and plans to reopen normally appear chaotic at best. School districts that opened in Mississippi, Georgia and Indiana, for instance, had to quickly quarantine thousands of students and faculty, and immediately revert to remote learning altogether after seeing positive coronavirus tests. About nine in 10 Americans think K-12 schools should not open this fall without restrictions, according to an Associated Press poll.
“If you look around, opening schools has proven problematic,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at a press conference this week while explaining that schools can reopen because of the state’s low infection rate. “But it only means they can. The question then becomes how? And that is the big question.”
Adaptive Reuse & Satellite Classrooms
From a real estate standpoint, there is no one answer, and industry players are still figuring out many of the components of what school looks like in a world dealing with a pandemic outbreak.
Tom Vecchione is a principal at Vocon, an architecture and interior design firm that specializes in workplace strategy. He’s been part of conversations around how real estate developers might play a part by converting defunct properties into classroom space, however, he said it wouldn’t happen anytime soon because there’s still so much more to be seen as a result of the pandemic over the next months and years. Still, designers and owners are thinking about how underutilized space can be targeted to distribute the density of urban schools for satellite learning.
-- GREG CORNFIELD Some RI classrooms don't meet CDC recommendations to prevent COVID-19 spread
-- 10 WJAR Rhode Island: August 17, 2020 [ abstract]
Air quality has become the latest concern for school districts, as Rhode Island debates whether to send students back to class.
The layout and design of a school building can impact the spread of COVID-19. The virus can infect people through respiratory droplets circulating in the air, which means a building’s heating, ventilation and HVAC system can play a major role in stopping the infection from spreading through particles.
Coventry Superintendent Craig Levis says air quality has become the latest barrier in reopening plans.
“I’m very concerned about air quality and ventilation. We have many classroom spaces that as of right now, we should not be putting kids in those,” he said.
Some buildings, like hospitals, have filters designed to remove these particles from the air, but NBC 10 learned the standard school building does not.
Many Rhode Island classrooms do not meet CDC recommendations to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which include increasing circulation of outdoor air, installing fans, and upgrading ventilation and filtration systems.
Raj Setty, a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Epidemic Task Force, helped write the CDC’s guidelines for reopening buildings. He explained there are three key factors that must be considered before reopening a building, filtration, dilution and disinfection.
“What we will call it is air changes or air rotations. We want the air to see a filter and get diluted or disinfected every ten minutes, so six air changes,” said Setty.
-- TAMARA SACHARCZYK Rural schools wrestle with infrastructure challenges during reopening-- EducationDive National: August 13, 2020 [ abstract]
As the White House faces criticism for a push to return to in-person instruction and a reopening debate splits the nation, some rural schools remain poised to welcome students back to brick-and-mortar settings this month.
“Some places have not many cases at all and they’re questioning, ‘Why should we hold off if we’re OK?’” said Allen Pratt, executive director of the National Rural Education Association, adding there are “large parts of the population that want to reopen.”
But rural schools face persistent challenges that the coronavirus has only exacerbated. Many school buildings are old and in need of replacement or repair and don’t have adequate air filtration systems. Plus, many rural districts have scant resources to successfully implement hybrid or fully remote learning if their schools need to close again.
For these reasons, sticking to reopening guidelines for some rural schools is going to be “really difficult,” Pratt said.
Air filtration issues
Because the coronavirus is airborne, some health experts have cautioned that well-functioning air ventilation systems are a must as schools reopen. Pratt points out this will be especially challenging for many rural schools, considering their infrastructure “is not designed to do what they’re going to be asked to do.”
In Bristol Virginia Public Schools, for example — which had only four cases of coronavirus until that number increased to 10 in the past two weeks — almost 70% of parents, students and staff have asked for a normal return to school. The district’s newest school was built in 1974, and its oldest dates back to 1916.
-- Naaz Modan Schools mull outdoor classes amid virus, ventilation worries-- Graydc.com National: August 10, 2020 [ abstract]
(AP) - It has been seven years since the central air conditioning system worked at the New York City middle school where Lisa Fitzgerald O’Connor teaches. As a new school year approaches amid the coronavirus pandemic, she and her colleagues are threatening not to return unless it’s repaired.
Her classroom has a window air conditioning unit, but she fears the stagnant air will increase the chances that an infected student could spread the virus.
"Window units just aren't going to cut it. We don't want to stay cool, we just want the air to flow properly," said O'Connor, a science teacher who has worked at the Patria Mirabal School in Manhattan since 2009. "We are really super stressed out about it."
Schools around the country are facing similar problems as they plan or contemplate reopening this fall, dealing with aging air conditioning, heating and circulation systems that don't work well or at all because maintenance and replacement were deferred due to tight budgets. Concerns about school infrastructure are adding momentum to plans in some districts, even in colder climates, to take classes outdoors for the sake of student and teacher health.
Nationwide, an estimated 41% of school districts need to update or replace their heating, ventilation and cooling systems in at least half their schools, according to a federal report issued in June.
There is no evidence that the disease can spread through ventilation systems from one classroom to the next, according to Dr. Edward Nardell, a Harvard Medical School professor who specializes in airborne diseases. The danger, Nardell said, is from ineffective systems that don't remove floating viruses and let them linger in classrooms after they are expelled in an infected person's breath, sneeze or cough.
"Most schools are designed for comfort, not for infection control. So there is a danger that if you put 20 kids in a room, that if one of them has asymptomatic COVID and is infectious, you now have 19 more kids who are exposed," Nardell said. Healthy children almost always recover from COVID, if they become ill at all, but they can pass the disease to teachers, parents and other adults.
-- TERRY SPENCER 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 Area school officials planning reopening scenarios -- The Piscataquis Observer Maine: July 28, 2020 [ abstract] With the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) scheduled to release its first round of color designations pertaining to the individual levels of risk for the state’s school districts on Friday, July 31, officials with the region’s education units have been busy making plans for how students return to classes in the fall.
In a July 22 letter posted on the district website RSU 68 Superintendent Stacy Shorey wrote that she wanted to reach out with some additional information, “We were told last week that each school district will receive a color designation of red, yellow or green based on a few pieces of data which includes the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in your county. We will receive that designation on July 31 by the (MDOE) and then every two weeks the designation will be updated. We will not be making any decisions about what our programming will look like in the fall until we have that color designation.”
-- Stuart Hedstrom COVID-19 Poses Another Challenge for Schools: Air Quality-- Oklahoma Watch Oklahoma: July 27, 2020 [ abstract] Plans to safely reopen Oklahoma schools are plentiful, but not much can be done to improve air quality in buildings. School officials must rely on existing equipment that is not designed to filter out coronavirus particles.
Replacing heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems to meet new guidelines for addressing COVID-19 is cost prohibitive for school districts unless patrons agree to pay for it through a bond issue. Even upgrading current systems by incorporating higher-grade filters is expensive and is not always feasible, experts agree.
“The problem is so insurmountable that people aren’t talking about it,” said state Rep. John Waldron, D-Tulsa, who taught high school for 15 years.
The state House Democratic Caucus is drawing attention to the issue by including it on a list of “needs that must be met before school can resume in the fall.” The lawmakers argue that school buildings should meet ventilation standards for COVID-19 recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC on July 9 published steps office building managers can take to create a safe and healthy workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The guidelines are based on the standards written by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. The engineers group recommends a filter with a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) of 1
-- Kathryn McNutt Reopening Schools: Anderson County Schools release detailed reopening plan-- abc6 Tennessee: July 27, 2020 [ abstract]
ANDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Anderson County Schools has released its reopening plan that “focuses on the health and wellness of every student and every staff member every day,” that was developed with guidance from the state as well as input from staff, parents and the community.
The plan also provides students with the maximum face to face instruction within the state and local COVID-19 safety guidelines. As always, all plans are subject to change. Below is information and a timeline to open school.
ANDERSON COUNTY SCHOOLS
Health and Safety Protocols
- Students/staff should stay home if they are sick or have a fever.
- Schools will have designated entry/exit points for staff and student car/bus riders, signage will be posted to provide guidance.
- Sanitation stations will be placed at all entry points.
- Every school will have a full time nurse on staff.
- COVID-19/nursing guidelines will be followed when students/staff become ill or do not pass health screenings.
- Temperatures will be taken at all entry points.
- Students with a temperature will be quarantined. Parents will be required to pick up their child.
- In grades 3-12, students will be required to wear masks on buses, in hallways/ common areas, and in classrooms where social distancing is not practical. – In grades PreK – 2, students will be required to wear a mask on the bus and at other times to the best of their ability. – Staff will be required to wear masks in large group gatherings, hallways/ common areas, and in classrooms where social distancing is not practical. Staff is encouraged to social distance during plan times, lunch, etc. – The only exemptions for staff and students will be if they have a medical or physical condition preventing them from wearing a mask. (Medical documentation will be required)
- Face covering for staff will be required for certain instructional settings.
-- Caleb Wethington DC Mayor Prioritizes “Disadvantaged” Bidders to Redevelop Elementary Schools-- Commercial Observer District of Columbia: July 20, 2020 [ abstract] Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, along with the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, released a new Request for Proposals strategy concerning the site of two former elementary school buildings at 33-45 P Street NW in Truxton Circle.
The strategy is designed to improve the equity of the companies that benefit from D.C.’s development deals and for the first time, included “equity inclusion prioritization” language for the redevelopment of a city-owned property.
“We are committed to making our city’s prosperity more inclusive, but that won’t happen by chance—it will happen because as a government and as individuals, we are intentional about how we invest and who we make opportunities available to,” Bowser said in prepared remarks. “By ensuring that the growth of our city is driven by and more representative of those who make up our city, we can both expand opportunity and advance D.C. values.”
-- KEITH LORIA New York State Education Department releases guidelines to reopen schools-- WBNG12 New York: July 13, 2020 [ abstract] he New York State Education Department presented its reopening guidance to the New York State Board of Regents Monday. In advance of the meeting, NYSED released a copy of its presentation.
The presentation is designed to help school districts to reopen for the fall semester, whether that means in-person, remote, or hybrid instruction.
The guidelines were designed to outline the school year by working with each community, providing assistance to local school districts because no "one size fits all".
Below is an outline of the presentation:
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Schools must perform health checks of students and staff, and educate staff to recognize symptoms of COVID-19
Schools must design plans to enhance and maximize social distancing
Schools must isolate people with symptoms of COVID-19 until they can be sent home
Schools must inform people how to properly wash their hands
School staff and students are required to wear face coverings
Schools to clean and disinfect per CDC recommendations
NUTRITION
School food service directors to be included in the planning process
All students, whether attending classes in-person or remotely, must have access to daily school meals
Update procedures to address health and safety guidelines
Ensure Child Nutrition Program requirements are met
Must communicate with families
-- Staff Writer Here’s How Hawaii Plans To Bring Kids Back To School This Fall-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: July 02, 2020 [ abstract]
Hawaii’s public school students are scheduled to start the 2020-21 school year in a month — the first time many of them will have set foot on their campuses since the middle of March, when the coronavirus shut school facilities down.
But how many days a week they are on campus, and just what their school day might encompass will depend largely on their individual school, age, grade level, school size and whether or not they are classified as a vulnerable student.
The Hawaii Department of Education released a school reopening plan on Thursday that provides health and safety requirements, as well as expectations around things like attendance and the number of total instructional days.
But it largely gives the state’s 257 DOE-operated campuses autonomy in terms of choosing whether students will be on campus full time or whether they will opt for a different school model that combines in-person and distance learning.
Some students might be in a classroom just two days a week on a rotational basis with their peers. The other three days would be spent at home, with instruction delivered remotely.
Students with additional needs, such as low-income students, English language learners, homeless and students with disabilities, might come to campus four or five days a week.
The DOE plan emphasizes that face to face learning should be prioritized for the state’s youngest kids — those in pre-kindergarten through second grade, as well as those who are classified as vulnerable.
“We’re not just answering to instructional, academic design, we’re answering to a state that relies heavily on its public school system as a safety net for kids,” Superintendent Christina Kishimoto said Thursday.
All 257 schools must choose an instructional model based on a broad DOE menu of options by Wednesday.
The DOE estimates the total cost of technology it needs to adjust to virtual learning at $58 million.
-- Suevon Lee Chicago Teachers Union Demands More COVID-19 Protections From City-- CBS Chicago Illinois: June 24, 2020 [ abstract] CHICAGO (CBS) — The Chicago Teachers Union doubled up on its demands Wednesday, calling for police out of the schools but also for more protective measures against coronavirus.
They are seizing the opportunity to add more pressure to Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Board of Education, demanding more personal protective equipment when schools reopen, more deep cleaning and disinfecting, temperature check and more staff designated to do those jobs.
“We don’t know what types of policies and rules will be set forth for students who are medically fragile, for workers in the Chicago Public Schools who have compromised immune systems,” said Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates. “This is what I’m saying about the priorities of the Chicago Public Schools, continuously being upside down.
-- Staff Writer 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 Washington school districts’ response to COVID-19 guided by health officials-- The Puyallup Post Washington: June 17, 2020 [ abstract] The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OPSI), released guidance for Washington school districts which aims to provide expectations and viable school models for the return to K-12 education this fall.
A few of the key guiding principles released by OPSI on May 15 detail keeping students at the center of attention to build relationships and help them feel safe, along with designing new learning systems for equity and access regarding learning content.
“There will not be a one-size-fits-all model for school in Washington state next year,” wrote Education Sector Liaison, Benjamin King of the COVID-19 Response
Joint Information Center. “In partnership with their community, local school districts will choose and adapt a school model and guidance that works best for their school community, and how severe the COVID-19 outbreak is in their area.”
Managing and monitoring student learning and using strategies to provide feedback or assess student learning are also taken into account when developing the key guidance elements of the new school year. The safety and reassurance of student value is a top priority for schools within Washington districts during the ongoing pandemic, according to OPSI.
Another priority is to make instructional adjustments and guide instruction based on effectiveness. The last principle relates to adhering to family engagement and the necessity of communication between educators and student learners.
An overview of state and district planning mentioned some of the recommendations for potential models and provided examples for considerations within schools and the public health issue, according to OPSI. Some of these concerns include how schools will effectively conduct health screenings and grading system accommodations for students and staff, along with how staff should recognize the unique circumstances families might face.
Additionally, a workgroup was formed in May 2020 consisting of more than 100 education officials, educators, parents, students, community members and organizations. The information from this group is expected to be released by OPSI on June 12, detailing what those models for safely reopening might look like for districts.
-- Elissa Blankenship One-Way Hallways, See-Through Partitions, Handwashing Stations & Lunch in Class " Architects’ Models for Socially Distan-- The 74 Million National: June 14, 2020 [ abstract] The uncertainty surrounding what in-building learning may look like come the new school year is posing daunting challenges across the United States. And while we can largely rule out cafeteria salad bars and tightly packed events — at least for now — question marks about how to do school in a socially distanced age has led architects to help districts plan for a variety of scenarios.
No matter what a school chooses, whether it’s planning for social distancing, changing food deliveries, shifting the way students move — or don’t move — through buildings or even adding physical barriers, short-term fixes may not accommodate long-term goals.
“My one fear is, as we start space planning for school districts, we don’t revert back to kids in rows,” says architect Jim French, DLR Group senior principal and the firm’s global K-12 education studio leader. “That is one way of a teaching modality that works, but isn’t what schools should be. We have worked really hard with educators to get kids out of rows and do more collaborative and hands-on learning.”
But in the near term, social distancing will make group and hands-on work tricky. So architects are being asked to model a variety of distanced scenarios, concepts that can shift and mold with the needs of individual schools.
“The idea of returning to school could be very challenging and maybe even traumatic,” says Cannondesign education-focused architect Stuart Brodsky. “Coming up with ways to be received back under one roof has a lot of complexity and community-, family- and student-related things that need to be considered.”
For example, many schools are discussing hybrid schedules, which would bring groups of students into the building on an alternating basis, with the other students learning from home. Brodsky’s firm is developing tools to study that capacity to help schools understand how to fit students in their buildings. There wouldn’t be a single solution, as some schools may choose to provide six feet of distance between students while others may want to accommodate additional personal space. Either way, a typical classroom that used to have 25 to 30 students won’t be able to fit more than half that number.
-- TIM NEWCOMB ASD gets an early jump on projects funded by school bonds-- 11KTVA Alaska: June 11, 2020 [ abstract] The Anchorage School District maintains the largest public footprint in the state of Alaska.
"Currently, we have 22 projects — $57 million dollars worth of construction going on right now," Senior Director of Capital Planning and Construction at ASD Thomas Fenoseff said.
The school district budgets nearly $21 million annually for building and preventative maintenance. However, may of ASD's buildings were built in the 1960s and 1970s and additional funds are needed. That is where voter-approved school bonds come in.
Calvin Mundt is one of 11 project managers at the school district. He is currently overseeing work on the roof at West High School. An ASD document from May 26 says the construction cost for the roof replacement is approximately $5.8 million.
Mundt says the roof project took a year of design, with construction starting last summer on the auditorium stage area.
"The reason it is getting replaced was because the old roof was at the end of its useful life, which is anywhere from 20 to 30 years," Mundt said. "Then you need to replace."
-- Scott Gross County announces guidelines for reopening schools-- The Healdsburg Tribune California: June 11, 2020 [ abstract]
Sonoma County Superintendent Steve Herrington announced the county’s guidelines for reopening schools Thursday afternoon, June 11. The announcement came on the heels of the state releasing its own set of education guidelines on June 9.
While Herrington briefly discussed county guidelines for reopening schools, the full guide created by the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) will be released on Friday, June 12. The roadmap for reopening was developed by a school and health planning committee, which was made up of various superintendents — Twin Hills School District’s Barbara Bickford, Petaluma City Schools’ Gary Callahan, Cloverdale Unified School District’s Jeremy Decker, Santa Rosa City Schools’ Diann Kitamura, Guerneville School District’s Dana Pederson, Herrington, Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase and county counsel Adam Radtke.
The committee met numerous times over the past few months to discuss a plan for reopening, and it consulted with the county’s other school district superintendents.
According to Herrington, the document is designed specifically to help districts reopen once the county enters stage three of its reopening and, like the information released by the state, is a guide rather than a mandate.
While SCOE provides oversight and guidance to local districts, each of the county’s 40 school districts are autonomous when it comes to how they decide to tackle the county and state criteria — for example, someone with kids in both the Gravenstein Union School District and kids in the West Sonoma County High School District may have to follow two different reopening plans. Herrington said that since districts are creating their own individualized plans, some may decide to err on the side of caution while others may not to. Regardless, districts are limited in how much they can reopen, based on what reopening phase the county is in.
Herrington emphasized that while other counties in California may be further into the state’s phase progressions for reopening, based on epidemiology and statistics, Sonoma County is in phase two. Partial reopening of schools is allowed in stage three and full-time reopening of schools is allowed in phase four.
-- Zoe Strickland Nevada school facilities to reopen for summer learning and activities-- The Progress Nevada: June 09, 2020 [ abstract] (NV Dept of Education) Today, Governor Steve Sisolak signed a directive allowing local school districts, charter schools, and private schools to immediately reopen for summer learning and activities while implementing the Phase 2 protocols designed to keep students, staff, families, and communities safe.
The directive and accompanying guidance come just in time for summer school but cover a wide range of topics. The guidance provides support for districts and schools to make local decisions regarding re-opening facilities, offering in-person instruction, and hosting meetings and events under the proper social distancing protocols. Districts and schools may offer summer learning opportunities through distance education, in-person instruction, or a combination of both. In the interest of the health and safety of local communities, districts and schools may continue to keep school facilities closed to students, staff, parents, guardians, and/or the public at their discretion.
“For the last three months, our students, families and educators demonstrated tremendous flexibility and resiliency when asked to stay at home and switch to distance learning to flatten the COVID-19 infection rate curve. I know this hasn’t been easy, but I’m proud Nevadans took this seriously,” Gov. Sisolak said. “This directive will allow schools to return to a sense of normalcy while keeping the health and safety of students and staff at the forefront.”
-- V Robison Plan to reopen San Mateo County schools detailed-- The Daily Journal California: May 28, 2020 [ abstract]
Masked students and teachers, reconfigured classroom arrangements, a continued reliance on remote learning and suspended school gatherings — all part of the plan to reopen campuses this fall, the county’s top education official said Wednesday.
County Superintendent Nancy Magee said officials are putting the finishing touches on a comprehensive framework designed to help local districts start classes again in the safest fashion possible.
The guidelines for K-12 schools, expected to be published next week, are established around four pillars — health and hygiene protocol, face coverings requirements, physical distancing standards and gathering restrictions, said Magee.
For her part, Magee said educators and health officials are working hard to come up with a thoughtful set of strategies and measures while acknowledging amendments will be needed when unanticipated issues are encountered.
“Planning is a challenge. I believe we will get there. I don’t believe it will be an easy road,” she said. “I think we will have a two steps forward, one step backward scenario.”
Face coverings
Magee said students and staff will be expected to always wear face coverings while on campus, especially in common areas shared by large groups, as officials are focused on slowing the spread of COVID-19.
Once in the classroom, she suggested there could be some latitude among smaller student groups. And exceptions will be made for those with sensory complications or other issues which make wearing masks or face coverings challenging.
-- Austin Walsh Revised capital plan adheres to policy-- southwestjournal.com Minnesota: May 27, 2020 [ abstract] A pared-down Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) five-year capital plan would ensure that the district stays in compliance with its borrowing policies, officials said at a virtual School Board Finance Committee meeting on May 19.
The revised plan, which would cost about $136 million less than one released earlier this spring, would ensure that district debts between 2021 and 2025 don’t exceed 15% of operating revenue, according to officials. That’s the maximum level allowed under district policy.
To reduce costs, officials have reduced allocations for school improvements related to the recently passed Comprehensive District design (CDD) restructuring plan by about $60 million. They’ve also proposed postponing a $6.1 million entrance and lunchroom project at Kenwood Community School and spending less on districtwide supports such as fleet replacement, furniture, fixtures and equipment.
At the Finance Committee, chief operations officer Karen DeVet said officials revised the capital plan based on feedback from an internal steering committee and also considered the number of students potentially affected by any changes.
She said officials have paused plans to install cooling systems at the final 11 MPS schools that lack them and have pared down CDD-related projects at schools such as North, Jefferson and Andersen.
Under the revised plan, North’s proposed allocation for building upgrades would be reduced to about $83.5 million from $111.1 million. Proposed projects at the school include creating spaces for career-technical education courses and renovating the lunchroom/kitchen, entrance and technology and performance spaces.
-- Nate Gotlieb Here’s What Designers and Architects Anticipate Schools Will Look Like in the Fall and After COVID-19-- Spaces4learning National: May 18, 2020 [ abstract]
With the school year ending soon, schools across the country are looking ahead to the fall. The CDC recently released a one-page checklist for administrators to consider when reopening schools that include screening students and staff upon their arrival, increasing cleaning and disinfecting throughout facilities, social distancing, promoting regular hand washing and employees wearing face coverings.
These guidelines, along with input from state and local health officials, will impact the learning environment moving forward. We asked designers and architects from across the country what they anticipate classrooms will look like in the fall if they were to reopen, how the coronavirus will impact school design in the long-term, and suggestions on design concepts schools can implement right away to help with social distancing in facilities. Their answers offer insight to available design options and possibilities that can help school leaders plan and make the best decisions for their students and staff.
What changes do you anticipate schools making in terms of classroom design in the fall?
“Within classrooms, there may be a need to create physical distance by making operational decisions such as staggering the number of students within the physical space. Perhaps by deploying remote learning tools and strategies, students can join the classroom instruction from another location within the school building.” — James E. LaPosta Jr., Principal, Chief Architectural Officer at JCJ Architecture
-- Yvonne Marquez With debate now over, how will Minneapolis reshape its school district?-- Star Tribune Minnesota: May 16, 2020 [ abstract] The fiery debate over the future of Minneapolis Public Schools is now over, with the school board’s approval of a major restructuring plan that will radically reshape the state’s third-largest school district.
Over the next few years, Minneapolis Public Schools will redraw its attendance boundaries and relocate magnet schools to the center of the city in an attempt to distribute resources more equitably and end a yearslong cycle of budget deficits. Major changes won’t take effect until at least the 2021-22 school year.
Thousands of students will have to change schools, and the district will invest hundreds of millions of dollars into sweeping system changes over the next five years. The Comprehensive District design, approved last week, will give the district its first face-lift in more than a decade.
The district’s current structure has led to more segregated schools and worse outcomes for students on the city’s North Side; most magnet schools and popular academic programs are clustered in south Minneapolis. Leaders say their plan will help curb declining enrollment, reduce race and class segregation and set the district up to be more financially sustainable. The district anticipates a nearly $20 million budget shortfall for the coming school year.
-- Ryan Faircloth NH leaders work on what ‘back to school’ will look like in fall-- Seacoastonline.com New Hampshire: May 13, 2020 [ abstract] The education of students across New Hampshire will certainly change when schools reopen buildings to students, officials are hoping, for the start of the 2020-21 academic year.
State Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut announced Monday the formation of the School Transition Reopening and Redesign Task Force, which will provide recommendations on bringing students safely back into school buildings this fall.
“We’re planning for any eventuality, but we certainly hope students will be back,” said Edelbut, who has served as commissioner for the past three years. “These are the kinds of things the state task force will be working on in terms of identifying if we come back, when we come back, what it will look like if we have full access to the building, what it will look like if we have limited access to the building, and what it will be like if we have periods of remote instruction that has to continue into the fall in certain parts of the state.”
The Department of Education stated remote instruction, now in its ninth week dating back to the week of March 16, has shown strengths and weaknesses.
Edelblut said it is “quite possible” students who have been thriving in a remote setting rather than a traditional classroom could continue to work remotely when schools reopen.
-- Jay Pinsonnault Burlington School District scales down high school renovations-- VT Digger Vermont: May 10, 2020 [ abstract] The Burlington School District has made cuts to a high school renovation project after the price tag for the initial plans came in more than $20 million over budget.
Voters overwhelmingly approved a $70 million high school overhaul in November 2018 that would address deferred maintenance and accessibility issues, safety concerns and provide an overall upgrade to the facility built in 1964.
The new plan eliminates the Galleria for the entrance to the school, construction of an auxiliary gym, and the renovation of the current gym’s floor. Some renovations to the building where the Burlington Technical Center is located have also been nixed.
The Board of Finance unanimously approved the schematic design and financing in late April after Clare Wool, the school board’s chair, and Tom Peterson, a consultant working with the district, discussed the project.
Wool said in an interview Thursday that the cost overruns were unforeseen. She said they were caused in part by the discovery of asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCBs, on the property. The costs of stormwater work and ADA accessibility work were also higher than anticipated, she said.
Since August, the district has worked to cut the costs of the project to about $73 million.
First, the district limited expenditures significantly by replacing some planned new construction with renovations. For example, the plan no longer includes the demolition of D building or wrap-around construction of A building, Peterson said.
Wool said the district saved $5 million by eliminating exterior and window renovations to one building, $2 million on removing the auxiliary gym and $1.2 million on removing the Galleria.
“Aesthetically, we didn’t have the height of the windows, but that didn’t include programming,” she said. “Some of these things that were architectural accents, we had to remove.”
-- Aidan Quigley Communities Forced to Fight Planned School Closures, Privatization Amid COVID-19-- Truthout Minnesota: May 08, 2020 [ abstract] Since mid-March, public school students in Minnesota have had to stay home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, according to the state’s governor, Tim Walz, schools will remain closed until the end of this school year, with no guarantee that they will reopen in the fall for anything other than online teaching and learning.
This hasn’t stopped the Minneapolis Public Schools from attempting to push forward with a dramatic restructuring plan, known as the Comprehensive District design.
Under this plan, nearly all of the city’s 34,000 public school students and teachers would be reassigned to new schools, beginning in the fall of 2021. The proposal includes the closure of several popular, long-standing magnet school programs, as well as the dismantling of existing community schools in favor of new school configurations.
-- Sarah Lahm We've Known How To Make Healthier Buildings For Decades-- The Verge National: May 07, 2020 [ abstract]
People in the United States spend upward of 90 percent of their time indoors — inside homes, apartment buildings, schools, and offices. With the threat of COVID-19 looming over every interaction, those indoor spaces (where the virus spreads more easily) can seem loaded with hidden threats.
Fortunately, scientists already have the tools to make buildings better for people and less hospitable to pathogens like the coronavirus. “The science is decades old on all the benefits that come from healthy buildings, including infectious disease reduction,” says Joseph Allen, director of the Healthy Buildings program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “But these strategies have not been fully deployed in buildings.”
The COVID-19 pandemic may be the stressor that pushes many buildings to adopt healthy practices, and those benefits could linger long after the outbreak fades. “Once we get in the mindset of using our buildings as a tool we can definitely do things to help in the short term, but also in the long term,” says Anja Jamrozik, a cognitive scientist who studies physical environments. “I do hope that it spurs people to action.”
REDUCING RISK
Much of the information that we have about how to make buildings less hospitable to viruses comes from studies on the ever-present flu. All efforts to create healthy buildings start with the basics: the people who occupy buildings and carry the virus. During active outbreaks, minimizing the risk of disease spread in office buildings starts with keeping people out of them and having as many people as possible work from home. Next is identifying the bare minimum number of people who have to be physically present in the building and bringing them back in.
Once they’ve dealt with the people, designers can start trying to make the interiors of buildings as safe as possible. One of the most important solutions is increasing the ventilation and filtration of the inside air, says Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, co-director of the Biology and the Built Environment Center at the University of Oregon. “The idea is diluting the viral contaminant indoors,” he says. designers should increase the rate at which air inside is replaced with air from the outside, by windows or other systems, and should find ways to filter the inside air to remove dangerous particles. “It’s two major parts,” Van Den Wymelenberg says.
-- Nicole Wetsman 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 Early closing of school buildings means early construction for some USD 383 bond projects-- The Mercury Kansas: April 26, 2020 [ abstract]
Although the pandemic disrupted regular Manhattan-Ogden school operations for the rest of the school year, there’s been the small silver lining that construction crews on several district bond projects can start their work, or at least preparation for it, a little earlier.
Trisha Brooke-Fruendt, the district owners representative for the project, said good weather these past few weeks has kept construction on track. Construction is considered essential business, Brooke-Fruendt said, and while social distancing guidelines will eventually limit some aspects of construction, construction is still in preliminary stages, allowing workers to space themselves out on site.
In some cases, workers have been able to start construction earlier, since school buildings are empty of people. But conversely, some projects have to stick to pre-pandemic schedules, since contractors may still be attached to projects elsewhere, Brooke-Fruendt said. Additionally, designs aren’t yet finalized for some construction projects, such as the wing expansion at Manhattan High’s west campus.
All the construction is part of the $129.5 million bond initiative voters passed in November 2018. Virtually every district facility will see renovations, upgrades or additions, and the district also will build the new Oliver Brown Elementary School in Blue Township.
However, construction is slated to last through summer 2024, and only a few facilities will see work this summer as part of the first phase of the bond timeline. One school project, a $226,000 parking lot improvement project at Amanda Arnold, was completed in the fall.
-- Rafael Garcia UK - Coronavirus: How do you social distance in schools?-- BBC News National: April 25, 2020 [ abstract] The Scottish government is considering if it is feasible for children to carry out physical distancing in schools once the lockdown is over. So how can you social distance in a school?
What the government says
The Scottish government says there are early signs that the impact of the coronavirus is being contained.
It has published a new document outlining the basis of an exit strategy from the UK-wide lockdown that has been in place since 23 March.
A move away from the current restrictions would include the continuation of social distancing.
The Scottish government said work was being carried out to study how "physical distancing" could be continued in schools, transport, businesses and recreation.
How would this work in schools?
Limits could be put on class sizes
A few year groups or pupils could take turns between studying at school and at home
Some children could work one week and others the next
Some pupils could work in the morning, others in the afternoons
Classrooms could be redesigned to ensure social distancing
Pupils could take their breaks at different times
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that if social distancing continued, then people staying 2m (6.6ft) apart would put an upper limit on how many pupils could be in a classroom.
"Do we have to take classes and divide them into two, where half of the class is there one week and the other half another week?," she said. "Or one half in the morning and the other in the afternoon?"
Ms Sturgeon accepted it would be more difficult to get younger children to maintain social-distancing rules.
What the teacher says
-- Catherine Lyst 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 East Bay school board OK’s ongoing construction as ‘essential’-- The Mercury News California: April 03, 2020 [ abstract] PLEASANTON — The Pleasanton Unified School District board has passed a resolution authorizing school construction projects to continue as “essential” during the shelter-in-place order triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
The board held a virtual, emergency meeting Wednesday to approve the resolution, which outlines construction projects throughout the district. In Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order requiring people to shelter in place, only essential businesses are allowed to continue.
But Bay Area counties imposed a stricter mandate last Tuesday that prohibits most residential and commercial construction.
Exempted from that mandate are public works projects “specially designed as an Essential Government Function by the lead governmental agency.”
Pleasanton Unified has interpreted that to mean its construction projects are essential because they will provide “educational programs in safe, accessible, and structurally sound facilities” available to students after schools are allowed to reopen.
-- ANGELA RUGGIERO Xinhua Headlines: Schools begin to reopen in China amid strict measures-- Xinhuanet National: March 30, 2020 [ abstract] NANJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- China is taking strict preventive measures to ensure the safety of students and no secondary outbreaks of COVID-19 among them as schools begin to reopen.
As the coronavirus epidemic waned in China, many students in the final year of senior and junior high schools returned to school on Monday.
In northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, more than 370,000 students went back to school.
Wearing his school uniform, Qingel walked through the gate of Hohhot No.6 Middle School in Hohhot, the regional capital, while a door automatically took his temperature. He then walked on a designated lane towards the classroom.
"The super-long winter holiday is finally over," said Qingel, 16. "I miss my classmates and teachers, and I lost some sleep last night."
-- Zhu Xiao, He Leijing and Zhong Qun HIDOE: Hawaii school facilities to remain closed until April 30-- Hawaii Business Journal Hawaii: March 25, 2020 [ abstract] All school facilities within the Hawaii State Department of Education system will remain closed to students until April 30, officials with the DOE announced Tuesday, following stay at home mandates from several Island county mayors and Gov. David Ige.
Until then, traditional, in-school instruction is on hold until schools reopen. Teachers will telecommute, providing distance learning. The DOE has also created an online resource guide for parents to aid in their child's education.
During the extended closure of HIDOE's campuses, more than 40 Hawaii public schools will be providing breakfast and lunch to children who are 18 years or younger.
Parents can review a list of designated schools and food pick up times here.
“I want to thank each and every one of the Department’s 44,000 employees for working in new ways during these unprecedented times,” Superintendent Christina Kishimoto said in a statement. “These are uncertain and anxious circumstances for everyone in our communities and we sincerely appreciate your patience as our response to this health crisis continues to evolve and we make the needed adjustments for health and safety.”
-- Olivia Peterkin Coronavirus closure won’t lead to online classes in Oregon public schools. This is why-- The Oregonian Oregon: March 19, 2020 [ abstract]
Oregon schools will not replace the weeks of traditional classroom instruction students are missing with online classes or another substitute while schools are shuttered until April 28.
The reasons why boil down to two words: Access and equity.
“Protecting student rights has to be front and center during the conversation about distance learning,” Marc Siegel, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Education, told The Oregonian/OregonLive in an email. “You cannot open a brick-and-mortar school in Oregon unless it is accessible to every student in their school district. The same rules apply to an online school.”
The state’s public schools are not equipped to do that for special education students, those who speak English as a second language, students who lack computers or internet access and others with special circumstances during the shutdown, he noted.
“Our students with disabilities and specialized needs, by law, require specially designed instruction,” Siegel said. “If a school opens to serve its community’s students, it must be able to provide those specialized instruction services.”
Early in the state’s coronavirus outbreak, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown ordered all the state’s public schools to cancel seven school days bracketing spring break. Five days later, she extended the closure by four weeks, citing a need to slow the spread of the virus and minimize deaths.
Schools can, and in most cases will, offer suggestions for optional learning activities that students and families can engage in during the nearly six-week stretch until classes are scheduled to resume.
-- Eder Campuzano Interim school boundary analysis report released-- Bethesda Beat Maryland: March 19, 2020 [ abstract] A 580-page intermediate report outlining consultants’ findings about Montgomery County school boundaries was released this week, outlining data about schools’ history, student body diversity and enrollment.
WXY Architecture + Urban design, commissioned for $475,000 to complete the boundary analysis, was originally expected to release an interim report by the end of February. The release was delayed twice — once so consultants could further examine “complicated data,” the other so MCPS could focus on closing schools as mandated by the state amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The interim report culminates more than a year of work since the school board authorized the comprehensive review of the boundaries that determine which schools students attend.
In it is a review of consultants’ community engagement efforts; an analysis of data about schools’ demographics, capacity and enrollment; and next steps.
It’s not clear exactly when the highly anticipated report was released. It was found on the MCPS website late Wednesday night. As of early Thursday morning, MCPS had not sent or posted any notices that the report was available.
-- CAITLYNN PEETZ School board hears building, coronavirus plans-- The Globe Minnesota: March 18, 2020 [ abstract] WORTHINGTON — The bulk of the District 518 Board of Education meeting Tuesday night was an architect's report on the planning of the intermediate school.
Although plans are not yet finalized, the design team is considering a number of factors that will help the school building be as useful and durable as possible.
The approximately 120,000-square-foot school was approved by voters in the November school referendum. It is slated to include grades 3-5 over two floors.
Also Tuesday, Superintendent John Landgaard provided an update on the district's response to the COVID-19 outbreak. By order of Gov. TIm Walz, all schools statewide are closed until March 27, during which time staff will create a plan for distance learning.
Landgaard said schools are also responsible for providing lunches during this time, and District 518 will use the same method it does over the summer. Several dropoff points around Worthington have been identified, and vans will bring food for collection by anyone age 18 or younger. Each package will contain a lunch and the next morning's breakfast.
-- Leah Ward Report: 4 Mesa high schools overcrowded-- EastValley.com Arizona: March 01, 2020 [ abstract] Four of Mesa’s six high schools are so overcrowded the district may have to consider building a new one, according to a master plan introduced to the Mesa Public Schools Governing Board last week.
The report by Alpha Facilities Solutions also said the overall condition of many schools at all levels pales in comparison with what they’ve seen in other areas – and elementary school buildings, in particular, need major repairs.
The report culminates a study of the district’s 901 buildings, representing 8.4 million square feet of space.
“While overall high school utilization is at a reasonable percentage, it varies widely among schools,” the report said. “Four schools are projected to be over 100 percent utilization with one projected at less than 75 percent.”
Red Mountain is the most overcrowded with 3,457 students crammed into a building designed for 2,849 – equaling 25 percent over capacity, the report said.
Mesa High and Westwood tied for second-most overcrowded, each with a total student population 10 percent above what their buildings were made to accomodate.
Mesa High’s 3,603 students are in a building with a capacity for 3,272 while Westwood’s 3,465 students are in a one that comfortably fits 3,136 pupils.
Mountain View High’s overcrowding is rated at 8 percent above capacity, with 3,386 students in a building made for 3,149.
Enrollment projections for 2024 won’t ease overcrowding, according to the report, which said the same four high schools will remain at least 10 percent above capacity.
-- Christopher Boan 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 A playground turnaround for Atlanta Public Schools-- Urban Land Institute Georgia: February 06, 2020 [ abstract]
Atlanta’s Kimberly Elementary is a school on the move. Back in 2017, the school found itself on the state “turnaround list” of schools with the lowest average test scores, says Principal Joseph Salley. But not for long.
“It’s been a long journey, a lot of hard work from our kids, our families, and our staff to get moving in the right direction—but last year we got taken off the turnaround list,” Salley says. “We still have a lot of work to do, but we’re not at the bottom anywhere, and that’s great for us.”
The school community has pulled together to help students hit their academic goals, but they know there’s more to school than grades and test scores.
“Our students already feel safe coming to school—we just want them to be able to make the most of every part of it, from the classrooms to the playground,” says Salley. But today, the yard at Kimberly is mostly empty space, with just a small play set off to one side.
“I think about our kids,” says Salley. “I know they don’t have a park nearby they can walk to. They’re sometimes outside at their apartment complexes, but most of their complexes don’t have a playground, so the kids are always looking for something to do. I just feel like our students and their families are missing out on something so important.”
So when he heard about the opportunity to work with The Trust for Public Land to make big changes to the schoolyard at Kimberly, he jumped at the chance. Kimberly and Dobbs Elementary Schools are the first two sites in our Atlanta Community Schoolyards program, a partnership with Atlanta Public Schools, Urban Land Institute Atlanta, and Park Pride to improve schoolyards and open them as public parks outside of school hours. The school community has contributed their time, energy, and ideas to designing a beautiful new playground, which will open this fall.
-- The Trust for Public Land Could Florida save millions with solar schools proposal?-- The Floridian Florida: February 05, 2020 [ abstract]
With Gov. Ron DeSantis’ $600 million proposal to increase teacher salaries, many state legislators are scratching their heads to find ways to fund this bold initiative. One potential solution may come from an unlikely place.
Democratic state Sen. Lori Berman (D-Boynton Beach) is advocating for a solar schools proposal that could make it easier for schools to save money on energy costs.
According to a report from the Florida Department of Education, school districts across the state spent more than $528 million on energy costs during the 2017-18 fiscal year. That doesn’t even include charter school expenditures on energy costs, which weren’t part of the DOE report.
Sen. Berman’s proposal (SB 1290) would streamline the process for public schools to embrace solar infrastructure to power their classrooms. The bill would exclude costs associated with a solar energy system – including equipment, installation, design and engineering – from existing per-student station caps on public school construction.
“Despite our nickname, the Sunshine State’s solar power potential has been unrealized,” said Sen. Lori Berman. “Our state needs to consider more measures that incentivize renewable alternatives as they’re far more cost-effective than fossil fuels and, in fact, represent more jobs in this country at a ratio of 3-1. By harvesting the untapped power of the sun in Florida’s K-12 school facilities, we can lead new generations of young Floridians into a brighter, cleaner future.”
-- Javier Manjarres 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 Rapidly growing Ridgefield floats $107 million school construction bond-- The Columbian Washington: January 28, 2020 [ abstract]
With continued growth on the horizon, the Ridgefield School District in February will ask voters to consider a $107 million construction bond to build new facilities.
The north Clark County school district last ran a bond a year ago at $77 million, which failed with 58.1 percent of the vote. School bonds in Washington state must pass with a margin of 60 percent plus one vote approval.
This year’s bond measure is $30 million larger than last year’s due in part to the addition of an intermediate school for fifth- and sixth-graders to its slate of projects. That campus would be the first part of a two-phase construction project that would eventually include a middle school for seventh- and eighth-grade students. The second part of that project would be funded through a later bond, Superintendent Nathan McCann said.
The district estimates the bond will cost taxpayers a rate of 97 cents per $1,000 in assessed property value. A home valued at $300,000, for example, would pay $291 annually.
District officials say this bond is critical as they work to accommodate the additional 1,760 students expected to enter the district by 2023-2024. Enrollment at the district was 3,358 students in January, according to the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, meaning the district anticipates an enrollment increase of 52 percent.
“We desperately need this,” McCann said.
McCann adds that current growth projections do not take into account projected growth from development around the 179 Street/Interstate 5 interchange. The Clark County Council late last year voted to lift an urban holding designation, which for years halted development and land division in the sprawling area.
Building out all 2,200 acres that were in urban holding could produce as many as 5,650 homes, many of them in the Ridgefield School District boundaries.
“The bottom line is, we’re in this perpetual mode of growth,” he said.
-- Katie Gillespie Guilford County commissioners, school board to discuss $2 billion plan to repair, rebuild schools-- Fox8 North Carolina: January 21, 2020 [ abstract] GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — A $2 billion question is on the table for Guilford County commissioners and school leaders as talks continue Tuesday.
The school district says it needs the money to make long-overdue repairs to its aging school buildings. Now the challenge is finding it.
Tuesday morning, commissioners and the school board are having a committee meeting to discuss the plans.
Leaders are considering a bond referendum, a half-cent sales tax and other options.
No matter what it will probably come down to the taxpayer to some degree to vote on.
They also plan to focus on priorities for this $2 billion plan.
The master plan the district revealed in November says one of the main goals is fully renovating 19 schools and rebuilding 22.
These are the schools in the worst condition that need a new modern design.
-- Staff Writer Michigan school designed to foil shooters: 'It slows them down'-- The Detroit News Michigan: January 07, 2020 [ abstract]
Fruitport — It's a school built to thwart a mass shooting but in disguise.
Inside the new $48 million Fruitport High School, extensive window glass, elegant lighting, wide-open gathering spaces and modern furniture give this West Michigan public school the feel of an upscale college campus.
But its modern security measures are tucked inside in subtle ways through architectural innovation, starting with curved hallways that connect classrooms and cut down on sightlines for anyone with a gun.
Wing walls of reinforced concrete that jut out from existing walls inside classrooms look like playful design elements but function to provide cover for up to 30 students and staff from a gunman roaming the 231,700 square-foot school.
Fruitport Superintendent Bob Szymoniak said some of the design features, which are becoming common across American K-12 schools in response to gun violence, do not guarantee the safety of his 800 students at Fruitport High School, who occupied the first completed phase of the school on Monday. But they are expected to slow down an active shooter, he said, a critical security need in an era of school massacres.
-- Jennifer Chambers Facial recognition finally activated at New York school district-- ed scoop New York: January 06, 2020 [ abstract] After receiving concerns over possible student privacy violations from students, civil rights activists and state officials, the Lockport City School District in Upstate New York on Thursday activated its facial recognition, which is designed to detect and preempt threats to campus safety.
“I am pleased to report that the District has completed the initial implementation phase of the AEGIS system, and has also completed its related discussions with [the New York State Education Department],” Superintendent Michelle Bradley said in a statement.
Lockport, a K-12 district with about 4,400 students, purchased cameras equipped with object and facial recognition software sold by a the Canadian firm SN Technologies in 2018 to assist school security officers in identifying people not allowed in school buildings and to spot objects that threaten students safety, like guns, across the district’s eight schools.
But after the surveillance initiative elicited concerns from students and civil liberty advocates who claim the technology infringes on the privacy rights of students, parents and staff, the New York State Education Department announced last June it would investigate the district’s privacy policies.
-- Betsy Foresman Push Continues for New School Facilities-- Newportnow Rhode Island: December 27, 2019 [ abstract] Newport might not receive the reported 52.5 percent state reimbursement to help finance new school facilities. Instead, according to Joseph da Silva of the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), the reimbursement could be only 50 percent.
Currently, financial assistance is based largely on a fixed rate, which is determined by a formula that considers the latest median family income and the total amount of that community’s property tax base, which in Newport’s case works out to the state minimum of 35 percent.
There are also temporary incentive bonuses funded by a $250 million state bond issue in 2018. By law, there are six criteria that can each increase the reimbursement rate by five percent. Da Silva said that Newport is assured to qualify for three of the criteria, yielding only an additional 15 percent.
Those three criteria are Health and Safety, where a new school is demonstrably more secure than the one it’s replacing; Educational Enhancements, which the new high school and pre-K designs achieve; and Replacement, where the facility to be replaced falls below a formulaically calculated standard of suitability.
-- Andy Long ‘Save our fields’: Residents continue to voice concerns over Heights rebuild-- Del Mar Times California: December 27, 2019 [ abstract] Some community opposition remains to the Del Mar Heights School rebuild that is set to begin construction in summer 2020. The group Play Outside Del Mar has distributed hundreds of “Save our Fields” signs that can be spotted on many Del Mar neighborhood streets and community members again filled the board room at the Del Mar Union School District board’s Dec. 18 meeting in an attempt to preserve what neighbor Andrew Lutz called “the most beautiful public school site in the world.”
“I consider the school to be a real jewel of our community,” said Karen Vaughn, who has lived on the corner of Boquita Drive and Cordero Road for almost 30 years. Both of her children went to the Heights and “Katie” (board member Katherine Fitzpatrick) used to babysit them. “I like the design but I’m very grieved by the loss of field space. I don’t feel that due diligence has been done. I know that there are a lot of issues that planners have had to take into account but I don’t think we’re at our best design at this point. I think we’re giving up too much.”
The current design is driven by the priorities of reducing vehicle congestion on neighborhood streets, maximizing parking, getting rid of all aging portable classrooms and improving pedestrian safety while still preserving views. The 66,990- square-foot design is larger than the existing footprint of the 54,007 square feet campus and while other green areas have been worked into the design, it does result in a reduction in the large contiguous school playing field.
-- KAREN BILLING School construction projects, strategic plan on CCISD horizon-- Houston Chronicle Texas: December 24, 2019 [ abstract]
Clear Creek ISD will focus in 2020 on projects to renovate one school that is 55 years old, rebuild another constructed nearly 75 years ago and develop a multiyear strategic plan for the district.
Construction projects
The district is continuing a building program voters approved in the 2017 $487 million bond referendum. Late this year, the school board approved design plans for major improvements to start in 2020 at Ed White ESTEM Magnet School and for a complete rebuild of Clear View High School.
Clear View, an alternative campus with an enrollment of just under 200, was built in 1938 as Webster High School. Using $45 million of bond funds, the district will rebuild the campus next to the existing facility with plans for a 350-student capacity. Construction is set to begin in June 2020, with expected completion in December 2021.
Next summer will see the start of the reconstruction of Ed White ESTEM Magnet School. The project, which will cost $19.7 million, will mean additional space, renovations and repairs aimed at bringing the nearly 55-year-old building up to current safety standards. The additions to White will support the magnet school’s science, technology, engineering and math curriculum.
“Ed White, one of our oldest schools, will be a huge renovation,” district spokeswoman Alaina Polsen said.
-- Carissa D. Lamkahouan St. Paul board borrows $85M more for school construction. Why don’t voters get a say?-- Twin Cities Pioneer Press Minnesota: December 20, 2019 [ abstract]
The St. Paul school board last week agreed to borrow another $85 million for school construction, but it’ll be months before they decide how to spend it all.
The district is one of four in Minnesota that have special permission under state law to borrow money and levy taxes for school facilities projects without voter approval or specific budgets.
In St. Paul’s case, that’s enabled $112 million in renovations to move forward each year since 2016 with relatively little scrutiny from board members or the public.
That’s beginning to change.
Following a Pioneer Press report in May on inaccurate cost estimates, the district hired Dallas-based Jacobs Engineering Group to improve processes in its facilities and finance departments.
More than half of the review team’s 52 recommendations either are being implemented or are in process, according to the district. And officials are starting over on a new five-year construction plan expected to go before the board in spring.
But the district is struggling with what to do with American Indian Magnet and other projects that have undergone significant design work but have not yet broken ground.
A renovation and expansion for the preK-8 school in Dayton’s Bluff was set to begin next year, but after cost estimates jumped to $53 million from $23 million, board members want a detailed explanation for why it’s still moving forward — and why they aren’t just building a new school.
-- JOSH VERGES More of the Story: Harrah elementary and middle school plans move forward after more than 30 years-- Yakima Herald Washington: December 10, 2019 [ abstract] Mt. Adams School District is in the design stage of a new elementary and middle school that is expected to be ready for full use in fall of 2021.
In September, the purchase of 70 acres of farmland on the east side of Harrah from Inaba Produce Farms was finalized, said Superintendent Curt Guaglianone.
Guaglianone said the district was now in the “serious design stage,” and then the plan was to go to bid with contractors in February. He did not yet know how many construction firms were planning to bid. He said they hoped to break ground soon after, and expected to have the buildings ready for use in the 2021-22 school year.
The new building will replace an elementary school that’s more than 80 years old and place grades K-8 in one building with various wings in an effort to minimize student transitions and prepare them for high school, Guaglianone said.
-- Janelle Retka State database provides information about lead in water of school districts-- CentralJersey.com New Jersey: December 06, 2019 [ abstract]
The New Jersey Department of Education has recently released a centralized database designed to provide lead testing information on school districts in the state.
The database is part of the state’s three-pronged approach to strengthen New Jersey’s response to lead testing and remedy elevated lead levels in drinking water in state schools, according to officials.
Princeton Public Schools was one of more than 24 districts in the database that had too much lead discovered in its water samples in the database’s latest report.
For the Princeton, the most recent lead sampling and analysis was done in 2017.
“The only issues identified in earlier testing involved a few older faucets and water fountains. Those issues were immediately addressed. We were attentive back then,” Superintendent Steve Cochrane said. “Our water has tested fine, as has our pipe infrastructure. “We are happy to report that the water in our schools meets all acceptable standards.”
He said everything has been fine since the 2017 test.
-- ANDREW HARRISON Arlington parents fear overcrowding plan that would swap students between schools-- WJLA7 Virginia: December 05, 2019 [ abstract] ARLINGTON, Va. (WJLA) — Arlington parents are worried about plans that could swap students between up to five elementary schools to deal with overcrowding.
Key Immersion, Arlington Traditional, Campbell Expeditionary Learning, Carlin Springs, and McKinley could all be affected.
School leaders project the cost of moving a program such as Key Immersion to Arlington Traditional would be between $51,000 and $59,000 for moving expenses and around $1 million to refresh the building.
Here is a link with details of the two proposals: https://www.apsva.us/engage/planning-for-2020-elementary-school-boundary-process/
Jen Myers’ sons go to Mckinley Elementary and she wants to keep it that way.
“I don’t want to move my kids from one overcrowded school to another overcrowded school,” she said. She's concerned about the cost of the move and about the fear it would increase segregation.
“These are really tough conversations and we want to make sure that if they are looking at school moves that this is the most fiscally responsible way to balance enrollment.”
Myers and other parents who are part of the “Save McKinley” campaign are concerned the school district is rushing into the plan.
“I live right [across from McKinley] and my kids would get no preference to go to this beautiful school—one of the top performing schools in Virginia,” said Laura Jackson. “The whole entire neighborhood and network of families were involved in building this and designing it and then to not let us continue go to school here is so frustrating.”
-- Tim Barber Do taller doors make school feel more important? Westport says yes-- South Coast Today Massachusetts: December 05, 2019 [ abstract] WESTPORT -- Could a door height impact the education of a child?
By a slim majority, the School Building Committee recently said “yes” to that question. As a result, the new, proposed junior/senior high school building -- at an additional cost of $40,000 -- will have 8-foot, rather than 7-foot high doors.
The 8-foot doors were once in the original design but then scrapped in favor of the shorter doors; project officials have struggled to keep the building within the allocated $97 million budget and have eliminated some aesthetic building features.
Architect Jonathan Levi noted that a tall door should not be an eliminated feature, so the SBC reverted to the 8-footers.
Levi and subcommittee members noted that walking into classrooms with slightly taller doors would send a message that their school is an important place.
“A child walking into a classroom should get the feeling of being in a dignified place and a door communicates that kind of dignity. I do think it is an educational issue. ... “We know when we walk in a special building, we know it has taller doors,” Levi said. “It is a small thing at low cost that will have an impact.”
SBC member Jeffrey Wade, also on the subcommittee, mentioned that project officials have removed some aesthetic features to keep the project within budget. He mentioned that if the town can afford certain aesthetic features such as the taller doors, it will instill more pride in students and staff. He also said that the community will have this building for an additional 50 years, so the appearance should make a difference.
-- Jeffrey D. Wagner 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 Two East Side elementaries top pared-down list for St. Paul school overhauls-- Star Tribune Minnesota: December 02, 2019 [ abstract] Weeks after putting major building renovations on hold, the St. Paul school district is considering moving forward with a small group of projects that underwent some design work.
Just two, however, match the scale of the ambitious makeovers that sent costs soaring and triggered a recent monthslong review of the district’s facilities-management practices.
They involve improvements to two East Side schools: Frost Lake Elementary and American Indian Magnet, the latter of which serves students from preschool to eighth grade.
Superintendent Joe Gothard told school board members last month that they likely will be asked to vote on the projects — along with the bond sale to finance them — at their Dec. 17 meeting.
But in a nod to the concerns raised over the first wave of projects, he said he was being cautious, as well.
“You need to hear me out: I will have no problem slowing this down if I feel that we’re not making the right kind of traction,” Gothard said.
His comments came in a meeting during which he also stated that the district may have about 950 fewer students, generating less revenue than a year ago. Enrollment, in turn, could influence which buildings are improved and when.
“We want to make sure that we’re making really wise investments,” Gothard said.
-- Anthony Lonetree 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 More students means more schools being built-- Cape-Coral Daily Breeze Florida: November 26, 2019 [ abstract] With the continued growth with the Lee County School District, a capital plan is under way to accommodate the additional students.
"We have a capital plan that plans for the expansion of our school capacity in locations we are needed," Facility Planning and Development Executive Director Kathie Ebaugh said. "We just broke ground in the East Zone for a brand new high school, and we will be breaking ground in the East Zone for a middle school in the spring."
Long Range Planner Dominic Gemelli said the new high school will accommodate about 2,000 students and the middle school 1,200 students.
"You will slowly be able to start leveling out the utilization of these schools. It will take time to migrate to the new schools," he said, adding it will bring down the number of students at the higher enrolled schools, eliminating the use of portables.
In addition, the school district is in the design phase for an elementary and middle school to open in the South Zone in August 2023. The five-year plan also includes another elementary school in the East Zone.
The school district is currently using portables, or relocatables to accommodate the student population. Ebaugh said they have to use these classrooms, which can be moved from campus to campus, to address the growth needs on a specific campus, before a new campus can be built.
-- MEGHAN BRADBURY Bethlehem weighing future of 3 elementary schools needing $37.8M in upgrades-- Lehigh Valley Live Pennsylvania: November 12, 2019 [ abstract] With 22 school buildings in the Bethlehem Area School District, there’s always a pricey repair needed somewhere.
As the repair price tag at three district elementary schools climbs to $37.8 million, the district is exploring whether to renovate or replace the buildings.
Monday night the school board discussed the future of Fountain HIll, Thomas Jefferson and William Penn elementary schools during a review of the district’s capital improvements plan at a board facilities committee meeting.
For years, the district focused upon replacing Nitschmann Middle School in West Bethlehem, a project put on a prolonged hold during the financial meltdown. Now that the $53 million school is open, Superintendent Joseph Roy said the district’s looking to other neglected buildings.
First, Bethlehem must look at financing options and how much new debt the district can afford to take on, Roy said. The district’s bond payments for the new Nitschmann jump when the city’s tax increment financing district expires in 2020.
Then the district will form a team to weigh the available options -- repairs, renovations or a new school -- and determine how each could be accomplished. A major question is where students would attend school during construction work, Roy said.
The first priority would be Fountain Hill Elementary School, which was a high school when it first opened in 1937 and was last renovated in 1994. The four-story school is the district’s largest elementary in terms of physical size and enrollment with 568 students. It is ill suited for educating young children.
The district estimates it would cost $18.5 million to just address Fountain Hill’s infrastructure needs and $28.5 million to renovate and put on an addition to solve issues with the basement cafeteria, according to the district’s capita plan. A new school’s estimated at $34.5 million.
After Fountain Hill, the district would weigh its options with William Penn, 1002 Main St., and Thomas Jefferson, 404 E. North St., elementary schools, Roy said. Both built in 1972 with odd open-concept designs, the schools sit in a targeted city reinvestment zone - dubbed Northside 2027 -- and are only one mile apart.
-- Sara K. Satullo Oshkosh School Board to address aging facilities-- FOX11 Wisconsin: November 12, 2019 [ abstract] OSHKOSH, Wis. (WLUK) -- The Oshkosh Area School District is looking into solutions for aging facilities.
The Oshkosh School Board created the Facilities Advisory Committee to make recommendations on next steps. The board has not yet taken action. The committee will present the recommendations to the board on December 4.
"That's why the board charged the committee, to take a look at what are the facility needs, what would be the best plan going forward in a multi-phased approach," Dr. David Gundlach, the Oshkosh Deputy Superintendent said.
The committee recommends the Oshkosh School Board addresses school security and immediate maintenance needs. School security would redesign entrances to control visitor access, add lockable interior doors, and install "additional security technology."
The infrastructure and maintenance repairs would replace sections of roof at three schools and update electrical systems at both high schools.
These two recommendations are expected to cost at least $20 million total from taxpayers. Right now, the committee estimates this would be a $19 tax increase per year for each $100,000 of property value. They estimate this tax increase will last for the next 20 years.
"It's really important for us to be competitive in terms of facilities, but also, there's a lot of facility needs and pent up maintenance needs, etc," Gundlach said.
The committee also recommends building a new middle and elementary school at a later date.
-- Sierra Trojan Which Charleston County schools face closures and other big changes? Here’s a list.-- The Post and Courier South Carolina: November 12, 2019 [ abstract] The Charleston County School Board is moving forward with bold and controversial changes that could affect more than 40 of the district’s 87 public schools and programs, despite growing pushback and an organized protest Monday.
During the board’s 5½-hour-long meeting, board members debated details of more than 20 recommendations designed to provide more equitable opportunities for all students.
The specific ideas have changed three times during the past two months, and Monday was the first time the board had the opportunity to discuss, review and vote on the district’s formal recommendations.
Some proposals, like a plan to build a new Ladson Elementary and create an early childhood education center in its place, sailed through on a unanimous vote. Others, like the plan to combine Lambs, Hunley Park and W.B. Goodwin elementary schools on one North Charleston campus, were split, but passed with 6-3 vote. Board members Kevin Hollinshead, Cindy Bohn Coats and Chris Collins cast the dissenting votes.
-- Jenna Schiferl California Requires All Schools To Do Yearly Self-Maintenance Checks, Not Overseen By State Inspectors-- CBS Sacramento California: November 04, 2019 [ abstract] The average school in the United States was built in 1959 and is now 60 years old, according to a survey done in 2014 by the National Center for Education Statistics.
In California, schools inspect 15 systems and areas, then rank each area one of four ways:
OK (No Deficiency/Good Repair)
D (Deficiency)
X (Extreme Deficiency)
NA (Not Applicable)
An inspector designated by each school, often a member of the janitorial staff or maintenance office, gives an OK or Good Repair to indicate a school is clean, safe, and functional. School districts and County Offices of Education are required to “make specified assessments of school conditions including the safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities and needed maintenance to ensure good repair.” Further, county superintendents must visit each school in the county annually to determine the status of the condition and to determine if the school accountability report card is accurate.
The state recommends schools be evaluated in a number of systems and areas, including:
Gas
Sewer
Mechanical Systems (HVAC)
Roofs
Pest/Vermin Infestation
Electrical (Interior and Exterior)
Overall Cleanliness
Restrooms
Drinking Fountains
Playgrounds/School Grounds
Interior Surfaces (Floors, Ceilings, Walls, Window Casings)
Structural Damage
Fire Safety
Hazardous Materials (Paint, Mildew, Mold, Mold Odor)
Windows/Doors/Gates/Fences
-- 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 How would you design a new Rogers High School? Here’s some suggestions-- NewportRI.com Rhode Island: October 23, 2019 [ abstract] NEWPORT — About three dozen residents gathered in the cafeteria of Rogers High School Tuesday night to share ideas on what a new high school should look like before a schematic design is developed by architects in the coming months.
Kate Jessup, the project architect and educational planner for Studio JAED of Providence, opened the meeting with a series of slides showing what recently built high schools from Massachusetts to California look like.
These were not you mother’s or father’s high schools, or even your own high school, as today’s educators continue to develop new models for learning and instruction.
That means classroom desks are not lined up in rows and columns with a teacher standing in front. Instead, there are chairs, sofas and small tables that can be moved around easily for gatherings in smaller groups.
Many of the designs showed classrooms with a glass wall looking out into a atrium where there are informal meeting spaces, where students can gather to eat, meet and work together as well. There are no corridors in the traditional sense.
Rogers Principal Jared Vance said project-based learning and collaborative working groups are being used in the high school now and educators support the development of flexible learning spaces like those shown.
“The current high school is grouped by departments,” Jessup said. “Instead, we are looking at learning suites of different sized classrooms.”
-- Sean Flynn Grant High School remodel: Erasing inequity-- Portland Tribune Oregon: October 22, 2019 [ abstract] When voters in 2012 approved a $482 million school construction bond for Portland Public Schools, they expected part of the money would be used to upgrade seismic standards and address deferred maintenance issues at some of the district's existing school buildings.
While the $158 million modernization project that recently wrapped up at Grant High School accomplished those goals, it also helped address another problem at the school — that of inequality among students resulting from the outdated design of the nearly 95-year-old building.
On a recent October morning, during an open flex period, students mixed and mingled in Grant's new, light-flooded commons area that doubles as the school's cafeteria space.
It's a far different scene from two years ago, when a team from Mahlum Architects first visited the school to talk with students and faculty as they began the process of creating a design for the modernization project.
At the time, the outdated building contained five basement areas used as classrooms and a cafeteria that students told the design team had created an unintended division among students at the school.
It was insight that would drive the direction of the overall design of the project, and provide team members and Grant High School administrators with some new lessons along the way.
"The design process focus was not just modernization and aesthetics," Carol Campbell, the high school's principal, said. "(It) was a real intentional focus on the spaces themselves, how they were serving students and faculty and the community."
-- Stephanie Basalyga Plans for upkeep of facilities presented; lack of maintenance has been sore spot for those opposing the 1% local sales t-- The Gazette-Virginian Virginia: October 20, 2019 [ abstract] Halifax County School Board members addressed the growing concern of maintaining Halifax County High School and all of its facilities Thursday night when interim supervisor of secondary education Scott Worner presented a long-term maintenance plan during the board’s regular monthly meeting.
The meeting was held on Thursday, rather than on Monday, due to the Columbus Day holiday.
Just as it takes a village to raise a child, Worner told those attending Thursday night’s meeting it takes a whole community to have pride in its education system.
He understands concerns exist over the care of the facilities, but he noted 16 dedicated maintenance employees as well as a new director of maintenance, Steve Brumfield, put forth every effort to repair and replace what they can at all of the county schools.
But, he said when you break down the number of maintenance employees compared to the nine county schools, the STEM center and the early learning center, that leaves only “1.7 people per building.”
He also pointed out former director of maintenance Jay Jennings already had begun a capital improvement plan as part of his efforts to bring the school buildings where they need to be prior to his taking another job.
Now Worner said he wants to see those plans continue and improve.
As they move toward modernizing the high school, he said, “design challenges must be rectified to promote instruction and facilitate the safety and supervision of the high school.”
-- Staff Writer Prince George’s Residents Fight Removal Of Historic Designation At 2 Schools-- WAMU Maryland: October 18, 2019 [ abstract] Prince George’s County residents are — once again — frustrated over changes to the county’s zoning laws.
In the last two months, residents have protested the county leaders for their decision to alter zoning laws that would strip two schools in Upper Marlboro of their historic designation, voiced complaints about the process to bring a now scuttled Amazon warehouse to Westphalia and opposed the construction of townhomes near an airport.
Residents said they’ve been left in the dark by the council on major decisions that could potentially impact the sensibility of their neighborhoods. What they are unaware of is an unusual legislative tactic that allows the council to amend zoning laws without stating its intentions.
That’s playing out right now in Upper Marlboro. Administrative Judge Sheila Tillerson-Adams wants to build a new kind of school in Prince George’s County. The school would be for students expelled from other county schools.
“Don’t call it an alternative high school,” Tillerson-Adams said sitting in her courthouse office. “It will be the James H. Taylor Innovative Academy.”
Tillerson-Adams is referring to Taylor, the first African American circuit court judge in the county. Her proposed school would be built on what is currently the historic sites of Old Marlboro High School and Primary School. It’s also the burial site of Dr. William Beanes and his wife, Sarah.
In order to build the school, the county wants to keep the historical designation of the cemetery, but remove the designation of the two schools through what’s called a minor text amendment proposed by Councilmembers Derrick Davis and Sydney Harrison.
“It’s so we wouldn’t have any limitations in how we would build the school,” Tillerson-Adams said. “We’re not saying we’re going to demolish the building. We just want options. I’m very mindful of the history.”
-- Dominique Maria Bonessi Majority of summer repairs to Providence schools still not done-- WPRI.com Rhode Island: October 17, 2019 [ abstract] PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The majority of repairs slated for Providence public schools over the summer have not yet been completed, according to a construction update released by the city on Wednesday.
The list of projects, billed as part of a $20 million bond for spring and summer repair projects, range from roof replacements to fire code upgrades to heating system repairs.
The construction delays come as state officials, poised to take control of the district, have referenced possible closures of the worst school buildings.
“Some of these buildings really should not have children in them in the present condition that they’re in. That’s the reality,” Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said earlier this week.
Mayor Jorge Elorza’s office released the list over the summer in the wake of the scathing report by Johns Hopkins University, whose researchers had an overwhelmingly negative view of the Providence school buildings.
The construction projects were planned prior to the Hopkins report, as part of the tail end of the city’s five-year 2015 school capital plan and the beginning of its 2020 plan. (The 2020 fiscal year began July 1.)
Only one-third of the projects on the original list provided to Target 12 are completed, according to the construction status update released by the city.
Eight projects from the summer projects list are now marked as “complete,” while 16 others are either under construction, pre-construction or “in-design.”
-- Steph Machado PfISD eyes busy winter of new school construction, facility renovations-- Community Impact Newspaper Texas: October 17, 2019 [ abstract] Construction on the first two school projects in Pflugerville ISD’s 2018 bond package now has a defined date.
According to a presentation shown to the PfISD Board of Trustees on Oct. 17, district officials have planned a construction start date of Dec. 2 for the joint elementary school and middle school campus. The combined campus site is located near the corner of Pleasanton Parkway and Weiss Lane in eastern Pflugerville.
David Vesling, executive director of Facilities & Support Services for PfISD, presented the district’s estimated bid schedule for the new school construction projects to trustees. According to that timeline, bid proposals from firms are set to be due on Oct. 29. The winning bid will be approved by the Board of Trustees on Nov. 21, just under two weeks before construction on the district’s 22nd elementary school and seventh middle school is slated to begin.
Those projects are budgeted for $40 million and $61.1 million, respectively, funded by the district’s 2018 bond funds. Two architecture firms were hired by the school district to oversee design and planning for the separate school buildings.
“This is fairly complex because there are two projects going on at one site,” Vesling said.
Both schools are expected to be move-in ready by July 2021, according to the district’s project timelines.
Shortly after construction begins on the combined campus project, PfISD will begin work renovating the district’s historic Rock Gym, located at 700 W. Pecan St., Pflugerville.
Renovations on the building, which received a historical marker from the Texas Historical Commission in 2012, are designed to improve acoustics.
However, Vesling’s presentation stated the renovation project will be expanded to renovate the Rock Gym’s main entrance and add window shading and removable floor covering. Those renovation items will be presented to the PfISD Board of Trustees for approval at a future meeting.
Board President Vernagene Mott directed district staff to survey what neighboring districts are charging to rent similar facility spaces so PfISD can mold its own fees at a market-rate.
-- Iain Oldman School facilities tours" Top needs highlighted-- YSNews.com Ohio: October 17, 2019 [ abstract] From the perspective of those who know the buildings best, what are the local school district’s most pressing facilities issues?
Answering that question was one purpose behind recent tours of Mills Lawn Elementary School and Yellow Springs High School/McKinney Middle School. The elementary school tour was held in September; the high school/middle school tour in August.
Led by Mills Lawn Principal Matt Housh and districtwide Head of Maintenance Craig Carter, who has worked for the district since 2008, the Mills Lawn tour drew two local residents as well as members of the facilities task force, including Superintendent Terri Holden.
In a walk-around that lasted almost two hours on the evening of Sept. 18, outdoor issues such as the lack of a fence around the property and indoor issues such as energy-inefficient windows, lack of central air conditioning in parts of the building, lack of a separate cafeteria and lack of learning spaces conducive to group work were among the issues highlighted by Housh and Carter.
Classroom space is “inefficient and not designed for modern learners, but we work with it,” Housh said during the tour.
On the plus side, Housh mentioned the campus’ greenspace.
“We have lots of greenspace. We love that,” he said.
The original Mills Lawn structure was built in 1953, with additions in 1958 and 2003. The school currently enrolls about 330 students in grades K–6, according to Housh.
-- Audrey Hackett and Carol Simmons 2 Atlanta schoolyards to be public parks; eight more to come-- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: October 16, 2019 [ abstract] Playgrounds at two Atlanta elementary schools will do double duty as public parks thanks to a new program and big donations.
Parks groups announced Wednesday that Dobbs and Kimberly elementary schools have been selected for a pilot program that will transform their schoolyards into after-hours parks open for general public use.
The groups plan to upgrade and open 10 school playgrounds in the next three years so that they can be used by nearby residents. The idea is to add more green space and recreation areas in neighborhoods that lack parks.
The groups announced $1.5 million has been raised to pay for playground renovations, which could include benches, shade trees and other amenities.
Students and residents will help decide how to redesign the sites and what upgrades to add. Construction work will begin next summer, when Dobbs and Kimberly schoolyards officially will open for public use after school, on weekends and during the summer.
Dobbs is on Jonesboro Road in southeast Atlanta and Kimberly is on McMurray Drive in southwest Atlanta.
“We are thrilled to help hundreds of families within a 10-minute walk of these schools benefit from greater access to safe outdoor recreation areas,” said George Dusenbury, Georgia state director for The Trust for Public Land, in a written statement.
-- Vanessa McCray Problems, positives outlined at each school in Stow-Munroe Falls school building-- TimesReporter.com Ohio: October 14, 2019 [ abstract] STOW — While students and their families enjoyed summer break away from school, the administration of the Stow-Munroe Falls Schools was evaluating the district’s nine school buildings in an initial step to creating a new master facilities plan.
The results of that summer evaluation were presented during the school board’s Oct. 7 workshop by representatives from Hammond Construction in Canton and Then design Architecture in Willoughby giving the presentation.
This assessment was completed to evaluate the school district’s buildings in terms of safety and their ability to support student learning in today’s world, said Robert Gress, the district’s director of operations.
“We’re not going in with any preconceived notions about what we’re doing with any of the buildings,” Gress said. “But with buildings that range from 80 years to over 30, it’s important that we take a look at what is it costing residents to patch and repair our aging schools, especially if the state of Ohio is willing to pay for some of the cost.”
The evaluation was done for free through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, Gress added.
Cheryl Fisher from Then design Architecture commended the district’s maintenance staff for its efforts with the school buildings.
“Your district’s maintenance staff has done an excellent job making these buildings safe for the students,” Fisher said. “But everything has a life cycle. Given the age of your school buildings, many have exceeded that.”
Fisher said the last time the district’s buildings were evaluated was in 2006, about 13 years ago. Many things have changed since then.
Jeff Tuckerman of Hammond Construction explained one of the things the evaluation covered was the cost of renovating the school buildings versus replacing them. The rule of thumb, as outlined by the OFCC, is that if the cost to renovate is two-thirds or greater than the cost to rebuild, or 66.6 percent, the district should consider rebuilding.
-- April Helms Failed school bond proposal raises new set of questions-- The Westerly Sun Connecticut: October 12, 2019 [ abstract] WESTERLY — Officials and residents on both sides of the school building project that voters rejected Thursday are offering different ideas on what the path forward should look like.
At its most basic level, the project rejected on a 2,180-1,726 vote was based on a belief that the town's elementary schools needed to be addressed and improved. The same impetus drove the project that voters rejected in 2016.
Superintendent of Schools Mark Garceau, who supported the most recently proposed project, on Friday called for a survey of voters to see what they were thinking when they filled in the "reject" oval on their ballots. "I think we need to gauge why it failed. Was it about the money or was it about the educational side? I think that's important for us to know and for any future subcommittees — to try to get to the bottom of that," he said.
The question put to voters Thursday asked for approval of up to $71.4 million in borrowing with state reimbursement of at least 35% to help pay for tearing down the existing State Street Elementary School and building a new on the site; renovating and slightly expanding Dunn's Corners Elementary School; and renovating Springbrook School. Westerly Middle School and the two halls at Westerly High School would have been improved as well.
The project came with a pledge of at least 35% reimbursement of both the principal and interest by the Rhode Island School Building Authority and the possibility of up to 50% reimbursement if the project met certain state-set incentive thresholds that it was designed to meet.
-- Dale Faulkner 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 Westport parents, officials: $96M schools repair plan lacks detail-- Westport News Connecticut: October 09, 2019 [ abstract] WESTPORT — A long-awaited facilities report that outlined a 10-year, $96 million plan to repair the town’s schools left community members disappointed with the perceived surface-level information.
“We have several design professionals that primarily engage in school projects who all contributed their specific expertise to the generation of this report” said Michael Losasso, an architect with Antinozzi Associates at a Board of Education meeting on Monday.
Lossaso gave a presentation outlining the various repairs needed to be made at the seven school buildings, barring Coleytown Middle School. As part of the report, Losasso said his team interviewed each school’s principal and conducted a visual survey of each building.
-- DJ Simmons With unexpected millions flowing, Salem-Keizer school officials add more building projects-- Salem Reporter Oregon: October 04, 2019 [ abstract] Seven local schools will get more hefty remodeling projects than planned as Salem-Keizer School District executives spend an unexpected infusion of $65 million.
The money is flowing because investors have been paying more for the district’s bonds than expected, putting additional cash in the district’s hands. Last year, voters approved selling $620 million in bonds to pay for school remodeling and expansion across the district.
District executives elected to put half the unexpected money into additional school projects and half into reserve instead of cutting the overall debt taken on. The bonds will be repaid by property taxes.
District executives now plan to spend $668 million on school construction after adding the unexpected money and some state grants. That spending won't increase the amount taxpayers pay.
McKay and South Salem high schools, Mary Eyre Elementary School and Houck Middle School will see larger construction projects than originally planned.
McKay is the most overcrowded in the district, with about 2,400 students in a building designed for 1,800. District officials who already planned to spend $48 million to remodel the school now plan to add another $6 million for a black box theater, music storage space and relocation of portable buildings.
-- Rachel Alexander Connectivity Requirements For Improving School Building Design-- Forbes National: October 03, 2019 [ abstract] School design and safety measures are undergoing a significant change -- in lieu of the mass shootings that have occurred recently. 2018 was a record year for school shootings, with 94 instances, 56% higher than the last record year in 2006. With active shooters considered the No. 1 safety concern in the latest "State of School Safety Report," school districts are focusing on building designs that are better equipped to protect students from these tragedies. But in building these concrete fortresses with denser materials and stronger windows, districts must also adequately outfit these structures with wireless infrastructure, which will allow communication in and out of the building during times of emergencies.
As mentioned in my previous article about public safety, what was once a highly reactive industry is becoming increasingly proactive. This is partially driven by public outcry, but building code associations are also becoming increasingly more diligent in requiring better first responder communication. School public safety is no exception, with a load of school districts putting out RFPs to develop two-way public safety communication networks capable of providing adequate coverage across an entire campus.
Let's dig into some of the main school connectivity challenges we're facing today.
Safer school design doesn’t equate to safer public safety communication.
-- Julie Song Audit: Poor Oversight Of State Law Lost DOE Millions-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: September 25, 2019 [ abstract] The Hawaii Department of Education’s “laissez-faire approach” to implementing a state law meant to offset the cost of building new schools in growing neighborhoods has lost the DOE an estimated $11 million in potential revenue, according to a state audit report released Tuesday.
The DOE’s administration of the 12-year-old “school impact fee” law, has been beset by poor oversight, a “lack of well-defined policies and procedures,” an inconsistent calculation of fees that at times were “based on questionable assumptions” and inexplicable delays, according to the report.
“It is difficult to pinpoint whether these problems are the result of a lack of resources, lack of planning, or inherent flaws in the law that need to be identified and addressed. Most likely, it is a combination of these,” the 64-page report concludes.
The school impact fee law, passed by the Legislature in 2007, allows the DOE to collect fees from builders of new residential projects in designated districts to fund the construction of additional school facilities to accommodate population growth.
The school impact fee audit, which took place from February 2019 to June 2019, is the first performance analysis of a DOE program by the state auditor since its 2012 report on the DOE’s school bus transportation program.
-- Suevon Lee 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 Dangerous Air Pollution Is Getting Into Schools And Homes Near Highways, Research Shows-- WGBH Massachusetts: September 23, 2019 [ abstract] Traffic-related air pollution is a health problem around the region, contributing to cardiovascular disease and other health impacts. But it’s not just an outdoor problem.
New research from Boston-area scientists shows dangerous air particles are getting into homes, schools and workplaces along highways in the region. But there are ways to limit that exposure.
Brugge used to be on the faculty at Tufts Medical Center in Chinatown. Tufts researchers have measured traffic air pollution all over Boston, and have found the highest levels just outside their offices in Chinatown. Brugge pointed out that just up the street from there are several public schools built right along the Mass Pike.
"They don't have the adequate filtration," he said. "There are lots of schools near highways. There's three schools right along the Mass Pike here. They don't have anything special in their ventilation system."
Richard Chang, the headmaster of the Josiah Quincy Upper School in Chinatown, said that's absolutely true.
"We do not have any kind of remediation at this point," Chang said. "The Arlington Street building was constructed in 1912. It does not have central ventilation of any kind, and so typically teachers would open up windows when it's warm. And those windows face the Mass Pike highway, and there is no barrier to any of the pollutants that would be present."
The city plans to build a new school to replace that one, and the architect says they intend to include state of the art filtration. But it isn’t scheduled to open until 2023.
"It's human instinct to sometimes not want to know the truth," Chang said. "Because it’s kind of scary that we might be in these buildings that actually are very dangerous for us — harmful — that can cause cardiovascular diseases. Not just pulmonary diseases. It's going to become an issue: How do we remediate and to improve the air quality for schools such as ours?"
According to a 2017 report from the city, about 70 percent of middle and elementary schools and 44 percent of high schools in Boston had deficient or poor ventilation.
Researchers say something could be done now to reduce the exposure at schools like Josiah Quincy Upper School.
Neelakshi Hudda of Tufts University has studied the effectiveness of free-standing air filters that can just be plugged in. The devices are called High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, and they filter the tiniest and possibly most dangerous particles, called ultrafines.
Hudda published a study comparing air quality in two different situations. "One where there was nothing, just the home as is," she said. "And then one where the HEPA filter was running inside the home."
She found the filters can cut as much as 85 percent of ultrafine particles in a room.
"So, HEPA filters [are] designed to clean up the air," Hudda said. "And that is exactly what it does. It reduces the concentrations indoors."
Boston Public Schools spokesman Dan O’Brien said in a statement that for HEPA filtration to be effective, it would need to be part of a centralized HVAC system — but the Josiah Quincy Upper School doesn’t have one. And, O’Brien said, HEPA filtration would be incompatible with the HVAC system in the elementary school next door.
The statement also said the school system’s testing didn’t reveal any air quality issues in those schools that would require additional filtration. But ultrafine particles aren’t regulated, and schools don’t test for them.
-- Craig LeMoult DLR Group Designs Elementary School Revamp on Capitol Hill-- School Construction News District of Columbia: September 19, 2019 [ abstract] WASHINGTON, D.C.—Community members gathered with students and staff recently to celebrate the official opening of the newly renovated Maury Elementary School. DLR Group’s design offers 21st century educational spaces to enhance learning and, in response to a growing student population, includes a significant addition that expands the building’s capacity from 360 students to 539 students.
Located in Washington D.C.’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, Maury Elementary School was originally constructed in 1886. DLR Group’s design complements the surrounding historical residential architecture style while also offering a modernized, state-of-the-art learning environment. A glass-edged discovery commons seamlessly connects historic and new components of the school, celebrating the original iconic historic cornerstone building and amplifying transparency and indoor-outdoor connections. Maury Elementary School features flexible instructional spaces, such as music and art classrooms, science labs, and collaboration areas designed to adapt over time. A maker space is used for hands-on and project-based learning. DLR Group reorganized the school with circulation spaces that also serve as active learning zones to reduce transition times and to foster greater opportunity for discovery, collaboration, and play.
-- Staff Writer Solana Santa Fe School modernization moves ahead-- Rancho Santa Fe Review California: September 18, 2019 [ abstract] The Solana Beach School District will begin the community outreach process on the modernization of Solana Santa Fe School in Rancho Santa Fe. The first community meeting will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. in the school’s fine arts building, providing a chance for the public to provide input on the layout of the refreshed school campus.
“We very much looking forward to the modernization of Solana Santa Fe, said Principal Matt Frumovitz at the school board’s Sept. 12 meeting. “When modernizing a school, there are always going to be challenges, however, I believe the end result will make our wonderful school even better.”
A design team for the modernization project has met four times to develop potential options for the site layout. According to Caroline Brown, executive director of capital programs, the design team is made up of community members, teachers, staff, two school board members and representatives from the County of San Diego’s traffic and flood control divisions.
The school currently has 26 classrooms, including rooms in “end of life” portable buildings on campus. The plan is to replace the portable classrooms with permanent structures, resulting in a 28-classroom campus that will house 460 students. The modernization plans also include an expansion of the undersized kitchen and food service area, re-location of the north driveway, updating the administration office for security and efficiency, re-configuring the kindergarten classrooms and play area, and increasing parking and improving traffic flow into and out of the school.
-- KAREN BILLING D91 board approves design for addition at overcrowded elementary school-- EastIdahoNews.com Idaho: September 13, 2019 [ abstract] IDAHO FALLS — After lunch, it’s a ten-minute dash to convert the multi-purpose from a lunchroom back to a gym. Custodians finish in the knick of time just before energetic second-graders burst in for P.E. Down the hall you’ll find the gifted and talented students trying not to take up too much space while sitting on mats on the floor.
The is the reality for the 650 students attending Sunnyside Elementary. For the last several years the school hasn’t had enough space to accommodate students.
“We’ve been adding some classrooms over the last few years so we can accommodate the growth that we see. Currently, we’ve turned almost any extra space into classroom space,” D91 spokeswoman Margaret Wimborne says.
The Idaho Falls School District 91 board has been considering an addition to the school because of overcrowding issues for some time. On Wednesday night, during a board meeting, trustees approved the district to move forward with the design process for an addition.
-- Natalia Hepworth Massachusetts Welcomes Innovative New High School-- School Construction News Massachusetts: September 12, 2019 [ abstract] BILLERICA, Mass.—The new Billerica Memorial High School is now open, a sign of the town’s reaffirmed commitment to educating its students in an innovative, healthy and flexible environment. The project is the result of a partnership between the Massachusetts School Building Authority, the town of Billerica, design firm Perkins and Will, construction manager Shawmut design and Construction, and project manager Leftfield.
“As a community, this is a space that we all should be proud of,” says Billerica Schools Superintendent, Timothy Piwowar. “We’ve equipped our students with a facility that will allow them to best prepare for their future, helping Billerica to become a top-tier destination for education in the Merrimack Valley.”
“The new Billerica Memorial High School will stand as an extraordinary vessel of learning for many future generations,” says Billerica Town Manager John Curran. “Anyone who walks through this building will know that the people and the educators in this town place a high value on a first-rate education for their children.”
The design of the new school supports Billerica’s diverse and forward-looking educational program through a flexible planning and design approach. Highly specialized areas—like the auditorium and STEAM spaces—are complemented by agile classrooms and informal learning areas that can be easily modified to meet different user needs.
“We wanted to equip Billerica’s students, teachers, and administrators with a space that will support evolving educational models well into the future,” says Brooke Trivas, principal at Perkins and Will. “Flexible classrooms and interdisciplinary spaces allow students to develop skills like communication and collaboration, while providing teachers and administrators the freedom to grow and expand their teaching styles.”
-- Staff Writer 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 City pushes for 'design-build' authority to speed up school construction projects-- Politico New York New York: September 09, 2019 [ abstract] The city is nudging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to take action on a bill that would streamline construction for city schools — a process the School Construction Authority argues will allow it to build and renovate facilities faster and at a cheaper cost. In June, the state Legislature passed legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Ed Braunstein and State Sen. Leroy Comrie, that would expand “design-build” authority — a process that shortens the timeframe for capital improvements by allowing design and construction to occur at the same time — to a number of city agencies. “It gets projects done cheaper and more quickly,” Braunstein told POLITICO. “And we passed the legislation at the end of this session and we’re just hopeful that the governor is gonna sign it.”
-- MADINA TOURÉ and NICK NIEDZWIADEK Governor Murphy Announces Opening of Four New Schools This September In Irvington, Passaic, Perth Amboy, And Trenton-- Insider NJ New Jersey: September 07, 2019 [ abstract] TRENTON – As students across New Jersey return to school for the 2019/2020 school year, Governor Phil Murphy announced four new schools constructed and opened by the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) this week. These new facilities provide more than 3,800 additional seats for students throughout New Jersey, furthering the Administration’s commitment to providing high quality educational facilities for all New Jersey students.“New Jersey is proud to offer its students the best public school system in the nation,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “With that privilege comes the responsibility of ensuring best-in-class educational facilities across all our communities, that serve the needs of all our state’s students. With the opening of four new schools this year, our administration has made good on that promise.”
The four completed school projects represent a total state investment of more than $306 million. The schools opened include the Madison Avenue Elementary School in Irvington, the Sonia Sotomayor School No. 21 in Passaic City, Rose M. Lopez Elementary School in Perth Amboy and the Trenton Central High School.
All of the new schools incorporate the guidelines developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) known as the “Leadership in Energy & Environmental design (“LEED®”) program in order to achieve maximum energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in the design of schools. All four schools are on track to achieve LEED certification, with three of the buildings expected to achieve LEED Silver certification.
“The opening of these four new schools demonstrates SDA’s commitment to positively impacting New Jersey’s students, delivering facilities that will provide educational opportunities for thousands of students now and for years to come,” said SDA Interim CEO Manuel Da Silva. “We know that quality educational facilities allow students to focus on learning. The new schools will ensure that students have the facilities they need to achieve academic success.”
-- Staff Writer 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 16 School Gardening Initiatives Revitalizing the Lunch Hour-- Imperial Valey News National: September 04, 2019 [ abstract] School meals can be one of the most important sources of nutrition for children around the world. The U.N. World Food Programme estimates that nearly half of all schoolchildren in low- and middle-income nations - about 310 million kids - eat a meal daily at school.
Around the globe, schools are beginning to focus on where the food in their cafeterias comes from. They are creating school gardens and boosting agriculture education to show students how to grow nutritious food crops, as well as how to cook, share, and enjoy them at mealtimes.
The impact of school gardens on children’s nutritional and academic well-being is significant: studies show that in schools that provide frequent hands-on education, students eat triple the fruits and vegetables during lunch than do students who don’t get food learning opportunities. Garden-based learning is also associated with consistently higher academic performance in not only science but also mathematics and language arts.
Food Tank is highlighting 16 initiatives that are helping students understand the food system by using school gardens to boost lunchtime meal programs.
1. Garden to Café Program, Texas, U.S.
The Austin Independent School District (AISD) Garden to Café program provides schools with support and resources to serve food grown in school gardens directly in cafeteria meals. Each participating school has a garden leader who ensures that the food moving from the garden to the lunchroom is safe to eat, and the district also issues seasonal calls to plant, which encourage schools to grow certain recommended crops that cafeterias can plan ahead to use on menus. AISD’s commitment to fresh produce also extends beyond school gardens: every day, at least three items on offer are locally sourced, the menus are designed with seasonality in mind, and certain days are designated Farm Fresh Fridays.
2. Fresh Roots’ Schoolyard Market Gardens, Canada
-- Danielle Nierenberg Column: New schools: A thankless job-- Gloucester Daily Times Massachusetts: September 03, 2019 [ abstract] Being a member of a school building committee is a thankless job. Just ask the former chairman of the Ipswich School Committee. After a Town Meeting vote for a new elementary school failed to pass a few months ago, the School Committee chairman decided to step down. The quest for a new elementary school in Ipswich appears dead, at least for now. At her last meeting, Chairman Sarah Player was honored by her colleagues for her leadership and for “doing a thankless job.” A proposal for a new school in Swampscott suffered a similar fate.
Who wins when plans for new schools are shot down? Not the kids, teachers and parents who see lost opportunities for a better education. And probably not the larger community.
Think about Gloucester and recent coverage of plans to renovate existing schools or build a new, larger one to meet contemporary needs and standards.
Two elementary schools -- East Gloucester and Veteran’s, both built in the shadow of World War II -- crowd students and teachers into classrooms that were never designed to hold so many. The HVAC systems are inefficient. Kids and teachers shouldn’t have to meet in hallways for reading classes. And what about technology? Kids who are growing up with the latest in technology at home are denied the learning tools found in schools throughout the state — and in other parts of Gloucester — because a World War II-era building is not designed to accommodate the networks and systems needed to leverage contemporary learning technology.
-- Carl Gustin Behind the Forecast: Can schools be tornado-proofed-- Wave3 Kentucky: August 23, 2019 [ abstract] LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - The school year has just begun for many students and for parents and school faculty, safety is a top priority. One of the most serious threats is severe weather. Is there a way to ensure our student’s safety from severe weather like tornadoes?
Seven years ago, a tornado ripped through southern Indiana barreling right into Henryville Junior-Senior High School. Around 80 staff and students were inside the building when the tornado hit, tearing the gym apart and caving in the entire south end. Thankfully, no one was killed at the school.
Unfortunately, other situations across the country have not ended that way.
On March 1, 2007, an EF-4 tornado ripped through the city of Enterprise, Alabama. It killed eight students at Enterprise High School and injured at least 50 others.
On May 20, 2013, an EF-5 tornado marched through McClain County, Oklahoma. It destroyed Briarwood Elementary School but thankfully no students were killed there. However, when it hit Plaza Towers Elementary School, seven children were killed when a wall collapsed.
Many schools have taken steps to ensure the safety of students, faculty, and staff. Each has a plan in place for severe weather situations. For example, Jefferson County Public Schools’ (JCPS) Safety and Emergency Procedures Manual details how each teacher is assigned a safe area for their class which is designated for each schools’ classroom. Students are instructed to shelter in their safe places in one of the following positions:
-- Tawana Andrew New high school building in West Michigan built to thwart possible mass shooting-- WWMT Michigan: August 23, 2019 [ abstract] FRUITPORT, Mich. — A new high school building built in West Michigan will have security features built in to thwart a possible mass shooting.
Fruitport Community Schools’ new high school will have curved hallways, impact resistant film on windows, winged hallways and entrances, and new locking features on all doors. Each one of those features is designed to make a mass casualty situation as difficult as possible should an active shooter be inside the building.
Fruitport Superintendent Bob Szymoniak said he doesn’t want students and teachers to have to worry about safety while at school, so they can focus solely on learning. Szymoniak said plans for the new high school began in 2016 after a local bond issue was passed by voters. The school district then worked with Tower Pinkster of Grand Rapids to design the school because of their expertise in safety-focused design.
Parents like Beth Greene appreciate that kind of commitment to safety.
“It’s exciting for me to know that they are thinking ahead, they are being proactive and they are doing everything they can to protect students staff and everybody in the district,” Greene said.
The curved hallways are designed to reduce sightlines down hallways. The impact resistant film has been installed on all windows in all district schools, and was paid for by a state grant. The winged hallways and entrances have structures that jut out, blocking a clear view and reducing sightlines. The new locking system allows all the school’s doors to be closed with the push of a single button.
-- Jacob Berent Alamo School Completes Renovation After Years In Portable Classrooms-- KPIX5 Texas: August 22, 2019 [ abstract] ALAMO (KPIX) – After spending a few years in portable classrooms, students and teachers are finally back in permanent classrooms at Stone Valley Middle School.
The brand new school is all thanks to Measure D, the $260 million facilities bond that voters approved back in 2012. Finally, the teachers and students can benefit from the construction.
Originally designed as a kindergarten through 8th grade school back in the 1950s, Stone Valley Middle School now reflects how the needs of the community have changed over the decades.
The school went through a major renovation, which included tearing down old buildings, and re-configuring them to create more of a campus feel.
Elizabeth Graswich, the Director of Communications for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, says none of this would have been possible without the voters’ support.
-- Jackie Ward How are Yakima Valley school construction projects coming along? Here's the rundown-- Yakima Herald Washington: August 17, 2019 [ abstract] School construction projects throughout the county are underway and on track with timelines.
Sunnyside, West Valley, Grandview, Selah, East Valley, Zillah and Mt. Adams school districts all have construction projects in the works. All but West Valley and Mt. Adams have broken ground on developments.
Some of the projects will be ready for the start of classes, while construction is just starting on others.
Here’s a roundup of each district’s construction projects and where they stand in the process.
Sunnyside
Construction on a $24.5 million project at Sunnyside High School will begin soon, with new classrooms, multi-use learning spaces, athletic building and fields, along with parking, sidewalks, courtyards and access roads in the plan. In February, Sunnyside voters approved a 20-year, $16 million bond measure to be combined with district funds and $6.5 million in state matching funds.
On Thursday, five contractors bid to expand campus parking by roughly 125 spots, said Superintendent Kevin McKay, noting that this was considered “phase zero,” as it’s a small portion of the larger development.
“We’ll start to see some evidence of construction with that parking lot,” he said.
design plans for buildings are close to being finalized. In mid-October, contractors are expected to bid on the building, and the district hopes to see construction on those begin by November, he said.
The classrooms and fine arts center should be ready for the 2021 school year.
Plans for a new athletic building, track and sports field likely will be impacted by the final price of the building developments, McKay said.
The construction on campus is not expected to displace any classes, he said. So far, “we are moving forward as planned.”
-- Janelle Retka Owasso set to open doors for new school with storm safety shelter-- ABC 8 Tulsa Oklahoma: August 15, 2019 [ abstract] It may look like just a gym, but it's really the safest place from severe weather at Morrow Elementary.
“It's a tornado shelter. So that is where we would go if there were a weather emergency. We're excited that we have a storm shelter at Morrow,” said principal Tiffani Cooper.
This safe shelter is the second completed one for the Owasso school district and can withstand a direct hit from an EF-5 tornado.
“Having a safe shelter allows us to put all the children of the school and all of the staff of the school in one place. That's regulated and designed with the sole purpose of protecting children,” superintendent Amy Fichtner said.
Many schools have been pushing for these shelters after the 2013 Moore tornado ripped through Plaza Towers Elementary School, killing several children.
Owasso had its own close call just two years ago when a funnel started to form over the city.
Fichtner said her district is adding shelters at other schools, too, bringing the total to four by 2020.
She said building Morrow Elementary from scratch gave them the perfect opportunity to add the shelter to save time and money.
“Ideally, if money were no obstacle at all, we would have done everything at the same time, but the reality is, embedding it with other construction was wise planning,” Fichtner said.
-- Gustavo Olguin Lowe Acquires Former Randall School Site for Redevelopment as a 500,000-square-foot Mixed-use Cultural, Commercial and R-- Business Wire District of Columbia: August 06, 2019 [ abstract] Lowe, a national real estate investor, developer and manager, announced today that it has acquired the 2.7-acre former Randall School site at 65 Eye Street, SW, in Washington, D.C. The 500,000-square-foot redevelopment planned for the site centers around the preservation and recreation of existing buildings as a world-class contemporary art museum. It also will bring abundant new apartment residences creating a rare opportunity for people to live together on an engaging cultural campus.
“We will preserve the historic Randall School and create an arts and cultural anchor in the Southwest neighborhood, a designated Arts District, providing a second home for the Miami-based Rubell Family Collection, an internationally acclaimed contemporary art collection that draws visitors from around the world. This presents a unique opportunity to live in a culturally immersive environment on the campus of a world-class art museum,” said Mark Rivers, executive vice president, Lowe. “We are pleased to be advancing the original vision of the Telesis Rubell partnership to bring this pivotal development to the community.”
-- Karen Diehl Tacoma takes a chance on progressive design-build-- Daily Journal of Commerce Washington: August 01, 2019 [ abstract] School districts face many challenges today. Escalating material prices, outdated budgets, tariffs and a competitive bid climate challenge the traditional delivery of new and renovated educational facilities.
When Boze Elementary School needed replacing, Tacoma Public Schools chose an innovative, non-traditional method to meet these challenges head-on: progressive design-build.
The replacement of Boze marks the first time in Washington that a district has used progressive design-build to deliver a K-12 school.
Tacoma Public Schools officials knew they would need a cohesive team to mitigate risks and guide the replacement of Boze to a successful conclusion with this new delivery method.
The team of Korsmo Construction and BCRA were selected for their strength in design-build experience. Together with Tacoma Public Schools, the progressive design-build team focused on meeting program needs and design goals — all while maximizing the budget and meeting a rigorous inclusion target.
Meeting district needs
With progressive design-build, collaborative decision-making happens early and often. With designers and contractors in alignment prior to solicitation, Tacoma Public Schools joined a cooperative team where everyone was an engaged participant in a process dedicated to a value-rich outcome.
Using design-build best practices, Korsmo-BCRA and Tacoma Public Schools were able to expedite decision making and work through Boze’s challenges together.
Early partnering allowed the progressive design-build team to create project efficiencies that saved time and maximized every program dollar for the district. Early agreements on which spaces and features were priorities for the owner helped control costs throughout design and construction without sacrificing program needs — a key to defining project success.
-- Heather Hocklander There's a new layer of security at 22 schools in Rockdale County-- WSB-TV2 Georgia: July 29, 2019 [ abstract] Summer vacation has come to an end for another school district.
An estimated 17,000 students in the Rockdale County Schools district went back to school Monday.
Parents can have a little more peace of mind sending their kids back to school Monday.
The county has a brand new security feature that is now installed at all 22 Rockdale County school facilities.
“It is definitely a team effort and designed to be an effective deterrent,” Rockdale County School District Superintendent Dr. Terry Oatts said.
Oatts said he completed a goal he set when arriving in Rockdale County a year ago, which was enhancing safety and increasing security.
Glassed-in vestibules, like one we saw at Davis Middle School, are now installed at all 22 schools in the district
Someone will be at the desk inside, restricting access for visitors or potentially anyone looking to do harm.
“When a visitor comes, they’ll have to buzz in and that activates a surveillance camera right here, so they’ll see who’s attempting to gain access and then upon gaining access, will then indicate what they’re here for and business is. (Then they are) permitted entry into the main facility,” Oatts said.
-- Steve Gehlbach MPS talks traffic concerns at planned school site-- Independent Minnesota: July 25, 2019 [ abstract]
MARSHALL — Getting through traffic around Marshall Middle School can sometimes take a while — especially in the mornings before school starts, a traffic study by engineering firm SEH said. And with plans to build a new elementary school nearby, Marshall Public Schools needs to figure out how to handle additional traffic from school buses and parents dropping off students.
While there currently aren’t any official plans set to deal with that challenge, it’s something that the school district, the city of Marshall, and designers for the new school are starting to work out. At a meeting Tuesday afternoon, representatives from MPS, the city and other community stakeholders weighed in on where to put the new school building and features like bus unloading zones.
The discussion was part of preparations for a bond project approved by voters this spring. The project will build a new elementary school to replace West Side Elementary on land near the current Marshall Middle School.
Currently, traffic around MMS is the heaviest in the mornings, according to study data collected in May. SEH representatives said they set up 13 traffic cameras at sites all around the middle school, including on Saratoga Street and C Street. Camera data showed that traffic at MMS and public intersections picked up the most before school, when there is morning rush traffic at the same time as student drop-offs. In the afternoons there was a lot of activity at the school, but it didn’t come at the same time as peak rush hour traffic, the study said.
Vehicles waiting to make left turns also play a big part in traffic conditions around the middle school. David Maroney, of ATS&R, the firm designing a the new elementary school, said ATS&R found there tended to be longer lines of traffic coming to MMS from the north, along Saratoga Street. Motorists waiting for an opening to turn left led to “stacks” of vehicles forming, he said.
But traffic patterns weren’t the only concerns to consider, community members said Tuesday. The school design will also have to balance the needs of school bus drivers, kids who walk or bike to school, and neighborhood residents.
-- DEB GAU 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 Alabama schools plans projects with more money from state-- WHNT19 Alabama: July 14, 2019 [ abstract] DOTHAN, Ala. (AP) — A sizable increase in a state education fund is allowing local school systems to pay for school resource officers and maintenance projects and other items.
The money is available after Alabama Governor Kay Ivey this year signed off on the largest education budget to date, topping $7 billion, The Dothan Eagle reported .
The Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund was given $199 million — far more than last year’s $41 million appropriation, the newspaper reported. Most of that money is designated for school districts around the state.
At a recent school board meeting, Houston County School officials were discussing how to allocate their $1.7 million. Some of the money will be used to fund school resource officers in the county school system, the newspaper reported.
There has also been a discussion about possible security enhancements for Houston County schools, such as fixing inconsistent door-locking mechanisms with technology solutions, the newspaper reported.
-- Associated Press Federal Way district breaks ground on three school construction projects-- Federal Way Mirror Washington: June 13, 2019 [ abstract] Three Federal Way elementary schools broke ground this week, with construction to begin in the coming weeks of summer.
The week kicked off with Wildwood Elementary’s groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, followed by Mirror Lake and Lake Grove.
“It takes an entire village to do this but it [started] with you, the citizens of Federal Way, who gave us the largest bond ever in the history of the school district,” said Geoffery McAnalloy, FWPS School Board president.
Approved by voters in Nov. 2017, a school construction bond of $450 million was allocated to Federal Way Public Schools to improve eight total schools, including Thomas Jefferson High School, Totem and Illahee middle schools, and Olympic View, Lake Grove, Mirror Lake, Star Lake and Wildwood elementary schools, as well as improvements for Memorial Stadium.
Crowds of students, parents and teachers gathered this week at the various school sites to celebrate the new school milestone.
FWPS superintendent Dr. Tammy Campbell and district officials were joined by Mayor Jim Ferrell, Greater Federal Way Chamber of Commerce CEO Becca Martin, South King Fire and Rescue commissioner Bill Fuller, school board members, and City Council members as well as officials from FORMA Constructionand Integrus Architecture for the ceremonies.
Each of the new schools have been designed for the 21st century learning experience the scholars of today need, Campbell said.
-- Olivia Sullivan Former inspector general calls for a review of N.J.'s school construction fund. Are we throwing millions of dollars away-- NJ.com New Jersey: June 13, 2019 [ abstract] As Yogi Berra might have said, it’s deja vu all over again at the Schools Development Authority (SDA).
A short 14 years ago, reporters, the public and elected officials were in an uproar about the billions of public dollars spent by the SDA’s predecessor. The $8.6 billion in public funds committed should have been sufficient to build schools in the state’s needy districts, but half of the funds were gone with little to show for those billions: some repairs but not one new school built.
At the time, I was serving as the statewide inspector general, and Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey tasked me to find out how that could have happened. Within weeks, my office delivered a scathing report of government waste and mismanagement at its worst. My office found that:
There were almost no rules governing the SDA;
It was run by private contractors with conflicts of interest;
Well over 200 SDA employees were paid high salaries but had ill-defined or meaningless jobs;
Neither contractors nor employees were accountable for the millions of dollars wasted; SDA managers could spend tens of thousands of dollars without approval; special interest groups were controlling the design process; and more.
-- Opinion - Mary Jane Cooper Post-merger districts mull small school closures-- VTDigger Vermont: June 09, 2019 [ abstract] In the seven-town Addison Central School District, school board officials will spend the summer thinking about a wholesale redesign to tackle growing deferred maintenance needs and steadily declining enrollments.
On the more radical end, officials imagine sending students from all seven of the district’s existing elementaries into one, centralized facility. On the other, they imagine whittling down to four to six elementaries.
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District-wide, almost 40% of classroom space is going unused, according to a district analysis, and enrollments are projected to continue to decline. The ACSD’s facilities also need an estimated $60 million for maintenance and upgrades.
“The status quo is not sustainable financially and from a student equity standpoint,” said ACSD board chair Peter Conlon.
Addison Central isn’t the only district in Vermont having this conversation. And with many districts now unified across several towns, school officials are thinking about reconfiguring grades, offering choice between schools, and generally taking a more regional approach to delivering education.
Vermont’s schools are generally quite old, and with the state’s school construction aid program on indefinite hiatus now for about a decade, facilities face a slew of deferred maintenance needs. With mergers behind them, consolidated districts are increasingly thinking about bonding for big renovation projects. That’s made officials take a hard look at the facilities they have – and think seriously about whether their footprints shouldn’t shrink.
Lawmakers in the House Education Committee took days of testimony on school construction needs in the most recent legislative session. They didn’t ultimately advance any legislation, but Conlon, ranking member of the committee, expects the topic to be picked up again next year.
Talk of closing schools in the ACSD has been met with particular trepidation in Ripton, the smallest town in the district. Laurie Cox, its Selectboard chair, thinks maybe the local pushback comes from the town’s particularly strong sense of community.
-- Lola Duffort Longterm Washington County Public Schools plan could close, consolidate 6 schools-- Herald-Mail Media Maryland: May 23, 2019 [ abstract] A facilities master plan under review by the Washington County Board of Education recommends replacing or modernizing one school every two years starting in 2024.
That’s one of the proposals in the 2019 Educational Facilities Master Plan that board members reviewed this week.
School officials say that unless construction plans begin in the next few years, many of its 47 school buildings will fall increasingly behind in repair and replacement.
The plan also recommends closing or consolidating school populations to reduce both construction and operating costs — saving $3 million or more in annual operating expenses once the initial plan is approved, according to Robert Rollins, director of facilities maintenance and operations.
The master plan is updated and submitted yearly to the Maryland Department of Planning and the Maryland State Department of Education’s Public School Construction Program.
The focus of WCPS’ 10-year plan includes some of the 24 out of 47 school buildings either constructed or last modernized in the 1970s or earlier, he said.
The 2018 facilities master plan brought up the proposal for three “prototype” elementary schools that would close six aging schools and build three new facilities in two-year intervals, each combining two of the older schools.
The prototype design, replicated for each new school, would help lower overall design costs and allow flexibility with future enrollment changes, officials said.
-- Alexis Fitzpatrick Fairborn Primary to be first school in Ohio with tornado shelter to fit 1,200 students-- abc6 Ohio: May 21, 2019 [ abstract] FAIRBORN, Ohio (WKEF/WRGT) - Construction is underway at Fairborn Primary on a building that will house a tornado shelter capable of fitting 1,200 students inside. Once it's completed, it will be the first school in Ohio to have such a shelter.
The shelter will be in the school's gym and has concrete walls that are three times as thick as regular cinder blocks. The concrete will also be reinforced with steel.
Jeff Patrick with Fairborn City Schools says the shelter will be able to withstand 250 mile per hour winds, which is equivalent to an EF 5 tornado. The contractor for the job is SHP out of Cincinnati, is consulting with an engineering first out of Wichita, Kansas in order to make sure the structure can withstand such intense winds.
Normally students are discouraged to take shelter in a school gym because the ceiling can be torn off by high winds. However, the new shelter at Fairborn Primary has a roof with a special design, "The roof deck will be made of concrete which will prevent from an uplift during a tornado and so that should be as safe as any area in Fairborn City Schools," said Patrick.
-- Christina Schaefer St. Paul schools construction costs skyrocket. What’s the impact and what are the causes?-- Twin Cities Pioneer Press Minnesota: May 18, 2019 [ abstract] An ambitious and costly effort to rehabilitate aging buildings throughout the St. Paul school district has been plagued by staggeringly inaccurate cost estimates, employee turnover and a lack of oversight.
Eighteen high-priority projects alone will cost around $471 million, according to recent estimates — $179 million more than expected two years earlier.
“Every contractor wants to come work for St. Paul Public Schools because it’s frickin’ open checkbook,” said Nan Martin, a former administrative services manager within the facilities department handling the projects.
A Pioneer Press review of planning documents and financial records and interviews with two dozen people connected to the facilities department has found:
The man charged with executing the plan disregarded criticism and staff recommendations, and minimized the projects’ rising costs.
Faulty planning and overspending in facilities have gone largely unchecked as the administrators he reported to have come and gone.
Oversight from elected leaders has been lacking, too, as school board members have rarely challenged the growing costs.
The most striking project so far has been Humboldt High, which is expected to be completed next year.
An early design plan for the addition and renovation estimated total costs at $14.4 million. That number jumped to $26.8 million by spring 2016 and $48 million by fall 2018.
-- JOSH VERGES Competition tight for Lehigh Valley school construction projects as demand outpaces supply-- The Morning Call Pennsylvania: May 09, 2019 [ abstract] In mid-March, a pair of major Lehigh Valley school construction projects went out to bid within days of one another.
Both projects are designed to address pressing needs in two aging school buildings. In the Northampton Area School District, it means the construction of a new Lehigh Elementary School building. In the Whitehall-Coplay School District, it means a complicated, phased plan to upgrade the high school’s roof, HVAC system and more.
But only one of the projects will get done on schedule.
That’s because Northampton school officials saw bids for the $34 million Lehigh Elementary School come back about $200,000 shy of estimates, while Whitehall-Coplay’s school board was forced to rethink its renovation project and reject bids when they came back $5 million over budget.
While it’s not unusual for a renovation to cost more than building anew, the gulf between the two projects is a sign of what may be the most competitive construction market for Lehigh Valley school districts in years. The demand, combined with a booming economy, a labor shortage and the rising cost of building materials, is changing the calculus for school officials as they embark on costly new projects.
-- SARAH M. WOJCIK 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 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 Seeks Public Input On School Changes, Closures-- The Jaxson Florida: April 01, 2019 [ abstract] The Duval County Public Schools Facilities Master Plan is a major project designed to update many of the district’s aging schools. The plan has been designed by consultant group Cooperative Strategies following the Facilities Condition Index study presented earlier this year. Meetings were held in different districts through March, and DCPS is seeking input from the public in an online survey located here through April 4.
The current proposed plan would build new schools and facilities, and close several older schools with the goal of providing the best learning environment for students. Part of the plan would involve demolishing closed schools and selling the land. Other older schools would be demolished to be replaced with new construction. The current draft of the plan proposes razing several architecturally significant, century-old schools, including Pickett Elementary, Highlands Elementary, Matthew Gilbert Middle School, and Kirby-Smith Middle School. Kirby-Smith Middle, built in Springfield in 1924, is one of the oldest remaining school buildings in Jacksonville, and has been an architectural landmark of its neighborhood for nearly a century.
-- Bill Delaney FEMA shelters provide safe place-- Democrat News Missouri: March 27, 2019 [ abstract] As spring weather begins to make its way into the region so does the added threat of bad weather, something Madison County experienced Sunday night.
Preparedness is key, and for those seeking shelter the two FEMA shelters located at the Fredericktown Elementary School and Kelly A. Burlison Middle School may be the answer.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS) Madison County has had 19 tornadoes since 1950 and the state of Missouri recorded 47 across the state in 2018. The NWS also showed that while we have had a large number of tornadoes over the years we have had no reported deaths.
Fredericktown R-I Superintendent Brett Reutzel said the FEMA shelters are made with reinforced concrete that is designed in a way that it can withstand 250 mph winds and can handle items being launched hundreds of mph without being able to penetrate the walls.
"During the school day students have priority, and then after school hours, the community members that live in a mile radius of either shelter are eligible to come in," Reutzel said. "We aren't going to turn people away and we don't check ID at the door."
Reutzel said the facilities will be cleared and readied for occupancy once a tornado watch is issued and then when the severity is changed to a warning the doors will be opened.
"What's happened a lot of times is during a tornado watch they will begin to show up." Reutzel said. ""We've never stood at the door during a tornado watch and looked outside at people and said 'you can't come in, it's not a warning.'"
Reutzel said the KABMS FEMA gym holds 1,837 people and the FES FEMA building holds 1,123. When the KABMS facility is filled with the high school, middle school, intermediate school and alternative school students the area is approximately 3/4 full leaving a small amount of room for additional members of the public.
"Some people may have concerns that community members can come in when kids are there," Assistant Superintendent Shannon Henson said. "But we do have SROs (school resource officers) that will be at every building. The public is required to check in and will have to stay in a different part of the gym."
Reutzel said in the elementary FEMA building, the area has classrooms making it easier to keep students separate from the public.
-- Victoria Kemper New Storm Shelter at Labette County HS-- Four States Home Page Kentucky: March 22, 2019 [ abstract] ALTAMONT, Ks. - Lessons learned from past storms is changing how one southeast Kansas school district approaches being storm ready.
Crews poured concrete on this shelter at Labette County High School in Altamont Friday. The shelter features eight inch thick walls, and roof that is twenty-one inches thick at the center, and fourteen inches thick around the edges. Engineers say the building is designed to withstand storms like the one that struck Joplin in 2011.
-- Jeremiah Cook Baltimore County high schools renovation issue is revisited with new options-- WBALTV11 Maryland: March 19, 2019 [ abstract] BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. —
There is some new attention being paid to the old issue of overcrowded high schools in Baltimore County. It's an issue the newly elected officials plans to tackle.
The latest Baltimore County study of whether to renovate or replace aging school buildings is back up for discussion. Most agree, it's a plan that's far from set in stone.
The school board is familiar with the pleas of parents to do something about building conditions. The latest high school capacity report recommends the district start by replacing Lansdowne High School.
"We need Lansdowne High school to be replaced along with having a plan to move forward in the future in making sure all of our facilities are maintained," said Dayana Bergman, a Lansdowne High School parent.
But what would that mean for Dulaney High School -- another school in poor condition -- or Patapsco High School where some teachers, accustomed to holding classes in trailers, are concerned about what this latest report will mean for them?
"The fact that we're not mentioned especially in this what are we going to do part of this presentation really makes me worry that we are going to be left behind like we've been before," said Sandra Skordalos, a Patapsco High School teacher.
This discussion comes as the Maryland House of Delegates passes its version of the "Built to Learn" Act. It's designed to put up billions of dollars to help counties across the state build schools and move ahead with much needed maintenance projects. Part of that money would come from casino dollars under the state's new lock box law.
-- Tim Tooten East Helena breaks ground on new high school site-- Independent Record Montana: March 19, 2019 [ abstract] The East Helena community broke ground at the site of the upcoming East Helena High School on Monday.
The building, designed by SMA Architects, is set to open in fall 2020. Dick Anderson Construction will begin site prep as early as next week, according to school district superintendent Ron Whitmoyer.
"This school stands for something that is unique about this community," Whitmoyer said. "And what education is all about."
Whitmoyer said the school is representative of the East Helena community's pride. He hoped that the sunny weather during groundbreaking will be an omen of good success for the school.
The school will be an official breakaway from the Helena school district for the community. Traditionally, East Helena students received their elementary education in East Helena before traveling to Helena for high school. With 110 students already signing up for East Helena High, Whitmoyer is excited to start a new journey with the community.
Whitmoyer expressed admiration for the soon-to-be East Helena High School students. He said their willingness to break tradition with Helena will set the standard for the next 100 years.
Scott Walter, East Helena school board chairman, said the school is representative of the genuine passion the community has for education.
"The measure of our success is not the building we build," Walter said. "It's what takes place inside the building."
-- Tyler Manning $79M to build new Kennedy Middle School in Natick-- MetroWest Daily News Massachusetts: March 15, 2019 [ abstract] The final price tag for the construction costs of a new Kennedy Middle School is $79.1 million, more than $8 million under budget, according to the project’s building committee.
Committee Chairman Stephen Meyler said savings are coming from using less expensive materials, such as composite versus brick, that don’t sacrifice quality.
An energy-efficient design for the four-story, 183,250-square-foot building also provides savings, Meyler said.
Construction is expected to start March 27, and be completed in January 2022.
Braight Builders Corporation of Marshfield is the general contractor, after a 6-0 School Committee vote Monday. Board member Paul Laurent was not present.
The town went with a new building, because the expectation is it will cost less than fixing up the 54-year-old middle school.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority could reimburse Natick up to $37.3 million of project costs. The actual amount is determined when the MSBA reviews the project near completion.
-- Henry Schwan NCSD maintenance crews attempt to subdue odor in Berg Middle School-- Newton Daily News Iowa: March 15, 2019 [ abstract] A persistently “unpleasant” smell in the corridors of the recently constructed Berg Middle School has provoked concerns from the community, but the school district announced Wednesday in an email to parents the odor “is not harmful” and is being dealt with.
Signed by Newton Community School District Superintendent Bob Callaghan, Berg Middle School Principal Lisa Sharp and NCSD Maintenance Supervisor Jack Suttek, the announcement stated new construction can cause “unforeseen issues,” especially when the work is completed during “the middle of the school year and in an atypical winter.”
The new state-of-the-art middle school opened its doors to staff and students in grades 5-8 in January, while demolition of the neighboring old building was still underway. Although the new BMS “is well-designed to construction and safety code,” administrators attributed the smell to several “perfect storm” occurrences.
-- Christopher Braunschweig Florida legislators announce bill to ensure structurally sound schools for all students in the state-- Southern Poverty Law Center Florida: March 12, 2019 [ abstract] Florida state Rep. Anna Eskamani and Florida state Sen. Janet Cruz today announced legislation that would create uniform requirements to ensure that all Florida students can receive an education in school buildings that are structurally sound.
The legislation, House Bill 1233 and Senate Bill 586, would create what is known as the Florida Students’ Bill of Rights.
The Students’ Bill of Rights requires that all Florida students attend schools that are designed and constructed, where applicable, to minimize the impact from hurricanes or other natural disasters; that meet required fire-safety and health standards; that are accessible to individuals with disabilities; that follow safe school design principles; and that have sound infrastructure.
Because not all school buildings adhere to the same construction safety standards, many Florida students lack access to life-saving protections. Private schools supported by state funds – and some charter schools – do not have to meet the state building code requirements that public schools do. Additionally, they are not built to the same safety standards as most public schools, and they are not required to meet the same minimum safety requirements.
“When newly built schools do not play by the same rules and do not adhere to basic structural safety requirements, student lives are at risk,” Eskamani said. “There are Florida children attending schools that are falsifying fire-safety and health records. How can we expect our students to reach their fullest potential, when we are not protecting them with some of the most basic safety requirements?”
-- Staff Writer Making School a Safe Haven, Not a Fortress-- Education Week National: March 12, 2019 [ abstract] Big, airy windows that allow for clear views of the street and plenty of natural light. Meditation rooms. Koi pounds. Carpet that resembles prairie grass to evoke a sense of nature. A centrally-located school counseling office.
Those touchy-feely sounding features probably aren't the first ones that spring to mind when you imagine designing schools to thwart or mitigate future school shootings and other physical threats. But they can bolster student safety, well-being, and even learning—all without making students feel like they are going to school in a fortress, say architects who have spent years designing building to improve school safety.
"Security and designing beautiful spaces are actually symbiotic. They don't work in opposition to each other," said Jenine Kotob, architectural designer with Hord Coplan Macht, a design firm in Alexandria, Va., and an active member of the American Institute of Architects, which is championing this design philosophy. "I can successfully design a school that functions as a school, that the learning environment functions in a healthy and inspiring way. I can also integrate the safety and security into that, so that … students can feel safe without being burdened by fear."
Kotob focuses on school design in part because she has personal experience with school shootings. She was a student at Virginia Tech in 2007 when a student shooter killed 32 people, including her close friend, Reema Samaha.
-- Alyson Klein City leaders approve agreement to demolish vacant Beacon Hill school building-- News4SA Texas: March 07, 2019 [ abstract] City leaders have made a decision on the fate of the old Beacon Hill elementary school building northwest of downtown.
Today the city entered into an agreement with San Antonio ISD to demolish it, but certain conditions have to be met.
Today's decision brought smiles, laughter, and even some tears of joy.
City councilmembers decided against giving this old Beacon Hill school building an historic designation.
It was built back in 1915 but San Antonio ISD applied for a demolition permit back in August of 2018.
"Kids actually have found bricks and handed them to teachers," said Victoria Cavazos back in November of 2018. Cavazos is a mother of a Beacon Hill Elementary student.
Beacon Hill parents say the school has been vacant for the past 20 years.
Students haven't been able to use the playground since last spring when the school district put up a fence.
Today most of the city councilmembers expressed sadness and caution for the future when it comes to the issue of tearing down old buildings.
Several conditions must be met before a demolition permit is granted.
-- Zack Hedrick Process underway for new Monroe County school-- Bluefield Daily Telegraph West Virginia: March 03, 2019 [ abstract] LINDSIDE — After two failed bond referendums, Monroe County was approved in December for $21 million from the state School Building Authority (SBA) to construct a badly needed new school.
The process is now under way by educators, parents, students and community members to plan and finally provide a new, modern facility for grades K-8 in the Peterstown area. Both Peterstown Elementary and Peterstown Middle will close and students will move to the new school.
“We received the School Building Authority contract and our board approved that contract on February 19, 2019,” said Joetta Basile, Monroe County Schools Superintendent. “The contract outlined the SBA funds awarded for 2019 and 2020 as $11 million in FY (fiscal year) 2019 and $10.1 million in FY 2020. We are in the design planning phase now, working closely with the architects and School Building Authority.”
Basile said a planning committee was organized and comprised of students, employees, parents and community members, “who are providing input and guidance into the design of the building.”
“The schematic design is scheduled to be complete by the end of May,” she said.
Basile and board of education Chair Keith Wickline presented their case to the SBA in October 2018.
-- Charles Boothe 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 Senators want to double number of ‘green’ schools-- MarylandReporter.com Maryland: February 19, 2019 [ abstract] Learning how earthworms improve the soil. Writing letters to elected officials about cleaning up trash. Testing water quality. Planting native trees. Labeling storm drains.
These are a few of the ways students in Maryland’s designated “green schools” are learning about – and affecting – the environment.
Currently, 27% of the state’s schools carry the green school certification. A bill before the General Assembly would seek to increase that number to 50%.
The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on Wednesday heard from witnesses supporting SB662, sponsored by Senate President Mike Miller, Sen. Nancy King, D-Montgomery, who chairs the committee, and Sen. Paul Pinsky, D-Prince George’s.
It was a snowy day that closed schools, enabling Susan Collard, an 11th grader at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, to travel to Annapolis to testify without missing classes. She is the daughter of Laura Johnson Collard, executive director of the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE).
The budding environmentalist has attended green schools throughout elementary, middle and high school.
“They’ve helped me become a more environmentally conscious person,” she told lawmakers.
She recalled helping plant a garden in elementary school, attending an environmental Youth Summit, and participating in her high school Green Club, which led a push for the school to replace old-style light bulbs with lower-energy LED bulbs.
-- Diane Rey 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 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 Harford schools will settle with Youth's Benefit Elementary subcontractor for $500,000-- The Aegis Maryland: February 07, 2019 [ abstract] Harford County Public Schools will settle for $500,000 with a construction firm that worked on the multi-phase, $37.1 million project to build a new Youth’s Benefit Elementary School in Fallston.
The Harford County Council approved, by unanimous vote, Tuesday a request from school system officials to transfer $485,000. The money comes from funds available in the ongoing HCPS project to renovate the HVAC system and enclose open classrooms at Bel Air Elementary School. The funds will be transferred into the Youth’s Benefit Elementary capital project account.
The subcontractor, Rommel Construction, filed a claim against the school system, alleging “some inefficiencies” because of the need to redesign the roof during construction and “due to a change in the construction schedule,” Cornell Brown, assistant superintendent for operations, told council members.
The Board of Education approved the transfer of funds during its Jan. 22 meeting, said Deborah Judd, assistant superintendent for business services. The County Council must also approve such transfers.
Construction on the new Youth’s Benefit started with a groundbreaking ceremony in October 2014. The three-phase project was designed to bring more than 1,000 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, who had been in separate buildings dating to the 1950s and 1970s, under one roof.
-- David Anderson This time they mean it: Austin district trustees move closer to school closures-- Statesman Texas: February 07, 2019 [ abstract] After years of putting off a decision to close schools, Austin district leaders are forming a plan that would consolidate campuses starting in August 2020.
It’s too early to know which schools will be shuttered or even how the decisions will be made. But district leaders say postponing a decision is not an option as they predict a bleak financial forecast, exacerbated by a plummeting student population, ballooning annual recapture payments to the state, and depleting district reserves. The district must eliminate a $60 million shortfall by next school year.
Administrators on Monday will begin discussions with the school board on developing criteria for closing and consolidating campuses. Officials said they would later involve parents and a committee that has been studying the issue. According to a preliminary timeline, criteria and guiding principles would be set by April, administrators would present schools for possible consolidation by May and trustees would make decisions as early as June.
“We want to ensure every single scenario we produce puts a student in a better school environment. Period,” said Matias Segura, district operations officer. “The methodology we develop and the principles we use to verify our outcomes will certainly reflect that.”
The school district for at least the past quarter-century has been criticized for holding on to chronically underenrolled schools. State officials, consultants and district committees since at least 1993 have called out the district for inefficiencies, all recommending shuttering campuses.
But such discussions always have been met with public backlash, as parents and students defend neighborhood schools and East Austin community leaders warn against closing schools in a part of the city that for years dealt with the trauma of school closures as part of a desegregation plan that shuttered schools designated as black-only and kept open schools for whites.
-- Melissa B. Taboada 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 OCPS pushes for portables at 2-year-old Windermere High-- OrangeObserver.com Florida: January 30, 2019 [ abstract] Tensions ran high as dozens of Windermere High parents and students listened to county leaders during a community meeting on two separate issues related to their school.
Staff from Orange County government and Orange County Public Schools spoke at Windermere High Wednesday, Jan. 23, to address two items — a special-exception request to allow for more portable classrooms on Windermere High’s campus and the design of the new relief high school to be built in Horizon West’s Village F.
THE PORTABLE PROBLEM
The majority of the meeting was earmarked for discussion of OCPS’ special-exception request to allow for more space to put additional portable classrooms on campus to accommodate student growth.
When Windermere High was built, the property and related agreements for its use as a school included certain restrictions and conditions of approval. According to the Condition of Approval No. 22, “the location of temporary and portable classroom facilities shall be restricted to the courtyard area between the three permanent three-story classroom buildings and the 20-foot-wide emergency-access road.”
This condition requires that “any proposed future expansion of the area for temporary and portable classroom facilities shall require an application to amend this special-exception approval.” The problem is that Windermere High needs more than the approved 12 portables — and a space to put them.
OCPS has submitted an application to amend the condition of agreement to temporarily expand the area for the portables until the relief school opens in 2022.
“Right now, this school has a permanent capacity of 2,776,” said Julie Salvo, a senior administrator in OCPS’ Facilities Planning Department. “Our enrollment is 3,360, so we are over capacity. The principal has managed to fit all the students in the brick-and-mortar building without portables, so he’s creatively using the space available, but we will need portables for next year, because we are experiencing quite a bit of growth.”
-- Danielle Hendrix School board gets update on $163 million worth of construction-- Independent Tribune North Carolina: January 29, 2019 [ abstract]
Cabarrus County Schools currently has four ongoing projects totaling $163 million.
Tim Lowder, the district’s executive director of operations, gave the Cabarrus County Education an update on these current projects during its annual planning session on Saturday, Jan. 26.
The board holds this session each year to get updates on projects, review academic progress, discuss its 10-year plan and make tweaks to its strategic plan.
The district’s ongoing projects include three new schools and purchasing land for a new middle school.
Performance Learning Center
Earlier this month, the district opened its new Performance Learning Center at 4521 Weddington Road just behind Harold E. Winkler Middle School. A dedication for the school was held on Thursday, Jan. 17.
The Performance Learning Center is a small, non-traditional high school geared toward students who are not succeeding in a traditional classroom. The cost of this project was $4 million because it is built to hold about 150 students.
Cabarrus County Schools entered into contract on August 7, 2017 with Liles Construction Company, Inc. and Morris Berg Architects for the design-build delivery of this 13,496 square foot school.
The new school offers a creative and unique learning environment that caters to a very specific group of the high school population. There are a total of nine classrooms that make up the learning space in the programming. Six of these classrooms provide an open concept learning space that share a small collaborative break out area for small group study.
These six rooms have a full glass overhead door that can be opened onto the large 2,400 square foot multipurpose area. The open concept design of these classrooms is industrial with no ceilings and exposed structure painted.
-- Jacqueline E. Kidd State approves plans for consolidated middle school in Groton-- The Day Connecticut: January 23, 2019 [ abstract] Groton — The state has approved the final plans for the new consolidated middle school, allowing the town to go out to bid for the project.
Superintendent Michael Graner said his reaction to the approval was "unbridled joy."
"We have been working towards this for five years now," he said. "It started with the idea we wanted to try to develop a middle school that would meet the needs of children on both sides of town and that ultimately gave rise to the vision of Groton 2020 to build a consolidated middle school."
The town now has permission to bid out the estimated $86.09 million middle school project, which will receive 47.5 percent reimbursement from the state, Graner said.
In 2016, residents had approved at referendum $184.5 million for the Groton 2020 plan for the consolidated middle school and two elementary schools.
Graner said the town cleared a long series of obstacles over the course of planning for the Groton 2020 plan, and he's delighted so many people supported the projects.
During the planning process, officials petitioned the state for one of the construction projects — the elementary school at the Carl C. Cutler Middle School site — to be designated as a diversity school to address racial imbalance. That project is slated to get 80 percent reimbursement from the state, he said.
-- Kimberly Drelich 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 Faced with school crowding, Roanoke School Board looks at attendance zones-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: January 15, 2019 [ abstract]
Roanoke School Board members are considering ways to alleviate crowding issues in the school system.
Moving attendance zone boundary lines, seeking families to volunteer to transfer their child within the school division and reopening a dormant aerospace laboratory were all discussed as possible solutions Tuesday during the board’s winter retreat.
Although not a crisis, school board member Laura Rottenborn said, multiple city schools are either above or near enrollment capacity.
The most prominent example of crowding is at James Breckinridge Middle, where enrollment was 44 students over its 630-maximum at the end of September, when fall enrollment data is sent to the state.
The school board approved a central office request in the fall to rent a prefabricated, three-classroom building for $326,491, plus $5,654 per month and install it directly next to the school.
The school expected to activate the unit by the end of November, but weather conditions stalled the installation process, Assistant Schools Superintendent Dan Lyons said. The unit should be in use within the next few weeks, Lyons told the school board.
But the modular building is designed as a temporary fix. Based on recent trends, the population of Breckinridge, and its feeder elementary schools, is on track to keep growing.
Monterey Elementary had an enrollment of 534 at the end of September, about 14 over capacity. Enrollment has fluctuated but typically remained over capacity in recent years. Preston Park, even with a three-classroom trailer, was about 34 students over capacity at September’s end.
-- Andrew Adkins Council reviews implications of SK facilities plan-- The Narragansett Times Rhode Island: January 11, 2019 [ abstract] SOUTH KINGSTOWN — During a work session to review the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), the town council got a look at the long-term financial implications of the plan to overhaul the school facilities—and assuming voters support the bond referendum, those implications would be major.
Looked at over a six-year period, the CIP is updated annually, taking into account non-recurring capital improvements—including purchases, new constructions and renovations, ranked in order of priority—that may be needed.
“It’s designed to make sure that we don’t have bumps in the road—that we’re not seeing spikes in capital expenditures because we haven’t planned for them,” Town Manager Robert Zarnetske explained during Monday’s work session.
Zarnetske lauded town staff and his predecessor Stephen Alfred for establishing an “astonishingly smart” and “efficient” program, which was recently featured by the University of Massachusetts as exemplary.
While items identified in the first year of the program will be included in the upcoming fiscal year budget, Zarnetske explained that beyond year one, it’s just a plan and is likely to change.
Still, the numbers in the CIP offer an idea of what can be expected.
-- KENDRA GRAVELLE Arkansas School District Installs Safety Shelters in Every Classroom-- Cision PRWeb Arkansas: January 09, 2019 [ abstract] The Quitman School District in Quitman, Arkansas is the first district in the state to install safety shelters in every classroom. Their facility includes elementary, middle and high school grades housed on the same campus meaning all students in the entire district are now protected from both tornadoes and active shooters.
The shelters, manufactured by Staying Home Corporation in Harrisonville, Missouri and distributed through National Safety Shelters have been designed and tested to withstand the violent force of an EF5 tornado with wind speeds of 261-318 mph. Should the threat of a tornado be imminent, students and staff have immediate access to safety since the shelters are right inside each classroom. In school districts that currently have tornado shelters, students and staff must all convene in one or several shelters outside the main school buildings which involves a cumbersome procedure and puts them at risk since they are unprotected en route to the shelter.
Immediate protection of students and staff from an active shooter is a salient feature of these shelters since they are made using ¼” American-made NIJ Ballistic Level IIIA steel which resists all handgun and shotgun rounds. Quitman opted to maximize protection by upgrading to Ballistic Level III military-grade steel which resists rounds from semi-automatic weapons like the AK-47 and AR-15 rifles. The AR-15 was the weapon used in several mass shootings including Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Harvest festival in Las Vegas, Nevada and the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
In addition to installing shelters in each classroom, Quitman also decided to locate a single large shelter in their cafeteria (175 person capacity) and several more in their new Science Lab facility, also on campus.
-- PRWeb Proposal to build Verona school gym includes town's first storm shelter-- Springfield News-Leader Missouri: January 09, 2019 [ abstract] A tiny community in southwest Missouri will gain its first tornado storm shelter if voters approve a proposed bond issue.
There are currently no shelters in Verona, a Lawrence County town with less than 700 residents.
In April, voters in the Verona school district will decide the fate of a $3.125 million bond issue to build a new gymnasium with an underground locker room that will double as a tornado safe room.
"The locker room is below ground level and completely encased in concrete," said Tony Simmons, in his sixth year as superintendent. "It will be a safe room."
Simmons said the 400-student district has outgrown its existing dome-shaped gym, constructed not long after World War II and the oldest building still in use on the K-12 campus along Ella Street.
"We don't have the seating. When we have ballgames, it's standing room only," he said. "It's due for an upgrade."
Simmons said while the court itself is regulation size, there is no cushion. If a basketball or volleyball player steps out of bounds, they are likely to step on the feet of fans sitting on the front row.
Over the years, to mitigate crowding, the district blew out one wall of the gym to expand seating. They also place bleachers on the auditorium stage during games.
Still, it's not enough.
Simmons said simply adding a new gym next to the existing one would have been less expensive, but the district increased the proposed cost by adding a shelter in the design. He estimates that added 30 percent to the overall price tag.
The proposal is described as a "no tax increase" bond issue, meaning it will increase the district's indebtedness but will not increase personal property taxes.
-- Claudette Riley Construction expected to start in 2019 in Bethlehem Central School District-- News 10 New York: January 02, 2019 [ abstract] BETHLEHEM, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Construction is expected to begin this year on the $32.2 million Bethlehem Central School District capital project approved by voters in 2016.
Superintendent Jody Monroe said the referendum will support building and site renovations, security upgrades, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing work throughout the district. Approximately 53 percent of the project work will take place at the high school.
Two of the most anticipated projects, renovations of the Library Media Center and the auditorium at the high school, will begin in 2019.
"The new year is shaping up to be an exciting one here in Bethlehem," said Superintendent Jody Monroe. "We recently received final approval from the State Education Department to move forward with our capital construction. We have been anxious to get started and are pleased to announce that work on our cornerstone projects at the high school will begin in early 2019."
Monroe said the district's facilities and operations staff have been working for more than three years on planning and design, in collaboration with architects, faculty and staff and community groups. They have established a tentative timeline for construction, and are currently working on preliminary plans to streamline any relocation and rescheduling that will be necessary during construction.
-- Staff Writer Hearings start on high school construction plans-- The Sun Chronicle Massachusetts: January 01, 2019 [ abstract] ATTLEBORO -- It’s a new year and the city's embarking on q new project, the biggest and most expensive project in its history -- a $260 million high school.
Public hearings before the conservation commission, planning board and zoning board are scheduled for Wednesday, Monday and next Thursday respectively as part of the permitting process with road and utility construction slated to begin in April.
As can be imagined, planning for the four-story, 476,425 square foot building to be situated on a 45-acre parcel off Rathbun Willard drive just to the west of the current school, takes a lot of planning and a lot of approvals.
According to an architect from Kaestle Boos Associates, designers from an array of firms have put in 100,000 hours already, and there are many more to come.
But now some of those plans will be put to the test before city boards from which permits are needed.
Each board has oversight on a particular aspect of the project, which is expected to be completed in November of 2023.
The school is expected to be open for students in September of 2022.
The conservation commission regulates construction near wetlands and there are seven “bordering vegetative wetland systems” that have been delineated and one possible "vernal pool."
-- George W. Rhodes Tewksbury school estimated to top $98.5M-- Lowell Sun Massachusetts: December 26, 2018 [ abstract] TEWKSBURY -- The new elementary school project in town is estimated to cost over $98.5 million.
The Elementary School Building Committee announced the figure at its Thursday meeting. The total project cost, not just construction, is expected to be $98,503,725, according to Anne Marie Stronach, vice chair of the Elementary School Building Committee and member of the Board of Selectmen.
"That's not the final cost to the taxpayers," Stronach said. "That's the cost we have to bill the project for."
The cost estimate includes money already spent, including the $1.1 million appropriated at the May 2016 Annual Town Meeting for the feasibility study and schematic design, according to Town Manager Richard Montuori. The figure also does not take into consideration what the Massachusetts School Building Authority will reimburse. The construction cost for the project is estimated at $77,450,806.
The MSBA will have meetings with the committee on Jan. 2 and Feb. 13, and vote on whether or not to approve the project. If approved, the committee can get to work on preparing a ballot question for the next annual town election, and then for a vote at the next Annual Town Meeting.
The school is planned to accommodate about 790 students in grades two through four. In addition to this proposed new construction at the Ryan Elementary School site, the current Central Office is planned to be demolished and a new athletics field is also planned.
-- Kori Tuitt Rauner approves streamlined school-construction pilot-- Miami Herald Illinois: December 20, 2018 [ abstract] Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed a law allowing schools to use a streamlined approach to construction.
The Republican approved the legislation Thursday for a pilot program allowing schools to use a so-called design-build process.
It allows districts to hire architects, engineers and construction contractors as a team. Construction is quicker because the structure can start going up while later phases are still being developed.
The law allows five design-build projects approved by the Illinois State Board of Education.
Calumet City Democratic Rep. Thaddeus Jones sponsored the plan. He says national studies have shown that design-build projects are of lower cost, are completed more quickly and have solid quality.
Detailed reports delivered to the General Assembly must accompany such projects.
-- Associated Press Report shows school district facilities updates could cost $544M-- The Spinal Column Michigan: December 19, 2018 [ abstract] Buildings in the Walled Lake Consolidated School District are getting older and need attention – some more than others.
That’s the main premise of a facilities infrastructure assessment done by TMP Architecture.
“A lot of information was gathered to thoroughly and comprehensively assess each of the facilities and schools in Walled Lake Schools,” explained Superintendent Ken Gutman. “We shared the assessments through an inclusive, community focus group process in November with staff, PTAs and parents via a presentation and survey. The preliminary survey results indicated our community would support an effort to repair, enhance, renovate and rebuild older facilities.”
The average age of all buildings in the district is 48 years old; the median year in which buildings were constructed is 1966.
Elementary school walls are inefficient and classroom designs are obsolete. The oldest building in the district (Dublin Elementary, which is 90 years old) is 74 years older than the newest building.
Middle schools in the district have “poor circulation and accessibility”, according to the report. Classroom spaces do not support current best practice teaching methods.
-- ANNE SEEBALDT Urinals in schools may become thing of the past-- Fosters.com New Hampshire: December 15, 2018 [ abstract] DOVER — The brand new 302,000-square-foot, $87 million Dover High School that opened in August for more than 1,400 students is equipped with many things. A urinal is not one of them.
Male visitors to the school may be excused for double checking to see if they walked into the right facility when using one of the school’s multi-user male restrooms, such as the one outside of the high school’s auditorium. The men’s room looks identical to what the women’s bathroom would look like: toilets enclosed by stalls.
It wasn’t an oversight. Principal Peter Driscoll said the decision to forgo the urinals in the new school was an administrative one made during the tenure of the previous superintendent Elaine Arbour.
“This was done to help support all students in terms of privacy,” Driscoll said. The decision wasn’t contentious; everyone agreed, he recalled. “The expectation of privacy is much higher than when you and I were younger.”
Part of the reason was to be able to accommodate transgender students, Driscoll said. The School Board adopted a transgender policy in 2016 that permits the use of “restrooms assigned to the gender, which the student consistently asserts at school.” The policy allows a student to use a single-occupancy bathroom or a staff facility. “However, a student shall not be required to use a separate single-occupancy facility over their objection,” the policy further states.
Asked whether the multi-use restrooms were designed in a way to become unisex facilities in the future, Driscoll said no.
The lack of urinals is not the only shift in the school’s bathrooms. The locker rooms no longer have multi-user showers. Instead, there are only a few showers in the locker rooms, and curtains enclose them all. Driscoll said the locker room showers are much less used than previous student populations.
-- Brian Early CA School District To Save $4.8 Million Through Intelligent Lighting-- Energy Manager Today California: December 14, 2018 [ abstract] Folsom Cordova Unified School District (FCUSD) in California formed a partnership with Johnson Controls to improve the lighting infrastructure in eight schools. An energy savings performance contract that projects $4.8 million savings over 20 years is enabling the retrofit, the district says.
The $3.9 million improvements include installing intelligent LED lighting fixtures to help modernize school infrastructure, initiate energy savings throughout the expanding district, and improve the environment for student and faculty performance.
Each lighting unit will be manually dimmable and have a daylight harvesting sensor to automatically dim fixtures if natural light is available, Johnson Controls and the school district say. In addition, the fixtures have motion sensors that interconnect with all the other lighting elements in a room to reduce the amount of equipment and wiring required.
FCUSD is located in eastern Sacramento County and serves more than 20,000 students in 32 schools across Folsom and Rancho Cordova. School district officials collaborated with Johnson Controls Performance Infrastructure leaders to develop a project installation plan. Besides an energy savings contract, the plan utilizes funds granted by Proposition 39, the California Clean Energy Jobs Act.
Installation is expected to take eight months, according to FCUSD and Johnson Controls.
“Proposition 39 allows the school district to receive the money upfront to design and build the project, and still receive the expected payback in reduced utility costs of an equal or greater amount through the energy savings performance contract,” said Mike Kozlowski, performance infrastructure account executive at Johnson Controls.
-- Alyssa Danigelis 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 School bond projects approved for San Diego public schools-- KUSI News California: December 05, 2018 [ abstract] SAN DIEGO (KUSI)- The San Diego Unified School District is forging ahead with plans to update and modernize its schools. On Tuesday, the SDUSD school board formally approved project plans for Measure YY which was passed by voters last month.
To show reporters how the bond money will be spent, we were invited to tour a middle school in Clairemont. Innovations Middle School lives up to its name, in reflecting the latest innovations in school design. The school district’s top priority is to renovate and sometimes replace older school buildings that have exceeded their useful life.
On our tour, Lee Dulgeroff, the head of the district’s facilities, planning and construction department shows us a typical classroom which has the digital capabilities to support a student population
that does most of its learning through computers and other electronic devices.
“We have a fiber optic backbone that runs at 10 gigabits per second and a really robust wireless network. It’s costly to provide the backbone but we believe it’s an investment well made because it’s so integral to learning today,” Dulgeroff said.
On another part of the campus, we visit a technical education classroom, where students get hands-on experience with computer coding and making objects by using laser cutters and 3-D printers. A dirt lot outside the building is a work in progress.
-- Sasha Foo Legislature must lower hurdle for passing school bonds-- The Seattle Times Washington: December 04, 2018 [ abstract] For years, students in the Bethel School District have spilled out of school buildings and jammed into nearby portable classrooms. About 200 portables now house a quarter of the district’s student population, or about 5,500 kids.
Yet in November, the Pierce County district’s latest attempt to pass a school-construction bond failed once again — this time by the thinnest of margins, with support coming in at 59.22 percent.
Bethel’s failure to pass its fourth school construction bond in three years illustrates why the state Legislature needs to scrap the requirement that school construction bonds win at least 60 percent of the vote. This unreasonably high bar for passing school bonds dooms many important projects to failure, contributing to overflowing classrooms and schools in disrepair. This in turn affects the quality of education in dozens of districts across the state, as children can’t do their best learning inside crumbling, unsafe buildings, or when they’re packed in like sardines.
“All of our buildings are over capacity for what they were initially designed,” said Bethel Superintendent Tom Seigel, who said his district is growing by about 300 students per year.
-- Editorial Board WW Public Schools receives state approval for alternative construction delivery method-- My Columbia Basin Washington: December 01, 2018 [ abstract] WALLA WALLA, Washington — On Thursday, Nov. 28, Washington State’s Project Review Committee (PRC) unanimously approved a request from Walla Walla Public Schools to utilize the General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM) delivery method for the Walla Walla High School bond-related capital improvements. Superintendent Wade Smith, accompanied by members of the district’s design and management team, presented plans to the independent committee as part of the approval process.
General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM), often referred to as a “collaborative delivery model,” permits the district to hire the general contractor early on in the design phase, capitalizing on their ability to participate and partner through the pre-construction and design programming, rather than bringing on the firm after the design work is complete. According to Smith, who has successfully implemented a similar delivery model in Oregon for many capital improvement projects, the benefits are many.
“This procurement method allows the district to be much more involved in the selection of the general contractor, permitting us the opportunity to interview prospective firms, take into consideration their location, their outreach and willingness to include smaller businesses/subcontractors in the work, and past performance on similar projects,” said Smith.
Walla Walla High School will be the first project to break ground in the recent voter-approved $65.6M replacement bond that passed at a remarkable 73%. Smith says the proposed Wa-Hi plans overwhelmingly support the alternative delivery model.
“A project that includes complex phasing, construction at an occupied campus, specialized preservation work, safety and security considerations, and tricky environmental site issues with Yellowhawk Creek bisecting the campus, the GC/CM model is well poised to ensure a successful project,” said Smith.
“This not only allows the general contractor to provide cost-saving suggestions and constructability services early on, it also permits them to be actively involved with staff, scheduling, and devising prudent safety plans well in advance of the construction process,” said Smith.
-- Walla Walla School District Hawaii Aims To Quicken The Pace Of School Repairs-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: November 28, 2018 [ abstract] Repair and maintenance work at any one of the Hawaii Department of Education’s 256 aging school buildings is so commonplace, the budget for this work surpasses that of desired classroom upgrades, including facilities for new STEM labs.
The DOE has a whopping backlog of 3,800 repair projects statewide. But even with a budget of $274 million, it can’t get to those repairs quickly enough, with the appropriation/design/bid/construction cycle averaging a glacial seven years.
But under a new DOE initiative that leverages a new contract procurement process and database to track the pending backlog in real time, the DOE hopes to shorten those years to months, leading to much quicker fixes to sagging roofs or faulty ventilation systems.
“We’re making it much less cumbersome,” said Dann Carlson, assistant superintendent for school facilities and support services, during a presentation to community stakeholders at Impact Hub Honolulu on Tuesday morning.
-- Suevon Lee Weymouth middle school project aims for efficiency, resiliency-- The Patriot Ledger Massachusetts: November 28, 2018 [ abstract] WEYMOUTH — Planners say providing natural light, opportunities for students to be active and good air quality would make a new Chapman Middle School more efficient and create a better learning environment, all while saving the town money on the project.
Residents and town officials gathered Wednesday with staff from HMFH Architects for the second sustainability workshop for the proposed new Chapman Middle School. The group focused on ways to achieve the primary goals created in the first workshop, to make the building energy efficient and resilient, boost natural light and indoor air quality, and encourage an active lifestyle.
Weymouth is asking the Massachusetts School Building Authority to help pay for the construction of the building, which would house the district’s 1,470 students in grades six through eight, as part of a reorganization plan that town officials say is the best approach for addressing the aging middle school.
The authority’s board of directors voted last month to allow the school building committee to develop a detailed scope, budget and timeline for the project with the help of its project manager, Hill International, and designer, HMFH Architects.
The state provides incentives to increase the energy efficiency and sustainability for new construction. Districts that construct schools that exceed Massachusetts Energy base code by 20 percent receive additional reimbursement.
-- Jessica Trufant Construction on new elementary school in Merced County to start soon, officials say-- Merced Sun-Star California: November 26, 2018 [ abstract] School officials expect Los Banos to have a new elementary school ready by the start of school in 2020.
“Our elementary schools are bursting at the seams,” Los Banos Unified School District Board President Anthony Parreira said, adding officials are trying to get the new school built as soon as possible.
The new school is anticipated to cost around $25 million and will be funded by Measure X, passed by Los Banos voters in June, and district facility funds, Superintendent Mark Marshall said.
It is expected to be built at the corner of B Street and Place Road, right behind the old junior high school, Parreira said. The location and rough design of the school was purchased and approved years ago.
Last year, the school district needed to send updated school plans that complied with current facility standards to the state for re-approval.
The new school, which has yet to be named, will be built to accommodate 990 students from Kindergarten to sixth grade, Marshall said.
For years, Los Banos school officials have been sounding the alarm about the burgeoning student population and need for more schools and classrooms.
The school district finished construction last year on doubling the size of Mercey Springs Elementary School. The district also recently built Creekside Junior High School in 2016 and Pacheco High School opened in 2010.
-- VIKAAS SHANKER City School Board moves to acquire prelim master plan funds-- The Athens News Ohio: November 25, 2018 [ abstract]
Athens City School District administrators are taking the first steps in the planning process for the facilities master plan approved by the School Board last March. On Nov. 15, the board had first reading of a resolution that, if approved, will give the district treasurer and superintendent permission to issue a portion of the $60.5 million worth of bonds the district aims to use in advance for the master plan.
This money is intended to fund planning costs and potentially save money in the long run, a school official said.
“The resolution... was to give us the option of issuing up to $10 million of the bonds before the end of December,” ACSD Treasurer Matt Bunting said in an email early last week. “We would do that if there is enough margin on the bond interest rates that makes sense and to give us money to begin the design planning and some other costs.”
Voters in the Athens City School District on Nov. 6 approved a capital-improvements property tax levy to fund the district’s master plan for new and renovated school facilities. The 5.88-mill levy over the next 30 years is expected to generate enough funds to repay $60.5 million in bonds, which the district plans to sell in order to complete the plan, along with a substantial contribution from the state of Ohio (an expected $27.5 million).
-- Kayla Beard Clarke County School District moves forward with West Broad proposal despite backlash-- The Red&Black Georgia: November 24, 2018 [ abstract] The Clarke County School District has released plans to revitalize the West Broad School property by demolishing two buildings at the site and rebuilding the two-story building to become an Office of Early Learning Center.
The West Broad Street School was used for black students during segregation in the late 19th century. The now-vacant building is being considered by the CCSD Board of Education for historic renovations.
The district’s plan calls for a renovation of the West Broad building to include a school-based health clinic, parent information center, community meeting rooms and some sort of “historic recognition of education” in the community.
The controversial plans have caused backlash from some members of the community and came in a Future Facilities Use Report as a call of action for the Board of Education to consider proposals from CCSD.
The district has been engaged in an arrangement with the Athens Land Trust to designate approximately 0.5 acres of land at the property as a farmer’s market and community garden.
CCSD said students in the district have barriers that will hamper their outcome for academic success.
-- Shania Shelton Enfield council establishes building committee for $84M renovation of JFK Middle School-- Journal Inquirer Connecticut: November 23, 2018 [ abstract]
ENFIELD — The Town Council unanimously established a building committee for the reconstruction and renovation of John F. Kennedy Middle School at its regular meeting Monday night.
Voters approved an $84.37 million referendum question on Nov. 6 to renovate the middle school after a similar proposal failed last year when the project cost around $10.6 million more.
The measure to renovate the school was approved in a vote of 9,778 to 8,050, a margin of 1,728.
The committee is tasked with preparing schematic drawings and outlining specifications for the project, contracting with contractors to work on the project, approving design and construction expenditures, and overseeing the construction and successful completion of the project.
Town Manager Christopher Bromson said the committee would use the same timeframe as the Enfield High School Building Committee. He said the Enfield High School Building Committee is an example of the right way to do it, and it should serve as a model for how the council should proceed.
The Enfield High School Building Committee was established for the recently completed multi-phase $103 million renovation of Enfield High School. The new high school has 113 classrooms and several new additions, including the four story, 51-room Enrico Fermi Wing, cafeteria, auditorium, school store, formal career center, conference spaces, and an outdoor patio café.
-- Jessica Lerner District: At least $4.8 million needed for school building improvements-- Rapid City Journal South Dakota: November 20, 2018 [ abstract]
The Rapid City Area Schools Board of Education held a sobering study session meeting Monday night, eyeing necessary building improvements for next year's budget.
"If this project is not to be completed, would it prevent us from opening school in the fall?" Assistant Superintendent Dave Janak said his facilities team asked of each pending project.
What school officials call the "no-choice list" measures just shy of $5 million — measures like stabilizing a rusting floor at Canyon Lake Elementary School, roof repairs to South Middle School, and an emergency power generator at West Middle School.
The only item on Janak's list that wouldn't prevent its school from opening is a $300,000 cover and redesign for the orchestra pit at Stevens High School. The reason it's on the list?
"A year ago, that pit was open, and a theatre student fell in and became pretty seriously injured," Janak said. "It's on the list. We may have pending litigation outstanding if we don't fix this thing."
No vote will be taken on these projects — paid by the school board out of its capital outlay or reserve budget — until May. However, many projects will require bids and design well in advance. Janak said in previous years he never brought a detailed expense report to the board but a dwindling capital-outlay budget — used to prop up teacher salaries in recent years — made him change his mind.
-- Christopher Vondracek Higher ground for Quileute Tribal School in La Push-- Penisula Daily News Washington: November 18, 2018 [ abstract] LA PUSH — All was quiet in a misty clearing surrounded by a coastal forest near La Push on Tuesday.
Three years from now, the empty land on the southern end of the Quileute Reservation will be teeming with children playing and learning in a state-of-the-art school campus.
The Quileute Tribe is ramping up efforts to move students from the existing Quileute Tribal School, which is in the tsunami zone, to a recently-harvested, 278-acre tract on higher ground.
Construction of the new school is expected to begin as early as next summer, project manager Susan Devine said.
“I think the most important thing is kids should be safe from tsunamis,” Mark Jacobson, Quileute Tribal School superintendent, said during a School Board meeting on Tuesday in his office overlooking the surf.
“That’s the No. 1 concern.”
The Quileute Tribe’s long-awaited Move to Higher Ground project received a shot in the arm with the Sept. 25 announcement of a $44.1 million federal grant for school design and construction.
-- Rob Ollikainen 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 Manheim Central approves high school renovation with potential $40M price tag-- Lancaster Online Pennsylvania: November 14, 2018 [ abstract] The Manheim Central school board agreed Monday by a 7-1 vote to move forward with a major high school renovation project that could cost up to $40 million.
“I’m excited,” Superintendent Peter J. Aiken said in a phone interview Tuesday. “It’s an opportunity that allows us to build a 21st-century building that can really be the flagship of the district.”
The district will now move into the project’s design phase, led by architects Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates.
Leonard Szpara, the lone dissent, said Tuesday that he doesn’t want to “kill” the project — which would expand the 59-year-old facility and add air conditioning throughout the entire building — but he’d prefer to wait three years until residents better understand the financial impact.
Board member Mike Clair was absent.
"I want the community to fully understand their financial obligations down the road," Szpara said.
In a two-page document presented to the board Monday night, he outlined 15 concerns regarding the project. Among them were the district’s existing debt and the future of Stiegel and H.C. Burgard elementary schools, both of which the district plans to sell.
-- Alex Geli Schools, other departments rewriting continuity plans after year of disasters-- khon2 Hawaii: November 14, 2018 [ abstract] HONOLULU (KHON2) - All this week we've been digging into the recovery phase after natural disasters to see the lessons learned and what is changing after storms, lava, fires, and floods wreaked havoc across Hawaii this year.
The series continues with a look at schools. What if a big storm affects a whole island or even the whole state? How will kids get back to school, and how will schools -- many of which are the sole designated shelters -- balance both community roles?
Hawaii's schools and students have been put to the test this year.
In April, historic rain and landslides cut off north shore Kauai communities, including their access to school.
The Department of Education set up shop at Hanalei Colony Resort.
“Within days we established a satellite campus on the other side, so out there in those communities where kids had an opportunity to go right back to school,” said DOE Assistant Superintendent Dann Carlson.
The Big Island lava flow closed or threatened private schools and displaced those students as well as many public school kids from their homes, but many found ways to finish out the school year.
It was déjà vu for some who had said a formal goodbye to schools over a lava threat before.
“In Pahoa during the eruption four years ago, every single school was closed, private, charter schools, all closed in a very short two- or three-day notice,” said Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim. “I credit DOE for the tremendous job they did, all the resources of bringing portables over from elsewhere.”
-- Gina Mangieri 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 Watertown community reacts to Cunniff School renovation plan-- Wicked Local Watertown Massachusetts: November 09, 2018 [ abstract] Watertown officials continue to move forward with plans to renovate the town’s elementary schools, holding the first of three community meetings this month to discuss the proposed designs for each school.
In a meeting at the Cunniff Elementary School on Wednesday, Nov. 7, the Watertown School Building Committee (WSBC) and the project’s architect spoke with about 40 parents and other residents about the Cunniff’s renovation.
Meetings for the other two schools will be held on Nov. 14 at the Hosmer School and Nov. 28 at the Lowell School. Both meetings start at 6 p.m. The WSBC will review the community feedback before proceeding with each school’s design.
School Superintendent Dede Galdston is part of the 13-member WSBC. She told the Cunniff School gathering that the current buildings no longer support the educational needs of students.
“Our children today are completely different in terms of how they learn than the children of even 20 years ago or 30 years ago or 40 years ago,” Galdston said. “The role of the school is to build those skills that our children need for their futures – collaboration, communication, problem-solving, critical thinking – and all of those things are not built on the idea of industrial-era education.”
-- Diane McLaughlin A Closer Look at MCPS Superintendent’s Proposed Fiscal 2020 Capital Budget, CIP Amendments-- Bethesda Magazine Maryland: November 08, 2018 [ abstract] The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) superintendent recently rolled out his capital budget for fiscal 2020 and amendments to the capital improvements plan (CIP) for fiscal years 2019-2024 that aim to tackle intensifying overcrowding problems in county schools, including the possibility of reopening Woodward High School.
Shaped by the pressures of an ever-increasing student population and the need for upgrades at aging facilities, Superintendent Jack Smith’s proposal includes options for reopening Woodward High School in Rockville for use by 2025, as well as a capacity study for all elementary schools in the Walter Johnson (WJ) and Bethesda-Chevy Chase (B-CC) clusters to address overcrowding.
The options include nearby Northwood High School, which is slated to undergo an expansion to help ease overcrowding. The two approaches for the project include phased construction with students remaining on-site or using Woodward High School as a holding school for Northwood for two years, beginning in September 2023.
The first option would require the use of approximately 50 relocatable classrooms and construction could cause disruptions to student learning, MCPS staff says. Doing construction while students remain in the school limits potential design options and would increase the project’s cost.
-- CAITLYNN PEETZ Danvers residents concerned with Smith School construction plan-- Wicked Local Danvers Massachusetts: November 02, 2018 [ abstract] Reactions to the Smith Elementary School construction plan have been mixed. During a forum held at the school last night, various members of the community weighed in.
″[The school] will be on top of my property,” said resident Josephine Uminski. “I tried to work with [the town], but they refused to change their plans.”
The town has been working with the Massachusetts School Building Authority to build a new Smith School because the current location is outdated and too small for the 280-student population.
Project Manager Kevin Negro said a new building is expected to cost around $52 million. However, the state is reimbursing the town for $20.5 million, while Danvers’ share amounts to around $31.5 million.
During the Nov. 1 presentation, architect Charlie Hay also gave general information about the design of the school and some of the overall positive effects of a new building.
For example, the new school will be able to enroll 465 students, which is significant because the student population in Danvers is expected to increase from 15 to 17 percent in the next 10 years.
In addition, the number of parking spaces will triple (45 to 123) compared to the old school.
Hay also explained he met with traffic consultants, and they had “no concerns or objections” with the plan.
-- Robby McKittrick School board approves renovation designs for Bozeman High-- NBC Montana Montana: October 30, 2018 [ abstract] BOZEMAN, Mont. — The school board gave CTA Architects Engineers the green light Monday night to go forward with designs the Bozeman-based architects have been working on since June.
They'll now be working with a $17.5 million construction budget to bring them to fruition.
Among the changes to come to Bozeman High is the demolition of 5 wings, at least 12 new teaching stations, remodeled and improved parent-drop off points and a possible third floor with classroom space.
The architects say it was important that Bozeman High had its own identity and not just be a replica of the new high school.
“We wanted to make sure that the school has the same opportunities that the new school has. It's very different when you're starting a new school from scratch and we wanted to make sure the school had the same benefits. Commons is a very large space that's very important to schools -- an auditorium is also very important to both schools,” said CTA Architects Engineers senior project manager Bob Franzen, who said they had been working with parents and school board members on the designs.
Franzen says among the challenges they'll face is working with the existing building.
He says it's never easy to attach new structures in today's building codes to old ones.
-- Larisa Casillas School construction delayed in Ohio district after artifacts are unearthed-- American School & University Ohio: October 22, 2018 [ abstract] Construction on a new school campus in theSouthwest Licking (Ohio) district is on holdafter arrowheads and other artifacts were unearthed on the site.
WSYX-TV reports that although design plans for Watkins Memorial High and Elementary Schools in Pataskala are moving forward, site work on the project has been postponed until at least spring.
Crews recently uncovered artifacts that were from 50 years up to 12,000 years old according to archeologist Andy Sewell with Lawhon Associates, an environmental engineering company.
Superintendent Robert Jennell says the district wants “to respect and preserve the history.” But it’s unclear what else might be uncovered in a second phase of the search.
Any items found that are more than 50 years old need to be recorded in a report to the National Register of Historic Places.
The planned site for the new campus is adjacent to the existing high school and middle school.
-- Mike Kennedy Disaster Recovery: School Infrastructure Resilience Roadmap & Best Practices-- EfficientGov National: October 11, 2018 [ abstract]
Communities facing the loss of a school after a hurricane, earthquake or other disaster can increase school infrastructure resilience. Get a roadmap for stakeholders, tools and best practices.
School districts that face the loss of a school in a natural disaster like a hurricane face myriad challenges after the immediate danger passes, ranging from education and public safety to reconstruction. To improve community resilience, replacement schools can be designed to mitigate disaster risk and increase school infrastructure resilience in affected areas following a disaster.
The World Bank Global Program for Safer Schools (GPSS) offers a 2017 roadmap to engage stakeholders and 2018 100 Resilient Cities workshop in Cali, Columbia, generated best practices for communities focused on or required to increase school infrastructure resilience.
Roadmap for School Infrastructure Resilience
According to a 2017 World Bank briefing, there is impact to the learning environment through the affected community’s recovery phase, which extends into public safety and public health operations.
Damaged school infrastructure exposes the educational community to physical and mental stress and interferes with school operations, teaching and learning. When non-resilient communities experience a natural disaster, the effort to bring children back to school and recover the full operation of the education sector is prolonged, often involving a lengthy emergency response and a protracted recovery and reconstruction process.
The GPSS launched a Roadmap for Safer Schools in 2017 to provide governments affected by devastating natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes a systematic guide infrastructure managers and government and school district stakeholders can use to structure and promote a more informed dialogue on making new school infrastructure investments.
The Roadmap:
- Uses concepts and language that are accessible for those without experience in disaster risk reduction and construction
- Provides guidance on the technical expertise required by the activities
It consists of six steps that follow a logical sequence from diagnosis to analysis, opportunity and investment, shown in this inforgraphic posted to the blog:
-- Andrea Fox Westport school building committee takes notes from Somerset-Berkley-- SouthCoast Today Massachusetts: October 09, 2018 [ abstract] WESTPORT — The Westport School Building Committee held a “non-meeting” at Westport Junior-Senior High School on Oct. 2 to hear about the communications plan employed by the Somerset-Berkley Regional School Committee’s recently completed school project.
Richard Fenstermaker and Julie Ramos Gagliardi, members of the Somerset-Berkley building committee, were invited to Westport to deliver a presentation on “Community Communications” and talk about the plan that school district employed to help win approval of its new high school project.
The pair also offered suggestions on how to keep the public informed about the progress of work throughout the construction process, and how to keep the community engaged in the project until it is completed.
“This is not an official meeting of the School Building Committee,” Westport school project supporter Irene Buck told the audience of about 30 people, including most of the local building committee, a few School Committee members and other town officials.
The goal of the session, she said, was “stimulating our imaginations and our ideas” about the best ways to continue the community outreach effort through the construction process of the new junior-senior high school on Old County Road, expected to be finished by September 2021.
Fenstermaker detailed the Somerset-Berkley building committee’s efforts to plan for the use of a generic “model school” design offered by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, slightly modified to suit the district’s specific needs in order to develop final construction and bid documents.
-- Robert Barboza Hurricane Michael: Leon County Schools to open shelters Tuesday at noon-- Tallahassee Democrat Florida: October 08, 2018 [ abstract] Update Tuesday, 5:24 p.m.: Leon High will open at 6 p.m. as a shelter, according to Leon County Emergency Management. It's located at Leon High School, 550 East Tennessee Street. StarMetro is offering transportation to shelters for those who need it — call 850-891-5199.
As Hurricane Michael continues to strengthen on its way to the Big Bend, local agencies are prepping shelters and evacuation centers.
"Everyone is on standby," said North Florida Red Cross Executive Director Sharon Tyler. Leon County Schools runs the shelters along with the county's Emergency Management team. Red Cross staff are on standby for support.
Leon County evacuation centers and shelters include Chiles, Godby, SAIL and Lincoln high schools, as well as Fort Braden School, according to Leon County Schools. They will open at noon Tuesday. A special-needs shelter run by the Florida Department of Health will also open at noon at Florida High.
Chiles High is the designated pet-friendly shelter with the most resources for caring for pets, but they will not be turned away at other shelters, said Leon County Assistant to the County Administrator MathieuCavell.
Tyler said Gadsden County will have three: East High, West High and Havana Middle. Jefferson County's shelter will be at Somerset High, and Liberty County's shelter is at W.R. Tolar School.
-- Nada Hassanein Central office, sports upgrades in Jasper capital plan-- Daily Mountain Eagle Alabama: October 07, 2018 [ abstract] The Jasper City Board of Education has crafted a five-year capital plan to address a number of needs, including a possible new central office, and has noted the potential for new areas designated for sports.
The capital plan was approved last week with a number of wishlist projects and others that are already being put into motion.
Superintendent Dr. Ann Jackson said tackling drainage issues at the baseball field and near the football field on the old Walker High School campus are a first priority.
"One of the most pressing issues that we have right now in our system is the collapsed drainage pipe, and the city is helping us with that. We're in the process of getting that replaced," Jackson said. "It's become a safety issue where it collapses, and we have sink holes throughout that area."
According to documentation from the school board, replacing the collapsed storm drain will cost an estimated $800,000.
Next on the capital plan will be upgrades to the football field and stadium at Jasper High School, at an estimated cost of just over $1 million. Renovations to the baseball field and possible turf installation is another project the school board wants to tackle and may cost as much as $1 million.
Looking ahead to 2020, the board is examining the possibility of building a new tennis and track complex at Jasper High School at an estimated cost of $4 million.
-- NICOLE SMITH Construction on new Mark Twain Elementary School set to begin-- WQAD Iowa: October 04, 2018 [ abstract] BETTENDORF, Iowa - Construction on the new Mark Twain Elementary School building is set to begin this month.
A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for October 4th, 2018 at 10am.
The new school will be constructed at 1620 Lincoln Road in Bettendorf.
Once completed, the building will house about 450 students.
Students at the current Mark Twain Elementary School along with students from Thomas Jefferson Elementary School will attend school in the new facility.
Leaders say the new building will incorporate several 21st Century learning concepts into the traditional school design.
-- RYAN JENKINS 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 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 New Audit Finds No Cause for Alarm Over APS Construction Costs-- ARL Now Virginia: October 01, 2018 [ abstract] Arlington may spend slightly more on school construction than some of the county’s peers around the D.C. region, but a long-awaited audit report suggests that the school system has done a decent job holding costs down in recent years.
Prepared by an independent firm for the School Board’s internal auditor and released today (Monday), the new analysis commends Arlington Public Schools for matching other dense urban areas like Alexandria and D.C. when it comes to the cost of new school construction. The audit found that the county does tend to spend more on architectural and engineering work than some of its neighbors, but analysts chalked up that discrepancy to Arlington’s challenges finding space for new schools.
APS has earned plenty of criticism for its spending on construction projects in recent years, particularly after a state analysis showed that the school system spent significantly more on the new Wakefield High School than other counties around the state did on comparable projects. The Board hired an internal auditor, John Mickevice, in 2014 as debate raged across the county about the costs of major construction efforts of all sorts, and he commissioned this review of costs last October.
In general, the audit found that the school system is hardly perfect when it comes to managing big projects — for instance, the analysts note that Arlington’s lengthy public engagement process does inevitably tend to drive costs up — and includes some suggestions about how APS might streamline some of its design and acquisition practices. But it also does not contain any sweeping indictment of the school system’s methods, finding that Arlington has often paid less per seat for its elementary and high schools than its neighbors.
“Even with our challenges, this shows we’re still in the ballpark with everyone else,” School Board member Barbara Kanninen, the chair of the Board’s audit committee, told ARLnow. “This idea that somehow we’re too extravagant is simply not confirmed… and it is a little bit validating.”
-- Alex Koma The Toxins of Camden-- New Jersey: September 28, 2018 [ abstract] Editor’s note: This month, CityLab’s visual storyteller Ariel Aberg-Riger looks at America’s deteriorating public schools through the lens of Camden, New Jersey’s economic decline and environmental degradation.
To see the visual GO to https://www.citylab.com/design/2018/09/toxins-camden/571627/
-- ARIEL ABERG-RIGER County executive announces fast-tracking of two school construction projects-- LocalDVM.com Maryland: September 27, 2018 [ abstract] FREDERICK COUNTY, Md. - Thursday, County Executive Jan Gardner announced plans to tackle overcrowding in the east side of the county by advancing the design of two school construction projects.
"This would move up the design for the new east county elementary school by about six months, and would move up the design for an addition to Oakdale Middle School by two-and-a-half years. That's pretty significant,” explained Frederick County Executive, Jan Gardner.
The county executive got unanimous approval from the Frederick County Board of Education Wednesday night to move forward with fast-tracking the projects, but not without questions.
"One of our concerns was we didn't want to re-prioritize projects that were already in place. [Gardner] gave us that assurance that she could find the money to move those projects up without affecting the start date of our other projects," explained president of the Frederick County Board of Education, Brad Young.
Gardner says design work will be funded by impact and school construction fees paid for by developers.
The announcement comes as overcrowding continues to challenge county schools.
"What we've seen is a spike in certain areas and the Oakdale area is one of those areas where they're having more students than was projected," Young said.
Gardner will submit her first-ever supplemental budget to the Frederick County Council for approval to include the accelerated projects in the upcoming fiscal year.
-- Jasmine Pelaez Key Democrat: Congress Wouldn't Find Puerto Rico School Conditions Acceptable on Mainland-- Education Week Puerto Rico: September 27, 2018 [ abstract] Traumatized students desperately in need of mental health counseling. Schools without electricity. School buildings that leak or have mold. Missing desks and chairs.
That's the picture of life in schools in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands painted by witnesses at a forum organized by House Education and the Workforce Committee Democrats. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., has called as recently as last week for hearings on the federal response to Hurricane Maria last year and how it is impacting education on the islands.
So far, Republicans have declined to hold such a hearing. So Scott organized his own.
President Donald Trump has praised his administration's response to the hurricane in Puerto Rico. But Scott said no one would allow for such conditions in a U.S. state.
"The federal government's response to Hurricane Maria was severely inadequate," Scott said. "Of the U.S. Virgin Island's 32 public schools, eight are condemned, which forced students to attend other schools on a double-session schedule. This means students only received instruction for half the day. Many of Puerto Rico's schools in operation are still without power a year after the storm. I doubt Congress would find those conditions acceptable in a mainland U.S. state struck by a storm."
And Scott has big concerns about some of the education redesign efforts proposed by Puerto Rico's Secretary of Education Julia Keleher and her team. Keleher has closed hundreds of schools, due to declining enrollment that was exacerbated by Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico has also introduced charter schools and worked to create a voucher program.
-- Alyson Klein New Bourne School Building Vision Becoming A Reality-- The Bourne Enterprise Massachusetts: September 27, 2018 [ abstract]
As Jane F. Norton walks through the unfinished halls of the new elementary school, she points to yet-to-be installed features: display cases, the skylights, and the gym bleachers.
Ms. Norton, who is principal of the James F. Peebles Elementary School, seems to see the school vividly, as though the construction were complete and there were already students in the hallways. Where someone may see steel beams and concrete, Ms. Norton sees a cafeteria, office, or auditorium.
Where there is drywall, Ms. Norton sees classrooms and lockers. She sees the dirt surrounding the building to be the parking lot, playground, and student drop-off locations that they will soon become.
Ms. Norton led a tour of the building on Monday, September 24, along with the construction supervisor, Mark Paulding. The group being led around the building consisted of members of a committee formed to help ease the transition of students into the building when the school is completed. Members of the group are teachers, parents, administrators, and school committee members.
Even though much of the interior is still skeletal, Ms. Norton knows exactly where every finished detail is going to be. She points out where the school’s stage is being built and how it will open up into the cafeteria and gymnasium.
As the tour is guided through the classroom hallways, she describes which grade level will be in each wing and what each common area will look like down to where the seating will be placed and said that the tables they have chosen are specially designed for working in teams. She notes that the 5th grade common area will be the largest, since they will be the senior students in the building.
-- KATIE GOERS Anne Arundel school board approves $172 million capital budget-- Capital Gazette Maryland: September 26, 2018 [ abstract] The Anne Arundel County school board on Wednesday night unanimously adopted Superintendent George Arlotto’s $172 million capital budget for fiscal year 2020.
The budget includes a $102 million allocation for major construction and renovation projects throughout the school district.
The board also adopted the superintendent’s six-year plan that outlines maintenance, renovation and new construction projects through fiscal year 2025.
During the public hearing portion of the meeting, advocates for Old Mill reconstruction thanked Arlotto for making room in the budget to break apart and renovate the cluster of schools. They say the massive project — estimated to cost almost $700 million and take 10 years to complete — is long overdue.
Arlotto, in the fiscal year 2020 capital budget, allocated $10 million to design Old Mill High School West, slated to be built on the former Papa John’s farm property in Severn.
Multimillion-dollar renovations are also planned for George Cromwell, Edgewater and Tyler Heights elementary schools.
-- Lauren Lumpkin Rapid growth is pushing Clovis Unified to build another school-- abc30.com California: September 26, 2018 [ abstract] CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) --
Rapid growth is pushing the Clovis Unified School District to build another new school.
The proposed elementary school campus will be located at Locan and Shields.
This school site is right in the path of what looks like a residential building boom in southeast Clovis. It's in the area known as Loma Vista.
It's expected to house 30,000 people, and the area is more than half built. The new school proposed at this site is designed to help meet the demand.
Boris Elementary is the newest school in the Clovis Unified District. It opened just two years ago at Clinton and Temperance. The proposed new elementary school will be one mile away at Shields and Locan, and it will look about the same. The district hopes to win environmental approvals and have it built in two years. By then they figure they will need it.
"The Clovis East area, we've seen a lot of development in that area and we are in need of a new school and we will have a couple of elementary schools that will be over 900 and if we don't build a new school in that area they will be at 1,000 kids at those schools without the school at Shields and Locan," said Kevin Peterson.
-- Gene Haagenson School Board approves capital plan-- Suffolk News-Herald Virginia: September 24, 2018 [ abstract] Suffolk’s School Board voted 6-1 to approve the Capital Improvements Plan presented by school division staff at its Thursday evening meeting.
The Capital Improvements Plan that was presented by Director of Planning and Facilities Terry Napier was almost identical to the one presented last year, but a few project timelines have been adjusted due to new priorities.
Northern Shores Elementary School would receive 12 additional classrooms to replace its mobile units under the plan.
City Council originally approved the plan in 2017 to begin its design phase during the 2018-2019 fiscal year, but the project was delayed due to new priorities, according to the school division’s Executive Director of Finance Wendy Forsman.
The school division is now pushing for the project to begin the design process during the 2019-2020 fiscal year, because the need for more space is crucial.
“Northern Shores is severely overcrowded. Now it is our feeling that we can’t wait any longer,” Napier said.
-- Kellie Adamson Greenpoint Toxic Site Near Potential School Inches Closer to Cleanup, Public Meeting on Project Set for Oct. 4-- Green Point Post New York: September 20, 2018 [ abstract] A toxic Superfund site in Greenpoint near the location of a potential school is steadily approaching a full-fledged cleanup, with a remediation process now proposed and a public meeting to discuss it set for two weeks time.
The former NuHart Plastic plant, located at 280 Franklin St., has been designated a New York State Superfund site since 2010, and is mainly contaminated underground with two dangerous chemicals—trichloroethylene and phthalates.
The site, in addition, is across the street from the proposed location of a public school, set to be built as part of the massive Greenpoint Landing development— a separate development now inextricably linked to the toxic site.
The two properties are at intersecting crossroads, where the school’s five-year hold on construction due to concerns about migrated toxins from the Superfund site is steadily coming up at the end of this year. The Superfund site, meanwhile, is under new owners who are in the midst of developing the location.
Now, after a meeting held this summer to inform the community on next steps for both sites, another milestone has been reached—a tentative plan that outlines how the developers will clean up the toxic site.
-- Nathaly Pesantez Seaside School District clears hurdle-- Seaside Signal Oregon: September 19, 2018 [ abstract] It was a good week for the Seaside School District. Despite cloudy skies and periodic rain, hundreds turned out to celebrate a public groundbreaking for the new middle and high school campus in the Southeast Hills.
Perhaps even better news came for the district with a permit OK from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
School district project manager Jim Henry made the announcement at Tuesday’s meeting of the school district’s board.
District Superintendent Sheila Roley thanked the public officials and contractors who “helped solve problems in a thoughtful and creative way in adjusting to the permit schedule.”
The district received and business manager Justine Hill signed the permit and mailed it back with the $10 check, Henrys said. “We are thrilled to have that behind us.”
The Army Corps’ preliminary review, delivered in April, indicated the project, designed to move endangered schools out of the tsunami zone, would adversely affect essential fish habitat.
“Approval was granted with the condition we need to finalize the stream mitigation solution on Neawanna Creek within 90 days,” Henry said Wednesday.
The district originally presented plans to the Army Corps for on-site remediation which would have resulted in the permanent placement of almost 4,800 cubic yards of soil, concrete and stone within 0.16 acre of wetland and more than 2,000 linear feet of stream considered essential fish habitat.
When the Army Corps’ failed to sign off on that plan, the district offered a “compensatory mitigation” proposal off-site to provide an environmental easement on property behind the district bus barn on U.S. Highway 101. The goal was to provide protection for waters downstream to make up for potential impacts at the new school site.
-- R.J. Marx 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 Florence: Shelters open in Augusta County due to flooding-- News Leader Virginia: September 17, 2018 [ abstract] AUGUSTA COUNTY – County Emergency Management continues to monitor the impact of Hurricane Florence. Officials are starting to see flooding issues in various areas of the county.
Due to continued rainfall, the following determinations have been made:
The county has designated the new Riverheads Elementary School as an emergency shelter site. The shelter will be opening at noon today. The official shelter is equipped with the resources needed for an extended stay.
Citizens that consider utilizing a shelter will need to bring the following items: sleeping bags, blankets and pillows; towels; personal hygiene items; baby formula; diapers; medications; and phone chargers.
-- Monique Calello SOIL TESTING SCHEDULED FOR SITE OF NEW SOMERS MIDDLE SCHOOL-- Daily Inter Lake Montana: September 15, 2018 [ abstract] Geotechnical engineers will return to Somers Middle School next week to take additional soil samples of the site before new design plans are finalized. The goal is to start construction in spring 2019.
“We’re just drilling to confirm what we think is there,” said Joshua Smith of Slopeside Engineering.
Construction was set to begin this spring on a $15.8 million addition and renovation to the existing building, but was stopped before it began when soil reports revealed a worst-case scenario: wet, loose, sandy soil susceptible to soil liquefaction — when soil behaves like a liquid, typically during an earthquake. Soil liquefaction causes settling, and, in the case of the original construction plans, the potential for differential — uneven settling that usually leads to structural damage.
Architects returned to the drawing board. L’Heureux Page Werner Architect Max Grebe said that, according to modern building codes, the school needed to be designed and constructed to withstand a 6.0 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter a little more than six miles away.
Smith anticipated finding a soil composition similar to the one which halted construction. However, he said that such risky soil composition might not be as close to the surface, and that the surface of the relocated school site is more uniform.
“We don’t have as much differential settlement to deal with, however, we still anticipate hitting liquefiable soil. I think mitigation measures will be necessary,” Smith said. He predicted these measures wouldn’t be cost prohibitive, like the original plans.
-- HILARY MATHESON Brookville Middle School to get new HVAC system, high school repairs continue-- The News & Advance Virginia: September 12, 2018 [ abstract]
RUSTBURG —The Campbell County School Board has unanimously approved plans from Southern Air for a new HVAC system for Brookville Middle School.
Brookville Middle currently has a multi-zone HVAC system that was installed when the school was built in 1974.
TJ Morton, senior mechanical design engineer for Southern Air, said the current system is energy inefficient, provides poor indoor air quality management, has old pneumatic controls that are difficult to maintain due to its age and has refrigerant circuits with Freon R-22 — a common refrigerant used in air conditioners that will be phased out across the country by 2020 — or inefficient replacement refrigerants.
“You currently have one of the most energy inefficient systems we’ve ever seen,” Southern Air President Paul Denham told school board members during their meeting Monday.
Southern Air has proposed Campbell County Public Schools invest in a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) with dedicated outdoor air units to provide ventilation air for the school. The system will cost about $3.5 million and may vary slightly depending on the detailed design.
-- Liz Ramos Middle school renovations to address learning environments-- The Daily Nonpareil Iowa: September 09, 2018 [ abstract]
The proposed renovations at Kirn and Wilson Middle Schools would not be done just to fix them up but to reshape the way they operate.
“One of the things we are hoping to accomplish is to really make a transition from junior high to true middle school philosophy,” said Corey Vorthmann, chief academic officer.
Instead of being arranged by departments like a high school, the buildings would be redesigned based on the Association for Middle Level Education guidelines, Vorthmann said. Classes would be grouped according to teams, with each cluster having a nearby common area to help foster more collaboration among teachers and students. That would give students a “shared identity” and opportunities to work together on interdisciplinary projects. That would align with International Baccalaureate goals.
“They’re with the same group of students,” Superintendent Vickie Murillo said. “There is a certain set of teachers that get to know them as individuals.”
“Right now, the way the buildings are set up, students may have seventh-grade social studies on one floor and seventh-grade language arts on another,” Vorthmann said.
The two-story addition planned for Kirn would be used for eighth-grade classrooms, he said.
-- Tim Johnson Urbana set to open new elementary and junior high school-- Springfield News-Sun Ohio: September 09, 2018 [ abstract] Urbana students will walk into a new $37 million elementary and junior high building this week.
The district will open the building on U.S. 68 between Campground Road and Pearce Place across the street from the Champaign County Community Building Tuesday. It’s the second building the district has opened in a year. It opened the new high school building in April.
The two projects cost a combined $68 million and are the result of taxpayers passing a $31 million bond issue in November 2014.
“The community stepped up,” Urbana Superintendent Charles Thiel said. “Thirty-one million dollars over 28 years is the term of the bond. We wanted to be good stewards of the money, good stewards of the design of the buildings. We wanted to get quality as we went through the projects. Having the ability to collaborate and not have some of the physical barriers I believe it is going to be beneficial for the kids.”
Urbana previously had been operating in some of the oldest school buildings in Ohio, with some parts of the old high school more than 100 years old.
-- Parker Perry Community invited to share opinions about future of Lee’s Summit R-7 school facilities-- The Kansas City Star Missouri: September 06, 2018 [ abstract] Throughout this school year, Lee’s Summit School District officials are developing a plan to address school facility needs for both new and older schools. The process emphasizes community engagement, with students, staff members and citizens invited to share their opinions by attending meetings, completing surveys and providing input via social media.
Known as the Comprehensive Facility Master Plan, the document’s purpose is to “envision how physical space can be designed to support instructional needs, to transform learning opportunities and to help build productive citizens who are competitive in a changing workforce and economy,” said Emily Miller, the district’s assistant superintendent of operational services.
The school district is among the largest in the Kansas City metropolitan area, with enrollment continuing to increase. The district’s 28 schools currently house approximately 18,033 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, up from 17,630 in 2013-’14. By 2023, the district’s enrollment is projected to be at 19,040.
Citizens may share their thoughts throughout the fall by participating in three online surveys, attending a series of engagement meetings and by using #R7FutureReady within social media. Questions about the process and feedback may also be submitted at https://contact.lsr7.org/cfmp.
-- JANICE PHELAN See-through schools spark interest in learning-- Daily Journal of Commerce National: August 30, 2018 [ abstract] When it comes to designing successful 21st-century learning environments, studies have shown that daylight-filled spaces improve student learning rates between 7 and 26 percent.
But transparency isn’t limited to access to natural light — it also significantly impacts the user’s experience within. It can impact whole-child awareness, professional development and a stronger school culture in powerful ways.
Hands-on learning
As designers of educational facilities, we are seeing an increasing emphasis on providing students with hands-on learning opportunities and project-based lessons rooted in the real world. This trend arises from the knowledge that curiosity and the desire to learn are hardwired into all people.
To honor this, the role of teachers is shifting from “sage on the stage” to one of guiding students through their learning pathway and helping them hone their skills as life-long learners. This type of educational delivery model encourages students to tinker, test, break and create.
When charged with designing spaces that support a shift towards more hands-on learning opportunities for students, we have found transparency to be one of the most useful tools in our architect’s toolbox.
-- JORDAN KIEL Federal Way school district moves forward on construction project-- Federal Way Mirror Washington: August 16, 2018 [ abstract] The Federal Way school district is moving forward with construction projects this summer to expand and renovate six aging schools.
Approved by voters in Nov. 2017, a school construction bond of $450 million was allocated to Federal Way Public Schools to improve eight total schools, including Thomas Jefferson High School, Totem and Illahee middle schools, and Olympic View, Lake Grove, Mirror Lake, Star Lake and Wildwood elementary schools, as well as improvements for Memorial Stadium.
All of the schools, except for Illahee Middle School and Olympic View Elementary School, are now in phase two of construction, which is the design and planning process.
Two construction groups have been selected by FWPS for these projects. FORMA Construction will take on Mirror Lake, Lake Grove and Wildwood elementary schools. Cornerstone General Contractors Inc. has been selected for Thomas Jefferson High School.
The four remaining school projects will follow the same process in selecting contractors, said school district spokesperson Whitney Chiang.
The community can expect to see construction groundbreaking in spring 2019 for the elementary and middle schools, followed by shovels in the dirt for Thomas Jefferson High School in spring 2020.
-- Olivia Sullivan SOMERS MIDDLE SCHOOL PROJECT CHANGES COURSE AFTER SOIL REPORT-- Daily Inter Lake Montana: August 16, 2018 [ abstract] The Somers Middle School construction project is headed in a different direction months after a soil report showed the structure could be compromised in the event of a major earthquake.
Architect Max Grebe of L’Heureux Page Werner presented the new, two-story plan to administrators and a design oversight committee on Aug. 9.
The new layout incorporates elements of the original plan, but in a tighter, two-story configuration.
“We took all the square footage, pushed it in together and then stacked it into a two-level facility, which gives us a lot of efficiency, and that efficiency is allowing us to stay in the confines of the budget,” Grebe said.
The construction project is funded by a $15.8 million bond issue approved by voters in October 2017 for “... designing, constructing, furnishing, and equipping additions and renovations to Somers Middle School, to include classrooms, a gymnasium, a kitchen and lunchroom, a shop, a science lab, upgrades to the main school office area, building-wide security enhancements, related amenities and improvements at the existing Somers Middle School campus.”
While the square footage of the new design will be reduced, Grebe said there will be just as much “usable space” as there was in the original design.
-- HILARY MATHESON Ivy City residents clash over plans for a historic school building-- Washington Post District of Columbia: August 07, 2018 [ abstract] In Ivy City, the future of a historic former school building has come down to half an acre of “green space.”
That’s how much room will be set aside for something natural in a redevelopment plan for the Crummell School, a registered historic site built more than a century ago in this predominantly African American neighborhood in Northeast Washington.
The plan, designed by Ivy City Partners and chosen by the city after an open call, would transform the 2.5-acre parking lot around the former schoolhouse into mixed-rate townhouses and an industrial plant.
But critics say that it leaves hardly enough room for substantial grassy lawns, or a playground, or a basketball court — a long-running request from area youth — in a treeless area where such facilities are badly needed. So these residents are making a last-ditch appeal to D.C. Council to stop it.
Their fight underscores much bigger questions about land use, gentrification and the future of Crummell, long known as the heart of Ivy City: Should the District use sites like this to provide social services for longtime residents? Or should they be turned over to the private sector to generate jobs, taxes and economic activity? Who gets to decide what happens — and how?
-- Teo Armus 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 Hogsett renovation cost goes up by $1.5M, Part of a trend: Construction prices skyrocketing around the state-- The Advocate-Messenger Kentucky: August 01, 2018 [ abstract] It may cost Danville Schools almost $1.5 million more than previously expected to renovate the Hogsett school.
“It’s an incredible increase,” school board member Steve Becker said. “… For a small district like ours, whether you have the bonding capacity or not, that’s a huge increase.”
Board members approved the low bid for the school renovation project Monday night. Marrilla design and Construction offered to complete the overhaul of the former elementary school for an estimated price tag of $7.57 million. After adding in the architect/engineer fee, which was also higher than initially predicted by more than $100,000, and other bond and construction costs, the total project cost is now projected at $8.88 million.
-- Ben Kleppinger West Springfield considering 4 options ranging from $52M to $71M for Coburn School-- MASS Live Massachusetts: July 25, 2018 [ abstract] WEST SPRINGFIELD - Options for new construction and renovation designs for Phillip G. Coburn Elementary School were presented to the public Tuesday night.
The town is collaborating with the Massachusetts School Building Authority on a feasibility study for possible construction of a new Coburn School at 115 Southworth St. The School Building Authority is a quasi-independent government authority that funds construction and renovation projects for public schools across the commonwealth.
West Springfield Building & Other Facilities Planning & Construction Committee Chairman David J. Partridge; William Cunniff, project director for NV5, the owner's project manager for the Coburn project; and Ryszard Szczypek, of TSKP Studio architects, outlined eight options, which were narrowed to three by the building committee.
The three options, described as Alternative A, E and F, all meet the educational requirement of serving 705 students.
But the School Building Authority directed the group to include a fourth option, Alternative D, which serves 515 students. That option would not include preschool or alternative program students who now attend the Cowing School. Options A, E and F do include those students.
Both the A and F options cost $71.4 million, Alternative E costs $71 million and Alternative D would cost $52.2 million. However, Szczypek said Alternative D would mean Cowing School would also need renovations at an estimated cost of $17.6 million.
Once a preferred option is selected, it will be sent to the School Building Authority for approval and consideration of including the preschool costs in the scope of work. Typically, the state funds projects for kindergarten and up.
-- Hope Tremblay
South Kingstown talks school facility improvements-- The Narragansett Times Rhode Island: July 22, 2018 [ abstract] SOUTH KINGSTOWN — As the school committee moves closer to submitting to the Rhode Island Department of Education its applications for its planned school construction, a series of full-day workshops earlier this week invited students, parents, teachers and school administrators to share more of their thoughts on the future of the town’s school facilities.
Robert Hendriks, managing principal of Educational Legacy Planning Group, explained Wednesday the goal of the workshops was to gather insight for the development of a set of ed spec (education specification) documents for the high school, middle school and elementary schools.
“When this document is created, it will become kind of like the bible for the design,” said Hendriks, who will continue to work with the school district until the school committee adopts its stage two application to RIDE. “It’ll become the touchstone for the whole plan.”
The purpose, he continued, was to identify ideas for designing the schools in ways that will both meet student needs and which will “be sustainable for decades to come.”
The workshops were held Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Hendriks estimated between 25 and 40 community members of all ages came out each day to lend their ideas.
-- KENDRA GRAVELLE An Algorithm Diminished Integration at Boston Schools, a Report Found-- Boston Magazine Massachusetts: July 17, 2018 [ abstract] An MIT-designed algorithm intended to make access to good schools more equal in Boston did not achieve its goal and in fact “diminished integration” in the district, according to a new report from Northeastern’s Boston Area Research Center.
The study, commissioned by Boston Public Schools, analyzed the success of a new “home-based assignment system” approved in 2013 and launched in 2014, which was created to give parents a list of options for elementary and middle schools that took into account where they live and whether the schools were higher- or lower-achieving based on test scores. It sounds OK on paper, but, researchers realized, Boston’s unequal distribution of good schools proved too difficult an obstacle for the computer system to overcome, and it remained likely that sections of the city that are less affluent and where there are larger populations of students of color—including parts of South Boston, Roxbury, Mattapan, and Dorchester—remained disadvantaged, while white and Asian students in wealthier neighborhoods had better access to better schools.
-- Spencer Buell Evanston Preservation Commission votes to make former Foster School building historic landmark-- The Daily Northwestern Illinois: July 16, 2018 [ abstract] The Evanston Preservation Commission passed a motion to support the designation of the former Foster School building as an Evanston landmark during a meeting last week.
The Foster School building, located at 2010 Dewey Ave., housed the only school in the historically-black 5th Ward until it was closed in 1979, after the school district began bussing students to other wards in efforts to eliminate de facto segregation. Residents of the 5th Ward continue to advocate for a neighborhood school in the building.
Northwestern Press Production Manager Dino Robinson submitted the initial application to designate the building a historic landmark. Robinson serves as the founder of Shorefront Legacy Center, an organization that seeks to record and archive the black history of the northern suburbs of Chicago.
“The structure at 2010 Dewey Avenue embodies a sense of community that has stood for over a century in the city of Evanston,” Robinson said.
-- Wilson Chapman Seaside school seeks to use new garden as teaching opportunity-- Monterey Herald California: July 16, 2018 [ abstract] Seaside >> The Martin Luther King, Jr., School of the Arts just became the “greenest” school site in Monterey County now that its latest project is up and flowing.
David Chandler, coordinator of renewable energy and conservation at Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, unveiled a brand new student garden at the school. But, this is no ordinary garden.
Chandler teamed up with DROPS Grant, the Drought Response Outreach Program for Schools, to help build a project designed to increase student awareness of environmental benefits and water resource sustainability.
Planning on the garden began in 2014 and construction was finished in June. So far, MLK has reduced water use by 53 percent and the school has saved a little more than $40,000. Chandler said MPUSD’s water budget would’ve been about $1.4 million instead of $800,000 without the new water conservation program.
“This isn’t just a baby step, it’s a giant step,” Chandler said.
-- Juan Reyes Somers Middle School construction project delayed due to bad soil-- NBC Montana Montana: July 11, 2018 [ abstract] SOMERS, Mont. — Somers taxpayers approved a $15.8 million bond last October to improve Somers Middle School. The plan was to break ground in the summer, but there's been a delay.
The original design planned for the addition and renovation to expand the building south and down a hill, but issues with soil caused them to go in a different direction.
A design committee worked for months on a plan to fit the district and the community’s wants and needs for the renovations.
Soil testing found the ground unstable where they planned to build. The study said the new two-story building would sink up to 18 inches in a seismic event.
Lakeside/Somers School District Superintendent Joe Price said he was told the best soil is on the east side of the school, so now they are looking to expand that direction.
He told NBC Montana the change will likely delay the start of construction to next spring, but they plan to still have the project completed by fall of 2019.
Price said project workers will push back their start dates and redo the design at no extra cost.
-- Mackenzie Dougherty 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 School Facilities: What Do They Really Cost?-- School Planning & Management National: July 01, 2018 [ abstract] Because tight budgets are a fact of life for facility managers, low-priced systems and products may appear extremely attractive. However, those systems and products might have excessive lifetime operational costs, or they might have short usable lives, causing them to be replaced long before necessary. Enter Brett A. Mitchell, EdD. (ABD), director of Facilities Construction and Modernization at San Juan Unified School District (SJUSD), California, and a member of design Build Institute of America. He manages a $2.4-billion capital improvement effort with current bond authorization of $1.2 billion in this district of 88 school sites spread across nearly 80 square miles serving nearly 50,000 K-12 students. SPM recently spoke with him about lifecycle costs and how to get the most bang for your facilities buck.
SPM: Why must lifecycle costs be taken into account on a school construction or retrofit project?
Mitchell: As facility managers, we have a fiduciary responsibility to our districts, with the resources we’ve been given, and it’s incumbent upon us to make sure we’re modernizing and/or building schools in the most efficient manner possible. That doesn’t mean building cheap schools. It means building as inexpensively as possible while considering the ongoing expense of what you’re building. For example, I can purchase inexpensive carpeting and save money on the initial installation, but it’ll end up being replaced soon—too soon. Paint is another example. I can use inexpensive paint, but I’ll have to repaint every year. We have to consider not only the material cost, but also the labor cost. In these examples, I’m not being fiscally prudent or responsible to the community that has entrusted me to spend its investment wisely.
-- Ellen Kollie Can school design help prevent school shootings?-- The Economist National: June 28, 2018 [ abstract] “IT IS called a lockdown drill,” says Max, a nine-year-old pupil at a private school on the North side. “One teacher pretends to be an intruder. We have to hide in classroom, turn over our desks and hide behind them. We have to lock the door, barricade all the heavy stuff in front of the door and take a book or a ruler so we can throw it at the intruder if he comes in. We have to be super quiet. If someone says it is safe to come out we cannot do that, because it could be the intruder. We have to wait for the principal to come knocking on the door to tell us it is safe to come out.”
This year has already seen the murder in February of 17 at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which had regularly held lockdown drills for years. On May 18th a student at Santa Fe High School in Texas killed ten of his peers and wounded 13 with a shotgun and a revolver. In the days after the Santa Fe massacre Dan Patrick, the Republican lieutenant-governor of Texas, made two suggestions. One was to echo President Donald Trump’s call to arm teachers with concealed weapons (many teachers abhor the idea of being armed). The other way he suggested to make schools safer was by reducing the number of entrances to one or two (how children might flee such a place was not apparently a major consideration).
-- Staff Author Petition Demands Future Greenpoint School Be Built Away From Nearby Toxic Site, Public Meeting Planned-- Green Point Post New York: June 27, 2018 [ abstract] A local activist group is fighting to change the location of a future public school currently set to be built near a toxic waste site in Greenpoint in a new petition.
The proposed 640-seat school, serving students from pre-kindergarten to the eighth grade, is part of the ongoing Greenpoint Landing development, the massive multi-building project put forth by the Park Tower Group and spanning several blocks along the north-west portion of the neighborhood’s waterfront.
The school’s future location has been pegged at the southwest corner of Dupont and Franklin Streets, one block away from the former NuHart Plastics plant at 280 Franklin St—a New York State-designated superfund site.
-- Nathaly Pesantez School construction opens doors for local businesses-- Fremont News Messenger Ohio: June 21, 2018 [ abstract] FREMONT - A coming influx of workers to build five new schools in Fremont will bring with them an array of opportunities for local businesses.
Fremont City Schools' officials and representatives from Gilbane and Mosser Construction will discuss those opportunities at a community outreach and business participation meeting set for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Terra State Community College's Neeley Center
FCS Superintendent Jon Detwiler said the meeting is an effort to alert local businesses to contractors' needs for a variety of services while they work on the new buildings.
Those services could include food, lodging, massage therapy, and recreation.
Detwiler said he's heard estimates of 1,500 workers — including general laborers, plumbers. electricians, masons and others — coming to Fremont over the duration of construction.
Groundbreaking on the four elementary schools and one high school is scheduled for 2019, with the buildings tentatively scheduled to open in August 2021.
Detwiler said he's already heard feedback from some professionals who visited Fremont during the buildings' design phase about dining out in the city.
-- Daniel Carson D.C. Mayor Kicks Off Renovations at Historic School-- The Washington Informer District of Columbia: June 18, 2018 [ abstract] D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser celebrated Monday the start of renovations to transform the historic Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School in Ward 2 into a D.C. Public Schools Early Childhood Education Center that will offer pre-K3 and -K4 classes and a child care center for infants and toddlers.
An adjacent parcel — the soon-to-be Stevens Place — will feature a new 190,000-square-foot commercial office building with underground parking.
“With this project, we’re delivering on our commitment to expand access to early child care,” said Bowser, who was joined at the groundbreaking by several local school, community and political officials. “Together, we are giving new life to an important historic landmark, moving forward a long-stalled project, and creating a much-needed resource for our community.”
As one of the District’s first public schools built for the education of African-American children, Stevens School, designated as a national historic landmark in 2001 — has played a significant role in the District’s past. Constructed in 1868, the school was named after Thaddeus Stevens, a Pennsylvania Congressman and abolitionist. The building will reopen for the 2020-2021 school year.
-- Staff Author 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 Mount Greylock Regional School thinking inside the box - for pending move-- The Berkshire Eagle Massachusetts: June 16, 2018 [ abstract] WILLIAMSTOWN — After years of debate, public ballots, planning, design and construction, the school community will begin moving into the new Mount Greylock Regional School on Friday.
According to Principal Mary MacDonald, teachers and staff have sorted through their files and equipment, packing only that which will be needed.
By noon Friday, all packing has to be complete and ready to move into the new space.
"We have to be all out by July 1 so abatement can begin," MacDonald said. "So we'll have about a week."
The structure doesn't officially open until late August, when the teachers will be able to go in and set up their classrooms for the start of school a few weeks later.
Tours for the public will come in late September or October.
After everything has been moved out of the old space, abatement will begin, followed in a few weeks by demolition of the unneeded spaces.
In preparation for construction, the first stage of abatement and demolition started in July 2016. Construction of the classroom wing began in February 2017. A complete renovation of the gymnasium and locker rooms began in April 2017.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority is contributing $33.2 million in state money toward the cost of the $64.8 million building project. The local share of the cost is $31.5 million to $35.3 million.
-- Scott Stafford Elk Grove High School earns LEED certification for green practices-- Daily Herald Illinois: June 15, 2018 [ abstract] Elk Grove High School has become one of the select few schools in the state to attain a noted environmental certification for its green operations and maintenance practices.
The school was awarded the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Silver level certification for its building energy use -- measuring everything from its electricity to water over a two-year period -- and processes and procedures put in place to reduce the building's environmental impact.
"For the operations and maintenance department, this award is on par with the Blue Ribbon award for the instructional side," said Ted Birren, director of operations for Northwest Suburban High School District 214, who shared news of the designation at a school board meeting Thursday.
-- Christopher Placek What It's Like To Design And Build A High School During The #NeverAgain Movement-- NPR Wisconsin: June 06, 2018 [ abstract] What is it like to design and build a new high school during the #NeverAgain movement? NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks to Dean Gorrell, superintendent in Verona, Wis., about how his team had to rethink the building of their high school after Parkland.
-- Mary Louise Kelly School board votes against renovations for Lansdowne High, sets eyes on replacement-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: May 09, 2018 [ abstract]
The Baltimore County Board of Education voted Tuesday night to re-designate funds for renovation of Lansdowne High School toward construction of a new school.
In its 8-3 vote, the board is asking that the renovation money " $60 million in two phases " be put toward a new Lansdowne High School, although the vote means the process of acting on a new building, which could cost more than $100 million, will have to begin anew.
-- Cody Boteler Santa Rosa Schools unveil plan for new $37 million K-8 school-- Pensacola News Journal Florida: April 19, 2018 [ abstract] After receiving school board approval on a first-phase design for a kindergarten through eighth-grade school in Navarre, the next step for Santa Rosa County School District is for the state to review plans for the estimated $37.3 million building.
The two-story, 160,000-square foot school is slated for construction on 42 acres on Elkhart Drive, south of East Bay Boulevard and near the Holley by the Sea neighborhood.
-- Anne Delaney West Side school set for a renovation-- Albuquerque Journal New Mexico: April 16, 2018 [ abstract] The recently approved designs for a local elementary school aren’t just about aesthetics and functionality.
The plans for Mary Ann Binford Elementary School are also focused on eliminating vulnerability at the school.
The proposal was unanimously approved by the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education last week
-- Shelby Perea Editorial: Athol, Royalston ace their elementary school construction project-- Athol Daily News Massachusetts: April 14, 2018 [ abstract] While it’s been in use for more than a year now, the Athol Community Elementary School is still collecting accolades. You could say it just aced an architectural design review.
Athol-Royalston Regional School District’s newest school just received a top achievement award from the Collaborative for High Performance Schools.
Architect picked for Bozeman High’s $25 million renovation-- Bozeman Daily Chronicle Montana: April 10, 2018 [ abstract] The School Board agreed Monday to select the same architecture firm that designed Bozeman’s second high school to design the $25 million renovation of the original Bozeman High School.
Trustees voted 7-0 to hire CTA Architects Engineers, which designed the $93 million new high school that just broke ground in northwest Bozeman. The other firm competing for the job, Comma-Q Architecture, designed the last major renovation of Bozeman High School in 2010.
-- Gail Schontzler Seneca County supervisors expected to debate facilities master plan Tuesday-- Fingler Lake Times New York: April 09, 2018 [ abstract] A topic likely to generate a lively debate at Tuesday’s Seneca County Board of Supervisors meeting is related to the county’s facilities master plan.
The stage for a debate was set at the March 27 Public Works Committee meeting. After much discussion that night, the panel voted 3-1 " with one abstention " to accept a proposal from Rochester-based Passero Associates for final the design and engineering work related to Phases 2a and 2b of the facilities master plan.
-- David L. Shaw Hinsdale Central School District moving along with design phase of capital project-- Olean Times Herald New York: April 08, 2018 [ abstract] Nearly six months after residents approved a plan to more than double the the Hinsdale Central School District’s footprint, Superintendent Larry Ljungberg said it may not look like the capital project has progressed much.
But behind the scenes, Ljungberg said, district officials and architects are working hard on the design phase of the project. Sketches are being brought to the district’s Board of Education, visits to other local districts with similar upgrades have been planned and one aspect of the project was recently approved by a key state agency.
-- Tom Dinki America’s Deathtrap Schools-- The New York Times National: April 07, 2018 [ abstract] Every weekday during the academic year, more than 50 million children across the United States enter public school buildings. Many of these buildings are so dilapidated and poorly designed that children’s health and safety are at risk.
-- Lori Peek El Paso High School to get $20 million in improvements, architectural historic survey-- El Paso Times Texas: April 04, 2018 [ abstract] The El Paso Independent School District will pay $456,200 to a firm to conduct an architectural historic survey of El Paso High School, the district's oldest school.
Trustees unanimously approved the lump payment to Nine Degrees Architecture & design, a firm based in Sunland Park, during a board meeting Feb. 20. Nine Degrees will consult with Gensler, an architecture firm based in San Francisco, on the project.
-- Sara Sanchez Letter: What the school building committee learned-- The Local News Massachusetts: April 03, 2018 [ abstract] In December 2015, the school building committee (SBC) and our architectural design team from Perkins Eastman started the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) process to assess the facility conditions at the Doyon and Winthrop Schools, and to determine if the facilities properly support the current educational plan.
As part of the MSBA process, the architect and their design and engineering consultants performed existing condition studies of the Doyon and Winthrop Schools.
During this process, we learned that the general classrooms are 10 percent to 20 percent below MSBA standards for room size.
-- Mitchell H. Lowe Can ‘hardening’ our schools keep our kids safe?-- Curbed.com National: March 30, 2018 [ abstract] In the wake of the Parkland shooting and the March for Our Lives movement, the question of school safety has gotten renewed focus. The president’s calls to “harden our schools” has ignited debates about the cost and efficacy of applying design solutions to protect students.
But for architects and designers, what does “hardening” our schools really mean? Is the solution for keeping kids safe fortress-like standards pushed by the NRA?
-- Patrick Sisson Architects compact Capital City High School design-- News Tribune Missouri: March 25, 2018 [ abstract] Pouring of concrete should start in about a month at the site of Capital City High School. But the finished product of Jefferson City's second public high school will look a little different than what was presented in initial renderings.
"The academic area's gone from two stories to three stories to compact the footprint (in order) to reduce excavation costs. The center common areas and the gymnasiums — the competition gym, the auxiliary gym — that hasn't changed," said Cary Gampher, The Architects Alliance principal architect.
-- Phillip Sitter Santa Rosa County plans 4 new schools in 10 years to deal with booming population-- Pensacola News Journal Florida: March 25, 2018 [ abstract] The 12 students in Jami Moore's first-grade class work in a converted reading intervention room that was originally designed for two or three students.
The West Navarre Primary School teacher has made economical use of the bright, rectangular-shaped room. Instead of rows of desks, there's a wide, kid-sized table, a couch, rows of stools under a table built into the wall and bar stools in front of laptop computers lined up on a ledge under the window in the back of the room.
-- Anne Delaney School Board OKs facilities report-- Chronicle Times Iowa: March 23, 2018 [ abstract] The FEH design’s Facility Condition Report was presented Monday nighty to the Cherokee Board of Education by FEH representative Matt Basye.
The 174 page report discussed the condition of each of the three school facilities, Roosevelt Elementary, Cherokee Middle School, and Washington High School.
The report was based on each campus’s architecture, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and special systems, and gave the Board their recommendations. Costs for those items deemed critical for Roosevelt School were on the low end $2,764,942 and on the high end $3,815,098; for the Cherokee Middle School current critical costs were on the low end $176,925 and on the high end $221,650. Washington High School’s critical items would cost on a low end of $4,864,304 and on the high end $6,200,700. Total cost of critical items was $7,806,171 to $10,237,488. The Board approved the report.
-- Mari Bauer School Board Reviews Design, Construction Contract for Stratford School Project-- ARL Now Virginia: March 23, 2018 [ abstract] The Arlington School Board reviewed the design and proposed construction contract for the Stratford School building renovation at its meeting last night (March 22).
In a presentation, Arlington Public Schools staff said that the guaranteed maximum price of the renovation and three-story addition " which will prepare the building to host a new neighborhood middle school as the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program moves to Rosslyn " “exceeded previous estimates by several million dollars.” A vote to approve the revised price ceiling is slated for next month.
-- Bridget Reed Morawski The school bond didn’t pass, so what do we do now?-- Idaho Press Idaho: March 23, 2018 [ abstract] To the no voters: You’ve just elected yourselves representatives to help design the next bond! The problems that prompted the school bond still exist, and Gem County needs your help to solve them. Obviously, your vote matters and is needed to provide safe, quality educational facilities. Don’t be silent with your no! Contact school board members directly, and explicitly say how your no could be a yes on a school bond.
-- Amanda Weers Gering officials break ground on renovation, construction project-- Scottsbluff Star Herald Nebraska: March 19, 2018 [ abstract] Gering High School officials broke ground on the long planned renovation and construction project on Monday, March 19.
A $24 million bond issue passed in March 2017 followed by 12 months of design planning with RB+B Architects of Fort Collins, Colorado.
Students from Lincoln Elementary attended the groundbreaking ceremony as well as school board members and community members
-- Charissa Bryce Elyria Schools set to alter master plan, cut two schools-- The Chronicle Ohio: March 18, 2018 [ abstract] Faced with rising construction costs, Elyria Schools is looking to implement cost-savings changes to its master plan, which lays out how the district will rebuild itself with state and local money in the next few years.
A plan designed to shrink the district’s elementary and middle schools from 11 buildings to five new buildings could now change so the district would have an even smaller footprint across the city. Saturday morning, district officials met to discuss cutting the new elementary and middle schools to three campus-style buildings with one each on the west, east and north ends of town.
-- Lisa Roberson High and middle school construction project on track for 2019-2020 school year opening-- Kitsap Daily News Washington: March 05, 2018 [ abstract] In February 2016, a construction bond measure was passed by Central Kitsap School District voters to officially move forward plans to rebuild Central Kitsap High School and Middle School.
The two share a campus; the high school was originally built in 1942 and the middle school was added in 1959. In the 2019-2020 school year, students of both are expected to attend class in new school buildings.
After months of designing and planning, the construction officially started Sept. 8, 2017. Since then, work has started, primarily on the building foundations and masonry for the gym. So far, the project seems on track for the middle school to open spring 2019. The high school is scheduled to open in the fall of 2019, in time for the 2019-2020 school year.
-- Michelle Beahm Tri-Valley seeking $15 million to remodel high school-- WJBC Illinois: March 03, 2018 [ abstract] Tri-Valley is looking to remodel its high school in a multi-million dollar, multi-year project.
The project would remodel the high school’s classrooms, redesign the entry way, remodel the kitchen, and add an auditorium and a multi-purpose gym. If approved later this month, the remodeling would occur during summer breaks, with the goal of being completed by the start of the 2020-2021 school year.
Superintendent David Mouser explained the project has been in the works for some time.
-- Patrick Baron 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 Braintree Town Council to vote on capital plan-- The Patriot Ledger Massachusetts: February 26, 2018 [ abstract] The proposed plan includes energy-conservation measures in schools, repairs to fire headquarters and design funds for a Tri-Town water treatment plant.
-- Fred Hanson School board to review initial design for Lydiksen rebuild-- Pleasanton Weekly California: February 26, 2018 [ abstract] The Pleasanton school board is set to discuss the conceptual design for the Lydiksen Elementary School modernization project Tuesday night.
Staff and Aedi Architects, who were officially approved last fall to design the proposed rebuild, will be presenting this initial design for board discussion and feedback.
No action is expected to be taken this week. Depending on how the board discussion goes Tuesday, the conceptual design could return for possible approval at the March 13 board meeting.
-- Erika Alvero Svigals + Partners’ KidsBuild! Program Brings Students into the Building Process-- School Construction News Connecticut: February 26, 2018 [ abstract] When does a verb phrase become a proper noun? When you’re branding a community outreach process that educates school children about the design, construction and maintenance of their own school buildings. Welcome to KidsBuild! (exclamation mark included!), the brainchild of Svigals + Partners, a full-service architecture, art and planning firm based in New Haven.
Launched in 1995 to support the rebuilding and expansion of the Edgewood Magnet School in the New Haven Public Schools district, KidsBuild! proved an immediate success. “The Edgewood School project experience created a process template that shaped a nearly $2 billion school construction program, and we saw an opportunity in this to expand the involvement of the students themselves,” said Julia McFadden, AIA, an architect and associate principal with Svigals + Partners, in a statement.
-- Daedalus Howell Delays put planned school construction costs over Moses Lake School District's $135.3 million bond-- iFiber One Washington: February 23, 2018 [ abstract] MOSES LAKE " With construction delayed by at least a year, the Moses Lake School District is now faced with the reality that bond plans need to be changed due to increased costs.
Due to a variety of factors " the election lawsuit keeping the district from selling bonds, delays in the state capital budget, the school construction industry - $135.3 million in construction bonds isn’t enough to move forward with current designs for a second high school and a new elementary school, according to Superintendent Josh Meek.
-- Joe Utter Firm readies Sandusky Schools' construction plans-- Sandusky Register Ohio: February 23, 2018 [ abstract] Construction plans for new Sandusky Schools buildings are complete.
Monthly updates about the construction plans are made available with help from Lesko Associates, a Cleveland architecture firm designing the district’s three new buildings. The buildings include the Intermediate school for grades 3-6; Ontario Primary for first and second-grade students; and Hancock Academy for preschool and kindergarten students.
The project’s construction manager, Gilbane-Ozanne, will review the documents and obtain bids from contractors interested in completing the jobs. Officials still plan to begin construction for Ontario Primary and the intermediate school in April. Before those schools are finished, construction for Hancock Academy will start in summer 2019.
-- Caitlin Nearhood Schools rethink building design to protect students from mass shooters-- Market Watch National: February 22, 2018 [ abstract] The mass shooting at a South Florida high school has revived conversations around how to make schools safer for students and teachers alike.
The gunman, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, killed 17 people and injured many more at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Cruz’s attack on his former high school exposed the ways in which certain security measures can fail short.
-- Jacob Passy Tyler ISD set to finalize middle school program redesign and attendance zone changes at Monday meeting-- Tyler Morning Telegraph Texas: February 17, 2018 [ abstract] Major changes are expected to come from Tyler Independent School District’s Monday night board of trustees meeting.
The board will take action on the district’s middle school programs redesign plan and also on zoning changes for both middle schools and high schools, according to the meeting’s posted agenda.
-- Cory McCoy Improvements coming for 8 school buildings-- Farmington Independent Minnesota: February 16, 2018 [ abstract] The School Board approved construction to redesign learning spaces inside five elementary buildings, two middle schools and Farmington High School.
Dan Miller, director of operations, presented a bid proposal and the board approved the total contract of $1,470,000 from JT Egner Construction in Lakeville during the regular Feb. 12 board meeting.
-- Kara Hildreth Burrell School Renovation Gets Preliminary State Approval-- Forborough Patch Massachusetts: February 15, 2018 [ abstract] The Massachusetts School Building Authority likes what they see when it comes to the Burrell Elementary School renovation.
The MSBA approved the preferred schematic design for the school Wednesday, allowing the project to take a step forward.
The renovation will be the first significant work on the school since it was built in 1967. When the work is done, the school will have a new full gym that can be an assembly space, breakout space for small rooms, and a new media center, art and music rooms.
-- Daniel Libon Olympia school levy, Yelm bond deserve vote-- The Olympian Washington: February 10, 2018 [ abstract] Olympia School District voters are being asked in Tuesday’s election to approve a property tax levy for safety and technology upgrades.
The measure is designed to collect $35.4 million over four years starting in 2019. This is a reasonable request and needed to keep students on track for success in an Internet-based 21st century economy.
The replacement levy is much larger than the old one, but due to K-12 school finance changes made by the Legislature voters can approve the levy and still see their school-related property-tax rates drop from 2017 levels.
Bill lets students attend schools in any zone with borrowed address-- Atlanta Journal Constitution Georgia: February 06, 2018 [ abstract] Sometimes, legislation introduced in the Georgia General Assembly serves as political theater, designed to entertain, enrage or emphasize a point. I would put House Bill 788 in the last category.
The bill, which has no chance of passage, would allow parents to cite a friend’s address to enroll their children in a school outside of their district or zone. For example, a student who lives in DeKalb could attend a school in Gwinnett if the parents have friends there willing to lend their legal address.
-- Maureen Downey Charlotte Valley to vote on school plan-- The Daily Star New York: February 02, 2018 [ abstract] Charlotte Valley Central School District will hold a vote Thursday, Feb. 1, for the authorization of two propositions amounting to an $11 million capital project. The vote will take place from noon to 8 p.m. in the school.
Superintendent James Harter designated the first proposition as essential infrastructure renovations including repairs to leaking roofs and upgrading a 60 year-old heating system. Proposition One's renovations total $7.4 million.
State sinks revised Lowell High options-- Lowell Sun Massachusetts: February 02, 2018 [ abstract] BOSTON -- With his first words at Thursday's meeting on a renovated Lowell High School, MSBA Executive Director Jack McCarthy flatly dismissed the five designs the city submitted last week.
"None of these options are acceptable," he said. "They all have a new (swimming) pool in them and I think we've been clear that there's not going to be a new pool in the confines of this project."
-- Todd Feathers School Board OKs $33.8 million bond for June ballot-- Patterson Irrigator California: February 01, 2018 [ abstract] In a unanimous vote during a special meeting on Monday, January 22, the School Board voted to place a proposition for a $33.8 million bond on the ballot in June.
In the accompanying report, school officials said the bond is necessary “in order to take care of our existing school facilities infrastructure. It is designed to increase safety for students and staff, construct new classrooms, modernize existing classrooms, career technical education and address critical maintenance issues such as leaking roofs and plumbing, gas, sewer and electrical systems.
-- Jennifer West Riverdale High to undergo $17 million renovation-- News-Daily Georgia: January 30, 2018 [ abstract] Riverdale High School is set to receive an estimated $17 million facelift.
It will be the second renovation project in two years at the high school. In November, district officials opened the doors to the school’s new $13.3 million competitive gym. It’s the largest in the county, seating 2,300 people.
Architects Manley, Spangler and Smith, who designed the new gym, presented the Clayton County School Board earlier this month with the outline for Phase II renovations and site improvements at the school.
-- Heather Middleton Gering High School construction project still on track for March groundbreaking-- Gering Courier Nebraska: January 25, 2018 [ abstract] Gering Public School’s goal to break ground in March for the high school construction project remains on schedule.
Superintendent Bob Hastings said Thursday that he’s pleased with how the design project has progressed up to this point.
-- Jeff Fielder Fayette County sells school building to city-- Atlanta Journal Constitution Georgia: January 24, 2018 [ abstract] The Fayette County Board of Education has approved the sale of its headquarters building at 210 Stonewall Ave. West in Fayetteville.
The board voted 5-0 on Jan. 22 to sell the 9.77-acre property, which includes the office building as well as the former transportation complex behind it, to the city of Fayetteville for $3.1 million. The board designated the property as surplus and will close on the transaction by March 1.
-- Jill Howard Church Westfield Washington Schools' $90 million construction project: scope, timeline, budget-- Indianapolis Star Indiana: January 22, 2018 [ abstract] Eight months after residents approved a tax increase, Westfield Washington Schools is preparing to begin the promised sweeping expansion and renovation of three schools.
The months after the referendum vote were spent finalizing design plans and running through the legal steps required to take out the approved $90 million in bonds.
Construction will start as soon as April. Here's what you need to know:
-- Emma Kate Fittes Here’s the latest on Moore Elementary School renovation progress in Cy-Fair ISD-- Community Impact Newspaper Texas: January 19, 2018 [ abstract] After Hurricane Harvey devastated the Moore Elementary School campus at 13734 Lakewood Forest Drive, Houston, Cy-Fair ISD officials were forced to close the campus for renovations during the 2017-18 academic year.
The full renovation project is estimated to cost $12-$14 million, and the facility is expected to open in time for the fall 2018 semester.
Dan Grosz, director of design and facilities planning, provided an update on the project’s progress at a Jan. 18 board of trustees work session.
-- Danica Smithwick School opened 18 months ago. It already needs $138,353 in portable classrooms.-- Lexington Herald Leader Kentucky: January 11, 2018 [ abstract] Opened in 2016, Garrett Morgan Elementary is one of the newest public schools in Fayette County.
But already school board members are being asked to spend $138,353 for portable classroom units " a total of four classrooms " due to overcrowding for the 2018-19 school year. The design of the installation requires both an architect and engineer, board documents said.
The school on Passage Mound Way near Polo Club Boulevard was built for 650 students.
-- Valarie Honeycutt Spears 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 St. Henry boosters raise $1M for facility
-- The Daily Standard Ohio: January 09, 2018 [ abstract] ST. HENRY - The St. Henry Booster Club so far has raised about $1 million for a proposed new athletic building and members expect more donations to help reach the $1.5 million goal.
Booster Club member Eric Huelskamp said the current building design by Garmann Miller & Associates would place the facility in the lot east of the high school. The roughly 19,400-square-foot building is designed for athletic, school and community use and includes a weight room and two basketball courts.
-- Sydney Albert Gering High School renovations beginning soon-- Scottsbluff Star Herald Nebraska: January 04, 2018 [ abstract] Gering and Scottsbluff High Schools are both in the process of renovations to their respective campuses. Today's article looks at Gering High School's remodel, tomorrow we will look at Scottsbluff High School's.
Work will soon begin on a renovation of the Gering High School that will bring the Freshman Academy to the high school along with many other changes.
â€"In March of 2017 our patrons passed a $24 million bond issue that is designed for us to be able to add enough room at the high school to bring our freshmen to the high school,†Gering Superintendent Bob Hasting said.
-- Charissa Bryce Camden looks ahead to new high school-- Daily Advance North Carolina: December 31, 2017 [ abstract] CAMDEN " Planning for the construction of a long-awaited new high school will top the agenda for the Camden County Schools in 2018.
Camden Board of Education Chairman Christian Overton said Friday that the school board should get a report from the architect, HBA Architecture and Interior design Inc. of Virginia Beach, Va., early in the new year.
Once the board has the initial information from the architect, school officials plan to establish a committee of school staff and community members to begin working with the architect on the design for the new school, Overton said.
-- Reggie Ponder Ryan Middle School showcases renovation improvemen-- WebCenter 11 Alaska: December 28, 2017 [ abstract] FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Heather Stewart; Principal, Ryan Middle School >> "I'll start here with the front office. The office was designed this way so that after students come in and our day starts, all traffic has to come through this area. All other exterior doors are locked and those double doors there are locked and we did that intentionally so that the secretaries and the adults could screen anybody coming into our building.
And so this is the common area. The common area we use for breakfast and lunch. We also use it for socials. The beautiful northern lights wall is our library and again the doors open up into the common area so that students can work out here in the common area as well as in the library.
-- Julia Laude New Fuller School project estimates: $89M to $125M-- Daily News Massachusetts: December 27, 2017 [ abstract] FRAMINGHAM " School officials will decide within the next two months whether to renovate or rebuild Fuller Middle School, with the latest cost estimates for the project topping $88 million.
The School Building Committee last week voted to advance five designs into the next round of study, with a decision about its preferred choice slated for February 2018.
While the group has yet to pick a favorite, building an entirely new facility with a smaller footprint on the Fuller School’s Flagg Drive campus is emerging as the most advantageous option.
-- Jim Haddadin School communities to have more say in new facility designs-- Austin Monitor Texas: December 19, 2017 [ abstract] Following an intensive community engagement process in the drafting of the 2017 bond package, Austin Independent School District staff informed the board of trustees at its Dec. 11 work session that the designs of the new facilities will continue in that spirit by prioritizing the inclusion of school communities in the implementation of the Facility Master Plan Update.
The $1.1 billion bond package was approved by voters on Nov. 7, providing the necessary funds for the district to build new facilities and modernize existing ones. Up-to-date technology and infrastructure will not be the only way these schools will be renovated. The design of classrooms and buildings themselves, Director of Planning Services Beth Wilson said at the meeting, will better reflect 21st-century learning principles, health and safety, and sustainability.
-- Joseph Catherine Seaside School District ‘fine-tunes’ building plans-- Daily Astorian Oregon: December 19, 2017 [ abstract] “A work in progress,” is how Seaside School District Superintendent Sheila Roley referred to campus design plans delivered by BRIC Architecture Inc. this week. The project’s first schematics and drawings include interior renderings of the elementary, middle and high school campuses and maps of playing fields and outdoor spaces.
“Everything is still a work in progress,” Roley said. “We are in rapid fine-tuning.”
The building footprint is unlikely to change, but “tweaks” are likely to be delivered periodically, Roley added. “We have a challenging building site, so we are maximizing the areas with the least slope. Most of the work now is focused on refining the interior configuration of the building to meet instructional needs.”
-- RJ Marx Interactive mobile lab brings STEM activities to D.C. students-- WJLA District of Columbia: December 18, 2017 [ abstract] WASHINGTON (ABC7) — Eighth graders at Brightwood Education Campus in Northwest are about to embark on a mission to Mars.
"They're going to be designing their own Mars rovers, learning how to take those Mars rovers out into the field and basically gather evidence, change their wheels," Brian Gaines of Verizon Innovative Learning said.
-- Kellye Lynn Schematic offers first glimpse of design for Worcester’s new $215M South High School-- Telegram Massachusetts: December 11, 2017 [ abstract] WORCESTER " A recently completed schematic design for the planned new South High Community School provides a first glimpse of what the sprawling project will look like.
School officials also revealed an updated budget estimate for the project: $215 million, which is higher than the preliminary cost projections included in an earlier feasibility study.
Along with renderings of the rebuilt high school, the design includes a layout of the building and surrounding campus, to be located in the same area as the existing South High at 170 Apricot St., as well as a list of programs that could be housed there.
-- Scott O'Connell New Easthampton school construction would eliminate newly-rebuilt football field; build new field in different location-- Mass Live.com Massachusetts: December 05, 2017 [ abstract] EASTHAMPTON -- The Easthampton Eagles football team may have to make some adjustments if a new, consolidated school is approved and constructed.
The School Building Committee Tuesday night approved a design concept that requires moving the newly-rebuilt football field at White Brook Middle School. Building a new field in a different location would enable a better building design to serve pre-kindergarten through eighth grade students, said architect Bert Gardner.
-- Mary C. Serreze Now on Oracle’s Campus, a $43 Million Public High School-- New York Times California: December 03, 2017 [ abstract] REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. " Tech companies ship all kinds of products to public schools: laptops, online writing programs, learn-to-code lessons and more.
Now Oracle, the business software services giant, is trying the opposite tack: bringing a public charter school to the company.
At its lush campus with a man-made lake here, Oracle is putting the finishing touches on a $43 million building that will house design Tech High School, an existing charter school with 550 students. The sleek new school building has a two-story workshop space, called the design Realization Garage, where students can create product prototypes. It has nooks in the hallways to foster student collaboration.
-- Natasha Singer Hamilton schools studying future facilities, with option of tearing down historic auditorium-- Herald-Whig Illinois: December 01, 2017 [ abstract] HAMILTON, Ill. -- The Hamilton School District's focus on the future could jeopardize a significant piece of its past.
The School Board is looking at options to create 21st-century learning environments for students that support collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking in facilities that are safe and secure, designed for technology, flexible, and student-centered.
One option calls for building an addition to the elementary school and converting it to serve kindergarten through eighth grade, making health life-safety and 21st-century updates at the high school, and demolishing the high school's Safford Auditorium at an estimated cost of $12 million.
-- Deborah Gertz Husar 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 Easton voters fund $1M school building study-- Wicked Local Easton Massachusetts: November 14, 2017 [ abstract] Easton will begin a feasibility study of the Center Elementary School and the district’s preschool to second-grade population thanks to Town Meeting voters.
More than 100 voters gave the go-ahead Monday night, Nov. 13, to appropriate $1 million for the study.
A feasibility study and schematic design is the next step towards obtaining state funds from the Massachusetts School Building Authority to renovate Center School or possibly build a new school serving all the districts students from pre-kindergarten to second grade. The state could cover 40 to 60 percent of the cost of such a project.
-- Donna Whitehead Check out Wiseburn’s new, $160 million ‘hyper-adaptable’ high school-- Daily Breeze California: November 06, 2017 [ abstract] After more than two years of construction, an ambition going back decades to create a high school within the boundaries of the Wiseburn Unified School District will become a reality in coming days with the opening of the state-of-the-art, $160 million Wiseburn High School.
Last week, administrative staff from Wiseburn Unified and Da Vinci charter schools moved into their new headquarters on the bottom floor the four-story, repurposed office building at 201. N. Douglas St. in east El Segundo.
Some 1,350 Da Vinci high school students will settle into modern classrooms Wednesday over three floors in the 210,000-square-foot, futuristic building, where Northrop Grumman once designed fighter jets.
-- Megan Barnes Thaden School Construction is Now Underway-- NWA.com Arkansas: November 03, 2017 [ abstract] BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- - Construction is officially underway for Bentonville's newest independent school.
With the support of the Walton Family Foundation, the school has selected a team of architects to design its 30-acre campus in Downtown Bentonville.
The campus will consist of several buildings, structures, and landscape features that create a varied and innovative learning environment.
-- Scott Brewster Escalating construction costs driving bond issue-- Killeen Daily Herald Texas: October 30, 2017 [ abstract] The price of construction materials continues to increase and Killeen Independent School District Superintendent John Craft wants to be sure everyone knows it may seriously impact future building projects in the district.
At Tuesday’s KISD board of trustees workshop, Craft opened the discussion on the proposed forthcoming bond issue by making note of how such increases affected past projects, and will do so in the future.
He compared the cost of building the new Fowler Elementary School, which opened in 2014, to that of Alice Douse Elementary School. The same basic design was used for each school, but the cost increase, or annual escalation figure, between the two amounted to 11 percent.
-- Julie A. Ferraro Del Mar district looks to approve new facilities master plan-- Del Mar Times North Carolina: September 05, 2017 [ abstract] The Del Mar Union School District (DMUSD) board will soon approve a new facilities master plan, a vision of how the district’s eight schools need to physically change to align with the district’s design 2022 strategic plan and reflect its new mission: “the unrelenting pursuit of an extraordinary school experience.” In March, the district hired OBR Architecture to refresh the existing master plan to reflect the district’s new educational goals.
Once complete, the revised document will include capacity and facility needs, along with a cost analysis. Garrick Oliver and Anney Rosenthal Hall of OBR Architecture, presented the first pieces of the plan to the DMUSD board on Aug. 30 " the board members will hold a public workshop in September and they are expected to approve the completed document at the Sept. 27 board meeting.
-- Karen Billing Perkins Eastman Publishes Study Linking Design to Occupant Satisfactio-- National: September 05, 2017 [ abstract] NEW YORK " Yet another white paper proves that efficient design strategies have a direct correlation with occupant satisfaction and building performance.
“Measuring Up: Using Pre- and Post-Occupancy Evaluation to Assess High-Performance School design” was published Aug. 28 by key designers at architecture firm Perkins Eastman, with offices in New York. The white paper highlights a design research study conducted by Perkins Eastman, using Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School, located in Cambridge, Mass., as a test case. The design team showed that the efficient design strategies used at the school showed a significant and measurable impact on both occupant satisfaction and building performance, according to a statement.
Bethel schools welcome new high school-- My Dayton Daily News Ohio: September 01, 2017 [ abstract] BETHEL TWP., Miami County "
It’s a new day, and a new high school, for the Bethel Local Schools.
The district is welcoming a 73,000-square-foot addition to the school facilities located off Ohio 201.
Superintendent Ginny Potter said the addition is designed to inspire creativity and collaboration, skills she said students need to succeed in today’s world.
-- Nancy Bowman Lowell School Committee sues city over high-school siting
-- Lowell Sun Massachusetts: September 01, 2017 [ abstract] LOWELL -- The School Committee sued the city Thursday, requesting an injunction to prevent any further action being taken toward building the new high school at Cawley Stadium until a judge determines whether the committee has authority over the school's location.
The committee, represented by Lauren Goldberg, of KP Law, argued that the city's Plan E form of government, which is set out in state law, gives the School Committee the power to approve or reject the site selection and designs of school buildings in Lowell. City Solicitor Christine O'Connor has argued that the City Council, which voted 5-4 to relocate the building to Cawley Stadium, has sole discretion over the siting.
Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/todaysheadlines/ci_31267699/lowell-school-committee-sues-city-over-high-school#ixzz4ukeER9L1
-- Todd Feathers Campbell High installs innovative, sustainable sun shade to cool classrooms-- Hawaii News Now Hawaii: June 29, 2017 [ abstract] EWA BEACH, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) -
As a part of a statewide heat-relief initiative, Campbell High School installed an innovative shade canopy Thursday that is as practical as it is pretty.
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The design uses multiple canvases mounted at different angles to direct wind downward while still allowing heat to escape.
The canopy provides shade and promotes circulation for the O Building courtyard and reduces heat retention, ultimately cooling the surrounding classrooms.
-- Lillian Donahue Construction To Begin On $100M Weaver High School Renovation In Hartford-- Hartford Courant Connecticut: June 28, 2017 [ abstract] Construction is set to begin next month on the $100 million renovation of Weaver High School, a long-awaited project in north Hartford that alumni and neighborhood leaders have pushed as a resurgence of the school's deep traditions.
About $16 million has already been spent on design, demolition and other work in the first phase of an overhaul that will eventually feature three school academies in a four-story, 900-student Weaver campus, said Sal Salafia of ARCADIS/O&G, which administers Hartford's school construction program.
-- Vanessa de la Torre School Board Approves 60 Percent Design Plans for Elementary School Projects-- State College.com Pennsylvania: June 27, 2017 [ abstract] The State College Area School Board on Monday approved the 60 percent design plans for renovations and new construction at three of the district's elementary schools.
The vote comes four months after the board approved the 30 percent plans for major renovations and additions at Corl Street and Houserville elementary schools, and the construction of a new school for Houserville Elementary, which will merge with Lemont Elementary to form a single K-5 school. The board voted in November to move forward with updates for each of the schools, which have not had major renovations since the 1960s.
-- Geoff Rushton Mansfield school to welcome butterfly garden next year-- The Sun Chronicle Massachusetts: June 26, 2017 [ abstract] MANSFIELD -- Students at the Jordan Jackson Elementary School may be able to grow some flights of fancy in addition to flowers and vegetables in their school garden next year.
The school committee has endorsed plans for a 120-square-foot "butterfly garden" near the school's existing garden to be planted with vegetation designed to attract Monarch butterflies.
Fifth-grade teachers Lee Tighe and Karen Slarve said the garden, which would be arranged in a crescent shape, would contain milkweed and other plants favored by butterflies.
-- Rick Foster Porterville and Monache buildings on schedule-- The Porterville Recorder California: June 19, 2017 [ abstract] PUSD replacing portables with two-story designs
After the Porterville Unified School District (PUSD) decided on its decision to improve facilities at its Monache and Porterville high school campuses, the replacement of portable classrooms with two-story buildings has begun and is on schedule.
In fact, the work at PHS is actually ahead of schedule after starting early a couple months ago, while Monache is right on time.
-- Liz Juarez School construction projects near completion-- Savannah Morning News Georgia: June 15, 2017 [ abstract] Savannah-Chatham Public Schools officials are finishing up several ESPLOST II school construction projects and moving forward with ESPLOST III.
Several construction projects from the second education sales tax, ESPLOST II, will open in the coming months. The $6.3 million auto lab addition at Woodville Tompkins, the new $30.2 million Juliette Low Elementary, the new $25.2 million May Howard Elementary, and the new $21.2 million Haven Elementary will be completed this summer. The $8.4 million Garrison Performing Arts Center will open in September and the new $24.3 million Spencer Elementary will be completed by the end of 2017. ESPLOST II funded campuses for Brock, Hesse, Hodge, Isle of Hope and Rice Creek Schools have already opened and building addition projects at Coastal, Heard Hubert and Islands is complete. The final ESPLOST II project -a kitchen, cafeteria and media center remodel at Isle of Hope School " is in the design phase.
-- Jenel Few Winslow school building committee presents proposed design for consolidation project-- Central Maine.com Maine: June 15, 2017 [ abstract] WINSLOW " The school administrators and building committee tasked with consolidating the town’s schools gave its first public presentation Thursday evening to 88 residents at the junior high school auditorium.
The consolidation process started in 2012, Superintendent Eric Haley said, when a study committee began looking at the most feasible solution to the inefficiencies and hazards of the junior high school, which was built in 1928.
-- Madeline St. Amour A look at Lucy Beckham High school-- Moultrie News South Carolina: June 13, 2017 [ abstract] The final exterior elevation rendering for Lucy Beckham High School has been unveiled.
According to Anna Dassing, principal of the new school, architectural firm McMillan Pazdan Smith is on phase three of the design phase known as design development. In this phase, they include multiple disciplines to develop the design.
-- Sully Witte Clawson's Schalm Elementary earns top 'green' program designation-- Fox 2 Detroit Michigan: June 09, 2017 [ abstract] CLAWSON, Mich. (WJBK) - From the youngest kids to the oldest, there is one common theme at Schalm Elementary In Clawson: Everyone's thinking green.
"I think it's important to teach kids about the environment and how to treat it and how to be respectful and responsible to our planet," said teacher Marji Oberer.
Lowell School Building Committee postpones Thursday vote-- Lowell Sun Massachusetts: June 06, 2017 [ abstract] LOWELL -- Thursday's School Building Committee meeting to recommend a final design for the new Lowell High School has been postponed until next Tuesday, according to City Councilor Rodney Elliott.
Elliott, who serves on the committee alongside City Councilor Bill Samaras and Mayor Edward Kennedy, told The Sun on Tuesday that City Manager Kevin Murphy told him of the postponement. Murphy could not immediately be reached for comment.
Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_31042086/lowell-school-building-committee-postpones-thursday-vote#ixzz4jQFvCOSi
-- Amaris Castillo School Board set to vote on Rockridge Elementary-- Duluth News Tribune Minnesota: April 11, 2017 [ abstract] The former Rockridge Elementary in Duluth's Lakeside neighborhood moves a step closer to becoming the home of Woodland Hills Academy next week if the Duluth School Board approves a design services contract.
-- Jana Hollingsworth Westport School Building Committee stays with original design-- South Coast Today Massachusetts: April 05, 2017 [ abstract] A week after reviewing an optional model school design for a new combined junior/senior high school, the Westport School Building Committee voted to carry on with development of plans for a custom-designed new school facility on the site of the closed Westport Middle School.
-- Robert Barboza 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 Decatur high school renovations show what’s possible-- State Journal-Register Illinois: March 18, 2017 [ abstract] DECATUR -- As the Springfield School District embarks on a comprehensive plan to update its facilities, renovations to Decatur's two high schools offer a glimpse of what's possible.
MacArthur and Eisenhower high schools were stripped down a few years ago and underwent a combined $84 million in renovations, funded through a 1 percent sales tax increase Macon County voters approved in 2010.
Each school now resembles something found on a college campus — a modern design complete with glass walls that allow for natural light, renovated commons area, contemporary classrooms, new cafeterias, collaboration areas and flexible furnishings.
Or, as school officials put it, the buildings were brought into the 21st century, where education emphasizes technology, student interaction and collaboration.
-- Jason Nevel Letter: TIFS hurt Muncie schools-- Star Press Indiana: March 18, 2017 [ abstract] The dire financial situation facing Muncie Community Schools has been many years in the making. Creative bookkeeping, financial mismanagement and poor decisions without regard to long-term consequences are the primary cause.
But MCS financial crisis is further compounded by tax increment financing, (TIF) Districts, which capture property tax revenue that would otherwise flow to the MCS general fund. I suggest that a superior public school system is the best economic development tool around, and yet TIF Districts are allowed to siphon millions of dollars of property tax revenue from our public schools in the guise of â€"economic development."
Property taxes were designed to provide operating revenue for civil units such as schools and libraries, and for police and fire protection. Property taxes were never meant for economic development. Please consider that the recent 43 percent increase in county taxes included an increase to our economic development income taxes.
TIF Districts were originally intended to be shut down once the original bonds for infrastructure improvements were retired, but TIF Districts have become eternal entities in Muncie and Delaware County. Even when they have captured enough revenue to retire the debt, our officials refuse to close them down.
There is current legislation that allows units of government to return TIF money to local schools, though it's not mandatory.
The mayor stepped in to address the heat problems at East Washington Academy. I encourage Mayor Dennis Tyler and his economic development appointees to â€"save our schools†by returning the TIF money that MCS so desperately needs.
-- V.L. RABENSTEIN Westport School Committee considers ‘model school’ plan for new building-- South Coast Chronicle Massachusetts: March 16, 2017 [ abstract] WESTPORT — The Westport School Building Committee has decided to further investigate a "model school" option for a proposed middle school and high school building on Old County Road as an alternative to the $95 million concept design developed locally over the past nine months.
The decision came at last Wednesday's building committee meeting, during which the panel discussed its March 6 visit to the 4-year-old Longmeadow High School, the model school suggested by the Massachusetts School Building Authority as a lower-priced alternative to the "preferred option" for the school project Westport has submitted to the state agency.
The building committee has scheduled a March 22 meeting with the architectural firm that designed the Longmeadow school to determine if the model school plans could be easily adapted to fit Westport's needs, and get cost estimates for a similar facility to be built on the site currently occupied by the closed Westport Middle School.
The committee's own architect will also be asked to attend that meeting and give his opinions on whether the revised model school plan from Longmeadow would be suitable for the Westport site, and fit the forward-looking education plans developed by school officials for the local committee.
-- Robert Barboza Construction nears for School 16 update-- Rochester City News New York: March 15, 2017 [ abstract] School 16 will transform from a small, wood-frame building to one of the most impressive in the Rochester City School District if all goes according to plans. The architectural planning phase for the school's remodel is mostly complete, says district Chief of Operations Michael Schmidt.
Parents, teachers, and neighbors can now better imagine what the school will look like when the work is finished sometime in 2018. The plans can be viewed on the SW Common Council's website: http://bit.ly/2lxXU9z.
School 16, which is in the southwest quadrant of the city at 321 Post Avenue, is part of the second phase of the $1.2 billion Rochester schools modernization program. Plans for the three-story building show a major addition that will house a new gymnasium and performance stage.
The school's old gymnasium will become a library and the old library space will be converted to classroom space. The building's second floor and balcony area will be redesigned to house additional classroom space.
-- Tim Louis Macaluso 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 A new survey finds education construction activity going strong this year-- Building Design & Construction National: February 26, 2017 [ abstract] More than half of the school districts and colleges responding to a recent survey expect to initiate construction projects in 2017, the majority of which will be major renovations or modernizations.
College Planning & Management, which conducted the survey for its annual “2017 Facilities and Construction Brief,” also found that few school districts or institutions are banking on more funds being made available for future construction projects.
The magazine bases its mostly optimistic projections partly on demographic data that project enrollment of 18 to 24 year olds by degree-granting postsecondary institutions to increase by 13% between 2013 and 2024. Enrollment of 25 to 34 year olds during that period is expected to grow by 17%, and by 10% for enrollees 35 or older.
-- John Caulfield Fishtown Schoolyard To Become Green Space-- CBS 3 Philadelphia Pennsylvania: February 21, 2017 [ abstract] An asphalt schoolyard at the Alexander Adaire School in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia (at Thompson and Palmer Streets), is being transformed into a green space.
Like many older Philadelphia schools, Adaire has impervious surfaces, including its rundown asphalt paving.
Schoolyard concept design by Ian Smith design Group for Friends of Adaire. Rendering by Kirk Fromm. (Courtesy of The Trust for Public Land)
Schoolyard concept design by Ian Smith design Group for Friends of Adaire. Rendering by Kirk Fromm.
(Courtesy of The Trust for Public Land)
The $700,000 infrastructure project includes upgraded play equipment, and climate-smart trees and a rain garden to reduce storm-water runoff.
-- Steve Tawa With Metro in Sight, Loudoun Rethinks School Construction-- LoudounNow Virginia: February 02, 2017 [ abstract] If there’s one thing Loudoun County knows how to do well, it’s school construction.
The school system has built and opened 21 school buildings in the past decade. In 2010, the construction team adopted ready-made prototypes for elementary, middle and high school designs to bring down costs and speed up construction, as it worked to keep pace with unprecedented enrollment growth.
But now, the coming Metro stations brings a push toward urban community designs and school system leaders might have to rethink what a typical Loudoun County school looks like.
As county supervisors plan for what type of homes, retail, office space, and, yes, schools will surround the future Metro stations, they are asking members of the Loudoun County School Board and the schools’ construction department to get ready to think creatively.
“For many reasons modern, town center-style school sites are definitely something we have to consider,” said Supervisor Ron A. Meyer Jr. (R-Broad Run), who represents the part of the county that will include the Loudoun Gateway and Ashburn stations and land near Innovation Center station.
School leaders have described the potential new model as “Metro schools.” The county staff has called them “urban-style schools.” Whatever the term, the idea is for elementary, middle or high school to have several stories and less open space, plus modified designs to allow for some parking and fields.
-- Danielle Nadler 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 De Blasio urges Building Congress to pressure Albany to expand design-build to NYC-- The Real Deal New York: January 23, 2017 [ abstract] Mayor Bill de Blasio urged the New York Building Congress on Monday to put pressure on Albany to expand design-build authority to New York City.
“It’s something we all know will help us get a lot more done more quickly, but we’re going to need your help in Albany,” the mayor said to members at a luncheon at the Pierre on Monday. “There’s a lot of reach in this room. There’s a lot of firepower in this room. We need your voices to be heard in Albany.”
In his latest budget proposal, Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed expanding the project delivery system to more state agencies "but not to those in New York City. design-build typically involves a single contract between a government agency and a design-development team that pledges to complete a project " often a major infrastructure project" on a specific schedule and budget. Cuomo’s long been a big proponent of design-build, which is being used for the redevelopment of the James A. Farley Building, the Jacob K. Javits Center and LaGuardia Airport. New York currently only allows certain state agencies to use design-build, despite its wide use throughout the country. Influential construction firms and legislators from upstate have repeatedly prevented design-build from becoming a reality in New York City.
-- Kathryn Brenzel New city codes for storm shelters won’t affect school district’s 2017 bond issue-- LJWorld.com Kansas: January 18, 2017 [ abstract] New building and construction codes regarding storm shelter safety requirements will have no effect on the Lawrence school district’s upcoming bond issue.
The code amendments, approved Tuesday by the Lawrence City Commission, require storm shelters for any new K-12 educational facilities as well as any existing schools where an addition would increase current square footage by more than 25 percent. This rules out any ongoing projects, including the final renovations being carried out now as part of the district’s 2013 bond issue for elementary schools, as well as the proposed $87 million bond issue slated for a May election that would renovate Lawrence’s secondary schools.
“We’re going to meet the code as it stands, but the code is not requiring us to build any ICC-500 shelters,” said Tony Barron, the district’s director of facilities and operations.
District leaders voiced concern over the new requirements first proposed in early 2016, which incorporated the 2015 editions of the International Code Council (ICC) model construction codes, among other standards. At issue then was the requirement that storm shelters be designed and constructed to withstand winds of up to 250 mph, a mandate in line with standards developed by the ICC in consultation with the National Storm Shelter Association and FEMA.
Although renovations at all 20 Lawrence schools as part of the 2013 bond issue included "hardened space” shelters with steel reinforcements and concrete ceilings, those spaces do not meet international or national FEMA-approved codes for storm shelters, district spokeswoman Julie Boyle told the Journal-World last February.
-- Joanna Hlavacek Arizona Department of Environmental Quality testing water at more than 1,000 schools for lead levels-- abc15 Arizona: January 17, 2017 [ abstract] PHOENIX - Officials have begun testing more than 1,000 schools across the state for possible high levels of lead in the water supply.
According to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, the testing is a proactive measure designed to see if lead levels in the water are at levels that may pose harm to children's health.
The testing is expected to take six months to complete and includes taking a total of 14,000 samples from more than 7,000 buildings across 205 districts.
Lead contamination can happen even when a school's water supplier is in full compliance with regulations designed to keep lead out. Officials said lead might leach into the water from pipes, faucets and water heaters inside the schools themselves.
Water Quality Division Director Trevor Baggiore said problems arising around the nation — for example, the Flint, Michigan water crisis — is pushing them to take action before water problems come to light in our state.
-- Max Walker School building bonanza " but new dollars might not reach poor districts-- Los Angeles Daily News California: December 26, 2016 [ abstract] It’s tough for California voters to say no to more money for school construction. They almost always approve state bond requests, and in November, they passed a $9 billion package that backers promised would help pay for repairs and upgrades needed to preserve students’ access to safe, modern classrooms.
Unlike previous bonds, however, Prop. 51 was placed on the ballot not by elected lawmakers, but by developers looking out for their own interests. Its approval locks in an outdated system that was designed for a time when the student population was growing, and its application process may limit poor districts’ chances of claiming their fair share of the money.
Instead of prioritizing projects for needy communities, the state will dole out these bond proceeds the way it always has: on a first-come, first-served basis. Scores of well-off districts are already in line, and small, impoverished ones have no one in their corner helping them navigate the complicated application process. That means some worthy repair projects may never see a dime.
“Children all across the state are sitting in subpar buildings with leaky roofs and classrooms that can’t support their curriculum,” said Jeff Vincent, who directs UC Berkeley’s Center for Cities and Schools. “Some of those problems may not get fixed anytime soon.”
It’s widely agreed that California needs more money for school facilities, and that the bond will help pay for projects that have languished. But the problem starts with how the funds are divided among projects.
-- Beau Yarbrough Wyoming school closed because of oil well leak won't reopen until fall 2017-- American School and University Wyoming: December 21, 2016 [ abstract] Midwest School in Midwest, Wyo., will remain closed until the 2017-18 school year as engineers and consultants work to mitigate air quality problems caused by a leak from a nearby oil well.
The Casper Star-Tribune reports that more than 150 students from the Midwest School, a K-12 campus in the Natrona County district, will continue to be bused 40 miles south to campuses in Casper while environmental consultants design and build a mitigation system that will pump air away from the school and monitor air quality.
The Midwest School was evacuated in May and subsequently closed after students and staff reported headaches, sore throats and other health problems. A state report said the symptoms were likely caused by the oil well leak. Testing found high levels of carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds in the air.
-- Mike Kennedy Concerns About Cancer-Causing Asbestos Rise Amid Mass. Renovation Boom-- wbur Massachusetts: December 20, 2016 [ abstract] Demolition worker Henry Aguilar stopped short when he saw cracked floor tile glued to the underside of a carpet he was tearing out of an office in downtown Boston.
They were brown and old, signs that they might contain asbestos, a potentially deadly health hazard. The Skinner Demolition employee said he told his supervisor about the tile on the site in September, but was urged not to worry and keep on working.
Aguilar did. He said he also placed some of the tile into a plastic bag for testing, at the request of The Eye and WBUR.
Analysis at a state-accredited lab, ProScience Analytical Services, showed that the tile contained asbestos at levels requiring workers to wear specialized breathing masks to filter out cancer-causing asbestos dust. Yet the Guatemalan immigrant said he wore only a paper mask " protection not designed to keep out dust fibers hundreds of times finer than a strand of hair.
"I wish they told me about it and someone moved it before I did the work," said Aguilar, 32, of Central Falls, Rhode Island. He said he was not trained to remove asbestos.
Two of Aguilar’s fellow workers say they saw him complain to the supervisor. A lawyer for Skinner’s parent company said it is looking into Aguilar’s allegations about the downtown Boston worksite.
$184.4 Million Groton School Construction Plan Lands on State Priority List-- Groton Patch Connecticut: December 19, 2016 [ abstract] GROTON, CT - Groton’s school construction plan made it onto a state priority list Thursday, The Day reported.
The plan has landed on a list of projects forwarded by the state Department of Administrative Services to Gov. Dannel Malloy and the General Assembly, according to The Day. By nature, the list considers the $184.4 million plan a priority.
The placement means the town can now consider hiring an architect to design the schools, The Day reported. Voters approved the plan last month to build one new middle school adjacent to Robert E. Fitch High School and convert two middle schools into renovated elementary schools.
-- RJ Scofield Ballou Senior High School architects sued over design documents-- Washington Business Journal District of Columbia: December 19, 2016 [ abstract] The team behind the $124 million Ballou Senior High School modernization is seeking at least $2 million in damages from the project's architects over claims they delivered incomplete design plans for the Southeast D.C. building.
Chiaramonte-Hess, a joint venture between Chiaramonte Construction Co. and Hess Construction & Engineering Services Inc., said it based its guaranteed maximum price on design documents for the D.C. public school building. But it claims those design documents were "incomplete, uncoordinated and not ready for construction," despite representations to the contrary from the project's architects, according to a lawsuit Chiaramonte-Hess filed Nov. 18 in D.C. Superior Court.
Chiaramonte-Hess sued the architects, a joint venture between Bowie Gridley Architects and Perkins & Will, for breach of contract and for indemnification. It is seeking in excess of $2 million, saying in the suit it was forced to spend more money than expected to make up for lost time due to the incomplete designs.
-- Daniel J. Sernovitz Prince William leaders weigh urban school designs as land grows scarce-- InsideNova Virginia: December 13, 2016 [ abstract] As large parcels of land on the eastern side of Prince William County grow ever more scarce, county leaders are debating the merits of new school designs meant to reflect the area’s increasingly urban character.
Supervisor Frank Principi, D-Woodbridge, hosted a town hall meeting Dec. 8 to help showcase some of the new options the county is considering as it contemplates the construction of elementary schools to alleviate overcrowding.
Though the school division is currently wrapping up construction of a replacement for Kilby Elementary School in Woodbridge and a new elementary school in Dumfries, county leaders believe they need to keep pushing forward with school construction to cut down on the number of students learning in trailers on the county’s eastern end.
“The required 20-acre parcel of land for an elementary school no longer exists in eastern Prince William, and those that are available are quite cost-prohibitive,” Principi said. “Is it time to consider the possibility of an urban school in eastern Prince William? That is the question.”
Specifically, Principi and other county officials are studying the possibility of moving away from the traditional suburban school design that incorporates athletic fields.
Dave Cline, the school division’s associate superintendent for finance and support services, pointed out that fields take up “roughly 30 percent” of the land the county has traditionally pursued for a new school. By eliminating that massive space and embracing facilities with multiple stories, Cline expects the school system could suddenly become much more flexible in constructing new buildings.
-- Alex Koma 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 With taxes down, school construction bonds possible-- Naples Daily News Florida: December 07, 2016 [ abstract] TALLAHASSEE -- State budget forecasters determined Tuesday that tax revenue supporting projects to build and repair schools will drop by 5 percent next year and that bonds may be an alternative.
But after taking on $275 million in debt for school projects this year, House Speaker Richard Corcoran said issuing more bonds for the Public Education Capital Outlay fund for next year's budget would be a last resort.
â€"We haven't ruled it out, but it's not something we're generally inclined to do,†Corcoran said. "Under the current House, we would view bonding as a last resort."
Senate President Joe Negron said he would again agree to take on debt through the fund, aka PECO.
"Cautious, circumspect bonding is appropriate in PECO, and I would expect that this year," Negron said.
Budget forecasters representing the Legislature, the Florida Department of Education and the governor's office agreed during a Tuesday meeting the tax revenue designated for PECO will be $350.1 million. That's $21.1 million less than the $371.2 the forecasters anticipated in August.
-- Arek Sarkissian Bozeman school construction projects are right on track-- Bozeman Daily Chronicle Montana: November 26, 2016 [ abstract] Major construction projects to renovate Hawthorne Elementary School and expand Sacajawea Middle School are “right on track,” says the school building chief.
Todd Swinehart, Bozeman School District facilities director, says he has been very pleased with the team effort by the construction contractors, Dick Anderson and Martel, and the architects, Comma Q and A&E.
“It always complicates things when you’re working in occupied schools,” Swinehart said.
Hawthorne School on North Rouse Avenue, one of Bozeman’s 1939 Fred Willson-designed school buildings, is about 40 percent through its renovation, Swinehart said.
Bonds to pay for both the $5 million Hawthorne and $16 million Sacajawea projects were passed by voters.
Hawthorne’s new two-story classroom wing is rising along Lamme Street. The new wing will replace portable classrooms that were supposed to be temporary but stayed in use for decades. The school will gain one additional classroom.
The principal’s office has been moved to improve oversight of visitors entering the school.
-- Gail Schontzler How Prop. 51 school bond could freeze out poorer districts-- San Francisco Chronicle California: November 26, 2016 [ abstract] It’s tough for California voters to say “no” to more money for school construction. They almost always approve state bond requests, and this month they passed a $9 billion package that backers promised would help pay for repairs and upgrades needed to preserve students’ access to safe, modern classrooms.
Unlike previous bonds, however, Proposition 51 was placed on the ballot not by lawmakers, but by developers looking out for their own interests. Its approval locks in an outdated system that was designed for a time when the student population was growing, and its application process may limit poor districts’ chances of claiming their fair share of the money.
Instead of prioritizing projects for needy communities, the state will dole out these bond proceeds the way it always has: on a first-come, first-served basis. Scores of well-off districts are already in line, and small, impoverished ones have no one in their corner helping them navigate the complicated application process. That means some worthy repair projects may never see a dime.
-- Jessica Calefati, CALmatters Tornado shelters for new schools will be required in Fort Worth-- Stateman Texas: November 24, 2016 [ abstract] FORT WORTH
Building new schools in Fort Worth could become significantly more expensive starting next year, when the city’s building code will likely start requiring storm shelters for students, teachers and staff.
On Dec. 6, the City Council is expected to adopt an updated building code that’s based on the 2015 International Building Code and the Federal Emergency Management Agency recommendation that all new schools with 50 or more students and staff have a designated storm shelter. The new provision will also apply to the city when it builds first responder facilities such as police, fire and emergency operation centers.
The shelter must be able to withstand winds in excess of 250 miles per hour, or an EF-4 rated tornado, according to the code.
-- Sandra Baker Master plan for Quakertown schools construction approved-- WFMZ-TV Pennsylvania: November 11, 2016 [ abstract] QUAKERTOWN, Pa. - A $134 Million plan to renovated and build new schools in the Quakertown Community School District was approved by the school board Thursday evening.
The Architecture Firm Schradergroup presented a high level overview of the “QUAKERTOWN COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Facilities Assessment and District-Wide Facilities Master Plan” Volumes 1 and 2 during the school board meeting. The documents outline plans to renovate or maintain nine of the schools in the district, sell one school, and build two new schools by the year 2029.
The plan provides a timeline of construction with the new elementary school set to break ground in 2017 and be completed by 2021. The cost for design and construction is estimated at $45.5 million.
Tohickon Valley Elementary School will be closed and sold or utilized for other purposes while a new elementary school will be constructed on property owned by the school district off of West Pumping Station Road.
Other major projects on the timeline include the renovation of Neidig Elementary by 2022 for just under $20 million.
Quakertown Elementary will continue to be updated for $13.5 million and completed by 2024. By 2026 Richland Elementary will be renovated for just over $3 million according to the plan.
The last phase of the project will be a new middle school to be built next to the new elementary and is expected to cost $36.5 million.
The master plan contains enrollment projections for the future and predicts enrollment in 2021 to be a total of 4591 with a capacity of 5432, giving the school district’s combined facilities an excess capacity of 841.
-- Ryan Gowing Wisconsin taxpayers approve nearly $804 million in school referenda-- Wisconsin Watchdog Wisconsin: November 09, 2016 [ abstract] MILWAUKEE " Despite conservative gains across the state, Wisconsin voters approved the vast majority of school referenda in Tuesday’s elections.
Of the 67 referendums held by school districts in Wisconsin, only 12 failed.
Overall, Wisconsin voters approved $803.83 million in new borrowing for capital improvements at an average of more than $23,642,000.
Brett Healy, president of the MacIver Institute, a Madison-based free market think tank, said there’s “no rhyme or reason” for the success of so many taxpayer-based ballot questions.
“There is not a set dollar amount where you’re over that amount you’ll fail and if you’re under it you’ll pass. It’s all local,” Healy said.
There are two types of school referenda that may be considered by the voters in Wisconsin. Districts can ask voters to exceed state-imposed revenue caps designed to keep property taxes down. The other ballot question asks voters to approve borrowing by the school district for maintenance and facilities construction.
-- James Wigderson Fairfax County Says Yes to High-Rise Schools-- Reston Now Virginia: November 03, 2016 [ abstract] Fairfax County could start seeing more high-rise schools in the school district in the near future thanks to a vote by local officials this week.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a comprehensive plan amendment that will allow the Planning Commission’s Schools Committee, the School Board and the school district to work together and consider more creative options for designing schools in busy “activity centers.”
The county identifies activity centers as high-commercial, high-development areas such as Reston, Herndon, Bailey’s Crossroads, Tysons Corner, Seven Corners and Richmond Highway.
Those areas generally do not have locations suitable to accommodate schools large enough to keep up with their rate of growth, according to a county report. And even if they do, the areas are often too costly for construction, officials said in the report.
With traffic congestion often high in such areas, locating schools in high-rise buildings closer to public transit could also help solve many headaches, officials said.
“Future schools and education facilities in activity centers will need to be compatible with the higher densities, mix of uses, and pedestrian and transit accessibility found in such areas,” the report says.
-- Jennifer van der Kleut 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 Boston Public Schools envisions future of education and school facilities-- The Bay State Banner Massachusetts: October 12, 2016 [ abstract] School Committee officials have put the spotlight on current and future conditions of Boston Public Schools facilities. At last week’s meeting, BPS officials presented survey findings in which many respondents reported a desire for renovations, more spaces for special education students’ needs and bathroom improvements. Casting an eye to the future, Superintendent Tommy Chang presented a vision of a fluid educational system in which learning is less tied to specific classrooms and buildings and features designs that engender team collaboration.
The presentations also provided an unintentional spot-check on BPS’s abilities to reach and involve stakeholders; many School Committee members critiqued BPS’ Community Engagement survey on current facilities because it brought in a small number of responses compared to the wider school population and because respondents were disproportionately English-speaking white parents.
-- Jule Pattison-Gordon With Bond Approval, Kalispell School District Turning Attention to Construction-- Flathead Beacon Montana: October 10, 2016 [ abstract] Following the passage of the largest combined school bond in history, Kalispell Public Schools now has plenty of work ahead.
With last week’s passage of two bonds totaling $54 million, every school site in town is slated to undergo some form of renovation or expansion over the next few years, including an $18 million investment in Flathead High School.
But first and foremost, the district is expected to turn its attention to building a new elementary school " the first since Edgerton was built in 1987 " as a way to alleviate chronic overcrowding at the existing five sites, which are a combined 225 students over capacity this fall.
“This overcrowding issue is still breathing down our necks. We need to address that as soon as we can,” Christine Hensleigh, community outreach coordinator for the Kalispell school district, said last week.
The school board is expected to iron out a timeline for projects in the coming weeks and months, finalizing designs and putting the construction contracts out for bid.
-- DILLON TABISH What Will Become of a Vacant, Century-Old School in Ivy City?-- Washington City Paper District of Columbia: October 06, 2016 [ abstract] In 1911, more than 25 years before the glassy Hecht Company Warehouse was built on New York Avenue NE, and exactly 100 years before Douglas Development purchased it to turn into chic apartments and yuppie-serving retail, the Alexander Crummell School opened its doors to the District’s African-American students.
Named for an abolitionist and Episcopal priest who founded St. Luke’s Church in Dupont Circle, the school served D.C.’s black children for over half a century. But enrollment plummeted in the 1960s as its home neighborhood, Ivy City, bled industrial and railroad jobs. Crummell eventually closed in 1972. A nonprofit ran community services in the building through the rest of that decade.
The property has remained vacant ever since. Meanwhile, development has crept farther east of Florida Avenue, transforming the area around Union Market. As one example, Hecht now houses upwards of 300 apartments and a 900-spot parking garage. It has a MOM’s Organic Market, a Nike, a Petco, and more.
Yet Crummell’s dead-zone status is set to change in the coming years, bolstering the revitalization of Ivy City. In April, the District released a solicitation for teams to redesign the 108,000-square-foot site, including the sizable lot that surrounds the empty school. Three responded, offering a range of mixed-income housing, commercial activity, and amenities.
-- ANDREW GIAMBRONE Boston school construction project delayed-- Boston Globe Massachusetts: October 01, 2016 [ abstract] The Boston Public Schools is delaying a controversial school construction project, months after receiving state approval to move forward with preliminary schematic designs.
The school system notified the Massachusetts School Building Authority on Thursday of its intent to seek a delay on a new building for the Quincy Upper School, the authority said on Friday. One sticking point with the project had been the slated location for the building, which would involve knocking down an existing school in the South End that serves students with severe emotional needs. Teachers and supporters of that school, the McKinley, oppose their eviction from the site because it has partner organizations in the neighborhood.
The school system also did not identify an alternative location for the McKinley in its plans, creating anxiety for the McKinley community.
-- James Vaznis Gainesville school board again delays decision on naming facilities-- Gainesville Times Georgia: September 19, 2016 [ abstract] Naming school facilities for Gainesville City Schools continues to be a source of dispute " six months after the issue was raised. The Gainesville Board of Education tabled a proposed policy for naming facilities Monday night after objections from board member Sammy Smith.
The board approved a series of policies in the spring, but it delayed action on the naming of facilities and the evaluation of the superintendent.
A policy for the evaluation was unanimously adopted Monday. It calls for the superintendent’s evaluation to be completed by the end of the school year. It also says the board members will provide “informal feedback” at the middle of the year.
The immediate need for a way to name facilities is the construction of a new elementary school in the Mundy Mill subdivision.
The proposed policy Monday called for naming facilities after “geographic locations, streets and/or other landmarks.”
Option 2 on the policy broadened that to “geography, neighborhoods, streets, landmarks, historic events, exceptional personal honor, grade designation or other established purpose.”
-- Ron Bridgeman 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 New Wilde Lake Middle uses 'environment to run the building'-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: September 02, 2016 [ abstract] A construction team led a guided tour of the new Wilde Lake Middle School Friday morning, explaining all the nuts and bolts behind what will be Maryland's first net-zero energy school.
Construction on the $26 million replacement of the old middle school began June 2015. The new school will be larger by nearly 30,000 square feet, providing space for 752 students, compared to 506 students at the old location. With about 75 percent of the construction process complete, the new school is designed to generate as much energy as it uses.
The tour began in front of the old Wilde Lake Middle School building, with Scott Washington, director of school construction for Howard County Public Schools, and construction project manager Gary Davis taking charge. Also joining on the tour was John White, director of communications for Howard County Public Schools.
Walking past construction crews unloading lockers from a truck, Washington said one step toward generating energy will be the solar panels, both on the ground and on the roof of the building.
"It's a 623-kilowatt system," he said. "The panels on the ground generate 200 kilowatts, the ones on the roof 423 kilowatts."
Putting those numbers into perspective, a 100-watt light bulb illuminated for eight hours would use 0.8 kilowatts of energy.
To reduce energy use, the school was designed to make the most use of natural lighting. Inside the building, Washington paused the tour on a staircase lit by the morning sun.
-- Staff Writer School construction becomes big business for Sonoma County designers, builders-- The Press Democrat California: August 28, 2016 [ abstract] This is the era of billions when it comes to quantifying all the construction work in the works at Sonoma County’s public schools and community college.
In recent years county voters have approved more than $1 billion in bonds to finance improvements at local school and college facilities, an unprecedented figure.
It is just the first phase of the funds sought for work that education officials hope one day to complete. Santa Rosa City Schools currently has bond financing for about a fifth of the $1.2 billion of projects in its master plan, and Santa Rosa Junior College has a list of roughly $1 billion in desired upgrades and deferred maintenance.
The efforts follow a significant amount of school construction already completed. The North Bay’s largest design firm, Quattrocchi Kwok Architects in Santa Rosa, counts $1.5 billion worth of education projects that it has designed in Northern California over 30 years in business.
It all adds up to much improved facilities for students and a significant injection of money into the local construction industry, according to school and building officials.
“You’re making an investment in the future of your community,” SRJC President Frank Chong said.
The college, he said, plans in the coming years to upgrade classrooms and construct a new science building to train the next generation of workers in public safety, health care and other fields.
Slightly more than 70,000 students are enrolled in the county’s 40 school districts. Roughly 30,000 more students take classes through the junior college, which has campuses and facilities in five locations.
-- ROBERT DIGITALE USD 259 to complete 17 years of bond projects-- ksn.com Kansas: August 17, 2016 [ abstract] WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) " While kids get ready to head back to school, USD 259 is prepares for a big milestone.
For the first time in more than a decade, all of the district’s bond issue projects will be finished.
The completion of Robinson Middle School this spring will be the end of 17 years of bond project construction.
The bond issue projects were designed to last a long time, according to Wendy Johnson, division director for marketing and communications at Wichita Public Schools.
Some of those projects ranged from entirely new schools, to adding air conditioning and storm shelters to existing buildings.
Johnson says they invested in outlying neighborhoods, like the northeast part of town and the southeast part of town where they saw the most potential for growth.
But they also rebuilt a number of older schools along the I-35 corridor through the central part of Wichita.
The community asked for neighborhood schools and that’s what the district aimed to provide, Johnson said.
-- Molly Brewer City schools to get water hydration stations this fall-- Philly.com Pennsylvania: August 16, 2016 [ abstract] Hydration stations have arrived in the School District of Philadelphia.
The stations - water fountains equipped with filters and separate faucets from which to fill water bottles - will be up and running at 43 schools when classes start next month, school officials announced Monday.
Each school is receiving at least three hydration stations, and plans call for the remainder of the district's more than 170 schools to receive stations by the end of the school year, spokesman Kevin Geary said.
The $1 million initiative is part of the district's recently announced GreenFutures sustainability plan, which is designed to provide a framework to conserve resources, decrease consumption and waste, and create green school settings and healthy indoor environments for students.
-- Mensah M. Dean Declining enrollment numbers play into school facility decision-- thewesterlysun.com Rhode Island: August 13, 2016 [ abstract] WESTERLY " School districts across New England are losing students, and enrollment is projected to continue a downward spiral through 2020.
Westerly is hardly different. Officials here have seen a slow, steady drop across the last several years in the student population, and the dwindling public school enrollment and bleak forecasts make the town a candidate for a reconfigured building plan for its elementary students.
Consultants and experts believe that Westerly, whose population is projected to stay relatively flat, yet age through 2040, can shift from a four-building elementary school model to three.
It’s the crux of the district’s $38.5 million proposed elementary school redesign project that will go before the voters on Nov. 8.
The three-model school project, if voters approve, would result in the closure of State Street and the expansion and renovation of Bradford, Dunn’s Corners and Springbrook schools.
“We’re looking at fewer and newer,” School Committee Chairman David Patten said last year during redesign discussions.
-- Anna Maria Della 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 Rockford to build schools, close schools, better serve students-- rrstar.com Illinois: July 30, 2016 [ abstract] ROCKFORD — Rockford Public Schools plans to spend an estimated $42 million to build two elementary schools in the coming years with a target opening date of August 2018 for both buildings.
The new schools are part of a $250 million, 10-year facilities master plan, and work on the schools is expected to begin in the coming school year. The plan calls for the closing of eight schools — one of which was closed in June — building two schools and making improvements at all of the district's other 38 early childhood, elementary, middle and high school buildings.
Dozens of teachers and administrators have been visiting elementary schools across the state to learn about the latest in school design and provide input for the new schools. Each school will have four classes per grade level. One will be built in near southeast Rockford close to Kishwaukee Elementary School, one of the eight schools targeted for closure. The other will be built in Cherry Valley.
The district's shrinking footprint is part of an overarching plan to provide more services to students, said Superintendent Ehren Jarrett.
Right now, the district has too many shared art, music and physical education teachers as well as social workers, psychologists and speech pathologists because existing schools don't have enough students to justify full-time placements. In schools of 450 to 650 — the district's target population for each school — many more of the district's elementary schools will have their own specialists and full-time staff, Jarrett said, which means less driving time from school to school and other benefits such as more grant dollars.
-- Corina Curry 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 Gwinnett County Schools completes $342M of construction in four years-- Gwinnett Daily Post Georgia: July 26, 2016 [ abstract] Aiming to keep pace with the swelling enrollment across the county, construction projects in Gwinnett County Public Schools are moving at a fast-paced clip.
Chief Operations Officer Danny Jardine last week told the Gwinnett County Board of Education that he was very happy to report that by the start of the upcoming school year, the district will have completed 163 projects in four years that represent $342 million of construction work that fell below the $380 million budget.
“We’re finishing basically within a year early and within budget. There’s a lot of school districts that can’t say this,” Jardine said. “Again, we’re very fortunate to have a team that understands the process, and how to plan and how to manage that plan.”
In his annual oversight report, Jardine reviewed the 2012 building program, and previewed the 2017 version that is funded from Special purpose local option sales tax proceeds.
“In a nutshell, we feel like we’ve had another great year because we have an incredible team that supports the school district,” said Jardine, who was named to this role about three and a half years ago.
The school district has already spent nearly $84 million in planning, design and construction since Gwinnett voters approved SPLOST V in November.
-- Keith Farner Philly community workers making school playgrounds green-- Philly.com Pennsylvania: July 26, 2016 [ abstract] The playground at Jenks Academy for the Arts and Sciences in Chestnut Hill - with its spacious sandbox and chunky wood structures - is a place of imagination, as Eden Kainer describes it.
In a city of cracked asphalt schoolyards, Jenks' playground is a model of green architecture. But in the cash-starved Philadelphia School District, playground equipment and green fields are secondary to more urgent needs - such as replacing fire alarms, hiring nurses, buying books, and repairing decades-old buildings.
That is why six elementary schools in Northwest Philadelphia are taking on the job of greening schoolyards. The schools (Anna B. Day, Eleanor C. Emlen, Charles W. Henry, Henry H. Houston, Jenks Academy for the Arts and Sciences, and Anna L. Lingelbach) are all part of Mount Airy Schools Coalition, a branch of the large nonprofit Mount Airy U.S.A.
Last fall, the schools worked with Philadelphia nonprofits and community members to draft new design plans for playgrounds. And this fall, they will continue collaborating in the hope of raising funds through grant applications to begin smaller-scale renovations such as installing gardens and picnic tables.
-- Vibha Kannan Some Broward schools could get new cafeterias-- Sun Sentinel Florida: July 26, 2016 [ abstract] Some Broward County high schools could get new or remodeled cafeterias as part of a voter-approved program to fix dilapidated schools.
School Board members were debating late Tuesday about whether to make additions to their $2.6 billion, five-year capital budget, which includes projects funded by an $800 million bond approved by county voters in November.
Cafeteria renovations aren't part of the current budget, but district officials plan to ask architects to review the conditions of cafeterias at about 31 schools at the same time they design plans to replace air conditioners and roofs and renovate the facilities.
School board members have been concerned that some cafeterias are too small to serve students, while others are in deteriorating shape. The options could range from installing canopies outdoors to replacing the entire cafeteria.
-- Scott Travis Five school districts sue Pierce County over building restrictions-- The News Tribune Washington: July 22, 2016 [ abstract] Five school districts have sued the county over land use decisions that the districts contend will limit their ability to serve students in burgeoning suburban areas of unincorporated Pierce County.
The districts also charge that county rules are limiting certain special programs located in rural areas that attract students from cities and towns.
The lawsuit was filed in Pierce County Superior Court Thursday by the Bethel, Eatonville, Franklin Pierce, Sumner and Tacoma school districts.
The districts contend that a recent county ordinance would prohibit building new schools and forbid expansion of existing school facilities in county-designated rural areas " if those facilities also house students from urban areas. They say the ordinance interferes with the legal duties of school districts to build schools and determine instructional programs.
Pierce County spokeswoman Libby Catalinich said county officials could not comment Friday. She said County Council members and County Executive Pat McCarthy were reviewing the legal issues with county attorneys.
-- DEBBIE CAFAZZO Arlington: Parents Decry Speed of Site Decision-- The Connection Virginia: July 20, 2016 [ abstract] Just two weeks after Arlington County announced that it was planning on placing a temporary fire station on the future Wilson School site, the County Board unanimously voted to move forward with an agreement that would allow the fire station to occupy nearly half of the field space at the Wilson site until at least 2020.
#According to the staff report, a two-phase construction of Rosslyn properties would add costs that make the project financially untenable. Given that the construction would demolish the existing Fire Station 10 at 1559 Wilson Boulevard before the new station would be built at the adjacent County-owned property, the county would need to construct a temporary fire station in the area. Of the nine sites considered, only the Wilson School site, the Rhodeside Green Park and the Holiday Inn site were publicly owned, within the appropriate General Land Use Plan designation, and within adequate response times to the call coverage area. The Holiday Inn site was deemed inadequately sized with problematic topography, leaving just the Wilson School site and Rhodeside Green Park.
#The designation of the Wilson School site as the location for the temporary fire station hasn’t been firmly established. The County Board’s vote allows the Wilson School site to be selected only if no alternative location is found within 60 days. The board directed County Manager Mark Schwartz to begin a two-month study to review Wilson School site’s feasibility as a fire station in comparison to Rhodeside Green Park and the Holiday Inn site. The final decision on the fire station location will be made at the County Board’s September meeting.
-- Vernon Miles Balancing the size of Watertown schools-- Wicked Local Watertown Massachusetts: July 20, 2016 [ abstract] With overcrowded classrooms, old infrastructure and a blossoming student population, Watertown officials are looking to revamp, renovate or replace most of the buildings in use in the Watertown Public Schools system to better serve the community.
According to school committee estimates, each year, the town spends $500,000 to $600,000 in maintenance, repairs, and capital materials (like school furniture) on the school buildings.
Steering Committee of Master Planning design Process talks continued this week at the WPS Phillips Building with expansion and space management issues taking center stage.
On Tuesday, July 19, Committee members reviewed preliminary designs of Watertown school buildings that were provided by representatives of the Symmes Maini & McKee Associates (SMMA) architecture firm. Discussions at the meeting about the possible changes made to the school buildings were based upon many factors such as increasing enrollment and space utilization, which led the steering committee to look into balancing the sizes of class sizes through redistricting.
Prior to the meeting, committee members took a tour of the Watertown school buildings to familiarize themselves with the schools' facilities and assess its efficiency. At the meeting, committee members shared their feedback.
Committee member and Watertown Director of Community Development & Planning Steven Magoon said the elementary schools needs gym-rooms and cafeteria expansions, the Middle School could use some building expansions, and the High School has underutilized spaces.
-- Vekonda Luangaphy 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 Empty hallways, higher costs force Indianapolis Public Schools to consider closing high schools-- Chalkbeat Indiana: July 14, 2016 [ abstract] Whenever Cassandra Money walked out of chemistry class at John Marshall Community High School last year, she noticed something unusual about the hallway: There was just a handful of teens loitering and chatting, with none of the commotion of a typical high school.
It was great for reaching her next class quickly.
“In an empty hallway you can get to your class on time,” said Money, a rising junior at Marshall.
But the quiet corridors are not great for her school.
They’re a small sign of a problem plaguing Indianapolis Public Schools. Numbers obtained by Chalkbeat reveal that the district has more than twice as many seats in secondary schools as it has students to fill them. Those extra seats come at a price, because schools that are just a quarter full still bear high costs for services like heating, security and maintenance throughout the building.
With the district in the process of planning a massive school reconfiguration designed to remove middle schoolers from high schools, the board must decide whether to close some of the underused buildings to save costs.
At least one board member believes that now is the time for the district to begin closing high schools.
-- Dylan Peer McCoy Frederick County Executive Talks School Construction with Dr. Lever-- Maryland Association of Counties Maryland: July 12, 2016 [ abstract] Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner spoke with Dr. David Lever of the Public School Construction Program in the latest episode of Community Conversations, a weekly show on Frederick County Government TV designed to keep the citizens of Frederick County informed and involved with their local government.
Gardner spoke about:
The process of building a school and partnership with the State on school construction
Recent cost increases in school construction and Frederick County’s use of prototype school models and other cost-saving measures
-- Robin Clark Eilenberg Milton-Freewater board weighs shift in school construction process-- Union-Bulletin Oregon: July 10, 2016 [ abstract] An anticipated construction boom in Oregon government buildings is a leading reason local school officials are considering doing away with the traditional design-bid-build process for the future Gib Olinger Elementary School and the district’s sports complex.
The traditional bid process on the $24 million school and sports complex project would be eliminated because the general contractor will have already been identified and the project costs guaranteed by that contractor.
The process would speed up the design phase and allow construction to start as early as March, Superintendent Rob Clark said. It also is seen as a way to guard against over-budget bids.
-- Alfred Diaz Boise taking another look at upgrading aging schools-- Idaho Statesman Idaho: July 08, 2016 [ abstract] Rain is a big event at Amity Elementary School in Southwest Boise.
Water seeps through the dirt roof at several spots. The 37-year-old school, which once won design awards, was a forward-looking structure in line with the country’s growing interest in the environment when it was built with dirt walls and roofs in 1979.
Now, it’s a building with a leaky, nearly impossible-to-repair roof. The school puts containers above a false ceiling to catch the water where it trickles into the building.
In a storm, Amity custodian Wayne Wingo has a set routine: “I go around to every spot with a ladder and I climb up and empty the water out of all the containers.”
Reroofing isn’t an easy option. Tons of dirt would have to be pulled off the structure. And while no decisions have been made, there is talk that the best solution may be to tear down Amity, which has other problems as well, and start over.
Amity undoubtedly has one of the most unusual maintenance problems in the Boise School District, but with 47 buildings " nearly half built between 1912 and 1960 " it is hardly the only one.
-- Bill Roberts FOIA: About 40 Percent of All D.C. Public Schools Have An Accessibility Issue-- Washington City Paper District of Columbia: July 05, 2016 [ abstract] More than two-fifths of all D.C. public schools have had at least one infrastructure issue for people with disabilities in recent months—though officials are working to fix the problems—a public-records request obtained by City Paper shows.
Chris Miller, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Ward 6, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the D.C. Department of General Services at the end of May. He sought to discover gaps in the District's accommodations for people with disabilities, focusing on schools partially because those buildings often serve as polling locations for elections. DGS, which manages D.C.-owned buildings, responded to his request for records related to "a determination of non-compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act" at DCPS sites last month. Signed into law in 1990, the ADA is designed to protect people with disabilities from discrimination, and to guarantee public entities provide them with "reasonable accommodations."
The list DGS sent Miller shows that 55 of DCPS' more than 110 schools have had some sort of accessibility issue in the past few years, or what the document ("ADA Update February 2016") calls "challenges." Those issues include the lack of an elevator or lift, sinks raised too high, and there not being "access to all floors." Five of the facilities were recorded as having no challenge (these were recently modernized), while three were left blank (these were either closed, updated, or under renovations). Miller, who has a disabled left hand, says the results show accessibility remains an "ongoing concern."
-- ANDREW GIAMBRONE D.C. Schools Seek Input on Building Redesigns-- AFRO District of Columbia: June 29, 2016 [ abstract] A group of elected leaders and community activists received a briefing on the District’s school modernization process. The Ward 8 Education Council, an organization of ward residents and leaders led by Iris Jacobs, held a meeting on June 27 at the Anacostia Library to listen to how District school officials plan to construct and renovate schools in the near future.
The renovations are being done as part of a school modernization project that will come out of the general funds, supplied by tax dollars, for DCPS. Josh Tuch, who works in facilities planning and design for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), told the audience of 20 people that, unlike the past, the school system wants to get community input into how schools should be designed.
“We have gone to several wards so far to get feedback to see what District residents want their schools to look like,” Tuch said. “We have a process in place where we visit each ward to solicit input on a draft document that will be worked on this summer. In the fall, we will come back to the community to get more input on the draft document and after that, we will work on the final draft that will be presented to the chancellor, the D.C. State Board of Education, the mayor, and the D.C. Council as well as to the general public later this year or early next year.”
-- James Wright 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 Colorado districts look to spend millions upgrading classroom locks-- American School and University Colorado: June 20, 2016 [ abstract] Colorado school districts looking to bolster security are planning to spend millions of dollars upgrading locks on classroom doors.
The Denver Post says the districts need the equipment retrofits to comply with an updated Colorado Division of Fire and Prevention Control code requirement that that calls for public, charter and junior colleges to have locks in designated classrooms that can be locked from the inside.
According to the revised regulation, non-compliant locks must be removed by Jan. 1, 2018.
The Denver district has scheduled a $572 million bond election for November and has earmarked $4 million for classroom door locks that enable students and teachers to secure a room without having to go into the corridor. District officials say the planned upgrades are less about the fire code requirement and more of a proactive desire to enhance the safety of students and staff.
-- Mike Kennedy City schools form committee to develop capital projects-- Charlottesville Tomorrow Virginia: June 09, 2016 [ abstract] The Charlottesville school division is forming a committee to begin reviewing possible capital improvement projects earlier in the budget process.
The Facilities Improvement Planning Committee will be tasked with developing and prioritizing a list of CIP projects for the division, according to School Board documents.
The committee would be asked to focus on projects designed to improve or modernize learning spaces or school buildings, rather than maintenance items, said Ed Gillaspie, assistant superintendent of administrative services.
The division currently gets about $1.3 million annually for its CIP, which is supposed to cover maintenance and improvements.
“Part of the issue that goes on there is that the $1.3 million for all of our facilities takes care of roofs and paint. Every once in a while we get to do a true improvement item, but it is rare,” Gillaspie said.
The new committee will be asked to look at how to spend any end-of-year budget fund balance, Gillaspie said. Even if the division spends 99 percent of its annual budget, the leftover funds could be impactful.
“One percent of our budget is $700,000. That is a good chunk of money that could be used for CIP,” he said. “It is those kinds of dollars that can be available for projects, because projects are perfect uses for one-time dollars.”
-- Aaron Richardson School district could use general fund money for construction-- Mountain View Voice California: June 09, 2016 [ abstract] In an ongoing effort to balance a volatile construction budget, administrators at the Mountain View Whisman School District are looking to millions of dollars in general fund money as a way to pay off cost overruns at several schools, including Stevenson and Theuerkauf.
At the June 2 board meeting, Robert Clark, the district's chief business officer, laid out the situation: five schematic designs for school construction with cost estimates that are all over budget. The schools are Huff, Bubb, Landels, Stevenson and Theuerkauf. Combined, Huff, Bubb and Landels are about $3 million over the budgeted amount.
Theuerkauf and Stevenson could cost anywhere from $4 million to $9 million over the original $26 million price tag, depending on whether the school board votes to rebuild Stevenson at the current location of the district office located next door.
-- Kevin Forestieri 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 Bonds for new, updated Longview schools could be a hard sell, but the district is confident-- tdn.com Washington: May 28, 2016 [ abstract] Near the AA wing at Mark Morris High School, rainwater trickles down support columns, leaving bright green trails of mold.
Rain last year seeped through long cracks in the exterior concrete walls, and the moisture damaged the dry wall inside.
The school’s retractable gym bleachers are cracking, and the motor that moves them needs continual repair. In the wood shop, the air is warm and thick with sawdust, and the electrical system wasn’t meant handle the power demand of the tools and computers.
Security is a major concern, because Mark Morris is a “California style” school built for a sense of openness, with lots of courtyards, exterior doors and walkways. Today’s preferred design is single-entry access through a main door.
The high school, Longview School District officials say, is in sorry shape, and there are many more schools like it. The district, according to a study completed in February, lists $213 million in repairs, remodels and school replacements. But assessing the district’s building needs was a relatively straightforward, technical task. Now the thorny political questions need answering: How much of this work can the district and taxpayers afford? Are all the needs " including replacing four elementaries " equally urgent or necessary? Should the district phase in work or try to finance most of it at once? Will the public support the projects?
-- Lauren Kronebusch Building Codes Require New Schools To Include Tornado Shelters, But Many Won’t Have Them-- CBS DFW Texas: May 25, 2016 [ abstract] Building codes published last year require new schools in North Texas to include tornado shelters, but many new campuses under construction now won’t have them. Districts are citing higher construction cost, and they’re waiting for cities to adopt the new codes first.
In West, the new secondary campus under construction is one of the few in North Texas adding a shelter that will meet the new codes. During the school day it will be an auxiliary gym. But its 14-inch thick concrete walls, and roof construction similar to a parking garage, is designed to stand up to the 250 mph winds of an EF5 tornado.
“You have to design for about 4 times the wind pressure, and about 5 times the roof live load,” said Ben Harris, the director of engineering at Fort Worth firm Huckabee. “That’s to account for all the debris that can pile up on top of the roof.”
-- Jason Allen 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 School facilities master plan draws criticism from planning commission-- Carroll County Times Maryland: May 18, 2016 [ abstract] Members of the county's Planning and Zoning Commission voiced concerns over the school system's Educational Facilities Master Plan on Tuesday, scolding school officials for insisting enrollment numbers will climb in future years.
In the proposed Carroll County Public Schools master plan for facilities, school enrollment is predicted to drop steadily for the next five years before turning around in year six at the elementary school level and climbing from there.
Planning commission member Alec Yeo noted that predictions that look farther than five years out are not based on solid numbers, since those children could not have been born yet. He asked William Caine, CCPS facilities planner, to designate in the master plan that reports that make predictions farther than five years out are more or less speculation and should be viewed differently than predictions for nearer years.
In the proposed Educational Facilities Master Plan, no indicator delineates the years in which the projection is based on current population numbers and where it switches to staff-drawn predictions.
"Your guess has consistently been that it will go up from there," Yeo said of enrollment projections. Those projections, he said have been repeatedly proven wrong with the passing of each year.
-- Heather Norris How does Denver Public Schools decide which schools to close?-- The Denver Post Colorado: May 12, 2016 [ abstract] The guidelines that help Denver Public Schools decide when to restart or close a school are getting more defined and transparent, according to the district.
The decision process is divided into three steps that the district believes best weed out consistently under-performing schools. Those that meet all three criteria will be recommended for restart or closure by DPS staff, and the Denver Board of Education will make the final call.
The policy excludes alternative education campuses and schools that are not yet serving tested grades in the 2015-2016 school year. It also provides special consideration " typically extra time to improve " for schools that have undergone a prior intervention like a redesign, transformation or new operator since the 2010-2011 school year.
The guidelines, which will go into effect in fall 2016, are as follows:
• Identify the schools that, historically, have been consistently low performing
Schools that fall within the bottom 5 percent based on an average of overall school performance framework " that takes into consideration categories like academic growth, enrollment rates, parent satisfaction and college and career readiness " from the most recent three years are flagged as proposed indicators of a problem.
-- Elizabeth Hernandez California’s 7x7x7 program explores how its schools can be more sustainable-- The Architects Newspaper California: May 10, 2016 [ abstract] This is the challenge put forth by Chester “Chet” Widom, FAIA, State Architect of California, in the “7x7x7: design, Energy, Water” initiative for the state’s education system. California has the largest population of any state in the union, yet it is strapped by a 5-year long drought that threatens the state’s economy and way of life.
In light of these concerns, Widom examined the geography and geology of California and determined the state is made up of seven distinct ecologies. He selected seven of the state’s leading sustainable design firms (WRNS Studio, Aedis Architects, Lionakis, Ehrlich Architects, DLR Group, Hamilton + Aitken Architects, and HGA Architects) and gave each an educational institution to study. Faced with unique instances of geographic and demographic diversity, the seven architecture firms were each asked to develop a conceptual case study that could form the foundation for a major state-wide campus design revolution.
In February, the California Division of the State Architect (DSA) completed a new initiative called “7x7x7: design, Energy, Water,” that highlights ways to “improve the built environment while simultaneously greening California’s aging school facilities.” Widom pointed out that California has 10,000 campuses serving students from Kindergarten through community college. He postulated that each campus has an average of five buildings in need of renovation, meaning 50,000 buildings must be adapted, state-wide; a staggering challenge, indeed. But, if the state could use energy and water reductions to save $3,000 per year per structure over ten years, it could save $1.5 billion overall, money that could be put back into young people’s education.
-- MICHAEL FRANKLIN ROSS 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 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 Texas schools spare no expense for huge football stadiums-- The Boston Globe Texas: April 29, 2016 [ abstract] A suburban Dallas school district grabbed national attention in 2012 when it opened an eye-popping $60 million high school football stadium.
Not to be outdone, school officials near Houston next year plan to unveil a $62 million stadium plan. And a district north of Dallas is considering spending more than $50 million on its own football arena.
Are such exorbitant price tags for high school stadiums the new normal? Only in Texas, it seems. Football fields in other states are far less expensive, often in the range of $5 million to $10 million. One Southern California district built four stadiums for about $72 million.
Texas school officials say their districts are teeming with new students and that the stadiums reflect their communities’ need for larger, more modern facilities.
‘‘The size dictated the cost, no question,’’ said Tim Carroll, spokesman for the Allen school district, which built the $60 million stadium about 25 miles northeast of Dallas. ‘‘Some say we build things with no concern for expense, with columns made of marble, but that’s not the case.’’
Many of the facilities are designed to serve multiple schools and multiple sports and host special events. And they should last for generations.
-- David Warren 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 D.C. offers small historic school, huge parking lot for lease and redevelopment-- Washington Business Journal District of Columbia: April 27, 2016 [ abstract] The District has a school it would like to lease you. And a much larger parking lot.
The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development has released a solicitation for the long-term lease and redevelopment of the historic Alexander Crummell School site in Ivy City, a 108,000-square-foot parcel bounded by Okie, Kendall and Gallaudet streets NE.
The site, 1900 Gallaudet St. NE, is one block west of Douglas Development’s Hecht Warehouse District, a block south of New York Avenue NE, and just northeast of the D.C. Department of Public Works campus on West Virginia Avenue " a site slated for redevelopment as the DPW headquarters, plus retail and commercial space for the private sector.
The school building was designated a D.C. landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. While it requires exterior restoration, it should be retained. The parking lot, however, accounts for the vast majority of the site. It is currently leased to the Union Station Redevelopment Corp. for bus parking, but the USRC has never used it for that purpose (litigation put an end to that), and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is now negotiating to end the lease.
-- Michael Neibauer Billion-dollar question: Can Modesto rebuild and do it better?-- The Modesto Bee California: April 26, 2016 [ abstract] Modesto City Schools is pushing forward to transform teaching into an interactive, collaborative process. But its early-grade campuses are stuck in another century, and as the district makes plans for major repairs, there seems to be little appetite to shake the status quo.
If the district wants voters to get behind $1 billion in school repairs, however, it has to convince them it can set aside its fiefdoms and rethink how it has always done things.
On many levels, the school district cannot afford to simply patch up what exists today. For one thing, it costs too much. Bulldozing the buildings and starting over in many cases would be cheaper.
Perpetuating the same design, moreover, fails to convince anyone the district is serious about equity. Inescapable comparisons show glaring disparities between new and old, the north and the south.
As retired Sylvan district school facilities planner Henry Patrino put it, “Something has to happen, or the kids that need it the most will be getting the least.”
The district did a needs assessment of cracked pavement, deteriorating pipes and peeling paint at its 34 schools and five administrative sites, toting up a jaw-dropping total of $746,803,000. Add in architects, engineers and permits, and it rounds up to a $1 billion investment to create a shiny version of what was, just with better wheelchair access and reliable plumbing.
But there were greater needs the assessment did not cover, such as reinventing the spaces for how schools function now, or flexibility for what they might do in the future.
-- Nan Austin Klamath-Trinity school district secures $10M for mold problems-- Times Standard California: April 21, 2016 [ abstract] Cooperation between local tribes, legislators and the Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District resulted in the allocation of almost $10 million dollars in state funds to help with ongoing mold issues the district’s been dealing with for years.
With this money secured and a plan in the works to cover future costs of mold abatement projects and building upgrades, Superintendent Jon Ray said he had tears in his eyes when he heard about the allocation.
“Yesterday (that plan was) cemented into place and coming together,” Ray said Thursday.
In February, all eight campuses in the district closed for two weeks, one of which was a scheduled week off, to give staff time to retrofit mold-free facilities into classrooms.
Dangerous levels of potentially toxic molds were measured at Hoopa Valley Elementary School, Hoopa Valley High School, Jack Norton Elementary School, Orleans Elementary School and Trinity Valley Elementary School facilities.
According to Ray, mold bloomed in these facilities because they were built in the 1950s and ’60s using building plans that weren’t designed for such a wet, rainy environment.
The allocation was announced in a press release from state Sen. Mike McGuire’s office Wednesday evening.
-- Hunter Cresswell Education panel signs off on closure of Bronx high school, after facing rare criticism-- Chalkbeat New York: April 20, 2016 [ abstract] The Panel for Education Policy signed off on shuttering a Bronx high school Wednesday night, the fourth district school closure under an administration that has called such measures a last resort.
But unlike the de Blasio’s administration’s first three closures, which were approved with little pushback in February, some activists and educators criticized the administration for closing the Bronx Foreign Language Academy of Global Studies instead of continuing efforts to reinvigorate it.
“If they wanted to revitalize the school they could do that,” said Jane Maisel, a member of the advocacy group Change the Stakes, before the vote. “We think it’s a very bad precedent.”
The closure highlights a tension in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s approach to New York City’s struggling schools, which has centered around a $400 million “Renewal” program designed to inject more resources into struggling schools in an attempt to improve them, rather than moving immediately to close them. FLAGS is a part of that program.
-- Alex Zimmerman Henderson elementary school offers glimpse of CCSD’s future-- Las Vegas Sun Nevada: April 18, 2016 [ abstract] Schools have come a long way since the days of one-room schoolhouses.
The growing demands placed on school districts by crowded classrooms, a shortage of available land, and parents’ desire for safety and efficiency have transformed not only the way the public looks at schools, but how architects design them.
Wallin Elementary in the rapidly growing community of Anthem was completed in 2010, making it one of the Clark County School District’s newest schools. It’s also one of the most advanced in the district and could set the standard for how county schools are built for years to come.
Here’s how:
Multiple entrances
Wallin’s colorful front facade is about more than encouraging a welcoming, happy feeling at the school. It was designed to make it easier for people to enter the campus. The blue main entrance and office are for students and staff. The yellow multipurpose building, positioned at the front of the school, is for members of the community, so they can walk right in for school events. The school also has a third entrance near the library that can be closed during school hours and reopened after school for community use.
-- Ian Whitaker Modernize all D.C. schools now-- Washington Post District of Columbia: April 08, 2016 [ abstract] When D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) released her $13.4 billion 2017 budget and five-year financial plan, she said that in a city as prosperous as the District, “every resident deserves a fair shot " no matter who you are or what ward you live in.” She cited the extra $220 million she included to upgrade D.C.’s traditional public schools. Those funds, she said, would ensure “full modernizations” of D.C. Public Schools facilities and that “school modernization is equitable and done right.”
Bowser’s intentions are good. But they don’t jibe with this reality: The school modernization program has become a case study for government-designed inequity.
“There is a legacy of inequities in the way we have invested in school buildings that is not being addressed in 2017 through 2022,” said Mary Filardo, head of the 21st Century School Fund.
Consider that West Education Campus in Ward 4 would receive $82.4 million for modernization, and Houston Elementary in Ward 7 would get $43.1 million. A highly touted high school for males of color in Ward 7 would get $40.4 million. But Ward 4’s Coolidge High School would receive $159 million, according to the mayor’s budget.
The total money allocated for six Ward 4 schools is more than $315 million. Ward 7 would get $165 million for a comparable number of facilities. I know every building is different, but shouldn’t there be some consistency that results in more equitable budgeting and spending?
-- Jonetta Rose Barras D.C. students protest school renovation cuts in video-- WTOP District of Columbia: April 07, 2016 [ abstract] Student protests have evolved beyond crayons, poster board and paint.
Ben Murch Elementary School students are taking city leaders to task in a YouTube video.
“Find the money to properly renovate Ben Murch Elementary,” two students in the video demand.
“Because of a math error. A math error! They now say we’re over budget,” another group of children say.
The video claims that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has cut the Murch modernization budget.
“You’re going back on your word. You said Murch would be renovated for the long term,” two more children add.
A school spokeswoman tells WTOP the current Murch design meets and exceeds student needs:
“DCPS agrees that Murch is in need of a modernization,” Michelle Lerner said in an email. “In addition, DCPS is committed to ensuring there are appropriate spaces for students to learn, eat, and play. And we are certain that the current design meets all those criteria and more,” Lerner said.
The school sits between Nebraska and Connecticut avenues near Deal Middle School.
Since March of last year, and as recently as this week, there have been more than a dozen meetings about the Murch Elementary renovation project " including many that collected feedback from the community.
“D.C. Public Schools had a pro
-- Kristi King 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 Morgan County Schools sued over new Priceville High-- WHNT19 Alabama: April 06, 2016 [ abstract] The Alabama Building Commission cleared the school for occupancy last week, and district leaders hoped to move into the school by early May.
"Sometime over spring break, I was notified we were sued by the former structural engineer on the project," said superintendent Bill Hopkins Jr.
The party filing suit is Advanced Structural design, of Hartselle. ASD names the school district among the defendants, as well as every other firm involved in the school's construction, saying it has safety concerns.
Though the lawsuit is trying to block the move, Superintendent Hopkins says his lawyers say a judge would have to step in and make that happen.
ASD was a subcontractor of the original architect of the project, who was terminated before the school was ever completed.
District leaders say the safety concerns they mention have already been addressed.
"There were five life safety issues brought to the Alabama Building Commission," said Hopkins. "Of those five, one they considered they felt like some extra work should be done to that. They did a design fix, those things were corrected."
-- SHEVAUN BRYAN In court filing, Stillwater district says it has right to close schools-- Star Tribune Minnesota: March 31, 2016 [ abstract] The Stillwater school district says it is within its legal rights to close three elementary schools that had been designated for upgrades in its successful $97.5 million bond referendum last year.
According to a Washington County court filing, attorneys for Independent School District 834 also denied administrators were considering closing the schools before voters were asked to support the referendum to improve the district's nine elementary schools.
Peter G. Mikhail, an attorney for the district, wrote that state law gives the school district "discretion to abandon a project that was the subject of a bond referendum and dictates how the proceeds may be used in such circumstances."
The filing came in response to a court petition earlier this month by school parent Melissa Douglas, who alleges that the district had misled voters.
She is asking a judge to force the district to comply with what she believed were the terms of the bond referendum, or to order a new vote.
Douglas said Wednesday the five board members who voted to close the schools "are openly and vigorously arguing in a court of law that they are not bound by any past commitment to voters, residents or taxpayers."
-- Kevin Giles Parents worry open-classroom layout at SF school leaves students vulnerable-- San Francisco Examiner California: March 28, 2016 [ abstract] An elementary school in Bayview-Hunters Point is one of two public schools in San Francisco where multiple classes are held in open spaces, eliciting outrage from parents in recent weeks that the design could leave students vulnerable in the event of a school shooting.
Such a concern, coupled with worries that the open-pod classrooms are too noisy and thus distracting for children, have prompted San Francisco Unified School District officials to explore a major overhaul of the interior of the building.
Situated at the end of a cul-de-sac in The City’s predominantly black southeast, George Washington Carver Elementary School was built with doorless classrooms in 1972 " decades before schools became frequent settings for mass shootings across the U.S.
Since the Columbine massacre in 1999, schools have installed special locks on doors that can be locked from both the inside and outside, so if there’s an active shooter on campus, a teacher can protect students behind a secured door.
That’s not possible at Carver, however, where there are no individual classrooms, but rather three pods spread out between two floors, each holding four to five classes. Those classes of about 20 students are separated by dividers instead of doors and walls.
Salaia Copeland said she was worried about where her two granddaughters, who attend Carver, would hide “in case a gunman” came onto campus without doors separating classrooms. “You don’t know if the outside door in the lunch room is open,” she said.
“I’m really concerned,” said Je-Meese Lemmons, whose daughter attends Carver. “I’m worried that they might get inside a pod and the teachers cannot protect the children.”
One of those children, 7-year-old Lilyana Ransburg, said she does not feel safe because a disgruntled parent who recently came on campus wearing a disguise threatened to burn down the school using nail polish.
-- Michael Barba 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 City schools roofs face major repairs-- Cleveland Daily Banner Tennessee: March 17, 2016 [ abstract] The Cleveland Board of Education is facing a massive repair/replacement project at multiple locations due to roofing deterioration.
Hal Taylor, the school system’s maintenance supervisor, brought the situation to the school board’s site committee Wednesday afternoon during a meeting at Cleveland High School.
Taylor said the extent of the problem caught him by surprise.
Taylor is being assisted by architect Brian Templeton of the Midland design Group, and that company’s roofing expert, in evaluating damage at several Cleveland schools.
They found the most urgent need is at Cleveland Middle School, where deterioration of the roof has created leaks throughout the facility. The experts are calling for repair or replacement in the immediate future.
Taylor and Templeton explained that the existing roof is a mechanically attached TPO membrane originally designed for a 55-mile-per-hour wind speed.
They say the roof has outlived its 10-year warranty after being installed in 2002, and attached a copy of the warranty with the report. This type of roofing usually has a life of 12-16 years, so the deterioration is not a complete surprise.
The roofing membrane at Cleveland Middle is showing signs of age and wear. There are areas of waves, wrinkles, and stripping of the material from the roof surface. At least two locations are showing cracks in the concrete block, which has allowed water to begin deterioration of the wall.
-- LARRY C. BOWERS 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 RIDE rejects North Smithfield’s ‘fast track’ school building plan-- The Valley Breeze Rhode Island: March 16, 2016 [ abstract] NORTH SMITHFIELD " Those who hoped to see new science labs and locker rooms at North Smithfield High School next year received disappointing news this week when the Rhode Island Department of Education announced that the town’s Stage II construction application is incomplete and can’t be approved.
The application, part of a process required by RIDE before construction can begin at a school, was denied in part over incomplete schematic designs, and can not be resubmitted for another year.
Now, school officials will devise a new plan for spending of the $4.3 million school improvement bond approved by voters in 2014.
It is the second time in two years that the town has received such news from the state board during attempts to spend the funds. Last April, RIDE rejected an application submitted by engineers from Robinson, Green and Beretta for a complete project to close Halliwell Elementary School, while bringing additions and repairs to the town’s three remaining schools.
-- SANDY SEOANE Lancaster school district debates renovating, replacing buildings-- Lancaster Online Pennsylvania: March 14, 2016 [ abstract] The School of District of Lancaster is moving forward with plans to renovate or rebuild several " but not all " of its aging schools.
Still to be decided are which schools and what specific improvements will be made at them.
At a work session March 8, Chief Financial and Operations Officer Matt Przywara presented the school board with reactions to a six-week program designed to gauge public interest in the idea.
Community members expressed concerns about pedestrian and vehicle traffic, inadequate academic and athletic spaces and failing heating and air-conditioning systems across the nine schools being considered for improvements.
Don Main, principal with Marotta/Main Architects, said residents, teachers and other community members also reported they were happy with the current neighborhood locations of each school.
Feedback was collected during three community meetings in February and through more than 800 responses to an online survey.
Now the board will shift to a decision-making process to determine which schools could see renovations, additions or rebuilding first.
-- KIMBERLY MARSELAS Mukilteo (Wash.) district plans a kindergarten-only building-- American School and University Washington: March 14, 2016 [ abstract] The Mukilteo (Wash.) district is planning to build a 600-student campus to house only kindergartners.
The district says the kindergarten center will be built on the campus of an elementary school in Everett and is scheduled to open in 2017.
The facility will be designed to ease the stress of students having their first schooling experience. Their movement within the school will be minimized, and the facility will be broken down into clusters of that it feels smaller.
The 24 classrooms contained within the school will be clustered into four, six-classroom pods that will be situated in two separate wings of the building.
-- Mike Kennedy New housing will demand new school space to cut overcrowding-- amNewYork New York: March 09, 2016 [ abstract] The need for new public schools and improvements to existing ones are essential elements sometimes overlooked when Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing and rezoning initiatives are discussed.
And even without those initiatives, school overcrowding remains a significant problem. To start dealing with it, the city recently expanded its five-year capital plan. In May, city officials proposed 32,629 new seats, now the plan calls for 44,348. The price tag for school construction is now $14.9 billion over the next five years.
But, as with so much decision-making in NYC, questions emerge as the details are unearthed. Construction for more than 5,000 of the new seats " about 12 percent " won’t start until at least 2019, according to a city Independent Budget Office analysis of the plan. About half of those seats will be designed during the next five years " but construction won’t start until later. So those projects " in key neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, Tremont, west midtown and Astoria " won’t be completed until somewhere between 2020 and 2024. And that’s assuming that when we get there, the money is still available.
Beyond that, the five-year plan doesn’t adequately address the needs of at least two overcrowded districts in south Brooklyn and eastern Queens. District 22 in Brooklyn, which covers Mill Basin and Midwood, needs more than 5,000 seats, but will get fewer than 500, according to the budget office. In District 26 in Bayside, where similar discrepancies between need and new seats exist, plans for a new high school might have helped, but were scrapped because of community objections over location.
-- Editorial Board Arlington school system to win concessions on historic designation-- InsideNOVA Virginia: March 08, 2016 [ abstract] Arlington County Board members on March 12 are slated to approve new rules to govern the designation of local school facilities as historic districts, and to regulate future changes to school buildings that are so designated.
The proposal, in the pipeline for several months, would remove the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) from the designation process, centralizing it in the County Board’s hands. Proposed historic-district status for non-school parcels will remain with HALRB, whose members make recommendations to County Board members.
The proposal also strips from HALRB the power to regulate exterior changes to school facilities in historic districts, also moving that authority to the County Board. HALRB members would retain the power to approve or reject the so-called “certificate of appropriateness” applications for all other buildings in historic districts.
-- SCOTT McCAFFREY Groton will ask the state for $141 million for new school construction-- theday.com Connecticut: March 03, 2016 [ abstract] Groton — The town group in charge of planning the future of Groton's schools agreed Thursday to ask the state for $141 million to build one new middle school and two new elementary schools.
If the state agrees, the construction projects would cost Groton taxpayers $55 million, with the state picking up about 72 percent of the total cost of $195.6 million, based on construction estimates updated this week for the School Facilities Initiative Task Force.
Task force member Craig Koehler said there's no need to complicate it for taxpayers. "This is about as good a deal as we're going to get," he said.
State Rep. John Scott said he met last week with state Department of Administrative Services Commissioner Melody A. Currey, Groton Superintendent Michael Graner, town Manager Mark Oefinger and members of the school design committee to discuss the project.
The commissioner and state staff understood Groton's situation, including its longstanding struggle to maintain racial balance and repeated redistricting of students, Graner said.
Despite the high amount requested and the state's budget crisis, Scott said administrative services were sympathetic of the town.
"We do have a really unique story to tell. We have been chronically in trouble with the state with the racial balancing for many years," Scott said.
"The town needs to spend $55 million just to put Band-Aids on the existing buildings, and that won't solve any of our problems with the racial imbalance or consolidation or the consolidation of staffing in the two middle schools," he said.
-- Deborah Straszheim Owls delay construction of school campus-- Martinez Tribune California: March 03, 2016 [ abstract] MARTINEZ, Calif. " Groundbreaking ceremonies planned for new area high school facilities have come to a screeching halt " literally.
It has been discovered that owls have taken up residence in a Canary Island palm tree at 925 Susana St., Martinez " the future site of Vicente Martinez High School and Briones School.
The owls, along with a nest of eggs, were found during a biological resource assessment conducted by biologist Jim Martin. The assessment was required as part of the California Environmental Quality Act, and is designed to ensure new construction doesn’t have negative impacts on the environment. The owl’s nest and eggs fall under the protection of the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty, making it impossible for construction at the site to continue in full.
According to Martin, the baby birds should have wing feathers large enough for flight by late spring. In the meantime, district officials said limited site preparation will continue, but strict guidelines must be followed in order to protect the nest and its immediate environment.
-- ERIN CLARK Does Green Space Make Better Students?-- Politics & City Life National: March 01, 2016 [ abstract] On a couple of occasions, I’ve written about the work of Marc Berman, a University of Chicago psychologist, on the concept of “attention-restoration theory,” how it’s grounded in the effects of green, natural space on the mind and the implications for that in how we design our surrounding environment.
The basic idea is simple: exposure to certain types of natural environments can restore our our ability to pay attention and reduce our mental fatigue. Green space essentially makes our brains more resilient and better able to deal with difficult tasks, such as doing academic work or taking care of a difficult child.
One of the pioneers in that work is a University of Illinois professor of landscape architecture, William Sullivan, and he has a new study out, led by graduate student Dongying Li, on one possible practical application: school landscaping.
-- WHET MOSER Difficulty siting schools sets off debate on state’s Growth Management Act-- The News Tribune Washington: February 28, 2016 [ abstract] Officials in the Bethel School District think a pasture in the Graham area would be the perfect spot to build a new high school.
The land is smack in the middle of the fast-growing school district, they say " and, best of all, they already own it.
But Bethel can’t build a school there because of what Superintendent Tom Seigel calls “an arbitrary line”: Pierce County’s urban growth area boundary, which stops about a mile north of the 80-acre property.
Under the state’s anti-sprawl Growth Management Act, most counties must limit development to designated urban growth areas, which are supposed to be concentrated around transportation services, public infrastructure, retail shops and job centers.
The law discourages the construction of schools and other government facilities outside of those areas, and many jurisdictions don’t extend utility services outside those boundaries, either.
Yet some school officials throughout the state say the law is getting in the way of them building the schools they need to accommodate their growing student populations.
-- MELISSA SANTOS School construction pulling double duty-- Albuquerque Journal New Mexico: February 22, 2016 [ abstract] Dozens of workers swarm around an unfinished building at West Mesa High School,
welding, fitting and fabricating. Behind them, an enormous crane soars into a sunny sky.
In November, crews broke ground on an $18.8 million upgrade for the aging school on Fortuna Road NW, launching a plan to add more than 60 new classrooms and a refurbished courtyard.
This project, and others underway at area schools, are designed to provide the best possible learning environments for teachers and students.
But they also provide a less obvious benefit " jobs.
Construction workers, plumbers, electricians, engineering firms, decorators, architects and contractors all depend on Albuquerque Public Schools, which dominates the local construction industry. Since 2009, the district has accounted for 65 percent to 85 percent of all building permits in the city and Bernalillo County, according to an APS analysis of city and county data.
That percentage is so high because New Mexico is still struggling with the aftermath of the economic crash that hit in late 2007 and slowed other sources of commercial construction, said Mike Puelle, CEO of Associated General Contractors New Mexico.
-- Kim Burgess 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 Booming development along Yankee Hill Road creates need for new schools-- Lincoln Journal Star Nebraska: February 13, 2016 [ abstract] The cornfields on the southeastern edge of Lincoln are giving way to progress, the beginnings of a new middle school and YMCA perched along the horizon near 84th Street and Yankee Hill Road.
It still feels like countryside if you’re gazing to the south, beyond the school construction to the Cheney water tower in the distance.
Yankee Hill Road is still gravel and it winds around the school site, over railroad tracks to the small village and the cornfields beyond.
But look west and what’s happening begins to become clear: This is one of the hot spots of Lincoln development, the colored parts of the city’s comprehensive plan map coming to life.
“The development is really exploding out here, and with the new schools, the YMCA and Jensen Park, that’s likely to continue,” said Kris Humphrey, city public works interim design and construction manager.
Within a few years, there will be less and less country and more and more neighborhoods, some commercial development and plenty of small bodies to fill a couple of schools.
Some numbers to back that up: The city has issued 1,605 building permits in the area since 2011 -- 333 of them last year. Those permits include both finished and unfinished construction -- 882 single-family homes, 552 apartments, 167 town homes and four duplexes.
-- MARGARET REIST Parent, teacher photos show decades-old Enon Elementary school in decay-- WTVR.com Virginia: February 05, 2016 [ abstract] CHESTERFIELD, Va. -- Pictures shared with CBS 6 by concerned parents show a very damaged Enon Elementary School. Parents and teachers alike have had enough of the leaky roof, with the ceiling missing panels, and a building in states of disrepair – including a hole in the floor so big that a teacher fell through it.
Parents and teachers said the school on Route 10 – built in 1928 – is crumbling in its old age, and that a new building is long overdue.
â€"The building itself is in terrible shape,†said Jennifer Lackey.
â€"It shows its age, definitely does,†said Jonathon Ellis.
Lackey and Ellis are just a few of the parents who want to keep the spotlight on Enon, and the desperate need for a brand-new school.
School Board Members are working on the site design phase for the slated $29 million project, but parents say the building is clearly in a slump. .
Photos posted on a Facebook page Build Our New School show the clear deterioration of the 88-year-old building.
â€"When you have teachers falling through the floors and it's raining inside the classrooms, then you are definitely concerned as a parent,†Lackey said.
-- ALIX BRYAN AND SHELBY BROWN Safety concerns arise due to design of new school-- 9News Colorado: January 29, 2016 [ abstract] BOULDER " A school safety advocate is concerned with a proposed design of an elementary school in Boulder"after 9Wants to Know showed him plans for the design that includes lots of open spaces and glass walls.
“Seeing this amount of glass inside a school with classrooms walls I think is insane,” John Michael-Keyes said.
John-Michael Keyes is a school safety advocate. He became one, after his daughter Emily was killed at Platte Canyon High School in 2006. He created the I Love U Guys foundation, named after the last text Emily sent her family.
Keyes says he’s especially concerned with the amount of glass walls at Creekside Elementary.
“Elements of this design are absolutely stunning,” he said. “We want an engaging area for educating our kids, but we also need to temper that with risk.”
Boulder Valley School District Superintendent Bruce Messinger says the proposed design for the new Creekside Elementary boasts a lot of open space, warm learning and teaching environment.
“We wanted a place the families are welcome to come,” Messinger said. “The advantage of having it so open is you can see what’s going on, you can supervise a larger distance.”
The $17 million project will be paid for by the bond the voters passed in 2014. The bond total was $576 million and will pay for three existing elementary schools and help with capital improvements across the district.
-- Anastasiya Bolton Sen. Hughes Calls for State Investigation Into Crumbling School Infrastructure-- Publicnow.com Pennsylvania: January 29, 2016 [ abstract] Demands an immediate change in education policy to better support schools; Urges PA Department of Education to audit School District of Philly schools
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 29, 2016 - After touring an elementary school that had been forced this month to send students home due to failed heaters, Sen. Vincent Hughes, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, ordered state-level hearings to better understand the breadth of the crumbling school infrastructure problem in Pennsylvania.
Hughes toured Locke Elementary in Philadelphia this morning before telling reporters that he wanted elected officials to do more to help schools reverse a scary trend.
'Children cannot fear for their lives. They can't learn in freezing classrooms, worry if a boiler might explode, and they can't sit with 40 other classmates in classrooms designed for 25,' Hughes said.
'Yet more and more schools are in danger of tragic consequences because the policies of the past five years, coupled with the declining support of our schools by the state, are walking them towards that gauntlet.
'This is an outrageous situation and I know the schools in my district are not the only ones suffering right now. We must have a better idea of how many schools are hurting and we cannot wait another minute to find out.
'These are our children.'
-- Sen. VIncent Hughes Staff APS strategy would close some schools, merge others-- WXIA-TV Georgia: January 28, 2016 [ abstract] The Atlanta Public Schools is creating a turnaround strategy designed to transform the system's lowest performing schools through a dramatic realignment of the structure of those schools.
"Transformation is hard. It doesn't give us the luxury of time," said Superintendent Meria Carstaphen in an interview today."Part of our strategy is to show the state that we have plans for every school in Atlanta."
Her turnaround strategy focuses on the three lowest performing clusters: Douglass, Washington and Carver and hiring three non-profits are finalists to step-in and help.
Purpose Built Schools of Atlanta will work with half the Carver cluster: Carver High, Price Middle and Slater and Thomasville heights Elementary.
Another firm, Kindezi, will oversee Gideons Elementary… one of the worst hit schools during the cheating scandal.
"While both providers (Purpose Built Schools and Kindezi) are associated with charter schools, they are not going to run a charter school in their designs. They want to be a neighborhood schools," said Carstarphen.
In the Washington cluster, the superintendent wants to close Bethune Elementary, the second lowest performing school in the district and move the students into the former Kennedy Middle School building after $12 million dollars in renovations, and create the city's first combined elementary through middle school, K-8.
The superintendent hopes to fund capital improvement with a new SPLOST, a Special Purpose Local Option Sales tax that would go before voters.
She will formally present all of her proposals at Monday's School Board meeting.
The strategy includes input from district and school leaders, community stake holders, parents and school-based staff. It includes several key areas, including high-impact tutoring for students, math and reading specialists to directly support students to improve math and reading skills, extended learning time, a Spring Break academy, recruitment of respected turnaround school leaders, targeted professional learning for teachers, and accelerated roll-out of social emotional learning in schools.
-- Donna Lowry and Michael King School Engineers Verify Construction Flaws at Tornado-Damaged Campus-- NBCDFW Texas: January 28, 2016 [ abstract] Engineers hired by the Red Oak Independent School District verify a December NBC 5 report about construction flaws at tornado damaged Shields Elementary School.
The Dec. 26 tornado left the Glenn Heights school unusable for January classes.
Tornado Uncovers School Construction Issues
Red Oak ISD Superintendent Scott Niven released a statement Thursday.
"The information the district now has suggests that the failure of some of these exterior walls may have been caused, at least in part, by the contractor and/or its subcontractor's failure to install the connecting fasteners in accordance with the approved specifications," the statement said.
The district engineer's concluded the building was properly designed in architectural specification but the size of the fasteners and manner of their installation deviated from shop drawings.
Engineer Tim Marshall, a tornado damage expert, identified the flaws in an interview with NBC 5 on Dec. 31, days after the tornado. Marshall was part of the initial National Weather Service inspection team at the damaged school.
-- Ken Kalthoff 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 Lexington elementary school gets accepted into state school building reimbursement program-- Wicked Local Lexington Massachusetts: January 27, 2016 [ abstract] LEXINGTON
The Massachusetts School Building Authority voted to accept the Maria Hastings Elementary School into the eligibility period of the MSBA reimbursement process during a board meeting on Jan. 27.
Eight core projects, including Hastings Elementary School, were admitted into the eligibility category during the first board meeting of 2016.
“We really want to see you put a lot of thought into how you’re going to deliver your educational program in this school, and from there, this is how we designed our building for our students,” said Matt Deninger, a member of the MSBA Board of Directors. “Walk away with: don’t ever forget, it’s the kids, it’s your teachers, it’s your community and the education program and all the wonderful things that go on in these classrooms, that’s what’s driving all of this.”
By being accepted into the MSBA program, the town and the school district are eligible for state reimbursement on the project. The base reimbursement is about 31 percent.
“In the (statement of interest) we outlined the educational need and the failing of the building,” said Lexington Superintendent of School Mary Czajkowski on Wednesday. “It’s a 1950s building. Our work with Diane Sullivan and the MSBA board has been critical in this process. Once they came to do this site visit, it was clear to me our application was very thorough.”
-- Al Gentile Think spring! Plan now for a school garden project-- Michigan State University Extension National: January 27, 2016 [ abstract] Now that we finally have snow on the ground, it is time to think spring and school gardens! Start by forming a team, gathering input, and developing a plan that works for how you intend to use your garden. There are many grants available to help start school garden projects but your garden plan should include strategies on how to maintain and fund the project beyond the start-up phase as this is where many projects struggle. This article includes some items for consideration as you plan your project.
Start by forming a garden team to help with the planning process. Your team should include teachers and staff interested in using the garden or expected to help with maintenance. This would include school administration, teachers, food service staff and maintenance staff. You should also consider including parents and community volunteers that would have gardening experience or have an interest in supporting the project in other ways. Depending on the grade levels that will be involved this is also a great opportunity to engage youth in the planning process.
Determine how you plan to use your garden. Is it intended to be an exploration activity for young kids, connected to science lessons where experiments might be included, or do you plan on using a majority of what is grown for taste testing or cafeteria use. This is important as it may affect the layout of your garden, the supplies you need and training for items such as food safety. School gardens can easily serve multiple grades and multiple uses if proper planning occurs in the design stage.
Determine when you plan to use your garden. Will it be only during the school year? Do you have a summer program that could also utilize the garden? Is there a community group that could utilize the garden during the summer or volunteers (including Master Gardeners) that would help maintain it? There are ways to put a garden to bed properly during times it won’t be used (winter or summer) to minimize weed build up and make it easier to get the garden back into production when you are ready to use it.
-- Michelle Walk 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 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 Savannah-Chatham Public Schools officials to seek education sales tax extension-- savannahnow.com Georgia: January 21, 2016 [ abstract] The Savannah-Chatham Public Schools Board will ask voters in November to support ESPLOST III, a five-year extension of the community’s education sales tax.
School district staff members are assessing the condition of " and prioritizing the needs of " local public school facilities.
“We’re looking at all of the facilities that need to be replaced,” Superintendent of Schools Thomas Lockamy said Thursday. “I would like new buildings for Groves and Jenkins High schools. I would like to see auditoriums, athletic complexes and food court-style cafeterias at every high school.
“I will also recommend replacing schools like White Bluff Elementary that have the old motel-style open campus design.”
-- Jenel Few 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 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 Marie Reed Building and Site Modernization Designs and Plans Continue to be Refined-- TheInTowner District of Columbia: January 09, 2016 [ abstract] Progress in the detailed planning and preparation of specifications for the modernization and adaptive re-use of the Marie H. Reed Learning Center and its multi-acre Adams Morgan site by the District’s Department of General Services (DGS) and the architectural firm of Quinn Evans continues into the new year on the basis of a planning document issued by the architects on October 22, 2015.
That document reflected Quinn Evans’ understanding of what the District could afford to spend in the re-making of Marie Reed to meet modern requirements as stipulated by the District’s school system (DCPS) and the parks and recreation department (DPR) together with those specified by the District’s Department of Health (DOH) backed by funds identified by the DC Council in support of modernization of the health facilities presently housed in the Marie Reed building.
The Quinn Evans foundational document for this effort, titled “Schematic design Progress for the Marie H. Reed Learning Center, Presented to the Community,” was made available solely on-line; no printed copies were provided to the community. The actual presentation by the architects occurred at a relatively short, community-wide forum in held the Marie Reed elementary school gathering space.
-- Anthony L. Harvey 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 D.C. Could Get This Wild, Twisty, Innovative School-- The Atlantic CityLab Virginia: January 06, 2016 [ abstract] Two notable architecture firms are coming together to create a new school in Rosslyn, Virginia, just outside the District of Columbia. Leo A Daly and Bjarke Ingels Group are designing a new Wilson School building"one that could be an architecturally significant project for the region.
The new building will replace the old Wilson School, a century-old building that Arlington County decided to demolish last year, much to the dismay of some residents. Officials argued that historic features that made the building distinctive had all been removed in the 1960s, including its portico, columns, and cupola.
If the new Wilson School building is completed as planned, Rosslyn will be getting an architectural gem worthy of what came before it. Planning documents from Arlington Public Schools reveal a distinctive torquing design. The building appears to spread out from a central pivot, like a hand fan. If the building is completed to spec, the Wilson School may be the most architecturally distinct public school in the country.
-- KRISTON CAPPS Asbestos at School: Is THAT What Your Child Is Breathing-- The Huffington Post National: December 29, 2015 [ abstract] We thought the asbestos problem was solved. Thirty years ago, concern in Congress over the impact of exposure to asbestos hazards led to passage of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA). While the law led to an increase in awareness of the cancer-causing toxic and resulted in rules designed to protect the 55 million children and 6 million staff in schools, the passage of time and fiscal restraints still leave people facing potential -- or very real -- exposures and costly long-term illnesses.
Unfortunately, this is the conclusion reached in a report published in December by United States Senators Edward Markey (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA).
In March, the senators sent letters to the governors of all 50 states seeking information that would help determine the "extent of asbestos hazards remaining in schools across the nation." They heard back from only 20, and what they did learn left them deeply concerned. With many more questions left unanswered than answered, they are proposing a set of recommendations to get AHERA back on track and to raise awareness about a persistent public health threat.
-- Claire L. Barnett SOM designs first net-zero energy school in New York City on Staten Island-- Dezeen Magazine New York: December 29, 2015 [ abstract] Architecture firm SOM has completed the first public school in New York City that generates as much energy on site as it consumes.
Called the Kathleen Grimm School for Leadership and Sustainability, the 444 seat, 68,000-square-foot (6,317-square-metres) primary school is located on Staten Island, the least populated of New York City's five boroughs.
Set on a 3.5 acre site (1.4 hectares), the building features a large canopy holding an array of solar panels that generate power for the school.
Brightly coloured window frames punctuate the textured pre-cast concrete facade.
In addition to generating its own power, the building uses 50 per cent less energy than a typical New York City school.
Skylights and reflective ceiling panels bring natural light deep into the building and reduce the need for artificial light. Geo-exchange heating and cooling systems, which use the earth's natural warmth to regulate temperature, and solar hot water units further reduce energy use.
Windows on the south side of the building are inset to reduce heat gain from the sun.
The architects hop
-- Staff Reporter City, school district find early obstacle in confluence-area land swap-- Post Independent Colorado: December 27, 2015 [ abstract] A wrinkle needs to be ironed out before a land swap between the school district and the city that’s needed for the new Glenwood Springs Elementary School construction and confluence-area redevelopment can proceed.
Vogelaar Park, which is owned by the Roaring Fork School District but operated by Glenwood Springs Parks, is encumbered with a special recreation designation dating back to some grant-funded ballfield improvements that were made in the 1980s. The park is now used as a youth baseball facility.
According to city and school district officials, the designation surfaced recently in planning for the Eighth Street connection.
In addition to a permanent city street connection that’s part of the larger effort to redevelop the Roaring Fork and Colorado river confluence area, the new route is to be used for the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Highway 82 detour during the Grand Avenue Bridge construction in 2017.
Playground space that will be part of the new GSES campus remodel can be transferred to make up for some of the park designation, said Shannon Pelland, chief financial officer for the school district.
But to do anything different with the rest of the Vogelaar parcel as part of the eventual confluence development will require an equal amount of land elsewhere to be designated for public parks purposes, she said.
“It does look like we could transfer the property to the city intact, and they would have to go through the same process we’re looking at to designate another property (for parks and recreation use),” Pelland said.
-- John Stroud Construction to begin on first Cy-Fair ISD school-based health clinic-- Community Impact Newspaper Texas: December 16, 2015 [ abstract] Ground broke Dec. 14 on the first-ever Cy-Fair ISD school-based healthcare clinic. The federally qualified clinic will serve district students and staff as well as members of the community.
The 10,000-square-foot facility will be located on the 179-acre multi-school site at the corner of FM 529 and Westgreen Boulevard where Cypress Park High School is also under construction. Both the clinic and the high school are expected to open together in August 2016.
CFISD Superintendent Mark Henry said the clinic will bring access to affordable healthcare to thousands of students.
“There is such a need in many of our communities for healthcare services for our students and their families,” he said. “It will be a much less expensive option for families that typically rely on hospitals and emergency rooms, especially when treating things like strep throat or the flu.”
The center was made possible because of a partnership between CFISD and Good Neighbor Healthcare Center, a nonprofit that has helped build federally qualified health clinics across the Greater Houston area. Their partnership was first announced at a May 11 CFISD board meeting.
“The clinic will have the ability to serve all members of the family,” Good Neighbor CEO Ann Thielke said. “This has been done in other parts of the country. The statistics show that there is an 85-percent reduction rate in absences and a decrease in manageable diseases like asthma.”
The facility is designed to provide health services to medically underserved populations. Integrated health care services include pediatric care, adult care, dental, vision, nutrition, mental health, psychiatry and behavioral health, Thielke said. The clinic will also offer vaccinations and physicals.
Henry also commented on the link between a student’s health and their academic performance.
-- Shawn Arrajj Schools chief urged to back local control-- ArkansasOnline Arkansas: December 15, 2015 [ abstract] Legislators on Monday pressed Pulaski County Special School District Superintendent Jerry Guess on whether he would advocate for the district to be released from state control.
Guess came into the line of fire after legislators discussed the district's progress toward achieving unitary status in facilities, staffing, student achievement, discipline and monitoring. Unitary status on those matters would release the district from federal court supervision of desegregation efforts.
The conversation took a turn, however, when legislators at the Joint Subcommittee on Desegregation Litigation Oversight began inquiring about the state's oversight of the district. The state deemed the district in fiscal distress in 2011, taking control of it and dissolving its local School Board. The designation is set to expire at the end of this school year, but the state can maintain its hold should it decide the district hasn't corrected all issues.
Education Commissioner Johnny Key said some would argue that the district hasn't fixed all the issues that led to the fiscal-distress status as it moves closer to losing state desegregation funds and to the formation of the new Jacksonville/North Pulaski School District out of part of the Pulaski County Special district.
-- Aziza Musa Mt. Kisco Architects Work to Make Schools Safer-- Chappaqua-Mount Kisco Patch New York: December 14, 2015 [ abstract] Since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School three years ago today, there have been 142 incidences of gun related violence at school facilities -- including 45 school shootings in 2015.
While safety and security have always been an important part of school planning and design, the recent increase in these tragedies have renewed the sense of urgency and put safety at the forefront of conversations about school buildings. KG&D Architects, PC has worked with many educational facilities throughout the Lower Hudson Valley to address this critical issue and fortify schools without turning them into fortresses.
“Security in schools often comes down to finding the right balance between visibility and the ability to isolate a portion of the population,” said Russell Davidson, one of the firm’s principal architects. “Completely open plans with lots of glass are and completely closed buildings with no visual connections can be equally inappropriate. The ability to see what is going on and to be seen, behind a secure enclosure, by law enforcement can often lead to a safer environment.
“Of course this needs to be combined with the ability to find a safe refuge where you cannot be seen when there is an active threat. These are the reasons why security planning is an architectural design challenge often completed in active collaboration with building administrators and security specialists. Each solution is a unique approach that is tailored to the population and the specific building configuration.”
-- LANNING TALIAFERRO School officials discuss options for Bridgewater school with collapsed roof-- Wicked Local Raynham Massachusetts: December 10, 2015 [ abstract] BRIDGEWATER " The options range from $12 million to $90 million " for base repairs to an entirely new school with room for more students.
But a harsh winter might not be to blame for a partial roof collapse at George H. Mitchell Elementary School last winter " poor construction is likely the cause.
Raymond design Associates Inc. presented its comprehensive structural assessment of the Bridgewater school Thursday night to members of the Bridgewater-Raynham school committee.
In the current roof, the structural engineers from Steere Engineering Inc. found incorrect lateral bracing, improper support, missing reinforcements, misaligned plates and missing and split web members.
-- Cody Shepard Construction issues still unresolved at Oxford High-- djournal.com Mississippi: December 06, 2015 [ abstract] OXFORD " Unresolved construction issues at the new Oxford High School are still giving district officials headaches nearly a year after the campus opened.
According to Sonny Brownlee, the district’s director of school services, Oxford School District has issued another change order regarding uncompleted items on the new Oxford High School without any response from the contractor, Yates Construction.
“We’ve issued several change orders without any acknowledgement from Yates,” added Paul Watkins, attorney for the district’s Board of Trustees.
Taylor Guild, AIA, is a principal with Eley Guild Hardy, the architectural firm that designed the new OHS and has overseen its construction. Brownlee reported at last week’s Board of Trustees meeting that Guild had requested an update on the punch list items from Yates in October, but thus far has not received an update from the contractor. For November, Brownlee reported, “No change on this item except that Taylor Guild has recommended closing out the project without the contractor’s help.”
As a result, the school board voted 5-0 Monday to withhold the final $69,240.80 that would have been due on the nearly $30 million contract. The credits include funds designated but unused for sod, signs and structural fill, along with costs to install locker room flooring and to buy and modify floor-mounted basketball goals in lieu of the ceiling-mounted goals that never worked properly after Yates installed them.
-- Errol Castens 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 Chicago Public Schools plans consolidations, 2 closings-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: December 01, 2015 [ abstract] Chicago Public Schools on Tuesday laid out plans to combine several schools and to close two others: a military program that exists in name only and a building that once housed a district-operated program for students with special needs.
Several years after Austin High School was divided into three programs, the district has proposed turning the building into a single neighborhood high school. Under the district's plans, students assigned to attend another high school in the South Austin neighborhood would also move into the consolidated building.
Two elementary schools operated by the Academy for Urban School Leadership in the same East Garfield Park neighborhood building would be combined, the district said. In the Little Village neighborhood, a small high school program would be absorbed into a larger school building across the street.
Orr Academy High School in the West Garfield Park neighborhood would also host a privately operated charter school program.
The city in 2013 placed a five-year moratorium on school closings after Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration shuttered nearly 50 schools. A district spokeswoman said Tuesday that "no students or teachers are affected by either of the actions at Montefiore or Marine, which is what the moratorium was designed to address.
-- Juan Perez Jr. Civic Federation to tackle historic designation for school site-- InsideNOVA Virginia: December 01, 2015 [ abstract] The Arlington County Civic Federation this week is slated to weigh in on the contentious proposal to grant historic-district status to the current home of the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program.
Federation delegates are slated to debate and vote on a resolution adopted by the organization’s schools committee, calling on the School Board to reject proposed historic status for the 65-year-old building, known in earlier times as Stratford Junior High School.
The county government’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) has pressed for the campus to become an historic district, which would allow HALRB members to regulate changes to the exterior of the buildings.
Only one other Arlington school " Swanson Middle " is incorporated into an historic district.
The committee’s report voices concern that restricting development on the Stratford site could cause two problems: It would limit the school system’s ability to address growing student enrollment, and would potentially necessitate the use of existing open space in the county to build school facilities to address that growth.
-- Staff Writer Elevated radon levels in 26 schools touch off retesting in Montgomery-- Washington Post Maryland: December 01, 2015 [ abstract] Montgomery school officials sent letters to parents at 26 schools with elevated levels of radon Tuesday, saying the district will conduct more testing in coming weeks and voicing assurances that there is not an immediate safety threat.
The plan for retesting follows a report detailing radon levels at 205 schools and district buildings, compiled following a public information request from a citizen activist in the suburban Maryland school system.
Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is odorless and colorless, is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, according to federal health officials. School officials say Montgomery has done radon testing in its schools since the late 1980s.
The sites designated for retesting " 26 schools and two other buildings " are located in areas including Silver Spring, Bethesda, Potomac, Rockville and Damascus. Most are elementary schools.
[See the results of radon testing at each Montgomery school]
“We do not believe we have any immediate safety issue at these schools,” said Brian Edwards, a Montgomery schools spokesman who described the levels of radon as “slightly elevated” and said remediation would be performed at any school that needs it.
-- Donna St. George 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 Miami-Dade schools looks to cash in on land-- Miami Herald Florida: November 20, 2015 [ abstract] When it comes to some of Miami-Dade’s biggest proposed development deals, one surprising major player has emerged.
It’s not condo magnate Jorge Pérez, golf course mogul Donald Trump, the Soffer family of Fontainebleau fame or any of the other familiar names.
It’s the Miami-Dade County School Board and Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.
Riding widespread community support and popularity, the board and Carvalho have increasingly sought to capitalize on South Florida’s lucrative real estate market, efforts they insist will benefit 350,000 mostly poor school kids.
The district has taken a starring role in negotiations with David Beckham to build a Major League Soccer stadium, and to bring the world’s largest shopping mall to land on the edge of the Everglades. But the country’s fourth-largest school district isn’t finished.
Sitting on land in some of Miami’s hottest neighborhoods, Miami-Dade is now considering offering up its downtown headquarters for what could be a 10-acre redevelopment " and to profit off a school site in the exclusive design District.
“There is a clear opportunity,” Carvalho recently told School Board members.
The only thing standing in the way is South Florida’s infamously cyclical real estate market, which appears to be headed for a cool down. Squeezed by a strong dollar and plenty of inventory, developers have already shelved plans for new towers downtown.
There’s also the question: should a school district insert itself in complicated real estate deals?
“Generally speaking, the school district is all about educating. It’s not about real estate development. And when somebody gets away from their expertise, nothing good ever comes of it,” said Peter Zalewski, founder of the South Florida condo-tracking website CraneSpotters.
-- CHRISTINA VEIGA Williamson County schools build "safe rooms" for severe weather-- WSIL 3 abc Illinois: November 16, 2015 [ abstract] WILLIAMSON COUNTY -- A grade school in Marion has taken steps to better prepare for severe weather. Last Fall, Lincoln Elementary School began construction of a new "safe room." The project has now wrapped up.
This has been in the works since before the May 8th storm tore through the region in 2009. School district leaders had already looked at adding safe rooms when the state mandated it last year.
After 11 months of construction, Lincoln Elementary School now has a safe room in the cafeteria.
"New school construction, you're going to see safe rooms," says Principal John Fletcher.
Fletcher says the architecture designed the room with severe weather in mind. It features steel reinforced concrete walls and roof along with tornado rated doors. With a push of a button, storm shutters protect the large window wall.
"The building is over-engineered. There's more concrete, there's more steel, and there's more brick and block," explains Fletcher.
There is room for 615 students, 55 staff members and any nearby residents or travelers needing shelter. A grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the school district paid for the addition at a cost of $2.1 million. FEMA paid 75 percent of that. More schools have begun similar moves.
Four years ago Adams School in Creal Springs became the first to open its cafeteria as a safe room.
"It was built with the storm shelter in place," says Principal Kim Burns.
-- Evie Allen Patterson Ranch developers sue Fremont Unified School District over school assignment policy-- San Jose Mercury News California: October 22, 2015 [ abstract] Attorneys representing two firms overseeing construction of the 500-home Patterson Ranch development in Fremont have sued the Fremont Unified School District over its policy of assigning future students there to whatever schools have the space for them.
The suit was filed Oct. 9 in Alameda County Superior Court on behalf of Fremont Patterson Ranch LLC and Brookfield Bellaire LLC.
It followed Fremont Unified School District Board of Education's unanimous vote on Sept. 9 to retain an "unassigned" attendance area designation for Patterson Ranch homes.
That vote was hailed by Fremont families and community members who packed the boardroom and an overflow room, holding signs declaring "Developers Must Build New Schools" and "Responsible Housing Development."
The board of trustees formalized the unassigned attendance policy it previously reviewed in July, after the developers of Patterson Ranch -- a subdivision of single-family houses under construction east of Ardenwood Boulevard, between Paseo Padre Parkway and Alameda Creek -- requested that the policy be reconsidered.
-- Aliyah Mohammed Contractor asks Fresno Unified to join in fight to recover $37 million from leaseback deal-- Fresnobee.com California: October 16, 2015 [ abstract] The contractor who took Fresno Unified School District to court over a no-bid construction project is now asking school district officials to join him instead of fight him " a move he says could result in the district recovering $37 million.
Fresno contractor Stephen Davis sent a letter to Fresno Unified trustees last week asking them to join in his efforts to make Harris Construction pay back the money the firm was paid to build Gaston Middle School in 2012.
“I am hopeful that you will consider my request and stop wasting taxpayer dollars opposing my action,” Davis wrote in the letter.
Davis alleges that the “lease-leaseback” contract Fresno Unified signed with Harris Construction is illegal.
The 5th District Court of Appeal said in June that the contract was not a genuine “lease-leaseback” agreement even though it was labeled as such. Leaseback agreements were designed to allow cash-strapped districts to build schools by going outside of the traditional competitive bidding process and pick consultants who will front the cost of a project and be repaid over time. But Fresno Unified had the money to pay for the project, and the court said it used the leaseback method improperly.
This is not the first time Davis has invited the school board to join his side.
-- MACKENZIE MAYS Why a Boston Suburb Combined Its High School and Senior Center-- The Atlantic Massachusetts: October 12, 2015 [ abstract] “You’ll have to excuse us, because we’re about to serve lunch, and it’s total chaos,” says Marilyn Hurwitz, striding through the busy lobby of the Swampscott Senior Center toward a multipurpose room where some three dozen elderly women and a handful of men sit waiting for their salmon fillets, spinach salads, and split-pea soup.
The ladies"who, in the gracious style of their generation, wear skirts and stockings, accessorized with lipstick and tasteful jewelry"sit chatting, their walkers and canes parked nearby. But should lunch be late, Hurwitz assures me, they are capable of creating a ruckus.
“You should see the poker games,” she says.
A tendency toward unruly cafeteria behavior is one thing the senior citizens in Swampscott, a seaside Boston suburb, have in common with the town’s youth, but it’s not the only thing. In fact, the airy 7,500-square-foot facility that hosts their knitting circles, card games, and exercise classes shares space with the local high school.
“It’s just a positive neighborly relationship,” says principal Ed Rozmiarek. “This building is called Swampscott High School, but it’s a community space, and it was designed that way.
-- Amy Crawford State senator's bill would address school closings-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: October 04, 2015 [ abstract] Local state officials, who have stayed out of the fray involving the decision to close Lincoln-Way North High School in Frankfort Township after this school year, hope to address through legislation some of the concerns that parents and officials have raised both before and since the vote to close the school.
State Sen. Michael Hastings, D-Tinley Park, said his staff filed a bill Friday that would set into law the "best practices" for closing or consolidating schools that would guarantee public input, financial transparency and a transition plan.
"There is never a good way to close a school, but my bill would outline guidelines to follow," Hastings said, adding that it is not designed to target any specific school district, nor is it designed to keep Lincoln-Way North High School from closing.
Since other districts in the state are facing similar financial issues, "I want to ensure that there is a process and a plan for the future," Hastings said.
"It's not a bad idea in terms of what school districts are facing in the state," Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 Supt. R. Scott Tingley said. "It's tough to find a textbook on this (decision-making process), but we have researched this."
The board voted in August to close North, one of the district's four high schools, to reduce a $5.2 million deficit and get off the state's financial watch list.
The district, which relied on revenue from growth over the years, now faces declining enrollment.
-- Susan DeMar Lafferty Philly superintendent wants more closures, conversions, new schools-- philly.com Pennsylvania: October 01, 2015 [ abstract] Sweeping changes are afoot for the Philadelphia School District, with closures, conversions to charter schools, and even new schools proposed Thursday by the superintendent.
In all, 5,000 students at 15 schools would be affected by the plan, which requires School Reform Commission approval. It has a price tag of up to $20 million.
Though the plan drew swift protests from some quarters, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. called the changes "exciting" moves designed to increase equity in city schools.
"Kids need great schools close to where they live," Hite said at a news conference.
Beeber Middle School in West Philadelphia - which staved off closure in 2013 but continues to struggle - would be phased out, shuttering in 2018. Grades would be added at Beeber's feeder schools, and the building itself would remain open to house SLA @ Beeber, the high school that now shares space with the closing middle school.
-- Kristen A. Graham 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 Parents, advocates complain of being shut out of school renovation process-- Baltimore Brew Maryland: September 15, 2015 [ abstract] At a recent forum on the 21st-Century Schools initiative, advocates said they deserve more engagement with the massive process underway to renovate or replace dilapidated Baltimore school buildings over the next 10 years.
School communities in particular, supposedly partners, feel like the last to know what is going on, said Mary Alexander, a participant in the event held last week at the Baltimore design School.
“You should hear what our ideas are before the design process begins,” Alexander said, addressing a crowd of more than 200 attending a break-out session. “I feel that individual parents are persona non grata. We are not involved. Instead, we are told what is going on.”
Alexander expressed some specific concerns about Northwood Elementary School, a school in Year Two of the project that will be undergoing an estimated $41 million renovation.
The Northwood Elementary grandparent told the crowd she had actively sought to be involved in the process and inquired about being on the 21st Century advisory committee, but felt her efforts got only tepid response from City Schools " and no response from the Maryland Stadium Authority " one of the partners in the school construction plan.
“When will you come talk to us? said another parent, Beatrice Bastiany, of Berea, president of the Friendly Neighborhood Association. Bastiany was concerned that plans to rebuild a school in her neighborhood also mean tearing down a recreation center.
-- Danielle Sweeney The future of air conditioning in Los Angeles schools-- Los Angeles Times California: September 15, 2015 [ abstract] Los Angeles Unified received 1,499 complaints regarding problems with air conditioning alone from Tuesday through Sunday.
The district received the most complaints it had received in a single day all year"463"on Wednesday.
It was an extremely hot week in Los Angeles, with temperatures crawling above 100 degrees Fahrenheit at times. The district receives 60 to 80 calls regarding air conditioning on an average day without a heat wave, said Mark Cho, the district’s deputy director for maintenance and operations.
Those calls add up. Early last week, the district had a backlog of about 2,600 calls it had received about air conditioning but not resolved. The district completed 650 service requests from Tuesday through Sunday. The backlog climbed to 3,277 as of Monday morning.
Between 1% and 2% of the district’s classrooms don’t have fully functioning air conditioning, Cho said. That may not seem like a lot, but in a district with about 30,000 classrooms, that translates to between 300 and 600 classrooms without working air conditioning.
It’s a problem the district is aware of and is trying to address. Many air-conditioning systems are old, and the district’s older schools don’t have the infrastructure to handle modern AC systems, Cho said.
The long-term fix is to completely redesign and rebuild AC systems in a number of Los Angeles schools, which the district has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to doing. In most cases, the costs per school range from less than $1 million to $10 million.
-- SONALI KOHLI Charles County Public School System Highlights Facility Plans & Renovations-- Southern Maryland News Net Maryland: September 14, 2015 [ abstract] Board of Education, county and community officials recently reviewed capital improvement projects during a bus tour highlighting repair work at county schools.
Superintendent Kimberly Hill hosted the morning tour on Aug. 20 to provide information about Charles County Public Schools’ (CCPS) Capital Improvements Program (CIP) and to share how projects are funded through multiple sources.
First stop was at T.C. Martin Elementary School, a 570-student school that opened in 1967 and expanded in 2009 to include four new full-day kindergarten classrooms. Parking lot renovations completed this summer streamlined student and bus drop-off areas and provided bus and permanent parking spots. CCPS also completed installation of new playground equipment this month.
Tour guide and CCPS Supervisor of Planning and Construction David Clements talked about the student population growth and special program needs. He said CCPS has the third fastest growing special education population in the state, creating a need for more specialized classrooms to accommodate programs.
Clements highlighted two large projects in the predesign stage " the renovation and expansion of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd Elementary School in Waldorf and the planned construction of Elementary School 22 off of Billingsley Road. Construction of the new school, Clements said, will relieve overcrowding of nearby elementary schools on the west side of U.S. 301 and the renovation of Dr. Mudd will update the school, which opened in 1967, while adding capacity to help relieve overcrowding in some Waldorf schools east of U.S. 301.
-- Staff Reporter 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 More sunlight, moveable walls: New Va. school reflects new teaching ideals-- Washington Post Virginia: September 06, 2015 [ abstract] Astronaut John Glenn lived in Arlington, Va., for a time. He sent his children to Williamsburg Junior High School across the street from his house on North Harrison Street, and they played together on the nearby fields. His son and daughter sat in the house on Harrison, transfixed by the television, as they watched a rocket hurtle their father into space in 1962, making him the first American to orbit the Earth.
In tribute to the astronaut and former senator, Arlington school officials named the new North Arlington neighborhood school Discovery Elementary, a nod to Glenn’s 1998 return to space " at age 77 " aboard the space shuttle by the same name.
But the $41 million school, which is scheduled to open to more than 500 students Tuesday, is a radical departure in design from the one Glenn sent his children to five decades ago. Gone are the uniform-size classrooms, the broad brick facades and the long, straight corridors.
Discovery Elementary is filled with light and has flexible spaces and moveable walls, all designed to reflect new ideas about teaching and learning. It is the first new elementary school in Arlington since 2001, when Carlin Springs Elementary was constructed, and it comes at a time when the suburb is seeing unprecedented growth in its school-age population.
The new school is, in some ways, the antithesis of the modular, cookie-cutter buildings that dominated the school construction boom in the second half of the past century.
-- Moriah Balingit R.I. School Building Authority launched to help finance school repairs-- Providence Journal Rhode Island: August 11, 2015 [ abstract] PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Governor Raimondo Tuesday launched a state school construction program to help finance repairs and reconstruction of outdated and dilapidated educational facilities.
Called the Rhode Island School Building Authority, the program is designed to restart projects frozen during a four-year moratorium on state-financed school construction and kick off new projects with a $20 million revolving loan fund. The program will be administered by the state Department of Education.
"We know our kids can't learn in crumbling school buildings and that they must have access to a learning environment that inspires them to do their best," Raimondo said in a news release announcing the authority's launch.
Part of Raimondo's campaign for governor and highlighted in her first budget, the new school building program will include a third-party study of nearly 300 non-charter public school buildings to determine which are in the greatest need of repair or replacement.
The state did an assessment of school building conditions in 2013, but it was based on information self-reported by school districts, making the projects difficult to compare and evaluate against each other, said Raimondo spokeswoman Joy Fox. The new report will be put together by a consultant and the state is now seeking bids for the work.
The school building authority will involve adding a full-time position at the Department of Education, said Kevin Gallagher, Raimondo's deputy chief of staff.
Current Rhode Island law provides municipalities a state match of at least 30 percent of qualified school construction expenses and in many cases more depending on the relative wealth of the district.
-- Patrick Anderson
More than just dollars and cents-- Community Design Collaborative Pennsylvania: August 04, 2015 [ abstract] In 2012, when the School District of Philadelphia first announced the proposed closure or reconfiguration of 44 schools, parents and students responded vehemently. News and social media were filled with coverage of the hearings. They detailed people’s concerns about student safety, access to good schools, and the breaking up of communities. Many also expressed concern about how the closed buildings would affect life in their neighborhoods.
I arrived in Philadelphia in September 2014, one year after the closure decisions. In the end, the School Reform Commission voted to shutter 24 school buildings. These vacant buildings across neighborhoods stood as a stark reminder of what was lost. But what happens next?
What’s a school’s worth?
My preliminary findings suggest that the ways people define the value of schools to neighborhoods vary, and that these competing definitions can lead to tensions in school closure decision making and the building reuse process.
First and foremost, the functional value of a school is in its role as educational infrastructure " the place kids go to learn. But, I was surprised to find that the role of schools varies across neighborhoods. In some neighborhoods, schools are key pieces of social infrastructure for parents and students. In others, they serve a broader neighborhood community, as a gathering space, resource center, or social hub.
-- Ariel Bierbaum Calling to rescind ‘out-of-time’ status for four city schools-- WBFO 88.7 New York: July 30, 2015 [ abstract] The New York State Education Commissioner is being asked to prevent the closing of four Buffalo schools. State Assembly members Crystal Peoples-Stokes and Sean Ryan were joined by Western New York Regents representative Catherine Collins outside Lafayette High School in Buffalo on Wednesday.
"It would be a mistake to close Lafayette High School. Tt would also be a mistake to close the three schools in Buffalo that are called out-of-time schools by the State Education Department," stated Assemblyman Ryan.
Bennett High School, Lafayette High School, East High School, and Martin Luther King Multicultural School #39 are all designated by the State Education Department (SED) at â€"out-of-timeâ€.
The leaders are calling on Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia to 'rescind' the out-of-time plan that would close Lafayette and three other failing schools.
-- EILEEN BUCKLEY Can D.C. afford to build the greenest schools in the world?-- The Washington Post District of Columbia: July 16, 2015 [ abstract] This year, the architects of the rebuilt Dunbar High School announced that the building was one of the greenest new schools in the world, equipped with a geothermal heating and cooling system aided by wells extending 460 feet below the athletic fields and enough solar panels to power all classroom lights for eight hours on a sunny day.
The D.C. public high school, after a $122 million reconstruction project, was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) platinum certification, the highest distinction awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council, which reviews building energy efficiency.
As District schools have been modernized, many of them are getting greener. But as the overall cost and fiscal management of the school district’s modernization program has come under scrutiny, so too are its environmental features.
The D.C. auditor this month recommended that the city analyze the costs and benefits associated with its LEED certification. The recommendation came as part of a report that was highly critical of the city’s oversight of the school building program and the growing costs of the program.
-- Michael Alison Chandler 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 Why LAUSD wants exemption from low-bidder law for $2 billion in construction projects-- Los Angeles Daily News California: July 11, 2015 [ abstract] As the Los Angeles Unified School District prepares to spend $2 billion on construction projects, officials want state lawmakers to pass a bill that would exempt them from hiring the lowest bidder.
Supporters of Assembly Bill 1185 say it will save money by letting the district pick the company it deems most suited for the job, while opponents say the proposal is designed by unions to exclude non-union contractors.
The bill’s author, Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, D-Los Angeles and the son of Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, said it has a great deal of support and could be signed into law as early as September, adding he believes it will make school district projects run more smoothly.
“In the public sector, we can’t afford waste, and we can’t afford delay,” Ridley-Thomas said.
But the Associated Builders and Contractors of California has said the legislation “will make it even more difficult for nonunion contractors to participate” on school construction projects, highlighting a “skilled workforce” section of the legislation that, according to the bill’s analysis, was designed by unions.
“The ‘skilled workforce’ requirement is proposed by building trade unions as a new way to block local, nonunion, minority and women-owned construction employers and their employees from participation in the LAUSD best value contracting process,” the group is quoted as stating in the bill’s analysis.
If signed, the legislation would last for five years, exclusively allowing Los Angeles Unified to not adhere to state law that requires the district hire the lowest bidder. The exemption would apply only to contracts valued at more than $1 million.
-- Thomas Himes D.C. officials defend management of school modernization projects-- The Washington Post District of Columbia: July 08, 2015 [ abstract] The city agency primarily responsible for school modernizations defended its work at a hearing Wednesday before the D.C. Council, responding to an audit that found the District failed to adequately monitor the renovations and violated laws designed to improve transparency, accountability and savings.
Jeff Bonvechio, deputy director for capital construction at the Department of General Services, said that consistent cost overruns have been largely attributable to factors outside the agency’s control, such as the accelerated timelines for school construction, the historic designations of many school buildings and the increasing scope of what was originally supposed to be phased-in modernization projects.
He said he could not comment on some of the audit’s specific findings, which covered fiscal years 2010 through 2013, because he has worked at the agency for less than three months.
He also defended the private contractor the city has hired to manage the school projects day to day after D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson testified that an estimated 84 percent of a sampling of expenditures the firms submitted had missing or insufficient documentation.
“They are providing quality work and oversight on these projects,” Bonvechio said, pointing to the 75 renovations that have been completed as evidence of their effectiveness.
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) challenged him on that: “Based on how pretty a building looks, they are doing good work?” he asked. “You can’t say ‘on budget and on time.’ ”
-- Michael Alison Chandler Dozens of schools under renovation over summer-- WBALTV 11 Maryland: July 07, 2015 [ abstract] Anne Arundel County is proceeding with dozens of school renovation projects that will leave some of the buildings all but new.
While students are on summer vacation, crews are working on schools like Walter S. Mills-Parole Elementary School.
"It looks like a new school. If you were to leave Annapolis and come back, you wouldn't recognize the school at all," parent Crystal Downs said.
The district is spending $23 million just on construction at Mills-Parole.
"We have full range of the building. We can do roof projects, boiler projects, major renovation projects and not have to worry about kids being around and safety," said Larry Alberts, the district's supervisor of planning, design and construction.
The school is bigger and brighter, and, at times, even the principal has trouble finding her way around the expanded campus.
-- Tim Tooten Schools get $300 million in state bond aid-- PortlandTribune Oregon: July 03, 2015 [ abstract] Oregon lawmakers, as one of their final actions of their 2015 session, approved $300 million in state bonds for seismic reinforcements and other building improvements in public schools.
Also among the bond allocations are $45 million for nonroad projects under Connect Oregon, $35 million for a handful of highway projects, including outer Powell Boulevard in Portland, $7.5 million for the Willamette Falls riverwalk project near Oregon City, and smaller amounts for projects around Portland and Eastern Oregon.
Bonds also will pay for the state's $200 million share of the Knight Cancer Center at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland — lawmakers had committed that money previously for the project, which has reached its $500 million match — and a $17.7 million state share of a multimillion-dollar replacement of the Multnomah County Courthouse in Portland.
No money is proposed for seismic reinforcement and other renovations at the Capitol, which had a total price tag of $337 million, $34.5 million of which came from a bond issue two years ago for design and engineering.
Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, was its most prominent champion, and called it â€"a devastating loss.â€
â€"But it is not my style to hold up a session over one issue, even one as important as this,†he said Friday.
-- Peter Wong Auditor: D.C. school system’s capital program lacks accountability-- Washington Post District of Columbia: July 01, 2015 [ abstract] The District government has failed to adequately monitor its school modernization program, leading to violations of multiple laws designed to improve transparency and accountability, according to a report being released Wednesday by the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor.
The report, covering fiscal years 2010 through 2013 and $1.2 billion in spending, found that the Department of General Services and D.C. Public Schools did not provide basic financial management, allowing for the misuse of taxpayer funds.
“Across the city, public school students are benefiting from modern, new facilities, and there is much to commend in the priority given to school construction,” said D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson. “But District resources are finite. We owe it to taxpayers to see that modernization funds are spent well and prudently, to assure our ability to complete the task of upgrading all of our schools.”
The capital program came under new scrutiny this year after dozens of school projects were pushed back in the renovation queue in Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s $1.3 billion, six-year school construction plan. The changes were the result of major cost overruns and a slowdown in capital spending as the city prepares to pay down what amounts to a major debt load after several years of aggressive borrowing.
-- Michael Alison Chandler 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 $203.8M in building projects find Pasco schools 'busier than we've ever been'-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: June 18, 2015 [ abstract] chool's out for summer, as far as students are concerned.
It's the perfect time for school construction projects to get moving, and work is taking place throughout Pasco County.
"We are busier than we've ever been," said construction director John Petrashek, who has worked for the school district through the past two building booms.
District records indicate that projects valued at $203.8 million are in progress, with some just getting started and others nearing completion. The 2012 Penny for Pasco sales tax is underwriting much of the work.
Even with that revenue, though, officials are having to find ways to streamline designs as the costs of supplies and labor continue to increase. The district receives letters twice a year, sometimes more often, alerting it to the rising price of concrete, for instance, said construction accountant Mike Williams.
"It is getting more difficult to find the skilled trades and subcontractors that aren't already busy," Petrashek added.
The district negotiates guaranteed maximum prices for its projects. That can mean finding areas to scale back and make more efficient in order to stay within the budget.
-- Jeffrey Solochek Officials worry schools will close due to population drop-- SFGate.com Utah: June 14, 2015 [ abstract] PANGUITCH, Utah (AP) — Community leaders in a rural southern Utah county are worried about a steady decline in population that has the school district considering closing schools due to a lack of students.
Garfield County Commission is now considering declaring a state of emergency to call attention to the situation, the Deseret News (http://bit.ly/1I1XVGy) reported.
The Garfield School District has watched enrollment decline for 18 years. Escalante High School, for example, has about 50 students now compared to 150 in 1996.
"This is a big issue," Commissioner David Tebbs said. "You lose a school, you lose the heart and soul of that community."
Garfield County is about 250 miles south of Salt Lake City, with much of it designated as federally-protected lands. The 2014 population of the county was 5,024 and has actually increased 40.5 percent from the 1960's population of 3,577. However, that lags behind the state's growth of 230.4 percent during that same span.
Commission Chairman Leland Pollock pointed to the creation of Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in 1996 as the foundation of the problem. He says that designation severely decreased natural resource extraction industries, which employed many residents.
-- Associated Press Timothy C. Duffy: Smart plan to assess, build R.I. schools-- Providence Journal Rhode Island: June 10, 2015 [ abstract] Public schools are the cornerstone of our communities. Our schools are where our children spend most of their time outside their homes, and we have a responsibility to ensure that every child in Rhode Island has the opportunity to learn in a warm, safe, clean and dry school. Rhode Island's economy is also in a tailspin, with bold change needed to spark a comeback and put people back to work.
The recession and the moratorium on school construction have created challenges for local school districts to provide much-needed improvements. Current school regulations demand that new facilities receiving state aid meet the highest standards of building construction, but are silent on the quality of existing buildings. As a result, too many of our educators and students work and learn in facilities that are at best unpleasant, and at worst, unsafe.
With the average school facility being 60 years old, tremendous inequity exists in schools across the state.
Gov. Gina Raimondo's School Building Authority proposal sets out a new and efficient way to administer and fund school construction – one that is focused on creating safe and healthy learning spaces for all children, while also bringing predictability, sustainability, and fiscal responsibility to the state's school construction process. This program is designed to move quickly to create countless construction jobs in the process.
-- Timothy C. Duffy - Opinion State construction grant will upgrade 93-year-old school-- Chalkbeat Colorado Colorado: May 21, 2015 [ abstract] Annual grants recommended by the state’s school construction board include a $14.9 million project to renovate and expand a 93-year-old junior/senior high school for the Edison district in rural El Paso County.
The state Capital Construction Assistance Board this week recommended approval of 26 projects totaling $90.2 million, including $47.5 million in state funds and $42.6 million in local matches. The State Board of Education and a legislative committee have to review the recommendations next.
Edison’s school was built in 1922, with a major addition constructed 47 years ago. The district’s application to the Building Excellent Schools Today program includes a long list of structural, safety, utility, and instructional deficiencies that will be remedied by the project. The district has 194 students, 39 percent classified as at-risk.
The BEST program, created by the legislature in 2008, was designed especially to help small districts like Edison that have aging buildings but insufficient financial resources to build on their own. Edison, for instance, was required to provide matching funds of only $274,202.
The state portion of BEST is funded primarily by annual revenues from state school lands. In past years the program has been able to award more grants because sales of bond-like instruments were used to fund construction, with the debt paid off over time. For instance, $273 million in projects was recommended in 2012.
-- Todd Engdahl D.C.'s Hospitality High School to be sold, converted to condos-- Washington Business Journal District of Columbia: May 19, 2015 [ abstract] Plans have just been filed to convert the historic Hospitality High School building at 1851 Ninth St. NW into a 29-unit condominium complex.
The building, designed by architect Albert Cassell, was constructed in 1932 for the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Grand United Order of the Odd Fellows in America. It has also served as home to the Maya Angelous Public Charter School and, currently, Hospitality High School.
Hollow Creek Investment Group LLC of Potomac is the contract purchaser of the building, last acquired by Hospitality High School in June 2012 for $7.5 million. It is located in the Greater U Street Historic District, which protects it from major changes, especially on the outside.
Per an application filed with the Board of Zoning Adjustments, the “history of the building proves that a school use cannot be sustained,” and “it is apparent that this structure requires substantial investment to permit the adaptive reuse of the building for residential use.”
Hollow Creek will require significant variances from zoning regulations in order to proceed with the project. The 6,461-square-foot lot size, for example, would only allow for seven units, but Hollow Creek is requesting permission to build nearly 30.
Seven units, per the application filed Tuesday, would be “excessively large and unmarketable.” A 29-unit structure “is required for the project to be financially feasbile.”
-- Michael Neibauer Renovation plans approved for historic Thaddeus Stevens school-- The GW Hatchet District of Columbia: May 18, 2015 [ abstract] D.C.’s historical preservation board approved the designs for the renovation of the Thaddeus Stevens school last month, with the hope of opening the school as soon as 2018.
The renovation, which will total about $18 million and last for about a year, will bring the aging L Street school up to the area’s zoning codes and prepare it for its next chapter as a school for children with special needs and autism.
The design plans include repairing damaged concrete stairs and the external masonry, adding a courtyard garden in front of the building and putting up a statue of Thaddeus Stevens to commemorate the building’s history. There will also be a 10-story office building near the school, which will house an art gallery to further celebrate the school’s history, according to historical preservation documents.
As one of the oldest public schools in the city, Thaddeus Stevens operatedfor 140 years until it was one of 23 schools shut down by District government in the wake of school closures by former D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee in 2008. It has sat empty without any maintenance for seven years since then.
David Toney, vice president of development for Akridge, the company in charge of developing the school, said in an interview there are some parts of the building that look “pretty bad,” like peeling paint and windows that need to be replaced.
“A building built in the 1800s is not going to have a lot of things that current building codes require,” Toney said.
-- Robin Eberhardt 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 Governor signs Brown’s developer impact fee bill-- The News Tribune Washington: May 11, 2015 [ abstract] Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill Monday designed to help developers with impact fees.
Senate Bill 5923, sponsored by Sen. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, will allow residential builders to defer payment of impact fees until a home reaches final inspection, receives a certificate of occupancy or has its first sale closing, depending on how a local government chooses to deal with it.
Cities and counties can impose the impact fees to offset the cost of facilities.
Local governments using impact fees include the Pasco School District, which uses them to help pay for new school construction, and the city of Pasco’s park impact fee.
-- Tri-City Herald Writer School Facilities Awards over $61 Million in Construction Contracts-- Wyoming School Facilities Department Wyoming: May 08, 2015 [ abstract] CHEYENNE, Wyo. " The state’s School Facilities Department (SFD) has awarded $61,390,945
in contracts since March 1, 2015, setting the stage for a robust construction season in school
districts all across Wyoming.
Contracts were awarded for a range of services including architectural design, planning studies,
capital construction, demolition, remodel and renovation, as well as land purchases.
SFD Director Bill Panos said the next several months would be “a very exciting time” as the
industry enters its peak building season and projects move closer to completion.
“Securing professional services is, of course, essential to getting projects completed,” Panos
explained. “Working with our district stakeholders, SFD awarded over $36 million in contracts
in April. That’s a record. And we’re poised to set another record in May.”
-- Anthony Hughes Philly Shares Design Secrets of Eco-Friendly Schoolyards-- Nextcity.org Pennsylvania: May 05, 2015 [ abstract] ping to inspire school districts and communities around the U.S. to green up asphalt play spaces " and provide tips and tools for making such improvements " this week, the Philadelphia-based Community design Collaborative and the Philadelphia Water Department released a 44-page illustrated guide, “Transforming Philadelphia’s Schoolyards.”
Philly’s water agency has been taking the national lead on stormwater management and resilient infrastructure for several years. The department worked with the Collaborative, which provides pro bono design service to nonprofits, on eco-friendly makeovers for 18 schoolyards in the city. The guide shares design concepts and case studies to help schools or neighborhood groups across the U.S. that are considering transformations of such spaces with an eye on the environment and beautification.
The designs are way higher concept " and more fun " than tetherball and swings. One recently renovated elementary schoolyard with a dragon theme includes a rain garden, climbing nets and an amphitheater.
-- Jenn Stanley 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 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 State Breaks Ground on New School in Ranchester-- Wyoming School Facilities Department Wyoming: April 13, 2015 [ abstract] CHEYENNE, Wyo. " Bill Panos, director of the state’s School Facilities Department (SFD), has announced the groundbreaking of a new elementary school in Sheridan County School District #1, Ranchester.
designed by Plan One Architects, Tongue River Elementary will span 51,308 square feet and have the capacity to serve 365 students in grades K-5. A formal groundbreaking ceremony will be held Tuesday, April 14, 2015.
“It’s very exciting to see this project take another important step toward reality,” 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 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 OPS continues to pioneer energy-efficient methods in classrooms-- KETV Omaha Nebraska: April 01, 2015 [ abstract] OMAHA, Neb. —Omaha Public Schools said the focus five years ago was on conservation, teaching students to be responsible with natural resources. But saving millions of dollars along the way isn't bad, either, and it won OPS national recognition last year.
Students go to class every day at Omaha's Gateway Elementary School collecting and working to lessen the amount of waste the school produces.
It all began in the 2010-11 school year across the district. There have since been existing-school upgrades like energy-efficient lights with support from Omaha Public Power District. At Gateway, new construction included sensors that turn off lights when no one's inside the classroom, design with natural light in mind and efficient building materials. Gardens outside the school are designed to survive on rain water, and there are tanks that collect it from the roof for other uses.
Inside the school, there's a geothermal system that taps into natural ways to heat and cool the building.
District staff said it's a top-to-bottom analysis of every building, each with its own "green team."
"We look at energy conservation. We look at energy star preferred appliances. We make sure our buildings are running as efficiently as possible," said Dr. Sue Colvin, of OPS.
-- Jeremy Maskel Shelby County closes three Memphis schools, moves students from three others-- Chalkbeat Tennessee Tennessee: March 31, 2015 [ abstract] Responding to dismal academic results and the looming threat of state takeover, the Board of Education for Shelby County Schools voted Tuesday to close three low-performing schools and transfer hundreds of students out of three other schools being taken over by Tennessee’s Achievement School District (ASD).
In all, more than 2,000 students will be impacted with the changes beginning next school year. The vast majority will be moved to schools within the district’s Innovation Zone, which receive extra federal dollars and state waivers to provide intense interventions designed to boost student test scores.
Superintendent Dorsey Hopson recommended the changes, explaining that the district has “far too many better schools” able to absorb students from underperforming schools facing closure. “Given the state of where we are now, we have the ASD that’s indicated that it’s going to be very aggressive in looking at schools in south Memphis,” he said. “How can we put as many children in positions to learn and be successful as we possibly can?”
-- Daarel Burnette Future School Building in North Adams To Be Earthquake-Rated-- Time Warner Cable News Massachusetts: March 27, 2015 [ abstract] Construction of the Colegrove Park Elementary School in North Adams continues, and the project has proven to be tough, with designers in a battle between century-old architecture with modern-day building codes. Jim Vasil reports.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- It's been a long winter for all of us, especially for construction workers at the site of North Adams new elementary school.
"And now we have the glory of a very muddy spring, probably," said Dorri Brooks, Project Manager of the Colegrove Park Elementary School, "but you know, it's going okay."
And thankfully, boots are required on the site, where masons continue to chip away at additions to the school, which is a century old and is now rated for earthquakes?
"A lot of people back then wouldn't have thought of Massachusetts as being a seismic zone," said Brooks, "but in actuality, it is."
-- Jim Vasil 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 Senate panel moves school bond bill-- Cabinet Report California: March 26, 2015 [ abstract] (Calif.) A plan to put a statewide bond measure on the 2016 ballot to help pay for new school construction and modernization projects moved ahead Wednesday in action before a key legislative panel.
Concurrent to approval of SB 114 by the Senate Education Committee, the Secretary of State’s office announced that proponents of a separate initiative calling for a $9 billion school facilities bond to go on the same ballot were cleared to begin collecting the signatures needed to put that measure before voters.
Lawmakers appear poised to press the bond issue using either vehicle.
“The winding down of the current program and the governor’s call for change presents an opportunity to rethink the administrative and programmatic structure of the state’s facilities program, and to better align the program design with the state’s policy objectives,” said committee chair Sen. Carol Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge, the bond bill’s author.
Officials have been trying for the last several years to figure out how to salvage the state’s School Facility Program, which uses cash from the sale of voter-approved, general obligation bonds to match school district contributions for new construction, modernization or other types of facility projects such as seismic repair or overcrowding relief.
That program, administered through the Office of Public School Construction, has since 1998 doled out some $35 billion in matching grants to schools but the funds are now depleted. The last statewide school bond was passed in 2006.
-- Kimberly Beltran Historic downtown school building slated for demolition despite protests by former students-- Culturemap Houston California: March 22, 2015 [ abstract] ageable bricks and a cross above Incarnate Word Academy's "1905 Building" are all that will likely soon be left of one of downtown Houston's most historic structures. The last of the city's architectural landmarks totally designed by famed 19th-century Texas architect Nicholas J. Clayton faces the wrecking ball soon.
Despite protests and an online petition with more than 1,000 signatures from former students and preservationists in support of saving the structure, the five board members of Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, the organization that owns the building, said an estimated $300,000 rehabilitation project would not provide "a structure adequate to the school's needs," the Houston Chronicle reports.
Salvageable bricks and a cross above Incarnate Word Academy's "1905 Building" are all that will likely soon be left of one of downtown Houston's most historic structures. The last of the city's architectural landmarks totally designed by famed 19th-century Texas architect Nicholas J. Clayton faces the wrecking ball soon.
Despite protests and an online petition with more than 1,000 signatures from former students and preservationists in support of saving the structure, the five board members of Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, the organization that owns the building, said an estimated $300,000 rehabilitation project would not provide "a structure adequate to the school's needs," the Houston Chronicle reports.
Rather, the three-story red-brick building at 609 Crawford St., cited by Rice University architectural history lecturer Stephen Fox as just one example of Clayton's "late-19th century architectural exuberance," will be demolished and replaced with a new, $8.5 million, six-story structure expected to open for the 2016-2017 school year.
Renderings of the proposed facility have not yet been released, but officials said they plan to include some bricks and decorative features from the demolished building into the design.
Workers placed a chain-link fence around the property last week. Scaffolding surrounds the structure as crews gut the insides of the building.
Sister Lauren Beck, president of the teaching order and of the school, did not respond to numerous calls from CultureMap seeking comment, but she told the Chronicle, "We do appreciate that this is an older building, but we have to look at the needs of the school. There is no more land down here and we are landlocked. While we loved having some of the old and some of the new, we decided that the building could not drive the mission of the school. The needs of the school come first."
-- BARBARA KUNTZ Using everything we’ve got’: Aging, crowded buildings, lack of gym space led to bond referendum-- West Central Tribune Minnesota: March 22, 2015 [ abstract] WILLMAR " Willmar Superintendent Jerry Kjergaard ticked off the reasons Willmar Public Schools wants to undertake a building program " crowded buildings, aging buildings, lack of gym space.
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Kjergaard spoke with the Willmar Lakes Rotary on Thursday about the school district’s May 19 bond referendum.
Kjergaard is scheduled to make a number of other presentations in the next two months to explain what the School Board feels is needed to develop long-term solutions to the district’s challenges.
Eighteen months of planning went into developing the proposal, Kjergaard said. The groundwork included a citizens’ task force that met for several months and a random sample survey of district residents.
Enrollment in lower grades has been rising, and the district’s two elementary schools have become crowded and over capacity, he said.
Kennedy Elementary and Roosevelt Elementary are “using everything we’ve got … hallways, corners, every nook and cranny” as instructional space, he said. Each school has more than 900 students.
More space is needed for instruction, and a new school would allow the district to reduce overall enrollment to about 600 students in each building, he said. Kjergaard said he believes the new school would be somewhere on the east side of Willmar, though no location or design has been chosen yet. The school’s other elementary schools are in central and southwestern parts of town.
-- Linda Vanderwerf Families question security plans at Shelton school-- Shelton Herald Connecticut: March 15, 2015 [ abstract] A parent, grandparent and great-grandparent were among those expressing concerns at a March 9 public meeting about the extent of security upgrades planned for Long Hill Elementary School.
“Long Hill School should receive the same safety measures,” Long Hill parent Jennifer Sanborn told the Public Improvement Building Committee (PIBC), the city agency that oversees most upgrades to municipal and school buildings in Shelton.
Among the security improvements being made at various schools, the entrances are supposed to be fortified at three older buildings " Long Hill, Mohegan, and Elizabeth Shelton.
Redesigning the entryways
The so-called “three-school project” will involve entry re-designs and putting in new doors, windows and entry-card systems. The goal is to enable school office personnel to better see and control who is trying to enter the building.
Long Hill’s existing layout in the front is different from that of the other two schools, and this presents some challenges " including in creating a “man-way,” or an area between two different sets of doors where an intruder could be intentionally locked in for security purposes.
“They’re looking for that second set of doors,” Ben Trabka, the school system’s security supervisor and a retired Shelton police detective, told the PIBC.
‘Situation is being addressed’
Bernie Simons, PIBC chairman, said the architect overseeing the project has been able to make some adjustments to initial plans and this should satisfy concerned family members.
“It should not be an issue,” Simons said. “The situation is being addressed.”
The PIBC discussed the three-school project later in the meeting, but this was done in executive session, so it was closed to the public and the press.
At the meeting, the PIBC also discussed the Sunnyside School roof project and multi-school solar panel project.
-- Brad Durrell Portable classrooms on way out in Orange-- Orlando Sentinel Florida: March 13, 2015 [ abstract] For almost three decades, the students at Ventura Elementary have attended nearly all of their classes in wood-paneled trailers that were intended as a short-term solution to booming growth.
Their days of donning jackets or raincoats to go to the cafeteria will finally be coming to an end. The Orange County School Board this week approved a plan to replace Ventura and three other "modular" elementaries like it within three years.
"These kids deserve better than that," said Faz Ali, senior director of planning and design for Orange schools.
The trailers not only look dated, they develop leaks and require frequent repairs for problems such as failed air-conditioning units, curled carpets and flooding around the doors, facilities officials said.
Despite voters twice approving a half-penny sales tax to pay for school construction, the district has had so many needs that schools such as Ventura have waited for years. Problems in the construction department during the late 2000s also slowed work.
Even so, two high schools and eight middle schools that underwent incomplete renovations will have to keep waiting, at least for now.
-- Lauren Roth The ‘greenest’ school building in the world is in Washington-- Washington Post District of Columbia: March 12, 2015 [ abstract] In 2013, then-Mayor Vincent C. Gray cut the ribbon on a brand new Dunbar High School, from where he had graduated in 1959. The old school, housed in a dark, windowless high-rise building in Truxton Circle since the 1970s, had long been deemed unsuitable learning grounds.
And now, nearly two years after the new building opened, Dunbar ranks as the “greenest” school in the world, according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s designation system, which ranks buildings based on environmental sustainability.
The U.S. Green Building Council wrote on its Web site that the 280,000-square-foot high school achieved LEED Platinum certified " the highest level certification possible. And, with a score of 91 out of 110 points, it tops all other schools in the world under the council’s Schools-New Construction rating system.
“This masterpiece of a green learning environment encompasses a photovoltaic array that generates enough energy on a sunny summer day to power all classroom lights for eight hours,” the U.S. Green Building Council wrote. “Additionally, deep below the surface of the school’s athletic fields is Washington, DC’s largest ground-source heat pump, with wells reaching down 460 feet. Two 20,000 gallon cisterns and low-flow systems help to conserve more than 1.4 million gallons of potable water each year.”
-- Perry Stein District to break ground on sixth elementary school Monday-- Snoqualmie Valley Record Washington: March 11, 2015 [ abstract] The Snoqualmie Valley School District will break ground on a sixth elementary school at 1 p.m. Monday, March 16, on the school site on Snoqualmie Ridge. The site is located at the corner of Southeast Swenson Drive and Snoqualmie Parkway. Construction start April 1.
The school will be funded by the recently passed Proposition 1 bond for $244 million to build, repair and renovate every school building in the district.
The process to build an elementary school typically takes two years. However, initial work on the new school’s design and permitting requirements were completed last year, so the district could expedite construction.
Superintendent Joel Aune explained, “Working within an accelerated timeframe, our goal is to be ready to serve students starting by fall of 2016. The addition of the sixth elementary school will help to alleviate crowding throughout the district, since all five of our existing elementary schools currently are at or nearing capacity.”
-- Staff Writer Deputy Mayor Niles Releases 2014 Master Facilities Plan Annual Supplement-- DC.gov District of Columbia: March 04, 2015 [ abstract] WASHINGTON, D.C.) " The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME) partnered with Department of General Services (DGS), DC Public School (DCPS), and the DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) to release the 2014 Master Facilities Plan (MFP) Annual Supplement. An annual supplement to the MFP is required pursuant the “Comprehensive Planning and Utilization of School Facilities Act of 2014.”
The 2014 MFP Annual Supplement was publicly released March 4th, 2015 and includes the following facility data from DCPS and some from public charter schools:
• Facility utilization,
• Facility conditions,
• Facility needs,
• Public school enrollments and enrollment projections ,
• DCPS facility designation, and
• DCPS education plans for buildings categorized as under-utilized or over-utilized
“The release of the Master Facilities Plan (MFP) Annual Supplement is a critical step as we increase transparency of our public facility landscape,” said Deputy Mayor Niles. “Moving forward, this data will be a valuable resource for our school planning efforts.”
The 2014 MFP Annual Supplement establishes a process and timeline for collecting all public facility data. The report also serves as a data resource for the development of the Capital Improvement Plan for DCPS and provides insight into the potential use and availability of vacant DCPS buildings.
-- Shayne Wells In Arlington, growth threatens a building some view as historic-- Washington Post Virginia: March 01, 2015 [ abstract] In this brick building on Wilson Boulevard, some see a historic gem in one of Arlington County’s oldest schools, where President Woodrow Wilson would pause and chat with children on the lawn.
School officials see an outdated structure and an opportunity to relieve crowding elsewhere in the district, which is seeing unprecedented growth in the student population. The district, which owns the building, plans to tear it down and erect a building about eight times the size to house the H-B Woodlawn program and a program for students with special needs.
But a civic association has made a final attempt to save the building, known as the Wilson School, calling for it to receive historic designation. The fight is emblematic of the growing pains in Arlington, where a population boom has put the squeeze on parks and historic structures. The district grew 5.2 percent this school year, putting enrollment at about 24,500 students.
-- Moriah Balingit Horry County schools plow ahead with building plans-- SCNOW.com South Carolina: February 28, 2015 [ abstract] After two years of planning and a handful of delays, Horry County Schools is making movement toward building five new schools.
The district released the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) a second time Thursday after tossing out original conceptual design plans in November. Horry County Board of Education cited a need to request and review energy-positive designs for new schools, but kept its earlier plans for remodels and additions to two other schools.
Unlike last year’s request, the current RFQ was written by district staff and board members in conjunction with Childs and Halligan, a Columbia law firm that has partnered with the district before for other legal reasons. Bick Halligan, with the firm, said it isn’t uncommon for school districts to seek the help of lawyers while writing large-scale contracts.
“The [RFQ] is establishing a large contractual relationship over a period of time, and that’s the sort of thing lawyers are involved in,” Halligan said.
The firm charges about $200 per hour for the services, Halligan said. The total amount the district spent on legal costs was not available Friday night.
The district has budgeted $161.7 million to build five new schools, said John Gardner, chief financial officer. The total cost of the project is $451.6 million.
-- Claire Byun Inside Take: Philly’s Next Great Public Space? Schoolyards.-- Philadelphia Magazine Pennsylvania: February 27, 2015 [ abstract] Over the past seven years, Philadelphians have witnessed a public space renaissance. No longer are apocalyptic Hollywood movies choosing Philadelphia as a backdrop because our physical environment perfectly fits the scene (remember Twelve Monkeys?). Instead, dynamic, transformative public spaces"from Spruce Street Harbor Park, Dilworth Plaza, the Porch at 30th Street, Lovett Park in Mt. Airy, and many others"are reflecting a newfound sense of civic pride.
Now that we have built up in-house expertise in creating truly great public spaces, and developed credibility with public, private and philanthropic funders, we should harness that energy and apply it to what I call Philadelphia’s Public Space Initiative 2.0"the redesign of our public schoolyards. Our schools need to become Philadelphia’s next set of great public spaces.
Public schools are widely accessible and deeply integrated into Philadelphia’s. This map, provided by the Philadelphia Water Department, shows the dispersion of schoolyards throughout the City.
Unfortunately, too often schoolyards are in deplorable condition, with pockmarked pavement, aging play equipment and few amenities. And yet they exude potential. There is more than sufficient evidence to suggest that safe, inviting and engaging play areas allow children to get the exercise they need, develop social skills and ultimately perform better in the classroom.
Additionally, given the vast real estate schoolyards occupy, they play a critical role in curb appeal, and curb appeal matters. Colleges and universities don’t invest in fancy gyms and cafeterias because they are mission-critical. They make those investments to draw in the prospective students that pay the bills for everything else. Upwards of 40 percent of the city’s student body now opts for charter schools. I’d argue improving schools’ curb appeal would give parents another reason to give their neighborhood school further consideration.
-- ANUJ GUPTA Horry County Schools cites need for energy-positive designs as reason building new schools is delayed-- MyrtleBeachOnline.com South Carolina: February 21, 2015 [ abstract] Horry County Schools has been trying to build five new schools for two years, and district officials say it will be a few more months before shovels hit the ground.
The district launched its current school building project two years ago to help address overcrowding in area schools, said Joe DeFeo, board of education chairman.
Since then, the building project has been stalled by efforts to design energy-positive schools from the ground up and by a lack of communication between board members and district officials, DeFeo said. The need to design buildings with a lesser ecological footprint is another factor affecting the slowdown.
In other school districts around South Carolina, such as in Charleston and Lexington, new schools have been built in between two and four years.
-- CLAIRE BYUN Meeting set to gather history on Rosenwald schools-- The News & Advance Virginia: February 19, 2015 [ abstract] Between 1917 and 1932, nearly 5,000 schools for black students were built across the South through the Rosenwald Fund.
“They were built at a time when African-Americans didn’t really have an opportunity for an education and when it was available, they had challenges,” said Taryn Anthony, a member of the Campbell County NAACP, a group trying to preserve the county’s black educational history, including some of the Rosenwald buildings " the focus of an informational meeting Saturday.
The Rosenwald Fund began in 1917 by Julius Rosenwald, the part owner and president of Sears, Roebuck & Co. He became friends with Booker T. Washington and was asked to serve on the Tuskegee Institute’s board of directors five years earlier. The pair worked together to promote better educational opportunities for black students from grade school through college.
In the 1800s, most Virginia schools were private or sponsored by a religious organization, limiting who could attend the schools, especially black students, Anthony said.
Using private and public funds, Rosenwald built schools, teacher homes and shop buildings for a little more than $28.4 million, serving more than 663,600 students in 15 states. The buildings followed a set architectural design from the Tuskegee Institute, including large windows and certain paint colors to capitalize on natural light at a time when rural schools often did not have electricity.
-- Katrina Koerting 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 Stadium Authority is close to awarding bids on next round of school construction-- Baltimore Business Journal Maryland: February 04, 2015 [ abstract] Maryland Stadium Authority officials have hired architects for the next two schools to be renovated or rebuilt as part of the city's $1 billion school construction plan.
The next schools in the pipeline are John Eager Howard Elementary in Reservoir Hill, which will be designed by Cho Benn Holback, and Lyndhurst Elementary School in Edmonson Village, which will be designed by STV Inc. The awards are a key first step in the process for the school construction plan that could mean as many as 28 schools are renovated or rebuilt by 2020.
Gilbane Inc. has already been selected construction manager for the first two schools in the pipeline, Fort Worthington Elementary in Broadway East and Frederick Elementary School in Millhill on the west side. Baltimore-based Grimm + Parker Architects is the architect for Fort Worthington; USA Architects of Somerville, N.J., is the architect for Frederick.
-- Kevin Litten Houston Project Advisory Teams tour 4 innovative schools in D.C. area-- Houston Independent School District Texas: February 02, 2015 [ abstract] The one-day tour of four schools in the Washington, D.C., area included campuses that are collaborative, flexible, and technology-focused. The objective was to give the participants insight into design possibilities for schools across HISD that are being rebuilt or renovated under the district’s bond program, as well as observe up close how those spaces impact student learning.
The nine HISD high schools participating in the tour were Sam Houston MSTC, Austin, Jordan, Madison, Westbury, Bellaire, Lamar, Yates, and Davis.
“The goal is to build you a quality school that will last 30 or 40 years,” Dan Bankhead, general manager of Facilities design, told the group. “This is a brave new journey for all of us.”
The group visited four renovated or newly constructed educational facilities: H.D. Woodson STEM High School; Phelps Architecture, Construction & Engineering High School; Dunbar Senior High School; and Woodrow Wilson Senior High School.
Woodson features a “vertical main street,” a sky-lit central atrium that links four floors housing STEM educational spaces. The two upper floors contain four learning communities configured for integrated learning. Each classroom can be a collaborative workspace or divided into smaller workspaces. A media center is located on the second floor and is at the heart of the STEM learning community " reflecting the technology and collaborative learning environment.
Cecario Guerrero, an agriculture/science instructor for Austin High School’s CTE program, said the concepts he saw at the school are useful for his teaching needs.
-- Staff Writer Albany backlog delays 5 local school construction projects-- recordonline.com New York: January 30, 2015 [ abstract] WALLKILL - About 800 school construction projects - including five in the mid-Hudson - are piled up in the state Education Department awaiting review, delaying work for months and months and costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
The Education Department's Office of Facilities Planning has lost almost half of its staff of architects and engineers in recent months. The retirements and departures have left just three architects and three engineers to handle the workload, according to observers familiar with the office.
The backlog means it can take about six months before SED staff even begin their review of a particular project.
The delays have snared recently approved projects in Middletown, Highland, Valley Central, Kingston and Ellenville.
The New Paltz school board has picked March 24 for another try at winning approval of a $53 million bond issue. Voters in the Liberty School District rejected a $13.6 million proposal in December, and the board has yet to chart a response.
The Wallkill School District has scheduled a vote on a $8.2 million proposal Tuesday.
When Wallkill designed its proposed plan to upgrade security, athletic facilities, auditoriums and add emergency generators to all school buildings, district officials factored in significant delays at the state level.
"Through my experience, you always have to wait because of the shortages (at Facilities Planning)," said Wallkill Superintendent Kevin Castle. "It's something that we shouldn't have to be accustomed to, but it's been the norm for the last few years."
-- Pauline Liu School building projects in limbo with uncertain market-- Houston Chronicle Texas: January 30, 2015 [ abstract] Since Houston ISD passed a historic $1.9 billion bond issue in 2012, the area's construction market has boomed - driving up costs, drying up labor and stirring budget concerns.
Now, with the recent drop in crude oil prices, the picture is murkier, prompting HISD leaders to consider delaying some school projects for several months in hopes of drawing lower bids. Officials also are reviewing designs, weeding out pricier materials and extra square footage and weighing tradeoffs such as excluding a swimming pool or a separate dance room on campuses.
Other local districts, which passed bond issues after HISD, report similar uncertainty about pricing, though their timelines and tactics vary.
The Katy Independent School District, which passed a bond package in November, moved quickly to solicit bids for its first project, a junior high; the winning contractor, approved in January, came in a few million dollars under budget. Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, in contrast, doesn't plan to start new construction projects until 2016, first spending bond funds on other areas deemed more important, including buying new buses and upgrading security.
Houston-area voters have approved roughly $6.5 billion in school construction bonds since late 2012, putting districts in competition not just among themselves but with other public and private projects, some of which have stalled amid the region's unclear economic future.
Houston issued permits for $8.6 billion in construction projects in 2014, the highest amount since the partnership began tracking the data in 2002. But the outlook is changing.
-- Ericka Mellon New Colorado Springs school building was a collaborative effort-- The Gazette Colorado: January 27, 2015 [ abstract] Parents and teachers weren't the only ones who got a say in the design of Rocky Mountain Classical Academy's new building. It's pretty obvious that students did, too.
A giant twirly slide twists from the second floor to the first floor in the open cafeteria that doubles as seating for concerts, plays and other performances.
It's not a free-for-all, though. The slide is reserved for students who win awards or are celebrating birthdays.
A majority of a student vote - more than 90 percent of the kindergartners through eighth-graders - determined the blue and turquoise color scheme of new playground equipment.
"It's wonderful - the kids got to take ownership in their new school by making some decisions," said Jessica McCash, a parent of a student who attends the charter school in Falcon School District 49.
The $17.1 million building at 4620 Antelope Ridge Drive sits on an eastern edge of a housing development, with homes springing up seemingly overnight near the 13.5-acre site.
-- Debbie Kelley 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 Baltimore begins architecture reviews for $1B school construction program-- Baltimore Business Journal Maryland: January 22, 2015 [ abstract] City architecture review panel members were very clear on Thursday about what they want to see in the schools being rebuilt as part of a $1 billion state program: no more fortresses.
Using words such as "prison-like," "penitentiary" and "introverted" to describe the architecture featured on most of the city's public schools, Urban design and Architecture Review Panel members railed against the former approaches to school construction and vowed not to repeat them. Their comments came as the city began reviewing the first two sets of plans the Maryland Stadium Authority is submitting for Planning Department approval.
The school designs under the microscope on Thursday were Fort Worthington Elementary and Middle School near Broadway East and Frederick Elementary School on the west side. The Stadium Authority is managing the construction plans in a partnership with the city school system.
Fort Worthington is a complete demolition and rebuild being led by Baltimore-based Grimm + Parker Architects; Frederick Elementary is a renovation and addition being led by USA Architects of Somerville, N.J.
-- Kevin Litten 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 Sanford approves $100 million school construction project-- Portland Press Herald Maine: January 13, 2015 [ abstract] Sanford voters on Tuesday approved a $100.2 million high school and technical center that city and state officials say is the most expensive school construction project in Maine history.
While most of the project will be funded by the state, Sanford taxpayers will have a local share of about $10.6 million to build a new high school and new Sanford Regional Technical Center on a 127-acre parcel between Main Street and Route 4.
If everything goes according to plan, the high school and technical center would be ready for student occupancy in September 2018. The campus will feature an 830-seat performing arts center, a synthetic turf athletic field and outdoor bleachers.
Superintendent David Theoharides said the technical center is designed to educate high school-age students who are interested in fields such as automotive technology, nursing, welding, media production, cosmetology and firefighting.
Theoharides said there was virtually no public opposition to the project, largely because of the need for a new school to replace the aging and overcrowded high school, which was built nearly 50 years ago, and the fact that the lion’s share of the project will be funded by the state.
“We had a really strong grassroots effort behind this, a group of citizens that very much wanted this to pass,” Theoharides said Tuesday.
The group, Build Our Future, even held a pep rally last Saturday in support of the project. About 200 residents, including school band members, cheerleaders and Mayor Tom Cote, came to the Memorial Gym in Sanford in an effort to get out the “yes” vote. Jessica Jourdain, a member of Build Our Future, said the group also placed more than 200 lawn signs on properties throughout the city
-- DENNIS HOEY Integrate the new FM middle school with the community-- Fort Morgan Times Colorado: January 11, 2015 [ abstract] Fort Morgan Middle School designers have unlimited possibilities and ideas for the middles school, but limited space to implement those ideas. Because of limitations, designers need to follow best practices while carefully considering the existing programs.
Although all educational programs are important, all involved in the design process need to pay close attention to music while considering space utilization as music holds an important role in the Fort Morgan community.
Concerned residents approached the Fort Morgan Board of Education Jan. 5 to speak on behalf of the music program and its place in the new middle school. These residents were particularly concerned with the presence of a full auditorium and a music classroom after early floor plan drafts showed limited space for each. Specifically, the floor plan showed a "cafetorium" in place of a full auditorium and a vocal music classroom on the stage.
designers need to find a proper space for the vocal classroom moving forward, but a full auditorium is unrealistic for the new middle school, considering the space it consumes. A full auditorium in the new facility could mean other programs suffer.
However, an auditorium is important to maintain the quality of the middle school music program, because that is what students have now.
The solution is to continue using the existing middle school auditorium.
The current Fort Morgan Middle School auditorium is still a beautiful space and should be enjoyed by the community, including students from any Fort Morgan school.
-- Editorial Houston-area growth seen in burgeoning school construction projects-- Houston Chronicle Texas: January 07, 2015 [ abstract] Across the Houston area, school construction and renovation is in full swing.
While the addition of new schools to accommodate growth is predominantly a suburban phenomenon, the Houston Independent School District also is busy replacing venerable buildings with state-of-the-art campuses.
HISD projects funded by the $1.89 billion bond issue of 2012 are just kicking into high gear, with seven groundbreakings in the past two months. Construction of a new building typically takes 18 to 24 months, a district spokeswoman said.
Forty schools are slated for renovation or replacement with 2012 bond funds. Of those projects, 17 have moved from the design phase to construction phase.
-- Carol Christian City Scrambling To Cut Ellington Project Costs-- The Georgetown Dish District of Columbia: January 06, 2015 [ abstract] A few weeks ago, D.C. officials formally broke ground on a $139 million modernization and expansion of Duke Ellington School of the Arts, celebrating the new space and amenities the project would bring to the 3500 R St. campus in Burleith.
Now, with students housed in temporary locations and internal demolition already underway, the Department of General Services is scrambling to scale back a design that proved too ambitious for the allocated funds. The last-minute changes raised concerns at Monday’s Georgetown advisory neighborhood commission meeting, where some residents worried that a budget crunch could compromise the project.
Project officials at the meeting described changes to plans for the 1898 building’s exterior, which will require approval by the Historic Preservation Review Board. They include a rear addition that will stand just three stories instead of the originally planned four, with some of that space shifting underground to take up half of the proposed parking garage. And planned geothermal heating has been abandoned in favor of conventional equipment.
“In pricing up the original plan, it turns out the plan was over budget, so we had to do some trimming to make the budget more amenable,” General Services Department project manager Peter Davidson told commissioners.
Davidson added that he no longer expects the project to be ready in time for the start of the 2016-17 school year: “I am probably going to suggest that given the schedule and time we’ve lost, even though we’ve had the groundbreaking, we may be one or two months late on turnover.”
-- Brady Holt 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 Olympia Regional Learning Academy could be most energy efficient school in state’s history-- The Olympian Washington: December 29, 2014 [ abstract] Olympia School District’s newest school, the Olympia Regional Learning Academy on Boulevard Road, may be the most energy efficient school ever built in Washington, according to contractor Drew Phillips.
designed as a “net-zero” building, the 66,000-square-foot structure will draw less energy from the grid than it produces on site when all of its eco-friendly bells-and-whistles are in place.
The school district’s project manager Kurt Cross and Phillips, principal with Forma Construction, have been keeping tabs on the building’s rating using the Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol, which is a planning tool related to site, water, materials, energy and other areas.
In order to meet the state’s standard, a building must achieve 45 of 119 points.
So far, ORLA has achieved 72 points, Cross said.
-- LISA PEMBERTON Lake Mills Elementary is schooled in green building design-- Journal Sentinel Wisconsin: December 20, 2014 [ abstract] Lake Mills — Having a "green" school became a point of pride in this Jefferson County community when it opened its middle school five years ago, liked by taxpayers because of low operating costs as well as by environmentally minded folks.
So when it came time to build a new elementary school for about 550 students, the district aimed even higher.
Both schools have renewable energy systems, but the new one has much more — from daylighting and energy-efficient LED lighting to sustainable nontoxic materials in the furniture.
Lake Mills Elementary, which opened this fall, can claim it's the greenest in the United States because it's the only one being judged using new, more stringent criteria set out by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The glass is the first thing people notice. It's everywhere, allowing natural light to flow in even on an overcast December morning.
The difference is night and day. Sarah Kirst remembers teaching in the old elementary school for 15 years. Her classroom there had one window and it was above the door.
"This tops that. I love it. It's a great place to be," she said.
Everyone is more comfortable, she said, letting out a sigh that speaks volumes for the relaxing environs that were created.
Bob Morris of Eppstein Uhen Architects in Milwaukee said the openness — and the classroom neighborhood concept the team created — are two of his favorite parts of the building.
"The open concept design does more than bring in natural light. It also creates separate wings for each grade that include not only classrooms but small work spaces and common areas for individualized learning," he said.
"In a traditional elementary school — almost every elementary school for the last 100 years — when you look at the classroom, it's a self-contained box. The teacher owns that space and students learn in that box. Basically, one teacher teaching all students at the same time."
But the open, modular concept is based on the fact that, increasingly, teachers aren't teaching that way anymore. "Teachers are teaching a differentiated curriculum to students who are learning at different levels and different paces," Morris said
-- Thomas Content - Journal Sentinel School boundaries and traffic main concerns for South Cooper Mountain high school-- The Oregonian Oregon: December 18, 2014 [ abstract] Traffic and school boundaries topped the list of questions and concerns at a Beaverton School District meeting to discuss the future high school site in South Cooper Mountain.
Beaverton parents asked the school district to expedite high school boundary changes, and South Cooper Mountain residents learned the new high school could bring 1,000 cars every morning.
While the Wednesday meeting was required by the City of Beaverton as part of the district's design review and land use application, plenty of parents asked the district to determine new high school boundaries sooner rather than later so their fifth-graders and middle-schoolers will know which high school they will attend in 2017.
School boundaries are not part of the land use application but roads are. Most of the remaining attendees wanted to know the impact high school drivers, parents, buses and visitors would have on Southwest 175th Avenue. The answer: Based on numbers at Westview High School, it will be at least 1,000 cars with about 60 percent traveling down 175th Avenue, according to a traffic study consultant.
-- Wendy Owen School upgrades needed in Shelburne, beyond-- Burlington Free Press Vermont: December 12, 2014 [ abstract] The Shelburne Community School building is almost 50 years old. It lacks efficient lighting and compliance with newer laws on aiding students with disabilities. Also, many mechanical systems have deteriorated.
The board voted in September to place an $11.2-million bond on March's Town Meeting Day ballot.
In addition to necessary upgrades, school leaders report the building's interior design presents obstacles to learning.
A majority of the cost is attributed to renovation of the school's D and E wings, built in 1967 and occupied by kindergarten and middle school classes. Co-principals Allan Miller and Pati Beaumont said the open concept layout was popular when it was built, but educational thinking has changed.
"The open classrooms represent an idea whose time has come and gone," board Chairman Dave Connery wrote in an email.
Twenty classrooms are open to one another without doors or sound separation. Classrooms in the two wings have no windows. Corridors are next to the outside walls with classrooms in the middle. The rooms lack natural lighting, and inadequate heating and ventilation systems make it difficult for students to focus on their work.
-- DOROTHY PELLETT Fairfax schools look to upgrade school design-- Fairfaxtimes.com Virginia: December 11, 2014 [ abstract] The Fairfax County school system is revamping its design standards for school buildings.
With the new standards, school officials plan to offer larger classrooms and more flexible learning environments, such as common areas for group work and student collaboration.
“This really speaks to how we can connect the curriculum and the physical plan of a building,” assistant superintendent for facilities Jeff Platenberg said.
Facilities staff have enlisted Perkins Eastman architecture firm to assist in upgrading the school district’s educational specifications. The firm has done renovations at Stenwood Elementary and Sandburg Middle schools, and is currently working on upgrades at Langley and Oakton high schools.
Representatives from FCPS and Perkins Eastman on Monday gave an initial look at the changes and solicited input from the School Board.
While school layout will not change dramatically, Platenberg said the new standards will offer innovations that maximize instructional space.
-- Kate Yanchulis Klein showcases its $123 million high school renovation-- Houston Chronicle Texas: December 10, 2014 [ abstract] Years of history and a strong sense of school spirit brought hundreds of students, alumni, parents and members of the community to the Klein High School open house earlier this month.
The district opened the school to the community Dec. 4 to showcase the $123 million renovation that was completed earlier this fall. The reactions and support from the community was overwhelming, said Klein ISD Superintendent Jim Cain.
"People are very impressed with the quality of construction, and they're impressed with the fact that we were able to do this at very good prices," Cain said. "At the time that we did the contracts for this the economy was down, so prices were down. We were able to build this at a really economical price."
The four-year remodel project included campus-wide renovation and upgrades. The project was designed to fix correct building deficiencies that were more economical to replace than repair and create state-of-the-art learning spaces.
Ashley Nunn, a former Klein High School student, said the presence of technology was one of the most significant upgrades she noticed when touring the building during the open house.
"Everywhere I walk I see technology advances," she said. "There are different pictures on the wall of people using computers and even signage throughout the building. It's more than just a fresh coat of paint."
-- Sarah Blanchard 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 Winter doesn't slow school construction-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: December 02, 2014 [ abstract] CHEYENNE - Building work in Laramie County School District 1 doesn't stop with the snow.
The district currently has several building projects in progress. Some, like the new Prairie Wind Elementary building, are in the construction stage. Others, like the proposed Meadowlark Elementary, are still in design stages, according to district information.
"It's good to see that one being built," planning and construction administrator Dennis Auker said of the work on Prairie Wind at Yellowstone and Iron Mountain roads north of the city. "It's been a long time in the design process. It's good to see it coming up above ground."
The school is expected to open in August and is on schedule, he said. The building is about 45 percent complete.
"We've got a lot of it enclosed so they can do a lot of work inside," Auker said. "They have all the stuff inside, the walls have to be put up, the sheetrock, lighting and all the finishes - it's pretty much just a shell right now."
Staffing for the new building is likely to start with hiring a principal early next year, he added.
But Prairie Wind isn't the only construction project the district has.
The rebuild of Cheyenne's Davis Elementary on Yellowstone Road within the city limits also is in progress, Auker said. Like Prairie Wind, the new school is scheduled to open in time for the start of the 2015-16 school year.
"They're approximately 10 percent (complete)," he said of that project.
Work is currently being done with concrete and the steel structure, he said.
-- Aerin Curtis Wausau School Board hones building plans for April vote-- Wausaudailyherald.com Michigan: December 01, 2014 [ abstract] WAUSAU " The Wausau School Board believes the A.C. Kiefer Educational Center, the building that now houses 4-year-old kindergarten classes and early childhood programs, has no place in the future of the Wausau School District.
Although no formal vote was taken, eight School Board members who attended a special meeting Monday night said they support closing the building. The ninth School Board member, Matt Young, was absent from the meeting, which was called to help narrow down building, maintenance and programming plans as part of the distillation process designed to end with a referendum in April.
The School Board members further agreed that a school construction and maintenance plan should cost in general between $20 million to $30 million, calling for a property tax increase that would range from $16 to $24 per $100,000 of home value.
School Board members based their decisions, in part, on the results of a communitywide survey released last week that revealed residents were open to tax increases to improve the school buildings. The survey also showed support for closing Kiefer and expanding Wausau West and East high schools to expand technical education offerings to students.
-- Keith Uhlig - Daily Herald Media Why do so many schools have flat roofs?-- The Buffalo News New York: December 01, 2014 [ abstract] Digging out area schools buried under 5 to 7 feet of snow was no small feat during last month’s storm. But it was the school roofs that caused the most angst.
Workers shoveled snow " or used snowblowers " to redistribute drifts on top of buildings. And school districts brought in professional architects and engineers to help assess the roofs after the state Education Department cautioned school officials to carefully check conditions before allowing students to return.
But all of the work and precautions raise a basic question: Why do so many schools have flat roofs in the first place, especially in a snow-prone area like Buffalo?
The answer is a mix of practicality and cost. Modern schools tend to be flat-roof buildings to allow for sprawling hallways full of classrooms.
“Flat roofs are basically the least expensive because you’re spanning a long way,” said Paul McDonnell, a licensed architect and director of facilities planning, design and construction for the Buffalo Public Schools. “If you were to put a sloped roof in, think about how big the slope would have to be.”
Building codes also require roofs to handle most extreme weather events for a given region. A building in Western New York, for example, must be designed to withstand more pressure from snow than a building on Long Island.
-- Denise Jewell Gee 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 DC's Hyde-Addison school Gym Designs Made Public-- Georgetown Metropolitan District of Columbia: November 20, 2014 [ abstract] Last night at St. John’s, representatives of the DC Department of General Services presented more detailed plans for the most recent version for the planned expansion of Hyde-Addison School. The city has been planning the expansion for years, and these plans appear to be the closest to the final ones that the neighborhood has seen yet.
The primary reason the expansion is that the school completely lacks a gym. It has no space large enough to contain the entire school population in one room. It has a cafeteria and library, but both are insufficient. Finally, it doesn’t have enough classroom space to accommodate the growth the school is anticipating.
The plan has evolved dramatically. Back in June, the idea was that to preserve the outdoor space, the entire building would have to be built underground. While this was an intriguing design, ultimately the Old Georgetown Board rejected it.
Since then the OGB has approved the modified massing of the project (i.e. the general size and shape). It will be an above-ground building located between the Hyde and Addison buildings. The gym, though, would be buried mostly under the playground. You can see the footprint of the project above, showing the gym.
-- Staff Writer Community brainstorms new uses for vacant schools-- TheNotebook Pennsylvania: November 19, 2014 [ abstract] The challenge, posed to community members at a charette last week, was to devise, design, and present new uses for two shuttered school buildings within 24 hours.
The Community design Collaborative, a nonprofit that provides free design services; the Deputy Mayor's Office; and the American Institute of Architects hosted the charette, a term used in design circles to describe a collaborative planning session involving representatives from different disciplines.
â€"It was a long process, finding the sites, finding the community partners, and folks willing to think of it as an option,†said design Collaborative director Beth Miller of the event, which was held at the Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch St. â€"I think it's a long road, but I think there were some great ideas shared and some really great conversations.â€
The four design teams, each with more than a dozen participants, crafted proposals reimagining uses for two closed School District buildings: the old Frances Willard School in Kensington and M.H. Stanton School in North Philadelphia. The schools were selected for this event because they had not attracted buyers after they closed, said Danielle Floyd, the District's deputy for strategic initiatives.
Each design team included architects, private and nonprofit developers, and community members. M.H Stanton and Willard had two design teams each, responsible for creating a temporary and permanent plan for reuse. Although ideas for both schools tended to overlap (outdoor space for food trucks, urban gardens and gatherings, affordable housing for intergenerational families, and indoor event space for sports and adult education), the Willard designs catered to that community's specific need for youth programming after the school replaced the neighborhood's recreation center.
-- Payne Schroeder 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 State legislation would require security features in school design-- The Vindicator Ohio: November 08, 2014 [ abstract] Districts planning new school buildings would have to include security measures in the designs, under legislation being considered in the Ohio House.Rep. John Rogers, D-Mentor-On-The-Lake, said HB 446 would be another measure to help protect students, teachers and staff.“Requiring the incorporation of safety features during the initial building design would make these enhancements much more affordable, as opposed to expensive remodeling or retrofitting,” Rogers told the House’s Education Committee, where the bill recently had its first hearing.The legislation outlines a variety of security features, including surveillance video, entryway metal detectors, panic buttons and direct entrances and exits accessible only from inside classrooms.New school buildings would have to have at least two such security features under HB 446, Rogers said.
-- Marc Kovac 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 Civil-rights complaint challenges design of Roosevelt High School STEM labs-- The Oregonian Oregon: October 31, 2014 [ abstract] A community advocacy group has filed a complaint with the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights alleging that science, technology, engineering and math facilities planned for an upcoming rebuild at Roosevelt High School are inadequate.
Current plans for the rebuild at the North Portland high school divide the roughly 5,500-square-foot STEM and maker lab area into two separate wings of the building. The group's members argue that the set up will make it harder for students to collaborate, putting students at an educational disadvantage compared to other Portland high schools where STEM areas are located closer together.
"A good STEM program requires a large workspace where all the resources necessary to creative and challenging project design and construction are close at hand," the group stated in a press release.
The group filed the complaint against the Portland Public Schools District on Wednesday, and in part asks for further community involvement with the plan and rebuild.
"We don't want to have Roosevelt (be) a situation to learn from as a mistake," group member Joe Purkey said.
The complaint essentially alleges that plans for STEM facilities at Roosevelt High School, where about 70 percent of the population are students of color, are not equal to plans for STEM facilities at Franklin High School, where 49 percent of the population are students of color.
"Disparity exists between the two schools in question as the planned larger contiguous space at Roosevelt High School is 3,500 sq ft," the complaint states. "The contiguous STEM workspace at Franklin High School in the primarily white neighborhood is 9,000 sq ft. in the remodel design."
-- Laura Frazier Council vote advances plan for new school in Mattapan-- The Boston Globe Massachusetts: October 27, 2014 [ abstract] Boston City Councilor Charles Yancey last week inched closer to a dream that few people believed would ever be realized: building a high school in Mattapan.
The nearly two-decade quest took a notable step forward Wednesday when the City Council approved the first of two required votes on a $120 million loan to build the school, which is proposed for the former Boston State Hospital grounds. It passed by a 9-3 vote, giving Yancey confidence that the second vote will sail through in the coming weeks.
“It’s just amazing it has taken this long,” Yancey said in a phone interview the day after the vote. “I know when I’ve talked about this high school, people’s eyes would glaze over.”
Boston has not built a new high school since the late 1970s, and recent attempts to do so have hit roadblocks.
For Yancey, the push has always been about providing more of the city’s high school students " many of whom attend buildings designed decades ago as middle or elementary schools " the chance to go to classes in a high school complex that rivals those in the suburbs.
“We must inspire our children to learn,” Yancey said. “One way to do that is provide first-class facilities.”
The city is in the process of creating a 10-year master plan for school facilities, and Mayor Martin J. Walsh has not taken a position on the proposal.
“The plan of the administration is to undertake a comprehensive assessment and take the long view on facilities and infrastructure support,” Kate Norton, the mayor’s spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.
“The matter is before the City Council now, and we will withhold judgment while the council process continues.”
Previously, Boston had pursued school construction projects on an as-needed basis and has struggled to bring them to fruition " a point of frustration for many parents, city leaders, and educators as they have seen dozens of schools built in the suburbs in recent years.
-- James Vaznis Georgia Governor Deal Approves Use of Wood in School Construction-- nfcNews Georgia: October 12, 2014 [ abstract] The Georgia Forestry Association commends Governor Nathan Deal who recently signed legislation that allows for greater use of wood materials in public school facilities, providing K-12 schools throughout the state with alternative, cost-effective, and sustainable design options.
Governor Nathan Deal recently signed legislation that allows for greater use of wood materials in public school facilities, providing K-12 schools throughout the state with alternative, cost-effective, and sustainable design options.
Senate Bill 301, sponsored by Senator Fran Millar, R-Atlanta, removes language from the Georgia Department of Education (DOE) Guideline for Educational Facility Construction that prohibited the use of light wood framing (or wood stud partitioning) and ordinary wood construction. The bill provides school administrators and design professionals with the option to use wood materials as a design alternative " a standard that is readily accepted in the International Building Code.
“Removing any barrier to the use of wood grown by Georgia landowners and milled by Georgia manufacturers is good for the forestry economy and the continued sustainability of Georgia’s timberland,” Georgia Forestry Association (GFA) President Steve McWilliams said. “This new option could save taxpayers a significant amount of money and create more sustainable structures while making use of a Georgia-grown renewable resource.”
Wood-constructed schools meet the same standards for life safety while providing much needed advantages related to cost, speed of construction, design flexibility, energy efficiency and sustainability. In recent years, states such as Arkansas and South Carolina have removed similar bans and have uncovered huge savings.
-- Staff Writer D.C.'s New Ballou High School Also Meets Community Needs-- ENR.com District of Columbia: October 10, 2014 [ abstract] When the 800 students of Frank W. Ballou High School in southeast Washington, D.C., come back to classes in January after the holiday break, they won't return to the time-worn, heavily used 54-year-old brick building they left in mid-December. Instead, they will go next door to a just-completed, $124-million complex that will not only serve students but the entire neighborhood.
The project's architects, engineers and construction firms all faced numerous tests as they worked to deliver a 356,000-sq-ft facility that will meet a diverse set of local needs.
Besides providing long-awaited upgrades to Ballou's high-school classroom areas, the new facility's design had to accommodate a range of other activities: an outpatient health clinic; an 800-student adult education program; a full-service automotive shop; a collegiate-level competition swimming pool; and a rehearsal/recording area for Ballou's nationally recognized marching band.
Brian Hanlon, director of the District of Columbia Dept. of General Services (DGS), says his agency recognized that if the new Ballou were to be a true community anchor, it would have to stand up to more than the wear and tear expected from future generations of teenagers.
Facing the Slope
"We didn't want to just plug another building into the grid," Hanlon says. "This was an opportunity to bring the community together in a lot of ways and provide a model of sustainability, with a design and materials that won't be torn down in 50 years, but rather restored and renewed."
The team faced site challenges from early in the process. The new building had to be integrated into a 16.4-acre hillside site, which had been partially leveled decades ago to construct Ballou's athletic fields.
The slope includes marine clay and other difficult soils that required foundations sturdy enough for a structural system to support expansive interior spaces and ample daylighting and also enable the school to fill a critical role as a neighborhood shelter-in-place in case of natural disasters.
As is DGS's custom for big projects, its procurement path for the new Ballou began with a best-value design competition. The winning design, from a joint venture of Washington-based Bowie Gridley Architects and Perkins+Will's D.C. office, includes three multi-level wings for academics, athletics and career development oriented around a 38,500-sq-ft courtyard.
-- Jim Parsons More than 200 attend first Portage schools community forum on facilities-- Michigan News Michigan: October 10, 2014 [ abstract] More than 200 people attended the first of two community dialogues Thursday night to talk about what they feel the Portage Public Schools facilities need.
The first to take a survey that will be online for one week at the district’s website, the parents, students, senior citizens, business, city and community members packed the Portage Northern High School Commons to offer suggestions on what they would like the schools and athletic facilities to be in the 21st century. The website is www.portageps.org.
Their answers, coupled with results from the online survey that must be taken by Thursday, Oct, 16, will be presented along with possible scenarios for future facilities projects at the second “designing for the Future” community dialogue Nov. 20 at Portage Central High School.
The group in the first community forum Thursday agreed that many of the elementary and middle schools and athletic facilities such as pools and McCamley Field are aging and outdated.
The overwhelming majority also said they favor building new as opposed to additions or renovations.
But when it came to whether there should be one or two stadiums the forum group split, with half saying they wanted one stadium such as they have at McCamley Field that serves both high schools, and the other half indicating Portage schools needs two stadiums, one at each school. It is an issue that has been around Portage for decades.
With the three pools at the middle schools built from 1971-73 and badly needing upgrades, the survey results indicated most favored a new pool at each of the high schools rather than rebuilding at the middle schools.
The question of the middle schools also produced a surprising result: Most favored either two new middle schools that would be aligned with the high schools or four middle schools, replacing the three the district currently has.
-- Juanski West Contra Costa school district: Closer look at costly construction change orders-- Contra Costa Times California: September 26, 2014 [ abstract] RICHMOND -- The West Contra Costa school district spends about $10.2 million a month on its $1.6 billion school construction program, and after years of lax oversight, questions are starting to arise about change orders adding millions to costs.
"There are hundreds, thousands of change orders," said Tom Waller, who heads a subcommittee recently formed to scrutinize the blizzard of change documents submitted for each school construction project. "Our approach so far has been to try and make sense of the system, to understand it. I'd like to comment that -- this bond construction program being 15 to 16 years old -- it is very interesting to me that we are still 'trying to understand the system.'"
The discussion about change orders came to a head at a meeting Wednesday of the district's independent citizen's bond oversight committee.
To show how often change orders drive up costs, Waller said that new classrooms at Ohlone Elementary School in Hercules -- originally budgeted at $16.9 million -- will cost at least $2 million more because of 120 change orders approved after construction began, half of which were attributed to "design deficiency" or "errors and omissions."
Those represent only half of the project's proposed change orders initiated between Dec. 5, 2011, and Aug. 27, 2014. Altogether the changes, if approved, would amount to about 15 percent of the total project costs and could push the price tag for the classrooms above $19.5 million.
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And that represents just one project on the elementary campus, which has a total budget of about $34.6 million for 14 individual jobs.
"This is a hot topic. It's a controversial topic. It's an emotional topic," Waller said. "Change orders are a natural and normal part of any construction project. I think where the rub happens is how many change orders there are, the value of the change orders, and so forth. I think that's what we're trying to get our arms around."
-- Theresa Harrington Rodent droppings, leaky roof, termite damage point up lack of New Orleans school maintenance-- The Times-Picayune Louisiana: September 15, 2014 [ abstract] Joan Reilly, principal of Homer A. Plessy Community School in New Orleans, is an optimist. So when the state Department of Health and Hospitals inspector met her for a tour of the A. P. Tureaud Elementary campus in the 7th Ward, after her charter organization rented the building and just one month before she was to welcome students back from vacation, she thought, "Nothing a coat of paint can't fix."
Four and a half hours later, the inspector turned to her and said, "Well, you have a water fountain that works."
Dating to 1939, Tureaud has stately bones, with high ceilings and tall, built-in windowed cabinets. But the July inspection report was long and disgusting.
Rodent droppings in the kitchen. Peeling paint and damaged plaster everywhere. Ceiling tiles hanging loose or with holes in them or just not there - not just in one room, but on every floor. The paint had bubbled like cauliflower from the moisture that had seeped through from outside. Termites had chewed away the brick building's wooden windowsills. Loose doors and windows let in bugs, rain and mice. On the top floor, wasps had built a nest. When Plessy staff moved a file cabinet, the entire plaster wall behind it collapsed.
Just two months earlier, at the end of the 2013-14 academic year, 200 children were being educated in that building, in one of the last conventional schools run by the state Recovery School District. The health inspector had been to Tureaud previously and was furious, Reilly said, having thought the building was closing for good instead of being rented out to a charter organization. It is still set to be closed, eventually, designated to be "landbanked" by the Recovery School District when New Orleans' $1.8 billion school facilities rebuilding plan is finished.
But to help Plessy move into the Tureaud campus right away, the Orleans Parish School Board approved $1 million for immediate repairs.
Decrepit New Orleans school buildings such as Tureaud are nothing new. The massive, federally funded overhaul of the city's school stock was required in large part not by Hurricane Katrina damage but because the buildings were already in such bad shape before the 2005 storm. Katrina was only the last nail in the coffin for many of these campuses.
-- Danielle Dreilinger State rethinking model school designs-- The Boston Globe Massachusetts: September 14, 2014 [ abstract] After aggressively promoting model schools as a cost-saving approach to building new facilities, the state agency overseeing the construction process is reevaluating that approach " and has not approved a new model school project since 2012.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority had approved 18 school projects in the three previous years using the model school approach, in which districts chose from a list of designs of previously constructed schools.
The approved projects included the Duxbury Middle/High School, East Bridgewater High School, Franklin High School, Hingham Middle School, Marshfield High School, Natick High School, Newburyport’s Bresnahan Elementary School, Norwood High School, Plymouth North High School, Quincy Central Middle School, and Tewksbury Memorial High School.
Communities participating in the program received extra “points” and, therefore, a larger reimbursement from the state of the final construction cost.
The idea was that districts would save time and money by shortening the design process. But in practice, the approach had some flaws, according to Jack McCarthy, who took over as head of the school building authority in January 2012.
-- Johanna Seltz Country’s First “Net-Zero” Energy School Opens In Coppell-- CBS DFW Texas: September 12, 2014 [ abstract] It may look like any normal school building, but it is anything but.
Coppell ISD opened the doors to Lee Elementary this year, as the country’s first “net-zero” energy school.
“Net-zero” means the school will produce as much energy as it uses, so its net energy consumption equals zero!
While kids are busy making the grades, the building itself is making just about everything else . It harvests daylight so students can see, recaptures water on rainy days to irrigate the soil and flush the toilets, collects electricity through wind turbines.
“I’ve never seen a school like this that’s so fancy. It’s very, very beautiful,” says fifth grader, Sanskar Singh.
First year principal Chantel Kastrounis takes CBS 11 on a tour of the school, showing off everything but the classrooms. She says traditional classrooms don’t exist here.
“We call them spaces, and so our designers utilize the spaces based on the needs. So it could be how they arrange the furniture to how they use the materials or how they even use the walls,” she explained.
Thanks to special paint, learning happens on walls, windows, and all over the place. The furniture is made to move around and it does. The configurations change as often as the lessons in a school built to create more energy than it uses.
“Everything from the carpet, to the paint, to the materials in the walls, all contribute to the sustainability and the green component of this building,” said Coppell ISD Assistant Superintendent Sid Grant.
-- Staff Writer Reactions to New DCPS School Boundaries-- Capital Community News District of Columbia: September 07, 2014 [ abstract] A week before the first day of school, Mayor Vincent Gray adopted new school boundaries for the 2015-2016 school year. â€"Although there will never be a good time to make changes to our assignment policies and DCPS boundaries, the benefits of moving forward with your recommendations far outweigh the ongoing price of inaction,†he wrote to the DC Advisory Committee on Student Assignment on August 21. â€"The path of education reform we embarked on as a city in 2007 can only go so far without taking this critical next step.†While the ten-month process gives parents and guardians a full-year's notice, some living east of the river are critical of the new plan.
Background
According to the introduction to Committee's final recommendations, the city has not conducted a comprehensive school boundary study since 1968. Since then, there were multiple waves of school consolidations, demographics changed, and public charter schools now account for 44 percent of the city-wide student population. Deputy Mayor for Education Abigail Smith charged the Committee to review citywide policies, listen to residents, and develop recommendations. The Committee also attempted to address several challenges, including uncertain population and enrollment projections, fiscal inefficiencies, and an unpredictable school assignment system.
According to the Committee's final recommendation, each student will have â€"...the right to attend a grade-appropriate school based on his/her place of residence, and adopt the updated and revised elementary and PK-8th attendance zones recommended by the Advisory Committee on Student Assignment.†This means that every child can continue attending their current school as well as the newly assigned school in the 2015-2016 school year. If a student is going to the sixth or ninth grade over the next three school years, they can attend their current feeder pathway or the newly-designated feeder school.
How it Affects East of the River
According to the impact analysis, Wards 4, 7, and 8 will be most affected by the elementary school boundary changes, with over 1,000 students being reassigned; Ward 8 has the largest, with 330 being reassigned. However, 759 Ward 8 students and 482 Ward 7 will have a shorter walking distance to school and a large amount of Ward 7 students will attend a school with higher DC CAS scores.
Middle schools will have the most amount of city-wide changes, with the proposal of three new neighborhood middle schools and one selective middle school east of the river. While the changes would affect Ward 4 the most (as there is no DCPS middle school), students in Wards 7 could attend a school with higher DC CAS scores, and a large amount of affected middle school students east of the river would have a shorter walking distance to school.
While 26 percent of high school students will be reassigned city-wide, Ward 7 will be one of the most affected, with 1,266 getting reassigned and 945 with only one option after previously having multiple. Of this group, 2,130 will be assigned to schools with lower DC CAS scores than their current schools. The analysis attributed this to portions of the current Eastern boundary getting reassigned to H.D. Woodson and Anacostia, along with the 11 percent of high school students living in the former Spingarn boundary.
One Committee Member Speaks
The Committee had 17 community representatives, four of which came from Wards 7 and 8. One of those representatives was Eboni-Rose Thompson, who serves as chair of the Ward 7 Education Council. â€"I was worried that there wasn't enough representation east of the river,†she said of the decision to join the Committee. â€"To be in that Committee, you really need to understand the landscape and the context of what's happening.†Thompson said that the Committee had a lot to consider during the ten-month process. â€"I don't think people realize how complex the process is,†she explained. â€"There were many competing needs. It hasn't always been comfortable, but in a good way.â€
While Thompson acknowledge that not all concerns were addressed, the Committee tried to weigh each consideration. However, she felt that the Committee had a â€"missed opportunity†when it came to school quality. However, they have created the circumstances to continue that conversation. â€"People want neighborhood schools,†she said. â€"However, it's a question of investment.†Thompson believes that the investment is just as much a family's responsibility as it is DCPS'; while DCPS can use the Committee's suggestions, parents can continue to raise their expectations.
-- Charnice A. Milton New Jersey schools in Newark open amid boycott over new school assignment system-- The Republic New Jersey: September 04, 2014 [ abstract] NEWARK, New Jersey — Organizers of a boycott of Newark schools on the first day of classes Thursday claimed success, but the school superintendent said it didn't appear many parents kept their children home in protest of her new enrollment system that is the target of a federal civil rights complaint.
Known as One Newark, the new system was designed to increase school choice and build more equity into school assignments. But many say it creates transportation headaches and doesn't result in their children attending better schools.
Neither side had the numbers Thursday on how many students boycotted on a day marked by both celebration and protest of education in New Jersey's largest school district, with 43,000 students.
School superintendent Cami Anderson, heralding improvements in some of the city's schools, said she didn't notice high levels of absenteeism in the half-dozen stops she made at schools as they opened.
Organizers said most boycotters kept their children at home but they expected more students would attend the so-called Freedom Schools, set up as makeshift alternatives and staffed by retired teachers, during the course of the boycott, expected to last at least until next week.
At Peshine Avenue School, some parents and caregivers dropping off students in the morning morning expressed frustration with the new system.
"I really wanted a different school for them," said Lydia Villars as she dropped off two grandsons and a niece. "Things are very bad right now."
The children used to attend a school within walking distance from their home, but Villars said she now has to drive them several miles to a school that was not one of her top choices.
-- GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press What to consider when building a new school next to the old one-- Daily Journal of Commerce National: August 28, 2014 [ abstract] Many urban school districts frequently face a dilemma.
Their schools are aging, providing a less than optimal environment for modern teaching techniques and the new technology that underpins education today. Usually, it is better and more cost effective to construct a new facility than renovate an existing school.
Problems arise, however, when open land for building new schools is scarce. This often directs district leaders to building a new school on the grounds of the existing facility, typically while class is in session. In those cases, construction on occupied sites needs to be managed thoroughly to ensure safety to students, staff and the public and to minimize impacts to the educational process.
As a guide, schools leaders need to consider the following points before moving forward with school construction on an occupied site.
It’s a puzzle
Fitting a new school onto an occupied site requires a great deal of creativity. designers, school officials and the construction manager all need to work together to determine the best approach to building a school on the available land and phase construction so that learning can happen with a minimum of interruption.
Puzzling out the new construction requires a significant amount of coordination. Often, it means designing a new building around the existing one and keeping as much of the old facility in use as long as possible during construction.
Lake Washington School District’s Rush Elementary was built in five separate phases to minimize the impact on school operations. The first two phases were dedicated to selective demolition of the first grouping of classrooms and construction of a new academic wing.
Once completed, students, teachers and administrators moved into the new wing. Next, the remainder of the original facility was demolished except for the original gymnasium, and was replaced with a new wing for the art, science, music and physical education programs, as well as administrative and kitchen operations. During the final phase, completed during the summer, the original gym was demolished, and parking lots, a new bus drop-off loop and a parent drop-off lane were installed.
-- MIKE FINNEGAN and DAVID BEAUDINE 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 Construction projects to update older Plano ISD buildings, other facility needs-- The Dallas Morning News Texas: August 22, 2014 [ abstract] Construction projects totalling $57.1 million now in progress or under design are addressing maintenance needs and a change in classroom sizes at Plano ISD this summer.
Parents and students will see major changes to some schools this fall, most of which are upgrades to facilities funded under a 2008 bond program.
Four projects are wrapping up this summer for the start of the school year " an addition to Hunt Elementary School, an addition and renovation at Brinker Elementary, an addition and renovation at Daffron Elementary and a $1 million third-floor renovation at Academy High School.
Except for Hunt Elementary, the projects are not a result of enrollment growth.
“Right now, enrollment is fairly flat. We’re pretty much built out,” Plano ISD Superintendent Richard Matkin said.
Steve Fortenberry, the district’s chief financial officer, who oversees facility construction and renovation, said Hunt Elementary, which is in Murphy in the eastern side of the district, represents one of the last areas where the district expects to see growth.
“That’s really the last part of the district that’s being built out,” Fortenberry said. “If you look at a map of the district, there’s not a lot of undeveloped land.”
The renovation of Hunt Elementary will add eight classrooms and dining space to accommodate for enrollment growth at the school, Fortenberry said.
The school’s enrollment grew from 666 in the fall of 2012 to 719 last fall. It is expected to continue to grow and peak at 774, said Plano ISD communications director Lesley Range-Stanton. The renovation will increase capacity at the school to 765 from 615.
At Brinker and Daffron elementary schools, renovations will update the classrooms and other areas.
“Those schools are having what we call our 20-year maintenance renovations,” Fortenberry said. “We want to bring them up to the current building codes, and we also need to bring them up to [Texas Education Agency] classroom sizes.”
-- JULISSA TREVIÑO Panel's report: Close three NP schools and rebuild-- The Valley Breeze Rhode Island: August 19, 2014 [ abstract] NORTH PROVIDENCE - After sifting through more than a dozen options for the North Providence school district's facilities overhaul, town and school officials finally narrowed it down to one master plan, which would ultimately close the three circa-1930 elementary schools.
Members of the North Providence Facilities Committee met with Luis Torrado of Torrado Architects last Thursday, where he presented his final proposal for Phase 1 of the master plan.
This $76.3 million master plan would go before the voters in Mid-June and if approved, the town would go out to bond. Through housing aid, Business Manager John McNamee said the district would be reimbursed 58 percent, leaving the town to foot a $49 million bill, after accumulating an additional $43 million in interest over 10 years.
Torrado said that all three of the elementary schools, James L. McGuire, Stephen Olney and Marieville, were identified early on as needing to be replaced.
"We looked at the ability to find land you could build new buildings on and were not successful in that because there is no land," he told the committee. "So we focused on, out of those three schools, which property can we build new schools on?"
Torrado designed a plan to rebuild both Olney and McGuire in two stages.
Phase 1A, he said, would include the rebuilding of the schools with enough space to accommodate the students, while keeping the existing buildings in tact.
During Phase 1B, the students would be relocated to the new facilities and the construction crew would tear down the old building.
Committee member William Floriani questioned Torrado about the traffic and congestion that might occur at the elementary schools during construction.
-- JESSICA BOISCLAIR CPS trying to unload dozens of closed schools-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: August 17, 2014 [ abstract] More than a year after Chicago Public Schools closed nearly 50 schools for under-enrollment, there has been little progress on finding new uses for most of the now-empty buildings.
Just three of the buildings have been opened for bidding to potential developers and buyers. Aldermen, who have been charged to gather community input on preferred use of the buildings, have scheduled meetings on seven other schools.
"I think it's moving slow," said Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. , 27th,, who has six closed buildings in his current and former ward boundaries. "For me to have all of these meetings, my schedule doesn't allow me to do it immediately. It should be (Chicago Public Schools) doing this, but they're asking us to do it because they're trying to be sensitive to the community and the aldermen. That type of sensitivity takes time."
CPS is bound by a promise district chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett made not to allow privately run charter schools into any of the buildings. A district official said CPS feels the process to "repurpose" the buildings is moving along at a decent clip, with interest shown in turning the buildings into community centers, affordable housing or social service centers.
But there are no plans in the works for 36 buildings, some of which are being vandalized as they sit empty, becoming neighborhood eyesores.
The district closed 47 elementary schools and a high school program in the summer of 2013, and two more schools closed this past year. Uses were quickly found for 11 buildings, including one that was kept open because the designated school for its students became overcrowded.
In addition to these buildings, the district has yet to find a use for 21 properties from 2012, when it moved to sell 29 buildings and vacant lots from previous school closings.
-- Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah Questions mount about West Contra Costa school district's construction costs-- Contra Costa Times California: August 16, 2014 [ abstract] RICHMOND -- A federal probe. An overdue audit. Voter revolt. After years of smooth sailing, West Contra Costa Unified's massive $1.6 billion bond program is listing as trustees and staff scramble to get back on course, respond to mounting questions and figure out how to complete more than two dozen large construction projects after residents rejected a multimillion bond measure in June.
Their rejection of the district's $270 million Measure H -- the seventh school construction ballot measure in 16 years -- came as a shock to district officials who are now trying to dole out what's left while assessing what to do next.
"My concern is that we're not going to have enough growth in assessed valuation to keep to our current commitments and time schedules as we move forward," said trustee Todd Groves. "We've committed to building schools and building them to standards. If we don't get double digit growth in assessed valuation for three or four years, we're going to have to make some decisions to either scale back standards, delay construction -- which may not save money -- or not follow through with all of our commitments."
But the loss of new bond money is just one woe for the district as residents, elected officials, members of the independent bond oversight committee and even the federal Securities and Exchange Commission pile on and intensify scrutiny of the program and those who run it, including the board president, bond underwriters and the highly paid construction management and design consultants.
-- Theresa Harrington Rockford adopts $250M schools facilities plan-- Rockford Register Star Illinois: August 13, 2014 [ abstract] ROCKFORD " Some Rockford public school students could change schools as soon as fall 2015 now that the Rockford School Board has adopted a new $250 million facilities plan.
The Rockford School Board approved the plan Tuesday with a 5-1-1 vote. Board member Laura Powers abstained. Board Secretary Lisa Jackson voted no.
The plan calls for closing eight schools, building two new ones and making improvements at the district’s other 38 early childhood, elementary, middle and high school buildings. Early childhood education will be consolidated into four centers, two of which will be Nashold and Beyer elementary schools. Bilingual classes will be moved closer to where bilingual students live. Renaissance Gifted Academy and Maria Montessori will move to different buildings. All elementary schools will become kindergarten through fifth-grade schools.
“Our plan is designed to have all students in improved learning environments by the 2018 school year,” said Rockford School Superintendent Ehren Jarrett. “Some will move earlier.”
District staff will start discussing the first moves with affected teachers and parents in the upcoming school year. No students will be moved for the 2014-2015 school year.
New school timing
Board members adopted the facilities plan with conditions.
The district can not spend any money on new schools until after the board approves a report from the new Facilities Plan Oversight Committee, which is being charged with tracking the improvements and the spending. That report will not be presented until December 2015.
At the same time, the board expects to receive audited budget results for fiscal year 2015.
-- Corina Curry Midland Public Schools facilities need up to $140 million in updates-- Midland Daily News Michigan: August 12, 2014 [ abstract] Midland Public Schools needs an estimated $116.5 million to $140 million to bring its facilities up to date with current health, safety and educational standards, according to a facility assessment released on Monday. MPS Superintendant Michael Sharrow said the district’s buildings are aging, with 88 percent of them more than 50 years old. The average age of MPS school buildings is 61 years old.
Many of the buildings are not energy efficient and they lack safety features found in current educational designs, Sharrow said. He said some facilities that closed in recent years are deteriorating.
-- Tony Lascari Nearly $97 Million Awarded For School Construction In State-- KRWG.org New Mexico: August 07, 2014 [ abstract] The state has awarded nearly $97 million for the design and construction of public schools across New Mexico.
The Public School Capital Outlay Council said the state aid will be matched with nearly $91 million in local financing.
School districts in Raton, Ruidoso, Alamogordo, Albuquerque, Carlsbad, Clovis, Gallup, and Mountainair as well as the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the New Mexico School for the Deaf will receive the capital improvement money.
State financing comes from bonds backed by severance taxes on oil and natural gas production.
-- 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 Museum recognizes Alabama, new high school for safe rooms-- American School & University National: July 28, 2014 [ abstract] An exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. is highlighting the only state in the union " Alabama " that requires tornado safe rooms in new schools.
designing for Disaster, which runs through Aug. 2, allows visitors to take a close look at how policies, plans and designs can help communities withstand natural disasters. An Alabama school, Park Crossing High School in Montgomery, is featured in a portion of the exhibit that is focused on state building codes.
Park Crossing, which opened last fall, incorporated seven safe rooms into its multi-building, 165,390-square foot campus, with the areas of refuge integrated into classrooms and music/band rehearsal spaces. Instead of building one large safe room, multiple safe rooms were distributed throughout the school so students and staff would have a shelter in close proximity.
The safe rooms span two stories and are enclosed by rebar-reinforced concrete walls designed to meet the state standards that took effect in 2010, according to the design firm, Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood (GMC). Steel shutters, which also function as bulletin boards, are located within the classrooms to keep debris and broken glass from flying inside when locked. The shelters have the capacity to protect 1,200 people from 250-mile-per-hour winds.
-- Jill Nolin School Construction Faces Current Labor Shortage, Future Revenue Decline-- Wyoming Public Media Wyoming: July 11, 2014 [ abstract] It’s a tense public meeting in Rawlins. School District officials here recently learned that the latest contractor bid to build a new Rawlins High School is $7 million dollars over budget. Carbon County School District 1 Superintendent Fletcher Turcato says Rawlins isn’t interested in making cuts.
“Four months ago, we were within budget"and because of a bidding climate, now they want us to continue to take money out of this project,” Turcato said. “That’s not going to happen. The Board said it’s not going to happen. We’re not going to do that to the people of Rawlins.”
There’s one representative here from the School Facilities Department"the state agency that oversees design and construction. His name’s Dave Burnett, and the crowd here is pummeling him with questions. Chief among them: ‘How do you expect us to cut $7 million from our school?’
“We’re looking to the design team to offer recommendations to get there,” Burnett says.
“Don’t you have some general idea of where 7 out of 28 million dollars would come?,” asks Mitch Alderman, a Rawlins High School language arts teacher. “I mean, this is what you for a living. Don’t you have any general idea where 25 percent of it’s going to change?”
The current Rawlins High School was built in the 1950s"with capacity for more than 1,000 students. With about 450 there today, the state closed off one wing of the school to save money on utilities and maintenance. Once the state approved a new high school, the community passed a $25 million bond measure to pay for enhancements like a pool and larger auditorium. People like Rawlins City Attorney Amy Bach are anxious to break ground on a new school.
“I’m tired of our community getting the brunt end of the stick,” Bach says. “We have two schools that have been in shambles"in demolition"waiting for Cheyenne to get off their butt.”
Many here blame the state for construction delays and inflated bids. Superintendent Turcato says the state wants to do more value engineering, or “V.E.,” basically looking to save money on design. He’s not having it.
“We’re done arguing over the V.E. process"over taking this much money"taking flooring out and making our new high school look like a prison,” Turcato says. “I’ve said it to the Commission before and I’ll say it again"we already have one prison in Rawlins, we don’t want another one, and we don’t want our high school to look like it.”
Bill Panos is the Director of Wyoming’s School Facilities Department. He says his office is still early in conversation with Carbon County School District 1 and the architect and contractor on the project about how to move forward.
“We have not asked the school district to cut $7 million,” Panos says. “We have not asked anybody to do anything yet, except give us a little more information about why it’s over.”
Panos says the situation in Rawlins isn’t unique. Construction demand in the state is high. It’s late in the season"and that’s driving up prices on many projects.
“With the current bidding environment that we have in the state, we are getting about 50 percent of our bids are coming at the estimate or under the estimate,” says Panos. “And those 50 percent that are over estimate"they’re over by anything from 20-30 percent.”
-- Aaron Schrank Cardozo High School Wins 2014 Preservation Award-- Washington Informer District of Columbia: July 09, 2014 [ abstract] The innovative design of Francis L. Cardozo Education Campus in Northwest has made it a standout among District schools that have undergone modernizations over the past few years.
As a result, the newly-renovated Cardozo, which boasts state-of-the-art technology and floor-to-ceiling murals, ranks among 11 winners of the 2014 Historic Preservation Review Board Chair's Award.
The awards are presented on behalf of a government project that celebrates the history of the District's public schools and their commitment to educating the city's youth.
During the first half of the 20th century, District officials initiated a major building campaign to ease overcrowding in the public schools.
However, by the turn of the century, the structures no longer met students' needs, and in 2007 school officials launched the Public Schools Modernization and Stabilization Project to fully renovate all 123 elementary, middle and high school buildings and related administrative and support facilities.
All totaled, it cost $130 million to modernize the aging Cardozo, which now serves students grades 6 through 12.
Renovations, completed in late 2013, included a restored indoor pool, technologically-advanced classrooms and specially-designed practice rooms and performance areas for the band and chorus.
-- Dorothy Rowley Neighbors Win Battle To Keep Trees, Halt Planned School Renovation-- CBS Baltimore Maryland: July 08, 2014 [ abstract] BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) " A possible victory for one local community in their contentious battle over trees. Baltimore County schools have agreed to halt plans to destroy a dozen trees in Rodgers Forge for an upcoming school renovation project.
Plans to chop nearly a dozen centuries-old trees to make room for a multi-million dollar renovation to Dumbarton Middle School are now on hold.
“I would definitely say there’s no set plan right now,” said Mychael Dickerson.
Baltimore County school district says a “soon to be formed” workgroup of school and community members will draw up revised plans.
Right now, the space where the trees stand is used by families in the community for recreation in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood.
“We’re cautiously optimistic,” said Kevin Schuab.
Schuab is one of the community members who has been rallying for Tuesday’s decision"but he says he’s not entirely sold.
“While the school system says the project is on hold, no permits have been rescinded so technically the school system could come onto the property at any time and remove 35 trees,” he said.
Residents say they’re not against the school expansion, just the design itself, including the removal of nearly a dozen trees and the expansion of the back parking lot.
Emotions ran high at a community meeting with the school earlier in the day. There were nine trees originally in question, later revised to six.
-- Christie Ileto School construction tops $90M in first half of 2014-- Casper Journal Wyoming: July 03, 2014 [ abstract] The Equality State spent $91,587,886 on K-12 school construction during the first six months of 2014, according to Bill Panos, Director of the Wyoming School Facilities Department.
The total includes money for planning, design, construction, land and various professional services, such as engineers, architects and contractors.
“The construction season is very busy throughout the state” Panos said. “SFD is working closely with school districts to ensure our school construction projects maximize value to communities across Wyoming.”
Wyoming is home to 48 school districts. Since 2002, the state has appropriated over $2.7 billion for school construction and maintains over 21 million square feet of educational facilities.
-- Staff Writer Beaverton's overcapacity schools won't have modular classrooms by start of school year-- Oregonlive.com Oregon: June 28, 2014 [ abstract] Springville K-8, Stoller Middle School and Montclair Elementary are expected to be bursting at the seams come September.
All three schools will be overcapacity, with Stoller leading the group -- projected at 126 percent capacity. Springville is projected to be at 103 percent capacity. Montclair is already at 102 percent capacity and growing.
All three schools will receive portable classrooms to give the students and staff a little more breathing room, but they won't have them until after school starts in the fall. In fact, it may be weeks into the new school year, said Richard Steinbrugge, executive administrator for facilities.
Beaverton School District waited until after voters passed the schools bond on May 20 to ensure it had the funds to cover the costs of moving the modular classrooms from one school site to another. That put them behind schedule, Steinbrugge said.
"Typically we start this process very early in the calendar year," he said. "It's not anybody's fault for the delay. The process to move a portable is a long one and you have to get land use permits and building permits."
Once they get permits, the district has to put the site work preparation projects out to bid as well as the transfer of the portables from Sunset and Beaverton high schools to the new sites. The portables must be split into two pieces to be moved.
Meanwhile, principals are determining where to put the extra kids until the portables arrive. Springville Principal Cheryl Ames sent a note to parents of third-graders this week explaining her plan. Third-graders will be housed in the modulars.
"We have identified temporary spaces for third grades in the main building until the portables are completed for occupancy. These will include two rooms designated for music, a computer lab, and a large section of the library. These spaces are adequate for temporary classroom locations but will displace others, including our music teachers who will be going into classrooms for music instruction," Ames wrote.
Information wasn't immediately available for plans at Stoller and Montclair.
-- Wendy Owen Union School District to Spend $125M for Major Facilitiy Upgrades-- Globest.com California: June 23, 2014 [ abstract] SAN JOSE, CA—Voters here have overwhelmingly supported a $125 million bond measure to upgrade and repair aging facilities of the Union Elementary School District, and implement a plan of the Governing Board and Superintendent to bring their facilities into the highest level of 21st Century Learning Environments.
Earlier this year, the Union Elementary School District approved BCA Architects' Long Range Facilities Master Plan for its schools in a unanimous vote. Union School District was particularly interested in working with BCA because of the firm's focus on campus safety/security in design.
â€"The mission of the Union School District is to enrich the community through learning,†said Jacqueline Horejs, Union School District Superintendent. â€"The District's goal has been to design facilities that will support innovative, state-of-the-art teaching and learning in order to ensure student success on the rigorous new Common Core State Standards and to enable them to be successful in all of their future endeavors. Paul Bunton and his Team at BCA Architects provided strong leadership and guidance to our District through thoughtful presentations that ultimately led the Governing Board to a unanimous approval of their visionary master plan.â€
The approval of this master plan and the passage of the Bond Measure comes at an exciting time for the Union School District, as the district celebrates its 150th birthday this year. The district is currently implementing the second year of its three year plan to prepare students for the California Common Core State Standards tests. For the past two years, the District has been focusing on providing students with 21st century teaching and learning experiences to prepare them for successful lives in the work world. BCA's powerful school designs will help create a learning environment and culture to give the students every advantage as they matriculate into college and the workforce.
-- David Phillips New boundary proposals may have a better chance of increasing the number of high-quality schools-- Greater Greater Education District of Columbia: June 16, 2014 [ abstract] The second round of proposals issued by the District’s committee on student assignment backtracks from the idea of lotteries and returns to a system of neighborhood schools. But the new, less radical proposals may actually have a better chance of improving school quality, at least in some parts of the District.
The original impetus for revising school boundaries and feeder patterns was clear: It hasn’t been done since 1968. Much has changed. Some schools, particularly Deal Middle and Wilson High school, are seriously overcrowded, while many others are under-enrolled. Because of school closures, almost a quarter of D.C. students have the right to attend multiple schools.
But, to the mystification of some, the members of D.C. Advisory Committee on Student Assignment didn’t limit themselves to fixing overcrowding and correcting irrationalities in the assignment system. They also tried to promote diversity and address inequities in the school system as a whole, through policies designed to distribute middle-class students more widely and break down the isolation of high-poverty schools.
A frequently heard criticism of that now-defunct first round of proposals, and this one as well, is that they don’t address the underlying problem of school quality. But the committee wasn’t charged with addressing that question, and it’s not clear it has either the authority or the expertise to do it.
In fact, the more radical proposals floated by the committee may have been an effort to use assignment policies to jumpstart the process of improving school quality, and they didn’t go over very well.
-- NATALIE WEXLER Year later, much has been learned about school closings-- ChicagoTribune Illinois: June 14, 2014 [ abstract]
Nerves were a little shakier than usual when the 2013-14 school year started in Chicago, as parents and city officials anxiously watched thousands of children heading off to classrooms in unfamiliar neighborhoods because of the district's move to close almost 50 elementary schools.
But when classes let out Friday, most of the fears of September were unrealized. The Safe Passage program to protect kids on their way to and from those schools appears to have performed as promised. And Chicago Public Schools chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett on Friday said there was an uptick in performance at schools designated to take in students whose buildings were closed.
"The promising trends we saw mid-year of increased student attendance, slightly higher grade-point averages and fewer rates of misconduct reaffirm the District's commitment to investing so heavily in the transition process," Byrd-Bennett said in a statement.
Among those investments were millions of dollars to hire and train 600 Safe Passage monitors, who with the help of city workers staffed selected passages between closed schools and "welcoming schools" or schools designated to receive displaced students.
There were a handful of reports of violence and shootings near Safe Passage routes, and a 15-year-old girl headed to charter high school on the city's Northwest Side was hit in the head, dragged and raped about a half-block from a Safe Passage route.
School officials said during a board meeting in March that there were "no major violent incidents" involving students along Safe Passage routes while workers were at their posts.
The Chicago Teachers Union, which fought the school closings, said using violence as a means to rate closings a success isn't a sound measure.
"We should have also been looking at a bunch of other indicators such as what the discipline environment is like in the welcoming schools and did the district make good on its promises to secure resources into receiving schools for more than just one year," said CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey. "If you built a library, did you put a librarian in it? If you built a computer lab, did you have technology teachers?"
The cash-starved Chicago Public Schools poured $233 million into renovations and other upgrades at the welcoming schools, including spending on new iPads, air conditioning, computers labs, specialized education programs and accommodations for the disabled.
-- Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah Cornell research find school gardens keep kids active-- ShreveportTimes.com National: June 06, 2014 [ abstract] Want to grow healthy students? Try planting a garden.
Cornell University researchers spent two years studying 12 elementary schools in New York and have determined that students are more physically active when their schools have gardens; and that boost in activity continues even after they head home for the day.
“This is the first true experiment to measure the effects of school gardens on children’s physical activity, and we found a significant increase,” environmental psychologist Nancy Wells, professor of design and environmental analysis in Cornell’s College of Human Ecology, said in a statement. “It is notable that in our intervention, kids were only spending an hour or two per week in the gardens, yet there was a significant difference in physical activity. The findings suggest that if schools embraced gardens further and integrated them into lesson plans, there might be an even greater effect.”
While indoor classes would find children standing on average only 10 percent of the time, that ratio would flip during garden lessons, with students sitting 15 percent of the time, and standing, walking or kneeling during the rest of the lesson.
-- Staff report 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 Cardozo High School Receives Historic Preservation Award of Excellence-- Department of General Services, DC District of Columbia: May 22, 2014 [ abstract] The District of Columbia Historic Preservation Office/Office of Planning presented the Historic Preservation Review Board Chair’s Award to Francis L. Cardozo High School at the Annual Awards for Excellence in Historic Preservation Thursday, May 15th at DAR Constitution Hall. In total, 11 awards were presented to individuals, businesses and local organizations for exemplary work and commitment to historic preservation, archaeology, education and lifetime achievement.
The Historic Preservation Review Board Chair’s Award was selected by the Chair, Gretchen Pfaehler, AIA. Ms. Pfaehler selected Cardozo out of 20+ other projects, bestowing this honor on the school for the significant investment it represents from the District government. The project was recognized for its exceptional design work in restoration, rehabilitation and new construction affecting a historic District property.
The award was presented to the District of Columbia Department of General Services, Hartman-Cox Architects, Grim + Parker Architects and GSC-Sigal, LLC, who were responsible for the design and construction of the $130 million modernization. “We are truly honored to have the opportunity to complete projects such as Cardozo High School which represents the best in bringing modern design and construction to the District’s most historic and vital assets,” said Brian J. Hanlon, Director of the Department of General Services.
Francis L. Cardozo High School is an individually landmarked Elizabethan/renaissance public high school that was erected in 1914-16. The 300,000 sq. ft. building was originally designed to accommodate 2,500 students and played a significant role in the development of education in the United States.
-- Kenneth Diggs Hanston finds a way to revitalize old school builidng
-- Kansas Agland Kansas: May 18, 2014 [ abstract] In the old classroom where children once learned business and accounting, Pam Ruff’s embroidery business is expanding.
Just down the hall, a woman manufactures quilts in the math room and a graphic design company is situated where history was taught.
Across the Kansas landscape, many small towns have dwindled with the loss of anchors such as churches, groceries and schools. However, in Hanston, population 211, when the last students were ushered out of the school doors a few years ago, folks decided to fight back.
“The school, it’s always been a gathering place, what has kept this town going,” said Pam’s husband, Lonnie, who was president of the school board when the school shuttered.
So, the idea was simple: To keep it a community focal point filled with activity, he said.
Today, in the Hodgeman County school building with the countless state basketball and football championship trophies in the gymnasium and banners on the walls, Pam Ruff, along with a dozen or so others, have filled the classrooms as entrepreneurs " the building and the surrounding grounds turned into a business incubator. There is a hay dispatching business, National Ident-A-Kid " a program that provides child identification kits across the nation, a photography studio, a seed company and a preschool. In addition, in coming months, Lonnie Ruff says, a young engineer and his family are moving back to the area, with plans to start a consulting firm in one of the vacant classrooms.
“It’s efforts like this that keep little towns alive,” he said, later adding, “People are recognizing the value of a small town.”
A community anchor
The Hodgeman County town of Hanston was established in 1878 as Marena " the name officially changing to Hanston in 1902. There was a grade school for many years in Hanston, but the first graduating class of seniors was in 1927.
Hanston used to have a Chevy garage, a tractor dealership and a grocery. The town eventually couldn’t support those businesses as population has dwindled across the Kansas prairie, Ruff noted.
There are no longer farms every quarter section. Farms are larger and family sizes are smaller. Hodgeman County’s population peaked at 4,100 at the start of the Great Depression. Today, the U.S. Census estimates population at about 2,000 people.
“We didn’t run out of money, we ran out of kids,” Lonnie Ruff said.
-- Staff Writer DCPS Proposes Transforming Roosevelt High Into International Relations-Focused School-- DCist District of Columbia: May 14, 2014 [ abstract] Petworth's Roosevelt High, which hasn't seen the best of days in recent years, could see a major transformation soon, as DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced today a proposal to turn it into a international relations-focused school.
According to a release, the proposal includes a new school building, which will be finished for the 2015-2016 school year, as well has a refined curriculum that includes "dual-language programming, international travel for students, aligned career and technical education offerings, and enhanced partnerships with the community and institutions of higher education." DCPS also plans to redesign the school and are working with the Roosevelt community for ideas on the redesign process.
Henderson says that the "modernization gives us a chance to take a look at what's happening inside and outside." She also says that, with an increasingly international student body, these plans for Roosevelt will give the school more of a "comprehensive international relations theme."
The new international relations-centric program would take place when the new building is finished, for the 2015-2016 school year, and would include programs geared toward preparing students for college and professional life, with CTE programs in international business, finance, and international culinary arts. There'd also be a focus on early college prep, with AP and duel-credit courses students can take on college campuses.
-- Matt Cohen Norfolk likely to OK plan to rebuild five schools-- PilotOnline.com Virginia: May 12, 2014 [ abstract] The City Council is expected to approve Tuesday a $5 million agreement for S.B. Ballard Construction Co. to begin building five schools.
The Ballard bid came under a 2002 state law called the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act, which allows private groups to make unsolicited proposals to build public buildings.
The designs have not yet been made public, nor have the actual costs. The City Council has authorized just more than $125 million for school construction, according to the fiscal 2015 budget proposal.
"We won't settle on a final price until design and negotiations are complete," city spokeswoman Lori Crouch said in an email.
In 2012, company owner Stephen B. Ballard sent a school construction proposal to the School Board but was turned down because of the limited role the board would have had over construction details.
When the city took over school construction last year, Ballard submitted a modified bid that the city reviewed, thereby allowing other companies to offer bids.
Virginia Beach-based Ballard competed with proposals by Turner Construction Co. of Virginia Beach and W.M. Jordan Co. of Newport News. Ballard's legal consultant for the project is Vincent J. Mastracco Jr. of Kaufman & Canoles.
A team of city and school officials met with the developers and reviewed their financial information, which is not public.
-- Patrick Wilson and Cherise M. Newsome Georgia Governor Deal Approves Use of Wood in School Construction-- Digital Journal Georgia: May 10, 2014 [ abstract] Governor Nathan Deal recently signed legislation that allows for greater use of wood materials in public school facilities, providing K-12 schools throughout the state with alternative, cost-effective, and sustainable design options.
Senate Bill 301, sponsored by Senator Fran Millar, R-Atlanta, removes language from the Georgia Department of Education (DOE) Guideline for Educational Facility Construction that prohibited the use of light wood framing (or wood stud partitioning) and ordinary wood construction. The bill provides school administrators and design professionals with the option to use wood materials as a design alternative – a standard that is readily accepted in the International Building Code.
"Removing any barrier to the use of wood grown by Georgia landowners and milled by Georgia manufacturers is good for the forestry economy and the continued sustainability of Georgia's timberland," Georgia Forestry Association (GFA) President Steve McWilliams said. "This new option could save taxpayers a significant amount of money and create more sustainable structures while making use of a Georgia-grown renewable resource."
Wood-constructed schools meet the same standards for life safety while providing much needed advantages related to cost, speed of construction, design flexibility, energy efficiency and sustainability. In recent years, states such as Arkansas and South Carolina have removed similar bans and have uncovered huge savings.
-- Georgia Forestry Association Judge orders school construction halted and requires full environmental impact report for ES-- The Daily Journal Pennsylvania: May 09, 2014 [ abstract] Construction must be halted on Hoover Elementary School in Burlingame, according to a judge’s final ruling issued Thursday.
San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Marie Weiner ruled in favor of the Alliance for Responsible Neighborhood Planning that sued the Burlingame Elementary School District, stating it needs to prepare a full environmental impact report on traffic impacts on the entire property, which means all construction must be stopped until this is done. Originally, the judge had just asked to stop construction on the dropoff zone, but the ruling stated the entire site needed to be analyzed before there could be any further construction, installation, development or permits issued.
“The failure to adequately address traffic and parking environmental impacts permeates more that the mere operation of a school or how a student dropoff area is configured,” Weiner wrote. “Indeed, the demolition of the annex and the building of a new and much larger school building " which is a key component of the project " is designed to take away the vast majority of the existing parking lot on the property, and thus resulting in a parking shortage and traffic problems.”
The district was very disappointed with the ruling since the school is for the benefit of the larger community, said Superintendent Maggie MacIsaac.
“We have to decide what we need to do " the board needs to decide,” she said. “The one thing is we really need to open the school. It’s important to our community and to alleviate the overcrowding. ... It’s a loss for both (Hillsborough and Burlingame) of our communities, schools.”
Christine Fitzgerald, one of the petitioners in the case and member of the alliance, said it’s a great victory for the neighbors who live near the school and felt the plan should be postponed to allow for more discussion and possible changes to the traffic plan.
“We’re really happy,” she said. “It’s huge. Just looking at it, you can see both buildings take up the majority of the property. It just boggles the mind to think where they’re going to put all these cars. The judge is right in her decision.”
-- Angela Swartz Officials ask Dance not to demolish but renovate Loch Raven school-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: May 08, 2014 [ abstract] Towson area state and local officials have written to Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Dallas Dance asking for assurances that the Loch Raven Elementary School building will be saved — and Dance's chief of staff says plans call for renovation and an addition at the school.
The 66-year-old school building hasn't welcomed elementary school students since 1982 but Dance last year proposed moving the children of Halstead Academy to a new school on the Loch Raven site.
Local and community officials have continued to express fears about demolishing the 1948 school, which currently operates as a community center and is protected as a historic landmark.
In an April 30 letter to Dance released last week and signed by Councilman David Marks; Council Chairwoman Cathy Bevins; state Sen. Jim Brochin; and Dels. Sue Aumann, William Frank and Steve Lafferty, the correspondents were "seeking a clear assurance that the Board will not seek demolition of the original structure of Loch Raven Elementary School. We understand that the Board may seek to modify the historic footprint of the property to accommodate the new community center or elements of the school, but do not support demolition of the original building."
"We are going to respond to Councilman Mark's letter," Michele Prumo, Dance's chief of staff, told the Towson Times in a voice mail May 5. "We have gone on record that we will be doing a renovation-addition at Loch Raven Elementary School."
The school building and itscampus is designated as a historic landmark, said Marks, who said he was vice chairman of the Baltimore County Historical Trust when a vote was taken to protect the school property.
-- Mary K. Tilghman Experts weigh in on cost of school construction-- independenttribune.com North Carolina: May 05, 2014 [ abstract] CONCORD, N.C. -- The cost of school construction has been a hot topic in Cabarrus County lately, especially during discussions of a bond referendum in November. As local leaders have compared various schools to each other, there have been questions about why one costs more than another and why certain features were incorporated into new schools.
So why do schools cost as much as they do, and why would one cost much more than another? Experts from North Carolina and Virginia recently weighed in on this issue.
“There’s any number of reasons why costs can vary,” said Steve Taynton, section chief of school planning for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI).
Building one school may include purchasing land, whereas another may not; one may have inflationary costs or include having to widen a road, he said. The cheapest school might be on a flat site and not include development costs, Taynton said.
“One site is usually not the same as another site,” said John Missell, chief operating officer at Spectrum design, an architecture and engineering firm based in Roanoke, Va. that has worked on educational facilities in Virginia and North Carolina.
For example, Missell said that the soil’s bearing capacity is a huge cost driver, as well as the size of the building and how many stories it might have. The length of utilities to the building can add tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, Missell said. Technology has also affected costs in recent years, he added.
Over the last eight years, general construction has made up about 68.75 percent to 75.81 percent of the average costs to build schools in North Carolina, according to DPI. Plumbing accounts for about 3.45 percent to 5.75 percent, and heating and air conditioning have made up about 10.16 percent to 14.22 percent. Electrical costs have made up about 8.96 percent to 11.53 percent of the average school costs.
-- Jessica Groover Pacek Forget facelifts. Architects are giving D.C. public schools luxurious settings worthy of trophy office buildings.-- Washington Business Journal District of Columbia: May 02, 2014 [ abstract] Battle lines are being drawn over D.C.’s public school boundaries, but we’ve already seen victories in improving the physical environments for learning. Only a decade ago, most of the city’s schools were in deplorable condition, marred by broken windows, leaking roofs and overall disrepair.
Now almost two-thirds of D.C.’s 109 public schools have been partially or fully modernized. In his proposed budget for fiscal year 2015, Mayor Vincent Gray has set aside $409 million for more school upgrades, primarily for high schools and elementary schools.
As this ambitious campaign proceeds, some noteworthy architecture is emerging to accommodate the newest approaches to K-12 education. These new schools reflect a more fluid, dynamic and campus-style approach to learning than the rigid “cells and bells” approach of the past.
Overseeing the building improvements is architect Brian Hanlon, who was appointed director of the District Department of General Services in 2011. He is trying to raise the level of public school design and construction in much the same way that the D.C. public libraries have recast their buildings.
But Hanlon is more interested in certified business enterprises than starchitects. He is relying on design-build partnerships to speed construction and guarantee costs and has awarded multiple school projects to the same firms, throwing into question his pursuit of innovation.
Nevertheless, Hanlon insists, “We are pushing the envelope of design to change the culture.” That effort is clearly being made at some of the newer D.C. school projects, as evident from my recent tours of Ballou High School, now being constructed in Southeast’s Congress Heights neighborhood, and Dunbar High School, opened last year in the Truxton Circle section of Northwest.
-- Deborah K. Dietech Capital campaign 'likely' as Berkley Schools looks to improve facilities, technology-- Observer & Eccentric California: April 30, 2014 [ abstract] BERKLEY " Berkley Schools Superintendent Dennis McDavid has been hesitant to broach the topic of asking for financial help from residents to improve the district’s outdated buildings and technology until he had all the information.
He wanted to be sure that before he talked money, he knew just how bad the situation was in the district.
A 512-page report by Integrated design Solutions gave him what he needed, showing an estimated $120 million worth of work needed in the district, including a little more than $4 million worth of work dubbed critical (of that number $3 million is related to technology). The largest portion, $95 million, was scored moderate and includes “conditions causing premature deterioration and are necessary, but do not have an urgent need,” according to the report.
And on Monday night, McDavid made the announcement at a community meeting the district organized to share the report with residents that a capital campaign is “likely.”
“What this report does is lay out some significant needs for the district,” he said. “There are not many ways to address those needs, in fact, I don’t know of any, other than a capital campaign.”
McDavid acknowledged that there is no current plan in place and said the study is “just a tool to help us move forward.” The next steps are to bring on a school architectural firm to review the report, gather community input and develop options.
And as far time frame, he said that “we need to do something sooner rather than later.”
“Our needs are pressing, and they are going to get worse,” he said.
Some of those pressing needs include a 17-year-old phone system that requires eBay purchases to repair, boilers that are between 47 and 60 years old and electrical systems that vary in age from the 1920s to the 1950s, among others.
-- Nathan Mueller Woods says growth drives school bonds-- mySanAntonio.com Texas: April 29, 2014 [ abstract] Growth and renovation of aging schools are the two major issues driving the $648.34 million School Bond 2014, Northside Independent School District Superintendent Brian T. Woods told the Dominion Rotary April 15.
Northside, he says, is expected to grow by 2,000 to 2,500 students every year for the next 20 to 25 years, which equals 100 classrooms per year.
â€"The second issue is renovation of aging schools,†Woods said. â€"The ZIP code doesn't matter in keeping existing structures up to standard.â€
The school district encompasses 25 percent of Bexar County, according to Woods. â€"Bexar County is a fast growth county and Northside is growing twice the rate of the rest of the county,†he said.
â€"About one-half of all the homes built in the county are built in the Northside (district area),†Woods said. â€"There are several areas past Taft High School with neighborhoods platted for 6,000 to 7,000 new houses.â€
While growth is expected throughout NISD, the largest projected expansion is expected outside Loop 1604 from Bandera to Potranco roads, he said.
NISD is proposing to build five elementary schools and one high school â€"right on the district line.†â€"But one of the five elementary schools would be built completely out of savings from the last bond,†Woods said. â€"In each bond proposal, we get way out in front.â€
Woods says no middle schools would be constructed out of Bond 2014, although the proposal does call for the design of the next middle school to be paid for out of a future bond issue because the district has caught up with the growth in that age group.
-- JONI SIMON, CONTRIBUTING WRITER Fairfax County schools seek to restore boundary balance-- FairfaxTimes.com Virginia: April 24, 2014 [ abstract] The number of trailers in use at Fairfax County schools - more than 900 across the county - belies the fact that the school district does have more seats available than students.
In Fairfax County, 40 schools are at least 5 percent over capacity while other schools have classroom space to spare. More than 60 schools are at least 10 percent underenrolled.
School facilities staff provided suggested boundary adjustments to the School Board Wednesday in an effort to address the discrepancy in enrollments. The recommendations are preliminary, and represent the school system’s effort to get ahead of the notoriously thorny issue of boundary changes between schools, Kevin Sneed, the school system’s director of design and construction services, told the School Board.
“For us to just throw boundary suggestions out there is difficult, but we also know there are schools where we have problems,” Sneed said. “We need to acknowledge that so we can start planning for it.”
Enrollment projections in the school system’s Capital Improvement Program, the construction and renovation plan for the next five years, showed that the current capacity problems at schools across the county will continue to worsen in coming years, as the student population continues to climb.
The School Board plans to continue to work with school staff to find solutions, whether those come in the form of new school buildings or school boundary changes to provide relief to overcrowded schools.
School Board member Kathy Smith (Sully) noted that boundary changes do not necessarily need to shift neighborhoods from one school to another, but could also focus on targeting specific schools to house programs such as advanced academic centers. Several such programmatic alterations are included in the recommendations made by the facilities staff.
“I believe we have a responsibility to use as many seats as we have,” Smith said.
-- Kate Yanchulis Do ‘green’ schools help kids learn?-- The Columbus Dispatch Ohio: April 21, 2014 [ abstract] Researchers know that energy-efficient “green” schools cost less to operate and offer a more-healthful learning environment for students and teachers.
But scientists at Battelle want to study whether the environmentally friendly buildings help children learn. Researchers began comparing student test scores, attendance rates and discipline in green schools and traditional schools last year. Preliminary results show a link between green buildings and fewer disciplinary problems.
“The idea is to better inform the public debate about sustainable design,” said Ian MacGregor, the project’s lead investigator and a senior research scientist for Battelle Energy & Environment.
The study comes as state lawmakers debate whether to allow state agencies, including the Ohio School Facilities Commission, to continue to require new state-funded buildings to meet certain environmental standards.
A bill the Senate has passed would ban state use of LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, standards. LEED is used as a worldwide benchmark for environmental building design. The House has yet to hold hearings on the proposal.
Advocates of the ban say a recent update to LEED hurts Ohio businesses by discouraging the use of materials produced in the state. The latest version of LEED calls for companies to disclose the chemical ingredients in their building materials.
Others, including the U.S. Green Building Council, defend LEED, saying green schools in Ohio use an average of 34 percent less energy and 37 percent less water than traditional buildings. Green schools also increase students’ exposure to daylight and improve indoor air quality, they say.
Ohio has more than 130 green schools, and it leads the nation in LEED-certified schools. That’s because all schools built with state help must be LEED-certified.
-- Charlie Boss 7 W.Va. buildings given architecture awards-- WVgazette.com West Virginia: April 20, 2014 [ abstract] Seven West Virginia buildings, including a Morgantown elementary school and a Girl Scouts building in Charleston, were honored with awards from the American Institute of Architects at its dinner for the West Virginia design Awards earlier this month.
“The architecture profession always wants to recognize and promote the outstanding work of their peers and highlight the importance of their work of the past year,” said Jonathan Adler with the AIA-WV chapter.
The winning projects exhibited sustainability features, extraordinary detailing and designs that mirrored the building’s purpose.
Entries were judged by Gina Hilberry who serves as the president of the AIA-St. Louis chapter.
Assemblage Architects was the only out-of-state firm to win an award. The firm received an honor award for excellence in architecture for its multi-purpose building at Camp Dawson.
The other honor award for excellence in architecture in sustainable design went to Williamson Shriver Architects for its Eastwood Elementary School project in Morgantown.
The project consolidated Easton and Woodburn Elementary Schools. The School Building Authority wanted the school to meet LEED silver certification sustainability standards.
“There are a lot of demands and expectations there that need to be met at that level,” said Ted Shriver, lead architect for the project.
Shriver said there are a number of ways to go about meeting that certification, geared toward energy savings and sustainability.
“We looked at the ones that made sense for the location and type of facility that we were designing,” he said. “With sustainability there are some things that cost more than others. And there is only a certain amount of dollars that can be spent on a project so it’s a balancing act to make sure we meet the standards but also make sure it’s the right thing based on costs.”
-- Caitlin Cook 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 Uneasy Parents Share Concerns Over School Assignment Proposals-- Washington City Paper District of Columbia: April 09, 2014 [ abstract] Anxious public-school parents packed the gymnasium at Coolidge High School last night to express their concerns over the city's proposals for realigning school boundaries and changing the student assignment process.
The parents at this meeting—the third public gathering after the city released its proposals over the weekend—were largely from upper Northwest, the area whose schools have the best reputation, and where residents therefore feel they have the most to lose. Two of the three proposals would open high schools to a citywide lottery and provide multiple middle-school options for most households, creating a degree of uncertainty for families who thought they were destined for the city's most successful and sought-after neighborhood schools, Alice Deal Middle School and Wilson High School in Tenleytown.
"The citywide lottery is just a ridiculous, horrible idea," said Mia Dell, a parent of three children at Lafayette Elementary School, which feeds into Deal and Wilson, to her tablemates as the meeting broke into group discussions.
"The whole neighborhood school idea seems central to me," said Stoddert Elementary School parent Julie Schneider, who, like others at the meeting, worried about losing the right to attend a nearby school.
Deputy Mayor for Education Abigail Smith, who led the committee that drafted the proposals, anticipated the distress. "I know there are a lot of people in the room who are feeling anxious," she said in opening the meeting. Smith reassured parents that it was untrue that she already had a set plan ironed out and that the exercise of floating the three proposals was "just a charade," as some people suggested. (Smith asked the crowd how many people felt this way; a few hands went up.)
The three plans, she said, are just "initial proposals" that are likely to change. "Our expectation is that we probably will not end up with Policy Example A, B, or C," she said. "We'll probably end up with D, E, F, X, Y, or Z."
Still, some community members felt that two of the so-called policy examples were designed to be unpalatable, so as to make the third, more conservative one appear like the consensus position.
"They've put a lot of things on the table," said Powell Elementary School parent Andy Rowe, "and only some of them seem realistic."
Rowe is among the highly engaged parents who have helped turn Powell from a mediocre, underenrolled school into a successful one that's surpassed its capacity amid high demand. Now, with the redrawn boundaries proposed by Smith's team, Rowe would no longer be in-boundary for Powell.
"We're going to have another child, and it's my hope she'll go to Powell, too," Rowe said.
Jeff Steele, a resident of nearby Crestwood who runs the popular Web forum DC Urban Moms and Dads, is likewise frustrated that his neighborhood would lose the right to go to Powell under the proposed changes. He acknowledges that Crestwood parents have historically found ways of dodging Powell and sending their kids elsewhere, but says that in the past couple of years, a few neighborhood parents have started opting for Powell and trying to recruit their friends and neighbors.
"It's unfortunate that just as Crestwood was starting to make a commitment to Powell, we're getting the rug pulled out from under us," Steele said.
Some Crestwood parents feel uniquely slighted by the city's proposals. Not only would a portion of the neighborhood lose the right to attend Powell, but the entire neighborhood would be zoned out of attending Deal and Wilson under the redrawn boundaries—a much bigger concern for many neighbors.
-- Aaron Wiener LHS, Casper high school projects shed light on construction market-- Laramie Boomerang Wyoming: April 08, 2014 [ abstract] About two weeks after bids on the new Laramie High School construction project came in $14 million over-budget, Natrona County School District No. 1 opened bids on a roughly $36.7 million high school project.
The low bid for the Natrona County High School project came in $80,000 under-budget, said Keith Brown, Natrona County School District project manager.
Although both projects went to bid around the same time, they aren’t necessarily an apples-to-apples comparison, said Brown and others involved in Wyoming construction.
The new LHS is larger and more complex than the Casper project, which is for Roosevelt High School and the Career and Professional Studies, or CAPS, program.
Additionally, Laramie and Casper building climates are subject to differing market forces based on a host of factors, including location, the number and size of local projects and the availability of local contractors and subcontractors.
The LHS project
The state and Albany County voters committed about $87.8 million to the LHS project.
Through the Wyoming School Facilities Department, the state allocated $62.8 million for design and construction of the core facility.
Of that $62.8 million, the state earmarked about $53 million for core building construction.
The remaining state funds were for road, water and sewer development as well as furniture, fixtures and equipment.
Two project bids came in Feb. 27, and both were about $67 million " $14 million over the $53 million earmarked by the state specifically for core building construction, said Kathy Walsh, School Board chair.
In addition, the two contractors " GH Phipps Construction Companies and Sampson Construction " submitted separate bids on an enhancements package.
The enhancements package is a set of building components funded by Albany County taxpayers through a $25 million bond, approved by voters in May 2013.
Components include stadium seating, artificial turf fields, a pool, auditorium expansion, four research and design STEM labs and more.
Enhancements package bids came in about $1 million over-budget, Walsh said.
Students were originally scheduled to attend classes in the new building for fall 2015.
-- CHILTON TIPPIN Students tell Guilford county officials of decaying classrooms-- News and Record North Carolina: April 04, 2014 [ abstract] Crowder, 14, is the president of Guilford Middle School’s Student Government Association " and she’s living through her school’s decay.
“We have ceilings leaking in my classrooms,” Crowder told the commissioners. “It’s bad.”
At issue: About $79 million for school construction projects Guilford County Schools has designated as priority projects. The school board would like the commissioners to issue voter-approved bond money to begin the projects. But commissioners are reluctant to issue that much bond debt all at once and instead would like to portion it out.
-- Joe Killian 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 Old Boynton Beach High School could lose its historic designation-- Sun Sentinel Florida: March 18, 2014 [ abstract] A vote Tuesday could take a big step toward eliminating a piece of Boynton Beach history.
On Tuesday, the Boynton Beach City Commission will discuss removing the local historic designation of the old Boynton Beach high school building. Although the building has been on the local historic register for only a year, it has been a part of Boynton Beach history for 88 years.
At a February meeting last year, the commission, which included current Mayor Jerry Taylor and Commissioner Mack McCray, passed an ordinance that gave the school historic designation.
But lately Taylor has been on a mission to get rid of the building to put something newer in its place. Earlier this year he urged the commission to set aside $170,000 to demolish the school.
Taylor couldn't be reached for comment on Monday.
Commissioner David Merker said the commission's flip-flopping doesn't put the city in a good light.
"The bottom line is that we're showing the unprofessionalism of our commission," he said. "One minute we're doing one thing and one minute we're doing another thing. There's no consistency."
Last year, the city passed two ordinances — one to give the old school its historic designation and the other to change its land use from governmental building to a mixed-use building. The changes were made so architect Juan Contin could develop the building into an event center with bars, restaurants and a hall for weddings and special events.
But the commission shot down Contin's site plan days before the deadline outlined in the developer's agreement. Now, Contin is suing the city for breach of contract.
-- Attiyya Anthony Saginaw School District spent $2.9 million on school to close next year-- mlive.com Michigan: March 17, 2014 [ abstract] SAGINAW, MI — The Saginaw School District spent nearly $3 million on a school it will close next year.
Houghton Elementary School received $2.9 million in improvements in 2010, part of the third phase of improvements that taxpayers funded with a $70 million bond issue voters approved in 2004. Houghton, 1604 Johnson, will close at the end of the 2013-2014 school year.
"We did try not to impact schools with bond money we've used," said Delena Spates-Allen, a school board member.
She said the district has done a good job spending the bond funds. Some of previous redesign plans included closing Saginaw High School, which the district has put nearly $3 million into in the past four years.
There is about $1.1 million of the $70 million left, said Robert Bradley, the district's facilities director.
"We always have work to do with the facilities we have due to their age, but as far as the bond language, the demolition of Morley and Fuerbringer would complete what is required," Bradley said.
-- Lindsay Knake Historic district panel asks officials to keep Washington School open-- Journalinquirer.com Connecticut: March 14, 2014 [ abstract] MANCHESTER " The Cheney Brothers National Historic Landmark District Commission has adopted a resolution asking town leaders as they weigh school renovation options to make “every effort” possible to keep Washington Elementary School open.
The commission, which unanimously approved the resolution last week and forwarded it to town officials on Wednesday, asked the boards of Education and Directors to preserve the building and keep it operating as a school.
The commission said every effort should be made to keep the school open, even if renovating the structure is not the least-expensive available option for the town.
“We wanted to make it clear that the continued operation of the school is important to the health of the historic district,” said commission Chairman Robert Shanbaum, who lives on Hartford Road in a historic Cheney mansion. He said commission members feel that town officials have been “unclear” during the process of deciding which school or schools to close.
The school board will meet on Thursday, March 20, to discuss which schools might close and which would be expanded, though a final decision likely won’t be made until April.
In a letter sent in January to the state Historic Preservation Council, Town Manager Scott Shanley told state officials that the town doesn’t intend to raze the historic portion of the school and instead is “focused on other projects and options.”
Washington School is part of the Cheney Brothers National Historic Landmark District, which features churches, mills, mansions, and worker homes dating to the 19th and 20th centuries. The area received the federal designation in 1978.
The commission noted in its resolution that a “significant factor” in the designation of that area was the “degree to which most components of the former industrial village have been preserved,” such as the school.
One option that an architect has drawn up involves gutting the 1912 portion of the school and building a new wing off the rear to accommodate 530 students; the cost would be around $42.7 million. That’s about $8 million more than tearing down the school and building a new one.
Asked if he thought the higher price tag would be a hard sell, Shanbaum said, “I don’t think it’s an impossible sell.” He noted that plans call for adding a gym to the school, which, he said, adds at least $2 million in construction costs and is an “extravagance.” Town leaders should work with the school to have a better working agreement for use of the gym at the Mahoney Recreational Center, he said.
-- David Huck Jasper County School District Files Lawsuit Concerning School Construction-- WSAV South Carolina: March 11, 2014 [ abstract] Jasper County School Board Chairperson, Berty Riley says the Jasper County School District has initiated litigation concerning the design and construction of specific elements of the Ridgeland and Hardeeville school sites.
In her letter, Riley says several sinkholes have formed at both sites. She says after investigating the cause of the sinkholes, defects in the construction of the underground storm water system have been identified. These defects not only promote the formation of sinkholes at points above the underground drainage pipes, but also cause the storm water system to do a poor job of storm water drainage away from the buildings, paved areas, and fields.
The letter adds that in addition, both the Ridgeland and Hardeeville school sites have experienced water intrusion at windows and stairwells where sections of the school buildings connect. The District says the original contractors recently attempted repairs to the areas, but because these areas were designed and constructed with materials different from the precast concrete panel system used for most of the buildings, there exists an increased risk of additional maintenance and repair costs for the District.
Riley says these issues have not affected the District's classrooms or offices. The District will continue to monitor and mark off areas affected by the development of sinkholes and make prompt repairs where pedestrian or vehicle traffic may be affected. Areas of the buildings that have experienced water intrusion have been freshly patched, cleaned, and painted. No mold has been found in this process.
The letter continues to say that while the District has been engaged in discussions with the responsible parties in an effort to correct these conditions, the District has determined that at this time the filing of a formal lawsuit is necessary to protect the District's rights.
-- Liz Buckthorpe ROCHESTER SCHOOLS MODERNIZATION PROGRAM BUDGETS-- DemocratandChronicle.com New York: March 09, 2014 [ abstract] A few years ago, when 15-year-old Unique Fair helped redesign the school he'd attended since he was a first-grader, he imagined walking out of its doors and into college and the future beyond.
But reality got in the way. Construction delays mean Fair and his School 58 classmates will begin senior year as they have every year of high school: in space at the Franklin high school building on Norton Street.
World of Inquiry, as School 58 is known, won't reopen on schedule this fall. It's the first casualty of a massive — and troubled, audits obtained by the Democrat and Chronicle show — effort to modernize Rochester's many aging school buildings. The internal performance audits and interviews with those involved describe a $1.3 billion multiphase project that is rushed and disjointed, rife with confusion and friction between the various entities tasked with its oversight.
City School District officials were indecisive and allowed anyone from key administrators down to school principals to seek changes to designs, the audits show. That, coupled with inaccuracies in the original building plans led to expensive add-ons: At School 58, a $41 million project that's the most expensive in Phase I, district officials demanded air conditioning after the project had gone out to bid. Then contractors discovered lead dust, an oil spill and steel so deficient the building could have collapsed.
Meanwhile, some accounts said key players such as program manager Gilbane Building Co. failed to provide the expertise promised, instead delegating tasks to others, at increased cost.
The firm hired to ensure compliance with minority contracting and hiring was faulted not just for lax oversight but, at times, a complete absence of it, calling into question its much-heralded successes.
The firm since has been replaced.
-- Brian Sharp Senate panel puts brakes on school construction-- SFGate Wyoming: February 27, 2014 [ abstract] CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) " The Senate Appropriations Committee put the brakes on spending in a K-12 school construction bill after members raised concern that some proposed school building projects appeared to have skipped initial stages of the established legislative process for approval.
The panel on Thursday unanimously advanced House Bill 42 to the floor of the full House for further debate after voting to delay four projects. Two of the projects are in Big Horn County District 4, and one each in Albany 1 and Laramie 2.
Collectively, the four accounted for about $9.5 million in design costs. The Big Horn district projects also were slated to receive money for construction valued at about $25.6 million.
They are among dozens of proposed school building projects that the bill provides $20.3 million for design and $230.8 million for construction.
Members of the committee objected to the projects appearing on the design and construction list without appearing to go through the initial planning step that had been used in past school construction bills.
Committee Chairman Sen. Eli Bebout, R-Riverton, said none of the projects were being proposed because the schools lacked space to accommodate their student populations. Most of the projects in the bill are judged necessary to meet enrollment numbers.
Sen. Bill Landen, who chairs the Select Committee on School Facilities, explained that his committee was trying to get school building projects moving after bureaucratic red tape in the past caused frustration with projects being held up.
The appropriations committee endorsed the design and construction of school projects that were needed to meet student enrollment and one in Laramie County District 2.
Bill Panos, director of the School Facilities Department, said the projects remaining on the design and construction list will allow the state to finally achieve the long sought goal of having enough schools to meet the number of enrolled students statewide.
-- BOB MOEN, Associated Press Oklahoma City Council votes to require safe rooms in new school building starting May 1-- Daily Reporter Oklahoma: February 26, 2014 [ abstract] Safe rooms would be required in new school buildings under a measure approved by the Oklahoma City Council, overriding a recommendation by a building code commission that wanted such decisions left up to school boards.
The 8-1 vote will require a new school building to have tornado-resistant spaces with at least enough room to protect the number of children and teachers for which the building was designed, The Oklahoman reported Wednesday (http://bit.ly/Mu2zqV ).
The change to the city's building code takes effect May 1.
A severe storm task force last year recommended that the city get feedback on the idea of requiring safe rooms in new school construction in Oklahoma City.
Mayor Mick Cornett formed the task force after violent storms in May killed nearly 50 people, including seven children at an elementary school in Moore.
The task force recommendation was forwarded to the Building Code Commission, which met twice to discuss it. In a meeting Nov. 12, the commission decided against recommending that safe rooms be required.
-- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS $62.4M Released for Hawaii Public School Facilities-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: February 24, 2014 [ abstract] Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced today that he’s set aside about $62.4 million for public school capital improvement projects, according to a press release.
The approved projects, initially identified by state lawmakers, include the following:
$36,365,000 " Improving and Maintaining Facilities and Infrastructure " Planning, design, construction and equipment to improve and maintain facilities and infrastructure for various schools statewide. DOE’s estimated roadblock for repair and maintenance is at $265 million. These projects include general school building improvements, electrical upgrades and playground equipment repair, along with maintenance and other school repairs and renovations. Some of these funds will go to the overall repair project at the damaged Farrington High Auditorium.
$7,554,000 " Program Support " Planning, land, design, construction and equipment for program support at various schools statewide, including new/temporary facilities, improvements to existing facilities, ground and site improvements, and for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and gender equity. ADA projects include McKinley High, Baldwin High, Kohala Elementary and Honokaa High. Gender equity projects include Keaau High, Waiakea High and Waipahu High softball fields and Kahuku High and Intermediate girls’ athletic locker room. Funds will also complete construction of a locker room project at Lahainaluna High and complete design of a locker room at Konawaena Middle School.
$7,500,000 " Equity " design and construction for equality projects 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.
-- Alia Wong Deathtrap: Moore tornado debris reveals construction flaws, code violations-- The Journal Record Oklahoma: February 20, 2014 [ abstract] MOORE " When the storm came, seven students in the Plaza Towers third-grade center sheltered in the hall. At Briarwood, the students and teachers thought the school building would protect them.
Then the tornado hit, and the schools fell.
Instead of offering protection on May 20, 2013, Plaza Towers became a deathtrap, Briarwood a pile of rubble.
Detailed in a soon-to-be-released report for the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Structural Engineering Institute, an analysis of the debris of the Briarwood Elementary School showed that several of the building’s steel roof beams were not attached to the walls, many of Briarwood’s cinder-block walls were not properly reinforced with steel rebar and large portions of the walls were not backfilled with concrete.
Chris Ramseyer, the civil engineer who studied photographs of the Plaza Towers School, said the photographs showed similar problems and raised serious questions about Plaza Towers’ design and construction quality.
Both Plaza Towers and Briarwood were destroyed when an EF5 tornado struck. Neither school had safe rooms. Seven students were killed at Plaza Towers after walls of the third-grade center, a building next to the main school, collapsed. At Briarwood, at least 24 pupils and teachers were injured when the school’s cinder-block walls fell.
“Odds are, if the schools had been built right, the walls would not have fallen,” Ramseyer said.
In addition, construction documents obtained through an open records request show that Briarwood Elementary was designed by a now-defunct architectural and engineering firm whose founders were disciplined for design flaws in other projects.
-- M. Scott Carter Auburn officials seek input on school construction-- The Auburn Villager Alabama: February 19, 2014 [ abstract] Auburn City School officials are expected to roll out multiple school construction options for residents to consider in town meetings next week.
Apparently, each of the options will include an aggressive building campaign " including construction of a new high school " financed with existing revenue.
“It will not involve raising new taxes,” said Mayor Bill Ham Jr. “There will be some things that we will do without or delay so that we can put some roofs over our kids’ heads.”
School officials have utilized the services of a consultant, Tracy Rickert, who has worked with school systems around the country to tailor building projects to anticipated student growth. Superintendent Karen DeLano also has appointed various citizen committees to consider options.
Although six or seven options have been considered, those will be probably be pared down to about four before meetings Monday night at Cary Pick Elementary School and Tuesday evening at Ogletree Elementary. The meetings, open to the public, will begin at 6 p.m.
Officials would not reveal exactly what the various proposals would encompass, but that each would be designed to meet school enrollment growth.
“The biggest thing I have taken away from all this is that the projections we’ve used in the past do not show nearly the increase in student population as do the most recent projections,” said Ham.
Auburn City Schools estimated an additional 400 students would enroll for the current school year. Already, the growth over last year is about 470 students.
The most recent projections indicate that the Auburn City Schools’ student population will increase from the current 7,900 to about 12,500 in 10 years. That would amount to an average increase of 460 students " roughly the size of a small elementary school.
-- Villager Staff Report 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 Rocky River parents, district raising funds for new playground-- The Morning Journal Ohio: February 12, 2014 [ abstract] ROCKY RIVER " Goldwood Primary School soon will have a new playground thanks to the efforts of determined parents and a supportive school district.
Several years ago, parents began to notice the playground could use some overhauls.
So, they began figuring out a way to secure new equipment. After meeting with the school’s principal, Carol Rosiak, they formed a Playground Renovation Committee, and with the full support of the Rocky River Board of Education, began orchestrating the project and raising funds.
Rosiak said functional playground equipment is more than just play space for kids.
“It’s about fresh air, movement and brain development,” she said. “Playgrounds give children (the opportunity) to learn things outside of the classroom like social skills.”
Liz Harmath, co-chair of the Playground Renovation Committee, said members still have to raise about $50,000 for the project.
The Rocky River City School District allocated $24,900 toward the project and another $10,000 was secured through grants from the Rocky River Education Foundation. Other groups like the Rotary Club of Lakewood and Rocky River have donated smaller amounts, Harmath said.
Playground equipment was purchased for $35,000 and is being stored at another Rocky River school until summer. Recreation Brands Group of Parma, a division of Playcorp, will design and install the playground for $58,000.
-- Jon Wysochanski A new school is an investment choice, not an expense-- SeaCoastonline.com New Hampshire: February 11, 2014 [ abstract] To the Editor:
I choose to invest in a new school for Newmarket. I make that choice confidently because I've spent eight years educating myself — attending facilities meetings and town meetings, taking tours of our schools and schools in surrounding towns, reading about the history of our town, and understanding the diversity of the population that makes up our community. I make that choice because I want to see the value of my house appreciate. I make that choice because I believe in our country and want to invest in its future. Education mobilizes the economy.
I choose to invest in a building that meets the basic needs for our students in order to give them the opportunity to pursue excellence. I am choosing to invest in our community hoping that in five to ten years when neighboring communities are renegotiating their tuition agreements, they will look favorably upon our town, and will choose to invest in us too. The new school is designed to be expandable and does not limit long-term possibilities or opportunities.
"If we build it, they will come." This phrase often causes angst. I prefer to say, "They have already come, and we need to build it." If you vote only to meet fire and life safety standards then we will need portables. If you still believe we can renovate and that it will be cheaper, we know that not to be the case. The summer science lab egress project showed that we'd continue to uncover unexpected problems and expenses.
Most importantly, a renovation would require three years of portables and interrupted learning. The final result would be a piece-mailed building that inadequately supports our educational programs. Portables are a visual eyesore and a reminder of less than optimal planning.
Finally, you cannot move students back to the elementary school and resolve the high school facility issues. The town chose to forgo building the elementary school with load-bearing walls. We can't expand upwards. There is not enough acreage to support moving students back. We must focus on a long-term plan for necessary upgrades to the elementary school in smaller bites once we solve the junior-senior high school problem.
-- Opinion - Jill Berry Anacostia High School Renovation Snags Design Award-- Washingtonian District of Columbia: February 03, 2014 [ abstract] After a $58 million renovation, the large-scale modernization of Southeast DC’s Anacostia High School"a project led by U Street firm Sorg Architects and completed in August 2012"received American School & University’s award for Outstanding design for a Renovation/Modernization in the magazine’s November issue. The annual competition honors education design and spotlights the nation’s most effective and inspiring learning environments.
Lead architect Suman Sorg’s task was to update the 200,000-square-foot school"including new classrooms and an updated cafeteria, gym, auditorium, and media center"while retaining the historic integrity of the 1930s architecture. The firm restored the building’s original details (hardwood flooring, high, coffered ceilings, transom windows) and structure, clearing years of patchwork and redesigning the floor plan, which had become confusing after several additions. In the basement-level cafeteria, Sorg carved a double-height space out of the existing structure, allowing for larger windows and plenty of daylight. A local artist collaborated with the school’s students to create murals that were then adapted for use as decor throughout the hallways. And on the roof, the design incorporated vegetated green roofs and rainwater collection for use in the building’s plumbing"both green building strategies that contribute to the school’s bid for LEED Gold certification.
-- Michelle Thomas California schools have $37 billion in unissued bonds-- The Sacramento Bee California: February 01, 2014 [ abstract] California’s pot of school bond money may be empty, but school and community college districts have more than $37 billion in authorized " but unspent " school-construction bonds, according to a report by the state’s debt commission.
Since November 2002, there have been 681 school and community college elections that yielded about $90.1 billion in voter-approved borrowing authority to build and modernize schools. Yet only about $52.6 billion of those bonds have actually been issued, according to the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission report last week.
The report comes as several rounds of school bonds authorized by state voters " most recently in November 2006 " are nearly exhausted. Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, is working on legislation for a new state school bond in November, but no proposal has emerged.
Any plan for a new bond would have to win over Gov. Jerry Brown. In his proposed budget earlier this month, Brown voiced skepticism about local school projects relying on significant help from the state.
“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 budget summary reads.
-- Jim Miller Maryland Stadium Authority seeks architects for Baltimore's $1.1B school plan-- Baltimore Business Journal Maryland: January 30, 2014 [ abstract] Maryland Stadium Authority officials have issued a request for qualifications to establish a pool of candidates to design the first round of 13 schools that will be renovated or replaced in Baltimore.
The RFQ is a key first step toward implementing the $1.1 billion plan to rebuild the city’s crumbling school buildings. The average building is 38 years old and the average campus is 54. The school system has only built 300,000 square feet of new school buildings in the city since 1996, even though the system portfolio spans 18.5 million square feet.
The Stadium Authority is overseeing the procurement process for the 10-year plan and all new construction. The Baltimore City school district is overseeing renovations.
Stadium Authority project executive Eric Johnson said the RFQ issued on Wednesday will establish a pool of at least 15 teams that will be eligible to bid on design and architecture. The teams will be led by firms registered in Maryland and will include architects and engineers as well as consultants on other specialties such as safety, security, interior design and information technology, among others.
Requests for proposals on the actual design and architecture from the selected teams are slated for release this spring. Construction bidding is expected to begin in late 2015.
-- Kevin Litten A push for D.C. Public Schools to share space with charter schools, nonprofits-- Washington Post District of Columbia: January 29, 2014 [ abstract] Many of the District’s traditional schools have fewer children than they were originally designed to hold, driving up the cost of maintenance. Meanwhile, the city’s fast-growing charter schools often struggle to find suitable real estate.
The solution, according to a study commissioned by the city government: Push traditional schools to share space with charters, city agencies and community-based organizations.
Such “co-locations” exist in a few places in the District. In Southeast Washington, for example, Malcolm X Elementary houses its own students as well as those from Achievement Prep Public Charter School. In Northwest, Sharpe Health is home to both a DCPS special-education school and Bridges Public Charter School.
But the District has been far less aggressive about sharing public school space than some other cities, notably New York, where the number of charter schools co-located with traditional schools grew quickly under former Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
Now the District is poised to begin pursuing co-location more aggressively, according to Deputy Mayor for Education Abigail Smith, whose office commissioned the D.C. government study. “It’s something that we support and that the chancellor is really interested in,” Smith said, referring to D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson.
Co-locations aren’t always welcomed or easy: Put two schools with different cultures and missions into the same space, and there’s almost sure to be some tension. Co-locations need “substantial oversight and management” in order to work well, the study notes, and the District would have to build its oversight capacity from the ground up.
Co-locations do offer a way to use large public buildings more efficiently, but there are important questions about how much extra space D.C. traditional schools actually have.
According to the government’s study, D.C. school system only needs 7.4 million square feet, or about 70 percent of the 10.6 million square feet of school building space in its current portfolio.
But that calculation doesn’t account for the way space is actually used in the District’s historic school buildings, said Mary Filardo, a facilities expert at the 21st Century Schools Fund. The older buildings have larger hallways, stairways, lobbies and mechanical rooms than newer school buildings, for example, as well as large theaters, full-service kitchens and vocational education spaces
-- Emma Brown 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 Ellington Modernization Project Draws Preservation Objections-- The Georgetown Dish District of Columbia: January 22, 2014 [ abstract] The D.C. Historic Preservation Office has moved to oppose key elements of a modernization plan for the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, threatening to delay the $82 million project to renovate and expand performance, rehearsal and academic space at the landmarked school.
Since 1974, Ellington has occupied the 1898 Classical Revival structure originally built as Western High School, and the school community says a modernization is overdue. But the preservation office argued in a written report that the Department of General Services’ plans require too much demolition and would be “inconsistent” with city preservation law.
If the Historic Preservation Review Board follows its general practice of accepting city preservation staff recommendations at a Thursday hearing, the Ellington plan would need modifications or further review by the Mayor’s Agent for Historic Preservation. The mayor’s agent could overturn the board only if he deems demolition necessary for a “project of special merit.”
And in the meantime, city preservation specialist Andrew Lewis is recommending myriad revisions and restudy of plans by cox graae + spack architects and Lance Bailey & Associates, including elimination of a visitor parking lot and reading room, and detailed studies to justify why the school can’t adapt its current auditorium and retain interior space in the rear.
“Although none of Western’s interior spaces have been formally designated, the existing auditorium certainly retains enough historic fabric to contribute to the overall significance of the school. The same can be said for the historic gymnasia and the interior of the back bar which are also proposed for complete demolition,” Lewis wrote in his report to the board.
-- Elizabeth Wiener 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 Wake school board wants to work with commissioners on school construction-- The Cary News North Carolina: January 22, 2014 [ abstract] CARY " Wake County school board members voted Tuesday to work with county commissioners on school construction rather than just hand over authority for building, maintaining and renovating schools to them.
In November, Republican commissioners approved and proposed an inter-local agreement spelling out circumstances under which the school board might ask commissioners to take responsibility for school construction.
On Tuesday night, the school board approved a revised form of the agreement that gives them the option of turning over individual projects to the commissioners, but also lays out how both boards can work together on acquiring sites and designing schools.
“What we are working to do is to have enhanced collaboration and cooperation with the county commissioners,” school board Chairwoman Christine Kushner said after the vote.
Board members said they forwarded a copy of the revised agreement to the commissioners on Tuesday, but county board Chairman Phil Matthews said he couldn’t comment until he has had a chance to review the changes.
With the school system in the early stages of a $983 million construction program, the pact could pave the way for changes in how schools are built and maintained. Both boards are expected to discuss the agreement at a joint meeting in February.
-- T. KEUNG HUI R.I. school officials get education on building costs-- Providence Journal Rhode Island: January 18, 2014 [ abstract] Communities around Rhode Island would have to pump a combined $1.7 billion into construction projects to bring all of the state's aging schools up to top condition, according to a recently completed assessment by the state Department of Education.
To bring Rhode Island's education facilities up to that standard will require cooperation from state, municipal, school leaders and residents, acknowledged attendees at a Saturday conference at Rhode Island College hosted by the Rhode Island Association of School Committees.
The information comes from the Public Schoolhouse Assessment, a report developed as an outgrowth of recent state law that requires school districts to follow standardized facility planning, design and construction regulations for school construction.
Release of the data comes as a state moratorium on school construction is set to expire June 30 - the end of the current fiscal year.
Physical conditions are central to the "equity and adequacy" of schools, said Joseph DaSilva, the state's school construction coordinator. Those attributes are core matters to ensure districts across the state create and maintain high-performing education systems.
According to the assessment, 70 percent of the state's schools were built between 25 and 75 years ago. The average age of a school building in Rhode Island is 58 years.
Meanwhile, excess capacity exists at every school level in Rhode Island, with middle schools having the most. With enrollments projected to decline over the next five years in most Rhode Island districts, excess capacity should continue to climb to more than 20 percent by 2016-2017.
The education department, in 2007, revised its school construction regulations to curb the steady increase in state spending on reimbursements. Since the regulations were changed (and until the moratorium kicked in), the department has cut its construction reimbursements from an annual average of $182 million to approximately $75 million annually.
While cutting state spending, the moratorium hampered school districts by draining money from maintenance of roofs, heating, and ventilation systems and other infrastructure needs. Only work needed to ensure the "immediate health and safety" of students, staff and visitors could be undertaken.
In the three years since the General Assembly imposed the moratorium, $600 million in repairs, energy efficiency work and other school improvements have been deferred, DaSilva told a Senate task force last week. When the moratorium lifts, schools will apply to the education department for roughly $50 million in school construction projects.
One way for districts to reduce costs is to be more thoughtful about energy use, something that construction regulations encourage and which another state agency -- the Office of Energy Resources -- promotes through a partnership with National Grid.
The opening of a new school on Aquidneck Island is an example of how these tandem programs are creating "21st century buildings," DaSilva said.
-- Paul Grimaldi Frustration at Lack of Sites to Ease School Crowding in Sunset Park-- Brooklyn Bureau New York: January 15, 2014 [ abstract] For years, elementary schools in Sunset Park have been bursting at the seams, provoking desperate measures. Children who live a short walk from schools get bused as far away as Park Slope. As reported last year, P.S. 169 at 7th Avenue and 43rd Street was holding lunch from 10:45 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. to accommodate a student population 415 students above its target capacity of 1,158. It closed the art room and used closets as offices.
The neighborhood population keeps growing; low-rise Sunset Park, where many families are doubled up, is the second-most crowded neighborhood in the city, according to the Furman Center. Not only does Brooklyn’s Chinatown, at the neighborhood’s eastern border, continue to expand, Sunset Park remains a magnet for Latinos, among others. Meanwhile, relatively affordable row houses and co-ops beckon those priced out of Park Slope or Bay Ridge, making Sunset Park a gentrification frontier.
The lack of new schools can’t be blamed on money. The School Construction Authority has long had funds for two new buildings with 1,196 seats in the Sunset Park section of District 15. (Another portion of of Sunset Park is in District 20.)
The issue is more basic: finding a site. Some parents and residents are so fed-up, they’re even willing to consider sites in the industrial zone on the west side of the busy Third Avenue truck route, which can stretch ten lanes wide under the Gowanus Expressway. They also urged school officials to be more aggressive in finding sites, including the use of eminent domain.
A chance for protest
The situation flared at a public meeting last Nov. 25 at P.S. 24 in Sunset Park, where the School Construction Authority presented its proposed five-year capital plan, and the District 15 Community Education Council (CEC) voted on the zoning proposal for a new elementary school.
That new school, P.S. 516, will open next September in the former St. Michael’s parish elementary school on Fourth Avenue and 42nd Street, with 332 seats. (P.S. 516 currently offers kindergarten classes at a temporary location.)
Faced with a parental petition opposing the rezoning without a plan for a newly constructed school, three CEC members chose to abstain, an unusual split vote for the body, while those members voting yes acknowledged it meant only modest progress.
“We have been waiting four to five years to get St. Michael’s. Holding it for ransom is not going to help,” warned District 15 Superintendent Anita Skop, who noted that zone designation would allow the new school to serve the neighborhood. “We will not give up the fight for a new school.”
-- Norman Oder Wake school leaders defend use of new school designs-- News Observer North Carolina: January 15, 2014 [ abstract] Wake County school leaders on Wednesday touted how they’re saving money building schools, amid questions from county commissioners about how taxpayer money is being spent.
School administrators pointed to how they scaled back the cost of the 16 new schools that will be built from the $810 million school construction bond issue approved by voters in October. It’s a response to commissioners who have said they want proof that schools are being built in the most cost-effective way possible before they turn over money financed by the bonds.
“The county commissioners and the school board want the same thing,” said school board member Kevin Hill. “We both want to save taxpayers money.”
The Republican-led commissioners have been feuding with the school board since Democrats retook that panel’s majority in 2011. The two sides temporarily put aside their differences to get the school bonds passed. But once that took place, the fighting resumed.
The latest skirmish emerged last week after commissioners rejected giving $3 million to design four new schools. Commissioners cited how the school system wants to use new school designs instead of reusing past designs.
“We seem to be paying too much for designs in my opinion,” Commissioner Paul Coble said at last week’s meeting.
Hill, the chairman of the school board’s facilities committee, said he invited commissioners to attend Wednesday’s meeting to hear about the school district’s use of design prototypes and why new designs were sought.
-- T. KEUNG HUI 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 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 Squabble may delay opening of 4 new Wake schools-- newsobserver.com North Carolina: January 10, 2014 [ abstract] The opening of four new Wake County schools and the development of a new student assignment plan are in limbo because of the latest battle for control over school construction.
This week, the Republican-led Wake County Board of Commissioners rejected giving money to design three new schools and tabled a vote on design dollars for a fourth school. Commissioners have long pressed for more control over school construction and say they want proof that the Democratic-led school board is building schools in the most cost-effective way possible.
“We are simply fulfilling our obligation, our responsibilities to the taxpayers of Wake County to monitor the spending of money for school facilities,” said commissioners Vice Chairman Tony Gurley, a Republican.
But school leaders warn that the commissioners are putting in danger their efforts to open on time the new schools that were part of an $810 million school construction bond issue approved by voters in October.
School board members say they’re uncertain of what specifically the commissioners want from them.
“We’ve got deadlines we have to meet,” said school board Chairwoman Christine Kushner, a Democrat. “We put these schools before the voters. We’ve got to get to work.”
It doesn’t look as though the dispute will be resolved anytime soon. The leaders of both boards will meet Jan. 22.
Commissioners Chairman Phil Matthews, a Republican, said he had hoped for the leaders to meet this week and for the two boards to gather later this month to speed along the process of approving school construction and renovation projects. But now February is likely the earliest the groups will be able to meet.
County commissioners, Matthews said, are “made out to be the bad guys,” the ones standing in the way of progress.
“But it appears nobody is in a hurry over there,” he said.
-- T. KEUNG HUI ARCHITECTURE: Philly launches first totally 'green' School of the Future-- Montgomery Media Pennsylvania: January 07, 2014 [ abstract] In the Philadelphia School District, where there is about a $1.5 million deficit in a citywide budget to sustain public schools, why would sustainable schools be contemplated?
According to Rachel Gutter, director for the center for Green Schools of the U.S. Green Building Council, which held its annual convention in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center last month, “it makes economic sense.”
About 70,000 people from the United States and abroad attended the four-day convention, which was devoted to exploring the progress of design attuned to improving the effect of buildings on the environment.
Gutter, speaking on a panel with other school building experts on the first floor of the new section of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, said that the money saved from heating, cooling and air conditioning alone could make up for the additional cost of building a green school as opposed to a conventional one.
According to the United States’ Green Building Council, the LEED green building program is the top program for the design, construction, maintenance and operation of green buildings. LEED buildings, the Green Buildings Council says, use less energy in the United States and increasingly abroad.
LEED, which stand for Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, saves money and contributes to a healthier environment for the people who use the buildings as well as cutting down on carbon and other emissions.
The Green Building Council judges the level of LEED certification from simply certfied to silver through gold and platinum. Each credit is allocated points based on the environmental impact and human benefits that it addresses.
“We are only starting to scratch the surface of the benefits of LEED building in schools,” Gutter said.
She said that many school districts were finally getting away from using the cheapest material that was produced in a bidding competition to using energy-efficient materials.
-- Diane M. Fiske 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 Lorain school case heads to court-- The Morning Journal Ohio: December 19, 2013 [ abstract] ELYRIA " A state administrator explained Thursday in Lorain County Common Pleas Court why he canceled a Project Labor Agreement connected with a building project on a new Lorain High School.
“I think the project is at risk for cost escalation,” said Richard Hickman, executive director of the Ohio School Facilities Commission, which helps many local school districts build new schools.
The North Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Sandusky, filed a lawsuit in July in Lorain County Common Pleas Court to force Lorain City Schools and the Ohio School Facilities Commission to abide by the Project Labor Agreement. The builders’ council is asking the court for an order to make Lorain Schools comply with the project labor agreement.
The new Lorain High School, a $70 million building project, costs local taxpayers about $13.3 million, or 19 percent, with $56.7 million, or 81 percent paid for through the Ohio School Facilities Commission, Lorain School Superintendent Tom Tucker said. Mark Barr, project administrator for the Ohio School Facilities Commission, testified during court that the project could be as much as $74 million.
Interest " accruing since 2001 when voters passed a bond issue to raise the local portion of a $216 million building improvement and replacement project " amounts to $9.1 million, Tucker said.
So far the district paid about $5 million on the high school project, including the design and model, and demolition of the former Admiral King High School building and site preparation, Tucker said.
A Project Labor Agreement, or PLA, lists up front in the bidding process items such as the types of wages, recommendations for hiring local workers and requirements for a continuous workflow without union strikes or lagging diligence by one or more of the trades involved, according to court testimony.
-- Carol Harper Entrance renovations proposed to enhance elementary school security-- globegazette.com Iowa: December 17, 2013 [ abstract] MASON CITY | A local architectural firm presented preliminary plans for entrance security renovations at the elementary schools during the Mason City Board of Education meeting Monday night.
designs are similar to the high school’s remodeled entrance, which adds an extra layer of security.
Upon entering the building, visitors would be in a control area visible to office staff. They would need to be buzzed in to a reception area before stepping foot in the hallways.
The intention is to avoid disrupting buildings as much as possible, according to Bergland + Cram managing principal Scott Smed.
“We want to be cost-conscious, but at the same time give you the protection you need,” he said.
He offered two options for Roosevelt Elementary.
The first is internal. Doors would be relocated further into the commons area, while the bulkhead would be expanded to the skylights.
Estimated cost is under $50,000.
Despite a lower price tag, he did not believe it was the best visual option.
“I think it cuts away from the overall flow and feeling of space,” Smed said. “To me, it’s an unbalanced feel, but if done properly, it may not have that big of effect.”
The second is external and would not impact the commons area.
The existing vestibule would be increased with a small outside addition.
Estimated cost is $108,000-$120,000.
-- ASHLEY MILLER The mold wins: Cedarbrook Middle School to close-- philly.com Pennsylvania: December 17, 2013 [ abstract] HELTENHAM Cheltenham School District officials announced a plan Monday to close Cedarbrook Middle School as early as Jan. 27, splitting its 750 students among four other campuses in the township.
The school board will vote Tuesday night on a contract with Gratz College to house half of Cedarbrook's students.
The school is split into six teams, each with about 125 students. Two eighth-grade teams and one seventh-grade team will go to Gratz. One seventh-grade team will go to Elkins Park Elementary, and another to Cheltenham Elementary. The third eighth-grade team will go to Cheltenham High School.
At all four sites, the district plans to keep the middle schoolers confined to their own areas, away from older or younger students.
The district hopes by the 2015-16 school year to bring all Cedarbrook students back together in modular or temporary units on a single site.
It will likely take about four years to design and build a new permanent middle school, Thomas said.
Cedarbrook has been dealing with mold problems for a decade, and they spun out of control this summer. The school opened two weeks late in September as crews swept the building, and since then 12 classrooms and the cafeteria have had mold recurrences and are now closed.
-- Jessica Parks School Facilities Task Force Makes Progress-- ThePilot.com North Carolina: December 16, 2013 [ abstract] The community group helping to determine the future of Moore County Schools’ building needs moved closer on several key issues Monday.
While no official decisions were made, members of the Moore County Schools 21st Century Facilities Planning Task Force showed consensus for proceeding with schools in central and northern Moore.
The 14-member group of community leaders and educators was formed earlier this year to address the building or renovation of old and new schools to accommodate future enrollment growth in the county.
Monday’s meeting was the group’s first since the school system sponsored four community meetings over the last couple of months to receive feedback on school facility needs.
The task force’s first action was to review the results of a survey to see which options were considered the most favorable. The schools were divided into three areas, each containing one of the trio of high schools in the county and their feeder schools.
Area I includes Union Pines High School, originally designed for 990 students but currently accommodating 1,274. In 2022, that figure is projected to be 1,676 students, 686 over capacity.
Option 1 for Area I is to expand Vass-Lakeview Elementary, Sandhills Farm Life Elementary and Carthage Elementary, and “to make minor renovations at Cameron Elementary,” said retired deputy superintendent Larry Upchurch, who is assisting the task force. The total estimated cost is $10.5 to $14 million.
-- John Lentz Task force to push for new school middle school building-- West Central Tribune Minnesota: December 16, 2013 [ abstract] A task force studying the Willmar School District’s facilities will recommend building a new middle school near the district’s high school.
The task force’s final recommendation will be delivered to the Willmar School Board at its Jan. 13 meeting.
A second minority recommendation will also be included. That will lay out a plan for building a new school for early childhood programs through grade 2.
Architect David Leapaldt, who led the discussions, said he thought the group “had more people agreeing than disagreeing” at the end of its final meeting.
Both plans include doing maintenance work that has been deferred because the district hasn’t had the funds and remodeling to update and improve the learning environment in each building. Another common component was a field house at the site of Willmar Senior High to improve athletic facilities.
The task force was appointed by the School Board and began meeting in September. The group was asked to design a 10-year facility plan for the district. With the exception of its 19-year-old high school, the district’s current school buildings are crowded and aging.
More cafeteria and physical education/gym space is needed, the Middle School needs science rooms, and all of the buildings need deferred maintenance work.
The group has gone through a series of exercises to narrow down choices When Leapaldt and architect Paul Youngquist provided some rough estimates of what different alternatives might cost, the task force began is final deliberations Monday.
The final plan supported by most of the members involved building a new middle school at the Willmar Senior High site, possibly linked by a field house. The grade configuration would be left up to the School Board, pending more study.
-- Linda Vanderwerf Update: Fayette County School Board Approves Land Purchase For New High Schoo-- WTVQ-DT Kentucky: December 16, 2013 [ abstract] The Fayette County Board of Education voted unanimously Monday evening to spend $5.6 million to buy 49-acres of land in the Hamburg area in order to build a sixth high school.
With a total project cost of $75.8 million, including the cost of the land, the new school is expected to open in the fall of 2017 with a capacity of 1,800 students.
The official address will be 1970 Winchester Road.
The land sits on the east side of Winchester Road, between the Summerfield subdivision and Sir Barton Way.
The project timeline calls for a 14-month design phase beginning next spring, with construction to begin in July of 2015 for a completion date prior to the start of school in 2017.
The new school will help relieve overcrowding at Henry Clay High School.
Student enrollment has grown from 34,688 students a decade ago to 40,109 this school year.
The district facilities plan, which calls for six new schools and the renovation of 15 existing schools, was adopted by the school board earlier this year.
The newest high school building in the Fayette County Public Schools system is Bryan Station High School, which was replaced in 2007.
-- Tom Kenny Winchester approves tax hike to fund high school renovation-- The Boston Globe Massachusetts: December 11, 2013 [ abstract] Local voters overwhelmingly approved a property tax hike Tuesday that will fund a $129.9 million overhaul of Winchester High School, the most expensive school construction project in the town’s history.
The vote of 5,098 to 2,402 in the special town election will add up to $847 to the annual property tax bill for the average single-family home. Each of the town’s eight precincts supported the debt exclusion, a temporary tax hike that will last as long as the debt. More than half the town’s 14,507 registered voters cast ballots.
The renovation and addition to the high school are needed to accommodate growing enrollment, said School Superintendent William H. McAlduff Jr. He anticipates that by 2017 approximately 163 more students will attend Winchester High School, designed to serve 1,017 students but now housing about 1,150.
The changes at the high school are designed to allow for 1,370 students. They will give the high school upgraded electrical, plumbing, heating, and ventilation systems, as well as new science labs, a music suite, a dining area, and an expanded media center.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority has authorized up to $44.5 million for the project, and Winchester will fund the $85.4 million balance. Winchester already faces a high tax rate. The average tax bill is expected to rise to $10,191 in fiscal 2014, which began July 1, town officials said, making it among the highest in the state.
-- Brenda J. Buote Concord school district lays out necessary repairs over next 10 years-- Concord Monitor New Hampshire: December 07, 2013 [ abstract] Between replacing roofs, redoing bathrooms, putting in new lockers and much more, the Concord School District projects $7.2 million in spending over the next 10 years for capital improvements in its four “old” schools: Beaver Meadow, Broken Ground, Concord High and Rundlett Middle schools.
“This is simply a plan,” Matt Cashman, facilities director, said this week. “These schools are getting lots of wear and tear, and we’re cleaning them and maintaining them properly, but things do break.”
Cashman has maintained a 10-year capital improvement plan, and he presented the most recent iteration to the school board this week. Throughout the fall, the board’s capital facilities committee toured all of the buildings to get a glimpse of the repairs that Cashman and his team were putting on their wish list. Of the $7.2 million, about $950,000 will be included in next year’s budget. The three new elementary schools will need minor work, but are far more up to date given their recent construction.
Although some of the renovations are significant cost-wise, none will radically alter the structure or use of the buildings. Instead, the spending will cover replacements of things such as doors, lockers, flooring, windows and mechanical upgrades. Rundlett Middle School requires the most attention, which will eat up $2.8 million of the $7.2 million. The capital facilities committee has discussed doing a feasibility study that would assess future costs of maintaining the building, built in 1957, as compared with completely redoing it.
“I’m very supportive of doing a study of the building,” Superintendent Chris Rath said. “If you were to design a middle school in today’s world, it would not look like Rundlett, it would be a different design. But we’re also very cognizant of what the community can pay for.”
-- KATHLEEN RONAYNE ACLU sues for info on dilapidated schools-- Asbury Park Press New Jersey: November 28, 2013 [ abstract] The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey has filed a complaint in Superior Court on behalf of the Education Law Center challenging the N.J. Schools Development Authority's decision to withhold health and safety reports on conditions at four New Jersey schools in need of repair.
The four schools — Camden High School, Thomas G. Connors Elementary School in Hoboken, Cleveland Elementary School in Orange and Orange High School — were identified by the SDA as having health, safety and structural defects, according to ELC.
But in October the SDA denied an Open Public Records Act request filed by the Education Law Center to obtain the agency's reports on the schools, according to ELC.
Authority spokeswoman Kristen MacLean said the reports are developed to inform design consultants about the work that might be required at a facility and that until the SDA has completed discussions with school districts about defects, reports are considered to be in draft form and may not be released to the public. MacLean said she could not otherwise comment on pending litigation.
An earlier OPRA request submitted by ELC concerning Trenton Central High School produced that school's facilities condition report, including information about serious health and safety defects and asbestos in the building. Last month, the Trenton School District sued the SDA to force the agency to repair severe problems in the building, according to ELC.
-- Alesha Williams Boyd Henderson outlines DCPS spending priorities, commits to smoother budget process-- Washington Post District of Columbia: November 27, 2013 [ abstract] Improving middle schools is one of the D.C. school system’s three main spending priorities for next year, Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced Tuesday night, kicking off a budget process that she said has been redesigned to be more collaborative and less contentious than in the past.
The other two priorities are lifting achievement in the system’s 4o lowest-performing schools, probably through longer school days or a longer school year, and increasing students’ satisfaction with their schools by addressing complaints ranging from bullying to dirty buildings.
Henderson said she wanted to share her thinking about the budget now " months earlier than usual " to elicit feedback from parents and communities, who have long complained that they feel left out of major spending decisions.
“We don’t want to be at odds,” Henderson said, speaking at an annual budget hearing that officials have generally used to listen to testimony but not to share information. “Our desire and our intention and our commitment is to do this process differently.”
Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D), who was in the audience Tuesday, said the public should expect the school system’s budget " long criticized as opaque " to be more transparent. “I don’t want anybody to feel like they don’t have enough information,” he said.
-- Emma Brown School Board plans to vote on use of eminent domain-- Fairfaxtimes.com Virginia: November 22, 2013 [ abstract] School Board plans to vote on use of eminent domain
The county School Board will vote in two weeks on whether to use eminent domain to acquire a vacant office building in Falls Church for use as an elementary school.
The Board will hold a public hearing on the proposal at Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church at 7 p.m. Dec. 5. The vote on the proposal is scheduled for a School Board meeting later that night.
The plan, if approved, would help relieve overcrowding at Bailey’s Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences, which is currently operating at 30 percent over capacity and the surge in enrollment expected to continue in coming years, according to School Board documents.
The five-story building is located at 6245 Leesburg Pike, close to Seven Corners shopping center and about 1.5 miles from Bailey’s Elementary School. The 3.4-acre commercial property has been vacant since last year. Repeated attempts by the School Board to negotiate with the building’s owners have been unsuccessful.
The building would be converted to a vertical design school, probably serving as a second campus for Bailey’s Elementary School. Employees from the school system’s Office of design and Construction inspected the property in October. According to School Board documents, “while some remedial work would be required, conversion of the office building to an elementary school building is feasible.”
While rarely used by School Board in the past, the power of eminent domain is granted to local school boards by state law. The Code of Virginia allows schools to acquire private property “necessary for public school purposes.”
Anyone who wishes to speak at the public hearing must sign up in advance, either online or by calling the School Board office, by 4:30 p.m. Dec. 4.
Fort Belvoir Elementary School wins $1.6 million grant
-- Kate Yanchulis Minnesota Supreme Court: Construction subcontract not public under law-- Finance and Commerce Minnesota: November 20, 2013 [ abstract] The state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a private business working on a construction project for a northern Minnesota school district does not have to make its subcontractor data public under open records laws.
The nuanced ruling in the case between Johnson Controls, Inc., and a small-town newspaper group could have significant impact on data access, experts said, as well as the public’s ability to see how government entities are spending funds.
“This decision has the potential to cause a lot of mischief,” said Jane Kirtley, media law and ethics professor at the University of Minnesota.
In 2010, the St. Louis County School District hired Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls for an $80 million school construction and renovation project. Johnson Controls hired a subcontractor to help with design. After the school district incurred extra costs, Ely-based Timberjay Newspapers asked to see the contract between Johnson Controls and its subcontractor, Architectural Resources, Inc.
Johnson Controls refused, arguing it was not subject to the Data Practices Act. The Supreme Court agreed.
“There is no provision in the Data Practices Act that makes a contract between two private businesses public,” Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea wrote for the majority.
Gildea said the government is required to provide clear notice in contracts with private businesses that the private entity is subject to open records laws if performing government functions. She said the school district did not include that notice in its contract with Johnson Controls.
“The Data Practices Act simply does not state that data held by a government contractor performing a government function are public,” the opinion said.
Marshall Helmberger, publisher and managing editor at Timberjay Newspapers, said the opinion clarifies rules going forward, and puts governments on alert that their contracts must include language that would make private entities subject to open records laws. He suggested the Legislature consider penalties for government entities that do not.
Mark Anfinson, an attorney for the newspaper, said many major contracts in the state already contain the required language, and this ruling will create “a powerful incentive” to make sure more do so in the future. He said he expects the Legislature will take a look at the Data Practices Act to avoid future issues.
-- Associated Press Prince George’s asks state for money to repair aging schools-- Washington Post Maryland: November 20, 2013 [ abstract] Prince George’s County has asked the state of Maryland for $118.1 million to fund school construction projects.
The amount is $20.2 million more than what the county asked for last year.
County Executive Rushern L. Baker III and the County Council sent a joint letter this week to the Interagency Committee on State School Construction, which oversees school projects in the state, prioritizing the projects the county wants funded.
The request “addresses the many needs faced by our county’s school such as replacement of current facilities, renovations and additional elementary seats,” the letter reads.
The priorities are divided into groups, including projects that have received state planning approval; projects under design and in need of state planning approval; and projects that focus on system replacement and renovations.
The biggest ticket item is for $9.9 million for a renovation at Glenarden Woods Elementary School. The county is also asking the state for $8.3 million for planning approval for limited renovations to the Bowie High School Annex. The letter says the planning approval will allow the county to move forward on the construction projects.
According to the Fiscal Year 2015 capital program, the school system is requesting $330.3 million in county and state funds to build, renovate and repair schools.
-- Ovetta Wiggins 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 Wake commissioners hope to find 'middle ground' on school construction-- News Observer North Carolina: November 18, 2013 [ abstract] Wake County commissioners voted Monday to ask the county Board of Education to give commissioners more influence over the process of school design, construction and renovation.
The request came in the form of an interlocal agreement - a 9-page legal document - that its sponsor, Commissioner Tony Gurley, compared to an olive branch in the long-running tensions between the two elected boards.
“This is a peace offering,” said Gurley, who has joined other Republican commissioners in the past in saying that the Democrat-led Board of Education has not been responsible with taxpayers’ money. “This is an attempt to find a middle ground.”
Also at Monday’s meeting, the board said its formal goodbyes to County Manager David Cooke, who was attending his last meeting before he retires at the end of this month.
Deputy County Manager Joseph Durham will serve as interim manager until the county hires a replacement for Cooke, which it hopes to do by March.
Because vote to send the proposal to the school board split along party lines, the Democrats predicted it would not be well-received, but seen as another attempt to force the Board of Education to relinquish control.
“It’s dead on arrival,” predicted Democrat James West. “If we try to force feed this thing, it’s going to be dead on arrival and nobody’s going to get what they want.”
-- MARTHA QUILLIN Schools show off renovations-- The Journal Gazette Indiana: November 09, 2013 [ abstract] Some school board members and members of the public toured several schools Friday to look at renovations that are taking place at 36 buildings within Fort Wayne Community Schools.
The project is paid for by a $119 million referendum that was approved by voters in 2012.
The work, which will take about three years to complete, includes replacing windows and what are called curtain walls, plus some classroom renovations, new lights, and new heating and air conditioning systems.
Schools on the tour included Memorial Park Middle School; Harrison Hill, Abbett, Adams, Croninger and Shambaugh elementaries and Snider High School. Most of the work is designed to make the schools more efficient and increase security.
Curtain wall construction was used in many schools because it was cheap and fast, school officials said. Many schools, though, are now 50 years old. The old curtain walls are inefficient, cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and in some cases strong winds actually blow windows open.
The new curtain walls have insulated glass, fewer windows that open and more insulation.
Some LED lighting is also being installed, and motion sensors are being installed so that the lights automatically come on when someone enters a room.
Officials also explained plans to install new front doors at Memorial Park so that visitors have to go into the office before proceeding into the school.
Other highlights on the tour included a new building for a new boiler at Harrison Hill, modular classrooms at Snider and a new pickup lane at Croninger to ease traffic congestion.
-- Frank Gray Boston schools: Fiasco avoidance starts early-- The Boston Globe Massachusetts: November 08, 2013 [ abstract] Starting next fall, Boston parents who register their children for kindergarten or middle school will confront a new assignment system with a lofty goal " increasing the chance that a child can attend a school near home " and a complex system for attaining it. The new system involves customized lists, schools divided by tier, and exceptions based on geography and sibling preference. It has the potential to become the kind of labyrinth any family would find difficult to navigate, particularly a family with limited use of English.
Fortunately, the School Department is putting in place a sizable outreach plan. A new website, DiscoverBPS.org, has a simple design and a cheery approach. The department plans to hold two dozen informational meetings, with interpreters available in a range of languages. More schools will be open to tours as parents make their decisions. Billboards and public service announcements will stress that the system is changing. This public-relations effort will be key not just to helping families make critical school choices for their kids, but to instilling confidence that this new plan is, indeed, an improvement.
-- Editorial D.C. kicks off school boundary overhaul-- Washington Post District of Columbia: October 28, 2013 [ abstract] D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s administration kicked off an effort Monday to overhaul school boundaries and feeder patterns for the first time in decades, a politically charged and long-delayed process that could limit access to some of the city’s most sought-after schools.
The revisions will rewrite rules that determine which schools students have a right to attend based on their city addresses " changes that can ripple across neighborhoods and real estate markets, and that carry undercurrents of race and class. Many of the District’s best-performing schools are in wealthy, majority-white neighborhoods in Upper Northwest. Those schools have long attracted diverse students from across the city, but now are attracting more local families and are bursting with more students than they’re designed to hold.
First planned to be done by June and to take effect in fall 2014, the boundary process has been delayed. An advisory committee was scheduled to meet for the first time Monday night and to recommend changes by May.
Deputy Mayor for Education Abigail Smith is leading the initiative, co-chairing " with John Hill, chairman of the D.C. Board of Library Trustees " the advisory committee of parents, advocates and government officials.
Community members will have a chance to weigh in on those recommendations before they are finalized by September, Smith said. The changes will take effect in fall 2015, with unspecified grandfather provisions meant to reduce their immediate impact.
“It’s going to be a challenging effort, but it’s a necessary one,” Smith wrote in an e-mail. “We are committed to engaging the community throughout the process, and while we know not everyone will be happy with the outcome, we believe the end result will benefit from the participation of a broad range of stakeholders.”
Parents have been anxiously anticipating boundary news for nearly a year, after Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced an overhaul last fall. That announcement triggered panic and pushback, especially among residents who feared being cut out of two overcrowded Northwest schools with strong academic records, Alice Deal Middle and Woodrow Wilson High.
“Bottom line, it’s a heavy lift to do this. It certainly takes a lot of actual work, but it also takes a willingness to take on a very political and emotional process,” Smith said. “We’re now in a place where we feel like we have the capacity to do it.”
-- Emma Brown School awaits city bond sales to finish construction-- Akron Beacon Journal Online Ohio: October 26, 2013 [ abstract] Akron school administrators expect the final 10 school buildings in the district-wide construction project to be finished by 2018 as long as the city sells the last of $364 million in bonds by December.
With post-recession incomes rebounding in Akron, city officials are hopeful that interest rates remain favorable and an uptick in tax revenue persists. They plan to sell at least some of the remaining bonds, valued at $104 million, in the spring.
The bonds, to be repaid through 2033 by a voter-approved .25 percent income tax, fuel an $800 million school construction project, with the state committing 59 percent of total funds estimated at more than $430 million.
But plans have changed.
Enrollment has plummeted. Construction costs have soared. Local funds bourne by the school district have doubled. And the scope of the project has shrunk while the share bourne by local taxpayers climbs.
Plans to construct 58 Community Learning Centers were conceptualized more than a decade ago when Akron boasted more than 30,000 students. The state funds each project based on enrollment. With 10,000 fewer students by project’s end, the state share is expected to drop.
Fewer state dollars are offset by fewer students, requiring less space and smaller buildings.
But inflated construction costs consume what the district gains in scaled-back construction projects.
With 27 buildings completed and another four in either the design or construction phase, the scope of the project has shrunk from 58 buildings to 43.
-- Doug Livingston City's charter schools call new policy 'discouraging'-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: October 25, 2013 [ abstract] The Baltimore school board will no longer back loans for charter school facilities, a move that the city's coalition of charter operators calls "short-sighted" and said could deter those looking to open the in-demand schools.
The district has served as guarantor for three charter schools, City Neighbors, Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women and the Baltimore design School, to either purchase or conduct large renovations of their facilities.
But board members said now that they have the $1 billion task of rebuilding and renovating the school district's infrastructure ahead of them — a process that is financed by debt — the district cannot risk more capital improvement bills. And the deal lawmakers approved to finance the first phase of the district's 10-year plan will require an annual $20 million commitment from the system.
"When we all went down [to Annapolis], we were not kicking out any money. When we left, we had to put up $20 million," said school board Commissioner Marnell Cooper. "As a result of that, we needed to make a policy decision."
Ricarda Easton, executive director of Roots & Branches charter school and co-chair of the Coalition of Baltimore Charter Schools, said in a statement that the coalition was "disappointed" by the board's decision.
"We are all serving Baltimore City School children," Easton said in the release. "There are a few charter schools currently in existence that would not have been able to obtain their facilities without BCPS as a guarantor on their loans. It is short-sighted to completely close this door to charter operators."
The issue spurred debate among school board members, and the one member who cast the lone dissenting vote this week against the policy said she believed it was unfair to charters that will want to follow other schools in financing their facilities' needs.
-- Erica L. Green New London superintendent offers dire warning about middle school boiler-- The Day Connecticut: October 25, 2013 [ abstract] After a boiler at the Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School failed on Jan. 24, the Capitol Region Education Council warned the city that its failure to maintain the boilers may have created a serious fire hazard. But on Thursday, Superintendent Nicholas A. Fischer said the boiler could have exploded and cautioned that the school's entire heating system needs to be fixed or replaced immediately.
"The state boiler inspector who came down (in January) said that the boiler could have exploded," Fischer said. "There is more than a half million dollars of repair work that needs to be done to the pipes, the heater system and the pumps that go into the boilers."
Gas leaks, caused by a contractor who ruptured a connection to the boiler, created the danger, he said. The issue was raised at a meeting of the Board of Education's School Facilities and Program design Committee Thursday evening.
For 20 years, Fischer said, the system has been neglected as a result of value engineering. Now, the building is on the verge of a total failure.
"You have a system that on any given day could fail," Fischer said.
"What is going to happen if it does fail is that there is going to be a lot of finger-pointing, so I want this board to be very clear that for more than a year and a half now, we have been talking to the school building maintenance committee, we've been talking to the city, about the danger of this."
Though the gas leaks have been repaired, Fischer estimated that there is an 80 percent chance of a failure in the boiler system at the school. Further, he stressed that if these problems are not addressed as soon as possible, someone could be seriously injured.
-- COLIN A. YOUNG GUEST OP-ED: Trenton High must be rebuilt-- The Trentonian New Jersey: October 24, 2013 [ abstract] The current state of disrepair at Trenton Central High School has a long history of missteps, compounded mistakes and neglect going back for at least 30 years.
A clear plan of action for a thoughtful resolution to this critical problem calls for real leadership.This proud building and its student body deserve better than its current state of disrepair and the potential health risks involved.Once a detailed plan is adopted, all available state and local resources should be utilized to quickly move the desired work through to completion.It should be noted that approximately 98 percent of the school budget in Trenton is paid for by the State.
With an illustrious history dating from its opening in 1932, this building holds memories cherished by many thousands of graduates.In its early years, Trenton Central High School was named as one of the five best comprehensive high schools in the United States.designed by architect Ernest K Sibley, who also designed the Dunn and Holland Middle Schools, the building was constructed at a cost of $3.3 million, to provide the most complete educational program available at the time.Although the school was designed to be expanded, only one addition was built"a vocational wing in the 1950’s.
The student body was drawn not only from the city, but from the surrounding townships of Ewing, Lawrence and Hamilton and beyond.Hamilton opened its own high school later in the 30’s, but Ewing and Lawrence students attended TCHS for two decades more.
-- DON COX, Special to The Trentonian Superintendent pitches facilities project that would close Lyndon’s Sixth Street-- osagecountyonline.com Kansas: October 24, 2013 [ abstract] Superintendent Brian Spencer was making the rounds Monday, in a quest to determine whether Lyndon’s Sixth Street could be permanently closed and a school addition built across it.
Spencer first visited the Osage County commissioners Monday morning, asking about Sixth Street’s designation as a federal aid secondary route, and if that route could be changed so that Sixth Street could be closed.
He said the USD 421 Board of Education is in “very preliminary discussions about connecting a couple of buildings to have one big, secure campus.” In a letter to Osage County Clerk Rhonda Beets, Spencer said the school district needed “guidance and assistance in closing 6th Street between Cedar and Date Streets.”
Osage County road and bridge supervisor Glen Tyson explained that F.A.S routes originally were designated as roads to serve agriculture and other interests, and the county could change that designation if deemed necessary. But Sixth Street, which is 253rd Street outside of Lyndon’s east and west city limits, is also considered a connecting link for the county road, because it crosses the city on a city street.
Osage County Commissioner Ken Kuykendall told Spencer the commissioners were willing to think about the project and work with the school district to change the F.A.S. designation, but it would require cooperation of the city of Lyndon.
“The city has to be a partner and willing to work with us,” Kuykendall said.
-- WAYNE WHITE Boston Considers New $261 Million Downtown School Facility-- School Construction News Massachusetts: October 23, 2013 [ abstract] The City of Boston recently announced plans for a new $261 million facility to serve students of two deteriorating urban high schools. If built, the shared structure will be the most expensive public school ever constructed in the state.
In an Oct. 8 meeting, school officials stressed that the plan would save money and provide a safe, modern facility to students of both Upper Quincy School and Boston Arts Academy by 2017. Both schools are quickly outgrowing their existing homes, and had worked with the state to develop freestanding facilities. However, mounting costs forced them to abandon their respective projects.
School officials and planners considered multiple locations between Boston’s Theatre District and Chinatown neighborhoods; areas critical to each school’s mission and curriculum. Interim Superintendent John McDonough maintains that the multi-million dollar price tag reflects high construction costs in these dense downtown areas, not district excess. He also said the project is already a money saver, allowing students and administrators to share resources such a library, cafeteria and kitchen. “This is a more advantageous plan than doing construction at two different sites.”
The project is drawing many comparisons to wealthy suburban school Newton North High, which cost nearly $200 million when it was constructed in 2010. However, the joint downtown school would serve just an estimated 1,360 students, while Newton North maintains an enrollment of approximately 2,000. However, McDonough is cautioning that the steep initial price tag is still an estimate. Plans may fluctuate based on enrollment and programming, and more complete schematic designs are necessary before a solid number can be provided. Taxpayer contributions also remain unclear, but eligible construction costs may qualify for state reimbursement. Officials may also offset costs by selling or renting existing facilities.
-- Staff Writer Trustee faults enrollment data in Kingston High renovation plan-- The Daily Freeman New York: October 22, 2013 [ abstract] Board of Education Trustee James Shaughnessy said he cannot vote in favor of a $137.5 million bond to fund a Kingston High School renovation project, arguing that district enrollment projections on which state aid would be based are suspect.
Shaughnessey, who said he supports the renovation, said he wants the public to have clear answers on enrollment projections prior to a Dec. 10 referendum on the project. In the four months since the project was set for a public vote, he said, school board members have received conflicting enrollment projections.
“When (the project) was presented on June 5, I had asked if there was an enrollment projection ... because the architect said it was for 2,200 students,” he said. “The answer was no, and there was a commitment, I thought, that an enrollment projection would be forthcoming.”
Statement from Shaughnessy.
Shaughnessy said an enrollment projection developed in December 2012 by the Ulster County Board of Cooperative Educational Services and given to the board in September showed that there would be 2,046 students in the high school in 2022. He said that projection was used by administrators to “justify the design capacity of 2,200 students.”
However, Shaughnessy said information from the state Education Department’s Basic Education Data System projected only 1,780 students at Kingston High School in 2022.
-- William J. Kemble Two-school district plans eight new schools-- Tracy Press California: October 18, 2013 [ abstract] Banta Elementary School District, which opened its second school this year in Lathrop’s River Islands development, is planning six elementary and two middle schools there as builders start constructing the first houses.
The Banta board of education authorized Superintendent Albert Garibaldi during their monthly meeting to have his staff to create a school construction timeline for the next five to 10 years.
"The board direction is to move forward with starting programs, and we’re starting to have a presence in that area of the district, and we are reacting accordingly," he said. "They’re anxious to get started."
So far, the district does not have exact dates to begin or complete any of the new schools.
"Part of the designing is dependent upon the growth of the River Islands project," he said. "The River Islands project does have a direct impact on how fast or how slow we are going to have to build these schools."
Garibaldi said school district leaders want to keep the timeline fluid at least until November or December to accommodate input from members of the Banta community, the board of education and site developers.
The next step, in May 2015, is beginning construction of the second phase of the River Islands Technology Academy school campus. That involves completion of separate campuses for the elementary and middle schools, which now share space.
Eventually, the elementary school will have 600 students and the middle school 750, with a shared gymnasium and library, Garibaldi said.
The school opened its doors in early August with approximately 400 students.
To help with planning, Banta Elementary School District recently hired consultant Tom Duffy to advise them on facilities and programs.
Duffy retired as the assistant superintendent of schools for Moorepark Unified School District. He is the legislative director of Coalition for Adequate School Housing and a partner in a Sacramento educational facilities consulting firm, Murdoch, Walrath and Holmes.
During a school board meeting on Oct. 10, Duffy said the next step was to submit phase-two construction plans to the Division of the State Architect, which oversees construction of K-12 schools in California.
-- Denise Ellen Rizzo CFISD unveils plans for learning village-- Cypress Creek Mirror Texas: October 17, 2013 [ abstract] Plans for an innovative multi-campus site that district officials say will save money and promote learning communities is taking shape in Cy-Fair ISD.
The three proposed campuses " an elementary school, middle school and high school designed by PBK Architects " will share resources and facilities organized around a quadrangle on a 179-acre site at FM 529 and West Green in northwest Harris County.
“When we started this process, we looked at the site as being three individual schools that just happened to be on the same property,” said Dan Boggio, president and CEO of PBK Architects. “In a case like this we would have three separate cafeterias, three distinct kitchens. Then we said let’s start putting these together.”
The campuses will create a secure environment away from traffic with enhanced outdoor learning areas with natural light, multi-use courtyards and active technology spaces.
“First of all when we have multiple campuses, the schools are able to work in close connection with each other,” said Boggio. “We can actually create a community of learners that is Pre-k through 12th grade.”
The three schools will be able to share a kitchen and cafeteria with three dining sections that can be sectioned off.
-- CRYSTAL SIMMONS After closings, kids shun schools picked by CPS-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: October 15, 2013 [ abstract] Almost half the youngsters most affected by Mayor Rahm Emanuel's school shutdowns did not enroll this fall in the new schools where officials planned for them to go, records from Chicago Public Schools show.
Nearly 7,000 students in grades pre-kindergarten to 7th were enrolled last spring in 30 city elementary schools that have since been decommissioned and their buildings closed, according to records obtained by the Tribune under the Freedom of Information Act.
But more than 3,300 of those children — 48 percent — are not attending the "welcoming" schools designated to take them in this fall, records show.
Those facilities comprise the bulk of a sweeping and controversial consolidation push that Emanuel said would leave the cash-starved district slimmer, more educationally nimble and more cost effective. In all, 47 elementary school programs for nearly 12,000 students were closed, though the disruption was minimized for many students allowed to remain in several buildings that were renamed after being merged with other schools.
To cushion the blow, the cash-starved Chicago Public Schools poured $233 million into renovations and other upgrades aimed primarily at welcoming schools designated to take in displaced students from closed facilities, including spending on new iPads, air conditioning, computers labs, specialized education programs and accommodations for the disabled. Millions of dollars were also committed to safety programs at many of the official receiving schools, including increased police patrols and the hiring of 600 Safe Passage monitors to watch over children on their way to and from classes.
But the records, which tote up enrollment data from the early weeks of the current school term, show that a large number of displaced students voted with their feet and didn't go where the transition spending was concentrated. And several neighborhood schools with chronic facility needs that didn't share in the new resources are now coping with an unexpectedly large influx of students from closed facilities.
-- Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Bob Secter and Alex Richard Fewer students go to welcoming schools, task force wants more info-- Catalyst Chicago Illinois: October 09, 2013 [ abstract] CPS officials don't know exactly where 7 percent of the 11,729 students displaced by closings are attending school this Fall and only 64 percent are attending the school designated for them--significantly less than the 80 percent projected over the summer.
Altogether, CPS spent hundreds of thousands of dollars renovating and providing extra resources for these welcoming schools. But fourteen of the 49 shuttered schools sent less than half of their students to the designated welcoming school.
Chief Transformation Officer Todd Babbitz presented this information earlier this week to the Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force. The information is from the 10th day of school and district officials say they will update it with 20th-day information at the next meeting.
CPS Spokeswoman Becky Carroll said that staff from the Office of Family and Community Engagement have tried to call and visit the homes of all students who did not enroll in a CPS school.
â€"Some have reenrolled and some are no longer attending CPS schools. Some we have not been able to connect with at all,†she said. â€"But we have attempted to reach out to all and engage their parents and guardians around ensuring those children are enrolled in school.â€
However, Carroll said it is okay that many families chose not to enroll in the designated â€"welcoming†school. District leaders want to empower parents to choose which school their children attend, she said.
â€"Thousands of parents every year choose to enroll their child at a different school in our District - or even outside the District and we support them in those choices,†she said.
About 450 students are in charter schools and nearly 3,000 are in other district-run schools.
-- Jenna Frazier and Sarah Karp Pimlico students give input on new school building-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: October 09, 2013 [ abstract] Isaiah House won't be one of the students who walks through the doors of the newly renovated Pimlico Elementary/Middle School in a few years, but he jumped at the opportunity Wednesday to propose what he thought those who come after him should see and experience.
"I think there should be a meditation room," the eighth-grader told his classmates as they pored over a blueprint of their current school. "So when the little kids are having a hard day, they can go in there and calm down."
The students participated in an exercise led by the architects who will design the new Pimlico building, one of the first to be renovated or rebuilt under the city's $1 billion, 10-year plan to overhaul its dilapidated school infrastructure.
Under the plan, the district would close 26 buildings, end or relocate 29 programs, and renovate or rebuild 136 facilities beginning in 2015.
Isaiah and his classmates shuffled and stacked colored blocks to transform classrooms to shared-use and lounge spaces, move elementary students closer to the playground and middle-schoolers closer to the gym, and ensure the cafeteria is positioned conveniently for custodians and administrators.
"Even though I won't be here to enjoy it, I felt like I was part of something great," Isaiah said of the building-block exercise. "I'll be able to visit and see the mark I left."
-- Erica L. Green 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 Editorial: School facilities effort imperfect, but still impressive-- St Helena Star California: October 01, 2013 [ abstract] Watching the St. Helena Unified School District implement its massively ambitious facilities plan is like watching someone juggle a half-dozen chain saws " it might not always be pretty, but it’s still an amazing feat.
Fueled by a pair of $30 million bond measures, the district has already finished a vocational education complex at the high school and a set of new classrooms at RLS Middle School.
More modernization work is underway at RLS, but much of the district’s attention is devoted to the schematic design of the high school auditorium and solicitation of bids for a new high school pool.
In hindsight, the district probably bit off more than it could chew by setting an overly aggressive timeline on the pool project. Hoping to have a new pool installed in time for the beginning of the high school swimming season Feb. 1, the district removed the old pool, bought a new one and solicited bids for the installation of the pool and construction of a bathhouse and other accessories.
Unfortunately, the whole timeline depended on getting state officials to sign off on plans by Sept. 12, which didn’t happen. As of Tuesday, those plans are still trapped in bureaucratic purgatory at the Division of the State Architect (DSA), and Superintendent Bill McGuire won’t venture a guess as to when they’ll finally be approved. Without those plans, the school board had no choice but to restart the bidding process.
With a new tentative opening date of March 10, the pool won’t be ready in time for the swim team, which will have to practice and have meets somewhere else, probably in Calistoga.
The DSA delay isn’t the district’s fault, but McGuire conceded that removing the old pool so soon was a mistake. While school board President Jeff Conwell said he believes the district’s “college try” was worth it, school officials should have seen this coming. Even this editorial board, with its extremely limited knowledge of school facilities, knows that DSA is notoriously slow and nitpicky.
-- Editorial 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 US Dept Of ED Awards Nearly $1 Million to George Washington University to Support Educational Facilities Clearinghouse-- US Department of Education National: September 30, 2013 [ abstract] The U.S. Department of Education announced today first year grant award of $973,763 for George Washington University in Washington, D.C. to support the establishment and implementation of an Educational Facilities Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse will provide technical assistance, training and resources to public preschools, K-12 schools and higher education institutions on issues related to educational facility planning, design, financing, construction, improvement, operation, maintenance and safety.
"Students need safe, healthy and modern school facilities to be able to focus on learning and improving academic achievement," said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "This grant will allow George Washington University to establish a Clearinghouse to help local education leaders plan for, build, improve and maintain educational facilities to help turnaround schools and close the achievement gap."
This award for the first year of a three-year project will provide the education community with a reliable resource for information that can be used to plan for new construction, renovation and improvements to educational facilities. The Clearinghouse will also develop resources and assemble best practices on issues related to ensuring safe, healthy and high-performance public facilities, including procedures for identifying hazards and conducting vulnerability assessment. More information is available at this link for the Educational Facilities Clearinghouse.
-- Press Office Building schools designed to succeed-- Greenbaypressgazette.com National: September 29, 2013 [ abstract] Kids have just headed back to school. Unfortunately, many of them may be greeted by worn-out desks and broken chairs. More than three-quarters of U.S. schools are in need of repairs.
The federal government wants to respond by investing millions of dollars in school construction and modernization. Those dollars must be spent wisely. The schools of yesteryear, with their rows of desks and stair-stepped lecture halls, don’t work for the students of today. Their stagnating academic performance proves it.
Educational leaders must embrace the technologically driven way that students learn today " and design and build schools that support that shift.
The design of school facilities has an enormous impact on student performance.
Researchers at the United Kingdom’s University of Salford recently determined that a school building’s design can affect student performance, for better or worse, by up to 25 percent. Seventy-three percent of students’ change in performance was attributable to classroom design elements.
The study looked at several factors. Classrooms that received greater amounts of natural light, featured ergonomically advanced desks, and permitted teachers to easily change the classroom layout all correlated strongly with improved academic performance.
The difference in learning rates between students in the “better” classrooms and those in the “worse” classrooms was equivalent to a full year of educational progress.
These findings confirm what designers and educators have known for years.
-- Dick Resch 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 So What’s Going On With The Brookland Middle School Construction? -- The Brookland Bridge District of Columbia: September 28, 2013 [ abstract] Many Brooklanders are following the ins and outs of the new Brookland Middle School closely, as it will have a pretty big impact on our neighborhood. You may recall that there was a big kerfuffle in the February/March timeframe, when the site of the new school was being selected. When the school site (which will be the footprint of the existing and vacant Brookland Elementary school) was announced in April things seemed to really quiet down " till now. The latest round of neighborhood consternation was stirred up at a construction update meeting held by the Department of General Services (DGS) and DC Public Schools (DCPS) on Tuesday, September 24th. Because of the issues raised at that meeting , DGS made an unscheduled appearance at the ANC 5B meeting the following night to continue the discussion. First off, a quick update. The design of the school is complete, the interior of the existing school has been demolished and the building itself will be razed soon. DGS released this super-nice video that brings the design to life. I was really impressed! This school looks bright, modern, and a great place to learn. I think the building itself is a vast improvement over what we have now.
So, what’s the controversy? Well, it turns out that like most construction projects, unknown factors pop up and threaten to throw off the schedule. In this case, a huge unknown turned out to be a gas pipe that needs to be moved. The school is slated to open in August 2014; and school openings are an “all or nothing” affair " you really can’t expect to open successfully months into the school year. Because of this, DGS is requesting Extended Work Hours Permits so that the project can stay on track. How extended? According to the presentation, from 5:00 am " 12:00 am (midnight) for the October 16 " Dec 31 timeframe. As you can imagine, asking immediate neighbors to endure two and a half months of construction noise with only 5 quiet hours a day is a tough sell. In addition, DGS is also requesting 24 hours-a-day construction permits for interior work from January 1 " August 14th 2014. Here is a video of Kenny Diggs from DGS discussing the pipe issue at the ANC 5B meeting that took place Wednesday 9/25/2013.
-- SHANI Lawmakers want to compel MPS to sell vacant school buildings-- Journal Sentinel Wisconsin: September 26, 2013 [ abstract] The City of Milwaukee would be compelled — again — to sell vacant and underused Milwaukee Public Schools buildings, under a bill proposed by two lawmakers that seeks to strengthen earlier legislation and give non-MPS school operators better access to the public facilities.
The proposal from state Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) and Rep. Joe Sanfelippo (R-West Allis) adds fuel to the contentious MPS empty buildings debate by tightening definitions around what constitutes an empty district building. For example, it would require that buildings be put on the market if less than 40% of their square footage is used for instruction, or if they're not staffed full time.
The proposal would compel the city to give potentially competing school operators first shot at obtaining the empty or underused buildings, or wait four years to put the facility to some other use.
Mayor Tom Barrett has pushed back against the proposal, which is being circulated for co-sponsors and may be formally introduced next week.
Common Council President Willie Hines said he could support it only if the city is given flexibility to sell not only to educational providers, but also to other developers who could add tax value to the city.
"It is our desire to make sure these buildings are functional," Hines said. "But we want to maintain an element of flexibility and local control."
Barrett also said he is opposed to the city having to wait four years to pursue other developments that might be a better use for MPS schools designated as empty or underused. Under that proposal, an idea that's been floated to renovate the old Dover Elementary School in Bay View into housing for teachers would not be possible, he said.
"This swings the pendulum too far in the other direction," he said.
'A shell game'
MPS, a district with declining enrollment, has historically been averse to selling its underused buildings to operators that could compete with the district for students, and by extension, revenue.
But MPS officials say they have taken steps in recent years to sell or lease out buildings and are using other facilities to expand high-achieving or in-demand district programs.
-- Erin Richards Green Infrastructure: The Design Element (Part II)-- Huffington Post New York: September 25, 2013 [ abstract] Recently, the children at P.S. 261 in Brooklyn were turned loose on the new playground at their school in the Boerum Hill neighborhood. And it was an instant hit, with swarms of kids running and playing.
What the kids didn't know is that their playground is the first completely "green" school playground in New York City, the first of 40 such playgrounds which will be built in the city using the principles of "green infrastructure." When it rains, the runoff will go into rain gardens and linear tree pits, rather than nearby gutters and streets.
The program announced last week is similar to recent work in Philadelphia, which was described in last week's installment. In New York, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is providing "Green Infrastructure" money and the Department of Education (DOE) is joining with private donors to allow The Trust for Public Land (TPL) transform poorly functioning, part-time schoolyards into attractive, multi-functional, full-time playgrounds, of which P.S. 261 was the first.
As children gamboled on the new synthetic turf field that, along with other design elements acts like a sponge to help soak up storm runoff that would otherwise overload the sewers, the leaders of the two agencies and the local City Council member cut the green ribbon signifying completion of the first truly "green" school playground in New York. The landscape design firm Siteworks partners with TPL to manage a three-month community design process at each site, then works to create plans that direct storm water runoff into rain gardens and linear tree pits; water is also collected using porous pavers and in the playing fields that were once hot, crumbing, dangerous asphalt. And each site is designed to collect the first inch of rain water from every storm, which covers most typical rain events.
-- Adrian Benepe Minneapolis schools shift to growth mode-- Star Tribune Minneapolis Minnesota: September 25, 2013 [ abstract] A sweeping reshuffling of students and rebuilding of Minneapolis schools is being proposed to make the district more competitive and to handle an expected surge in enrollment.
The proposal could affect about one in every four students, either by shifting the school they attend or the academic program they’re taught. It would require the district to borrow an estimated $155 million for construction, mostly to renovate existing schools.
The plan is designed to accommodate enrollment gains over the next four school years, when the district is expected to grow by about 3,400 students, half of them in southwest Minneapolis, where space for high school students is especially tight. That’s about 10 percent growth.
“This is a very complex plan. It is going to get a lot of discussion,” board chairman Alberto Monserrate said before Tuesday night’s board meeting, where the proposal was presented. The next step will be seeking community reaction, which he said will be important before the board acts later this fall.
Changes could occur across the city and include adding middle-school capacity in the eastern half of south Minneapolis. Among the highlights are a proposal for an audition-only performing arts high school; additions to Southwest High School and Seward Montessori; the reopening of Webster and an expanded Cooper school, plus the return of Franklin Middle School and Tuttle to district use.
The space recommendations are accompanied by multiple changes in programs that are intended to make the district’s schools more appealing to parents, according to Michael Goar, the district’s chief executive officer.
“We are in a highly competitive environment, and we need to do better,” he said in an interview.
-- STEVE BRANDT 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 School site still a hot issue-- The Moultrie Observer Georgia: September 25, 2013 [ abstract] Opponents of the planned site for a new high school reiterated concerns about the site’s viability and safety during Monday night’s meeting of the Colquitt County Board of Education.
Clarence Lowe, a former member of the board, said the architect’s plans were based on the site having a half-acre of wetlands, but Lowe said a map from the Natural Resources Conservation Service showed about two acres of wetlands there.
“Part of it is under where your cafeteria is going to be,” he told the board.
Lowe said the board has said after the high school is built at Packer Park off Darbyshire Road, the site will still have 99 buildable acres. The NRCS map, though, shows many of those acres in red, indicating land that is not suitable to build on. He said the map indicates only about 18 of those 99 acres are actually suitable for building.
“You could build on this soil that’s designated red if you throw enough money at it,” he said. “You can build on anything.”
He said he and his colleague, Jimmy Jeter, are the only two people who have inquired at the NRCS about soil conditions at that site.
Jeter addressed the board next. He praised the board for accomplishments “over the last 15 years or so.” His praise included the idea of a sports complex, which is what was originally built on the Packer Park site. The plan was good, he said, even if many think the implementation was flawed.
Since it was built, some $4.7 million has been spent at Packer Park, much of it to address drainage issues, Jeter said.
Jeter made the case for an alternative site on Veterans Parkway, even as he said he and his group are not wedded to that site.
-- Kevin Hall Greece settles school construction suit-- Democrat and Chronicle New York: September 24, 2013 [ abstract] The Greece Central School District has reached a $5.2 million settlement with the architectural firm responsible for the district’s problematic multi-million dollar capital improvement project from the early 2000s.
The Board of Education unanimously approved the agreement with Tetra Tech Architects and Engineers during its Tuesday meeting.
School Superintendent Barbara Deane-Williams issued a statement that said, “The district is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Tetra Tech. This settlement will allow the district to address issues with its existing facilities, so we can maintain our focus on improving student achievement.”
School attorney Edward Hourihan, with Bond, Schoeneck and King, said the agreement heads off a trial that was slated to begin next week.
“This has been a long and winding road with multiple parties involved,” he said.
Litigation commenced in 2007, when the district sued Tetra Tech over a litany of problems stemming from the $119.5 million capital project that provided renovation and expansion at 20 schools. In an amended 2008 suit, the district alleged Tetra Tech, also known as Thomas Associates, committed architectural malpractice via lax oversight and poor design work.
Problems with the work included:
-- Meaghan M. McDermott NC lottery proceeds no longer linked to formula-- BlueRidgeNow.com North Carolina: September 24, 2013 [ abstract] The General Assembly this year kept earmarking all North Carolina lottery proceeds for education, just as its predecessors said they would when they approved the state-sponsored gambling in 2005. This education link is why it's always been branded the North Carolina Education Lottery.
But lawmakers decided to rid themselves of the original formula for how net lottery profits received annually — projected for $481 million this fiscal year — would be distributed. And they again designated some funds to education initiatives not identified in the original North Carolina State Lottery Act.
Backers of the formula's repeal argue it hadn't been closely followed for several years. They add that lottery money has been moved around to cover shortfalls for education programs beyond the formula, and even for Medicaid. The updated lottery law still makes clear the profits must be used for "education-related purposes."
"It really wasn't a substantive change in terms of actual budget practices over the years," said Sen. Pete Brunstetter, R-Forsyth and co-chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He called it "just a cleanup of Lottery Act language."
Others are worried the state is slipping away from the basis upon which the lottery was sold to lawmakers and the public. County governments are particularly troubled as they've watched their slice of the lottery pie for school construction nearly cut in half.
"The lottery was created with the proceeds to be for the educational system, and I think it should strictly adhere to that," said state lottery commission member Jody Tyson of Greene County. Any "citizen or government official's first thought should be to protect the integrity of that original formula or that original purpose, and that was for education."
-- GARY D. ROBERTSON, Associated Press 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 Southern Lehigh taking steps to close an elementary school-- The Morning Call Pennsylvania: September 24, 2013 [ abstract] Southern Lehigh School Board will begin the state-mandated process for closing a school. But which elementary school they intend to close — Hopewell or Lower Milford — remains to be seen.
The district must hold a public hearing to consider closing one of the schools, district officials said. After the hearing, the district must wait three months before making a decision. A hearing date has not been set.
The board unanimously voted Monday to begin the process. Board President Jeffrey Dimmig said the vote doesn't mean the district would close a school, although the board agreed either Hopewell or Lower Milford would most likely be shuttered.
"We are all in agreement something has to be done," Dimmig said.
District officials last month unveiled several options to correct problems at the two aging elementary buildings.
Costs range from $12 million to fix both schools to $17 million or more to renovate Lower Milford and tear down and rebuild Hopewell.
During that meeting, School Director John Quigley suggested another option: reorganize either the primary grades or create a hybrid use for the Joseph P. Liberati Intermediate School, which serves students in fourth through sixth grades, along with closing Hopewell.
Superintendent Leah Christman said the intermediate building was not intended for young children.
"Everything about that design, from the use to the lockers and bathrooms, is meant for older children," Christman said.
The school board had been reviewing five options involving Hopewell, which was built in 1970 and has never undergone a renovation, and Lower Milford, which was built in 1950 and has seen two upgrades, once in 1962 and again in 1991.
Two of the options removed at the Sept. 9 board meeting involved renovating Hopewell at a cost of roughly $12 million, nearly the cost of rebuilding it, said Jeremy Melber, district business manager.
The remaining three options, along with two new ones include:
-- Melinda Rizzo U.S. Dept. of ED to Visit Schools in Nations Capital - Final Leg of Facilities Best Practices Tour-- US Department of Education National: September 24, 2013 [ abstract] ED-Green Ribbon Schools Director Andrea Falken will be joined by several other senior Department officials to visit three honored green ribbon schools in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Sept. 25 on the final leg of the 'Education Built To Last' Facilities Best Practices Tour. Joining them will be Stefan Huh, director, Charter Schools Program; Doug Herbert, special assistant, Office of Innovation and Improvement; Lily Clark, senior advisor, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development; and Adam Honeysett, acting managing director, state and local public engagement; and others.
They will be joined by other federal and local officials to tour the schools to see and discuss ways that school facilities can enhance the conditions of learning. Some of those officials include Crystal McDonald, policy advisor, U.S. Department of Energy; Jaquelyn Mosby, director, Office of Children's Health Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and EPA Regional Administrator Shawn Garvin.
The schools to be visited are: Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School; Woodrow Wilson High School; and Sidwell Friends School
The visits will include tours of school buildings and grounds, conversations with students and teachers regarding environmental education, health and sustainability, and discussions with key partners and energy management personnel. In addition, local district facilities personnel are invited to attend and participate in a listening session at Woodrow Wilson High School. The listening session will allow facilities experts to share best practices on school facilities and provide input to the U.S. Education Department.
The Department's 'Education Built to Last Facilities Best Practices Tour' features schools that exhibit best practices in school building and grounds design, construction, operations and management to support health, equity, educational outcomes, energy efficiency and cost savings in our nation's public schools.
-- Press Office Portland Public Schools staff recommends drawing from bond reserves to expand high school projects-- Oregonlive.com Oregon: September 23, 2013 [ abstract] The district's chief operating officer, C.J. Sylvester, and executive director of the Office of School Modernization, Jim Owens, on Monday told the school board the initial plans may not accommodate expected population increases.
The two suggested the district build Franklin and Grant larger by cutting the capital bond reserves in half to $10 million, while leaving the contingency funds for each individual project untouched. Roosevelt's original plan for capacity would remain the same.
In addition to pulling from the reserve, the district also planned to lower the proposed cost for square foot from $220 to $200. The district is also counting on escalation costs to be calculated at about $21.2 million for the three high schools.
Under the original plan, Franklin's and Grant's common areas -- such as hallways and cafeterias -- and classrooms would both accommodate 1,500 people. The new plan would up the capacity of common areas to 2,000 and the classrooms to 1,750 people.
Roosevelt, which is slated to accommodate 1,500 in common areas and 1,200 within the classrooms, will stay the same.
When both board members Steve Buel and Tom Koehler questioned why the change was being made now, Sylvester attributed the decision to several reasons, including what she called the stabilizing effect of the high school redesign. That plan included closing Marshall High School and shrinking Benson High.
-- Nicole Dungca Schoolhouse Architecture Gets Hip-- Wallstreet Journal New York: September 23, 2013 [ abstract] It is a drill familiar to generations: The school bell rings between classes and students scatter. Like a building-wide game of musical chairs, everyone must be in their seats again before the ringing stops.
But a new crop of students are sitting down in surprising places—including unsupervised benches tucked next to lockers, artificial lawns spread outside classrooms and leather couches more reminiscent of living rooms than schools.
It is just one of the many ways new schools across the country are using building design to reflect rapidly shifting beliefs about how children learn best. In New York more than a dozen new public and private schools either recently opened or will open in the next few years, showing off designs that radically rethink the traditional school building.
"We're standing at a watershed moment of how people learn," said Thomas Mellins, an independent curator who organized a show last October highlighting some of these projects at the Center for Architecture in New York City.
The changes encompass classrooms that can change shape to accommodate different size groups, multipurpose hallways with built-in hangout spaces, and expanded common areas. They include subtle messages through color (dark floors and blue ceilings to summon the outdoors), abundant natural light and focus on creating visual connections between floors.
-- SOPHIA HOLLANDER Del Mar Union School District outreach group begins work on master plan-- Carmel Valley News California: September 20, 2013 [ abstract] The Del Mar Union School District’s facilities master plan outreach group began work last week on drawing up a long-term roadmap for how the district will deliver education in the future.
A group of about 40 staff members, parents and community members met at Del Mar Hills on Sept. 18 for the first of three meetings. They met in a small group format to discuss how they want their school’s facilities to create “a path for tomorrow’s innovative, global thinkers.”
The group will meet once more on Oct. 1 before a town hall meeting " open to all community members " is held on Wednesday, Nov. 6. After the town hall meeting, the outreach group will meet for a final time on Dec. 17 and the final master plan will be presented to the board on Jan. 22, 2014.
“A master plan can be about fixing what’s broken but it can also figure out where you want to be as a district 15 to 20 years from now,” said Don Pender, a principal with the district’s facilitator LPA Architects.
Pender said through this process the district can plan for facilities to fit what they want to teach rather than simply return the facilities to the condition they were before.
Kate Mraw, an interior designer with LPA, talked about what is happening currently in facilities planning for schools " how spaces are being designed to be innovative, sustainable and inspiring for students to learn.
-- Karen Billing Planting seeds of knowledge about gardening-- Los Angeles Times California: September 19, 2013 [ abstract] The preschoolers walked in a single-file line across the blacktop playground to a macaroni-shaped garden bed of dirt.
Then the students at Sixth Avenue Elementary School in central Los Angeles listened as they were taught to till the soil, spread it out and dig fingertip-sized holes.
"First thing we're going to plant are collards," said Celeste Holley, who oversees the garden. She poured seeds into her palm, drawing "oohs!" from the children. Eighteen pairs of tiny hands caked with soil then shot up, vying to plant the first seed at the school's new garden.
"You'll get to see it grow," she told them, as they stuck their hands in the dirt. "It's yours."
The garden at Sixth Avenue Elementary is one of 11 in the Los Angeles area installed by the Kitchen Community. The Colorado-based nonprofit group has built 120 gardens at schools across the country that are designed to help introduce nutritious food into the lives of students, fight obesity and give youngsters an engaging place to learn.
On Thursday, the Kitchen Community announced a $2-million effort — of which about $1 million has been raised — to build 60 additional gardens by the end of the year. The group is accepting applications from Los Angeles-area schools.
"Building one garden in L.A. — it might be a nice gesture — but it won't make a difference," said Kimbal Musk, the group's co-founder. "We have to start to change the culture of the community."
-- Stephen Ceasar School Building Committee to consider multiple options for new, renovated elementary school-- Wicked Local Swampscott Massachusetts: September 19, 2013 [ abstract] When the School Building Committee takes its official vote on Tuesday, Sept. 24, members will consider 11 different options for a new or renovated elementary school in Swampscott.
Over the past several weeks, the committee has been working to gain community input on which option suits Swampscott best. And although the vote is only one week away, committee members aren’t showing support for one proposed option over another.
“We don’t have a favorite option,” said Joe Crimmins, School Building Committee chairman. “We’ve been very careful in remaining open. I couldn’t tell you how any one member is going to vote.”
On the table are several different proposals, which are the result of the feasibility and schematic design study granted by Town Meeting in October. Town Meeting granted the appropriation of $500,000 to fund the study, which was intended to discover the different options available for improving the facilities in the district.
-- Katrina Powell Valparaiso Schools hears of facility needs-- Valpocommunity.com Indiana: September 18, 2013 [ abstract] Valparaiso Community Schools Board members received their first look at a study an Indianapolis firm is conducting of the district's facilities.
The board hired Gibraltar design Inc. more than a year ago to study the eight elementary schools, two middle schools, high school and the Porter County Career and Technical Education School.
James Thompson, president of the Indianapolis firm, presented a preliminary progress report to the board, outlining the work done to-date.
Thompson said his firm assessed building conditions such as heating, roofing and windows, and compared the number and square footage of classrooms to state Department of Education guidelines.
The study also has identified opportunities for cost savings, as well as priorities that could improve energy efficiency and the comfort of students.
Thompson said he would provide further updates at board meetings in October and November, and the report is expected to be nearly complete by December.
â€"We're well underway and moving along quite nicely,†he said.
Superintendent Michael Berta said the preliminary report presented Tuesday will be posted on the district's website, www.valpo.k12.in.us.
Berta said the process involves identifying teaching and learning activities projected to prepare the K-12 learner for the 21st century.
-- Susan Emery Building committee looks ahead to post-construction curriculum-- myrecordjournal.com Connecticut: September 17, 2013 [ abstract] School officials are looking to update the curriculum at Kennedy and DePaolo middle schools once the $89.7 million renovation and construction projects at the schools is complete.
Computer labs in both schools will shift to housing orchestra classrooms, said Christopher Palmieri, vice chairman of the middle school building committee, on Tuesday. Because of the push toward bring-your-own-device implementation in the school district, computer labs were no longer seen as necessary.
Orchestra, band and chorus will now be able to have separate classrooms.
Palmieri said he sees this as “modernizing the buildings as we are moving forward to bring-your-own-device. Everything is wireless, we don’t need as much computer labs as before.”
Implementing the bring-your-own-device programs is still in the preliminary stage of development, Palmieri said.
The committee approved design plans for tech education classrooms, gym locker rooms and continued air quality testing to take place throughout construction.
-- Savannah Mul Students Show U.S. Dept. of Education Officials Their Green Best Practices-- Manhattan Beach Patch California: September 16, 2013 [ abstract] Grand View Elementary School was one of two area schools on the U.S. Department of Education's "Education Built To Last Facilities Best Practices Tour" Monday. The Manhattan Beach public school was selected for being among those "that exhibit best practices in school building and grounds design, construction, operations and management to support health, equity, educational outcomes, energy efficiency and cost savings in our nation's public schools," according to a press release.
Grand View is one of 16 green ribbon award-winning schools in California, Oregon and Washington senior Education Department officials are visiting to see and discuss ways that school facilities can enhance the conditions of learning.
Officials also toured the Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale and Journey School in Aliso Viejo on Monday. Longfellow Elementary School and Charles Evans Hughes Middle School, both in Long Beach, will be visited Tuesday.
Monday's visit to Grand View included tours of school buildings and grounds, conversations with students and teachers regarding environmental education, health and sustainability, and discussions with key partners and energy management personnel.
-- Liz Spear U.S. Education Department officials to visit Long Beach schools-- Press-Telegram California: September 15, 2013 [ abstract] Education officials to visit two local schools
Senior officials from the U.S. Department of Education will visit two Long Beach schools and 14 schools throughout California, Oregon and Washington as part of the Education Built to Last Facilities Best Practices Tour.
The tour highlights schools that have received green ribbons for having building, construction and grounds designs that promote health, equity, energy efficiency and cost savings in public schools.
Andrea Falken, director of the Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools, will visit Longfellow Elementary School and Charles Evans Hughes Middle School in Long Beach on Tuesday. Officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will also take part in the tour.
Visits to the schools will include tours of school buildings and grounds as well as conversations with students and teachers about environmental education, health and sustainability. Officials will have discussions with energy management staff as well. Personnel from state and district facilities are encouraged to participate in listening sessions in which they share best practices on school facilities and give feedback to the U.S. Education Department.
McBride student body chooses colors, mascot
Ernest McBride High School, the first public high school to open in Long Beach since 1995, opened its doors on Sept. 4 with no school colors or mascot. That decision was left up to the freshman class, the only class of students at the school at the moment.
-- Nadra Nittle Bellmore-Merrick Central School District offers details of $47.6M bond-- LIHerald.com New York: September 13, 2013 [ abstract] The fine details of a $47.6 million bond proposal to upgrade the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District’s seven buildings emerged at a Sept. 11 meeting of the Board of Education, including what work would be performed at which schools and a date for a possible vote.
Central District officials said they are looking at Dec. 2 as the likely date for a public vote on the bond, which, if passed, would fund new science laboratories, bathrooms and synthetic-turf fields at Grand Avenue and Merrick Avenue middle schools, and Calhoun, Kennedy and Mepham high schools.
Architect Joseph Rettig and engineer Fred Seeba, of the district’s Patchogue-based design firm, BBS Architects, Landscape Architects and Engineers, laid out renovation plans at each of the five schools, as well as the Brookside Central Administration Office in North Merrick and the Jerusalem Avenue School in North Bellmore, which the district rents to the Board of Cooperative Educational Services.
BBS’s proposal includes $7.5 million for new artificial-turf athletic fields, $6 million for new bathrooms and $5 million for new science laboratories at each of the district’s five schools, as well as renovated music, art, faculty and guidance rooms, refinished gymnasium floors, kitchen ceiling and lighting replacement, removal of vinyl asbestos tiles, masonry work and new doors where needed.
If the bond were to fail in a Dec. 2 vote, the district could not put it up for a revote for at least three months, according to state law. District officials said they hope to begin renovation work next summer. If the bond were to go down the first time out but was later approved in the spring, work could not start over the summer. The reason, Seeba said, is that the state Department of Education needs up to 30 weeks to approve renovation plans that include mechanical, electrical and plumbing work.
“They’re overburdened and understaffed up there,” he said.
The Central District has long made necessary repairs to buildings on an annual basis. Schools, however, start to really show their age after five decades, requiring more extensive renovation, according to Seeba. The district’s newest school "" Kennedy "" was completed in the 1966 "" 47 years ago. None of the district’s schools has undergone a major overhaul since it was built.
The proposed renovation plan’s objective, Seeba said, is to repair and renovate the district’s schools “so you don’t have to talk about this for another 50 years.”
-- Scott Brinton Boyertown School District hires architect for $55M high school project-- The Mercury Education Pennsylvania: September 13, 2013 [ abstract] The Boyertown Area School District has settled on a an architect to help guide the $55 million expansion and renovation of the senior high school.
The Boyertown Area School Board voted 7-1 at a recent meeting to hire KCBA Architects of Hatfield to design the high school additions and renovations project.
By the same vote, the board agreed to amend the district’s contract with D’Huy Engineering of Bethlehem to include an additional scope of work, the cost of which is not to exceed $75,000.
Board member Ruth A. Dierolf cast the lone dissenting vote on both motions.
Prior to voting, many board members shared their thoughts regarding the project, which has been delayed for months.
In regards to the proposed construction, Dierolf recommended adding on to Colebookdale Elementary School.
“The gray areas need to be used at designated. If that doesn’t work, we need to redistrict,” said Dierolf. “This project is not the solution.”
Board member Barbara Hartford stated that the purpose of the project was to accommodate the most students and to maximize their ability to perform in the 21st century.
Many board members commented on the fact that the district has a good history working with KCBA Architects.
“Things are different than they were six months ago,” said board member Stephen Elsier. “We have a new leader " superintendent " who has determined this is how we should proceed.”
-- Rebecca Blanchard Entrances at FUSD schools revamped for safety-- azdailysun.com Arizona: September 12, 2013 [ abstract] Flagstaff Unified School District is remodeling more school offices to improve safety.
The project started a few years ago with an idea to funnel all traffic into and out of each FUSD school through the school’s front office. That meant major construction projects at most of the city’s public schools in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
This year, contractors for the district revamped the offices at a half-dozen schools. FUSD Assistant Superintendent of Operations Bob Kuhn said the purpose for the modifications was threefold.
“We needed better entrances to our offices, better accessibility and, of course, security,” Kuhn said.
School security became a national focus last December, when a gunman murdered 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in New Town, Conn. Although FUSD’s front office redesigns are in line with the security recommendations that resulted from the Sandy Hook killings, Kuhn stressed that the district started renovating school offices long before that tragedy.
Kuhn could not recall any major security breaches in FUSD, but over the years, there were instances when parents would wander right into the hallways of their children’s schools without notifying administrators.
“We want to make sure that parents enter the office and not into the school,” Kuhn said.
BIG, METAL DOUBLE DOORS
One of the most recent renovations took place this summer at Knoles Elementary School. The office there used to be completely closed off from the front entrance. Now, when you walk up to the building, you pass through big, metal double doors with heavy duty locks that lead to a small vestibule, where two more sets of doors are bolted shut every day before class starts.
The only way into the school is through a single open door on the left that leads into the front office. The first stop: Administrative Assistant Belinda Shafer’s desk.
-- Michelle McManimon 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 Taxpayers will be asked to pay bulk of $131.9m school project-- The Boston Globe Massachusetts: September 12, 2013 [ abstract] A proposed $131.9 million overhaul of Winchester High School that could add $800 to the average annual property tax bill might be a tough sell in a town where that bill already is approaching $10,000 annually.
School and town officials conceded that the cost of the project " which would be funded in part by the state " will face opposition even in a town known for its support of education.
“I think there is going to be sticker shock when they see the price tag,” said Bob Deering, chairman of the Educational Facilities Planning and Building Committee, which is overseeing the project.
William H. McAlduff Jr., the school superintendent, estimated that the project would end up costing taxpayers $85 million to $90 million. The Massachusetts School Building Authority board on Oct. 2 will decide whether to provide partial reimbursement " projected to be 34 percent " for the project, which involves major renovations and construction of three additions to the 42-year-old building on Skillings Road.
Additional reimbursement from the state agency might be awarded based on meeting criteria such as green features in the project design.
Residents still would need to appropriate the full $131.9 million project budget and then approve a debt exclusion " or temporary tax increase " in votes this fall.
Attempts to increase taxes have had mixed results in recent years. In January 2011, voters approved a debt exclusion to fund the town’s $18 million share of the Vinson-Owen school project. But that March, they rejected a $1.44 million Proposition 21/2 override to fund operating expenses, and last June, they turned down a $350,000 override to create a technology fund.
From 2007 to 2013, the average property tax bill for a single-family home in Winchester climbed 26 percent, from $7,803 to $9,839, as the average assessed value increased at a much lower rate, from $755,415 to $770,456.
-- John Laidler $80 Million Ellington School Renovation Team Selected-- Georgetown Patch District of Columbia: September 11, 2013 [ abstract] The District government has selected an architect/engineering team to lead the $80 million redesign and upgrade of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Burleith.
DC released a request for proposals (RFP) in July 2013.
Though Patch has been unable to locate any announcement regarding the design team's selection, the Georgetown Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) discussed the initial designs from the winning project team at a monthly meeting last week. The team will hold public meetings in the near future, according to the ANC.
One resident at the ANC meeting expressed her frustration with the lack of information and communication about the renovations.
"One thing they have not been doing is actually designing the building in secret," said Commissioner Ron Lewis. "They have been doing nothing for the past months and months except interviewing architects."
"It was only within the past couple of weeks that they selected an architect," explained Lewis.
The Department of General Services (DGS), which manages DCPS building projects, wants the end product to be approximately 165,000 square feet. To accomplish this, DGS wants a project that both adds to the existing building and makes changes within it to better utilize space.
-- Shaun Courtney Savannah-Chatham school board to vote on construction change order oversight-- savannahnow.com Georgia: September 11, 2013 [ abstract] Today, the Savannah-Chatham public school board will vote on a policy change that could reduce oversight of pricey school construction change orders.
Under the current policy, all change orders must be reviewed by the construction project architect, the district’s director of facilities construction, the district’s director of facilities management and the district’s chief financial officer before being recommended for approval.
Recommendations for all changes that raise the contract price less than $50,000 are approved by Superintendent Thomas Lockamy. Changes that increase the contract price more than $50,000 are approved by the school board.
The proposed policy could remove several district officials from the recommendation process.
If approved, the new policy says the recommendations for changes valued at less than $50,000 will rest with the project architect and appropriate district and program management as designated by the superintendent. The program management firm and architect are private contractors.
The policy change has raised eyebrows because change orders add up, particularly when the district has just begun its $350 million education sales tax-funded construction program, called ESPLOST II.
According to the district’s 2011 and 2012 change order reports, the price tag on the public school system’s education sales tax funded-building campaign went up by $23.8 million in 2011 and 2012 because of construction change orders.
-- Jenel Few Some Nashville schools could close to avoid deficit-- The Tennessean Tennessee: September 11, 2013 [ abstract] Closing underfilled schools, cutting staff and increasing class sizes are cost-cutting measures Director of Schools Jesse Register would consider recommending if Metro Nashville Public Schools is unable to make up a $23 million budget shortfall projected for the next fiscal year.
Register laid out these potentially draconian scenarios at an hourlong Metro school board Budget and Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday. He is forecasting a need for $38 million in additional funds, which would bring the proposed budget to $784.4 million. As a result, budget talks that typically begin each winter have started already.
“This is not an easy subject to broach, particularly this early in the year,” Register said.
Register, who has been able to avoid school closures during his 41/2-year tenure in Nashville while other cities haven’t, said the district has had a “number of conversations” about consolidating certain schools. The district last did so in the 2009 school year, but that decision was made under a previous administration. His staff handed board members and media Tuesday a list of 12 schools that are below 70 percent capacity. Most are in North or East Nashville.
The lowest is Haynes Middle Health/Medical Science design Center, which is at 38 percent capacity, followed by Gra-Mar Middle School at 50.7 percent.
Other schools below 70 percent capacity include Rosebank Elementary School, Isaac Litton Middle School, Statford High School, Jere Baxter Middle School and Whites Creek Comprehensive High School.
-- Joey Garrison $90 Million Bond Issue Could Close Two USD 501 Schools-- Wibw.com Kansas: September 09, 2013 [ abstract] Safety, technology and financial opportunities are among the reasons officials with Topeka's USD-501 say a $90-million bond issue could provide students with a bright future.
While the school district wants to ensure school safety and address the growing need for technology in the classroom, it could come at the cost of closing two elementary schools.
Monday evening, USD-501 officials rolled out the first of 28 separate listening sessions to discuss a $90 million bond issue that would affect all schools in the district, including bringing an end to Avondale West and Shaner Elementary.
USD-501 Superintendent Julie Ford said, "We have to start looking at what is best long term for the next 20 years. Shaner only has 160 kids and you start seeing inefficiencies with schools that size."
Officials would combine both schools into one near the Jardine Middle School site. Another school affected, Capital City would be re-designed to meet the needs today's at-risk students.
USD-501 is currently in phase 2 of a 2010 Facilities Plan. Phase one saw the closures of four elementary schools, Linn, Lundgren, Quinton Heights and Avondale East.. All the buildings were re-purposed.
People at the listening session agreed with the need to enhance safety at the district's schools but they also want their children to have a leg up on the competition.
USD-501 resident Bobbi Mariani said, "I think it's real important that the bond issue address the use technology and science in the classroom and that we keep pace with other schools as our children graduate and move on to college where they use a lot of technology."
-- Justin Surrency Worldwide Honors for Edison High School Building-- KSEE24 News California: September 09, 2013 [ abstract] Edison High School has attracted a new honor, this time for its dramatic academic building completed last spring.
The 42,647-square-foot classroom and lab building is ranked 18th in the world among a list of 30 most impressive modern high school buildings compiled by Best Education Degrees.com.
The two-story building was built with funds from Measure Q, Fresno Unified School District’s $280 million local school bond passed by voters in November 2010. The building was designed by Darden Architects and built by Turner Construction.
It houses 20 standard classrooms, a special education classroom, four career technical education labs, a computer lab and presentation space with theater seating for 100. With the completion of the new building, the school was able to remove 16 portable classrooms and eight outdated labs.
Edison’s black and yellow school colors are used on the exterior and interior and the design establishes a new architectural vernacular for the campus and a dramatic visual identity that Edison High did not have before.
-- Staff Writer Campbell School District opens first of eight net zero energy buildings-- San Jose Mercury News California: September 04, 2013 [ abstract] The first of eight energy- efficient buildings to be located at each of the Campbell Union School District elementary schools opened at Blackford Elementary School on Aug. 19.
"It's a really neat space," said Doug Williams, construction manager with the school district.
The new building will be used primarily as a cafeteria and performance space. It houses a stage, a built-in lighting and sound system, a projector and big screens.
The space has net zero energy consumption, meaning the building will produce as much energy as it uses over the course of a year. The building will help the district reach its goal of reducing energy consumption by 60 percent, Williams said.
The roof is covered with energy-producing solar panels.
"If the sun is out, the building doesn't need to be lit," Williams explained.
The building is also designed for comfort. A passive ventilation system keeps it at a comfortable temperature: If it's cool outside and warm in- side, windows automatically open to let the warm air out and the cool air in. If it's warm outside, the windows automatically close and the air conditioning will turn on, Williams said.
It's also designed to be quieter than an average cafeteria. The ceiling and walls are curved to absorb sound and keep the building from echoing. Acoustic panels on the walls dampen reverberations, according to Williams.
The project is part of a campus-wide renovation funded by the Measure G school bond funds the community approved in 2010.
Williams noted that the space will also be available to the community. One group that already meets at Blackford once a month will use the new space for its meetings.
Local artist Sonya Paz created artwork for the new building.
Paz met with many school representatives to come up with ideas for the art.
"I didn't want it to just be art you'd see at every single school. I wanted it to be unique to the school and give it its own flavor," she said.
-- Mara Van Ells Educator says old school buildings a valuable cultural resource-- Star News Online North Carolina: September 04, 2013 [ abstract] Almost 100 years ago, two waves of school building changed the landscape and improved opportunities for students in Pender County.
Typical of the building trends across North Carolina in the 1920s, Pender County issued bonds to erect brick schools for white students.
No comparable provision was made for African-American students, but through the determined efforts of families who raised funds to match contributions from the Rosenwald Fund (which in turn leveraged public money), and under the leadership of progressive superintendent T.T. Murphy, Pender County built 15 Rosenwald schools.
Pender County has a unique and valuable cultural resource in that many of its historic schools are still standing. Seen through one lens they are painful reminders of segregation, but in another view they could also be a point of pride for Pender County communities, which have traditionally placed a high value on education. In any event, they embody an important chapter of regional and state history.
Five of the 1920s-era brick schools built for white children are still standing, and while Pender County communities did not build the greatest number of Rosenwald schools in our state (that distinction belongs to Halifax County), it does boast at least eight surviving Rosenwald buildings, an unusually high number. The 1926 one-teacher Rosenwald school on N.C. 210 in western Pender County at Currie, while badly deteriorated, is an excellent example of an iconic Rosenwald school design. It features large banks of nine-over-nine pane windows on the west side of the building.
The brick Topsail School in Hampstead, by contrast, shows the kind of school Pender County was constructing for white students in the 1920s. Pender County commissioners demonstrated vision and leadership recently by deciding to restore it.
-- Claudia Stack School Building Committee seeks community input in plans for new elementary-- Wicked Local Swampscott Massachusetts: September 04, 2013 [ abstract] Would you rather see Swampscott renovate one of its three elementary schools, or tear down an existing school and start from scratch?
This is just one question the School Building Committee hopes to hear feedback on during its upcoming public forums.
After a year filled with research and hard work, the School Building Committee " in conjunction with Collaborative Partners of Boston and Mount Vernon Group Architects " is ready to unveil the results of the feasibility and schematic design study for a new or renovated elementary school.
Last October, Town Meeting granted the appropriation of $500,000 to fund the study, which was intended to discover the different options available for improving the facilities in the district.
School Building Committee Chairman Joe Crimmins explained during the 2012 Special Town Meeting that the Massachusetts School Building Association (MSBA) has committed to reimburse the town for a minimum of 45.3 percent of the total cost for a feasibility study, but the town was required to first ask for the full appropriation. The MSBA will also reimburse the town for a minimum of 45.3 percent of the total cost to build the school, should Swampscott choose to move forward with a plan.
-- Katrina Powell WJC superintendent recommends razing James Blair for $40 million school-- The Virginia Gazette Virginia: September 04, 2013 [ abstract] Bringing James Blair or a modernized version of it back into use as a school is unlikely as the project would cost only a few million dollars less than new construction.
Superintendent Steven Constantino recommended the construction of a $40 million middle school over a $37 million renovation and expansion of James Blair to address overcrowding in WJC's middle schools at Tuesday night's School Board meeting. A feasibility study conducted over the summer by HBA Architecture and Interior design and presented to School Board members revealed that the modernization project would come with challenges and cost almost as much as starting from scratch.
Jim Kelly, Jamestown District rep on the WJC School Board, said he wasn't surprised the recommendation was to raze Blair and build anew.
"If your renovation costs are more than two-thirds of new construction (costs) then you go ahead and build," he said. "When you renovate a 60-year-old building you still have a 60-year-old building."
Blair, built in 1950, was closed in 2010 in favor of opening the larger Hornsby Middle School to save $2 million per year in operating costs. The building was converted into WJC Central Office in early 2011.
-- Staff Writer 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 Safety improvements made in many Mass. school districts-- NECN.com Massachusetts: September 03, 2013 [ abstract] School is officially in session across New England, and with that comes renewed concern for parents about the safety of their children.
This summer, many school districts across Massachusetts took steps to ensure school remains the safest place children will be all day.
December 14, 2012 was a devastating day in Newtown, Conn., when police say 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and six adult staff members in a mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Those events rattled a nation, including the Groton-Dunstable regional school district in northern Massachusetts, which is similar in size to Newtown.
On that day, Superintendent Anthony Bent couldn't help but think that tragedy could just as well have happened here.
â€"There was a lot of questions, a lot of concern, a lot of sadness, a lot of where do we go from here.â€
The Newtown shootings became a precursor for what the district did over the summer to prepare for the new school year.
Budget money was moved around and used to purchase additional cameras and monitors for school offices. The cameras are focused on doors, which remain locked during the day.
In addition, the corridors in the high school have been labeled with specific names, so that everyone knows where they are at all times.
And if someone were to enter, a designated staff member would lock themselves in this room and communicate with the rest of the school.
-- Steve Aveson Impressive high school renovation cost taxpayers more than $100M-- wpxi.com Pennsylvania: August 30, 2013 [ abstract] When students return to Mt. Lebanon High School next week, they will see a lot of changes thanks to an expensive, controversial renovation project. Channel 11's Trisha Pittman got a tour of the impressive improvements.
Despite a price tag that exceeds $100 million, school administrators insisted that the benefits outweigh the cost.
"It's really about building a facility that is going to meet the needs and help support the needs of our program," Principal Brian McFeeley said.
New science labs and a new high-tech math classroom are just a few of the facility's many highlights.
"With our science wing, our world languages department, our math department, what we tried to do was to build a building that was meeting, that was going to help support, what we believe to be best practices," McFeeley said.
For the past year and a half, crews have been renovating a structure originally built in the 1930s. A new addition and a large field house were connected by a walking bridge. The transformation includes more green space, high-tech infrastructure, open-air design and energy efficiency.
It's the $109.6 million price tag, however, that makes it controversial.
-- Staff Writer Are Our School Buildings Harming Our Students?-- Healthy Schools Network National: August 27, 2013 [ abstract] With back-to-school time in full swing, each school day, 55 million children and 7 million adults -- 20 percent of the total U.S. population and 98 percent of all children -- will spend their days inside school buildings. As our children head back to the classroom, there are efforts to offer our children healthier foods and more exercise, along with asking for more rigorous testing. Yet, despite our best efforts, we know that schools -- the very buildings they step into every day -- are working against them.
Many of our kids are returning to unhealthy school environments. Unfortunately, too many of our nation's 130,000 public and private schools are "unhealthy" buildings that can harm their health and hinder learning. Today, clear and convincing research shows that improving specific factors such as school indoor environmental quality improves attendance, academic performance, and productivity.
Let's look at what we know.
Children are more vulnerable than adults to environmental hazards because they are smaller, have developing organs, and breathe more air per pound of body weight. They cannot identify hazards. Several agencies, including the U.S. Environmental and Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Health and Human Services, have found that adverse exposures and injuries during childhood have a lifetime impact.
Many school environmental factors can affect the health of children and employees. Too many schools are situated near industrial plants or toxic waste sites; some are on abandoned landfills. Many school facilities are poorly designed and maintained. Thousands of schools are severely overcrowded, which compromises ventilation systems, acoustics, recess, and basic sanitation and lavatories. Extreme climate events have damaged schools and even killed children and melted playground equipment.
We consider all children to be at risk of extra health and learning difficulties due to the conditions of their schools, and due to the lack of public health services for children at risk or with suspected exposures. An Institute of Medicine report on Climate and Health (2011) reported that poor indoor environments are already compromising health and learning and that indoor exposures can be 100-1,000 times more intense than outdoor. However, no federal or state agencies track or report on school assessments and children's health.
We must act to ensure our children have the healthiest environment in order to maximize their attendance and ability to learn.
-- Claire L. Barnett SBA set to advance school safety measures-- MetroNews West Virginia: August 27, 2013 [ abstract] he West Virginia School Building Authority is expected to take a significant step next month when it comes to improving the safety of new school buildings.
SBA Executive Director Mark Manchin told MetroNews Tuesday the board will adopt an increase in the school construction square footage formula to pay for the added security when it meets in Sept.
“We’re going to be adding probably what will amount to, every new school built in the state, an additional 50 to 75-thousand dollars in our formula that we will be able to incorporate these new concepts into school safety,” Manchin said.
The increase in cost is expected to be about $2.50 per square foot.
Manchin and the SBA have previously said all new school buildings will include shatter-proof glass, a line of site entry, a mantrap, controlled entries on all doors and be equipped with red button access to 911 in case a school security issue does occur.
West Virginia began looking at enhanced school safety following the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut last Dec.
Manchin said working the measures into the square footage cost shows these are not just proposals but will actually occur.
“We’ve had people call from around the country who are aware of what we are doing in West Virginia and taking this leadership. People are excited about making our schools probably the safest in the United States,” Manchin said.
The SBA has been able to get the increased school safety measures in the post-design stage for new schools in Wyoming, Pleasants, Jackson, Lewis and Gilmer counties.
-- Jeff Jenkins For some students, a fresh start at new schools-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: August 26, 2013 [ abstract] School was poised to start in several area jurisdictions Monday, but Howard County officials got a head start Sunday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new $34 million Ducketts Lane Elementary School in Elkridge.
"It's truly a 21st-century learning facility," said Howard County school board Chairman Frank Aquino. "The building is designed to inspire creative and interactive learning, both within and beyond the classroom. The facility integrates beautifully with its environment."
Hundreds of parents, students and school and county officials attended Sunday's preview of the first school in Howard to achieve a gold standard in Leadership in Energy and Environmental design from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Built on a 10-acre campus, the school features several outdoor classrooms — both a science courtyard and teaching courtyard — and a wetlands observation area with a stormwater management pond and a boardwalk path. Fifth-grade teacher Katherine Kidds said she was excited her students can receive more hands-on science education.
"I'm really looking forward to teaching science because there's all these outdoor resources," she said. "It all ties in with the curriculum, so it's really nice."
Ducketts Lane is one of several new public schools opening Monday in area jurisdictions.
In Baltimore County, school officials are showing off the system's biggest addition this fall — the $80 million combined campuses of Dundalk and Sollers Point Technical high schools. The new school was built on the campus of the former Dundalk High, and includes a new 500-seat auditorium, health/fitness and music suites, automotive, construction and maritime labs, a cosmetology suite and a culinary arts cafe.
-- Sara Toth and Pamela Wood A fresh start for two high schools-- Roanoke Times Virginia: August 25, 2013 [ abstract] The noisy debates and painful decisions are history. When classes begin at new high schools in Blacksburg and Riner on Sept. 4, those communities can leave behind the agonizing process of getting the facilities built and turn the page to a new chapter.
In Riner, the opening of the new Auburn High School on Virginia 8 is an important milestone for a community that waited too long for critical school upgrades.
The completion of the new high school is the first of two upgrades for the Auburn strand of schools. The former high school will be converted into a new Auburn Middle School, a project that is expected to be completed in November 2014.
In Blacksburg, the new high school on Prices Fork Road should provide a sense of permanence for a school community that was uprooted after the gymnasium roof collapsed at the former Blacksburg High School in 2010 and the school division closed the facility.
The new Montgomery high schools have modern design features that students, parents and teachers should expect. Roanoke Times reporter Mike Gangloff noted in a July 2 story that both schools will have the benefits of new classroom technology for instruction and electronic locking systems that enhance security.
And both facilities were built to accommodate future enrollment growth. The $40 million Auburn High School will have 379 students enrolled. It was built with an initial capacity of 600 students and with core facilities that allow it to be expanded to hold 800.
-- Staff Writer Wake County opening its biggest and most expensive high school-- Newsobserver.com North Carolina: August 24, 2013 [ abstract] On Monday, the biggest and most expensive high school in Wake County history " possibly in state history " will open for classes.
With a budget of $75 million, the 349,000-square-foot Rolesville High School dwarfs all prior construction projects in Wake County school history. It’s both the first four-story high school in Wake and the first designed from scratch to hold more than 2,200 students. It also incorporates design features not previously used in the district’s construction plans.
“When I walk into this building every day I am thinking I feel blessed knowing that our kids are coming into a place they’re comfortable with,” said Ericka Lucas, the school’s principal.
Wake school leaders tout Rolesville High as a state-of-the-art school designed to meet high school education needs for the 21st century.
But critics question whether the cost of the school and other Wake construction projects are too high. Others worry if building a school that can hold 2,262 students " and far more than that when trailers are added in the future " is conducive to learning.
“Just because you put a big price tag on something doesn’t mean we’re getting the biggest bang for the buck,” said Donna Williams, chairwoman of the Wake County Republican Party, which announced last week that it would oppose this fall’s school bond referendum.
Voters will have their say on Oct. 8 when they decide on the $810 million plan, which would pay for most of a $939.9 million construction program. Among the projects that would be funded are two other new four-story high schools that would accommodate more than 2,200 students, each with price tags nearing $70 million.
-- T. Keung Hui 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 D.C. Officials Celebrate Completion Of New Dunbar High School-- WAMU.org District of Columbia: August 20, 2013 [ abstract] D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and alumni from historic Paul Laurence Dunbar High School gathered on Monday to celebrate the new Dunbar High—a $122-million-dollar building that draws upon the school's history to inspire students.
"Breathtaking. Refreshing." Those are the words Brandi Joyner uses to describe the new Dunbar High School. She should know—she graduated in 2002 from the old Dunbar building that still stands next door. That imposing building, constructed in the 1970s, had few windows and no walls to separate one classroom from another. It wasn't a fitting place for a school originally founded in 1870 as the nation's first high school for black students, nor did it produce the results that the school was once known for.
The new Dunbar—all 280,000 square feet of it, located at First and N Streets NW in the Truxton Circle neighborhood—boasts a soaring and light-filled atrium, a new pool and gym, a 600-person auditorium, and four academies featuring classrooms and labs. The design maximizes learning spaces while embracing technology—city officials say that they have applied for LEED platinum status.
But more than showcase modernity, the new Dunbar is inspired by its history. The school graduated a generation of black leaders, lawyers, athletes, and artists, and their names are inscribed on 118 plaques throughout the school. Another 130 plaques are blank, hinting that any future graduate of the school could see their name featured on them.
James Pittman, class of 1951 and chairman of the 2,000-member Dunbar Alumni Association, says that the plaques are meant to inspire students. "It's not for history and history's sake alone, it's primarily to ensure that the students of today are inspired to learn that there were a lot of students before them that had a lot of obstacles to overcome and succeeded greatly," he says.
The school also features a small museum commemorating its rich history and accomplishments of its many graduates, which included Nannie Helen Burroughs, Mary Church Terrell, Carter G. Woodson, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, and D.C. Mayor Vince Gray. During Monday's ribbon-cutting, alumni from as far back as the class of 1925 marveled at the new building while remembering their time at Dunbar, which with the new building will have occupied three facilities since locating in Truxton Circle in 1917.
D.C. officials hope that the building's transformation ushers in a new era in academic achievement. The new Dunbar will accomodate 1,100 students, more than double the 500 that have attended the school in recent years. It opens amid a years-long modernization of aging school buildings across D.C. as part of the city's aggressive attempts at educational reform.
-- Martin Austermuhle Expansion likely for 4 D41 schools-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: August 20, 2013 [ abstract] Glen Ellyn School District 41's elementary schools may be headed for expansion over the next three years to create "innovation labs" that would give students the room to take on group projects without having to waste time rearranging desks.
As part of the district's long-range planning, the new labs would go hand in hand with the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math — or STEAM — curriculum that will be introduced in the 2014-15 school year.
"What we don't have are the big spaces so kids can move around," said district spokeswoman Julie Worthen. "We need furniture that can be moved out of the way or into another configuration … and different kinds of storage or lighting."
With a focus on project-based learning that teaches kids how to collaborate on ideas and solve problems as a team, officials hope to get moving on the expansion at Monday's Board of Education meeting when members will vote on approving $300,000 that will pay in part for the labs' designs.
The goal is to start construction next summer at Franklin Elementary School. Construction at the remaining three schools would be phased in over the next two years.
-- Krystyna Slivinski Galaxy Elementary: Back to school in Palm Beach County at an all-new school in Boynton Beach-- WPTV.com Florida: August 19, 2013 [ abstract] For the first time, Galaxy Elementary opens its doors to students and teachers for class on the first day of school.
The school replaces a 53-year-old school building with a state-of-the-art campus.
The Palm Beach County School District is calling it the “Greenest School in the Galaxy,” as it is the first LEED Platinum-certified new public school campus in the state of Florida.
The distinction is the highest of LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, certifications available.
The “green” school has been designed with environmentally friendly standards.
At the center of the school, a double-tall area called a “Wonderment Center.”
It is like a small science museum, complete with interactive exhibits that educators will use with curriculum.
-- Ashleigh Walters Greenest School In Conn. Set To Open Its Doors In Bridgeport-- CBS New York Connecticut: August 19, 2013 [ abstract] A new eco-friendly magnet school opening in Bridgeport, Conn. will be the greenest school in the state.
When the Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet Campus opens later this month, 750 ninth and 10th graders chosen by lottery will grace the halls as the first two classes of the state-of-the-art school.
The school is the largest and most ambitious school infrastructure project in the state’s history, according to officials.
As WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau reported, the state covered most of the $126 million price tag to build the school since it’s a magnet school not limited to Bridgeport residents.
“I don’t know that there’s anything quite like this anywhere. This is a $126 million state-of-the-art building, it’s over 300,000 square feet, it collects all the rain water from the site into cisterns,” Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch told Schneidau.
The rain water is then reused for plumbing, heat and air conditioning, Schneidau reported. The school also features windmills and solar panels and city officials anticipate it will be given the LEED Gold designation from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The landscaping will use native vegetation and more than three-quarters of the site will be maintained as open space.
The school stands on land that used to belong to Trumbull. State lawmakers changed the boundaries to allow construction of the green school to proceed.
“Because Bridgeport was willing to work with its surrounding communities, we were able to get a school 95 percent paid for by the state and five percent by Bridgeport,” said the mayor.
About 70 percent of the students will be from Bridgeport, city officials said.
This is the first new high school built in Bridgeport in 50 years, according to the state.
The school will offer a project-based curriculum focusing on science and technology.
It’s anticipated that some of the students will earn college credits along with their high school diplomas.
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-- Staff Writer North Pocono renovation project overhauls middle school-- thetimes-tribune.com Pennsylvania: August 19, 2013 [ abstract] North Pocono Middle School students will find their school looks quite a bit different when they return to classes on Sept. 9.
The district replaced the middle school's "window wall" facing Church Street with a more traditional facade during the first phase of the $12 million-plus capital project at four district schools. And on the inside of the school, Superintendent Bryan McGraw highlighted changes just as dramatic during a tour given to The Times-Tribune while work crews bustled around the building.
Contractors led by project manager Scandale Associated Builders & Engineers renovated 21 classrooms, six of which are on the first floor and 15 on the second floor. Mr. McGraw said by the end of the project, every classroom will get an overhaul.
Renovations provided increased space, more reliable wiring and plumbing, new millwork and window tinting on the second floor to keep out glare from the first-floor roof.
Mr. McGraw said the window wall's old design was energy-inefficient and led to struggles controlling temperatures in those classrooms. He said the new structure will create "a better learning environment."
Not all hallways have been renovated in the first phase of construction, but the ones that have are lined with bright red lockers replacing the less spacious old beige ones. The renovated halls also include new flooring, ceiling and additional security cameras.
The building's heating, air-conditioning and ventilation systems have also been upgraded.
Outside the building, the leaky scallop overhang facing Church Street has been replaced with a regular horizontal ledge.
-- KYLE WIND School Facilities That Go Beyond Beige-- U.S. Department of Education New Jersey: August 19, 2013 [ abstract] August 13, 2013, was a big day the Education Built to Last School Facilities Best Practices Tour visit by the U.S. Department of Education and Environmental Protection Agency, beginning at a Staten Island ED-Green Ribbon School Hubert Humphreys and continuing to three ED-GRS honorees in northern New Jersey. While I drove the 70 miles to the event through pouring rain and high winds, I was secure in my belief that, at the end of the day, my feelings toward school facilities would be unchanged. After many years of designing, building, managing, reviewing, and approving school facility projects for the State of New Jersey, I believed that my Theory of Beige would remain intact.
The Theory of Beige is quite simple. At one of the school districts where I was previously employed, all the classrooms were painted beige. They were intended to be neutral and unnoticed. As long as the walls remained in their beige state, they never received criticism. They were only noticed when they became damaged from desks or chairs scuffing the paint, water leaking through the ceiling, or graffiti marring the walls. Over many years of working for the district and attending more than 200 school board meetings, I do not recall a single instance that someone praised the pristine condition of the beige walls. They did, however, complain about dented walls, dirty floors, broken lockers, and the like.
From this experience, I concluded that the best a school facility could hope for was to remain anonymous and that, likewise, the best the facilities director and staff could hope for was that no one knew who they were. To be known meant that something diverged from beige.
As I began my way back home, I mulled over the events of the day. My Eureka moment came while I was enjoying a mid-trip respite afforded by stopped traffic on Interstate 287. I realized that U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools had poked holes into my theory of beige.
-- Bernard Piaia - Guest Writer Judge Rejects Injunction To Stop Trumbull Elementary From Closing-- Progress Illinois Illinois: August 14, 2013 [ abstract] A federal judge sided with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Tuesday and rejected a request for an emergency injunction to stop Lyman Trumbull Elementary from closing.
Parents of students at Trumbull filed a lawsuit in June looking to prevent the school from closing. Trumbull, located on the North Side in Andersonville, is one of 50 schools the Chicago Board of Education voted to close back in May due to the district's reported underutilization crisis.
The lawsuit alleged that the school's closing discriminates against its large population of students with special needs. Chappell, McCutcheon and McPherson are Trumbull's designated welcoming schools. According to the plaintiffs, none of the students in the special needs cluster program were sent to Chappell, a top school, and the only school that meets Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines is McPherson.
According Judge Gary Feinerman, an emergency injunction would be burdensome for CPS, as the cash-strapped district would have to reorganize funds that have already been promised for other uses. An injunction, according to the judge, would lead to more harm to CPS and the public overall than what the plaintiff's may face due to Trumbull's closing.
â€"The most significant determinant is the quality of the receiving school and the continuity of services,†Feinerman said. The judge added that Chappell, McCutcheon and McPherson have been doing an â€"exemplary job†getting ready to receive Trumbull students.
-- Staff Writer City officials: Dramatic changes to schools need our approval-- The Valley Breeze Rhode Island: August 13, 2013 [ abstract] PAWTUCKET - City officials say that sweeping changes planned for the local school system, including the building of new schools and tearing down of old ones, cannot and will not happen without their approval.
Tony Pires, director of administration for Mayor Donald Grebien, said that city leaders disagree with the "approval cycle" for a school facilities master plan implementation process laid out by Supt. Deborah Cylke and the School Committee's facilities subcommittee and reported in last Wednesday's Pawtucket Times.
The sequence calls for approval by the Pawtucket School Committee, the Department of Education, then the state Board of Regents. The General Assembly would subsequently be asked to approve a bond request for the first phase of improvements to the schools to be placed on a statewide ballot, and the spending plan would finally go to city voters for approval.
But Cylke and her colleagues are leaving out two key players in what is a "much more complex" process than what they outlined, said Pires. Grebien's administration and the City Council "have far more involvement than suggested," he noted.
Pires emphasized that the $243 million total school officials currently say they need to fund the aggressive overhaul of the Pawtucket School Department "probably goes to $300 million" by the time the project is bid in two or more years from now, including "soft costs" and construction design additions.
School officials should add and figure on at least another $200 million more in bond costs including administration, insurance, and at current interest rates, $25 million in annual debt service, according to an independent analysis conducted by city officials, said Pires. Even with an estimated 75 percent reimbursement from the state, said Pires, the net amount of money spent per year by city taxpayers would be $6.25 million, or nearly $2 on the city's tax rate, well beyond what is allowed by statute "and beyond what taxpayers can afford."
Pires said that school officials immediately jumped into action to analyze the school department's numbers after Cylke presented the plan last week. Finance Director Joanna L'Heureux analyzed the numbers and came up with the total estimate of $500 million for the long-term overhaul of city schools.
-- ETHAN SHOREY U.S. Dept of Ed & EPA Officials to Visit Schools in New York, New Jersey - Facilities Best Practices Tour-- U.S. Department of Education National: August 13, 2013 [ abstract] Senior officials from the U.S. Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will visit four ED-Green Ribbon Schools in New York and New Jersey on Tuesday, Aug. 13 to see and discuss ways that school facilities can enhance the conditions of learning.
ED-Green Ribbon Schools Director Andrea Falken, Senior Advisor for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Kenneth Bedell, and EPA Director of the Office of Children’s Health Protection Jacqueline Mosby will tour Hubert H. Humphrey PS 57 in New York and Bedwell Elementary School, Bernards High School, and The Willow School, in New Jersey. The visit to Bernards High School will also include a Best Practices Listening Session.
As they visit the schools, Falken, Bedell, and Mosby will be joined by state and local officials from both states. New Jersey officials confirmed to attend include: U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance; Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula; Assistant Commissioner of Education David F. Corso; Superintendent of Somerset Hills Schools Dr. Frances Wood; and Somerset Hills Executive Trustee Anthony Sblendorio.
The visits will include tours of school buildings and grounds, conversations with students and teachers regarding environmental education, health and sustainability, and discussions with key partners and energy management personnel. In addition, all state and district facilities personnel from the region are invited to attend the opening panel and listening session at Bernards High School. The listening session will allow facilities experts in the region to share best practices on school facilities and provide input to the Department.
This third leg of the Department’s Education Built to Last Facilities Best Practices Tour includes schools that exhibit best practices in school building and grounds design, construction, operations and management to support health, equity, educational outcomes, energy efficiency and cost savings in our nation’s public schools. The Department will also visit ED-Green Ribbon Schools in the Milwaukee, Wis., area Aug. 22-23 and on the West Coast the week of Sept. 16.
-- Press Office Jay Brodie: $1B Baltimore school plan is more ambitious than a new stadium-- Baltimore Business Journal Maryland: August 12, 2013 [ abstract] Great achievements most often start from the challenge of high aspirations. So it was in ancient Greece when the great leader Pericles challenged his fellow Athenians by saying, “We do not imitate, but are a model to others.”
So it must be here today with our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build or extensively renovate 50 city public schools with financing through the recently approved Baltimore City Public Schools Construction and Revitalization Act.
Few people have grasped the scope and size of this program. It is the equivalent, in dollar terms, of building several stadiums such as Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Of course, we expect the program to be well managed, meeting budgets and reasonable schedules.
But the larger challenge " and the higher aspiration " is to fully realize the potential of this massive public investment:
To involve each community, including its students, in a public engagement process, focused not only on issues of school design and construction, but including neighborhood revitalization plans for the areas around the school sites.
To include a significant economic development commitment to employ Baltimoreans in construction jobs and in opportunities for our small and minority businesses.
To achieve architectural and landscape design excellence, facilitating 21st Century teaching and learning.
To incorporate in the schools’ curriculum elements from this entire experience on a continuing basis, encouraging students’ interest in careers in design, construction and related fields.
Brought together, these concepts reach the high aspiration that will help shape a bright future for Baltimore. And, already, there are some local experiences worth examining because they are relevant to the large responsibilities before us.
-- Jay Brodie Boyertown School Board fires architecture firm; renovations in limbo-- readingeagle.com Pennsylvania: August 07, 2013 [ abstract] Boyertown School District's planned multimillion-dollar high school renovation and expansion project is in limbo.
The school board, during a special meeting Tuesday, severed its contract with the architecture firm that had been designing the project for nearly a year, saying the firm underestimated project costs.
The vote was 7-0, with Robert J. Haas and Donna L. Usavage absent.
Some residents who had spoken out against the building plan applauded the move.
However, representatives of the architectural firm, EI Associates Inc., said the board acted inappropriately and might have violated its contract.
Board members did not comment on the decision during the meeting.
But Dr. Richard Faidley, superintendent, said he recommended ending the contract when an estimate of project costs by the construction management firm, D'Huy Engineering, came in much higher than EI's estimate.
The original estimate was $55 million, but D'Huy thought the work would cost more than $70 million, Faidley said. He called the discrepancy a gross error on EI's part.
"The communication all along to our community is that the project will cost $55 million," Faidley said after the meeting, "and this board takes very seriously its commitment to the community."
He said the district hasn't decided whether or how it will continue with the project.
Mark S. Barnhardt, senior vice president for EI, said changing cost estimates are a normal part of project planning.
-- Liam Migdail-Smith Frisco High School's $20 million renovations ready for students' return-- Frisco Enterprise Texas: August 06, 2013 [ abstract] With $20 million and 70,000 square feet in renovations, Frisco High School is ready to welcome students for the first day of school.
Fondly nicknamed "THE Original," Frisco High School is the oldest high school in Frisco, founded more than 100 years ago. The school's current campus was built in 1996, with the most recent additions built in 2001. Now, more than a decade later, school officials thought the school was due for an upgrade.
"We want to make sure we're providing adequate spaces for those programs that either weren't as large or that we didn't have when they designed and built Frisco High School," said Richard Wilkinson, deputy superintendent of business services.
In fact, it is the most extensive renovation project in Frisco ISD, said Shana Wortham, executive director of district communications.
"We didn't have twice the resources we have now," Wortham said. "It needed to be brought up to the standards of our high schools today. That's why it costs more than some of the others."
The additions include a new competition gym large enough to house varsity and junior varsity games at the same time, something the high school hadn't been able to do in the past.
-- Rachel Diebner Redesigning Recess: Why Kids Need Natural Playgrounds-- Good National: August 05, 2013 [ abstract] Two preschoolers live in a city. Los Angeles, perhaps, or Houston. Both attend full-time preschool. Both are learning to write their names and developing social skills through peer interactions. Both profess enduring love for Daniel Tiger and the color yellow. On paper, these two children emerge from similar circumstances and have similar educational experiences and opportunities. Except for one distinction.
Charlotte has two 20-minute recess breaks each day. Her teachers wish they could spend more time outside with their young charges, but they have to rotate usage with other teachers, and the playground is also small and somewhat unwelcoming. It's surrounded by eight-foot chain link fencing and features standard-issue swings and monkey bars on blacktop. When she doesn't feel like chasing her friends, Charlotte sits with her back against her school's brick façade and watches cars pass on an adjacent freeway. She's usually eager to return to her classroom when a bell signals that recess time is over.
Ivy's preschool recently added an outdoor classroom. Fencing created from natural materials conceals a hidden wonderland divided into intentional learning and play areas. In one part of the classroom, Ivy and her friends can get their hands dirty with "messy materials." Across a mosaic stone path, they can snip samples of organic greens grown in their own raised beds. There are weatherproof marimbas for the musically inclined—and really, aren't all preschoolers musically inclined?—and "tree cookies," rough wooden building blocks, for use in elaborate building projects.
-- Sara Gilliam This Is What It Looks Like When A School Becomes A Community Hub-- Fast Company California: July 30, 2013 [ abstract] The Emeryville Center of Community Life, a 150,000 square foot, $80 million project that breaks ground this summer, will be a K-12 school harboring facilities that are designed to be used constantly, and not just by students. Highlights include:
A 12,000 to 13,000 square foot family wellness center that will offer basic and preventative services (the kinds of services that high schoolers would need).
A 5,000 square foot library. It’s not huge, but it will be instrumental to the city, which doesn’t even have its own library.
Space for job training and college classes.
A community commons that’s used during the day as a place for kids to run around and play. During non-school hours, it turns into a community park that supports movie nights, arts festivals, and other events.
A cafeteria that converts into a community multi-purpose space during off-hours.
Kitchen facilities that can be used by any member of the community, for a fee. MKThink envisions weddings and banquets held in the space.
Athletic facilities for community and student use.
The local community contributed heavily to the school design. "I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and there’s never been a project that I’m aware of that has required and gone through such an open and transparent communication process with the community," says Steve Kelley, the cofounder of MKThink. "Usually when a school does a project, they hire an architect to design buildings that satisfy the school district, and they’re not obligated to share it with the community. This was set up to be as much about the process as the product."
-- ARIEL SCHWARTZ Energy-efficiency, reuse of building space and material help Hoosac Valley earn LEED Gold-- North Adams Transcript Massachusetts: July 29, 2013 [ abstract] The energy-efficient design of the renovation of Hoosac Valley Middle and High School has garnered an LEED Gold certification -- and more than $800,000 for both Adams and Cheshire.
The school has been honored by the U.S. Green Building Council with its Leadership in Energy & Environmental design (LEED) Gold certification - the second highest certification a building can achieve.
The project also won top honors for Margo Jones Architects and Tessier Associates, which received the 2012 Honor Award at the Western Massachusetts AIA Annual design Awards Competition in December. The $40.6 million project was celebrated by the competition's judges for its "skillful re-use of existing materials, daylighting improvements and thoughtful detailing of interior spaces."
"When we began the project we were shooting for LEED Silver," said Brian Sutton, LEED AP and president of eCaerus Sustainable Solutions of Great Barrington, which served as the project's LEED consultant. "During the construction, we all kind of huddled on the side and decided to go that extra mile. Our company spent extra hours to make sure the project would reach the gold level."
To achieve LEED Gold certification, the project had to earn 60 credits, which are awarded for meeting certain sustainability and energy-efficiency benchmarks.
"So much time was spent on that in early design phase," he said. "We reused over 75 percent of the existing structure [built in 1971]. It's a great use of an existing building, as opposed to knocking it down and starting over."
One of the benefits of achieving LEED Gold certification, he said, is that the state School Building Authority (MSBA) reimburses 2 percent of total project costs for the achievement. For the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District, that totals $880,000, which will be split between the towns of Adams and Cheshire.
-- Jennifer Huberdeau New school year comes with deeper safety concerns-- rtv6 Indiana: July 29, 2013 [ abstract] Reading, writing and arithmetic remain job No. 1 for Hoosier schools, but safety is also topping their lists of concerns. Schools are looking for ways to protect children and staff from unwanted intruders.
In an instant in 2012, schools became crime scenes.
In Newtown, Conn., 20 children were killed in December. That same year, three were students killed and six were injured at a suburban Cleveland high school.
And the year before in 2011, yet another unthinkable: One student was shot and injured at Martinsville West Middle school in Indiana.
All caught the attention of the nation and drew many calls for safer schools.
Tom Neff draws from experience on what will impact the lives of thousands of children.
"Safety is a huge issue," Neff said.
At Schmidt Associates, Neff's company, they company renovates or remodels at least 20 buildings every year. All are designed with basic building features to minimize stranger danger.
"You have to be safe to be comfortable to be able to learn and teach," Neff said.
He says it's critical schools have limited entry points and one main entrance to allow staff to see who's approaching.
"There's a visual cue before a panic button is designed," Neff said.
He also believes inside the building, teachers and administrators should be able to see what's happening in the hallways and other classrooms.
"If someone wanted bulletproof windows, titanium doors and barricades like outside courthouses, you could design that,†Neff said.
Besides concerns with turning schools into prison-like structures, security costs money. On average, it could cost as much as $14 million to $17 million to build an elementary school in Indiana. That figure could double depending on the security features chosen.
-- Rafael Sanchez and Julie Pursley Districts waiting for state to pay up on building projects-- The Morning Call Pennsylvania: July 27, 2013 [ abstract] The first students to go bounding down the kid-friendly floors and curving corridors at Fred J. Jaindl Elementary School in Breinigsville came in fall 2010.
The new building was designed with functionality and frugality in mind, and midway through the school year, Parkland School District officials applied to the state to begin receiving partial reimbursement for a $16 million loan it needed to complete construction.
The district hoped to gain approval for the eighth of 11 steps in the state's complicated construction approval process, the final hurdle before school districts can begin receiving reimbursement.
Typically, school districts have to wait two to three months to start receiving money after submitting that application, said John Vignone, Parkland's director of business administration. But three classes of Jaindl Elementary fifth-graders have graduated to middle school since then, and Parkland still hasn't received a penny.
According to the state, there's no telling when the district will.
The Planning and Construction Workbook, Pennsylvania's system for public school construction and reimbursement, is so backlogged that 188 projects that reached the eighth step have yet to be approved for reimbursement. An additional 166 projects already are in the "PlanCon" pipeline, and the state issued a moratorium in October to prevent school districts from submitting new plans.
The House Democratic Policy Committee will hold a hearing about the problem Tuesday in Newtown Township, Bucks County.
And the state Department of Education is conducting a review of the process to determine how to pay the money the state owes and avoid a backlog in the future.
It's unknown whether the state will continue to provide direct reimbursement for school districts and there is no timetable for how long the process of restructuring PlanCon will take, Education Department spokesman Tim Eller said.
In the meantime, school districts such as Parkland are footing the bills themselves.
Jay Himes, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, called the state's delayed payments "horribly unfair."
"There are dozens of districts who are in this two-to-three-years-and-growing waiting period that followed an unbelievably bureaucratic process," Himes said. "School districts don't get to say, 'We're not going to pay that bill.' In this case, that's what the state told districts — 'We don't have the money so we're not paying.'"
-- Adam Clark NYC Gets First Net-Zero Energy School-- Sustainable Business New York: July 26, 2013 [ abstract] An elementary school on Staten Island will be the net-zero energy school in New York City (NYC) and the Northeast, and one of the few in the world.
The 68,000-square-foot, two-story building will serve 444 pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students. Construction began just a few days before Hurricane Sandy hit - it won't be completed until 2015.
designed to comply with NYC School Construction Authority guidelines instead of LEED, the project will be the first the Authority's "sustainability lab." The school is being designed to use half the energy of a typical NYC public school.
The design features what are becoming standard net-zero practices: siting the building to maximize passive solar and covering the building with rooftop solar PV for electricity, as well geothermal for heating and cooling and thermal solar for hot water.
Waterford high school project nears spending limit-- The Day Connecticut: July 25, 2013 [ abstract] The $68 million budget for the high school construction project is nearly maxed out, and it's up to the School Building Committee to determine which of the remaining projects will be completed.
"We can't exceed the budget," said Alan Wilensky, chairman of the committee. "The town voted to bond a maximum amount."
At the committee meeting Wednesday evening, the committee approved $236,877 in change orders. They have about $132,000 left to spend and a couple of big projects left, such as completing a sewer line. To make their budget less tight, they are hoping for some credits on design changes that involved the contractors or the architects making mistakes.
Of the $236,877 in changes, much of it has to do with the gym floor. The plan originally was to have a "rubberized" floor over the original concrete floor, but once the original floor was examined it was determined that it was not level and too thin, Wilensky said. The committee determined it would be cheaper to have a new wood floor as opposed to fixing the concrete floor and adding the rubberized floor. The new wood floor costs about $104,750.
Unanticipated costs happen, said Superintendent Jerome Belair. For example, last month they discovered that parts of the old high school that were being demolished contained asbestos, he said. So the cleanup for that increased the cost.
-- Johanna Somers Will NJ Get Safer Schools?-- New Jersey 101.5 New Jersey: July 25, 2013 [ abstract] State Senator Dawn Marie Addiego and Assemblymen Scott Rudder and Chris Brown are introducing a bill that would require the establishment of a school security construction code that would apply to the building of new public school buildings and additions. The State Departments of Community Affairs and Education would join forces to create the code.“As a society, we have learned some hard lessons. The vulnerability of our children demands changes in the way we build our schools,” says Addiego. “Assuring a safe and welcoming learning environment for every child in New Jersey schools is our ultimate priority.”
The lawmakers believe experts should be the ones making the decisions about how to best secure schools in the Garden State.
“We will direct the Commissioner of DCA, in developing the code, to consult with law enforcement authorities, specialists in school building security, and recommendations of national experts on construction and design practices,” says Brown. “This will establish the roadmap for constructing safer schools and saving lives.”
Strategies are already being used in some schools, including securing entrances to make it tougher for anyone to get in. Some schools also use high-tech locks and hardware on classroom and office doors to stop anyone unwanted from getting in.
-- Kevin McArdle Pitt schools segregation lawsuit in federal court-- San Francisco Chronicle North Carolina: July 22, 2013 [ abstract] GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) " Nearly 60 years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down racial segregation in public schools, lawyers are set to square off in a federal courtroom in eastern North Carolina over whether the effects of that Jim Crow past still persist.
A trial was to begin Monday in U.S. District Court in Greenville in the case of Everett v. Pitt County Board of Education.
A group of black parents represented by the UNC Center for Civil Rights will ask the court to reverse a 2011 student assignment plan they say effectively resegregated several schools in the district.
Lawyers for the Pitt schools will ask a judge to rule that the district has achieved "unitary status," meaning the "vestiges of past discrimination have been eliminated to the extent practicable." The designation would end federal oversight of the Pitt schools, in place since the 1960s.
This case is the first of its kind brought in North Carolina since 1999. More than 100 school districts across the South are still under federal court supervision. The decision in the Pitt case is expected to be widely followed by those other school systems.
Mark Dorosin, the managing attorney for the UNC Center for Civil Rights, said the case is a critical test of the continued viability of one of the most fundamental principles of school desegregation: That school districts still under court order must remedy the lasting vestiges of racial discrimination.
-- The Associated Press State awards construction contract for new Paterson school-- NorthJersey.com New Jersey: July 22, 2013 [ abstract] PATERSON - After a delay of more than three years, the state has awarded a contract for the construction of a new elementary school near the corner of Marshall and Hazel streets.
The work is supposed to begin during the fall under a $29.3 million contract that the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) entered with Ernest Bock & Sons, Inc., according to a new release issued by the state agency. The total cost of the school will be about $55.15 million, state officials said.
The school, designed for about 650 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, will contain 45 classrooms, a gymnasium, a cafetorium, special instructional classrooms for music and art, a computer lab, technology room, science demonstration laboratory, and a community room. The project also will feature a pedestrian bridge over a nearby the NJ Transit railroad right of way to provide safe access to the school. About two years ago, a teenager was killed by a train while walking home from school in that neighborhood.
The SDA says the new 108,700 square-foot facility will be completed by January 2016. Work originally started on the school in 2010, but stopped when the cost of cleaning contamination from the site exceeded what had been budgeted. After that, progress stalled as the Christie administration overhauled the statewide school construction program in what the governor called an effort to eliminate waste and mismanagement.
Paterson education advocates have pointed to the long-dormant construction site, now overgrown with weeds, saying it represented the Christie administration's lack of commitment to city schools. "Let's see how much longer it's going to take them to finish," said Paterson Board of Education President Christopher Irving.
-- JOE MALINCONICO New high school tour brings planning, blueprints to life-- Alexandria Echo Press Minnesota: July 19, 2013 [ abstract] Alexandria School Board members donned hard hats and safety vests Monday evening and ventured inside the shell of the new Alexandria Area High School.
The tour of the new high school construction seemed to breathe life into months and months of meetings, blueprints and planning.
Dean Anderson, school board chair, said, “I was impressed with the quality of the construction. Both the exactness and accuracy of a project of this size and the strength and robustness of the structure. We are getting a very quality building. Credit goes to the design team, the architects, the construction managers, the contractors and especially the workers who seem to take a great deal of pride in their work and the product they are producing for us. The tour was also a real motivational boost of adrenaline as I think about all the progressive programming and the new teaching techniques going into making Alexandria an exemplary high school for the rest of the state and the nation.”
The tour included a swing through the auditorium, gymnasiums, student commons, media center and classroom wings, as well as a third-story view over the stadium, tennis courts and ballfields.
-- Amy Chaffins 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 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 NCSD, Wyoming near agreement on Kelly Walsh construction budget-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: July 15, 2013 [ abstract] The Natrona County School District and state officials on Monday informally agreed to continue plans for the new Kelly Walsh High School despite over-budget construction estimates.
The School Facilities Department will determine whether to re-allocate contingency funds during a work session Tuesday or delay the decision until the next project review. Bryan Monteith, chairman of the commission that oversees the state department, said he expects the decision to be postponed.
After the state department and school district disagreed last month about an additional $5 million for construction, the June groundbreaking was delayed. The commission allowed the district to proceed with the project, though, while state and school district officials determined the cost.
“We really don’t know if there is a problem or not,” George Galida said during the School Facilities Commission meeting Monday. “Nobody can really determine that for sure until numbers come in to the bid process,” said Galida, interim director of the department.
The project architects, RB+B Architects Inc., should have more detailed drawings at the next review, Galida said. He said being over budget based on estimates is not unusual, and the commission generally allows the project to proceed, making adjustments as needed.
The department must approve project plans at 10, 35, 60 and 95 percent of the way through.
School Superintendent Steve Hopkins said the next review will be at 35 percent of completion. At that time, the contractors must have a “guaranteed maximum price,” which is akin to a bid. Current estimates put demolition and construction at about $77.99 million, more than the state’s budgeted $73.2 million.
“As you get more detailed drawings, your estimates can generally come down,” he said. “There’s less unknowns.”
Still, if costs are still over budget by the next review, Hopkins said the district will request money to be be reallocated from the contingency fund to the construction budget. The fund is already part of the state’s total $87,586,065 appropriation, but is not designated for construction.
-- KELLY BYER State Law Will Save Manchester Money On Roof Replacements-- The Courant Connecticut: July 15, 2013 [ abstract] The town will save up to $600,000 on school construction projects this year thanks to recently enacted state law that allows a lower pitch for replaced roofs.
General Manager Scott Shanley said he waited until Friday, just after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed the law, to execute contracts for new roofs at Waddell and Bowers elementary schools. The work is to be done before students return to school in the fall.
The contracts were drafted and went out to bid designating a 1/4-inch roof pitch, rather than the 1/2-inch pitch that state law previously had mandated, because town officials were counting on the General Assembly to change the law, Shanley said Monday.
"We had gone through the entire process with our fingers crossed, because absent that action, we would not have been able to do two projects this summer," he said.
State Rep. Jason Rojas, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Manchester and East Hartford, was point man on the legislation.
"I want to thank the governor for signing this bill, which included my proposal to eliminate a state mandate that was costing our municipalities and the state millions of dollars in avoidable school construction costs," Rojas said in a recent news release.
-- JESSE LEAVENWORTH 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 Committee rejects school construction bill-- WRAL.com North Carolina: July 11, 2013 [ abstract] The House Government Committee on Thursday removed Wake County from legislation that shifted responsibility for construction and upkeep of public schools from local school boards to boards of county commissioners.
Then, the committee voted down the entire bill, although it could resurface next year. House Rules Committee Chairman Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, says his committee will look at the bill next week.
"These elected boards should learn how to work together," said Rep. George Cleveland, R-Onslow. "If they don't, that's a problem of those elected people."
The measure, sponsored by Sen. Neal Hunt, R-Wake, would have allowed counties to take over assets from nine school boards, including Wake, Guilford and Lee counties. At the request of Rep. Larry Pittman, R-Cabarrus, Cabarrus was added to the bill.
Then, Rep. Rosa Gill, D-Wake, stood to oppose the measure.
"The board of education needs the ability to control the design and construction of our school buildings," said Gill, a former Wake County school board member.
Hunt argued that school boards should be able to concentrate on education and that county commissioners had "more business-like skills."
-- Mark Binker Planners OK restoration of one-room schoolhouse-- ThisWeek Community News Ohio: July 02, 2013 [ abstract] A living museum in the form of a one-room schoolhouse is one step closer to becoming a reality in Gahanna.
The Gahanna Planning Commission on June 26 approved a site plan, landscaping, building design and signage for a late 1860s school building to be rebuilt at 515 Havens Corners Road, near the playground at Lincoln Elementary School.
The old schoolhouse, also known as Jefferson Township No. 2 School, was in front of the YMCA on U.S. Route 62 and had been converted into a garage.
Tom Gregory, a speech and television-production teacher at Gahanna Lincoln High School, led the effort to save the building when it was slated to be demolished a year ago. The school was on what was known as the Mechwart Farm, and various Gahanna families from local farms had sent their children to the school.
About $6,200 in donations was collected for the one-room school that will be used as a teaching tool for various classes in the Gahanna-Jefferson school district, including U.S. history, American literature, local government, global studies and drama.
"Bricks were taken down brick by brick, and they're stored at Middle School South," said Jan Elzey, the applicant at the Planning Commission. "We thought we would build (at South) originally, but the schools feel this is a better site. We'd use the restrooms at the football field."
When the school is rebuilt, planning and zoning administrator Bonnie Gard said, it will look similar to Johnstown's Cornell one-room school that has window shutters and a bell tower on top.
She said a split-rail fence would be installed around the building. Landscaping will be added, as well as a paver path with stone entry.
Once reassembled, it will be open at specific times for students and the public to visit.
-- MARLA K. KUHLMAN Safer schools start with design, not security-- Daily Journal of Commerce National: June 27, 2013 [ abstract] rime prevention through environmental design, or CPTED, is a multidisciplinary strategy to deter criminal behavior through environmental and architectural design.
CPTED first caught the public eye in the early 1970s, but its fundamental principles have influenced architects, designers, civil engineers and security planners for thousands of years. CPTED concepts influenced designers of the Great Wall of China, the palace of Versailles and the ancient city of Alexandria.
designers of castles, forts, cities and fortresses throughout history have incorporated the natural environment and architectural creativity to improve security. These principles became the basis of modern CPTED doctrine, which now guides consultants and designers around the world in creating safer cities and buildings.
CPTED strategies combine natural environments, building features, space planning and human psychology to influence personal decisions that precede criminal acts.
These strategies manifest themselves in a variety of design features such as landscaping elements, water features, pedestrian traffic flows and lighting, just to name a few. In most cases, implementation costs less than traditional approaches where security often becomes an afterthought for architectural planners.
5 design principles
CPTED-driven campuses and buildings require less security technology and can be supported by more efficient security staffing plans. By applying these logical and proven design philosophies, projects can improve public safety and reduce the potential for criminal acts:
• Natural surveillance refers to the placement of physical features such as trees, lighting, building elements and space layout to maximize visibility.
-- Scott McChesney and Nathan Larmore When a new school is the only game in town-- Daily Journal of Commerce Washington: June 27, 2013 [ abstract] When designing a new high school how do you determine the “right” vision for the future of education in your community? How does a small community take a chance on any particular vision when they only have one high school to “experiment” with?
That was the challenge Woodland School District in Cowlitz County faced when they chose to replace their high school. As they say, it’s the “only game in town.”
What the future holds
There are many visions for the future of education. Some emphasize online learning while others feature science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Programs that accentuate project-based learning and demonstration of proficiency also have supporters.
Fostering creativity and innovation are hallmarks of some models and many call for a greater connection between community resources and the amenities within the school. Some models claim to look out to the year 2020, others to 2025. The fact is, we are already planning schools that will be a few years old when that future arrives, and the buildings will last decades past those milestones.
There are some common characteristics of learning environments among the themes listed above. In addition to mastery of content, there is a focus on developing skills related to inquiry, creativity, teamwork and problem solving.
The models call for more collaboration among peers and working in teams. Less time during the school day is spent on the delivery of curriculum content, and more on the retrieval of relevant information to solve problems related to the curriculum.
-- Michael McGavock Harlem school building is so dangerous it needs immediate repairs, city says-- NEW YORK DAILY NEWS New York: June 25, 2013 [ abstract] Is this the most disgusting and dangerous school building in the city?
The Tolbert Educational Complex on W. 133rd St., which houses four institutions, has 38 open violations from the Department of Buildings " four of which were determined to be so hazardous they “warrant immediate corrective action.”
The building’s structural walls are cracked, causing a terrifying Leaning Tower of Pisa affect, according to the Department of Buildings report.
The building isn’t much better inside.
“There are cracked walls and holes, and the bathrooms are not good,” said Chris Topher, 7, a second-grader at Kipp. “And there are roaches.”
Broken toilets, cracked ceilings, gas room leaks, and peeling paint are some of maintenance problems at the building, home to Kipp Infinity Charter School, Kipp STAR College Prep, Intemediate School 195, and New design Middle School.
More than 82% of Manhattan’s public schools have at least one open violation, but the Tolbert Complex building has 38 open violations, more than any other school in Manhattan according to Department of Buildings data.
The open violations date back to 2005.
-- LAIGNEE BARRON Group criticizes conditions at school athletic, recreational facilities-- JSonlin.com Wisconsin: June 23, 2013 [ abstract] The majority of public athletic and recreational spaces for children in Milwaukee County are in terrible, poor or fair condition, a new preliminary study to be released Monday concludes.
The study, conducted this spring by more than 100 volunteers trained by Common Ground, a well-known community organization, found that, of the 268 sites surveyed throughout the county, 65% were rated terrible, poor or fair.
"The current state of Milwaukee County's public schools athletics facilities is unacceptable," the preliminary report states. "They are, in many cases, unsafe and unusable, and in some cases even non-existent."
The group is scheduled to publicize its study on Monday morning at a news conference outside the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Earlier this spring, the group launched an initiative, called Fair Play, to upgrade school athletic facilities in the county.
As part of that initiative, Common Ground supporters backed a manifesto that calls for designating a minimum of $150 million or as much as $250 million from any financing plan for a new, multipurpose arena to replace the BMO Harris Bradley Center toward upgrading recreational spaces for children.
Common Ground is making a two-pronged argument in favor of better facilities. The group says there is a moral argument to be made that if a new home is to be built for professional athletes, then children and other county residents should have new recreational facilities as well. Second, the group says there is a social argument: Young people and the greater community will thrive when there are adequate places to play and compete.
"An upgrade of these facilities will give our community vibrant gathering places for activities and events, places that will foster the opportunity for community engagement, healthier living, and a deeper overall sense of neighborhood pride," the group said in a statement.
While a communitywide discussion of whether a new arena is needed and how it would be financed has yet to begin, Common Ground leaders want to ensure their proposal is part of the conversation. The group's leaders already have met with Timothy Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, and other community leaders.
-- Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel Loudoun schools flipping the switches for summer energy savings-- Washington Post Virginia: June 21, 2013 [ abstract] The sliver of light leaked out underneath a closed door on the other side of the dark, empty classroom at Cedar Lane Elementary School in Ashburn: a light in a closet left on.
John Lord bounded over. Click.
Extra lights on in the nearby gym. Click, click, click.
“That’s 3.8 cents an hour we just saved,” he said, half laughing at himself, half serious: Loudoun County has 82 public schools (and counting). And even when all the students and teachers have gone home, the electrical meters are still spinning.
“It’s a nickel-and-dime thing,” said his partner Mike Barancewicz, the other energy education specialist for Loudoun’s public school system. “But nickels and dimes add up over [nearly] 10 million square feet of space.”
Many D.C. area school systems have environmental initiatives, including the hiring of energy managers, “green” school design and, in Montgomery County, a U.S. Department of Education award-winning environmental program. In Loudoun, the emphasis is on changing the culture to reduce energy use.
Loudoun was one of only three school districts in the nation singled out by the Environmental Protection Agency for “sustained excellence” in energy conservation. Forty-seven of the district’s buildings have earned an EPA Energy Star, meaning they operate more efficiently than at least three-quarters of similar buildings nationally. Over the past 20 years, the school system’s energy-conservation program, launched by longtime superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III with a consulting company, has saved the district more than $51 million, according to school officials.
After a particularly acrimonious budget year, the savings feel all the more critical.
“Money we don’t spend on utilities is money we can use to help students,” said Robert L. Marple, principal of Cedar Lane.
That’s why Lord and Barancewicz obsess about saving energy, cajoling teachers and students alike to keep the lights off and the shades down.
People joke that in schools, you need a purchasing order to get a box of pencils, Barancewicz said. “But anyone can walk into a room and turn on a switch,” even if it’s not needed.
He cast a baleful look at an electrical meter. “This is the cash register,” he said, one with charges most people never see. There can be a $19,000 to $20,000 bill “before you’ve done something to correct it,” he said, “unless you’re vigilant.”
-- Susan Svrluga Schools still seeking funds for shelters-- The St. Clair Times Alabama: June 20, 2013 [ abstract] It’s been just over two years since an EF5 tornado left a path of destruction throughout St. Clair County, mainly Shoal Creek Valley. That evening storm of April 27, 2011 killed 13 people in the county and numerous others throughout the state.
Earlier that morning, a smaller tornado hit parts of St. Clair County, killing a person in Pell City and a person in Moody.
A month ago, killer twisters hit Oklahoma, including an elementary school in Moore, Okla. killing nine students.
With the recent outbreak of storms, school officials are doing everything possible to make sure students are as safe as they can be when storms threaten.
Almost a year to the day before the April 27, 2011 storms (April 30, 2010), Gov. Bob Riley signed Bill 459 enacting a mandatory requirement that K-12 schools built in the state of Alabama be provided with safe space facilities.
Lee Bryant is senior vice president of Lathan Associates Architects. Bryant has been the architect for many new building projects in the St. Clair County School System the past several years.
“From July 1, 2010 forward, all new K-12 schools built in the state of Alabama are to be provided with safe space facilities based on adopted safe space design criteria,” Bryant said. “The State of Alabama became the first and only state in the country to have enacted such a law.”
Bryant said minimum design criterion was specifically developed in conjunction with the State of Alabama Building Commission for new school construction and incorporated strenuous standards respectfully established by ICC 500 / NSSA Standard for the design of Strom Shelters.
-- Gary Hanner Farmington school board approves increasing scope of renovation projects-- The Daily Times New Mexico: June 18, 2013 [ abstract] School board members have increased the budget and scope of projects at Northeast Elementary and Hermosa Middle schools in an effort to bring the conditions of those schools up to par with other Farmington schools.
Board members approved increasing the budget for a proposed $20 million in renovations and additions for Northeast and Hermosa by an estimated $1.1 million during the Farmington Municipal Schools Board of Education meeting Thursday.
Ted Lasiewicz, New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority regional manager, said the district is ready to make enough improvements to satisfy the New Mexico Facility Condition Index, which ranked both schools in the state's top 100 most in need of repairs.
"The goal is to make improvements in the school that are significant enough that the school will not have to be looked at for another 25 years," Lasiewicz said.
Former superintendent of operations James Barfoot retired from his position on June 13 and Lasiewicz will join the school district in Barfoot's former position in July.
The proposed project will help pay for an additional six classrooms at Northeast, one more than the five proposed in March. The school will add two more portable classrooms for the upcoming school year, bringing the total to eight.
Marilyn Strube from the architecture firm Greer Stafford SJCF estimated the expanded scope would cost about $1.1 million, in a recommendation written to the board members about the project. But during the school board meeting Thursday, Lasiewicz said a more exact figure will be determined during the design process.
Enrollment at Northeast is higher than anticipated with an estimated enrollment nearing 600 students, which is guiding the construction plans.
-- Joshua Kellogg Carroll puts an end to open-space classrooms-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: June 12, 2013 [ abstract] By the end of 2014, it is believed that Carroll County Public Schools will be the first school district in the state to eliminate all of its open-space classrooms. Teachers are already raving about the results.
For 16 years, Amy Durdon said she constantly worried about her students at Robert Moton Elementary School being too loud during a group activity.
"As a teacher, you want kids to talk and collaborate on projects," Durdon said. "They learn so much working together."
But during her tenure at Robert Moton in Westminster, Durdon and her fellow teachers have been grouped into pods of four classrooms, known as open-space classrooms. It's a classroom design that dates back to the 1970s.
Teachers have used bookshelves and rolling carts to provide partitions to their classroom areas in the past. But the sound of one class engaged in an activity could still be heard about 15 feet away by another class, making it difficult for students to concentrate.
For most teachers at Robert Moton, the days of creating makeshift walls are over.
The school is nearing completion of a project to eliminate its open-space classrooms, making it the fourth school in the county to do so.
After starting the school year in an open-space classroom, Durdon moved into a recently finished classroom in May and said the change has been wonderful.
"These kids aren't distracted by all of the outside noises at all, they are able to concentrate more," she said.
The school system is nearing the end of a seven-year process to eliminate all open-space classrooms within five schools in the county.
Since 2007, Carrolltowne Elementary, Northwest Middle, and Westminster Elementary have eliminated open-space classrooms.
Robert Moton is expected to complete its transition in November, and Eldersburg Elementary is scheduled to begin the process this month and complete construction by November 2014.
The elimination of open-space classroooms began as a local initative between the Carroll County Board of Education and the Board of County Commissioners, according to Ray Prokop, Carroll County Public Schools Facilities Director.
-- Blair Ames School construction changes after storms-- NECN.com Alabama: June 09, 2013 [ abstract] The large amount of rebar and concrete on the construction site at Hatton High is not there by accident.
Instead, it represents a change in how schools are constructed in Alabama.
Three years after eight students died when a tornado hit Enterprise High School in 2007, the Alabama Building Commission started requiring "mandatory safe spaces" in new K-12 public schools.
"Essentially what you have to do if the school is totally new is include storm shelters that can survive a major tornado," said Brian Moore, of Martin & Cobey Construction in Athens.
The company supervised construction of Hartselle's $44 million high school that opened in March.
The 280,000-square-foot facility has three storm shelters designed to withstand 250 mph winds and are within five minutes of any room in the school.
The shelters are integrated with the school, some doubling as classrooms, halls and corridors.
But if storms approach, there are areas school leaders can send students and shut doors, giving them the protection Moore believes all schools should have.
"I know it would be expensive and in some cases impossible to retrofit schools, but this is something we need to think about," he said.
Dirk and Kathy Strunk's daughter, Katie, was one of the eight students killed at Enterprise High on March 1, 2007.
Kathy, who now teaches at Decatur High, was about 10 feet from the wall that collapsed on her daughter and several other students.
"We were in a hall in the middle of the school," she said. "I always thought a hall in a school was one of the safest places to be during a tornado."
The Strunks said they are pleased that schools now are more conscious of providing safe places for students.
-- Staff Writer School Building Authority adds safety requirements to school construction-- The Journal West Virginia: June 04, 2013 [ abstract] Thanks to action taken Monday, new schools will have to meet even more stringent safety requirements designed to protect students and staff during an emergency- such as an intruder trying to enter the facility.
State School Building Authority members, who held their meeting locally at Spring Mills Primary School, unanimously agreed to the changes which now apply to any new school construction in West Virginia.
Authority members made their decision to endorse the new language pertaining to the utilization of school safety design elements and shatter-proof glass after listening to a presentation via telephone by Scott Raines, SBA director of architectural services.
At that time, Raines outlined a number of proposed changes aimed at stopping an intruder from gaining access to a school and also giving time to emergency responders as they answer this type of call.
Authority executive director Dr. Mark Manchin said school safety is an ongoing concern - explaining that digital mapping of each classroom in all 55 counties in the state is nearing completion after having been under way for more than two years.
"Crisis management and assessment documents have been created and all 55 counties are in receipt of those. And all of this information will be downloaded into automated critical asset management system. It has been generated so that first responders will have it if there is a major incident at any of our schools - they will have real time information as they are in transit to the facility," Manchin said.
-- Jenni Vincent 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 Scott City School District to build safe room-- Southeast Missourian Missouri: May 28, 2013 [ abstract] The powerful tornado that ripped through Moore, Okla., last week left scenes of devastation and sorrow in its wake. More than 1,200 homes were reported as damaged or destroyed, and the monetary damage caused by the tornado is estimated to be at least $2 billion.
The death toll from the tornado was 24 people, seven of whom were students at the destroyed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore. A nearby school, Briarwood Elementary, was equally damaged although no students died. Neither school had "safe rooms," which are designed to protect students against an EF5 tornado, the kind that barreled through Oklahoma on May 20.
Since 2004, 58 facilities classified as safe rooms by the Federal Emergency Management Agency have been built in Missouri public school districts and community colleges, with 86 safe-room projects in progress, according to the most recent information available from the agency.
The Scott City School District is building a safe room to protect students in the event of a tornado.
"It will be nice to have a safe place for students after what we saw in Oklahoma," said Scott City superintendent Diane Ulmer.
The safe room will be an 8,000-square-foot visual and performing-arts center that will be built on the west side of the Scott City school building, Ulmer said. The new facility will contain steel-reinforced, 1-foot-thick concrete walls that can withstand the winds of an EF5 tornado, or up to 250 mph.
"The project will cost $1.5 million," she said. "The facility can hold about 1,275 people, and it will be open to the community if there's a tornado after school hours."
-- Keith Lewis Austin ISD looks ahead after voters narrowly pass $489M in school bonds-- Community Impact Newspaper Texas: May 23, 2013 [ abstract] Voters on May 11 approved Austin ISD bond propositions 1 and 3, representing about $489.7 million in school facilities improvements. AISD must plan for those projects as well as what to do about overcrowding relief and other changes in propositions 2 and 4, which failed.
Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said proposition 2 failed by about 200 votes. Proposition 1 passed with 50.6 percent of the vote, proposition 3 passed with 51.1 percent while 51 percent opposed proposition 4, according to unofficial results.
“There’s a lot of pressure on our taxpayers, and I do think that played into the vote being so close,” she said, adding: “We have to really talk about the bottom line. It’s clear to me that Austin [voters] want a lot for their children, and that is a beautiful thing, but us figuring out a way to pay for it is a whole other conversation.”
The district has a process for implementing bond projects, said Vincent Torres, AISD board of trustees president.
“We’re not going to start all the projects on day one. They’re going to be spread out over six years,” Torres said.
Jeff Kauffmann, AISD director of construction management, said he has developed a six-year implementation plan outlining how bond projects will go from blueprints to buildings and upgrades.
He expects to present that plan to the board by June. Once it is approved, AISD might hire architects as soon as August or September, he said. His department appoints project managers to oversee each item from design to move-in, he said.
The board will then review schematic designs. Once those are approved, AISD will solicit a construction manager.
“When everybody agrees we’ve got the right scope and the right price, then we go back to the board to ask them to basically OK the bid. Once we do that, then we go off and start building it,” he said.
-- Kelli Weldon 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 Bricks and Mortar and Radical Change -- Huffington Post National: May 04, 2013 [ abstract] After reading but just a few of the Carnegie Corporation Reports over the last several years, it is clear that almost everything about the current educational system is in desperate need of an overhaul.
You don't need a PhD in math, for example, to know that part of the formula for giving young people skills the workplace demands, starts with a place that is cool; that is hip, that it is a place where kids want to be. The American Society of Civil Engineers, in its 2009 infrastructure report, gave the country's school buildings a grade of 'D.' Not surprisingly, the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities found that "About one-fourth (28 percent) of all public schools were built before 1950, and 45 percent of all public schools were built between 1950 and 1969."
Almost 10 years ago in a report on school design, the Carnegie Corporation put it bluntly, "the 'obsolete 'factory model' schools of yesteryear (must be transformed) into schools that meet the individual learning needs of each student."
Sir Ken Robinson, at The Aspen Institute asked even more poitedly, "Is 'Modern' Schooling a Relic of the Industrial Age?" Yes, it probably is he said, and it worked well for that age, but things have dramatically changed in what is now a global, knowledge-based, economy.
Yet as the Carnegie report argued, it's more than just the buildings. Yes the building are old, but the very definitions of education; it's pedagogy, its curriculum are even older.
At the time, Constancia Warren, then head of the urban high school initiatives at Carnegie observed:
At the heart of schools for a new society is the concept of district reform, reflecting the understanding that in order to improve education for all students, entire school districts must change the way they deploy their resources--fiscal, organizational and political--to support high schools. Each community uses approaches tailored specifically to its students' individual and collective needs to achieve these goals.
-- John M. Eger Students receive construction education -- scarborough Leader Maine: May 03, 2013 [ abstract] For months students at Wentworth Intermediate School have watched the progress of a new Wentworth school out their classroom windows.
On Friday, April 26, students got an opportunity to see the construction scene up close and personal through a schoolwide Construction Day.
“Prior to Friday, I don’t think the students knew exactly what was going on around them. Our goal with this was to bring the construction project to them,” said Wentworth Principal Anne Mayre Dexter.
Throughout the day, the school’s thirdfourth and fifth-grade students were given a 3D tour of the school from Dan Cecil and Tony Dow, representatives from Harriman, the architecture and engineering firm that designed the school. Students also visited three stops on a tour of the construction site to get a first-hand look at the construction process.
Cecil, a principal architect with Harriman, said this has not been done with students from other school districts he has worked with.
“This is very unique. It’s wonderful that the school district has recognized this is a one in a generation or twice in a generation type of thing. They are taking this as an opportunity to teach the kids a whole bunch of things,” Cecil said prior to leading a group of students through a 3D tour of the new school.
-- Michael Kelley Architecture for Humanity and the Center for Green Schools at USGBC Release "The Green Schools Investment Guide"-- Sacramento Bee National: April 30, 2013 [ abstract] rchitecture for Humanity and the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today released "The Green Schools Investment Guide for Healthy, Efficient and Inspiring Learning Spaces," a free downloadable resource for K-12 schools and communities that demonstrates how schools can implement healthy and resource-efficient building improvements.
"The Green Schools Investment Guide" outlines the steps that any school stakeholders – from school administrators and elected officials to staff and students to parents and businesses – can take to transform their local schools. The 70-page, action-oriented resource demonstrates how investments in America's school buildings can improve student and staff well-being and academic performance, conserve scarce resources and foster thriving and sustainable communities.
"At the Center for Green Schools, we work to equip and deploy a variety of school stakeholders – the people who make the case, make the decisions and get things done – with the tools they need to create healthy, efficient and inspiring learning environments. We designed this guide, in partnership with Architecture for Humanity, to make sure that everyone has a common language for how school improvement projects get proposed, funded and implemented," said Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools at USGBC. "From parents to teachers to principals, we're confident that this resource will provide champions with the guidance that they need to advocate for schools that enhance the educational experience and encourage our children to dream of a brighter future."
In the 2013 "State of Our Schools" report released earlier this year, the Center for Green Schools estimated that it would take approximately $271 billion to bring public school buildings up to working order and comply with laws. When the cost of modernizing existing school buildings up to today's education, safety and health standards is factored in, the total rises to an estimated $542 billion. "The Green Schools Investment Guide" serves as a first step to fix this deficit, presenting ideas and tools for immediate action in schools.
-- Architecture for Humanity Wyoming school design and planning funds approved-- Casper Star-Tribune Online Wyoming: April 21, 2013 [ abstract] The Wyoming School Facilities Commission approved funds for planning and design of 19 projects intended to aid school districts running out of classroom space.
A $10 million allocation by the 2013 state Legislature was divvied among 18 districts.
The list includes $1 million to fund the design of a new elementary school in the Natrona County School District.
NCSD officials now plan to explore where a new, yet-unnamed elementary school for 384 students may go, said Dennis Bay, executive director of business services for the district.
“Right now we have a wonderful problem in that we don’t have the capacity in all of our schools for all of the kids that are coming to the district,” Bay said. “So it’s a great problem to have. Now we need to develop, as soon as possible, a solution to that problem.”
Thursday’s action in Casper was a step toward that solution, Bay said. He said he believes it satisfies the intent of a recently released School Facilities Department study that found a capacity problem in Natrona County and outlined solutions during the next few years.
The district was recently forced to increase class sizes from 17 to 18 students per teacher for kindergarten through third grade because of lack of schools.
-- ELYSIA CONNER Rebuilding And Revitalizing Cincinnati Public Schools-- Cincinnati Public Schools Ohio: April 17, 2013 [ abstract] Dramatic changes are happening on the campuses of Cincinnati Public Schools, as the district moves closer to the end of its massive 10-year rebuilding plan.
The $1-billion Facilities Master Plan (FMP), initially approved in May 2002, replaces inadequate, deteriorating learning spaces with first-class school buildings.
At the end of the plan, CPS' students will be educated in a total of 50 buildings — estimated to be 34 new buildings and 16 fully renovated existing buildings. All will be modern, attractive, efficient and technology-ready buildings designed for 21st century learning.
As of August 2012, 44 school construction projects had been completed. More information on FMP Progress
-- Staff Writer School redevelopment program irks targeted upper West Side neighborhood-- NEW YORK DAILY NEWS New York: April 09, 2013 [ abstract] Upper West Side parents are blasting a little-known city program that lets private developers tear down old schools to make room for luxury housing and a new educational facility, saying the approach hastens overdevelopment and bypasses the normal public approval process.
The Department of Education’s Education Construction Fund is eying three such sites " but is encountering resistance at Public School 199 on W. 70th St., designed by the modern architect Edward Durell Stone.
“The Bloomberg administration thinks it can just sell off public-owned lands without any dialogue with the community,” said David Saphier, who is leading the fight. “We won’t let that happen. We’ve had way too much development in this neighborhood already.”
Supporters say the 40-year-old program " which was revived in 2005 " is the cheapest way for the city to get brand-new school facilities.
But the city does not send the proposal, or the chosen developer, through the normal land-use review process. Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell (D-Manhattan) is pushing a bill to require such a review.
-- Jason Sheftell CMS concerned over ownership of school facilities-- Charlotte Weekly North Carolina: April 01, 2013 [ abstract] Some local education officials are worried a North Carolina bill could change the way Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools handles school facilities and designs.
Senate Bill 236 would authorize counties to assume responsibility for construction, improvement, ownership and acquisition of public school property, according to the bill’s text. Currently, North Carolina counties pay for new school buildings and then turn over facilities to school systems, which then take on ownership. When a decision is made by school boards to sell district facilities, they are first required to offer facilities back to county officials.
Some argue that a change needs to be made as current law has county taxpayers purchasing the same property twice.
“I have no problems with adjusting that part of the law,” Tim Morgan, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education vice chair, said. “That’s an easy legislative fix. But in reality, the bill allows counties to take ownership of all existing school properties.”
And that’s a problem, Morgan said, adding the county would also then dictate the use of the facilities during out-of-school hours, such as before and after school and on weekends. Currently, many local organizations, such as churches, Boy Scout troops and various rec leagues, use school facilities and athletic fields for their programs. If the bill passes, then all organizations would have to renegotiate with the county on the use of school facilities.
The bill, which manifested out of disagreements between Wake County commissioners and the district’s Board of Education, Morgan said, as currently written also would not require county commissioners to consult with school boards about designs of schools, “essentially taking school boards out of the equation,” Morgan said, and requires mediation between both political parties.
“I would argue that if there is a need for any potential mediation between two political bodies, then lawmakers should go back and look at it again,” Morgan said. “But counties are saying, ‘we pay for schools, we should own them.’”
-- Staff Writer 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 80 new gardens to be planted at Chicago Public Schools -- Chicago Suntimes Illinois: March 27, 2013 [ abstract] Up to 50 of the 80 new gardens to be installed at Chicago Public Schools will go to schools designated to receive displaced children, the latest sweetener emerging from CPS’ decision to close 54 schools for good in June.
Not all 50 “welcoming schools” applied for one of the “Learning Gardens,” according to the mayor’s office. Yet gardens will be installed over the summer and fall on their campuses rather than at another batch of 55 schools that filled out applications last year, according to The Kitchen Community.
“We don’t plan on stopping,” said Kimbal Musk, a chef and co-founder of The Kitchen Community, which designs and installs the gardens with the help of students and community members. Each one costs about $35,000, paid for with private money. Each raised bed stands some 18 inches above ground and can sit on just about any surface, he said. The garden becomes an extension of the playground, he said, adding, “It’s incredibly easy to teach in.”
The gardens are so much in demand that 85 schools applied last year for 30 spots, Musk said.
Those 30 to be installed starting April 1 are going to 21 elementary schools and nine high schools, two of which are charters, according to the mayor’s office. They would not say which receiving schools will get gardens this fall, saying that the Board still has to finalize school closings in May.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel had already announced in December the creation of 60 more gardens, adding to the 14 piloted in the last school year. Half would be installed this spring; the remaining 30 were to go in this summer and fall with $1 million in private money left over from the NATO summit.
Thanks to additional money raised by The Kitchen Community to build 20 more for a total of 80, Emanuel said Tuesday that up to 50 receiving schools would get gardens.
“These Learning Gardens will provide our students in welcoming schools with hands-on educational opportunities in science and nutrition they otherwise would not have, and add to the investments that Barbara (Byrd-Bennett) and her team are making to ensure that all of our city’s students, no matter where they live, have access to the resources they need to thrive,” Emanuel said in a statement.
-- LAUREN FITZPATRICK Construction firms salivate over $1 billion school construction bill-- Baltimore Business Journal Maryland: March 27, 2013 [ abstract] Construction firms say they are optimistic that the $1 billion Baltimore City school construction bill that passed the House of Delegates on March 22 will be a boon to the project-starved industry and eventually see passage.
But it’s not yet clear how soon the money could hit the streets, construction industry players said, and lead times for the design process could mean firms wouldn’t start work until as late as 2014.
“We’ve been following it because it’s a heck of a lot of money, but I don’t know what stage of development these projects are,” said Joseph W. Rode, the president of Lutherville-based Mullan Contracting Co. “In Baltimore City, it’s always suspect as far as when they release it.”
Baltimore City schools in January released a 10-year capital plan that details which schools are in need of renovation or replacement, but there is no indication that enough design work has been completed to make any project “shovel-ready.” The plan, however, does emphasize the need for projects to begin quickly.
-- Kevin Litten Wake delegation meeting jam-packed with parents, citizens opposed to SB 325 and SB 236-- The Progressive Pulse North Carolina: March 26, 2013 [ abstract] Concerned parents and citizens packed a Monday evening meeting of Wake County lawmakers to unanimously express their opposition for two bills that would effectively weaken the power of the Wake County school board. More than 100 people signed up to speak about both the education bills and Senate Bill 334, legislation that would tear up the state’s contract with Raleigh for the Dorothea Dix campus.
Sponsored by Sen. Neal Hunt (R-Wake), who came to the meeting late and left early, SB 236 would seize control of school facilities and construction from the Wake County school board and give that control to the county commissioners. Supporters of the bill say that this will allow the school board to focus on education and not have to worry about business matters; opponents say the construction of school facilities is directly related to the education programs that serve students and control should remain with the school board.
In opposition to SB 236, Raleigh citizen Lynn Edmonds said “school programming is directly related to school facilities. What teachers do and what goes on in the classroom is closely tied to the design of school buildings.”
“It is the school board, not the commissioners, who have great experience in designing and building high quality schools for Wake County,” explained Edmonds.
-- Lindsay Wagner DC Schools Unveils Middle Grades Plan for Ward 5 -- DC Daily Monitor District of Columbia: March 23, 2013 [ abstract] District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) will offer compelling new programs for middle grades at three Ward 5 schools, including a stand-alone Arts Integration and World Language middle school at Brookland; an International Baccalaureate program at Browne Education Campus; and a middle school Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) integration program at McKinley, DCPS officials announced Tuesday at a Ward 5 community meeting.
The announcement, which followed months of community visioning and feedback meetings as part of the Ward 5 Great Schools Initiative, also included proposed grade configurations for these schools and other Ward 5 schools that either feed into these schools or accept their students at the high school level. A total of 1,180 middle school seats will be available through these three options that cover neighborhoods in the northern, central and southern parts of Ward 5.
“When families in Ward 5 demanded better educational options for their children at the middle school level, we listened and responded with rigorous and compelling programs that will prepare students for success in high school and beyond,” DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson said. “I am excited by the portfolio of middle grade programs that we designed with the input of the community and expect Ward 5 families to agree and respond by filling the seats we’re creating.”
In surveys conducted during fall 2011, most Ward 5 families and community members signaled a preference for a standalone middle school (38 percent of about 800 respondents); 29 percent preferred a preschool to Grade 8 education campus; and 24 percent preferred a grades 6-12 program.  Families also emphasized a need for more rigorous academic curriculum and a variety of compelling middle grade options.
-- Staff Writer Green Schoolyards For Healthy Students: A New Chicago Initiative-- Healthy Schools Campaign Illinois: March 21, 2013 [ abstract] All children should have a safe place to play, learn, explore and grow. About six years ago, operating on this belief and the notion that healthy, active students are better learners, Healthy Schools Campaign, led by a coalition of committed, driven parents, worked to establish a recess task force and reinstate recess in Chicago Public Schools. Because of this amazing team effort, all CPS elementary school students are mandated to have recess every single day.
Now we are beginning important discussions around transforming city schoolyards into well-designed, usable open spaces where the school community can play, exercise, grow food, learn and connect with nature.
We are aware that with positive changes come new challenges. In this case, we are galvanizing the communities, organizations and city leaders to dedicate their efforts and resources to reimagine and transform schoolyards. As a first step, we have partnered with Openlands, an innovative Chicago-based conservation-focused organization who for 50 years has worked tirelessly to connect Chicagoans to the land, water and natural resources around them.
This year, we will begin a pilot program in three Chicago Public Schools, Morrill Math and Science Academy, Grissom Elementary School and Dirksen Elementary School. The pilot will create mixed-use, environmentally responsible schoolyards that use green infrastructure to improve storm water management and basement flooding, provide relief for urban heat islands, and leverage existing goals and resources to create a green schoolyard and community space that could be implemented at every CPS school.
-- 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 Digital Learning Priorities Influence School Building Design-- Education Weekly National: March 12, 2013 [ abstract] High school students in Irving, Texas, are using a mix of digital tools to learn about sustainable energy in their new "net zero" school building, which produces as much energy as it consumes. In Woodbury, Minn., technology-rich classrooms are grouped into small learning communities of nine classrooms each, with a learning-resource center for each pod intended for collaborative work. The Marysville Getchell High School campus outside Seattle, a complex of four small high schools built in 2010, features flexible learning spaces that can accommodate small classes or big groups and a mix of interactive learning technologies.
As school districts plan and design new buildings, a philosophical shift in how learning environments look is happening, fueled largely by technological advancements and a belief that classrooms should be more interactive and mirror the workplaces of today and the future. That new look puts a high priority on small-group work, use of mobile devices, and project-based digital learning.
Even though not all districts are constructing new buildings, experts say many of the same principles can be applied to existing buildings.
-- Katie Ash Tacoma will see 14 new and renovated schools by 2021-- The News Tribune Washington: February 25, 2013 [ abstract] Tacoma Public Schools is set to launch a construction boom, thanks to passage earlier this month of a $500 million bond measure.
On Monday, the Tacoma School Board opted for a construction schedule that envisions the completion of 14 new and renovated schools over the next eight years.
Washington-Hoyt Elementary School will be the first, beginning this summer. Students will be housed at the empty Hunt Middle School campus during the 2013-14 school year and the renovated Washington, which includes a new addition and room for students now in the separate Hoyt building, is scheduled to open in September 2014.
The board also approved timelines for construction of the 13 other major projects included in the bond. Many of those projects will require that students move to a temporary new home during construction, but others will not. The determination depends on the size of the current school site, design of the new building and other factors.
-- Debbie Cafazzo Education advocates criticize spending by N.J. school building agency-- NorthJersey.com New Jersey: February 19, 2013 [ abstract] The Education Law Center charged Tuesday that the state Schools Development Authority spent $114 million in overhead during the past three years while getting little done to help poor children stuck in crumbling urban schools.
The center said that the development authority’s administrative costs amounted to a “staggering” 17 percent, or about $114 million, of the agency’s expenditures from 2010 through 2012. During that time, the agency began construction on one school in Long Branch; other projects were in various phases of design, review and site preparation, including two in Paterson.
“The administrative overhead for this agency in comparison to what they’ve actually done is shocking,” said David Sciarra, executive director of the center, which advocates for disadvantaged children. “If you had handed these dollars over to districts to do their projects, a lot of these buildings would be done by now.”
The Schools Development Authority plans and builds new schools and makes repairs in high poverty districts, and gives grants for other districts’ capital projects. It had a troubled history of waste that Governor Christie vowed to clean up when he came into office.
Kristen MacLean, spokeswoman for the authority, said the Education Law Center’s calculation of $114 million in administrative expenses was correct, but its analysis did not capture the whole picture because the authority was actively managing projects worth more than $2 billion.
She said the authority had reduced overhead in recent years, and cut staff from 331 employees in 2010 to 240 now. She listed a dozen projects statewide that were nearly shovel-ready. In Paterson, the authority expects to start construction on a school at Marshall Street this year, and School 16 is being designed.
The judge said the slow pace violated the children’s constitutional right to a “thorough and efficient” education in adequate facilities.
-- LESLIE BRODY Reading scores: Receiving schools not much better than those District proposes to close -- the Notebook Pennsylvania: February 07, 2013 [ abstract] A Notebook analysis of reading proficiency rates at schools affected by the District's closing plan found that, overall, the schools assigned to receive students displaced by closings are similarly low-performing when compared to the schools targeted for closing.
Some proponents of school closings have argued that closings are a way to shift students into higher-performing schools, but this analysis does not support that view.
Among the receiving schools identified by the District in the closings plan, the median reading proficiency rate is 32 percent. Among the schools that are closing, the proficiency rate is almost identical at 31 percent. Both groups of schools, on balance, are significantly below the district-wide reading proficiency rate of 45 percent.
Reading proficiency rates are just one measure of a school's academic performance. We chose this benchmark because of the role that literacy plays in a student's future success.
But in the District's recommendations, more than a third of the 62 pairings involve sending students to a school where reading proficiency rates are at least five points lower than the school targeted for closing. In 10 cases, closing schools have been paired with a receiving school whose reading proficiency rate is 10 points lower.
The data show that some of the receiving schools are higher performing, with reading proficiency rates coming in at five or more points higher in 29 percent of the pairings of closing and receiving schools.
Proficiency rates at receiving schools vary widely. Several of the high schools slated to receive displaced students have reading proficiency rates below 20 percent. Two of the designated receiving schools for closings in West Philadelphia -- High School of the Future and Middle Years Alternative -- have admissions criteria and reading proficiency rates of 61 percent and 71 percent, respectively.
-- Paul Socolar Academic Benefits of Schoolyard Habitats-- National Wildlife Federation National: January 16, 2013 [ abstract] The planning, design, implementation, and on-going monitoring and maintenance of a schoolyard habitat provides endless opportunities to meet and exceed high academic standards across the curriculum. Teaching with Schoolyard Habitats® as an integrating context across the subject areas can both support and deepen the quality of instruction and student engagement.
Educators who participate in the Schoolyard Habitats® program realize that use of these outdoor classrooms is an excellent way to meet the requirements of national and state educational standards.
•Science Standards: A schoolyard habitat serves as a living laboratory where students engage in hands-on inquiries into the natural world.
•Geography and Social Studies Standards: Geography and social studies involve understanding connections between people, social constructs and the environment, and the Schoolyard Habitats program can be applied successfully to help teach those connections by assisting students in understanding both space and place.
•Math Standards: A schoolyard habitat provides students with the opportunity to apply math concepts to the real world; whether estimating numbers of plants in an on-site plant community or looking for geometric shapes in nature, an outdoor area is full of mathematical wonders.
•English Standards: A schoolyard habitat provides a quiet space for creative writing about nature or a research laboratory where students can develop research, writing and communication skills.
In today's learning environments, where schools are striving to meet and exceed high standards of learning, educators and youth leaders must be creative in presenting content. The schoolyard can provide a valuable avenue for reinforcing concepts for students.
-- Staff Writer SD2 makes its case for increasing facilities-- Billings Gazette Montana: January 08, 2013 [ abstract] More than 50 people gathered at McKinley Elementary School on Tuesday night to hear about the next step in School District 2's facility planning process and to ask hard questions of the district leaders.
It's part of a tour by SD2 leaders to neighborhood schools that seeks to inform the public about the district's plan to update, improve and possibly build new schools in Billings. The tour ends next Thursday at Central Heights Elementary.
"What we've tried to do is increase the number of opportunities for people to share in the facilities-planning process," Superintendent Terry Bouck said.
At McKinley — a beloved three-story, red-brick schoolhouse near downtown that's more than 100 years old — residents wanted to know what would become of their school if the district moves forward with its new master facilities plan.
"Are you setting us up to tell us you want to tear down McKinley," called out one of the audience members.
"No," said Lew Anderson, SD2's facilities director. "Absolutely not."
He explained that McKinley was old and as such needed the deferred maintenance money called for in the master facilities plan. He also said given the school's location, it was vital to the district.
"We're always going to have children in this area," he said. "According to the demographers."
A big part of the master facilities plan was a demographic study that showed steady growth for the district over the next decade. SD2 has just more than 16,000 students — nearly a thousand more than it had four years ago. Over the next five years, the number of students is expected to grow to 17,600.
That growth has put classroom space in the district at a premium. Last summer, SD2 leaders were called to meet with the state board of public education to explain its chronically overcrowded classrooms.
The district was told it had to improve or face state sanctions.
The new master facilities plan — commissioned by SD2 and overseen by Billings-based O2 Architects and national design firm DLR Group — tries to solve the classroom space problem.
-- Rob Rogers School districts across the state are reviewing their safety and building plans in wake of Sandy Hook shootings-- The Register Citizen Connecticut: January 05, 2013 [ abstract] Newtown may never know if a different school design, special security system, or sturdier building materials would have prevented a gunman from killing 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The Dec. 14 tragedy has naturally pushed districts across the state to evaluate building safety and feasible ways of making existing facilities more secure.
But who are those with the most options? Towns and cities building new schools. They have a blank slate when deciding how to arrange classrooms, where to situate the main office, and more.
Following the shooting, Guilford is reviewing and making minor adjustments to its design for a new high school, while others, like Clinton and West Haven, say they will now take a closer look at security plans when they get further along with new building drawings. Schools in New Haven that are under design won’t be changing anything and have already set numerous security measures.
These future buildings were already in the works before the mass shooting and, while at different stages in the process, officials overseeing them agree on one thing: The events in Newtown will definitely have an impact.
“I don’t see how it couldn’t,” West Haven High School Building Committee Chairman Ken Carney said. “I remember one of the architects we interviewed talked about how the classrooms are positioned so a shooter can’t hide behind an alcove going into the classroom or something. I remember that being talked about from other school shootings. … There was talk and ideas they had about how we’ve reached a point in our society where school security has to be really considered carefully, and that’s been an ongoing theme through this whole process, but just wasn’t as focused as it is now, perhaps.”
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Hamden Mayor Scott Jackson also said Thursday that a new committee formed to examine the Newtown shooting is expected to review school design strategies related to safety.
Guilford received completed designs for its new $92 million high school this fall from Tai Soo Kim Architects and is making some small changes in its plans, according to Guilford High School Building Committee Chairman Scott Pinckney.
Pinckney, also a senior project manager with Diversified Project Management, had reached out to architects after the Newtown shooting, and they said they had already considered tweaking some aspects of the design. They are also going to review the plans now to ensure students’ safety. However, Pinckney said even basic details about the changes could not be released.
Guilford school board Chairman William Bloss said it’s easier to design security systems and strategies for a new building, rather than retrofit an existing facility, but added, “It’s absolutely tragic what happened, and it’s absolutely tragic that we even have to think like this. But apparently we do. We owe it to everybody involved to take a hard look at what we can do to provide a safe learning environment.”
-- Susan Misur School Construction: Security is Built In -- Westlake Patch Ohio: December 20, 2012 [ abstract] Safety and security has changed how schools are designed and built. And the new Westlake High School and Lee Burneson Middle School are no exception.
Dave Puffer, director of construction projects for Westlake City Schools, said details large and small are designed to keep students and staff safe.
It starts at the entrances.
"We limited the entrances," Puffer said. Burneson has a front entrance, where buses will drop off and pick up students, and a rear entrance for parents to do the same.
Once classes start, the front entrances at each school will be the only ones open. Each front entrance comes into a vestibule, and, after classes start, the only way to get in past that will be to be buzzed in by the front office.
Most other doors are designed to be exit only, Puffer said, with no exterior hardware. And, to prevent the doors from being propped open, they're hooked up to sensors that will notify the front office if they're open longer than it takes for someone to go out.
Security cameras are going to be throughout the school, Puffer said, and can be moved or reconfigured for their best use. They will be monitored in the main office.
"We can't give out every detail," Puffer said. "But we want the community to know that we are taking every precaution."
-- Melissa Hebert Green schools: Long on promise, short on delivery-- USA Today National: December 11, 2012 [ abstract] The Houston Independent School District took a big step in 2007 toward becoming environmentally friendly by designing two new schools to meet a coveted "green" standard set by a private-builders' group.
The nation's seventh-largest school district added features such as automated light sensors and a heat-reflecting roof, in hopes of minimizing energy use.
But the schools are not operating as promised.
Thompson Elementary ranked 205th out of 239 Houston schools in a report last year for the district that showed each school's energy cost per student. Walnut Bend Elementary ranked 155th. A third "green" school, built in 2010, ranked 46th in the report, which a local utility did for the district to find ways of cutting energy costs.
Poor equipment maintenance plagued the schools built in 2007, a problem that districtwide improvements are now addressing, said Gavin Dillingham, the district's energy manager until August.
"People have the mistaken impression that once buildings are LEED-certified, they're always going to run energy-efficiently," Dillingham said. "They don't."
The problems in Houston illustrate the little-discussed uncertainty of "green schools," which promise huge energy savings and rising student performance, but do not always deliver, despite their extra cost.
-- Thomas Frank SD2 looks at next step in master facilities plan-- Billings Gazette Montana: December 06, 2012 [ abstract] Community members gathered Thursday night and voiced opinions on School District 2's growing master facilities plan and its call for new school construction.
Trustees and district leaders had hoped for a large turnout.
"The intent is to allow our public to ask questions," Superintendent Terry Bouck said.
The master facilities plan is being conducted by Billings-based O2 Architects and national design firm DLR Group. Representatives from both companies were on hand.
â€"This is a critical moment for our school district,†Trustee Greta Besch Moen said. â€"This is the first time we've had a comprehensive systemwide master plan. Our community should be encouraged and reassured.â€
Roughly 50 parents, grandparents, community members and School District 2 staff members gathered at the Lincoln Center board room from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Bouck thanked the community for their support.
Bouck said more than 400 people have attended the community workshops in the past five months.
After a brief summary of the master facilities plan and planning process presented by Bouck, Lew Anderson, executive director of facilities, outlined the district's facility assessment, a 113-page report detailing 2.5 million square feet of space.
The assessment, Anderson said, is not an appraisal of quality of education but of space and capacity to provide a good education to students.
A handful of people addressed the board, planners and community members in the room with their support of the plan as well as their questions and concerns.
Candi Beaudry, city-county planning director, asked the school board and planners how the locations of new schools being built will be selected.
-- Rob Rogers JBC reports good news on middle school construction-- Seacoast Online New Hampshire: November 30, 2012 [ abstract] When renovating an 80-year-old building, there are bound to be good surprises and bad surprises, the Middle School Joint Building Committee has learned.
Following up on the news last week that the discovery of terra cotta walls in the 1930 section of the middle school would result in time delays and cost increases to the school expansion and renovation project, JBC co-chairwoman Chris Dwyer released good news on Thursday on an unrelated aspect of the construction.
She said officials have known since before the project began that a portion of the building had settled, causing some cracks in the walls.
"It was relatively modest, but obviously you don't want to put up a new building and not correct that," she said.
The original design contained a plan to mitigate the settling that involved excavating a significant amount of soil from underneath the 1930 portion of the building and extending and reinforcing the original footings.
"That was a considerable amount of soil, so that was a fairly labor-intensive and onerous task," she said.
-- Joey Cresta Washington, D.C. parents and teachers oppose school closings, charter schools-- wsws.org District of Columbia: November 30, 2012 [ abstract] Parents, students and teachers have reacted in anger to a plan to close 20 public schools in Washington, D.C. The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is holding a series of public meetings this week and next week, even though the decision to close the schools in question has already been made.
DCPS chancellor Kaya Henderson announced this “consolidation” plan earlier this month, citing decreased enrollment and poor performance at the schools slated for closure. This attack on public education follows the national trend of dismantling public education, replacing underfunded schools in impoverished neighborhoods with for-profit charter schools.
Washington, D.C. is one of the most impoverished cities in the United States. Currently, 43 percent of DC students attend charter schools. Henderson’s predecessor, Michelle Rhee, closed 23 public schools in the nation’s capital between 2007 and 2008, a measure that resulted in $40 million in additional costs to close down facilities.
On November 28, a WSWS reporting team intervened at one of the DCPS “community meetings,” held at Sousa Middle School in Ward 7. The meeting filled the school’s gymnasium with hundreds of parents, teachers, students, reporters and a small army of local politicians and DCPS bureaucrats.
They interviewed parents and teachers in attendance and distributed leaflets of the statement “Mobilize the working class to defend DC public schools!” The team sold several copies of the Program of the Socialist Equality Party to interested attendees.
The affair took on the character of a giant charade, designed to allow parents and teachers to let off steam while Henderson and other officials pledged that they wanted input on their consolidation plan and only wanted what was best for the children. Attendees were encouraged to sit at one of many lunch tables, each with an assigned “facilitator” from DCPS. This format aimed to preempt genuine discussion and stifle opposition to the school closures.
Before the table-based discussions began, DCPS officials gave a brief PowerPoint presentation about the consolidation plan, which touted lofty goals that are quite at odds with the closure plan itself, such as targets for increased enrollment, higher test scores and higher graduation rates.
After the table discussions, audience members were permitted to make comments. Dozens of attendees lined up for a chance to speak. The sentiments expressed ranged from disappointment to open hostility. One audience member suggested that the DCPS central office should be consolidated instead of the school system.
-- Ed Hightower and Nikolai Barrickman School takes new shape-- The News Journal Delaware: November 29, 2012 [ abstract] Work is scheduled to begin today on a major expansion of Seaford Senior High School, putting in motion plans voters approved last year to add two wings to the building and tailor the space for independent academies within the school.
“This day is about our community’s commitment to your education,” Seaford Superintendent Shawn Joseph said at a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday. The high school’s renovation and addition is part of a $36.4 million package of school improvements Seaford-area voters approved in a 2011 referendum. Of that amount, $9.1 million will be funded by a local school tax increase spread out over five years. State funds will pay the rest.
Much of the design of the addition, which puts two new wings in front of the school’s current entrance and redesigns its second-floor library, is meant to help the school’s New Tech Academy, a technology-oriented track of courses that mixes disparate topics of study into a single class and encourages skills useful in the workforce.
“It’s going to allow for mobility of the students in the classroom,” said Amber Deiter, an associate principal and director of the New Tech Academy. Students in its classes move from small groups to workshops to individual work within the span of a single class, she said, and they need to be able to use a computer the whole time.
-- James Fisher Henderson’s Plan to Shutter Schools Ignites Fury-- Washington Informer District of Columbia: November 20, 2012 [ abstract] An irate D.C. School Board member echoed the sentiments of many parents, educational and community leaders when she implored District officials to halt D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson's controversial proposal to shutter 20 schools across the city by the end of 2013.
During the sometimes testy, standing-room only hearing on Thursday, Nov. 15, that attracted more than 300 people to the John A. Wilson Building in Northwest, Dorothy Douglas made it clear to Henderson and the 13-member D.C. Council that enough is enough.
"Our kids are not cattle, so stop moving them from school to school," said the visibly upset Douglas, who referred to the two dozen closings that took place in 2008 under the strong-arm regime of former chancellor, Michelle. Rhee. "There's no need to move our kids from one established community to another. DCPS has enough seats for [its] students," said Douglas, 73, of the plan to merge under-enrolled buildings with charter schools. "It's not fair to blame these 20 schools for all the troubles in the system. . . I don't believe this is the legacy of Mayor Gray and the [D.C.] Council," the Ward 7 School Board member said.
Most of the schools slated for closure and consolidation have been designated as low-performing – and are located in wards 5, 7 and 8 where many students are already enrolled in charter schools. To that end, in accordance with the recommendations submitted earlier this year to District officials by the Chicago-based Illinois Facility Fund, under-utilized and low-performing District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) facilities would be better suited merging with high-performing charter schools.
Under Henderson's plan, which would affect 3,000 students and have to be signed-off by Mayor Vincent C. Gray, schools like Garrison Elementary School in Ward 1 – which enrolls only 94 students, and Spingarn High School in Ward 5 – which could become a garage for the streetcar trolleys coming to that area – could be re-opened with anticipated population growth, or restructured for other educational purposes. Henderson, 42, also noted that in some instances, empty school buildings could be leased to outside interests or organizations.
-- Dorothy Rowley School Board Delays School Closing Decision, Green Lights Other Merger Moves-- Memphis Daily News Tennessee: November 16, 2012 [ abstract] Countywide school board members didn’t get to a decision Thursday, Nov. 15, on the schools merger recommendation to close 20 schools in Memphis.
But at a special meeting Thursday evening, they approved a group of 29 other recommendations from the consolidation planning commission on a variety of schools operations fronts.
A bundle of 40 recommendations out of a total of 172 made by the planning commission were all color coded green. The green designation means the staffs of the Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools had reviewed those recommendations and were far enough along to consider including them in a tentative budget for the first fiscal year of the merged school system which begins July 1, 2013.
The board decisions won’t be considered final until the board approves the budget for that first fiscal year. Still to come before that vote is a more precise fiscal note on how each item will impact the budget in terms of expense or savings.
Some of the recommendations approved are aspirational. Those recommendations set broad goals or state purposes the merged school system will pursue. Others are a common pursuit already present in both schools systems.
Along the way, the school board members discussed and debated such broad issues as the connection between the merged school system and charter schools and the state’s Achievement School District.
There was a lively discussion about which school construction projects should get priority " new schools or renovations and maintenance to older schools.
-- Bill Dries With D.C. Council Hearings Starting Today, Opposition Emerges to School Closing Plans-- DCist District of Columbia: November 15, 2012 [ abstract] With the first of two D.C. Council hearings on a plan to close 20 public schools schools scheduled to start today at 4 p.m., opposition to School Chancellor Kaya Henderson's proposal has started emerging from various quarters.
As the Post reported yesterday, some parents are nervous with one element of Henderson's plan that would create two schools campuses attended by sixth- through twelfth-graders. While Henderson hasn't said much about how the schools would be designed, she said that a mixed middle school-high school has worked at the Columbia Heights Educational Campus, home to Bell Multicultural High School and Lincoln Multicultural Middle Schools.
Not surprisingly, the city's elected leaders have started sounding off on Henderson's plan. Councilmember Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7), whose ward would see five school closures and consolidations, told the City Paper that more resources have to be directed to those schools to get them up to adequate enrollment.
Today, Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) wrote to residents that he oppose Henderson's plan to shutter Garrison Elementary School and Francis-Stevens Elementary School:
-- Martin Austermuhle 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 Bill drafted to help hasten school construction projects-- Wyoming News Wyoming: October 30, 2012 [ abstract] Lawmakers have drafted legislation as part of their effort to streamline the later stages of school construction in the state.
The draft bill came from the Select Committee on School Facilities and seeks to give more control to local districts during the building process.
Among other changes, it gives districts the ability to establish contracts then report back on them, the bill indicates.
“Our (building) pace per month has slowed considerably,” said committee Chairman Rep. Steve Harshman, R-Casper. “We’ve got about $700 million in (capital construction funds) still sitting in the bank.”
The proposed bill isn’t a criticism of how projects are managed, Harshman said. Rather, it is an attempt to find a better way for bureaucracies to interact, he explained. It also does not look to remove state oversight of projects, he added.
“It’s worth trying to find the best way,” Harshman said.
There has been recent concern that projects have started to bog down when they reach the construction phase, Harshman said. That was what prompted the suggested changes.
“Local districts are basically frustrated by the (path) of construction,” he added.
The changes would let the state’s school facilities department continue to monitor projects as they develop and move through the planning and design stages.
But it would give more control to districts during construction.
-- Aerin Curtis Portland school bond: Reimagine schools to support 21st-century learning-- Oregon Live Oregon: October 15, 2012 [ abstract] There are plenty of good reasons to support the Portland Public Schools bond (Measure 26-144). Certainly we need to provide safe schools for our children and our community in the event of disaster and upgrade building systems that have outlived their useful life. But skeptics are right to question how this will affect the quality of education. Upgrading our school facilities and upgrading education are symbiotic. Many teachers are embracing exciting new models of teaching, but our school buildings can limit such innovation. We must imagine new schools that prepare our students for the 21st century. Questions we should be asking:
How can a school be designed to foster collaborative learning? Studies show that lectures are far less effective than peer-to-peer and experiential learning. Some teachers are "flipping the classroom," assigning online lectures for viewing at home at a student's own pace and then guiding individuals and small groups through problems and projects in the classroom. Most every endeavor today demands teamwork. How can we encourage collaborative learning and cross-discipline teaching by the way spaces are organized and designed? Imagine clusters of open classrooms sharing flexible resource, breakout and collaboration space instead of narrow corridors flanked by hermetic classrooms.
What would a school look like if it were the hub of a community? We think of our high schools as the province of teenagers. Have you tried to find a welcoming front door at Jefferson or Lincoln high school? We understand that learning is a lifelong endeavor and is most effective in the context of community. Let's integrate the community into our schools, building on the model of our own Rosa Parks Elementary School, which shares space with a health clinic, Portland Parks Community Center and the Boys & Girls Club. Let's also add arts organizations, day care and senior centers. Imagine the benefits to all with retired seniors working with students and to teens working with younger children in after-school programs, all sharing a campus and facilities.
-- Will Dann Penny for Pasco would fix up outdated Kelley schools-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: October 14, 2012 [ abstract] If you want to know what's wrong with 1970s-era schools designed by Eoghan Kelley, just ask Bayonet Point Middle principal Mike Asbell.
"The Kelley layout," he said, "is a terrible layout for secondary schools."
Rooms designed for woodshop and other vocational programs that no longer exist are split into classrooms too small for today's use, Asbell explained. The circular hallways make student supervision difficult. The air-conditioning is so old that the school can't get parts for repairs, and when a unit goes down, the windowless rooms become unbearable.
"We have to set up a schedule for kids to float in and out of rooms with air-conditioning," Asbell said. "It's not that often. But when it happens, it's huge."
Pasco County has nine Kelley schools, all of which share similar problems. Remodeling them stands atop the list of projects that a renewed Penny for Pasco sales tax would pay for.
The tax, which goes to voters on Nov. 6, would generate $226 million for School District construction and capital projects over the next decade. Of that amount, $107 million is slated to improve the Kelley schools, more than any other category on the list. Remodeling and additions to other schools would take $71.6 million, while technology infrastructure improvements would get $36.3 million.
-- Jeffrey S. Solochek Panel Talks Private Alternative for Building Schools-- Chappaqua Patch New York: October 12, 2012 [ abstract] Doing major construction work for schools can be a costly endeavor, replete with issuing bonds and dealing with possible delays. But what if there was a way to bypass the conventional process?
On Thursday, experts and politicians gathered at the Mount Kisco Public Library to discuss a radical change for schools construction, one that involves public/private partnerships.
The roundtable, co-hosted by state Sen. Greg Ball (R-Patterson) and the Business Council of Westchester, was the third of three gatherings held since late August. The second one, held in late September, touched on how such partnership - they're dubbed P3 - could be applied to transportation work such as the new Tappan Zee Bridge.
While there is proposed state legislation for P3, it was noted at the roundtable that it focuses on transportation, rather than "social" infrastructure such as school buildings.
Under a P3, local governments and school districts could shift key aspects of creating their buildings, such as design, finance, construction and maintenance, over to private entities. Instead of dealing with bond repayments and maintenance costs, public entities would make availability payments to their private partners for a period of time.
Supporters of legalizing P3 for social uses argue that it can speed up the process of creating infrastructe - change orders payment speed to contractors were cited as problems - along with creating new jobs and shifting risk to the private parties.
â€"What we're giving up are the things that we don't do very well, which is huge construction projects," said Joseph Bracchitta, chief administrive officer for the Yonkers school district.
-- Tom Auchterlonie Imperial County earthquakes highlight unresolved school risks -- North County Times California: October 10, 2012 [ abstract] The swarm of earthquakes that rippled through Imperial County in late August has exposed more fissures in the state's system for identifying and fixing school buildings considered structurally unsound.
At Brawley Union High School, an Aug. 27 inspection of the school's auditorium by state and district engineers found cracked walls, toppled fixtures and chunks of ceiling plaster littered across floors, seats and the performance stage. The auditorium has yet to reopen. School officials estimate the building could be closed for a full year.
The damage to Palmer Auditorium occurred when 400 small earthquakes erupted from Aug. 25 to Aug. 28 in Brawley and other areas in Imperial County. There were no deaths or major injuries, but scattered power outages occurred. One hospital temporarily evacuated its patients.
State officials now acknowledge the auditorium should have been red flagged well before the quake.
Eric Lamoureux, spokesman for the Division of the State Architect, said structural engineers reviewed building plans last month and determined the auditorium was a Category 2 structure - the state's riskiest designation, reserved for buildings "not likely to perform well during an earthquake."
The state architect's office, which oversees the construction of public schools, reviewed the auditorium's building plans in response to California Watch questions about the safety of the structure and why it was missing from the state's list of school buildings deemed potentially hazardous.
Known as the AB 300 list, the database consists of all public school buildings constructed before 1978 - when earthquake safe building standards were at their weakest. The state architect's office completed the list in 2002. Since then, some school officials have criticized the AB 300 list as incomplete.
Lamoureux said he couldn't explain why the Brawley auditorium wasn't included
-- Corey G. Johnson - California Watch Rooftop farm opens at East Village school building-- Metro New York: October 10, 2012 [ abstract] The Robert Simon Complex on 6th Street in the East Village, already home to the Earth School, P.S. 64, and Tompkins Square Park School, now also includes a rooftop garden called Fifth Street Farm.
The garden is designed by Michael Arad, the architect behind the 9/11 memorial.
The rooftop farm spans 2,400 square feet and will be used to teach students about plants and the environment. The students will have the opportunity to grow, harvest and eat herbs, vegetables and fruit.
There is also space for experimentation with things like storm-water capture and solar energy.
The garden is unique in part because of its intentionally low-cost design. Preparations for the farm took six years of collaborative effort by etchers, parents, students, and community partners.
Community groups are hoping that the success made out of a challenging space and limited budget will serve as incentive to establish more farms like this one, and cater to primarily low-income students and communities of color, according to Fifth Street Farm and the Community Development Project of the Urban Justice Center.
-- DANIELLE TCHOLAKIAN School Reform Commission forum at West Philly H.S.-- University City Review Pennsylvania: October 10, 2012 [ abstract] Members of the School Reform Commission along with newly seated school superintendent, Dr. William Hite, convened the third of seven forums designed to gather input from the community and it was held at West Philadelphia High School at 4901 Chestnut Street, Saturday.
At issue was the estimated $33 million being spent on facilities that are no longer being used by Philadelphia students. During the forums, residents, concerned parents, community stakeholders and educators were asked to provide their input as to how to resolve the issue.
"The reason that all of us are here is because of our students," said Hite to the small crowd gathered in the schools multi-purpose room. "It’s about them, our young people. It’s about their needs, their buildings, their hopes, their wishes and their need for support to achieve what it is they want to do," said Hite.
Hite, who replaced the controversial school superintendant Arlene Ackerman, acknowledged that difficult decisions would have to be made in order to resolve the fiscal crisis facing the school system but that such decisions must first begin with engaging with the community in a dialogue.
"We would like to use this process to engage with us and to inform us on how to receive information, your recommendations and your suggestions," said Hite. These comments and suggestions will be used to help determine what will be done with the resources and school facilities in the future.
"This is the third forum that I and many of our staff have attended and already the process has been amended based on information and suggestions that have come from individuals who have attended."
SRC chairman, Pedro Ramos described the forum as one of several which are held to gather the communities input and says that, one way or another, difficult decisions are going to have to be made regarding school facilities and some schools are going to have to be closed. Ramos says that the forums seek to solicit the public’s opinion on the criteria that should be used to make the decisions.
"I think the entire Philadelphia community understands that the school system has been in financial crisis and certainly the public school community knows that there is a new superintendent, there’s new leadership that has been focused on stabilizing the district," says Ramos.
Ramos says that through lots of hard work, the district was able to avert a crisis last year but that problems remain.
-- Nathaniel Lee Behold the new Ballou High School-- Washington Post District of Columbia: September 28, 2012 [ abstract] This evening, Mayor Vincent C. Gray unveiled renderings of the brand-new Ballou High School in Ward 8. Behold, a sneak peek of the design by D.C.-based Bowie Gridley Architects and national firm Perkins & Will.
The city announced a year ago that it would build a new facility from the ground up rather than attempt a cheaper renovation of the current, crumbling late-1950s blond-brick building. The design reorients the Congress Heights campus, moving the football field from the south end to the north end, with the glassy building taking greater advantage of the property’s rather dramatic southerly slope.
The project is expected to cost about $120 million and will be done in two phases, with final completion in January 2015. It will feature all sort of “green” stuff, including rainwater harvesting, rain gardens, solar panels and more.
Here’s some of the building features, from a D.C. news release:
• Thirty-seven classroom spaces, 13 science and bio-technology labs, 15 classrooms for specialized education, multiple group activity learning spaces.
• Six dedicated spaces for the visual and performing arts; a greenhouse; an exhibition-style teaching kitchen with classroom space; a state-of-the-art auto-tech lab complete with lifts, paint booth, and classrooms; computer labs; and numerous specialized spaces to support the school’s various student programs.
• A new athletics wing complete with a competition basketball gym that features an indoor running track, and a an auxiliary gym to provide additional recreation space.
-- Mike DeBonis CANE: Charter schools offer brighter futures to D.C. children-- Washington Times District of Columbia: September 23, 2012 [ abstract] Twenty years ago this month, the nation’s first public charter school opened. Today, more than 1.6 million public school students are attending close to 5,000 public charter schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia.
Charter schools are public schools, but they operate independently of the traditional public school system. They have greater freedom to create their own academic cultures. Like every public school, charter schools are open to all students and receive funds from local taxpayer dollars. Unlike some magnet or academically selective public schools, charters cannot use admission tests or any other selective criteria to determine enrollment.
Many people who live and work in the nation’s capital may be surprised to learn that 41 percent of students in the District attend public charter schools. designed to bring school choice to parents whose income otherwise would deny them that opportunity, charters have become increasingly popular. Half as many children are on waiting lists to get into D.C. charters as the number who attend them.
The District’s public charter schools also have profoundly improved student academics. Charter high schools graduate 80 percent of their students in four years, compared with only 53 percent in the city-run school system. Public charter schools also outperform their traditional counterparts on standardized reading and math tests, and have a higher share of high school students accepted to college.
-- Editorial Pick JCPS student-assignment plan upheld-- Courier Journal Kentucky: September 20, 2012 [ abstract] The Kentucky Supreme Court on Thursday upheld Jefferson County Public Schools’ ability to decide where to assign its students, rejecting a legal challenge by parents who argued that state law gives their children the right to attend the nearest school.
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The 5-2 ruling marks a defeat for advocates of neighborhood schools, who hoped that the court would toss out a controversial student-assignment system that aims to integrate schools by race, income and education levels, partly by requiring some students to attend more distant schools.
“Kentucky public school students have no statutory right to attend a particular school,” Justice Lisabeth Hughes Abramson wrote for the majority. “Student assignment within a school district in Kentucky is a matter that the legislature has committed to the sound discretion of the local school board.”
The ruling " anxiously awaited by districts throughout Kentucky because of its potential impact elsewhere " reversed an appeals court that last year ordered JCPS to undertake the daunting task of redesigning its entire assignment system for more than 100,000 students.
JCPS Superintendent Donna Hargens said Thursday that she was pleased “the Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed our stance that student assignment ... is a local school board issue.”
-- Chris Kenning What Grand Rapids schools will be closed as leaders look to reimagine, reinvent district?-- M Live Michigan: September 20, 2012 [ abstract] Grand Rapids Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal plans to start conversations with staff, parents and the community next month to gather input on how to reimagine and restructure the district, including which schools to close due to declining enrollment.
"I want to start having the conversation about how we are going to reinvent Grand Rapids Public Schools," said Neal, who said her staff is pouring through data she will share with the community. "We have to come together to answer questions about buildings and programs.
"We are looking at a variety of things, including enrollment, capacity, Best Practices, trend data regarding where kids are coming from, the number of schools we have in each quadrant, feasibility of resources, and priority status."
There has been speculation about what schools are ripe for closing or change and what existing programs need to go and new ones created. But no preliminary list has been released at this time.
The school board has indicated making changes at the high school level, where enrollment isn't meeting capacity, will be among the moves the district makes. Ottawa Hills High School had 658 kids enrolled last school year but the building's capacity is more than 1,800.
Some of the elementary and middle schools have similar challenges. The district, which had around 18,000 students last year, has been battling waning student counts for years
The 10 district schools cited by the state as Priority Schools in the 2012 Report Card will certainly have to undergo some type change, district leaders said.
Priority schools are those schools in the bottom 5 percent on the state's â€"top‐to‐bottom†list and typically indicate poor achievement and other declining student performance. Priority school districts need to develop a reform or redesign plan for the school that focuses on rapid turnaround
-- Monica Scott New Breed of Community Partnerships Aiding Schools-- Education Week National: September 14, 2012 [ abstract] New kinds of agreements between school districts and their neighboring communities to share space and assets are on the rise.
These symbiotic “joint use” partnerships enable districts and entities such as cities, nonprofit organizations, and businesses to maximize the use of facilities and money, while meeting the needs of children and others in the community.
But from joint land-development initiatives to the shared use of building space and playfields, those involved in these relationships are finding their navigation can be tricky. Without the money-saving measures, though, many districts and communities are struggling financially to stay afloat.
“Joint use or shared use as a strategy is taking off across the country because it’s an approach that embodies common sense and good governance,” said Manel Kappagoda, the vice president of ChangeLab Solutions, a public-health-focused nonprofit based in Oakland, Calif., that has helped districts devise and sustain joint-use agreements. “The promise [in joint use] is rooted in the realization that even the most poorly designed and underserved neighborhoods include schools. In an era of budget shortfalls, maximizing access to existing facilities"rather than trying to construct new ones"is the most efficient and economical use of public resources.”
Sharing a Vision
School districts have long entered into joint-use agreements. Traditionally, they consisted of a formal or informal relationship between a district and a municipal agency, such as a parks department, that enables the community to use school facilities when classes aren’t in session or the school to use the community’s. Use and maintenance costs are typically shared.
-- Nora Fleming Cleveland kindergartner assigned to nonexistent school gets apology from CEO: Phillip Morris-- The Plain Dealer Ohio: August 29, 2012 [ abstract] Cleveland public schools CEO Eric Gordon had to make a telephone call Tuesday that no school superintendent wants to make.
That's a telephone call in which you tell a parent that you're sorry for instructing her young child to report to a hole in the ground instead of an actual school.
But Gordon is a stand-up guy -- and one of the few reasons the district might have a prayer of passing an enormous November tax levy in a cash-strapped, angry city.
So he made the call.
"We didn't talk long," said Shanesha King, the mother of Eugene Johnson, a 6-year-old Cleveland boy who had quite a day last week. "He just said he was sorry about what happened to my son. He told me to call him if there were any other problems."
Eugene, who is designated by the district as a walker because he lives about a mile from his school, was instructed to report to kindergarten last Wednesday.
It was the wrong day. Today is his actual first day of school.
He was assigned to Almira Elementary at 3375 West 99th St. That school building, almost four miles from his house, was demolished two years ago.
And a telephone number provided in the letter for Eugene's parents to call in case any complication arose didn't work.
Getting to kindergarten shouldn't be that difficult.
-- Phillip Morris 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 Improvements await some suburban students as school opens-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: August 15, 2012 [ abstract] Haircuts and backpacks won't be the only new things on the first day of school for many students across the Chicago suburbs. From New Trier to New Lenox, students will be greeted on campus by new and improved facilities and technologies.
At one Des Plaines grade school, students walked into class to a sight they hadn't seen before: The outside. Des Plaines School District 62 added new windows in classrooms at Iroquois Community School. It was part of a recently completed $109 million, three-year project that renovated each school in the district.
"It felt like a cave with lights," said third-grader Isaiah Luat, 8, as he surveyed his classroom. "Now it feels so bright now that there's windows."
Another renovation at Iroquois was the expansion of the library, including glass walls and work areas for small groups of students.
"It was a bunker," the school's library media specialist, Cathy Borge, said of the old design. "I see this space now as such a motivator. It's bright — conducive to learning."
Air conditioning
If some students at St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 are sweating this coming school year, it won't be because of the heat. The district recently installed air conditioning at five of its elementary schools. Eventually all 12 elementary schools will be cooled. A project to install AC at two middle schools in the district has been put on hold because of the estimated $1 million price tag, officials said.
After voters rejected a 2009 referendum to fund capital projects, the district has yet to find the cash to fund such improvements at its two aging middle schools.
"They're good facilities, but they're very old facilities," said Superintendent Donald Schlomann. "It's been difficult to bring up to standards."
-- Jonathan Bullington 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 With 31 projects underway, Fairfax County, VA school construction sprints to make deadline-- Washington Post Virginia: August 08, 2012 [ abstract] George C. Marshall High School is the scene of organized chaos: construction trucks, hammering and clinking, workers in hard hats everywhere you look. Those are the signs of summertime school construction, which kicks into high gear this month when workers fight the deadline of completing as much as possible before students return to classes Sept. 4Marshall High in Falls Church is one of more than 60 Fairfax County public schools undergoing construction this summer. Although some of the projects are less involved, Marshall, which opened in 1962, is entering the second year of a $70.4 million renovation, which will add 80,000 square feet to its current 284,000. The renovation is on schedule to be completed during the 2014-15 school year, school officials said.
Inside the school, “there’s no acoustical ceiling. All of the innards are exposed. .?.?. There’s a lot of workers,” Marshall Principal Jay Pearson said. “But on the first day of school, you’ll see a cleaned-up version of that. The floors will be shiny.” The school’s gym and locker rooms will open to students this fall, with administrative offices scheduled to open in October, along with a two-story science addition, said Kevin Sneed, director of the school system’s design and construction services. “It’s not going to look anything like the Marshall they are used to,” Sneed said. “The parking has been moved. There are additions on either side; so they’ll have some temporary main entrances.”
Marshall is home to about 1,680 students. Additions and renovations will allow for as many as 2,000 students to attend the school. “We designed it for 2,000 students, with extra seats,” Sneed said. “But it looks like Marshall will grow to about 1,950 kids in the next five years. So thank goodness we did that.”
Pearson said a school under construction means extra forethought for students. He gives this advice to returning students: “You’ve got to plan your day. If you’re going outside to a class that’s in a trailer, know the weather [forecast]. .?.?. I’ve got to give the kids credit. They’ve really adapted well. “Our first big midyear shift will take place in mid-October/November, where we will gain access to that new space,” Pearson said. “All our science rooms, art rooms and business and marketing [classes] will come online, so we’ll move all those classrooms around. .?.?. We’ll be just shuffling people around.”
-- Holly Hobbs Promising proposal for school building-- The Virginian-Pilot Virginia: August 05, 2012 [ abstract] Norfolk could become the first school division in Hampton Roads to build schools using a public-private partnership.
Virginia enacted the Public-Private Education Act in 2002 to allow private companies to submit unsolicited proposals for school construction; cities may also request proposals.
The law was later expanded to include other public facilities such as prisons and hospitals. The concept is intended to marry public needs to the private sector's expertise in cost-effective project design and construction. Many divisions have used the act to build new schools; Wise County used it for the two high schools under construction there now.
Norfolk's leaders, particularly Mayor Paul Fraim, have expressed a desire to build several new schools over the next few years. Many of the division's buildings are at or beyond the end of their useful life. Finding the money to pay for new schools during a time when the city has taken on several other massive projects would be a challenge in the best of times.
As we all know, these are not the best of times.
-- Staff Writer $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 State Gives Unanimous 'Yes' for New Middle School -- Peabody Patch Massachusetts: July 26, 2012 [ abstract] The board of directors for the Mass. School Building Authority unanimously voted Wednesday to authorize Peabody to build a new state-of-the-art middle school, officially stamping that option as the best solution for the Higgins School and middle school education in Peabody.
The project now heads into a schematic design phase where more of the specific details on design, scope, budget and scheduling will be hashed out between the MSBA and Peabody officials in the coming months. The tentative outlook is for a new school to be ready for students in the fall of 2016.
The conceptual plans look at erecting a new three-story school on athletic fields next to the Higgins, which would resolve many of the longstanding interior building issues, as well as the exterior ones in the rambling structure, which was built in 1964 as a high school. The new school would also be much more energy efficient, contain new science labs and better access to technology.
“Our commitment to working with Peabody officials to determine the best solution for the Higgins Middle School is ironclad, and the advancement to schematic design represents another solid step forward,” said state Treasurer Steve Grossman, who chairs the board.
“I toured the Higgins School this past spring, and I’ve seen firsthand the dedication of its teachers, administrators and students. This school is a top priority for the MSBA, and it will get built,” Grossman said.
-- John Castelluccio 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 Elementary students prepared to dig in and garden-- WKTV New York: July 19, 2012 [ abstract] Students at Martin Luther King School in Utica will get creative this fall in a large green space set aside for students and the community alike to enjoy.
The plan is to create green infrastructure, sustainable gardens, and and beds for each classroom to grow their own gardens.
"Our main focus is to use it for the joy of making this look like a suburbanite type of area within a city," said principal Mark DeSalvo.
The goal is not only to beautify the community, but also to give students hands-on science lessons.
The design for the outdoor space is still in its concept and planning stages.
"I wanted to create that 'wow' factor," said DeSalvo. "This shouldn't be looked at as a typical city school where you see a fence around the building and it says stay out."
MLK students were involved in the conception process.
Third and Fourth graders drew pictures of what they would like to see in their schoolyard.
So far, the school has only raised $1,500 of what is expected to be a $35,000 project, but administrators hope to begin on the first phase in the fall of 2012.
-- HILARY LANE Patterson, NJ schools ready for modern makeover-- Petterson Irrigator New Jersey: July 12, 2012 [ abstract] Patterson schools will get a boost to modernize local campuses thanks to $17 million that the State Allocation Board designated for the district June 27. Phil Alfano, superintendent of the Patterson Joint Unified School District, said he is excited about the money that will allow the renovations. “Employees feel better about coming to work, and our students feel better about coming to school when they have school facilities that are up to date and in good repair,” Alfano said. “It creates a positive environment for learning.”
Modernization projects include building a new central administration building at Patterson High and re-roofing the high school’s music room and library. In addition, the portable classrooms on the North Seventh Street side of the high school campus will be demolished.
Del Puerto High School will get covered walkways for classrooms and a courtyard, where two existing classrooms are to be removed. Del Puerto’s buildings also will be upgraded for communication and for technology infrastructure for the new electrical system and computers.
Meanwhile, at Las Palmas Elementary School, the kitchen will get an overhaul with new flooring, stainless steel sinks, and a worktable and dishwashing area. The administrative office will be made larger and given a new entry, floor and ceiling.
Some classrooms at Northmead Elementary and Grayson Charter in Westley will be removed and others relocated. Northmead will also get a new administration office, as well as cafeteria upgrades that include new flooring, restrooms and painting.
-- Maddy Houk School Board raises concerns about costly, unchecked change orders on construction, renovations-- Las Vegas Sun Nevada: July 11, 2012 [ abstract] As the Clark County School District prepares for a potential capital improvement overhaul, its School Board is looking more closely at the mounting cost of change orders to school construction and maintenance projects.
School Board members said Wednesday there was a widespread public perception that contractors are “gaming the system” by bidding low on building projects to receive the contract, and then getting more money by putting in change orders, which alter the terms, breadth and cost of the project.
“I think there is a perception out there that it hasn’t been on the up and up,” School Board President Linda Young said during a work session Wednesday. “We’re airing our concerns in public. These (change orders) need to come to the forefront.”
Change orders usually occur when unforeseen site conditions are discovered, when design deficiencies are found, a government agency levies a requirement or the School District changes the scope of the project under construction.
Examples include finding a cavern underneath the construction site of East Career and Technical Academy, having to install additional ramps to comply with the American with Disabilities Act and having to change out piping because the design called for the wrong size.
Oftentimes, these change orders cost more money than originally estimated.
That’s a problem for the cash-strapped district, which saw an increase in the number of change orders for new construction projects over the past decade. (There has been a decrease in the number of change orders for renovations, however.)
While designers have been billed in the past to offset the cost of excessive or unwarranted change orders, School Board members are now discussing stepping up standards. They are also contemplating fundamentally changing how the district accepts bids and awards contracts.
-- Paul Takahashi School’s out, construction’s on in Olympia, Washington State-- The Olympian Washington: July 11, 2012 [ abstract] Crews are tackling nearly 30 construction projects this summer in the Olympia School District. Most are part of the “small works” projects outlined in the $97.8 million bond measure voters approved in February, while others are being paid for with capital maintenance funds, said district spokesman Ryan Betz.
Also this summer, architectural firms are designing a $28 million facility to house Olympia Regional Learning Academy and a $20 million renovation of Garfield Elementary School. Construction on both of those schools will begin in the summer of 2013. Meantime, plans for a $33 million middle school on the campus of Centennial Elementary have been put on hold, Betz said. “We’re waiting to see what enrollment numbers look like in the fall,” he said. “When we created the master plan for the district, enrollment in the southeast corner was on the rise. … Over the last year or year and a half it’s been pretty flat.”
One of the largest “small works” projects is a $4.4 million expansion and renovation at Jefferson Middle School. The work includes interior and exterior painting, improvements in the drainage system, new flooring throughout the building and improvements to the HVAC system. “Crews are also converting two former home economics classrooms and one regular classroom into three new science labs for the new Jefferson Advanced Math and Science (JAMS) program,” Betz said.
-- Lisa Pemberton State suspends payments toward high school project-- Boston Globe Massachusetts: July 05, 2012 [ abstract]
The Massachusetts School Building Authority has suspended all grant payments to the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District for its $92.6 million high school project, giving the district 30 days to answer the state agency’s concerns or risk losing $28.8 million in reimbursements.
The budget, scope, and schedule for the new high school are not in compliance with the original agreement between the state and the district, according to a stern letter from the authority dated June 26.
To avoid termination of the reimbursement agreement, the district must provide nine pieces of information to the state within a month, the letter stated. The list includes a detailed account of all architectural and project management fees associated with the design submitted in March, plus all new design, redesign, and cost management fees incurred since then.
Information from the district has revealed “numerous and significant deviations” from the project’s scope, has raised “serious concerns” about the budget, and means “a likely delay of several months” in the project’s completion, according to the letter.
The letter also states that deviations from the agreement with the agency “have led to costly and avoidable redesign and value-management efforts, do not represent the best efforts of the district to comply with its obligations, and justify the immediate suspension of all grant payments to the district.”
-- Lisa Kocian 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 Audit critical of some RSD oversight of New Orleans Public School construction -- Daily Comet Louisiana: June 18, 2012 [ abstract] The state agency that oversees most New Orleans public schools should tighten controls over contract changes that drive up costs at some school construction sites, Louisiana's Legislative Auditor's Office said in a report. Contract change orders were one focus of the report. It said one reason the change orders were needed is that some contracts were signed before all permits were granted. The order to change contracts after they were signed often added to costs, sometimes excessively. "Of the $607,193 in net change orders, $44,677 was charged for overhead and profit that exceeds the 10 percent total contractually allowed," the report said.
Policies for testing of construction materials also needed improvement, the report said, citing samples of materials from the site of Osborne Elementary School. "Three concrete reports out of 120 contained samples that appear to be significantly below the required design strength. In addition, a total of four concrete reports were taken from concrete pours by someone other than the testing agency," the report said. In a response released with the audit Monday, the RSD said it was providing documentation to show that different parts of the project require different strengths of concrete.
-- Kevin McGill Houston Independent School District planning bond package up to $1.8 billion -- Houston Chronicle Texas: June 18, 2012 [ abstract] The Houston Independent School District is preparing to ask voters to fund up to $1.8 billion in bonds to replace and upgrade aging campuses. Superintendent Terry Grier has said the bond referendum - which would go to voters in November if the school board approves - likely would focus on high schools. Grier plans to reveal his specific proposal Thursday. Sources familiar with the plan say the amount will be as high as $1.8 billion, likely requiring a property tax increase of 6.25 cents per $100 of assessed value. "You could spend many times that number and still not touch everything," Grier said.
At that amount, owners of a $200,000 home would see their annual property tax bill rise by $91 annually in a few years, when the district prepares to start construction. A $1.8 billion referendum would be more than twice as large as the $805 million HISD voters narrowly approved in 2007.
Work from that package is still under way, but even critics of the district acknowledge more schools need repair. The question is whether taxpayers - some skeptical after two recent audits criticized HISD's contracting process - are willing to pay.
Grier and his staff have been touting the success of the 2007 bond in recent weeks. They launched a new website, for example, that says: "Promises Made. Promises Kept." Of 180 projects stemming from the bond election five years ago, 71 were in the planning, design or bid stage as of late March; all should be finished by 2014, according to the district'slatest report. The other 109 projects are finished or under construction, with 16 new elementary schools open.
HISD board president Mike Lunceford said he's withholding judgment on another bond until Grier unveils his proposal. Lunceford, who served on HISD's bond oversight committee in 2007, said all the work was supposed to have been completed by this year, but projects have been delayed for several unexpected reasons.
-- Ericka Mellon New resource to build healthier, green schools-- Hawaii 24/7 Hawaii: June 15, 2012 [ abstract] The Hawaii CHPS Criteria (HI-CHPS), a resource used to design and construct healthy, high performance, green schools, has been released for public use.
Hawaii becomes the 13th state to adopt a CHPS high performance school Criteria.
HI-CHPS was approved by the Board of Directors of the Collaborative for High Performance Schools, a national non-profit that brings local high performance school rating programs to states across the US.
“The state of Hawaii is one of the most climatically and ecologically diverse states in the union, which makes it the perfect candidate for a state-based green school rating program,” said Chip Fox, chairman of the CHPS Board of Directors. “Hawaii CHPS contains some of the most unique and state-specific credits we have seen yet. We are thrilled to have Hawaii join the ranks of states participating in the CHPS program.”
“The adoption of the HI-CHPS Criteria is the next step in our development of more eco-friendly and sustainable school facilities,” said Randy Moore, assistant superintendent for school facilities and support services. “Sustainability is of particular importance to Hawaii as an island state, and we are delighted to have HI-CHPS Criteria that have been created specifically for Hawaii schools. These criteria will be invaluable in the development of schools and our proactive response to both the educational need for environmentally sensitive classrooms and the societal need for energy efficiency.”
The HI-CHPS Criteria can be downloaded at: www.chps.net/hawaii.
The HI-CHPS Criteria was developed by a committee of K-12 school stakeholders under the guidance of the state Department of Education and CHPS. Hawaii’s unique climate posed the largest challenge for the advisory committee’s work, including creating prerequisites and credits appropriate to the year-round temperatures, rain and wind patterns, and humidity of the islands.
-- www.chps.net Old Dunbar High School in Baltimore Quietly Becomes Local Historic Landmark-- Afro.com Maryland: June 14, 2012 [ abstract] The building that first housed Paul Laurence Dunbar High School is finally getting the recognition it deserves—nearly a century after being created solely to serve Black students.
As an East Baltimore institution, it has been a key stop on the academic path for generations of African American families.
Now, it is a historic landmark, although the designation came with little pomp and no circumstance.
For Ronald Owens-Bey, 1963 Dunbar graduate and member of the Dunbar Alumni Association, Inc.- original requestors of the historic landmark designation, recognition of the building is a bittersweet moment that comes very late.
"I am pleased with the long overdue recognition the Old Dunbar High School has received,†Owens-Bey told the AFRO. â€"I had no idea that it would be as great of a struggle, but we accomplished the goal we set out to get."
Efforts to add the Old Dunbar High School building to the local historic registry began in September 2009 when former Mayor Sheila Dixon recognized Owens-Bey's request in writing and notified the appropriate officials.
Owens-Bey then received letters of acknowledgement from Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Andres A. Alonso and Kathleen G. Kotarba, executive director of the Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP), but the initiative still sat on hold until November 2011.
"If you lived in East Baltimore you went to Dunbar," said Edwin A. Johnson, president of Dunbar Alumni Association, Inc."We've always said 'we bleed maroon and gold," said Johnson, who's entire family attended Dunbar.
The school was named in honor of the prolific poet, novelist, and journalist from Dayton, Ohio who was born to slave parents on June 27, 1872. The writer broke the literary color line during the late 1800s, achieving national success with works written in Black dialect.
-- Alexis Taylor Audit: Seismic regulator must improve California school building plan oversight -- U-T San Diego California: June 12, 2012 [ abstract] The office that oversees the seismic safety of California's public schools can't show that it has approved all building plan changes, heightening the risk that some schools don't meet standards and are unsafe, according to a state auditor's report.
The Division of the State Architect is required to review all school building plans to ensure earthquake standards are met. But a review by the California State Auditor's office found thatchanges in plans frequently aren't approved and that the regulatory office lacks processes to track the alterations.
The report urges regulators to improve their handling of school "change documents" to lessen the possibility of contractors erecting an unsafe building. The report states: Regulations require that the school districts' design professionals submit plan changes to the division for review and approval before undertaking related construction. However, several holes in the plan change process create a situation where the division cannot demonstrate that it has approved all plan changes before the start of related construction, risking construction that does not meet building standards and that may be unsafe.
In fact, the division's Project Certification Guide states that there have been many instances where the field change process was not followed and change orders did not receive division approval, yet construction was completed. In a letter to the auditor, Fred Klass, director of the Department of General Services, pledged that new rules would be implemented by the end of the year that would assure "all relevant plan changes are received, reviewed, approved and documented by the division." The general services department is the parent body of the state architect's office.
-- Johnson, Corey G New high school designated as a Groundwater Guardian Green Site-- Middletown Journal New Jersey: June 11, 2012 [ abstract] The new Edgewood High School has been designated as a Groundwater Guardian Green Site by the Groundwater Foundation as a result of the groundwater-friendly practices being implemented. The building, which will open to students in the fall, is in a unusual situation because it has no storm water leaving the site, said district spokesman John Thomas. “All storm water must soak down into the soil and become a part of the Great Miami Buried Valley aquifer,” he said.
Because rainwater falling on the site would reach the wells of Miller Coors Trenton Brewery and Southwest Regional Water District on Morganthaler Road within a year, the location is “extremely groundwater sensitive,” Thomas said.
By not storing, handling or using, pesticides and/or fertilizers, the school is practicing a no-application location. In addition, between the parking lots bioretention areas with native plant species have been installed in place of dry wells that typically permit surface water pollutants to enter the ground water uninhibited.
-- Richard O Jones Need for Portland school bonds is still there -- Portland Tribune Oregon: June 07, 2012 [ abstract] Portland's major school district had grown accustomed to hearing the city's generous voters say yes to its requests for money. So last year, when voters actually rejected just such a request, school leaders were forced to take a step back and consider what had gone wrong in the relationship between the voting public and Portland Public Schools.
It would have been relatively easy for the school board and administration to shrug off the defeat -- which came with the narrowest of margins -- as the result of a poor economy. But we are pleased to see that district leaders dug deeper instead, and are now on a path to present voters with a revised construction bond measure that promises to be propelled by a firmer and broader coalition of supporters.
As reported by the Tribune's Jennifer Anderson in last week's print edition, the May 2011 defeat of a $548 million bond measure resulted in the school district forming a Bond Development Committee of 31 parents, teachers, students, elected officials, business leaders and construction and design experts. This group has helped shape four alternatives, any one of which could potentially be forwarded to November's ballot.
Each of these four options would begin to accomplish what everyone knows must eventually be done: rebuilding or replacing PPS's aging and inefficient school buildings. This is not a task that can be completed with one or two bond measures. It must be an ongoing process, requiring a series of bond measures during a period of decades.
The job of upgrading nearly all of the district's 81 schools is so large, in fact, that it is discouraging to consider just how little of it can be done with the $411 million to $539 million being considered for a bond proposal.
-- Editorial Board 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 Joplin Poised to Rebuild Tornado-Damaged Schools -- Education Week Missouri: May 16, 2012 [ abstract] One year after a tornado devastated Joplin, Missouri, the city is set to rebuild its schools with an eye toward non-traditional design. "Its new schools will feature flexible classroom areas, including spaces where students can work independently or in small groups, called 'think tanks.' And Joplin High School and Franklin Technical High School, once housed in separate buildings, will be brought together in a new facility that will include five 'career academies' where students can follow a college-preparatory academic path as well as take classes that lead directly to the work world."
-- Christina A. Samuels State-of-the-art sustainable school opens in Richmond -- PR Newswire California: May 16, 2012 [ abstract] A new state-of-the-art sustainable school, Ford Elementary, will be having its grand opening celebration on Saturday, May 19th. designed to address the whole child, both body and mind, Ford Elementary creates a strong learning environment from a child's point-of-view.
The two-story building, awhirl with bright colors and shapes, was designed by Sally Swanson Architects. Ms. Swanson, founding principal and CEO, explains, "Our goal is to provide a community-based school that is secure, totally green and healthy, and also delightful—relating to the age level of the students and very life-affirming."
A highly collaborative bilingual planning and design process has resulted in joint-use spaces, innovative technology and security systems, and a green and energy-saving campus. The new school was built with the support of the citizens of the West Contra Costa Unified School District, and has received strong support by the WCCUSD Board.
"The school's layout maximizes flexibility, accommodating a variety of diverse teaching methods and programs," explained Carlos Velilla, SSA's Director of design. The second floor corridor is transformed into a street with light-filled corridors that double as a collaborative in-between space where learning can take place. The design also merges formal classroom spaces with accessible educational play equipment and outdoor programs.
The original school, built in 1949, was an outdated and unsafe learning environment that offered the community few amenities and little sense of ownership. Construction on the new 68,000 square feet school was completed by Alten Construction and overseen by SGI Construction Management. The new school's design references the community culture using an imaginative interpretation of the Mission style with decorative blue and yellow tiles and an outsized arched library window. The cheerful facade signals a school environment that incorporates equal parts fun, creativity and learning. Windows, openings, and building details reduce the large scale to that of a child. The educational program works hand in hand to engage younger minds.
The school's design process included a series of well-attended community workshops. Helping offset the dearth of neighborhood open space, the school includes a community garden, a mini-soccer field, as well as a small plaza with places for adults to sit, meet, and feel at home. The elementary school also provides after-hours joint-use spaces with the community, as well as Adult Education.
-- D. Fromm Big DeKalb schools civil and criminal cases get trial dates-- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: May 15, 2012 [ abstract] Court cases that have loomed over the DeKalb County School District and its taxpayer-funded school construction program are finally heading to trial.
The corruption case against former Superintendent Crawford Lewis has been set for trial the second week of September, according to District Attorney Robert James' office. And a civil lawsuit stemming from Lewis' leadership also has been scheduled for trial, early next year.
Lewis is accused of operating a criminal enterprise aimed at stealing taxpayer dollars. He and three others were indicted in 2010, but one defendant was recently dropped from the case. The remaining defendants are former school district chief operating officer Pat Reid and her ex-husband Tony Pope, an architect who did building design work for the school system.
They're accused of stealing school construction money by Reid illegally steering business to Pope. Lewis, the indictment said, signed off on everything.
Also in court is a civil case that has already generated tens of millions of dollars in legal bills.
DeKalb has been in one failed negotiation after another with former construction manager Heery/Mitchell, as the two sides have tried to resolve a dispute that began in 2007.
DeKalb fired the company, claiming it had mismanaged portions of a $1 billion school construction program. Heery/Mitchell -- a joint venture between Heery International, Inc. and E.R. Mitchell & Co. -- sued, and DeKalb countersued.
The case will go to trial on Feb. 4 before DeKalb Superior Court Judge Clarence Seeliger, according to court records.
The cases are connected because Lewis and Reid were in charge of the construction program when the district fired Heery/Mitchell.
-- Ty Tagami Historic 1922 elementary school receives Gold LEED distinction-- Montgomery Media Pennsylvania: May 13, 2012 [ abstract] Myers Elementary in Cheltenham Township received the Gold LEED distinction for the environmentally friendly design and function of the school building that was renovated back in 2009. LEED, an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, was designed by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2000 as an internationally known symbol of excellence for buildings who aim to achieve high performance in human and environmental health, sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency and materials selected for indoor environmental quality, according to the U.S. GBC website.
Myer’s received its distinction for meeting the LEED requirements with environmentally friendly features such as bike ranks, car pool parking perks, motion censored lighting in every room and bathroom, and eco-friendly roofing that reflects light off the roof and back into the atmosphere. Each restroom has low-flow sinks and toilets at a flow rate of 0.5 gallons per flush compared to the standard rate of 2.5 gallons per flush creating 31 percent water use and disposal reduction, said Lorna Rosenberg Myer’s parent, member of the Cheltenham Township Environmental Advisory Council and co-chair of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council. Rosenberg said the low energy light bulbs are used in each room, eco-friendly materials such as paints and flooring for the gymnasium were used and native plants were chosen to landscape the grounds. The building also makes efficient use of natural day light as a result of the windows which have been placed in 90 percent of the rooms in the building.
Also, students, faculty and administrators at Myers are breathing in fresher air because of a special heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system that brings outside air into the building and an air treatment censor that monitors the carbon dioxide levels in the school, Rosenberg said.
Rosenberg said that another interesting feature the Myer’s has is that teachers can use the building as a teaching tool through a dash board that shows the temperature levels in each room and indicates how much energy the building is using. Teachers can reference the dash board in lessons and can encourage students to track the different climate changes that may happen around them on a daily basis.
-- Jarreau Freeman State warns city: school site is toxic-- Riverdale Press New York: May 09, 2012 [ abstract] The Bronx New School, PS 51’s old building has been deemed a “significant threat to public health” by state agencies.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation sent out a notification on May 1 announcing that the 18,200-square-foot building at 3200 Jerome Ave. sits on grounds that contain dangerous levels of two carcinogens " Trichloroethylene (TCE) and Tetrachloroethylene (PCE).
The site where the school had been located since 1993 has been accepted into the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP), a state initiative designed to help property owners redevelop contaminated sites.
BCE approved the application and a plan to investigate the property’s hazards after a 30-day public comment period in March.
The School Construction Authority discovered that TCE had seeped into PS 51 during environmental reviews in February. Even though 3200 Jerome Ave. formerly housed a light manufacturer, the School Construction Authority wasn’t required to test the school until the end of its 20-year lease approached.
Six months after TCE was detected, PS 51 families were notified that the school was being relocated.
Studies conducted from January to April 2011 show TCE, a clear, sweet-smelling liquid primarily used to degrease metal, was found inside the building, beneath the ground and in nearby groundwater. A March 27 test of belowground vapor contained 53,300 micrograms of TCE per cubic meter, more than ten thousand times the state limit of five micrograms per cubic meter.
TCE exposure can cause headaches, dizziness, euphoria, facial numbness, developmental issues, liver cancer and death, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
-- Sarina Trangle Getting Lessons on Water by Designing a Playground-- New York Times New York: May 08, 2012 [ abstract] The sixth graders at Stephen A. Halsey Junior High School 157 in Queens have a tough assignment before them: design a new playground that will transform a sea of black asphalt at their school into a recreational oasis " and, while they are at it, help clean up New York City’s waterways.
So, in addition to benches, play equipment, ball courts and drinking fountains, their wish list includes a butterfly garden and a gravel-lined turf field. Those features will capture precipitation and prevent it from overloading the city’s sewer system, which, in the case of their Rego Park neighborhood, spews raw sewage into Flushing Bay when it rains.
In the process, the children are learning about arcane urban infrastructure and bureaucratese, like “combined storm-sewer runoff.” And they are gaining appreciation for the absorbent powers of trees and grass, as well as roof gardens, rain barrels and permeable pavers " bricks that soak up water.
“I always thought the rain ended up in the Atlantic Ocean and that it was cleaned first,” Aryan Bhatt, 11, said.
Theirs is one of five new eco-playgrounds that the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit group, is shepherding through the design and construction process at schools in Queens and Brooklyn. The schools, with asphalt schoolyards, were chosen, in part, for their proximity to overtaxed wastewater-treatment plants. Sites for five more playgrounds are now being scouted.
“Each child has a design notebook, and we encourage them to be landscape architects,” said Mary Alice Lee, the trust’s director of the city playgrounds program. “It’s our goal to capture one inch of rainwater.”
The program has unfolded as the city and state formalized an agreement under which the city would pay for novel techniques to address its biggest water-quality challenge. In March, the city committed $2.4 billion in public and private money over 18 years to environmentally sound solutions. The approach is a departure from more traditional methods to control sewage overflow, like storage tanks and tunnels.
To help the students visualize the problem, the Trust for Public Land on Thursday brought its aptly named “Sewer in a Suitcase” to Stephanie Lamere’s sixth-grade classroom. Inside the case, which was created by the nonprofit Center for Urban Pedagogy, was a model of a city street, with an apartment building, stores and pipes leading to a river.
-- LISA W. FODERARO Researcher Designs Schoolyard for Children with Autism-- infozine.com National: May 07, 2012 [ abstract] A Kansas State University graduate student is creating a schoolyard that can become a therapeutic landscape for children with autism.
Manhattan, KS - infoZine - Chelsey King, master's student in landscape architecture, St. Peters, Mo., is working with Katie Kingery-Page, assistant professor of landscape architecture, to envision a place where elementary school children with autism could feel comfortable and included.
"My main goal was to provide different opportunities for children with autism to be able to interact in their environment without being segregated from the rest of the school," King said. "I didn't want that separation to occur."
The schoolyard can be an inviting place for children with autism, King said, if it provides several aspects: clear boundaries, a variety of activities and activity level spaces, places where the child can go when overstimulated, opportunities for a variety of sensory input without being overwhelming and a variety of ways to foster communication between peers.
"The biggest issue with traditional schoolyards is that they are completely open but also busy and crowded in specific areas," King said. "This can be too overstimulating for a person with autism."
-- Staff infoZine School construction jeopardized by proposed moratorium-- Abington Journal Wyoming: May 04, 2012 [ abstract] A proposed moratorium on the state program that helps cover costs of school construction and renovation could seriously impact some local district budgets.
Wyoming Valley West, for example, is expecting $479,000 in reimbursements for an expansion project at State Street Elementary, and now there’s no guarantee the money will come.
The risk has caused rumblings among some school boards and school administrators, though it’s unclear what would definitely happen if Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposals become reality.
The issue centers on the state’s complicated “Planning and Construction Workbook” system " “PlanCon” " used in determining state reimbursements for school construction.
There are 11 steps labeled PlanCon A through PlanCon K, though the last step only applies if borrowing for a reimbursable project is refinanced.
PlanCon A through G involve preconstruction issues, such as justifying the project, design, site acquisition, and bid documents.
In Corbett’s proposal, the fate of reimbursement for many districts depends on whether they have completed PlanCon H, the pivot point in the process. As the state Department of Education website puts it: “Once PlanCon Part H is approved, reimbursement on a project commences.”
-- MARK GUYDISH Virginia's First LEED Gold Middle School-- Business Reviews Virginia: April 13, 2012 [ abstract] Moseley Architects, a leader in the design of educational facilities, is proud to announce that Orange County Public Schools' new Locust Grove Middle School has earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED®) Gold certification with the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). Located in Locust Grove, Virginia, the facility is Virginia's first LEED Gold middle school and Orange County's first LEED certified building.
The new two-story, 168,300-square-foot facility offers students a state-of-the-art learning environment and features dedicated spaces to special education and music, as well as general classrooms, science laboratories, a library, a commons area with stage, athletic gyms, locker rooms, kitchen, and administration offices. The Orange County School Board was eager to work with the design team to integrate high performance design principles into the new school's design. When the project began, the goal was to create a facility that was capable of earning LEED Silver; however, due to the dedication of the school board, designers, and contractor, Gold certification was feasible.
Jim Henderson, a vice president with Moseley Architects and who worked on the project, said "The sustainable features of the new school will positively impact the students and reap significant cost savings over the life cycle of the school. I think that this project also reinforces the importance of being good stewards of our limited natural resources."
-- Press Release King County task force says new schools should go in urban, not rural, areas-- Issaquah Press Washington: April 11, 2012 [ abstract] A 30-member task force unanimously agreed to recommend that new school sitings in King County be done in urban areas and rural towns, not in areas designated as rural.
King County officials announced the decision the afternoon of April 11.
“These are thoughtful recommendations that will help deliver educational excellence for our children without sacrificing the environment of our rural areas,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine in a press release.
According to the county, the School Siting Task Force evaluated an inventory of 18 rural properties owned by eight school districts in King County. The county lists one such property owned by the Issaquah School District along Southeast May Valley Road. County information does not provide an exact address.
According to the task force report, the parcel sits between Squak Mountain to the north and Cedar Hills Regional Landfill to the south. The report describes the site as having conservation value and recommends the school district work with county officials as well as leaders in Issaquah and Renton to find urban locations for any future expansion needs.
The property is listed as encompassing just over 79 acres with an assessed value of $1.4 million.
The Issaquah School District is closed this week for spring break. Local officials were not immediately available for comment.
The county described all 18 properties as “straddling” the Urban Growth Boundary, established under state law with the idea of safeguarding rural areas and preventing urban sprawl. The county states the lands were purchased by the school districts involved with an eye toward future growth.
In the case of the Issaquah district property, the task force report states the property does not immediately border an Urban Growth Boundary. It also states the area has no sewers.
Besides the Issaquah district, other districts involved include Northshore, Lake Washington, Snoqualmie, Kent and Tahoma.
“The questions of whether schools should continue to be sited in rural areas has been unresolved for more than a decade,” said Louise Miller, task force chairwoman and a former King County Council member. “I’m happy to have been part of its solution.”
-- Tom Corrigan Shelved school plans cost CPS $4.7 million-- news.cincinnati.com Ohio: April 06, 2012 [ abstract] Cincinnati Public Schools spent $1.2 million to have a Fairfield architecture firm design the new Quebec Heights school.
The technology-rich, LEED-certified, “green” school in East Price Hill was to serve as a community learning center and an anchor for the neighborhood. But in January, months before construction was to begin, the district killed the project due to declining enrollment and lack of money.
Now the renderings are shelved. The money is gone. And it’s not the first time.
Since 2003, CPS has spent $4.7 million in public money designing five schools " Washington Park, Porter, Whittier, Taft Elementary and Quebec Heights " that never came to be.
The state’s third-largest district is nearing the end of a decade-long plan to overhaul its aging stock of school buildings. The cost is expected to reach $1.2 billion. Although $4.7 million is less than 1 percent of the total project cost, every dollar counts at a time when money is tight for school districts throughout the state.
While CPS is not alone in its overspending, it has lost more money than any other large urban Ohio school district. It also illustrates the importance of accurate enrollment projections.
-- Jessica Brown Court Orders the State to Allow Urban Districts to Handle their Own School Construction-- Newbrunswick Patch New Jersey: April 05, 2012 [ abstract] The Newark-based Education Law Center (ELC) announced Wednesday that an appeals court has ordered the School Development Authority to come up with guidelines that would give urban districts the ability to design and execute their own construction projects.
This could be good news for New Brunswick schools, which have been caught up in SDA-run projects for the last seven years.
Presently, the SDA is the entity that approves construction projects for urban school districts, handling the design and construction aspects, as well as the timeline.
As a result of this court order, construction projects would be delegated to qualifying school districts to handle design and construction of their own schools, creating the potential for projects to be completed faster and for less, according to the ELC report.
It is still early to be able to determine how beneficial this new development could be, said Richard Kaplan, Superintendent of the New Brunswick School District.
Kaplan said the question remains of how much the district would be able to sever itself from the SDA in order to complete projects. Guidelines exist that districts must follow, and it is still unclear how they will be affected by these new rules.
In New Brunswick, two elementary school construction projects controlled by the SDA have been delayed for years - the A.C. Redshaw School and Paul Robeson Community School
-- Jennifer Bradshaw Construction projects keep Wichita school district busy-- The Wichita Eagle Kansas: April 04, 2012 [ abstract] Julie Hedrick, director of facilities for the Wichita school district, won’t get to rest much over the next few months.
“It’s going to be very, very busy,” Hedrick said. “And extremely exciting.”
A record number of school construction projects are under way simultaneously as part of the 2008 bond issue, making this spring and summer one of the busiest ever for the district and its contractors.
Five new schools, including Wichita’s first new high school in more than 30 years, are nearing completion and will open in August.
Crews also are working at more than two dozen other school sites, scrambling to finish storm shelters, classroom additions and other projects before students return from summer vacation next August.
Those projects, along with a new boundary plan approved by the school board last month, have prompted a gamut of other decisions and to-do lists, from reassigning teachers and principals to designing new bus routes to figuring out how many lunches go where.
“It’s an enormous undertaking,” Hedrick said.
-- Suzanne Perez Tobias Yonkers district hires consultants on $1.7B overhaul-- lohud.com New York: April 04, 2012 [ abstract] A team of high-powered consultants will help city school officials explore their options for partnering with deep-pocketed investors on a $1.7 billion facilities overhaul.
The school district announced Tuesday that it has picked three firms " Macquarie Capital, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and URS Corp. " to provide financial, legal and technical advice in the effort.
The consultants will spend the next three months studying the feasibility of having the district partner with private equity firms to repair or replace dozens of its aging schools. The plan comes as the cash-strapped district grapples with crowding in buildings that officials say are dark, poorly ventilated and too small.
In the scenario envisioned by school officials, a private firm would take over financing, design, construction and maintenance of the new facilities; in exchange, it would receive fixed, periodic payments from the district for as many as 30 years.
The city, meanwhile, would remain the sole owner of the properties.
Schools Superintendent Bernard Pierorazio said such a partnership has never been tried before in the United States.
“This is really ground-breaking,” he said.
-- Colin Gustafson Construction starts on Erie County's first school-based health center-- Go Erie Pennsylvania: March 29, 2012 [ abstract] Earlier versions of this story included incorrect information about the vision services to be provided at the Wayne School health clinic. Only vision screenings and referrals to local vision-care providers will be provided.
Jackhammering has begun in the basement of Wayne School.
Construction crews are transforming nearly half of the east Erie school's basement into a medical clinic that will be open to both Wayne students and the general public.
"I can't wait for this to open," Erie schools Superintendent Jay Badams said. "Now that a school-based health center is going to be a reality, I look forward to seeing the impact it will have on our students."
Wayne Primary Care, 650 East Ave., is scheduled to open in mid-August. It will be Erie County's first school-based health center, a medical office located inside a school that is designed to increase health-care access for children in low-income neighborhoods.
School faculty and staff, and area residents will also be able to make appointments at the health center.
Construction is being paid with a $470,470 federal grant awarded in 2011 to UPMC Hamot, which will operate the clinic with assistance from Community Health Net.
Community Health Net is the county's only federally qualified health center and receives higher reimbursement than other providers for treating Medicaid patients.
Most Wayne Primary Care patients are expected to have Medicaid, said Charles "Boo" Hagerty, Hamot's chief development officer. Uninsured patients will be able to apply for Medicaid and may be eligible for Hamot's charity care program.
"The office will have a basic staff: a physician who will see patients 40 hours a week, a nurse, an office manager and a receptionist," Hagerty said. "Down the road we see adding a nurse practitioner or physician assistant."
Badams is excited about the health center's opening because he believes it will improve students' health, and eventually their grades.
Families can make appointments during the school day, enabling students to miss just 30 or 60 minutes of class instead of a half or whole day. It also encourages families to make appointments before a child's illness worsens or complications develop.
"It's obvious a child's physical health has a bearing on his or her ability to learn," Badams said. "One hundred and five Wayne students have missed more than 15 days of school so far this year with excused absences. How well do you learn when you miss that much school?"
-- DAVID BRUCE Editorial: End all-in-one building deals-- Denver Post Colorado: March 12, 2012 [ abstract] The trail of school construction deficiencies that the Neenan Co. has left in its wake is unfortunate for many reasons. Chief among them is that the errors could have been caught had school districts made a key decision at the front end.
These districts, many of them rural and lacking personnel who are well-versed in construction, should have made it a point to give one piece of the plan-design-build-oversight process to an entity other than Neenan.
In saying that, we don't mean to disparage Neenan, which has stepped up to fix its errors. And we understand the enormous financial hurdles these districts faced in finding affordable bids and getting bond issues approved.
But just as these districts wouldn't let schoolchildren write their own report cards, they shouldn't have allowed Neenan to control every facet of the process.
Going forward, we hope other districts will take from the episode the absolute necessity to have appropriately sophisticated checks and balances.
Since November, Denver Post staff writers Eric Gorski and David Olinger have written stories about problems found at schools built by Neenan.
It started with Meeker Elementary, an $18.9 million building that was shuttered after a year for repairs. Engineers found the school had been designed to standards required for storage sheds and could collapse in severe weather. Neenan acknowledged the mistakes and agreed to pay for repairs.
Alarmed at the discovery, Colorado officials asked for reviews of engineering at every Neenan-built school that received money through the state's Building Excellent Schools Today program.
-- Denver Post Editorial District Must Clarify Goals on School Construction -- San Francisco Patch California: March 09, 2012 [ abstract] The school district needs to clarify its goals and implementation plan for Measure J bond improvement projects, according to Ahmad Sheikholeslami, the district’s newly hired bond program director.
After analyzing the district’s progress on Measure J thus far, Sheikholeslami, who started with SSFUSD in February, also concluded that the district must align its construction schedule with cash flow generated through bond sales and design construction projects around the long-term educational goals for the district, according to a presentation he made at Thursday night’s school board meeting.
“It’s looking at what do we want our schools to be like in the 21st century,” Sheikholeslami said. “What type of facility do we need to support educational aims?”
Measure J is perceived as potentially transformational to the school district, and the board has been highly concerned with “getting things right,” Sheikholeslami said. Clarifying and communicating goals and priorities will keep the district from disappointing the expectations of residents, Sheikholeslami said.
Sheikholeslami recommended the district take nine key steps to ensure progress on Measure J:
-- Drew Himmelstein The Vernonia question: A better way for Oregon to fund school construction-- The Oregonian Oregon: March 08, 2012 [ abstract] If any town in Oregon deserves extra help rebuilding, it's Vernonia. State lawmakers were right to single out this flood-ravaged community in rural northwest Oregon for financial assistance in constructing a K-12 school on higher ground.
But the process wasn't pretty. The Vernonia money got tangled in the high-stakes discussion around health care reform, and some lawmakers rightly worried about dabbling in local school construction in a piecemeal sort of way. The whole experience raises a question for state leaders: How can Oregon do a better, more efficient job building new schools and remodeling old ones?
The state has made progress, but there is plenty of room for improvement. It's evident not just in Vernonia, but in every community with glaring capital needs.
Oregon ranks 37th -- well below the national average -- in state support for K-12 capital construction, according to a 2010 report by the 21st Century School Fund, a nonprofit that advocates for better school buildings. It ranks even lower when measured on a per-student basis. This deviates from the norm: Some states cover virtually all expenses outright, while many others provide matching funds or technical assistance on design and construction.
In Oregon, local school districts are almost entirely on their own.
True, Oregon has made strides in recent years. For example, districts can now collect an impact fee from developers for new schools, much like the impact fees for roads and parks. The fee makes a big difference for suburban communities that can barely pass school bonds fast enough to keep up with the growth.
The state also stepped up its efforts to help school districts improve their energy efficiency, an investment that can pay off quickly through lower utility bills. What's more, under recent changes to state law, districts can use bond money to remodel older schools. This helps every community with flat or declining student enrollment and aging, unsafe buildings.
Yet Oregon remains under-equipped to build schools in a cost-efficient, equitable way.
-- Editorial Board Board targets 2014 for new $31.5M Knoxville High School-- Galesburg Tennessee: March 05, 2012 [ abstract] The Knoxville School Board voted Monday to follow a “design, bid, build” delivery option to have its new high school constructed by the summer of 2014.
The district’s architect, BLDD, presented District 202 with two delivery system options on how to manage construction of its $31.5 million high school project. The construction consists of demolishing the current building except for Jensen Gym, which will serve as an anchor, and building a two-story addition to the east.
The “design, bid, build” delivery system relies on an architect who helps design the project and a general contractor who hires all subcontractors to work on construction, said BLDD representative Sam Johnson. BLDD would ensure the general contractor meets its obligations or else withhold payments and address the issue. BLDD would be on site 13.33 hours a week.
The other method known as the “construction manager” delivery system is typically used when organizations have unusually complicated projects or need to accelerate building schedules. The design for the entire project would not need to be completed at the same time and would be done using not only the expertise of the architect, but also a construction manager. During the construction phase, there are numerous bid packages between the district and the sub-contractors.
-- JENNIFER WHEELER The Impact of School Buildings on Student Health and Performance: A Call for Research-- McGraw Hill Research Foundation National: February 27, 2012 [ abstract] The McGraw-Hill Research Foundation and the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), today released a new white paper entitled, “The Impact of School Buildings on Student Health and Performance: A Call for Research,” at the 2nd Annual Green Schools National Conference in Denver, CO. The Green Schools Conference is dedicated to growing green schools across the nation. The new white paper, co-authored by Lindsay Baker, Researcher, PhD Candidate, University of California, Berkeley (on behalf of the Center for Green Schools at USGBC) and Harvey Bernstein, Vice President, Industry Insights & Alliances for McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies, sheds light on the critical need for research around how the school building"through its design, maintenance and operations"impacts the health and performance of the students in those buildings.
The paper explored research from two perspectives: from the lens of the child’s experience with their built environment, and from how different stakeholders could play an important role in bringing that research to light.
To download a copy of “The Impact of School Buildings on Student Health and Performance: A Call for Research,” visit http://bit.ly/Green_Schools_White_Paper
-- MHRFAdmin Growing lessons in life; Sequoia Middle School begins garden-- Redding California: February 13, 2012 [ abstract] An ambitious new garden project at Sequoia Middle School has been designed to produce not just vegetables but a bounty of life lessons as well.
"I want this to be a model garden for the community," said Millie Milhous, a retired Sequoia teacher who has been leading the effort. "I see it being just a fabulous space."
While the vision has been incubating for years, there has been a growth spurt in recent months. On Saturday, volunteers built planter boxes for the seedlings that will be started in classrooms next month.
"In my 39 years at Sequoia, nothing ever happens this quickly," Milhous said last week. "It's just been lightning speed."
Principal Cass Ditzler kicked in $1,000 from the school budget, and Sequoia families have matched that amount. In addition, a number of businesses have donated lumber, fencing and other materials. Redwood Seeds, a Manton-based company owned by Milhous' daughter, Kalan Redwood, and her husband, Cam, has donated the vegetable seeds for the organic garden. Students will choose from nearly 200 varieties.
"We're going to grow anything anybody wants to grow," Milhous said.
For instructor Bernie Kelly, who teaches English, history and science, the project's educational potential is limitless "It's historically relevant," he said, pointing to victory gardens during the two world wars. "The gardens supported people through hard economic times," not unlike today's.
The math skills required to plot a garden, the concept of sustainability taught in science class, how different cultures use food, and the works of nature writers all can be tied in with the project.
-- Janet O'Neill Why school buildings don’t last here-- Miami Herald Florida: February 11, 2012 [ abstract] Ever wonder why the little old schoolhouse in Florida doesn’t last as long as buildings in other parts of the country?
The average age of American school buildings is 50 years old. In Florida, it’s 26. In New York City, it’s 80.
Paul Abramson, a consultant with Stanton Leggett and Associates in Mamaroneck, N.Y., said that in the first part of the 20th century, schools were built with heavy, solid materials, meant to last. High schools in particular were designed as monuments to their city or town, he said.
After World War II, things changed.
“The whole idea of school construction in the ’50s and ’60s and into ’70s was to get them up quick and fast,” he said. “There were more and more kids coming, and nobody had time to wait to think about what came after.”
In addition, new materials were introduced, and the designs didn’t take into account energy costs, since gas was cheap.
Materials inside buildings " the AC, the roofs and carpets " have a life span of about 20 years, said Irene Nigaglioni, a Dallas-based architect and school facilities planner with PBK Architects and vice chairwoman of the Council of Educational Facility Planners International.
Newer buildings, even from the ’80s, also need updating to accommodate modern technology, she said: “The way we do instruction today is totally different than the way we did instruction then.”
-- LAURA ISENSEE The hidden impediment to school renovation-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: February 07, 2012 [ abstract] A major reason many Maryland jurisdictions — especially Baltimore County and Baltimore City — confront a growing problem of aging, obsolete school buildings is an obscure bit of Internal Revenue Service bureaucracy called the "prior use rule." It applies in a limited number of circumstances, one being projects to renovate certain old public school buildings.
Since 1986, this rule has forced Baltimore and other localities into one of three unpalatable choices: grossly overpay for modernizing their oldest schools; build new, often much more expensive ones; or push the problem onto the back burner, guaranteeing any eventual solution will be even costlier.
Due to the age of the city's school buildings, nearly half might qualify for the type of purely private capital modernization solution that saved 33 percent for Richmond, Va., on the cost of fully renovating a dilapidated, 60-year-old high school facility. But the "prior use rule" denies this proven solution to Baltimore.
This costs Baltimore and Maryland billions of dollars over time. Baltimore's schools CEO Andrés Alonso wants to borrow $1.2 billion to modernize run-down schools, although a recent study found it will take $2.8 billion to do all that might ultimately be necessary. Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties combined have even greater modernization needs. Architectural historian Margaret Roberts found the number of run-down schools 50 years or older in Maryland, along with other states she is studying, far exceeds previous estimates.
She concluded "this unfair IRS 'prior use rule' is costing us big time. America's schools are really old. You can't get a true 21st century education in a building designed for a 20th century curriculum."
Baltimore may soon have a chance to save itself huge sums of money. House Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Democratic Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner, all Virginians, have joined in a bipartisan push for S. 1685, which would eliminate the prior use rule for K-12 modernization projects that meet certain criteria. This legislation is now before the Senate Finance Committee, on which Maryland's Sen. Benjamin Cardin serves.
Last month, the National Education Association endorsed S.1685, saying, "It offers a common-sense approach ... based on a 100 percent private capital investment model enacted in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan and a Democratic Congress but blocked by a little known IRS 'prior use' rule."
As Mr. Cantor noted, "a simple update to the tax code … will allow schools to leverage private capital to ... ensure that our children have the best opportunity to learn and succeed."
-- Mark J. Rozell and Paul Goldman 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 Carmel Valley school building a lesson in ecology-- Mercury News California: February 05, 2012 [ abstract] When you're driving down Carmel Valley Road in Monterey County a couple of years from now, you might miss seeing the new school building set to open in the next few weeks. The structure will blend into its surroundings with a "living roof" that will harbor poppies, yarrow, buckwheat and 39 other species of grasses, shrubs, succulents and flowers.
"It's all sustainable," said Katy Anderson, 13, a seventh-grader at the adjacent Carmel Middle School. "It's really cool."
The newly constructed $1 million building is the most recent addition to the Hilton Bialek Habitat, a 10-acre expanse of plains, woods, gardens and greenhouses owned by the Carmel Unified School District.
Teeming with life
The land teems with life: Birds chirp constantly. Butterflies and dragonflies flit by. Long grasses sway in the wind. Hawks soar overhead. The habitat provides not only a shelter for displaced animals, but also a classroom for the middle school.
"I was able to tie (together) why we have a living roof and how it provides habitat, food and shelter for omnivores and herbivores," said Amanda Francis, the native plant program director at the habitat and a teacher at the school. "That's what's so enriching about being outside -- that there's always something that's happening that can tie into the lesson of the day."
Craig Hohenberger, a Carmel High School teacher and founder of the habitat, plans to use the new building as a showcase for students in the two Advanced Placement classes he teaches in environmental studies.
"We'll have a look at how we design this building, kind of use it as a model for them," he said.
-- Stephen Tung Oklahoma Gets First LEED Gold K-12 Building-- Earth Techling Oklahoma: February 02, 2012 [ abstract] Green schools have been cropping up all over the country in recent years, some of them far from noted green building centers. Such is the case with the the Jenks Math and Science Center in Jenks, Okla., (a suburb of Tulsa) which recently became the state’s first LEED-certified K-12 building. The project was built by Tulsa-based Manhattan Construction and designed by Tulsa-based GH2 Architects, and Michigan-based TMP Architecture, and has garnered LEED Gold certification.
Encompassing 91,580 square feet, the Jenks Public Schools Math and Science Center includes ten math classrooms, fourteen flexible science teaching studios, a student health center, a 200-seat multi-purpose meeting room and a 105-seat planetarium. Located in the center of the main Jenks high school campus " creating a visual and physical link between the Freshman Academy and senior high classroom buildings " the building was designed to encourage collaboration between math and science and also between the different grade levels.
-- Susan DeFreitas U.S. Schools Compete to Slash Energy Use in 2012 -- Huffington Post National: January 30, 2012 [ abstract] Students in more than 116 schools across the U.S. are competing to reduce their electricity consumption by participating in the 2012 national Green Cup Challenge (GCC) during peak winter energy usage, Jan. 18 to Feb. 15. (New York City and Chicago will launch separate Challenges on March 2). The national Challenge, now in its fifth year, is a project of the non-profit Green Schools Alliance (GSA), and is designed to raise awareness about energy conservation and provide concrete action towards reduction.
"Experts agree that the best way to save energy is to use less," says Peg Watson, GSA's founder and president. "You can't manage what you don't measure. The GCC teaches students that they have the power to save energy in their schools and homes, and that their actions can translate into positive change in the world," she says.
According to Energystar.gov, America's K-12 schools spend more than $7.5 billion annually on energy, but as much as 30 percent of that energy ($2.25 billion) is used inefficiently or unnecessarily. The GCC has shown that, through awareness and small behavior changes, those wasteful patterns can be reversed.
-- Veronique Pittman Safety concerns, fixes extend to 15 Neenan schools in Colorado -- Denver Post Colorado: January 26, 2012 [ abstract] Structural issues of varying degrees of seriousness have been identified in every Neenan Co. school project that has received money through a state grant program meant to make school buildings safer. "Corrective actions" are being carried out at each of the 15 school buildings at various stages of completion in eight districts across Colorado, officials said at a meeting of the board that oversees the Building Excellent Schools Today program. Although several of the issues had previously been made public, others were newly disclosed " including a project at Mapleton Public Schools in Adams County involving the largest grant in BEST history.
Neenan officials described the structural issues detailed as ranging from "minor" to "moderate." A state official, however, suggested Neenan was downplaying the seriousness of the situation of a school that faces evacuations if winds reach just 25 mph. In all, schools designed and built by Neenan have received $150 million in money through BEST, which was created in 2008 to help school districts replace and repair worn-down buildings.
-- Eric Gorski Historic school buildings decay under Emergency Manager-- Michigan Citizen Michigan: January 22, 2012 [ abstract] The hist-oric building that formerly housed Redford High School is now considered blight to many in Detroit’s northwest Redford neighborhood.
The 1.1 million square foot building, built in 1924, has been sitting vacant since 2007. With the announcement of a deal between Meijer, Inc. and Detroit Public Schools (DPS) that will bring the district $2 million, another Detroit high school faces the wrecking ball.
The DPS Office of Real Estate, headed by Tammy Deane, has listed over 80 decommissioned DPS properties currently for sale or lease. Preservationists are concerned about the lack of a broad plan for the fleet of decommissioned schools, many of which stand vacant and neglected. The longer they sit, the greater the chance they will face demolition.
“[Former DPS emergency financial manager Robert Bobb]said he would protect the older buildings, but he didn’t,” says former DPS architect, Bill Dickens.
Dickens worked with DPS planners during the 1994 school bond dispersement as an architectural field representative. He says schools such as Mumford, Cass Tech, Martin Luther King and now Redford, could have been saved if DPS officials were so inclined.
“Detroit had the finest collection of school building architecture in the nation,” Dickens continues. “Tearing everything down does not solve anything. Any older structure can be reworked and revised at a greater savings than it costs to demolish. Detroit has become a demolition contractor’s heaven.”
Architect Mark English of ME designs worked on the 1994 and the current $500.5 million school construction bond, which was promoted heavily by former EM Robert Bobb and approved by Detroit voters in November 2009. English says the current bond application designated $60 million solely to demolition projects. He says demolition costs soar because, ironically, the older buildings were built better.
-- Eric T. Campbell Review says another Neenan-built school in Colorado at risk with structural defects -- Denver Post Colorado: January 20, 2012 [ abstract] A San Luis Valley school, already plagued with other structural issues, has crafted an evacuation plan after an outside engineer questioned the building's ability to withstand winds common to the area. Students will not be allowed in Sargent Junior-High School near Monte Vista if winds exceed 25 mph before repairs are completed in the next week as scheduled, officials said.
An independent review by Greenwood Village-based structural engineers Jirsa Hedrick found inadequate connections between the roof and walls in the gym and auditorium — endangering the entire building.
The Neenan Co., which designed and built the school, has agreed to pay for the repairs and carry them out using the outside firm's designs.
Escalating problems at Sargent are the latest blow to Fort Collins-based Neenan, which has been under scrutiny after similar reviews found serious structural defects at Meeker's $17.9 million elementary school and more minor issues at six other Colorado schools. "We stand behind the buildings we build, and when there are findings like this, where recommendations are prudent, we follow the recommendation out of an abundance of caution," Andy Boian, a spokesman for Neenan, said Thursday.
Neenan already has made fixes to a section of the roof that wasn't designed to handle snow loads at the 190-student Sargent school and put in temporary supports in the library to shore up a beam, officials said.
The review found a long span of roof joists over the gym and auditorium lack adequate connections where they bear on precast concrete wall panels, Jirsa Hedrick wrote in a letter to Neenan on Monday. "Effective immediately, until this repair is complete, the entire school building should not be used if the winds are expected to exceed 25 miles per hour," the letter stated.
-- Eric Gorski School Building Authority spends $750 million in new school construction-- The State Journal West Virginia: January 17, 2012 [ abstract] The West Virginia School Building Authority has spent more than $750 million during the past three years to construct 128 new elementary, middle and high schools across the state.
Mark Manchin, executive director of the SBA, told members of the House Education Committee that 75 percent of West Virginia students attend school in better facilities than what was available in 1990. The $750 million that the state has spent came from lottery and excess lottery funds and pays not only for construction but also safety mechanisms. Manchin said other states should be envious of West Virginia schools.
"Invariably, we always think someone has it better," he said. "We don't have to take a backseat to anyone."
Delegate Brady Paxton, D-Putnam and vice-chairman of the House Education Committee, said the SBA is "on the cutting edge of innovation and green building technology." According to Manchin, many of the state's schools are LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, certified.
"Our schools are extremely energy efficient," he said. "If you go in our new schools, you'll see things you won't believe."
But energy efficiency isn't the only thing the SBA focuses on. Student safety is also a top priority. Manchin said many new schools include keyless or manned entries, which means pedestrians can't enter the building. The SBA also entered a $5 million contract with Patriot Services to digitally map all classrooms in West Virginia. This will aid first responders by showing them how the building is laid out and access points where they can reach students. Manchin said many of the students killed at Columbine High School in 1999 were killed after first responders were on the scene. He said with digital maps, first responders could have known how to access the students.
As a result of the contract, Manchin said, "35 counties have now been complete. By the end of next year, all 55 counties will have every single classroom digitally mapped."
-- Whitney Burdette High marks for new Wellesley school building: latest technology, green features, historical elements -- Boston Globe Massachusetts: January 12, 2012 [ abstract] Teachers and students will move into the new Wellesley High School next month as the $115 million project finishes five months early, and a few million dollars under budget. The new building is resplendent with the latest technology and green features, yet it incorporates many elements representing the history of its predecessor, which was built in 1938.
In addition to featuring smart boards in every classroom, built-in sound systems in the band and chorus rooms, a rock-climbing wall in the gym, skylights for added natural light in the art rooms, and a central first-floor cafeteria with outdoor seating, the building also has many green elements.The school features a 100,000-gallon tank that will gather rainwater to be used for the toilets, for example. There is a green roof with plantings that will help with insulation and energy efficiency, and help protect the roof from sun and weather damage.
Gurney said there are two geothermal wells to provide heat and cooling in the administrative offices and fitness areas, solar panels on the roof, and a shade system in several classrooms to help control the amount of direct sunlight.
All classrooms are arranged on the outside of the building to make use of natural light, all lighting fixtures are energy efficient, and the library and auditorium feature displaced ventilation systems to save energy and improve the air quality, Gurney said.
Other highlights of the building include historical elements that were either moved or replicated from the old school. Front and center at the base of the staircase at the building’s entrance are the eagle and weathervane that were atop the cupola of the old school. In addition, a wall in the lobby features the same “W’’ design that is on the cupola. The clock from the cupola was removed and installed at the top of a tower on the north side of the new school. There are also several old light fixtures, plaques, and other memorabilia spread around throughout the new building, Gurney said.
-- Jennifer Fenn Lefferts 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 Mayor Emanuel Touts $660 Million Investment in School Infrastructure-- Hispanically Speaking News Illinois: January 09, 2012 [ abstract] Mayor Rahm Emanuel visited Sauganash and Nathan Hale Elementary Schools today to highlight the need for and impact of the Chicago Public Schools recently approved $660 million capital program.
“We are making one of the largest investments that any city has made in its schools,” said Mayor Emanuel. “This is more than an investment in buildings and bricks and mortar. This is building an environment that welcomes students, reinforces their self-worth and sets the right tone for education.”
The Capital Program is used to support the facilities and physical assets used to deliver educational programming, including projects that relieve overcrowding, create a positive learning environment, upgrade buildings to make them accessible to people with disabilities, as well as to acquire physical assets to support programs such as special build-outs for career and technology laboratories.
Sauganash Elementary recently opened a $10.5 million addition, which was financed by the Capital Program, to relieve overcrowding. Hale Elementary, which has 864 students, is scheduled to receive $15 million from the Capital Program to build an annex to relieve its overcrowding.
CPS’ fiscal-year capital budget was approved in August and included $391 million for a variety of improvements. In December, the CPS board approved a $269 million appropriation for externally-funded projects.
The specific capital investments budgeted in 2012 will address critical safety, nutritional, early childhood, IT and college and career-ready initiatives designed to help drive student achievement. Specific projects include:
-- Staff Writer Natrona County School District moves ahead in school construction fight-- Star-Tribune Wyoming: January 08, 2012 [ abstract] Natrona County’s ambitious high school construction plan is in the hands of lawyers. The school district intends to design high school renovations and construction for more students than what the state approved in November and can front up to $30 million to resume the process stalled since July, said Superintendent Joel Dvorak.
State officials have estimated an extra $29 million to $32 million would be needed to add space for about 500 students to the plan to renovate Natrona County and Kelly Walsh high schools and build a new, shared campus that also houses Roosevelt High School.
Dvorak said the district can generate the money through a lease-purchase agreement, when a project is completed with a loan paid over several years. At the end of the “lease” agreement, the project is turned over completely to the lessee. Meanwhile, the district plans to seek informal review and possibly a court hearing on the decision made by the state School Facilities Commission in November.
Projects were put on hold in July by the state School Facilities Department to commission “educational specifications,” descriptions of the academic programming and space needed to deliver that programming. Ohio-based firm Fanning Howey presented several scenarios for buildings that meet the district’s new academy curriculum. The firm recommended the district’s preferred plan " renovate existing high schools and build a new facility, with all projects starting at the same time " as the “most cost-effective remedy.”
The School Facilities Commission is required to accept the “most cost-effective remedy” per changes to state law in 2011, and district officials say state law requires the commission to consider community impact in the remedy. Several city of Casper officials have said the proposed plan to move students to Kelly Walsh during renovations would be a public health and safety risk.
-- JACKIE BORCHARDT NJ public-private schools bill clears legislative committees-- Asbury Park Press New Jersey: January 05, 2012 [ abstract] A bill that paves a legal path toward new public-private schools in three cities " including Lanning Square Elementary School in Camden " passed two legislative committees Thursday.
The Democratic-sponsored bill was amended to overcome Republicans objections, though a legal advocate for low-income students threatened to bring a lawsuit to stop the program if the bill becomes law.
The Urban Hope Act would allow for up to four privately operated public schools to be authorized and built each in Newark, Trenton and Camden.
The bill (A-4426/S-3173) passed both the state Assembly and Senate budget committees and is expected to be voted on in both chambers Monday, the last day of the two-year state legislative session.
South Jersey Democratic leader George E. Norcross III has been pushing for the bill, particularly because he wants to see a new private-public school in the Lanning Square section in the center of Camden.
Gov. Chris Christie had indicated earlier he would support it, but the administration has been reviewing the bill, which changed in recent days and Thursday.
The bill is sponsored by Norcross’ brother, state Sen. Donald Norcross, D-Camden. It is controversial because it circumvents the state’s School Development Authority, which had been charged with constructing schools in 31 of the state’s low-income school districts that are protected under two decades worth of state Supreme Court rulings.
The bill is also controversial because it allows nonprofits that would eventually build the schools to be exempt from public bidding requirements.
David Sciarra, the executive director of the Education Law Center in Newark, which has successfully sued the state to gain billions of dollars in additional state aid for the 31 low-income school districts, said that his organization was readying to file a lawsuit to block the bill.
He contends that the state, not a private entity, should build the school.
Sciarra said that state taxpayers have already spent $11 million to purchase the land at Lanning Square, demolish buildings that had been on the property and clean it from environmental hazards. A design for the new school has already been completed, he said.
And the state has cash on hand in its school building funds to construct it, and even if not, the state has already authorized $3.9 billion in new school construction statewide, Sciarra said.
“The money is there. It’s not a financial issue,” Sciarra said.
-- Jason Method For These Baltimore Students, It's D.I.Y. School Building-- The Atlantic Cities Maryland: January 04, 2012 [ abstract] Several years ago, I sat down with Ed Burns, writer for HBO’s critically acclaimed series The Wire, to talk about education in American cities. After 20 years as a cop, after co-authoring the book The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with David Simon, Burns had become a teacher in Baltimore’s inner city. It was this experience that informed the fourth season of The Wire.
At the time, Burns recounted the multiple challenges facing public education. He spoke not just of teachers and parents, but of the physical buildings themselves. On hot, humid days, he would teach in a decaying school with no air conditioning and tape blocking the drinking fountains because lead was in the water.
How, he asked, did we expect kids to learn in an environment like that?
Now, in a central Baltimore neighborhood that once served as a location for The Wire, a new city public school hopes to change the way school buildings are developed. The Baltimore design School (BDS), a middle and high school with a curriculum rooted in graphic design, fashion and architecture, has taken over a 120,000 square foot factory building with plans to transform it into a high-tech center for learning by the 2012 academic year.
The structure, built in 1915, had been abandoned for decades after its last tenant, the Lebow Clothing Factory, shuttered the doors, leaving everything"racks of jackets, mammoth sewing machines, buckets of buttons and spools of thread"behind. Over the years, photos from the inside taken by adventurous trespassers captured the ghostly remains, serving as a testament to the general decay of post-industrial buildings in cities like Baltimore.
BDS, which opened in a temporary facility last fall, is one of Baltimore’s new Transformation Schools, a private-public partnership with the Baltimore City Public School system. Unlike a charter school, where the board is responsible for its own facility, a Transformation School falls under the auspice of the school system’s facility management. BDS suggested a unique scenario to the school district: partner with a private developer and turn one of Baltimore’s abandoned industrial buildings back into a productive place.
-- Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson Salt Lake City completes earthquake upgrades at all schools-- Salt Lake Tribune Utah: January 03, 2012 [ abstract] Mark Catmull, a counselor at Clayton Middle School in Salt Lake City, likes the natural light and unique design of his school’s new building. He also feels better knowing that his daughter, an eighth-grade student, is in a safe place if an earthquake hits.
It’s a comforting thought that parents throughout the Salt Lake City School District can share as the district wraps up an effort to make every school earthquake-resistant. Only two projects remain to be done this summer: seismic upgrades at district-sponsored charter schools Open Classroom and Salt Lake Center for Science Education.
Over the past two decades, Salt Lake City School District, which has 36 schools, has spent $401 million on the seismic upgrades, including a $70 million bond in 1993, which rebuilt East High, and a $136 million bond in 1999. Both bonds were approved by voters. Twenty schools were replaced, and 16 schools underwent retrofits.
“Obviously, every child ought to be protected " not just the lucky ones in a new building,” said Salt Lake City Superintendent McKell Withers. “There are quite a few school districts along the Wasatch Front that have done what they can to mitigate some of their seismic issues in many of their buildings. But there’s nothing quite like being able to bring all of them up to the current seismic code for schools.”
-- Rosemary Winters Colorado school construction problems linked to Neenan Company will likely boost state's scrutiny-- Denver Post Colorado: January 01, 2012 [ abstract] Companies that want to do business through a state grant program dedicated to making school buildings safer likely will face greater scrutiny because of construction problems linked to one contractor. State Treasurer Walker Stapleton told The Denver Post he will press for more thorough reviews of companies taking part in the Building Excellent Schools Today program — which provides money to mostly rural districts to replace and fix dilapidated schools — as questions continue to mount about the Neenan Co.
"This situation is unfortunate and disappointing in that you're going to get a few circumstances of troublesome actors," Stapleton said, adding that he cannot say yet whether Neenan fits that definition"But I think overall, fundamentally, the program is a sound one."
The talk of broader oversight comes as the structural engineer on the project that first caught the attention of state regulators — an elementary school in Meeker — is defending the building as safe and well-designed. In his first interview, former Neenan engineer Gary Howell pointed a finger at local politics and supervisors who silenced his objections to an independent review that led to the school's closure"My perspective is, engineers disagree on their philosophies and there's a lot of gray areas in structural design," Howell said. "I think what we got into here was a school board being pressured by the citizens of Meeker to have a perfect building" built above code requirements. He said one criticism of his work — that the Meeker building's earthquake resistance was designed to standards for a storage shed, not a school — was simply a misprint. "The general notes were wrong," he said, but his actual calculations "used the Occupancy 3 importance factors (the school standard) for snow, wind and earthquake." Howell said he has been given no evidence that his underlying calculations were wrong. He also said there are "absolutely no drywall cracks throughout the building" in Meeker, and that the earthquake risk there "is almost nonexistent."
-- Eric Gorski and David Olinger Chicago Public Schools not using space, study finds-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: December 28, 2011 [ abstract] Half of Chicago Public Schools' buildings enroll fewer students than their classroom space allows, according to new district standards released Wednesday.
Under the new formula, 268 of the district's 527 elementary schools are underutilized, as are 68 high schools.
Only 249 of the city's 662 public schools were deemed to be efficient in terms of space to student population, according to the district analysis made public for the first time.
In a statement, schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard said the school-by-school reports "will be helpful tools for guiding our decision making."
But several advocates contend the new calculations aren't flexible enough — for example they don't give enough weight to classrooms needed for one-on-one tutoring or for small group instruction, which schools are legally required to provide for some students with learning challenges.
"You can use this as a starting point, as sort of a rough measure," said Don Moore, executive director of designs for Change and a member of the Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force, a state panel that monitors CPS' compliance with the new law. "But then you have to work with the school and take into consideration all of these other factors that can lead to a quality educational program,"
Chicago schools officials said they now consider an elementary school to be efficient when three-quarters of its classrooms are used for general instruction — with 30 students in every room — and 24 percent of the rooms are reserved for science labs, music or art.
The standards include specific levels of use for labeling schools as efficient, underutilized or overcrowded. A school also may be considered inefficient if space constraints hinder academic programs, according to district records.
District officials also determined standards for high schools, which for years had not been included in traditional definitions of efficiency because, for the most part, crowding in high schools has not been a problem, district officials said.
High schools now will be deemed overcrowded if enrollment exceeds 80 percent of the total number of classrooms multiplied by 30 students.
-- Tara Malone Preservationists hope to save historic school-- Montgomery Advertiser Alabama: December 28, 2011 [ abstract] Preservationists should know soon whether one of Alabama's oldest school buildings can be saved after a January fire nearly destroyed the 123-year-old Victorian structure.
Sam Frazier, a board member of the Alabama Trust of Historic Preservation and chairman of Birmingham's design Review Committee, said a cleanup of Powell School is under way in downtown Birmingham, and plans are being drawn for a new roof.
"We hope a new roof can stabilize the building," he said.
The fire left the school without a roof, leading to water damage on top of the damage caused by the fire. It is still possible the building will have to be demolished, but Frazier said he hopes it can be stabilized and saved for future development.
"We plan on finding a developer who wants to develop it for permanent use," he said. "It could be residential, because it's in a good residential neighborhood. It could be an office building. And, if the money were there, it could be a great public building."
The Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation is the new owner of the Powell School building -- built in 1887 -- and the 1.3 acres of land after the city of Birmingham donated the property along with insurance proceeds. Powell is the oldest school in Birmingham, and preservationists hope to know within a couple of months whether it can be saved.
-- Marie Leech Schools count a win-- The Columbus Dispatch Ohio: December 24, 2011 [ abstract] Hundreds of people gathered in Linden 10 years ago this month to take a leap of faith " breaking ground on the first new school building in the Columbus City Schools in more than a quarter century.
A band played and schoolchildren sang as construction of the $10.5 million Linden Elementary School was launched, replacing two buildings constructed in 1905 and 1920. The new building at 2626 Cleveland Ave. was designed to show wary voters that the district could manage a huge school-reconstruction plan being pushed by the state, which was offering a 30 percent funding match.
The next November, 54 percent of district voters approved a $392 million bond issue funding the first two segments of construction, and voters kept the ball rolling in 2008 with another $126 million. The state has kicked in $175 million, bringing the total budget to almost $700 million.
To date, 45 new or renovated schools have opened or will be done by the end of 2014. That represents almost 40 percent of the district’s current 118 schools.
-- Bill Bush City of Casper leaders question state school construction plan-- Billings Gazette Wyoming: December 14, 2011 [ abstract] The state’s construction plan for Natrona County high school projects doesn’t make sense to several Casper officials.
The state School Facilities Commission in November backed its department’s decision to stagger renovations to Kelly Walsh and Natrona County high schools and construction of a new, shared campus at a cost of $236 million. The staggered construction plan presented would renovate Kelly Walsh first, and NCHS students would attend classes on the Kelly Walsh campus during NCHS renovations.
Housing both schools on one campus would pose several public safety threats to students and people who live near the school, Police Chief Chris Walsh told the Natrona County school board facilities committee Wednesday. Walsh said 12th Street, which borders Kelly Walsh to the south, serves as a major, high-speed emergency response route and already becomes problematic around the start, end and lunch break of the school day.
“The area is just not designed for it,” Walsh said.
Walsh reported 35 accidents in and around Kelly Walsh and 20 accidents in and around NCHS since the beginning of this school year. Casper police were called 127 times at Kelly Walsh and 91 times at NCHS.
“We all know if you concentrate more people together " kids, whoever " there’s more conflict,” Walsh said, comparing the combined campus to the Casper Events Center.
City officials said building permits would be difficult to obtain.
“No one asked the city what the impacts of this are on us,” said Linda Witko, assistant city manager. “If (the facilities commission) had visited the site and looked at what we have to deal with " we have a whole community we have to serve.”
-- JACKIE BORCHARDT Ohio leads nation in green school projects-- Dayton Daily News Ohio: December 12, 2011 [ abstract] Ohio leads the country with more green school projects under way than any other state, the U.S. Green Building Council said in a report released today.
The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit released its first Best of Green Schools list recognizing recipients from across the country " from K-12 to higher education " for a variety of sustainable, cost-cutting measures including energy conservation.
In the state category, Ohio is the leader with 315 Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) green building-registered and -certified projects, including 19 schools registered this year.
The rating system contains nationally accepted benchmarks for the design, construction and operation of high performing green buildings.
“It’s wonderful and such an honor to receive this award because it shows the rest of the United States what’s happening truly in our state,” said Sue Meyer, a spokeswoman for the Ohio School Facilities Commission.
She also credited OSFC partners, including school districts, architects and construction teams.
Ohio has spent about $9.4 billion on renovation and construction of schools, Meyer said.
So far, more than 860 new or renovated buildings have been occupied.
Approximately 175 schools are under construction and 60 more schools are in the active design phase, Meyer said.
-- Margo Rutledge Kissell Quebec Heights school closure to draw protests-- Cincinnati.com Ohio: December 11, 2011 [ abstract] Parents and Price Hill community members plan to show up in force at the Cincinnati Public School board meeting Monday to protest the closure of Quebec Heights school.
Parents received a letter from the district earlier this month saying that the 392-student PreK-8 school, temporarily located on White Street in South Fairmount is closing.
The district blames a dispute with the state over school construction money and overall declines in enrollment at the 33,000-student district.
The news came as a shock to some community members, who thought plans were still ongoing to build the school a new environmentally-friendly building. The school moved last year from its Price Hill home to a temporary location in the old Central Fairmount school in South Fairmount so the old building could be demolished and rebuilt.
“I feel like we were blindsided,” said Pat Bruns, a Price Hill resident and retired teacher who was on the committee that helped design the new school.
“We heard the reason. We don’t agree with it. We need to give a voice to those children.”
-- Jessica Brown SF school construction projects lack earthquake safety checks-- San Francisco Examiner California: December 09, 2011 [ abstract] Some 54 school construction projects in The City and nearly 200 on the Peninsula are among more than 16,400 across California that lack state certification for earthquake and fire safety.
Over the past three years, about 23 percent of projects statewide have been completed but not certified by the state agency charged with ensuring the safety of school buildings, according to a scathing report published Thursday by California’s Bureau of State Audits.
In The City, these include a fire alarm upgrade at Yick Wo Elementary School, a window replacement at New Traditions Elementary and a $1.2 million building alteration at John O’Connell High School.
The report found that the Division of the State Architect could not say whether these projects met the requirements of the Field Act, a 1933 state law designed to protect students and teachers in the event of an earthquake. Yet the law allows school districts to occupy the uncertified properties, many of which have remained uncertified for years.
David Goldin, chief facilities officer for the San Francisco Unified School District, said missing certification does not mean a project is unsafe.
“At every level throughout our projects, the district takes the design, review, construction, oversight, testing and inspection of all of our school work sites as our highest priority,” he wrote.
Denise Porterfield, deputy superintendent for the San Mateo County Office of Education, said that a lack of certification is primarily a paperwork issue.
However, the auditor’s report found that the Division of the State Architect did not provide enough oversight of projects, relying on inspectors employed by school districts rather than sending its own field agents to check on construction.
-- Amy Crawford Jackson Heights schoolyard is 200th to become playground-- Queens Courier New York: December 07, 2011 [ abstract] One of the city’s most congested communities is getting a little extra room to breathe.
Schoolyards at P.S. 69 and I.S. 145 in Jackson Heights are being transformed into student-designed playgrounds that will be open to the public on weekdays after school until dusk and on weekends from 8 a.m. to dusk.
The renovations aim to provide the neighborhood with more open space, answering the calls from community leaders and local elected officials.
“My council district ranks 50 out of 51 districts in the city with regards to park space,” said Councilmember Daniel Dromm. “Jackson Heights is the second neediest district in terms of park space, according to the New Yorkers for Parks Survey. This transition will create new, open space for people to use for recreational activities, to sit and relax and enjoy a newspaper or just to take in some fresh air, and it provides my constitutions with something they have been telling me they want desperately " open space and green space.”
The councilmember believes the additional park space will also foster growth in Jackson Heights and encourage youthful visitors and prospective residents to enter the community.
“We have seen an influx of young families moving into the neighborhood, and open park space and good schools are the two things these families are most looking for,” Dromm said. “The open spaces will make this a great place to raise your kids. The added benefit is that parks raise property value and makes the neighborhood more desirable to people looking to purchase a new home. These playgrounds will contribute to the desirability of living in Jackson Heights.”
-- Michael Pantelidis Kendall Elementary breaks ground on new school garden-- Foothills Gazette Washington: December 05, 2011 [ abstract] Kendall Elementary students, teachers and families broke ground on a new garden on Saturday, Dec. 3. The garden, which is being constructed under the guidance of the Common Threads School Garden Collective, will allow students to learn about food, farming, horticulture, and the environment.
Kendall joins 10 other Whatcom County schools in engaging with Common Threads to get their garden started. “School gardens are more sustainable if there’s a garden educator or an outside human resource to keep the energy going,” according to Common Threads’ Tessa Bundy. Having an experienced person come in and rally the troops, she explained, can make the garden more sustainable.
Saturday’s ground-breaking followed guidelines laid out by a landscape designer who works with Common Threads, but the work to follow will offer opportunity for creative input from the Kendall Elementary community. A garden committee, made up of parents, teachers, and staff, will join Common Threads staff in a visioning process to determine what shape the garden should take in the spring. What to plant and whether to prioritize food crops, vibrant flowers, or a garden theme are all questions that will be answered in a collaborative process over the coming months.
Kendall Elementary principal Charles Burleigh is happy to see the garden starting, and feels that student interest will grow now that the first visible progress has been made. The project has evolved almost entirely out of parent support, Burleigh said, pointing to Kendall parent Katie Chugg as the garden’s most vocal supporter. “I would say she’s right at the center of making these things happen,” Principal Burleigh said “I really appreciate our parent organization taking the lead. [The project] is going to be a great opportunity for our students.”
-- Marnie Jones Editorial: Systematic deficiencies in school-building oversight?-- The Denver Post Colorado: December 04, 2011 [ abstract] Revelations that a new, $18.9 million school in rural Meeker was built to dangerously substandard levels have raised questions about the adequacy of Colorado's school design oversight.
State officials are waiting for the results of examinations of other school construction projects before they can determine whether this was an aberration or the sign of a larger problem.
It's an important question, and one that has an air of deja vu about it.
In 2007, we editorialized about a 93-page state audit that found "Colorado has done a shockingly poor job of overseeing the construction of K-12 schools."
The report detailed how the state had been conducting only perfunctory reviews of school construction plans, and engaged in very few on-site inspections.
In response, the state increased staffing with a goal of doing a better job ensuring schools were built to appropriate standards. A different division within state government is now responsible for overseeing school construction plans.
We are hoping the review of structural engineering on 15 additional school projects that got state grant money through BEST, which stands for Building Excellent Schools Today, will provide clarity on the construction oversight process.
-- Staff Writer Plan to Close or Restructure 21 Chicago Schools Draws Quick Reaction-- New York Times Illinois: December 03, 2011 [ abstract] Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s education team made its first attempt at improving struggling schools last week, and the negative reviews came quickly. State legislators and community leaders called the proposed closing or restructuring of 21 schools “very troubling” and said administrators were violating the intent of a new state law.
Chicago Public Schools designated 10 schools for turnaround " a controversial process in which existing staff members are fired and changes are made in the school’s curriculum and learning climate. Four elementary schools will be closed, two high schools will be phased out, and six schools, one of which will also begin phasing out, will share buildings.
About 7,800 students will be affected by the proposed changes, and more than 600 teachers and other employees could lose their jobs. All the designated schools are on the city’s South and West Sides.
Legislation signed in August by Gov. Pat Quinn requires the district to follow a strict timeline for school closings and requires public comment at nearly every step of the process. The district is allowed to set the guidelines for determining which schools are subject to turnaround or closing. District officials are relying on academic achievement as the key factor in those decisions.
But academic performance at the designated schools varies widely. For example, the school district is proposing a turnaround at Pablo Casals Elementary School, where 62 percent of the students met or exceeded state standards in math and reading. At the same time, they also plan to turn around Fuller Elementary School, which had just 37 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards.
Oliver Sicat, the district’s chief portfolio officer, said administrators were careful to take action only at schools where students had a better option nearby.
“Our recommendations are to close schools where we feel like we can put our students in a better seat now,” Mr. Sicat said.
Members of the Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force, a state entity that monitors Chicago Public Schools’ compliance with the new law, said the proposed guidelines were too vague and the process was not transparent enough to satisfy the law’s requirements.
Representative Cynthia Soto, Democrat of Chicago, one of the bill’s sponsors, said, “We need explanations, specific explanations” for the decisions to close or restructure the schools.
-- REBECCA VEVEA Curriculum-driven Facilities Inspire High School Students-- SFGate.com California: November 30, 2011 [ abstract] California's High Sierra Mountains are home to more than majestic peaks, world-class ski resorts, old west towns, and giant sequoias. This mountainous region features some of the finest high school education facilities in the nation, especially when it comes to Career Technical Education (CTE) programs. designed by California-based Architecture Firm, LPA Inc., the CTE facilities at South Tahoe High School include the "Green" Construction and Transportation Academy-completed in 2010, the Tahoe Arts and design Academy (TADA)-completed in 2011, and the Sports Medicine Academy-to be completed in 2013.
Paid for by grants and other financial aid, these programs are part of a five-phase construction program, which also includes a $12 million Overcrowding Relief Grant (ORG) funded classroom building-completed in 2010, and a new Campus Commons Student Union-to be completed in 2012.
As we enter the holiday season, students perform their first full production in the TADA building, "42nd Street." The $9.3 million facility has been called, by some, a "miracle at 6,300 feet," and by others, a "mini Pixar Studio." The 28,000-square-foot building features editing suites, sound proof recording studios, dozens of big-screen LCD televisions, a tiered orchestra room and a professional-grade theater. Inspiration for this career tech success story, was drawn from actual, Hollywood production studios. Leaders from the Lake Tahoe Unified School District joined faculty members and students from South Tahoe High School and the K-12 school designers at LPA, for a tour of several Hollywood production studios, including POP Sound in Santa Monica, Calif.
-- PRWeb Writer Issues found at another Colorado school built by Neenan Co.-- Denver Post Colorado: November 29, 2011 [ abstract] Structural issues have emerged at another school being constructed by the Neenan Co., a major builder of rural Colorado schools that already has admitted making mistakes that closed an $18.9 million school in Meeker. Neenan has agreed to pay for repairs at Monte Vista High School in southern Colorado "to stiffen it up in case of a catastrophic event like an earthquake," the district's superintendent, Dwayne Newman, told The Denver Post. He said Neenan plans to strengthen the connections between columns and a large metal beam in the gym, as well as perform additional work on the foundation.
The school district received a $27.6 million state grant to help pay for the new high school — which is scheduled to open in August — as well as an elementary-school renovation and addition.
Neenan already has agreed to a Colorado Department of Education request that it hire an outside firm to review the structural engineering on 15 school projects that won $150 million in grants through the Building Excellent Schools Today program, or BEST. Issues with the school in Monte Vista, however, came to light in mid-September during a separate outside review, said Andy Boian, a spokesman for Neenan. Newman said Neenan offered an outside review after problems surfaced at Meeker's school, which was closed last summer when school officials learned it was built to the wrong safety codes and at risk of collapse in extreme weather. Newman said the Monte Vista high school was built to the correct occupancy code.
Neenan did not agree with the proposed fix in Monte Vista but agreed to carry it out anyway, Boian said. He said that neither Neenan nor the outside reviewer — Computerized Structural design — considered the situation a "life-safety issue." "This revolves around a difference of opinion, and we opted to go with the recommendation of the peer review engineer firm," Boian said.
-- Eric Gorski and David Olinger Committee Looks at Options Besides Closing Reed -- Newton Patch Connecticut: November 28, 2011 [ abstract] Having received a less than favorable report on the possibility of returning the fifth and sixth grades to the elementary schools, the Ad-hoc School Facilities Committee will look at some more options as part of its more than year-long probe into what school could be closed in light of declining enrollment.
One possibility now being considered is the closing of Reed Intermediate School while a second would be the partial closing of a school – or at least designating the space for other uses.
The committee, which met last Tuesday at the Municipal Center, was to have issued its final decision but delayed the action in order to give members more time.
â€"I feel like I need to go through all of this information and read through it,†Legislative Council member Kathy Fetchick, who also serves on the committee, said in advocating for a delay in issuing a decision. â€"I just feel like it would be premature of us even though the committee has been together for some time. We have been given a lot of information over the last three meetings.â€
Formed last year, the committee has been tasked at looking at the possibility of closing a school in light of declining enrollment. The committee's work would then be used as input into a study of town space needs in light of demands for community centers, senior centers and other uses.
However, the process has been stalled as the work of the Ad-hoc School Facilities Committee has been slow going.
Early in the process, the group appeared to have ruled out closing an elementary school due to the concern that the district may be caught off guard if real estate sales in one part of the town take off and more school children move into a particular sector of town.
-- Hoa Nguyen OP-ED | ECS Task Force: ‘Fess Up, Fix Up, and Fund Our Future!-- CT News Junkie Connecticut: November 28, 2011 [ abstract] The challenge before the ECS Task Force is nothing less than how best to fund the future of today’s students and tomorrow’s workforce, the future of the state of Connecticut as a viable and growing economy steeped in traditions of social justice, and the future of our public schools along with the right to once again proudly proclaim our schools to be among the finest in the nation.
Defying the age-old school tradition of an F signifying really bad performance, I’d like to continue in my last column’s alliterative vein to suggest three constructive, forward-looking Fs that the ECS Task Force might want to mull over as it begins work on its January 2012 interim report to the legislature.
2. Fix up those existing schools that are in serious need of updating. In addition to the urgency of providing catch-up/turnaround operations funding for the state’s most fiscally distressed school districts, might the Task Force place a premium on long overdue new construction or renovate-as-new facilities projects in communities that are way behind the curve when it comes to modern, safe, healthy school buildings designed for 21st century teaching and learning? The State Department of Education’s latest facility report (1999) shows that of the 1,036 public school buildings maintained by cities and towns, nearly half were built before 1950, and one-fourth of all schools haven’t been renovated since 1980. Elementary schools comprise about 70 percent of school facilities that are oldest, based on year of construction and last renovation. Not surprisingly, the average age of facilities since the last major renovation increases as one moves down the District Reference Groups A- to-I, reflecting the decreasing wealth levels of school districts and the inability and/or lack of political will of their communities to shoulder the required local bonding share of facility improvements.
Underscoring the importance of modern facilities to both the learning process and neighborhood revitalization is an extraordinary new study independently conducted by two Yale University economists, Christopher Neilson and Seth Zimmerman. They examined the effects of New Haven’s extensive school construction project on Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) reading and math scores for elementary and middle school students, home prices in the surrounding neighborhoods, associated increases in property tax revenues, and changes in public school enrollment patterns.
-- Dianne Kaplan deVries Series of errors led to new Meeker school's closing for serious structural problems-- The Denver Post Colorado: November 20, 2011 [ abstract] MEEKER — The new grade school sits empty up Sulphur Creek Road.
The doors are locked. A sign taped to the window tells delivery drivers to take their packages elsewhere.
Children attended classes in the $18.9 million building for an entire school year before it was deemed unsafe to occupy — the result of mistakes by the company that designed and built it, a state agency that missed a glaring error and local school officials who kept the building open despite repeated warnings, The Denver Post has found.
The first sign that something was wrong came in October 2010, when dirt piled outside the gym caused a wall to lean a few inches.
When Meeker School District RE-1 finally brought in an outside firm to review the structural integrity of the school nine months later, much deeper problems became apparent: The school had been designed with a building-code standard used for storage sheds and was at risk of collapse in severe weather.
The Neenan Co., the Fort Collins design-and-build firm the district hired, has acknowledged making mistakes and pledged to pay for repairs. School district officials, meanwhile, say they are committed to safety and careful oversight.
But already, reverberations are being felt well beyond this no-stoplight town of 2,500. Two state agencies are reviewing other Neenan school projects, including work in eight districts financed with $150 million in state money.
Over little more than a decade, Neenan has built or upgraded nearly 100 schools in Colorado, most in rural districts.
And the failures in Meeker invite questions about the state's ability to spot whether other schools were designed to safety standards.
-- Eric Gorski and David Olinger Dallas - Fort Worth Area Public Schools Go Green -- Green Source FW Texas: November 18, 2011 [ abstract] For a lesson in energy efficiency and sustainability, teacher Julie Clark needs only to walk her fourth grade students through the halls of Ridgeview Elementary School in the Keller. This semester, Ridgeview, part of the Keller Independent School District, joined numerous new and renovated schools around the North Texas area that were designed to be more energy-efficient and sustainable.
Every few days, Clark said that she and her students monitor a garden plot outside their classroom where they’ve planted corn, squash and pumpkins. They talk about how the weather and drainage are affecting growth.Clark points out the new building’s solar panels for a lesson plan on renewable energy.
When a certain amount of sunlight shines into Clark’s classroom, she said the overhead lights closest to the windows automatically turn off. Windows and skylights limit the amount of artificial light needed in the hallways. “I’ve taught in schools built in the 50s and I’ve taught in schools built this year. For the kids having that natural light and just the openness and just the lightness of it, I really see a difference in the kids because I think they feel a little bit more free to do kind of out of the box things,” said Clark. “And it kind of has acalming effect on them and just contributes to a very positive, happy atmosphere in the school.”
-- Theresa Mioli New School Design To Save State Thousands In Utility Bills-- Civil Beat Hawaii: November 18, 2011 [ abstract] Hawaii's new Ewa Makai Middle School, which opened in January, has already exceeded lofty environmental sustainability expectations and could save the Department of Education as much as $22,000 per year in utility costs.
The department announced on Friday that Ewa Makai received Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its energy-efficient construction and environmentally friendly design — a step higher than the Silver certification expected.
The middle school is equipped with an air conditioning system that works with day lighting to conserve energy. Contractors were also required to use green materials, include special control for storm water runoff, and test for material emissions before students moved into the building. Its energy efficiency has the potential to save the department up to $22,000 per year in utilities. That's a boon to a department that earlier this year predicted it would cost $1.5 billion to air condition all of Hawaii's public school campuses.
The 175,900-square-foot campus in Ewa Beach cost $64.8 million to build and is one of the first single-structure schools in Hawaii. But more like it are in the planning stage in anticipation of rapid population growth on the west side of Oahu.
-- Katherine Poythress Massachusetts School Building Authority gives emergency status to tornado-damaged Springfield renovation projects-- The Republican Massachusetts: November 16, 2011 [ abstract] Following a June 1 tornado that caused serious damage to two local schools, the Massachusetts School Building Authority has granted emergency status to both renovation projects.
The authority announced on Wednesday that its Board of Directors voted to proceed into schematic design for renovations to the Elias Brookings Elementary School on Hancock Street and for renovations and an addition at the Mary Dryden Veterans Memorial School on Surrey Road, as petitioned by the city.
The announcement was made by the board’s chairman, State Treasurer Steven Grossman, and its executive director, Katherine Craven.
“It’s extremely significant,” said Rita L. Coppola, the city’s director of capital asset construction. “It shows not only that they are again a willing partner with the city of Springfield, but it shows they are, at this early stage, willing to step up to the plate and say to the city and its citizens: ‘We are with you on this.’”
-- Peter Goonan New K-8 School Planned for NYC Skyscraper-- School Construction News New York: November 16, 2011 [ abstract] Expected enrollment growth in the New York City school district, where land to build schools is not easy to find, prompted officials to think outside the box " but inside a high rise.
PS/IS 342, also known as The Riverside Center School, is a new public school that will occupy the first four floors of a New York City skyscraper.
The New York City School Construction Authority selected locally based Dattner Architects to design the school within Extell’s Riverside Center mixed-use development on Manhattan’s west side. The school will serve 488 pre-kindergarten through eighth grade students. It will feature more than 20 new classrooms, art and music rooms and a science suite, along with a library, gymnasium and cafeteria.
“What usually happens is, (the School Construction Authority) sees there’s a need for a new school because of the projected number of school age youngsters,” said a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Education. “They also look at schools in the neighborhood and utilization rates to determine whether a new school is needed.”
The project’s design will meet the Green Schools Guide, a LEED-equivalent system used for all NYC public school capital projects that Dattner Architects developed for the NYC School Construction Authority, officials from the firm said.
International design firm Atelier Christian de Portzamparc Architects and New York-based SLCE Architects designed the high-rise tower.
Dattner officials said the design and construction of the core and shell of the Riverside Center and the school interiors is being closely coordinated. Construction is expected to begin in 2014 and the school plans to open for September 2015 occupancy.
Authority officials said they have similar private-public partnerships like the planned PS/IS 342, including a Lower Manhattan school opening in September as part of a residential building and a similar project in East Harlem.
-- Staff Writer PS 69 and IS 145 in congested Jackson Heights set to open playgrounds for public use -- NY Daily News New York: November 14, 2011 [ abstract] A congested community in western Queens that fought long and hard for more parks is about to get a little more open space.
The city is transforming two Jackson Heights schoolyards into student-designed playgrounds that will be open to the public after school and on weekends.
Community leaders were also optimistic that the city will soon hammer out a deal to buy land from a nearby private school to expand Travers Park.
“These are good things for the neighborhood,” said City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights). “Our community needs as much green space as possible.”
Construction on the schoolyard at Intermediate School 145 began last month. When it is finished by summer, it will include basketball courts, play equipment and a game table area.
The playground at Public School 69 is to be completed by the spring, according to the city Parks Department.
The renovated play areas are part of the city’s Schoolyards to Playgrounds program, which has so far opened up almost 200 of the 290 designated spaces citywide.
The yards are picked based on the amount of nearby open space and the number of children living in the area, said Susan Donoghue, an assistant Parks commissioner.
The Trust for Public Land, a national land conservation group, works with students and locals to design the new playgrounds.
Dromm said the spaces were good for the “influx of young families.”
He has also been pushing the Garden School, a cash-strapped nursery-through-12th-grade institution, to sell its 29,000-square-foot yard to the city. The land is across the street from Travers Park.
The community plans to use the land to expand the park and turn 78th St., which divides the properties, into a permanent pedestrian plaza.
“I’m optimistic that we’ll have a good deal,” Dromm said.
-- Clare Trapasso School facilities bill had strong support at the polls -- Baltimore Sun Blog Maryland: November 09, 2011 [ abstract] An overwhelming majority of Baltimore city voters cast ballots in favor of a charter amendment that will establish a fund to support school facility improvements, according to unofficial poll figures, and education advocates said Wednesday that they see the vote as a "call to action" from the public.
Transform Baltimore, a group of education advocates and school leaders from around the city that have joined the ACLU of Maryland in calling for a funding solution for the estimated $2.8 billion in improvements needed in city school buildings, celebrated the almost 87 percent of voters who voted in favor of the amendment.
The charter amendment received the highest overall percentage of votes in the city-wide, contested races, though not the highest raw number of votes. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake received 84 percent of votes.
â€"The vote sends a clear message that Baltimore citizens support our students' and teachers' right to have decent, modern, and well-equipped buildings and that funds need to be allocated for that purpose," said Frank Patinella, of the ACLU and Transform Baltimore campaign, in a release sent by the group Wednesday.
The group held a "Speak Out" event last week, where hundreds of teachers, students and parents sounded off about the abysmal conditions of their school buildings, which are owned by the city, not the school system.
The Transform Baltimore campaign also met with Rawlings-Blake last week to pitch a funding model that has helped to rapidly modernize and improve school buildings in South Carolina. You can read a letter the group sent on Nov. 2 by clicking here.
One of the drawbacks of the charter amendment is that the mayor's finance team opposed granting the City Council authority to designate taxpayer money to the fund once it was established. The finance department said that granting such a power
-- Erica Green A Penny for Education -- Athens Patch Georgia: November 07, 2011 [ abstract] Tomorrow, voters in Athens will find just one item on the ballot: the one-cent sales tax referendum for public schools.
The education"Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax has been in effect in Athens-Clarke County since 1997. If this issue is approved tomorrow, e-SPLOST 2012 will run from July 2012 through June 2017.
The pennies raised through the sale of automobiles, UGA sweatshirts and scoops of frozen yogurt, among other items, have helped renovate, rebuilt and redesign many of the city’s public school buildings into places that enhance learning, according to Clarke County School District officials.
A large proportion of these pennies, advocates will tell you, comes from University of Georgia students, football fans who flock to home games and employees who live in neighboring counties but who work, eat and shop in Athens.
The 2012 eSPLOST is expected to raise $105 million, officials says. And how will this money be spent?
-- Rebecca McCarthy Natrona County school construction stalls-- Star Tribune Wyoming: November 06, 2011 [ abstract] Natrona County’s high school construction projects have been in the spotlight, while four elementary school projects have not moved forward since money was appropriated in early March.
District officials said they repeatedly requested permission from the state School Facilities Department to move forward in the planning stage for four elementary schools " Park, Evansville, Pineview and North Casper " since August. Officials said the department did not grant their requests, delaying project planning and in turn design and construction.
Money to plan the four schools was outlined in a supplemental budget request and became available to the district in March. District officials did not seek official approval to plan, called a Director’s Authorization Letter, until August because they thought verbal communication with the local project manager was enough, said Mark Antrim, associate superintendent of facilities and technology.
“It has been frustrating because our students and patrons are left in the unknown zone for periods of time,” Antrim said.
The district has to fulfill several requirements before official planning with state money can begin, and district officials received a list of those requirements, said Ian Catellier, director of the School Facilities Department.
“This is not a new process,” said Catellier, who began his term as director in June. “They know the things they have to get in place. We will work with them.”
But district officials say the process has not been clear. Antrim said the steps to receive a DAL and planning money " civil engineering survey, land appraisals " require funding. In October, school districts were told they could use major maintenance money from the state to complete the DAL requirements and would be reimbursed later as long as projects had been approved.
The four Natrona County schools have been " for the planning phase, at least.
-- JACKIE BORCHARDT Gov. Chris Christie should push school construction projects forward-- Star-Ledger New Jersey: November 03, 2011 [ abstract] The national debate about how to jump-start the economy is focused on creating jobs for the 25 million Americans who are unemployed. President Obama is pushing Congress to pass the American Jobs Act, which would put the nation’s hard-hit construction sector to work on long-overdue infrastructure projects, including the rebuilding of crumbling and outmoded public schools.
But New Jersey doesn’t have to wait for Congress to act.
Gov. Chris Christie could put thousands of New Jersey’s construction workers, as well as architects, engineers and building suppliers, back to work right now. All he has to do is give the go-ahead to work on school construction projects already approved and designed by the Schools Development Authority, the state agency responsible for improving governance, operations and accountability.
These “shovel-ready” projects will benefit communities all over the state. The list includes Phillipsburg High School, Lanning Square Elementary School in Camden, Gloucester City Middle School, West New York High School and many more. In total, there are 53 major school facilities projects that are ready, or almost ready, to be built.
Yet Christie stopped work on these projects when he took office in January 2010, an order that remains in effect. The governor also halted hundreds of health and safety projects in existing schools, which could put at risk students and teachers in some of the oldest and most dilapidated school buildings in the state.
-- Theresa Luhm Huge Modernization Campaign Transforms D.C. School System-- Washington Diplomat District of Columbia: November 02, 2011 [ abstract] Cardozo Senior High School cuts an imposing figure, a hulking structure that overlooks Washington, D.C., from its perch between Florida Avenue and Clifton Street, NW, in the Columbia Heights neighborhood.
Originally built as Central High School in 1916 and intended for use by white students in the city's segregated school system, architect William Ittner designed the building in a Collegiate Gothic style, with limestone trim and tile work juxtaposed against the dark red bricks used for the majority of the construction.
According to observers at the time, Ittner "conceived the modern school as a splendid civic monument, to become a potent factor in the academic development of the community." The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
But like many of D.C.'s public schools, over the years Cardozo suffered from neglect that was both academic and physical.
In 1998, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported that 70 percent of the facilities under D.C. Public Schools "were in poor physical condition." A 2005 report by the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs called the physical state of the city's schools "deplorable," detailing conditions that "most people associate with slums."
By 2007, city officials reported a backlog of 20,000 work orders, hinting at a system that wasn't just sinking, but failing to do even the most basic repairs to stay afloat. The same year, Cardozo was declared a "failing school."
But this September, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray proudly announced that Cardozo would undergo a year-and-a-half-long modernization. When the school reopens in 2013, it will feature a brand new 24,000-square-foot gymnasium, renovated classrooms, improved technological capacity, and new windows, doors and exterior treatments. It will, many hope, become the splendid civic monument Ittner conceived it to be.
-- Martin Austermuhle New Oxon Hill High in works, but for fewer students-- Gazette.net Maryland: November 02, 2011 [ abstract] Plans are under way for a new Oxon Hill High School building and several additions, but a Prince George’s County official is concerned the new school’s capacity " 400 students fewer than Oxon Hill High’s current enrollment " is too small.
In a letter Tuesday to Maryland Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot, County Councilman Obie Patterson (D-Dist. 8) of Fort Washington said he is concerned there were students “not accounted for in the school formula for future enrollment.”
“We cannot afford to build a new school that on opening day will not meet the needs of each student and eventually end with students being taught in temporary shelters,” he wrote to Franchot, who serves on the state’s Board of Public Works.
“The comptroller is always happy to hear from constituents, stakeholders, and other elected officials on issues that come to the Board of Public Works,” said Joe Shapiro, a spokesman for Franchot. He did not have additional comments.
In his letter, Patterson said the school has a current enrollment of about 1,600 students, but the new school building is projected to hold 1,200 students.
In 2006, the Prince George’s County’s Board of Education planned for the building to hold 2,300 students.
County school board member Edward P. Burroughs III (Dist. 8) said based on state projections, overflow students could be moved to nearby Crossland High School in Temple Hills or Potomac High School in Oxon Hill, which are underenrolled, but he added the new Oxon Hill High building is designed to allow for expansion.
“I strongly urge [comptroller Franchot] and his colleagues to consider granting Oxon Hill more seats because in my opinion it seems a little short-sighted to build the school for 1,200 seats when right now the school has 1,600 seats,” he said.
-- Mimi Liu Mississippi schools need millions for renovations-- Clarion Ledger Mississippi: October 31, 2011 [ abstract] Leaky roofs, aging buildings and ancient portable classrooms aren't just aesthetic issues. School buildings in poor condition can impair students' learning, some educators and advocates say.
If everything else is equal, students in a building that's in better condition and has a better design perform better, said Mary Filardo, executive director of the 21st Century School Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that aims to improve facilities in urban public schools. Students in better facilities tend to score between 3 percent and 5 percent higher on standardized tests, she said.
"It doesn't seem like a lot," she said, but district officials spend lots of money on teacher training, tutors and other things that are not as reliable as ensuring buildings are adequate, she said.
-- Marquita Brown Wilson High burning up and busting at seams-- Washington Examiner District of Columbia: October 31, 2011 [ abstract] By any measure, Tenleytown's new Wilson High School is a beautiful, functional, well-designed school facility. At $100 million, the city got its money's worth from Sigal Construction when the renovated school was unveiled in August. Students were giddy. Parents beamed. Faculty members celebrated.
The thanks from a few bad actors? Two fires set in the bathrooms a few weeks ago. The second, on October 11, forced an evacuation of the entire school. Repairs were estimated at $150,000.
"In some way," Principal Pete Cahall wrote to parents, "I do not want to think or talk about the two incidents that we had in the last two weeks with fires being set in the bathrooms, but I am confident that we have turned the page on this type of destructive behavior."
Cahall has struggled with discipline in the city's largest public high school. By most measures, he has been succeeding. He told parents the fires had been investigated, he had fingered four students, he would recommend expulsion and was "pressing for the most severe criminal charges."
Near as I can tell, there have been no criminal charges, though cases against juveniles are often under wraps. Here's the official word from the school system:
"We have investigated the situation and took appropriate actions but cannot comment further on these incidents."
Bottom line: we're not sure anyone suffered any consequences, which is too often the result in D.C. But the two fires raise a much larger problem, for Cahall, Wilson and the entire school system.
Wilson High has too many students, period. The new facility was designed to educate 1,500 students, which has been Wilson's average enrollment over the past decade or so. Cahall informed parents in a recent missive the current student population stands at 1,648. At that number, Cahall's efforts to get kids to class on time, to keep the halls free of stragglers, to secure the doors, to keep bad actors from setting fires are much more difficult, if not impossible.
-- Harry Jaffe 20 districts in Maricopa County seek bonds, overrides-- Tucson Citizen Arizona: October 30, 2011 [ abstract] Asking voters to approve bonds or overrides in an off-year election can be risky because turnout is typically lower, but 20 school districts in Maricopa County are doing it to help make up for the big drop in state K-12 funding.
“It used to be that overrides were designed to pay for extra things, but now because of cuts in funding, for many districts they’re part of their basic survival,” said Chuck Essigs, interim executive director of the Arizona School Boards Association.
The Legislature cut $150 million from K-12 education for 2011-12 " the third funding decrease in a row " and has underfunded the state School Facilities Board, intended to pay for building maintenance, for several years.
In Maricopa County, five school districts are seeking construction bonds and 13 are asking voters to approve overrides.
Two districts " Paradise Valley Unified and Phoenix Union High School " are seeking both a bond and an override. They also have the largest bond measures on the Nov. 8 ballot: $203 million and $230 million, respectively.
Some school districts believe that asking voters to consider a tax-related measure is easier in an off-year election. They think they can get the message out when there are few other issues on one ballot.
“What’s interesting is that in some districts they feel they do better in an off year because they get people who understand the issue to address it, and others feel better in general-election years, when there’s better turnout,” Essigs said.
-- Mary Beth Faller Designers pursue downtown magnet elementary school-- Tennessean Tennessee: October 30, 2011 [ abstract] A magnet elementary school in downtown Nashville could sway more affluent families to leave the suburbs and raise their kids in high-rise lofts, a nonprofit that wants to help shape the city says.
The Nashville Civic design Center wants the school on vacant lots near Fourth Avenue South and Peabody Street. The nation’s healthiest cities have 2 percent of the population living downtown, their designers say, and families add a component of friendliness and safety, plus breed new amenities such as playgrounds, day cares and grocery stores.
But Metro Nashville Public School planners say funding for new schools doesn’t come before the need is there. Downtown is zoned for Buena Vista Elementary, which is at capacity, but three other nearby elementaries " Napier, Park Avenue and Carter Lawrence " are not.
“You don’t build a school and they will come,” said Joe Edgens, executive director of facilities and operations. “This isn’t Field of Dreams in baseball. You have to have a population there first.”
But the design center says none of those schools is close enough or offers the quality needed to make a difference. The nonprofit is forging ahead, working with a University of Tennessee-Knoxville school of architecture class to draft designs to be unveiled next month. designers hope the drawings will spark funding from outside groups.
Their report released over the summer, “New Schools for Downtown Nashville,” also encourages relocating the Nashville School for the Arts from Foster Avenue to the Bicentennial Mall area.
-- Julie Hubbard Beloit School District(IL) Facilities problems outlined-- Beloit Daily News Illinois: October 26, 2011 [ abstract] Beloit School District Manager of Buildings and Grounds Jeff Jacobson gave a facilities update at Tuesday evening's board meeting, detailing the district's most pressing needs.
There are 1,166,918-square-feet of educational facilities in the district located on 156.6 acres. Issues of grave concern are roofing systems, boilers, windows and doors, the necessity for asbestos removal, kitchen renovations, parking lots, Americans with Disability Act requirements and much-needed classroom light retrofits.
There are six elementary buildings with one aging boiler: Converse (1953); Hackett (1989), McLenegan (1999); Merrill (1966); Robinson (1955); and Royce (1958). There are two buildings with insufficient heating - Morgan Elementary School and Kolak Education Center.
"Efficiencies are running at a percentage of what they are designed to do," he said.
There are also concerns of proper ventilation and air conditioning to protect computer labs.
Roofing systems were evaluated in 2007 by Facility Engineering Inc. with recommendations for $4.1 million in work through 2012.
"We are at the end of the life on many of these roofing systems," he said.
Districtwide average roofing age is 18 years. Roofing upgrades have been identified at Cunningham Elementary, Royce Elementary, Wright Elementary, Kolak Education Center and Aldrich Middle School.
Elementary inspections in 2008 recommended tuck pointing repairs at all locations. Brick fractures and mortar joint failures are occurring because of building settlement and thermal expansions and contractions. Problems have been identified at Converse, Hackett, Merrill, Morgan, Todd and Aldrich schools.
There is also a need for exit door replacements. Many doors have worn hinges, defective locks and compromised security. A number of windows also need replacement in order to prevent moisture damage, and to keep out insects. Most severe needs have been identified at Beloit Memorial High School and Hackett.
-- Hillary Gavan Renovated Upper St. Clair Schools in Pennsylvania Embrace 21st Century Learning and Green Technology -- The Almanac Pennsylvania: October 26, 2011 [ abstract] Upper St. Clair School District celebrated the recent renovations of Boyce and Fort Couch middle schools with ribbon-cutting ceremonies on Oct. 22.
David McLean, AIA, architect with Graves & McLean Registered Architects, LLC, said the renovations at Boyce were the extension of a successful design, with 70 percent of the project being renovations and about 30 percent new construction. At Fort Couch, McLean said there was more of a transformation, creating specific space and identity for the team-teaching approach used at the school.
McLean emphasized the "green" technology incorporated in both buildings, which features natural light and fresh air. Dr. Patrick O'Toole, USC School District superintendent, said, "We are proud of the LEED aspects of the design, both from the viewpoint of the economic advantages and the example set for our students for environmental responsibility."
O'Toole commented that the newly renovated schools, which feature the arch design used at the high school, are representative of the continuity of education in the district. "We are excited to have two 21st century schools for our students and community. The facilities are ideal for middle-level student learning."
Dr. John Bornyas, director of operations, community relations & special projects, has been very involved with the renovation project, which he said incorporated timeless design elements and finishes. With the completion of the middle school renovations, all of the district's schools have been renovated, said Bornyas. "It is truly a milestone for the school district." Upper St. Clair School District's capital project program of comprehensive school building renovations started in 1998 with the renovation of the high school, which was completed in 2000. The district's three elementary schools were renovated in 2002-2003. The renovation construction projects at both middle schools began in August 2009 and are in the final stages of completion.
-- Terry Kish Seismic schools rebuilding, other projects underway with penny tax-- Live 5 News WCSC South Carolina: October 24, 2011 [ abstract] It's been almost a year since the penny sales tax for school building projects went into effect in Charleston County. Now several school construction projects are underway, including the rebuilding of five schools that can't withstand a strong earthquake and other schools that are old and need updates.
Charleston County School District leaders say Saint Andrews School of Math and Science is a place where students get a top notch education in not so top notch conditions.
"We saw things here that are safety hazards. We saw teachers making do in conditions that are not ideal," CCSD Superintendent Dr. Nancy McGinley said.
CCSD officials and Charleston Mayor Joe Riley toured the facility to see some of the problems, which the district says includes: traffic, parking, AC units and that nearly 40 percent of the students are in trailers.
It is one of 17 schools on the district's list to be rebuilt or renovated in a six-year time span, paid for with the penny sales tax.
Eventually the school district hopes the 60-year-old Saint Andrews will be rebuilt with state-of-the-art facilities, similar to those at the 2-year-old Oakland Elementary. The school boasts a modern design, smart boards, computer labs and safety and security measures.
Five schools that were deemed seismically unsafe were first on the list to be rebuilt. District leaders say the students are attending classes at temporary locations, and the rebuilding of Memminger, James Simmons and Sullivans Island Elementaries, and Buist and Charleston Progressive Academies are on schedule to be complete by 2013.
-- Nicole Johnson Pikesville Group Wants Air Conditioning for High School -- Pikesville Patch Maryland: October 19, 2011 [ abstract] Some days at Pikesville High School are more uncomfortably hot than others, said Jeff Jerome, vice president of the school's Parent, Teacher, Student Association.
For example, one day he picked his son up from school and noticed that all his son's papers were damp. "My son's papers were all wet because he was sweating all day in class. It's pretty bad," Jerome said.
Jerome and other PTSA parents are speaking out these days. Some say the heat is uncomfortable and inhibits learning. Others say students are exhausted from the heat when they get home. And others say it exacerbates conditions like asthma.
They want installing air conditioning to be a budget priority at the school they say is hotter than others because of the way it was constructed, Jerome said.
Pikesville High School is unique because the south, sunny side of the building is constructed with black, heat-absorbing metal panels, and there's no shade there, said Jerome, a former engineer.
The design coupled with the fact that there is no air conditioning at the school makes the building "extremely hot," he said.
-- Janet Metzner Camden parents feel bulldozed on school project-- Philly Inquirer New Jersey: October 16, 2011 [ abstract] When the chunks of concrete began falling, Camden's Lanning Square School closed and students were temporarily moved into two 19th-century buildings.
Nine years and $10 million later, the Lanning Square School has been demolished, architectural plans have been drawn for a new building, and adjacent homes have been seized by eminent domain - but the neighborhood is nowhere near getting a new school.
Now children's advocates are calling for an investigation into how part of the land set aside for a $42.4 million school has become a parking lot for a politically connected construction project.
"For them to take property that's designated for that purpose, ready to be built, and then behind closed doors, with no public process, no accountability, let somebody else use the property . . . raises serious concerns that warrant investigation," said David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center in Newark, which represents students in poor districts.
"The public needs to know how this happened."
Questions also remain about whether the shovel-ready site is still scheduled to become a 33-classroom public school - or a privately run, publicly funded experiment known as a "transformation school" advocated by the Christie administration and South Jersey Democrats.
"This isn't the time for spending time on other types of schemes for which there's no legislative authority," Sciarra said. "These kids need this school now."
Residents' anger boiled over recently when they found out about the lease that allows construction equipment for the new Cooper Medical School of Rowan University next door to be parked on the school site.
-- Matt Katz and Claudia Vargas Webb, Warner introduce bill to fix aging schools through historic tax credits-- Richmond Times Dispatch National: October 13, 2011 [ abstract] Sens. Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner, both Democrats, have introduced legislation that would allow for the rehabilitation of aging schools across the country though the use of historic tax credits.
If approved, the change to existing law would open the door for major school modernization projects at a significantly reduced cost to cash-strapped localities.
The concept — the brainchild of former state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Goldman — enjoys broad bipartisan support in Virginia with the backing of Gov. Bob McDonnell, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-7th, and U.S. Senate candidates and former Govs. George Allen and Timothy M. Kaine.
Similar legislation was introduced during the last Congress by Webb and Warner but failed to make it to the floor for a vote, as did an identical bill sponsored by Cantor in the House. But with a weak economy, high unemployment and steadily deteriorating schools, Virginia leaders hope it will gain traction this time around.
"The need to rehabilitate our nation's historic schools is something that brings leaders from both parties together, drives revitalization in some of our most economically vulnerable neighborhoods, and will provide our students access to safe, modern schools," Webb said Wednesday.
"This is a win-win-win," Warner added. "It can put people back to work upgrading our schools, it will engage private capital at a time of limited public resources, and it should result in safer, modern school facilities for students."
Called "The Rehabilitation of Historic Schools Act of 2011," the legislation would offer tax credits to private investors who partner with localities to modernize schools so long as they qualify for historic designation, which in most cases requires the structure to be 50 years or older.
-- WESLEY P. HESTER DOE Announces Guide for 50 Percent More Energy Efficient K-12 School Buildings -- EERE News National: October 12, 2011 [ abstract] The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the release of the second installment in a series of four 50% Advanced Energy design Guides (AEDGs). This latest guide will help architects, engineers, and contractors design and build highly efficient K-12 school buildings, saving taxpayer dollars. The 50% AEDG series provides a practical approach to designing schools and other major commercial building types that achieve 50% energy savings compared to the commercial building energy code used in many parts of the nation. These commercial building guides support President Obama’s goal to reduce energy use in commercial buildings 20% by 2020 and will help drive demand for energy-saving products made in the United States. The Advanced Energy design Guide for 50% energy savings in K-12 schools is now available for download.
Not only will these guides help builders achieve energy efficiency performance beyond the current energy code, but they also provide climate-specific recommendations to incorporate today’s off-the-shelf energy efficient products. These recommendations help designers and builders choose advanced building envelope assemblies and highly efficient heating and cooling systems, and incorporate other energy-saving measures such as daylighting and associated control systems. Additionally, the guides inform the development of future commercial building energy codes.
-- Progress Alerts Build today or crumble tomorrow-- Worcester Telegram Massachusetts: October 10, 2011 [ abstract] Anumber of City Council and School Committee members are ringing the bell for replacement schools at Doherty, South High and Burncoat.
It is a call that should resonate well with parents, if not with all taxpayers.
Additionally, the state provides 80 percent reimbursement for the city’s school building projects while its funding capacity has dwindled over the past decade, at a time when school building assistance requests statewide have multiplied.
Among the stories I wrote the first year on this paper, for example, was one on Nelson Place School.
The school that year was fitted with scaffolding and protective covering to assist in emergency masonry repair work and to prevent the building’s loose and water-soaked bricks from falling on students.
That was in 1992.
Yet, if you travel to the school today, you will find the protective covering still in place, despite the repairs in 1992 and follow-up repairs in 2004, totaling more than a million dollars.
The 84-year-old school, built with a design flaw that makes repairs futile at best, has been the school system’s top priority for a replacement school the past several years. Nelson Place, however, has yet to make it onto the state school building assistance priority list.
So, while the city has had remarkable success over the past several decades in building a slew of new schools " including the vocational high school and North High " getting funding for another new secondary school will be a difficult task.
-- Clive McFarlane The new Cabin John Middle School earns rave reviews.-- Potomac Almanac Virginia: October 06, 2011 [ abstract] According to Merry Eisner, Cabin John Middle School PTSA president, the new state-of-the-art Cabin John Middle School is "simply fantabulous and was worth waiting for."
With its modern science and computer labs, promethean boards in every room, a mobile computer lab, 41 security cameras, and silver LEED energy efficiency " the new Cabin John 160,000-square-foot school design is forward thinking in every way.
The school is divided into color-coded pods for each grade level. The media center is centrally located and contains a computer lab for student research, as well as a classroom section for lectures. A full television studio with editing rooms provides students with an area for creating student-produced morning news shows to be aired on the televisions located in every room.
Principal Dr. Paulette Smith is excited and enthralled with her innovative facility. "The kids are so appreciative of their new surroundings. They are making special efforts to keep it spotless and to comply with the ‘green’ environment. They went through two years of busing to Tilden, but it was worth it." Smith has served as CJMS principal for 11 years.
The over-sized gymnasium provides plenty of room for physical education classes. Student Ben Eisner said, "There are four auxiliary gyms; a weight room, dance studio, a rock-climbing wall and a modified gym for special needs kids. This really improves the choices in PE."
Both the all-purpose room and the gymnasium have the latest in noise dampeners on the walls to keep the noise from voices of the many students in the room suppressed. Expanded parking for visitors and staff and well thought-out school bus and student drop-off lanes keep the traffic flowing. To go along with their "green" certification, the school rewards drivers of hybrid cars with the closest parking spaces to the front door of the school.
-- Susan Belford Ward 5 pleads for middle school-- Washington Examiner District of Columbia: September 29, 2011 [ abstract] Preteen and adolescent students sit on desk chairs and toilets designed for kids half their size in Ward 5, the only area of the District without a standalone middle school.
And many of these D.C. middle schoolers don't have access to a wide range of extracurriculars, like music and art and athletics, because there aren't enough students to draw big dollars under the city's per-pupil budget formula. Most attend elementary schools refurbished into pre-K-8 campuses.
Now, almost a year after the community gathered 1,000 signatures for a middle school, D.C. Public Schools officials are starting the Ward 5 Great Schools Initiative at a meeting Thursday evening at Luke C. Moore High School.
-- Lisa Gartner New Hanover high school opens-- Boston.com Massachusetts: September 25, 2011 [ abstract] There were more than enough reasons to smile as hundreds gathered recently to celebrate the opening of the new Hanover High School.
After all, the sweeping 156,000-square-foot building project came in five months ahead of schedule and more than $10 million under budget. And the airy, free-flowing design with movable learning centers and top technology has been characterized as the most cutting-edge new school in the state.
But amid the cheer, applause, and pride on Sept. 18, the event was melancholy, too, as residents, building committee members, and state and local officials gathered in memory of a faithful project cheerleader who didn’t live to enjoy it.
As part of the ceremonies led by principal Thomas Raab, the school’s 535-seat auditorium was named the Robert J. Nyman Memorial Auditorium to honor the longtime state representative, former selectman, and School Committee member who died unexpectedly in June 2010.
Nyman’s wife, Rhonda, who assumed his political seat, expressed the angst of such an important yet bittersweet occasion without her husband and high-school sweetheart at her side.
The Nymans were members of Hanover High School’s Class of 1978, the year the first plan for renovating the 1958 school emerged.
“We can all agree that today is a very proud day for Hanover,’’ said Nyman, as many dabbed at their eyes. “There is no greater gift we can give our children than a top-notch education. How proud and honored Bob would be.’’
A close friend, Robert O’Rourke, said Nyman attended career days so he could advise students to seek public life. An auditorium named for him that hosts Town Meetings is fitting, O’Rourke said: “He always made sure the people’s voices were heard.’’
The new 800-student capacity school was the first project undertaken by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which reimbursed just under half of its $51 million price tag. It has eight science labs, 2D and 3D art classrooms - for drawing, which is two-dimensional, and for other art forms like sculpture and ceramics, which are three-dimensional - a television studio, and a music suite with band and choral rooms, and a music technology lab.
-- Michele Morgan Bolton Waukee plans new school for grades eight and nine-- DesMoines Register Iowa: September 25, 2011 [ abstract] new school that will house eighth- and ninth-graders in the Waukee school district is expected to open for the 2014-15 year.
Educators said the new building is necessary because of dramatic growth in Waukee and in Dallas County.
“It simply has to do with the growth,” said Jerry Ripperger, president of the Waukee school board. “We’re growing by 400, 400-plus students per year. That growth has been at the elementary school level. Now that growth is working its way into the middle schools.”
The district already has one school designed to house eighth-graders and ninth-graders " Prairieview School, 655 S.E. University Ave. in Waukee. But due to enrollment and space, Prairieview School currently only serves ninth-graders.
“We couldn’t house all eighth- and ninth-graders at Prairieview. There wasn’t enough room,” said Waukee Superintendent Dave Wilkerson.
The new building will be constructed along L.A. Grant Parkway in Waukee, just south of the Stone Prairie subdivision. The district already owns the 76-acre site, which is near South Middle School, 2350 L.A. Grant Parkway.
-- Nicole Paseka Cardozo High School Renovation to Start in December-- DCist District of Columbia: September 22, 2011 [ abstract] Long a symbol of both the potential and the pitfalls of the District's public school system, Cardozo High School will soon undergo a massive renovation and modernization.
Mayor Vince Gray announced yesterday that the work on the school, part of the District's broader plan to modernize its public facilities, will start in December and wrap up in August 2013. It will include everything from exterior work -- the existing white security grills will be removed from windows, for starters -- to an expansion of the gym. (Want an idea what the final product will look like? Look here.)
From the designs produced by architects, the final product will surely be stunning. What remains to be seen is whether or not the project can stay within its budget, a feat that hasn't been accomplished by many of the other modernization projects undertaken since 2007. According to the Post, of the 16 projects that now-City Administrator Allen Lew oversaw, 12 went over budget. Bill Turque reports that $1.1 billion was used by Mayor Adrian Fenty to modernize schools; another $1.7 billion is budgeted between 2011 and 2016.
-- Martin Austermuhle District Awards Design-Build Contract to Modernize Cardozo High School -- District of Columbia Government District of Columbia: September 21, 2011 [ abstract] Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced today the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization (OPEFM) has awarded the design-build contract to GCS-SIGAL, LLC to fully modernize Cardozo High School, located at 12th and Clifton Streets in Northwest.
“Today’s announcement on the design-build award for Cardozo continues the momentum in the District of Columbia of turning our schools into 21st Century, high-tech facilities that go hand-in-hand with ensuring a high quality education for our students,” Mayor Gray said.
The full modernization of Cardozo consists of a complete upgrade of the building and its systems, to meet state-of-the-art technical and educational standards. The project will include the addition of a regulation-size gymnasium building for basketball, volleyball, and weightlifting activities, along with atrium spaces in the former courtyards to accommodate a cafeteria.
Originally built in 1916, Cardozo High School is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“While we are excited about the full modernization of Cardozo High School, we will also be working to ensure that we maintain the school’s historic prestige,” said City Administrator Allen Y. Lew.
Construction on Cardozo High School will begin in December 2011, and is scheduled to be completed in August 2013.
For more information on OPEFM and the Cardozo High School modernization, visit www.OPEFM.dc.gov
-- Staff Writer School district answers new school questions -- Echo Press Virginia: September 21, 2011 [ abstract] School District 206 voters are getting ready to mark their ballots.
On Tuesday, September 27, district voters will decide whether to build a new high school in Alexandria.
This article concludes a four-part series explaining the $65.15 million building bond referendum, focusing on the project, the need, the cost and answering questions posed within the community.
QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
People living in the community submitted questions about the upcoming bond referendum to the Echo Press.
Here are the school district’s answers:
Q1. If the bond is approved, grades will be reconfigured to put 9-12th into the new school and move 6th graders into middle school. Wouldn’t this hurt the small elementary schools in the district that have 6th graders?
The school board recognizes that schools are part of a community’s identity and vibrancy and, as such, has remained committed to the elementary schools that serve our rural communities of Garfield, Miltona, and Carlos. A grade configuration of 6-8 at the middle school would create opportunities and efficiencies " 6th graders interested in the music programs could participate on site rather than having to leave their elementary building to go to Discovery as is the current practice; and they could participate in elective course offerings at an earlier age that might open their world to career interests. Finally, changing to K-5 schools reduces crowding in all our elementaries.
Q2. Why not remodel Jefferson? Wouldn’t that be a lot cheaper? I heard it would cost only about one-fourth the amount of the referendum.
Renovation wouldn’t solve the issues identified. To fix leaks and update the mechanical and electrical systems would cost approximately $17 million but wouldn’t address Jefferson’s facilities issues as identified by the school board and construction experts. An extensive renovation would cost approximately $40 million and still wouldn’t address issues such as needed space for learning, athletics and extra-curricular; appropriate building design for today’s educational standards; safety/security issues; and flexible technology infrastructure. The recommendation to build new is based on several years of research, planning and listening " including community and expert opinion.
Q3. Why not expand at Jefferson’s current location? There seems to be plenty of room there.
-- Staff Writer Officials examine options to stretch dollars for school construction-- Hearld Mail Maryland: September 18, 2011 [ abstract] Sustained economic woes and the need to upgrade and build public schools is driving education officials to consider new ways of financing projects.
Maryland’s Public School Construction Program is hosting a seminar Monday in Annapolis for local school systems to learn about alternative funding and financing methods.
The Task Force to Study Public School Facilities’ 2004 report, known as the Kopp Commission Report, estimated $3.85 billion would be needed to bring schools statewide up to minimum standards.
As a result, a goal was set for the state to provide its share of the funding to meet that target of $2 billion or $250 million annually for eight years, said David Lever, executive director for the Public School Construction Program.
The last fiscal year for that $250 million pool from which local school systems can apply for school construction money is 2012-13, Lever said.
“It’s been a tremendous amount of money and it’s been a tremendous help. There’s no question about that. We hope that that will continue, but we need to do more,” Lever said Wednesday.
If you take the 2004 facilities survey’s results and adjust it only for increases in construction costs, the price tag would now be almost $6 billion, Lever said.
Even the annual $250 million pool doesn’t meet the demand for school project money, Lever said. For the current fiscal year, the state had requests for about $612 million in projects and was able to fund about $260 million, Lever said.
With state and local governments continuing to look at tough economic times, Lever’s office is encouraging discussion about financing alternatives, such as a “design build finance maintain operate” model.
Under such a model, the local school system would provide specifications for a new school and would own the school, but a private entity could handle design, construction, finance and operations such as preventative and corrective maintenance, cleaning and security, Lever said.
Alberta, Canada, has a contract with a private group that handles maintenance, but the school system continues to handle custodial services, Lever said.
-- JULIE E. GREENE Brown seeks federal support for local school upgrades-- Mansfield News Journal Ohio: September 13, 2011 [ abstract]
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced new legislation today that would support an estimated 12,800 Ohio jobs through the modernization and repair of schools in the state
â€"Too many schools in our state need building repairs and renovations,†Brown said during a conference call with reporters this afternoon. â€"It's time to get the job done for our schools and our economy.â€
He said the Fix America's Schools Today (FAST) Act would create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country for construction workers and skilled laborers, at the same time generating new savings through energy conservation and efficiency improvements.
The proposed legislation would allow school districts to apply for funding for new or existing building projects. The district requests would be evaluated based on the level of need, the state of current facilities and other factors.
Brown said he worked with Vice President Joe Biden over the last couple months to develop the FAST Act. It is part of the $447 billion jobs bill President Barack Obama sent Monday to Congress.
Obama is scheduled to visit a Columbus school today to sell his proposal, which has received mixed sentiments from Republicans. The speaking event is designed to promote $25 billion in school modernization and infrastructure spending contained in the proposal.
Brown said the average U.S. public school building is 40 years old and conservative estimates of deferred school maintenance and repair nationwide total at least $270 billion.
-- Staff Writers FACT SHEET: Repairing and Modernizing America's Schools-- White House National: September 13, 2011 [ abstract] Today, President Obama submitted to Congress the American Jobs Act, a bill designed to jumpstart economic growth and job creation. Tomorrow, the President will visit the Fort Hayes Arts and Academic High School in Columbus, Ohio to highlight his proposal to put workers back on the job by rebuilding and modernizing schools across the country. This report details the benefits of this program for each state as well as the 100 largest high-need public school districts which will receive funds directly.
The President is proposing a $25 billion investment in school infrastructure that will modernize at least 35,000 public schools. This investment will create jobs, while improving classrooms and upgrading our schools to meet 21st century needs. It also includes a priority for rural schools and dedicated funding for Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools. Funds can be used for a range of emergency repair and renovation projects, greening and energy efficiency upgrades, asbestos abatement and removal, and modernization efforts to build new science and computer labs and to upgrade the technology infrastructure in our schools. The President is also proposing a $5 billion investment in modernizing community colleges (including tribal colleges), bolstering their infrastructure in this time of need while ensuring their ability to serve future generations of students and communities.
-- Office of the Press Secretary New Portland, Maine School Is Like a Temple for Learning-- Bangor Daily News Maine: September 02, 2011 [ abstract] The ceremonial grand opening of Portland’s Ocean Avenue Elementary School was punctuated by superlatives as the facility was lauded for its creative aesthetics and energy efficiency.
School board chairwoman Kate Snyder, Portland Public Schools Superintendent James Morse, Mayor Nicholas Mavodones and Cheryl Leeman, District 4 city councilor and co-chairwoman of the new school’s building committee, delivered celebratory comments before a traditional ribbon-cutting in front of the main entrance.
Morse described the wavy, towering plantlike structures on the pathway leading toward the school’s front doors as creating a “Dr. Seuss-like” atmosphere that’s not just functional but fun.
The Ocean Avenue school was home to what Principal Beverly Coursey called a “soft opening” when the 315 students who formerly attended the deteriorating Nathan Clifford Elementary School moved into the new 70,000-square-foot kindergarten-through-fifth-grade facility after February vacation last year.
When classes begin on Sept. 6 this year, that student population will swell to around 440 as the rest of the students in the immediate Back Cove neighborhood, who had been split up among Riverton, Presumpscot and Longfellow elementary schools, coalesce at 150 Ocean Ave.
Coursey comes to the new school from Nathan Clifford, which she said lacked a proper cafeteria and gymnasium, only had bathrooms in the basement and held just nine working computers in the entire four-story structure. “Our old building was more than 100 years old, and it wasn’t built for how we do school today,” she told the Bangor Daily News on Thursday. “Coming over here, it’s like a temple for learning.”
The new school was built as part of the state’s school construction program. It was originally estimated to cost $20 million, but came in under budget at just more than $14.1 million, thanks in large part to the efforts of contractor Ledgewood Construction and designer WBRC Architects, those in attendance said Thursday. The school qualifies for LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for its energy-efficient features.
-- Seth Koenig Schools Restore Fresh Cooking to the Cafeteria: adequate kitchen space crucial -- New York Times Colorado: August 16, 2011 [ abstract] Nutrition experts say that many school systems around the nation, however much they might want to improve the food they serve, have been profoundly distracted by years of budget cuts and constriction. Many face structural problems, too. Some newer schools have tiny kitchens designed for only reheating premade meals, while some older schools have outdated electrical wiring that cannot handle modern equipment. Many districts, and their lawyers, have also grown fearful of handling and cooking raw meat, as food-borne illnesses like E. coli have made headlines.
Greeley’s schools will be cooking from scratch about 75 percent of the time on the opening day, with a goal of reaching 100 percent by this time next year, when ovens and dough mixers for whole wheat pizza crust will be up and running.
Statistics showing obesity rates growing faster here in Weld County than in surrounding areas gave the project impetus with district administrators, Mr. West said. The argument was then cinched by the numbers, which showed that going back to scratch would not cost more at all, but could in fact save the district money in the long run.
From the Colorado Health Foundation, a nonprofit group that has helped districts all over the state return to healthy cooking, Greeley got $273,000 in grants, which helped defray much of the $360,000 for construction and new equipment.
-- Kirk Johnson State of the Art Woodson High School Building Fosters Hope-- Washington Informer District of Columbia: August 16, 2011 [ abstract] In the Ward 7 section of Washington, D.C., a new high-tech, green H.D. Woodson Senior High School stands as a symbol of hope and promise invested in city's most important asset -- its children. To that end, on Aug. 17, officials cut the ribbon on the 230,000 square-foot state of the art facility at 5500 Eads Street in Northeast.
"We're telling the students we care about you and to do your very best," said Principal Thomas Whittle. "The city is providing the best to help you achieve your goals. When they come here we expect them to learn and to perform."
When classes resume on Aug. 22, more than 800 students will be ushered into the pristine $102 million school, like dignitaries arriving at the sleek United Nations headquarters in New York City. And, they'll have nearly as many amenities as the U.N. Amenities include two gymnasiums, natatorium, auditorium, open designed floor to ceiling glass administrative and classroom spaces, dining room, wireless computer networks, and a track and field area boasting a football stadium that could rival a division one university. That's a big departure from the former school building, an eight-story concrete tower that was first opened in 1972 and touted as the "Tower of Power," but lacked a track and sufficiently operable swimming pool for its athletes.
-- Tracey Gold Bennett More students, more space in Alexandria and Arlington schools-- Washington Post Virginia: August 11, 2011 [ abstract] Arlington County and City of Alexandria public schools are overflowing with new students. To deal with the growing enrollment, both school systems have added new classrooms and are building new schools.
An expected 12,381 students will attend Alexandria’s schools in the 2011-12 school year, a 3.2 percent increase over last year’s enrollment, said Deputy Superintendent Margaret Byess. The majority of that growth is in the elementary schools, accounting for more than half of that projected enrollment, she said.
Arlington County public schools officials project that 22,245 students will fill the halls this school year " 5.5 percent more than last year, said Linda Erdos, a schools spokesman.
Arlington installed a total of 28 temporary classrooms, 17 of which were relocatable classrooms put in at five schools. Internal reorganizations created another eight classrooms, said John Chadwick, Arlington’s director of design and construction.
Portions of the new $65 million Yorktown High School are open, and the second phase should open by December. The third phase will open by fall 2013, he said.
This fall, students there will have a new cafeteria, a refurbished auditorium and more classrooms. A new aquatic center, gymnasium and black box theater will be among the improvements coming in the winter, Chadwick said. By 2013, a new media center and more classrooms will be built and open about the same time Wakefield High School’s first phase of renovations starts.
Construction of the phased $115 million Wakefield High School has begun, he said. The first phase, which will include an aquatic center, new gymnasiums and classrooms, is expected to be complete by fall 2013. The second phase, which includes demolition of the existing school building, new athletic fields and installation of a geothermal well field, should be complete by fall 2014, Chadwick said.
“We are looking at having as many students in the system within a few years as we did in the late ’50s, early ’60s.. . . That is quite something " and we don’t have as many school buildings now as we did then,” Chadwick said.
School construction must “be smarter” now, he said.
“We need to be more reasonable and make sure all of our buildings are being used as fully as they can without jeopardizing our goals,” Chadwick said.
Computer labs have been made into classrooms, admissions policies for specialty schools are accepting more children, and some class sizes have increased, said Abby Raphael, Arlington School Board chairwoman.
-- Christy Goodman Spending plan for Renovating and Rebuilding schools Will be Re-examined by New Orleans Officials -- Times-Picayune Louisiana: August 08, 2011 [ abstract] New Orleans education officials plan to take a second close look at plans for renovating and rebuilding city schools damaged by Hurricane Katrina, having gathered input during a series of community meetings during the past few weeks. Officials from the state-run Recovery School District and the local School Board said this week that they will look for ways to stretch what's left of roughly $2 billion in federal aid for school facilities to cover more projects. And they plan to explore using several different tax credit programs as a means of generating more money for the plan.
Criticism of the revisions that the School Board and the Recovery District unveiled last month has centered on a third phase of the construction that includes $422 million worth of projects with no source of financing. Officials estimate the first two phases would cover buildings for 83 percent of city students, but the unfunded portion has left school leaders and communities around the city worried they will be left out of the rebuilding if city leaders can't come up with the cash to pay for the entire plan.
Last week, a group of New Orleans business and nonprofit leaders issued a public letter calling it "astonishing" that the full execution of the building plan would require new taxes and a bond issue. They also criticized the plan for not outlining how maintenance costs for the new buildings will be covered in the future.
School officials are responding now by taking that input back to a group of experts led by Paul Flower, chief executive of the local firm Woodward design+Build. They have canceled a citywide public meeting on the plan originally scheduled for Thursday and pushed it back to September. Officials said they'll be looking at the feasibility of designing a common prototype for a K-8 building that houses 850 students as well as three or four different high school designs, a step that would presumably strip out some of the cost of designing a unique campus on every site.
-- Andrew Vanacore Rochester, NY Will Issue Bonds for Schools Construction Project, But No More-- City Newspaper New York: August 05, 2011 [ abstract] Work on the more than $1-billion project to modernize city schools will not stop, says City Council President Lovely Warren, despite a letter from Gilbane Inc. demanding payment, or else. Gilbane, the company managing the massive construction project, sent a letter to the Rochester Joint Schools Construction Board, saying it has not been paid for over a year's work. If the more than $1.5 million in design work is not paid for soon, the company said it may stop work on the project. That would delay the project, which has already suffered multiple stops and starts.
Warren says the city will issue bond anticipation notes to help fund the $29 million for part of the initial phase of the project, since the city school district cannot borrow money, "but it's a temporary solution," she says.
City Hall raised concerns about the facilities modernization project earlier this year. City officials say issuing the bonds could increase the amount the city is required to pay the school district every year under the Maintenance of Effort law, and that is unacceptable. City Hall sought legislation from the state to protect itself from an increase in the MOE, but dueling bills emerged in the State Senate and Assembly. At seemingly the last minute, Assembly member Joe Morelle stepped in and said he had a letter from the State Education Department that resolved the matter. Except it didn't, city officials say.
-- Tim Louis Macaluso Solar Power Coming To 90+ California Schools -- Earth Techling California: August 04, 2011 [ abstract] The California School Boards Association (CSBA) recently partnered with SunPower to launch the Solar Schools program, which will help school districts develop and install solar projects at schools. Within the coming year, more than 90 schools across the state " at the elementary, secondary and higher-education level " are scheduled to be fitted with solar installations.
The Solar Schools program is designed to help schools save on energy, a savvy move in the face of shrinking budgets and rising utility rates, and make the best investments possible. The schools can also take advantage of the California Solar Initiative, a program that offers financial incentives to public facilities to use solar power. The states says the school could save as much as $1.5 billion over 30 years with the installation of solar power systems.
-- Laura Caseley San Diego's Downtown Charter High School Gets 2 Floors in New Public Library Space. -- KPBS California: August 03, 2011 [ abstract] San Diego Unified School District Board members chose Downtown Charter High School to occupy two floors of the new downtown library. The library and school are scheduled to open in 2013. The proposed charter beat out three existing schools for the space.
Downtown Charter’s board of directors chairman, Mel Katz, is also leading efforts to raise private donations for the new library building. Katz said theirs is the only program built around the opportunities the library location provides. “Our school was designed specifically for the library and downtown," he said. "We developed the concept after research and interviewing different parents, downtown education leaders, community and business leaders.” Part of that design is a requirement for students to complete career exploration activities and internships with downtown businesses and non-profits.
Representatives from the existing schools that vied for the space said their demonstrated ability to attract students and perform well academically should have carried more weight.
-- Kyla Calvert To Build Albuquerque Schools Green … Or Not -- Albuquerque Journal New Mexico: August 01, 2011 [ abstract] There are many ways to get a school certified as LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental design. You can get points for installing landscaping that conserves water, for use of natural light and for building a minimum number of parking spaces so employees are forced to carpool or use mass transit.
On the Albuquerque Public Schools board, LEED has become a point of contention. David Robbins, capital outlay chair, often speaks out against LEED designs, arguing the system is expensive and doesn’t pay for itself in energy savings. Other board members support LEED, and officials in the APS capital division are largely supportive of it as well. In the construction community, opinions are mixed.
-- Halley Heinz New School Will be Most Green in Lexington, Kentucky-- WKYT Kentucky: July 27, 2011 [ abstract] A new elementary school will be a lesson in itself, teaching students the importance of being environmentally friendly. It's Fayette County's first and only self sustaining school. From the solar panels to it's designated recycling areas, Wellington Elementary is head of the class when it comes to being green.
"What we really hope to embrace at Wellington is just those 21st century skills and on those in particular is stewardship and we hope that through the features in this building and tying it to their curriculum and the instruction here that kids will really get a hands on feel for what it's like to not on learn about these things but take care of their environment," says Principal Meribeth Gaines.
-- Kari Hall D.C.'s Franklin School becomes endangered building-- Washington Examiner District of Columbia: July 21, 2011 [ abstract] The Franklin School, one of the capital city's family jewels, is losing its luster. Don't be surprised if it goes the way of Eastern Market or Georgetown Library, as in consumed by a blaze.
"The whole building could collapse or go up in flames," says Terry Lynch, executive director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations. "It's in grave danger."
What's at stake is one of the last 19th century buildings in downtown D.C. It is a structure that soothes the eyes amid the dreary office buildings that line most of our downtown corridors, a pause in the flat-fronted, beige facades.
The classic, red brick structure adorns the southeast corner of 13th and K streets. The school was designed by architect Adolf Cluss and opened in 1869 to be one of the first schools to present curricula by age group.
Cluss brought in craftsmen from Europe to paint murals and set mosaics. For decades Washingtonians came to hear concerts and lectures in the great hall's 1,000-seat auditorium.
In 1880, Alexander Graham Bell set up shop on Franklin School's roof to test his new photophone, which transmitted sound by light waves. Now that roof is about to cave in.
The grand building's gradual deterioration is a crime, and the culprit is a city government that has diddled for decades and failed to protect a treasure. In this critical moment, the city is once again heading toward delay.
-- Harry Jaffe MPS facilities plan eyes the future-- Journal Sentinel Wisconsin: July 16, 2011 [ abstract] Carleton School was built in 1917. Though it is almost 100 years old, it still has an imposing presence on W. Silver Spring Drive. When we closed Carleton in 2009, enrollment had fallen to just 242 students, though it had room for more than double that number. The building needed almost $3 million in updates. We tend to the Carleton building and the grounds, though children's voices have not been heard inside the walls for two years.
As we begin to draw up a master facilities plan, we are keeping Carleton School in mind, as well as the Milwaukee Public Schools' 219 other school buildings, support buildings and recreational sites. The plan will be about so much more than bricks and mortar.
It's about the physical redesign of the district, while keeping an eye toward the future, the educational needs of our students and the best interests of taxpayers. Which buildings could be renovated, which could be sold, which schools are candidates for demolition? And think carefully, those of you who think selling is the only answer. Have you tried to sell a house lately?
Putting together a facilities plan is a huge undertaking. MPS operates and maintains 18 million square feet of building area, which is an area equivalent to 15 Miller Parks. Thirty-one of the district's school buildings are more than 100 years old. The average age of an MPS building is 70 years.
Most were built before Americans with Disability Act guidelines were established and before cellphones and computers became as familiar to children as chalkboards and sandboxes once were. Repairs to our buildings, such as roofs, plumbing and electrical systems, will require $991 million in the next 10 years.
The first phase of our facilities plan process is already complete. Phase I is an inventory of buildings by their age, location, need for maintenance and for what they offer in the way of labs, classrooms, gyms and cafeterias. Phase I fulfills the statutory requirement for a facility inventory. We delivered Phase I to the School Board and state in early July.
-- Gregory Thornton Ninth Grade Students Research, Design, Plant Sustainable Landscaping at School-- Franklin Times Indiana: July 13, 2011 [ abstract] "Planting seeds" takes many forms. Sometimes, ideas are the seeds that need to be sown in order to grow. Success and a future can also be the seeds planted. Other times, it's the actual flora that grows from what is planted. And because it takes a village to raise a child according to an old African proverb, many people are often involved in sowing those seeds.
On Saturday, June 18, the seeds of a six-month project at the downtown Hammond Academy of Science and Technology (HAST) charter school came to fruition. About 75 volunteers - including parents, community members, conservationists and BP Whiting Refinery employees - joined a group of ninth graders to plant a sustainable landscape of plants native to Northwest Indiana outside the new school's main entrance.
Two Henrico County, Virginia Schools Earn LEED Certification-- Henrico Citizen Virginia: July 13, 2011 [ abstract] Henrico County's two newest schools – Glen Allen High School and Holman Middle School – recently earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) certification, as verified by the Green Building Certification Institute.
Glen Allen High School achieved LEED certification at the gold level. The school features an abundance of natural light, and through efficiency considerations in the building's roof and wall construction, lighting systems and mechanical system, it is modeled to require 28 percent less energy than a minimally code-compliant design. A 50,000-gallon cistern collects storm water from the roof, which is reused for flushing. This cistern, combined with low-plumbing fixtures, results in an 80 percent water use reduction versus a school using standard plumbing systems.what is planted. And because it takes a village to raise a child according to an old African proverb, many people are often involved in sowing those seeds.
On Saturday, June 18, the seeds of a six-month project at the downtown Hammond Academy of Science and Technology (HAST) charter school came to fruition. About 75 volunteers - including parents, community members, conservationists and BP Whiting Refinery employees - joined a group of ninth graders to plant a sustainable landscape of plants native to Northwest Indiana outside the new school's main entrance.
-- Staff Writer State offers $38 million for schools " with a catch-- The Chronicle-Telegram Ohio: July 12, 2011 [ abstract] The Ohio School Facilities Commission wants to give Elyria more money to build five new schools and district officials said it will be up to citizens to decide if they want the money.
The state agency, which helps school districts fund, plan, design and build or renovate schools, announced last week it had approved almost $38 million in state funding for Elyria Schools if the district could get residents to pass a bond issue worth upward of $50 million.
-- Lisa Roberson Strong opinions offered on master plan for New Orleans public schools-- Times Picayune Louisiana: July 09, 2011 [ abstract] With nearly $2 billion in FEMA money at stake, there was no shortage of impassioned appeals from members of the public during a citywide meeting Saturday to discuss how that money should be spent as the Recovery School District and the Orleans Parish School Board move forward on the School Facilities Master Plan for Orleans Parish.
One leading concern involved a lack of connection between decisions on how new school buildings will be designed and constructed and the decisions on who then will operate them.
-- Kari Dequine With Design Competition, the Los Angeles Unified School District Looks for Prefab Solutions-- AIArchitect California: July 08, 2011 [ abstract] To upgrade their facilities and replace portable classrooms, Los Angeles asks for modular pre-fabricated schools flexible enough to respond to their site and environment. The competitions drew 81 entries from around the world, the three schemes that LAUSD selected in December 2010 for implementation came from local firms. Gonzalez Goodale Architects (GGA) in Pasadena and Hodgetts + Fung (H+F) in Culver City won for their educational building prototypes, while Swift Lee Office (SLO) in Los Angeles won for its classroom building. Now, half a year later, these firms are busy completing feasibility studies and design development for the first prototypes. [See article for details.
-- Nalina Moses Montgomery County school board OKs construction-- Roanoke Times Virginia: July 06, 2011 [ abstract] The Montgomery County School Board gave the go-ahead Tuesday night for three new schools under a $110 million contract with a team of private companies.
The unanimous school board vote pushes financial responsibility for new Auburn and Blacksburg high schools and a renovated Auburn Middle School onto the county board of supervisors just as some residents began asking questions about cost and value.
"Based on my experience, it definitely is a good contract as far as dollars and quality," said Warren Walker, vice president of building consulting firm Arcadis and a consultant to the district.
John Tutle, a Christiansburg resident running for board of supervisors, asked the school board if the building cost for Blacksburg High School made sense compared to cheaper schools in Northern Virginia with similar square footage and maximum student populations.
Blacksburg High School's construction costs may not exceed $50 million, or $55.5 million including fees for the private contractor and design team led by Roanoke's Branch & Associates. The contract will provide a school for 1,400 students in 280,000 square feet, according to the contract. These plans are larger than the district originally wanted but will take away some classrooms and teacher resource spaces compared to more recent plans.
Auburn High School for 600 students would cost $35.7 million. A renovated Auburn Middle School for 480 students would cost $18.8 million. Each school could be expanded in the future to fit more students
-- Katelyn Polantz $12 Million Doled Out for Hawaii School Construction-- Star Advertiser Hawaii: July 03, 2011 [ abstract] The governor has released more than $12 million for nine construction projects at schools, including $7.8 million for a new multipurpose science facility at Stevenson Middle School. The Department of Education is moving forward on the planning and design phase for the facility, aimed at creating a "science-focused learning laboratory." Officials expect to put the project out to bid next year. The Legislature appropriated funds for the facility in 2009, but the money had not been released. Stevenson Principal Rodney Luke said the facility will strengthen the school's efforts to emphasize the sciences. "It's going to continue the momentum," he said, adding the facility will be a "gathering spot where our students are able to collaborate with each other."
On Wednesday, the governor also released: $2.5 million for covered play courts at Mililani Middle; $600,000 for building renovations and structural improvements at Waihee Elementary; $575,000 for roof work at Fern Elementary; $500,000 for an expansion of Noelani Elementary's library and the addition of a technology and media center; $312,000 for resurfacing of the parking lot at Mililani High; $175,000 for accessibility improvements at Kaelepulu Elementary; $132,000 for work on a dual basketball and volleyball court at Moanalua Elementary; $36,000 for improvements to the cafeteria at Mililani Uka Elementary. Earlier last month, the governor released more than $15 million for 17 capital improvement projects at public schools.
-- Mary Vorsino Hawaii Governor Releases $27 Million For School Construction-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: June 02, 2011 [ abstract] Gov. Neil Abercrombie released more than $27 million for capital improvement projects at schools across the state. The projects, at Hawaii Department of Education schools and University of Hawaii campuses, are part of Abercrombie's "New Day Work Projects," selected to create jobs and stimulate the state's economy. The projects cover a broad range, according to the governor's press release, and are often identified by legislators as having a high social value for their communities.
Big-ticket items on the list include $5 million for design and construction of temporary facilities at several public schools, $3.2 million for a science building at UH Maui College, $3 million for an all-weather track and field facility at Waiakea High School on the Big Island, $2.5 million to the UH Manoa Cancer Research Center of Hawaii and $1.2 million for renovations to the chorus classroom at Highlands Intermediate School on Oahu. [Full list of projects included.]
-- Katherine Poythress Neighbors Concerned Over School #28 Expansion
-- WHAM ABC 13 New York: June 02, 2011 [ abstract] A proposal to slice into residents' backyards to accommodate a school parking lot is causing controversy in North Winton Village.
School #28 is in line for about $7 million in upgrades as part of the City School District's $325 million School Modernization Plan. Preliminary designs call for an expanded parking lot that would either take down five or six houses on Amsterdam Road or pave over portions of the properties' backyards. The district may be able to take the land through eminent domain.
"Nobody can believe that they would kind of basically destroy a neighborhood like this," said Amsterdam Road resident Mark Hopkins.
Principal Susan Ladd said the proposal to tear down houses for parking is now off the table, but the option to acquire backyards remains. She said the district is also exploring leasing or purchasing parking from property owners on Humboldt St., where the school is located.
Built in 1969, School #28 has 78 parking spaces and 125 staff members. Ladd said visitors, including parents and volunteers, struggle to find parking.
The school is also crunched for space, Ladd said. The district is adding grades 7 and 8 to the school, which requires additional classrooms and specialized labs. There are 624 students attending School #28 this school year.
-- Rachel Barnhart Putnam County schools undergo makeover
-- CHARLESTON Daily Mail West Virginia: May 31, 2011 [ abstract] As planning for the new Winfield Middle School enters its early phases, Superintendent Chuck Hatfield isn't concerned about how some students in the current building will have to be moved around mid-construction. The new school will be built directly in front of the old school.
He said two-thirds of the 650 students already are learning in portable classrooms.
"The design of the building is such that it'll be built in phases and we'll move kids out of the old section so we can do demolition and such so we can keep everything flowing," Hatfield said.
Hatfield along with Brad Hodges, Putnam County schools' facilities director, met with G&G Builders of Hurricane last week. Hatfield called it a "preconstruction meeting."
Though most of it will be demolished, a wing of the old Winfield Middle will be kept, including the gym. It will service the new school as an auxiliary gym.
Hodges said work should begin in the next two to three weeks and that the new school will be completed by Dec. 2013.
Winfield Middle is one of four schools to be swapped with newer counterparts in Putnam County. The other three are Poca Middle, Buffalo High and Confidence Elementary.
While the state School Building Authority is covering the $22 million Winfield Middle project, reconstruction of the other schools and renovations to still more stems from the approval of a $56.75 million school bond sale in August 2009.
-- Amber Marra Shifting Sands of Advancing Technology Challenge a School Building for the Future-- Portland Press Herald Maine: May 22, 2011 [ abstract] hese days it's difficult to buy a laptop or a smartphone that won't be obsolete soon after you walk out of the store. Imagine being on a building committee charged with choosing technology for a high school that will be completed in five years and hopefully remain viable for the next 50. That's the challenge facing the library, media and technology subcommittee that's helping to plan the $47.3 million renovation of South Portland High School, a project that will rebuild and expand the 59-year-old school on Highland Avenue.
Andy Wallace, a subcommittee member who is technology director for South Portland schools, readily admits that he has no crystal ball to help him figure out what technology will go where. "I can't predict the future," Wallace said. "But we're working from the principle that each person in the building will have as many as three devices connected to the Web, as some people already do now. We'll need to have the wireless and electrical pathways available to handle the technology we have now and the unanticipated technology coming down the road."
Increasingly across Maine, new school construction and major renovation projects are forcing building committees and architects to design schools that will be flexible and adaptable as technology changes at an increasingly rapid pace.
Classrooms, auditoriums and other spaces are being built to accommodate new and varied teaching and learning styles and uses, driven by recent advances in educational technology ranging from interactive white boards to expanded audio and video capabilities.
-- Kelley Bouchard Teachers union lawsuit takes aim at 22 school closures
-- Gotham Schools New York: May 18, 2011 [ abstract] For the second time in two years, the city teachers union is suing to stop the Bloomberg administration from closing schools and opening new ones in their place.
The union’s lawsuit, which it filed along with the NAACP and a host of elected officials and parents, challenges plans to close 22 of the 26 schools that education officials hope to phase out this year.
Last year, the union successfully stopped the city from closing 19 schools by persuading a State Supreme Court judge that the closures violated various requirements in the state’s education law. These ranged from not following the law about public notification of hearing dates to failing to failing to map out the predicted impact of school closures.
This year, the city took pains to follow public notification rules, beginning the process earlier in the year, and by last month, 26 schools had ended up on the chopping block.
Perhaps as a result, the United Federation of Teachers’ argument against closures this year is broader and more complicated. And unlike last year, the union is also seeking to prevent charter schools from moving into public school buildings, charging that the city did not prove the co-locations would be equitable.
“The department continues to insist that phase-outs and closures of schools and co-locating untested schools is the answer, while depriving the remaining students in those designated, 22 schools of the resources to succeed academically,” said Kenneth Cohen of the NAACP at a press conference this morning.
Chancellor Dennis Walcott " who said he learned about the suit not from UFT President Michael Mulgrew but from a reporter this morning " said he was “saddened” by the suit. As deputy mayor, Walcott decried the NAACP last year for its involvement in the school closure lawsuit because he said the group prevented the city from improving school choices.
-- Chris Arp and Philissa Cramer Audit: Lew defied D.C. contracting rules
-- Washington Business Journal District of Columbia: May 16, 2011 [ abstract]
Allen Lew often won praise as head of D.C.'s $3.5 billion school construction effort for slicing through an unwieldy bureaucracy to get his immense job done. To what should be no one's surprise, that philosophy is not going over well with the auditor tasked with keeping tabs on Lew's operation.
The Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization flouted procurement rules, made payments without valid written contracts and, in at least one case, allowed the relative of a contractor's project executive to draft a $750,000 change order that went to that contractor, according to D.C. Auditor Deborah Nichols concluded in the May 11 audit, which covered fiscal years 2008 and 2009.
Lew, city administrator under Mayor Vincent Gray and school construction chief under former Mayor Adrian Fenty, established a "cumbersome and opaque" contracting system designed to "obstruct transparency and accountability," the audit said.
But Lew described his set-up as "nimble" and necessary to deal with the urgent matter of decrepit, aging schools. In his written response to the audit, Lew explained that he "intentionally dispensed with much of the bureaucracy and top-hamper that had traditionally impeded progress, and instead assembled a highly qualified team of construction and development professionals with proven track records of implementing large sophisticated projects."
-- Michael Neibauer Erie High Charter School Becomes First LEED Gold-Certified School in Kansas-- World Interior Design Network Kansas: May 16, 2011 [ abstract] Erie High Charter School in Kansas, US has been awarded LEED Gold by the US Green Building Council, becoming the first LEED Gold-certified high school in the state of Kansas. The $16.8 million project had been secured by a consortium of PBA Architects, Crossland Construction and Henderson Engineers Incorporation. The building is located in previously developed field comprising numerous ponds with nature trails being included in the structure. It features windows and skylights to allow passage of natural daylight.
The work areas in the school incorporates energy-efficient lighting systems comprising individual lighting controls with controllable thermal systems to enhance comfort level. All the classrooms in the facility are equipped with their own temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide monitoring devices to enable adjustments for comfort, air quality as well as energy conservation.
The envelope and building systems of the school have been designed to cut down overall energy consumption by over 50% than a traditional building. The structure's heating and air conditioning system comprises a geo exchange heat pump made of well fields. The pump allows a heat source/heat sink for water-to-air heat pumps located across the entire school and the adjacent Vocational Building. The energy-saving attributes has helped the school to decrease its operating costs.
-- Staff Writer Mankato, Minnesota Schools Earn Money for Saving Energy-- Mankato Free Press Minnesota: May 16, 2011 [ abstract] A series of energy-wise projects have netted Mankato Area Public Schools a substantial sum in energy rebates. During Monday’s School Board meeting, Greg Milbrath, the district’s director of buildings and grounds, presented 14 rebates totaling $104,634. The district often earns such rebates from energy and utility companies for projects that replace inefficient systems. This year’s total, however, represents the rebates earned from Rosa Parks and Eagle Lake elementaries.
“We went over and above,” Milbrath told the board about the environmentally friendly construction at both schools. At Rosa Parks, for instance, the school was built with a geothermal heating system, which extracts heat from the ground during cold months and discharges heat into the ground during warm months. That system " as well as things like occupancy sensors for lighting, water-saving fixtures and south-facing windows, to name a few " earned the district a $57,960 rebate from Xcel Energy.
Eagle Lake’s renovation earned a $10,076 Xcel rebate for energy-efficient design and the long-awaited window replacement at Lincoln Community Center earned a $5,204 rebate from CenterPoint Energy.
Rebates were also awarded for such projects as replacing a kitchen chiller at Mankato West ($4,020), installing a new convection oven at Jefferson Elementary ($1,000) and adding steam traps at Washington and Franklin elementaries ($3,811).
-- Tanner Kent More than 100,000 school repairs needed to comply with ADA in Palm Beach County-- Palm Beach Post Florida: May 15, 2011 [ abstract] As the Palm Beach County School Board considers proposed budget cuts that would slash facilities workers by 35 percent next year, the district also faces the need to make more than 100,000 repairs to schools to meet federal access laws for people with disabilities.
The district recently completed a comprehensive facilities review and identified 100,973 work orders where things need to be fixed, replaced or redesigned to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, said facilities chief Joe Sanches.
The act, passed in 1990, requires access to public buildings for people with disabilities.
More than half of the issues involve problems with doors and gates, Sanches said. Round door knobs do not meet federal requirements, which means replacing them with levers, said Facilities Services Director Martin Mets. The district also will have to fix problems with doors that close too fast because the pressurized "door swing" hinge is broken, Mets said.
Another third of the work orders involve problems in public restrooms, such as sinks and soap dispensers built too high for people who have to use wheelchairs, Sanches said.
Other problems will require installing additional water fountains at a wheelchair accessible height, Mets said. Crews also will have to repair platform lifts, elevators and ramps in schools and create additional handicapped parking spaces in some parking lots.
Sanches said he does not have a cost estimate but said he is hoping to complete up to 23,000 work orders per year for the next four to five years.
-- Jason Schultz Error in Carlsbad school study cost $184,000
-- Sign on San Diego California: May 11, 2011 [ abstract] A typo in a geotechnical study for the Carlsbad’s new high school under construction at College Boulevard and Cannon Road ended up costing more than $100,000 in reworked building plans, school officials said.
The most of the cost will be covered by the insurance of the consultant that prepared the study, while the rest will be taken care of by the consultant, architect and engineer.
The error in the study, prepared by Leighton Inc., led to an incorrect estimation on how the area would react in an earthquake. The buildings then had to be redesigned to include more steel and concrete, Carlsbad Unified Superintendent John Roach said.
The mistake eventually cost the school district nearly $184,000 to redesign, but the district will be reimbursed $150,000 from the company’s insurance and $34,000 from Leighton, the engineers and the architects, as a result of negotiations between the district and the other parties.
-- Nathan Scharn MontCo parents miffed over site for new school-- Washington Examiner Maryland: May 08, 2011 [ abstract]
Montgomery County parents and residents are furious that the county school board picked a Kensington park as its top contender for a new school site just hours before the board voted on the location, leaving residents in the dark.
The board voted 6-1 to explore using Rock Creek Hills Park as the site of a new middle school for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster, citing increasing enrollment and plans to shift sixth-graders out of the local middle schools.
Rock Creek Hills was originally the board's runner-up choice, until the Department of Parks slammed the school board over its No. 1 choice, a Silver Spring park to which the school board had no claim. County Executive Ike Leggett urged the school board to go with Rock Creek Hills, a property that used to belong to the school system, and can be bought back.
At 2 p.m. - about six hours before the vote - the school board backpedaled and named Rock Creek Hills its top choice.
"The process of moving this site to the top of the list for consideration lacks honesty and transparency and seems to have been designed specifically to not include input, discussion or consideration from the community here," Kensington resident Cathy Fink said in a letter to the council and Leggett. "The school board should be ashamed, and you should be ashamed with and for them. To call this a last-minute slight of hand is polite."
-- Lisa Gartner Cleveland Design Competition Challenge: Create New School-- Plain Dealer Ohio: May 04, 2011 [ abstract] The dream of creating a permanent, architecturally dramatic new home for the fledgling Campus International School at Cleveland State University is still just that -- a dream. But it will take more definite shape by August, thanks to a locally sponsored global design competition launched to envision how such a building could elevate standards for public-school architecture in Cleveland and achieve landmark quality.
The contest to generate ideas for the new school is sponsored by the Cleveland design Competition, organized by architectural designers Michael Christoff and Bradley Fink, now in its fourth year. Fink and Christoff announced this year's competition theme on their website on Monday. The designers are both 29 and have yet to complete their architectural license exams. But their competition, which capitalizes on the Internet, is shaking up the local design community by focusing fresh thinking from around the world on the city.
-- Steven Litt Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Elementary School to Reopen as Cultural Arts Center-- Wisconsin State Journal Wisconsin: April 19, 2011 [ abstract] pring Green, the only elementary school building known to be designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens its doors once again as a place of public learning and inspiration. The Wyoming Valley School is located about two miles from Wright's Taliesin, set in a verdant rural landscape. With its telltale sense of Wrightian scale, the red schoolhouse "is truly an amazing building," said Inez Learn. The 4,700-square-foot school has two classrooms, a kitchen, restrooms and an assembly room with a floor painted Taliesin red. Both the assembly room and a foyer have striking open fireplaces.
But it's light that makes the strongest impression. Even on a dark and drizzly day, it pours in through the expansive classroom windows and the clerestory windows that rise above the main roof. Expanses of sky are revealed through a criss-cross of oak beams, creating an interior sense of height and lift.
-- Gayle Worland School Board votes to remove rare forest
-- Prior Lake American Minnesota: April 17, 2011 [ abstract] The Prior Lake-Savage Area School Board put its own spin on Joni Mitchell’s immortal words on Monday when it voted to pave a woodland paradise and put up a parking lot (and some practice fields).
Board members voted 4-2 in favor of a proposal to level the 600 to 1,000 trees in SS-9, a mesic oak forest located on the southwest side of Prior Lake High School campus, and allow construction of an approximately 680-foot roadway connecting the high school site to Prior Lake Aggregates’ (PLA) property.
The board also approved an agreement between District 719 and PLA outlining terms of the construction, namely that PLA will undertake the construction at no cost to the district.
“I thought [Monday] night’s vote put some closure on a chapter of conversations and our diligent work,” said Superintendent Sue Ann Gruver, who is a member of the district’s building committee that supported the proposal. “I feel comfortable with the result. I’m actually very pleased.”
Not everyone shared Gruver’s feelings.
“I was disappointed,” said Board Member Richard Wolf, the lone vote against the subsequent agreement between PLA and District 719.
EMOTIONAL APPEALS
Emotions ran high throughout the SS-9-related proceedings. Longtime Prior Lake resident Kathleen Merrill fired the first shot when she spoke during the meeting’s designated open forum time, saying that “nobody in their right mind would want to [cut down SS-9].”
“I am not in favor of the clearing of the forest,” Merrill said. “As the gravel pit has chewed up more and more space, what lives there has no place else to go.”
-- Meryn Fluker Baltimore Uses Creative Funding for New School Building-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: April 16, 2011 [ abstract] In two years, Baltimore's next generation of aspiring architects and graphic and fashion designers will join the burgeoning Station North district, thanks to an unusual public-private funding plan that will transform the historic, long-vacant Lebow Brothers Clothing Factory into a school.
City schools CEO Andrés Alonso hopes that the Baltimore design School's financial model — which includes funds from a developer, tax credits and private bonds — can also be used to fund the multibillion-dollar cost of improving the district's dilapidated infrastructure.
The school board signed on to a $1.7 million annual lease this week for the non-performing arts middle/high school, to occupy the Lebow building beginning in 2013. The building, located in the heart of the city's Station North Arts and Entertainment District, has been vacant for 30 years. The design School will operate out of a vacant school building in East Baltimore beginning this fall, until the Lebow building is ready.
The project, which will cost $25 million, represents a combination of creative financing that school officials hope can be replicated districtwide. The design School's finance plan served as a blueprint for Alonso to pitch a $1.4 million study to assess all school facilities. He told hesitant school board members this week that the study could help attract private financing for renovation and construction. The study would offer an extensive checklist based on inspections of all 200-plus school buildings, officials said. The district would then be able to present specific reports to private funders and partners who want to invest in the renovation and construction of school facilities.
-- Erica L. Green Shawano School District’s Gold LEED Certified Primary School-- WISBusiness Wisconsin: April 15, 2011 [ abstract] Miron Construction Co., Inc. announced today that Shawano School District’s new 145,789-square-foot Hillcrest Primary School has been awarded Gold LEED® certification, as established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), by earning 56 out of 80 points.
By addressing the uniqueness of school spaces and issues such as classroom acoustics, master planning, mold prevention, community space sharing, and indoor air quality, items that directly affect the health and well-being of children, LEED® for Schools provides a comprehensive green design and construction tool that enhances the quality of the facility. The rating system, focused on water and energy reduction, provides guidelines for measuring actual building performance.
-- Joshua Morby Walcott announces amendment to capital plan-- ABC Local New York: April 12, 2011 [ abstract] Chancellor-designee Dennis Walcott has announced an amendment to the Department of Education's five-year-plan to restore construction and funding for the plan.
That new proposal should translate into space for 11,979 seats to ease overcrowding in the 1.1 million-student school system over the next five years.
"For months now, we have faced the prospect of big cuts in aid from Albany that would have meant fewer new school seats and more overcrowding," said Chancellor-designee Dennis Walcott. "Today, I'm pleased to announce that the Legislature has come through for New York City, putting us back on track to add over 28,000 seats in neighborhoods with the most need. We're also investing in critical technology and infrastructure for our schools and moving forward with a plan to improve energy use and environmental quality of our buildings. I'd like to thank the Legislature, and particularly Assembly Education Chair Cathy Nolan and Senate Education Chair John Flanagan, for their leadership in protecting State support for school construction."
The new April amendment to the capital plan restores funding by $1.75 billion, bringing the total to $11.1 billion over five years.
-- Staff Writer Historic designation for Central could help District -- Winona Post Minnesota: April 10, 2011 [ abstract] The historic designation being explored for Central Elementary can be a tool for the district, preservationists say, not a barrier as some have called it.
Winona Historic Preservation Commission chair Bob Sebo had these words for the board last week when he visited the meeting to explain what a historic nomination means for a district school building.
There are two types of nominations in the works for Central Elementary, which has been dubbed an architectural showpiece since it opened in 1931.
The first, said Sebo, is a nomination to place Central on the National Historic Register, a designation that is largely honorary but can pave pathways to grants and other funding for upkeep of the building.
Being on the National Register, Sebo said, would have no impact on future uses or modifications of the building, and state preservationists have indicated they believe such a nomination for the school is appropriate.
Such a designation carries with it a status, Sebo said, and places the building in the spotlight for its historic value to the community.
The second nomination being pursued is to the local historic register, a different type of designation entirely. When a Winona building is placed on the city’s historic register, said Sebo, its external appearance becomes a matter of concern for the city, not just the owners of the building.
As such, modifications that would significantly alter a building’s appearance must go through an approval process that includes a review by a subcommittee of the Heritage Preservation Commission and final approval by the city council before building permits will be altered.
But that is not to say that no changes can ever be made to the building, Sebo explained. “It’s not like you can’t do anything,” he said. “But it does lend a certain thoughtfulness to the process.”
-- Cynthya Porter Lax oversight of school construction raises doubts about earthquake safety
-- California Watch California: April 07, 2011 [ abstract] State regulators have routinely failed to enforce California’s landmark earthquake safety law for public schools, allowing children and teachers to occupy buildings with structural flaws and potential safety hazards reported during construction.
Top management with the Division of the State Architect " the chief regulator of school construction " for years did nothing about nearly 1,100 building projects that its own supervisors had red-flagged. Safety defects were logged and then filed away without follow-up from the state.
California law requires the state architect’s office to enforce the Field Act " seismic regulations enacted nearly 80 years ago. The law is considered a gold standard of school construction. It requires state oversight to assure professional engineering and quality control from the early design phase to the first day of classes.
These regulators are granted “the police power of the state” over the construction of public schools.
But over the last two decades, enforcement of the Field Act has been plagued with bureaucratic chaos, a California Watch investigation has found. Tens of thousands of children attend schools without the required Field Act certification.
Documents show uncertified schools with missing wall anchors, dangerous lights poised above children, poor welding, slipshod emergency exits for disabled students and malfunctioning fire alarms. These problems were reported by district school inspectors and state field supervisors and then lost in a swamp of paperwork.
In many cases, the state does not know if school officials have fixed these problems. Instead, the state architect’s office issued warning letters to school board members and administrators, and walked away.
-- Corey G. Johnson Public-private partnerships eyed for Montgomery County school projects
-- Roanoke Times Maryland: April 05, 2011 [ abstract] Former Bedford County Superintendent Jim Blevins had seen school disaster.
Toxic fungus had invaded Jefferson Forest High School in 2000, and Blevins led the district through a public-private partnership renovation of the school.
So it didn't take many mornings of reading Blacksburg High School news last fall to prompt Blevins to reach out.
He contacted Montgomery County Assistant Superintendent Walt Shannon and suggested a relatively new approach to school construction.
It "was a speedy process for us to go in and do what we needed to do," Blevins said. "It brings both the contractor and the architect to the table along with financing and tax structure."
Following guidelines set in Virginia's Public-Private Educational Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002, the partnership approach allows school districts to build holistically, by negotiating with one private group to take care of design, construction and some loan deals.
"We tell our kids all the time to think outside the box. This is outside the box," Blevins said.
Public-private proposals also have built the Green Ridge Recreation Center in Roanoke County, Belle Heth Elementary School in Radford and a handful of schools near Richmond and in Northern Virginia.
Until Blevins' call, Montgomery County followed a more traditional strategy: design-bid-build, where government officials tweak and push a project step by step.
Tonight, Montgomery County School Board members will discuss four public-private plans received since February.
The board hasn't made a decision to use the public-private option or to keep the design-bid-build approach for three school projects. The building of new Auburn and Blacksburg high schools and the renovation of Auburn High into a middle school will cost $125 million, the district estimates.
-- Katelyn Polantz Stimulus Bill Leaves Bangor, Maine With Upgraded, Energy-efficient Tech School-- Bangor Daily News Maine: April 04, 2011 [ abstract] Construction started in early 2010 of a $2.3 million renovation and expansion of the Northern Penobscot Tech Region III school. The work included a two-story, 12,000-square-foot addition to the 87-year-old school. The effort also gave the school energy-efficient windows, LED lighting and R-50 insulation, creating savings of $22,000 annually in heating oil and $15,000 in electricity, officials have said. The project leaves the region with one consolidated, energy-efficient building and allowed Treeline Inc., a Lincoln trucking company, to buy the Lee building for $90,000 two weeks ago, Dickey said. Howland officials are considering buying the building there.
The job will cost Region III’s 28 northern Penobscot County towns a total of $19,281 annually for 15 years thanks to the federal stimulus bill, which supplied an interest-free $2.33 million bond. The towns’ residents approved the project in a special October 2009 referendum.
Because federal guidelines prohibit the money’s return, Region III will get to have a better building with more features than originally designed, Dickey said " including a 40-by-60-foot cement deck expansion to the carpentry shop. About $150,000 of the $400,000 savings remains to be spent, and school officials will meet next week to see how far the extra money can go.
-- Nick Sambides Jr Editorial: Closer attention to design might help schools
-- Athens Banner-Herald Georgia: April 01, 2011 [ abstract] "Now, I feel happy to be here."
That's what Daniel Victoria, a fourth-grader at the Clarke County School District's newly renovated and rebuilt Fowler Drive Elementary School, told visitors at a Wednesday open house. Certainly, as a fourth-grader, Daniel might not yet have the architectural vocabulary to talk more specifically about what he likes about his new school, whether it's the interest created by the exposed ceiling or the interplay of colors in the hallway murals.
But that's OK. Because the fact that he's happy is all that anyone who's interested in optimizing the educational opportunities of the county's public school students needs to know. It should also be all that anyone - from school district administrators to teachers to parents - who wants to extend those opportunities to other students needs to know.
The Thursday story in which Daniel was quoted went on to describe an almost magical environment inside the school. In one hallway, the story noted, the painted outlines of sea turtles and dolphins swim as if in the ocean. Down another hallway, the sun and the planets are part of the design of the floor. The exposed ceiling, with the pipes and vents that normally would be hidden from view left clearly visible, makes statements in both the engineering and artistic realms.
-- Editorial Standardized Design for School Construction: Cookie Cutter or Building Blocks?-- NJ Spotlight New Jersey: March 31, 2011 [ abstract] The standardization of school construction -- the notion of choosing from a few standard design and construction models for classrooms or even whole buildings -- is not new to the industry or even New Jersey.
Through the decade of the state’s massive court-ordered school construction program, the idea has been included in any number of strategic plans as a way of saving money and getting the work done expeditiously.
Yet at the same time, the bulk of the projects built under the program have been largely customized to the communities and their needs, for good or ill.
Now the idea of standardizing building design and construction is commanding new attention -- or drawing new fire -- since the Schools Development Authority (SDA) said it was a key component in deciding which projects will move ahead and which will get a second look.
But with that announcement also comes the debate as to whether standardization will only lead to so-called cookie-cutter schools or whether it will even work at all in a state with as divergent needs as New jersey.
SDA Spells Out design Criteria
The latest forum was yesterday’s hearing of the legislature’s Joint Committee for the Public Schools, with SDA executive director Marc Larkins testifying to the criteria he used in choosing the projects that would proceed.
The SDA last month announced after a year of review that it was restarting work with 10 specific projects. The hearing was held at Trenton Central High School, a possible project that was passed over in the next round.
-- John Mooney Urban Activists: School Closures Hurt Our Communities-- Education Week National: March 31, 2011 [ abstract] For many people, the push to close underutilized and chronically low-performing urban schools sounds like a common sense plan.
But not to Chicago's Jitu Brown.
â€"School closings actually harm us in our communities,†said Brown, speaking this week at the Ford Foundation in New York City.
As a longtime organizer for the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Brown was speaking from experience. Between 2001 and 2009, Chicago Public Schools closed 44 schools, decisions Brown argued were driven more by real estate prices in the surrounding communities than the educational needs of students. The results, he said, were a spike in school violence, the destabilization of schools receiving displaced students, and the awarding of several public schools to unqualified charter operators.
â€"They come into our neighborhoods with bad policy they force down our throats.†Brown said. â€"Schools are community institutions, not corporate craps games.â€
Such sentiments abounded during the event, hosted by the Ford Secondary Education and Racial Justice Collaborative and attended by many who see the school closure push as thin cover for a broader effort to weaken public education.
â€"When we started to notice the rash of school closings, we started to recognize this as a major technology of privatization,†said Michelle Fine, a professor of social psychology at the City University of New York and one of the event's organizers. She talked about 2,000 people showing up at meetings to protest the closings, only to be told later that the schools would be closed anyway.
Beyond the anger, Fine said that the conference was primarily intended to help â€"educators and community to mobilize and generate rich democratic alternatives†to the school closings, turnarounds and privatization.
For instance, the contingent from Los Angeles talked about how grassroots organizers worked with educators to design Esteban E. Torres High School in East Los Angeles, the first new school there in 85 years. It includes small learning communities, a schedule that supports civic participation for students, and deeply embedded community services.
In recent years, influential organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and the Broad Foundation—not to mention wealthy celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg—have given tens of millions to the charter and school turnaround movements, both of which are closely linked to the push for urban school closures.
-- Benjamin Herold Blocker taps new schools construction chief-- Orlando Sentinel Florida: March 29, 2011 [ abstract] The man who has been tapped to be the sixth person in 10 years to lead Orange County schools' construction department has experience with big projects, tight budgets and public scrutiny.
John T. Morris, 54, was construction manager for the Orange County Convention Center through its 3 million-square-foot, $748 million expansion, which opened in 2003. That project was criticized at the time for frequent design changes, including cuts to promised amenities such as an air-conditioned outdoor bridge and fountains, but it opened on time and close to budget.
According to Egerton van den Berg, the consultant who was hired to keep tabs on the convention center's costs, Morris is an excellent pick. "He is very knowledgeable, handles pressure extremely well, is fair-minded, principled and experienced. He's really a remarkable combination of talents."
Van den Berg also is a member of the Orange County schools' Construction Oversight and Value Engineering panel.
If Morris' appointment is approved by the School Board on April 12, he will start overseeing the $1.3 billion school-facilities department the next day. The department, which manages new construction and school repairs, has been the subject of many critical audits, including two in the past two months citing lax oversight of contractors and other problems.
-- Lauren Roth Comptroller Visits Cabin John Middle School to Assess Construction Funding Needs
-- The Patch Maryland: March 29, 2011 [ abstract] Donning hard hats, PTA members, representatives from Montgomery County Public Schools, local officials and Comptroller Peter Franchot got an exclusive tour of Cabin John Middle School on Tuesday, just a few months before the completion of the school's modernization.
Franchot — who is a member of the state's Board of Public Works, which approves school construction funding — stopped by to get a firsthand look at the new facility and assess construction funding needs.
The school system is asking the state for more than $18 million to complete the construction for 160,000 square-foot school, which will be finished around the end of June so students can use the school when classes start in the fall. The $32 million project is about 85 percent complete, said Jan Sadowski, Vice President of Dustin Construction, the company behind the school's construction.
Twenty-one school districts throughout Maryland are requesting a total of $606 million. Also, Cabin John Middle School is one out of 30 projects where Montgomery County is asking for more funding, Franchot said.
Franchot said he was impressed with the design and environmental consciousness that went into planning for the school.
-- Sarah Beth Hensley In City Schools, Tech Spending to Rise Despite Cuts-- New York Times New York: March 29, 2011 [ abstract] Despite sharp drops in state aid, New York City’s Department of Education plans to increase its technology spending, including $542 million next year alone that will primarily pay for wiring and other behind-the-wall upgrades to city schools. The surge is part of an effort to move toward more online learning and computer-based standardized tests.
Some local officials are questioning the timing, since the city is also planning to cut $1.3 billion from its budget for new school construction over the next three years, and to eliminate 6,100 teaching positions, including 4,600 by layoffs. While state law prevents capital funding, the source of much of the technology spending, from being used for salaries, both moves are likely to make class sizes rise.
Despite the hundreds of millions of dollars already spent on wiring, city officials now say those connections are insufficient, given the need to stream high-definition video and interactive programs that they were not designed to handle. It is proposing to spend $465 million to upgrade those connections at 363 schools next year, and $315 million for additional schools by 2014, with schools chosen based on the state of their current technology infrastructure and the poverty level of their students.
-- Sharon Otterman City school renovations to begin in 2012
-- Democrat and Chronicle New York: March 28, 2011 [ abstract] The kindergarten hallway at the city's School 17 is sinking so much that in some places the wall and the floor are separating.
When it's time for students to sit on the floor, the children struggle to get comfortable on its concrete foundation.
Music class takes place in a cramped room designed for basic lessons, not dozens of students and musical instruments. Preschool children attend class in a portable building that principal Patricia Jones acknowledges has "moisture problems." The kitchen is so small that the staff cannot prepare a hot meal each day for every student.
But all of that will change in the next few years as the City School District pushes forward with an ambitious $1.2 billion effort to renovate its schools, including School 17.
Plans to get the project going cleared a major hurdle last week when the school board signed off on using a building it owns at 690 St. Paul St. as swing space to house students while their schools are being renovated.
Now, administrators working on the project can move forward with plans for the first phase, which will involve $325 million in renovations to a dozen city schools.
-- Tiffany Lankes City University of New York and IBM to Reduce Energy Consumption in Public School Buildings-- Press Release New York: March 24, 2011 [ abstract] he City University of New York (CUNY) and IBM announced they are developing new analytics technology that will help K-12 public schools in New York City reduce their energy consumption.
The project has been underway for the past 10 months and involves collecting data about weather, energy and building characteristics and performing extensive data analysis, modeling and optimization about the portfolio of schools.
John T. Shea, CEO of the Division of School Facilities at New York City’s Department of Education, said “One of our goals at the Department of Education is to reduce energy use in our buildings and learn from it. The IBM/CUNY energy analytics tool would help us better manage our buildings and would help our teachers incorporate the information from the energy use in the building to supplement the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum.”
The new analytical software tracks, forecasts, simulate and optimizes energy consumption in buildings. The project will provide information and skills to help facility staff and property managers achieve significant energy savings, greenhouse gas emission reductions and cost savings. To help develop the software, IBM and CUNY have been analyzing data about the K-12 Public Schools in New York City and local weather station data.
-- New Design World Guest Column: School construction project plan makes good use of capital funds
-- Capital Gazette Maryland: March 21, 2011 [ abstract] As the calendar turns to April and, then, May, there will undoubtedly be much debate about our school system's operating budget.
If history is any guide, however, much of the public fervor will center on the capital budget, which lays out the many critically needed renovation and construction projects we seek to undertake in the coming years.
The $156.9 million Capital Budget request approved by our Board of Education in February contains $46.7 million for ongoing construction projects at Northeast High School and Belle Grove, Folger McKinsey, and Point Pleasant elementary schools. It also contains $10.1 million for the modernization of the current Germantown facility to house Phoenix Annapolis students.
Feasibility and design funding totaling nearly $12.1 million is included for projects at Lothian, Crofton, Mills-Parole, Rolling Knolls, Benfield and West Annapolis elementary schools. The budget also contains $3.6 million in design funding for the planned $106.8 million replacement of Severna Park High School, $11 million for full-day kindergarten and prekindergarten additions and $9 million for open space classroom enclosures.
-- KEVIN M. MAXWELL New York City Education Department Slashes Plans for Building More Schools-- Gotham Gazette New York: March 18, 2011 [ abstract] An amendment to the city's five year capital plan for the Department of Education, to be voted on by the Panel for Education Policy, calls for a major rollback in plans for new school design and construction between now and 2014, with some sections of the city set to get thousands fewer seats than they had anticipated.
Overall, the department anticipates building 19 fewer schools than it did just a year ago, a reduction of almost 10,000 seats. Just one community education district -- 30, which includes Jackson Heights, Long Island City and Sunnyside -- stands to lose three schools with 1,744 places.
Although these cuts have attracted far less attention than the city's intention to lay off more than 4,000 teachers, they have raised concern among advocates who see the reduced plan as a recipe for more school overcrowding and larger classes. City officials blame the scaling back on proposed changes in the way the state reimburses the city for school construction.
The administration proposes to reduce the $11.3 billion capital spending plan for 2010 to 2014, which was amended last February, to $9.3 billion. Only five months ago, in November, the city envisioned a much more ambitious program, never officially approved, totaling more than $16 billion.
The city attributes much of the cutback to an anticipated loss of state money. In 2010, the city expected the state to ante up $5.7 billion over five years. It now sees that dropping to $3.5 billion.
-- Gail Robinson N.J. Assembly Democrats question Christie administration’s school construction choices
-- New Jersey Newsroom New Jersey: March 15, 2011 [ abstract] An explanation Tuesday by the CEO of the state Schools Development Authority to the Assembly Education Committee on how the agency selected 10 school construction projects out of 100 applications submitted from among New Jersey 31 poorest school districts did not satisfy the panel’s Democratic members.
Marc Larkins, the CEO, told the committee the authority a work group of SDA and state Education Department staffers gave the proposed projects a thorough review and developed the ranking system.
Gov. Chris Christie selected Larkins to remake the authority and after a year in which 52 SDA-funded school construction projects were left in limbo, the governor announced last month that $584 million in state support had been awarded to the 10 projects. The governor said the authority, which had been plagued by waste and mismanagement, would slowly begin to help finance projects.
Larkins said Tuesday that the criteria developed for ranking school construction or renovation projects included whether they are construction-ready, the number of students that would benefit, how much the project would cost and whether the design could be standardized. The CEO also said the authority previously awarded a project to each of the 31 districts regardless of need and that 27 projects that had been approved before the governor shut them down had not been ranked or prioritized.
-- TOM HESTER SR. Kamenetz agrees to fund Stoneleigh addition design
-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: March 11, 2011 [ abstract] After meeting for nearly two hours Friday with parents from Stoneleigh Elementary School, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz agreed to fund $2 million in architectural designs for upgrades to the 81-year-old school building.
Securing the design money is a major goal for the parents, many of whom were concerned by Kamenetz's recent comments that school officials should consider moving students from overcrowded elementary schools to under-enrolled middle schools as an alternative to new construction.
"The county has also pledged to work on a long-term solution to overcrowding at Stoneleigh," said Juliet Fisher, whose two children attend the school along the York Road corridor.
Kamenetz said he will include the funding in the 2012 budget.
"At the same time, I am asking all stakeholders to work together to come up with a solution to address overcrowding within the context of budgetary constraints," he said.
Kamenetz has called for a study into shifting fourth- and fifth-graders to under-enrolled middle schools as a way to expand capacity in the Towson area, where several elementaries are surrounded by portable classrooms. He set a July 1 timetable for recommendations.
"We have a lot of vacant space in middle-school buildings," he said. "I am asking education experts to come up with uses for that space."
-- Mary Gail Hare First California School Recognized as "CHPS Verified"-- Green Building Pro California: March 10, 2011 [ abstract] For the first time, a school in California has been recognized as meeting the rigorous high performance design and construction “CHPS Verified” standard of the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS). High Tech High Chula Vista (HTHCV), a charter high school in Chula Vista, CA, was awarded a CHPS Verified plaque today for completing the rigorous green rating program that verifies a school’s compliance with the CHPS green school building standard.
“High Tech High Chula Vista is a wonderful flagship for the CHPS program in California. As a charter school with a limited construction budget, but with a commitment to integrate sustainable principles into the lives of its diverse student population, HTHCV proves that all schools can be high performance schools,” said Bill Orr, Executive Director of CHPS. “The CHPS Verified plaque is not only a recognition of the school community for committing to high performance design, but also a charge to continue to bring these sustainable principles into play everyday.”
-- Staff Writer An Indiana County School Board Makes Difficult Choice on Closings-- Journal Gazette Indiana: March 09, 2011 [ abstract] No vote is tougher for a school board member than supporting a school closing. But East Allen County Schools board members acted responsibly in voting to close Monroeville and Harlan elementary schools. The decision represented the last piece in the transition plan for a district restructuring approved late last year. The decision to close New Haven and Village elementary schools was approved earlier, and the district redesign eventually includes the closing of Hoagland and Woodburn elementary schools.
Declining state support has made it impossible for the district to maintain all its current schools. Rather than put East Allen at financial risk and compromise services to all students, board members did the right thing.
-- Editorial Maine DOE Releases School Construction Priorities List-- Current Maine: March 09, 2011 [ abstract] The Maine Department of Education has released its recommendations to the State Board of Education for school construction funding priorities. David Connerty-Marin, director of communications for the Department of Education, said in a press release the proposed priority list is the first rating of school construction projects since the 2004-05 rating cycle. "The list is a vitally important tool for us in understanding the scope of the needs in our schools," Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen said. "When resources become available, we'll be able to address the most significant needs first."
Connerty-Marin said the list is just the first step in a comprehensive process that includes prioritizing, determining solutions, designing and building. The commissioner must decide how many projects will be able to move forward and the timing of those projects, he said. The list was comprised using a scoring system that assigns points to the level of need in a large number of areas, Connerty-Marin said. Those areas include unsafe building and site conditions, program-related facility and system deficiencies, enrollment and overcrowding, and program and planning, he said. Scoring was conducted by a Department of Education team over the past six months and included extensive site visits, he said.
-- Joey Cresta SDA Goes Public With Its New Rules: What Gets Built and Why - and When-- NJ Spotlight New Jersey: March 03, 2011 [ abstract] The new rules are finally public for school construction in New Jersey’s neediest districts. Standardized designs are in and lofty atriums are definitely out. Districts with serious overcrowding will get priority, and those wanting preschools will not.
And for the 100-plus projects that are being proposed, the rough math is that there is probably only enough money approved right now for half of them.
Such were some of the details that emerged from the Schools Development Authority yesterday, as chief executive Marc Larkins provided the first glimpses into the criteria the SDA will use going forward on the state’s 10-year $12 billion construction program.
Larkins presented the plan to the SDA’s board in a packed conference room, with district and civic leaders " not to mention a few contractors " eagerly awaiting to learn how the SDA will be doing business.
The ultimate results were not a surprise. Larkins and Gov. Chris Christie last week announced the 10 projects that will be the first phase and moving forward in the next year. The projects were chosen from 52 that had been underway and prioritized in 2008, but halted under Christie while Larkins reevaluated the criteria.
But how those 10 were chosen and how the rest will be evaluated had been largely kept secret until the board meeting, with Christie and Larkins only saying there would still be a premium on educational need but also on economic efficiency.
-- John Mooney Crested Butte Community School And Others Make Bold Statement About City's Values-- Huffington Post National: March 01, 2011 [ abstract] Last weekend I was in Colorado looking at schools (actually I was in Colorado skiing), but as we drove into Crested Butte it was impossible not to notice that they are putting the finishing touches on their new community school.
The building is beautifully designed, appearing as if it is three structures linked into one continuum of education, from kindergarten through 12th grade.
By far the largest structure in town, the building presents an impressive gateway to the community. The Butte, latticed with unbelievable ski runs, towers over everything else but this school makes an equally bold statement about community values, culture and priorities. Even the structure of the academic program, kindergarten through high school, in one building speaks volumes.
-- Ed Schmidt New Carroll schools on time
-- Star Telegram Texas: March 01, 2011 [ abstract]
The recent snow and ice didn't derail the new Carroll Middle School or the new elementary school construction projects as both are scheduled to open for classes in August, school officials say.
Carroll Senior High School's additions are also set to be completed on time.
But work at Carroll Elementary School could stretch into the fall while others, like Dawson Middle School, Eubanks Intermediate School and Carroll High School won't be ready until 2012. Originally, all campus construction from the $138 million bond package, approved by voters in May 2009, were to be finished by August.
Carroll Elementary School will be delayed because the expansion requires moving the library and offices, said Derek Citty, associate principal of administrative services.
"That's not what we'd like," he said. "Every chance we get we're going to take an opportunity to speed this up," he said.
The other projects were purposely pushed to 2012 so the district wouldn't have to manage so many projects at once, Citty said.
The New Schools
At the new Carroll Middle School, workers are putting up windows and exterior panels at the 168,000-square-foot building under construction on Kirkwood Boulevard across from the new Gateway Church. By mid-April, all campus doors, walls, roof and windows will be in place so the air condition can run and workers can finish the interior. By June 15, the district expects to start moving in.
Construction on the new middle school started in November 2009 before the design was finished.
-- Nicholas Sakelaris Historic Kansas School Being Adapted for Reuse… As a School
-- National Trust for Historic Preservation Missouri: February 28, 2011 [ abstract] The fate of historic schools is a major preservation concern these days. Shrinking populations and district budgets all too often result in the closure of older school buildings. Standing empty is never good for an older building or for the surrounding community.
Because older schools are so well laid out and solidly built, many find new uses after the end of their educational tenure. It is rare to find a small to mid-size town anymore that does not have a repurposed school building. Less common is to see a school district invest in the renovation of a historic school so that it can continue to function as a school. But, that is happening in Independence, Kansas.
The 1923 Independence Middle School was designed by Chicago architect N.S. Spencer and Sons to meet the highest standards in education at that time. When the building opened, the local newspaper boasted (with just a touch of hyperbole) that the new school was “the best of its kind west of the Mississippi.” Fast forward 88 years, and the building remains full of students. A larger gymnasium was added in 1939, and new windows were installed around 1980. Otherwise, not much has changed, although educators no longer view it as a cutting-edge facility. Some classrooms are too small, others are too big, connections between the original building and the 1939 gym are extremely awkward, access to technology in the classrooms is less than desired, and there is a lot of underutilized space.
-- Elizabeth Rosin Vail district to build new high school as it moves to cut jobs
-- Arizona Daily Star Arizona: February 28, 2011 [ abstract] The Vail School District has decided to go forward with building a new high school to open by the 2012-13 school year.
The school, named Andrada Polytechnic High School, was in limbo because there was a concern about how the project might be perceived, said Vail Superintendent Calvin Baker.
"When you're cutting teaching positions and struggling with the budget, it's hard for people to understand how you could do that and build a new school," Baker said.
The district plans to eliminate more than 40 positions for the coming school year after failing to get a 15 percent maintenance and operations override in November.
However, funding for construction of the school is coming from the state's School Facilities Board, which is charged with the administration of three capital funds to assist school districts. The funds are for building repairs and construction, and to address deficiencies.
Baker added that rejecting the money doesn't make sense, especially since it cannot be used for regular operating expenses - such as teacher salaries.
Additionally, officials say, the new high school is much needed as enrollment exceeds the designated capacities of the district's two traditional high schools - Cienega and Empire - by a combined 300 students.
-- Alexis Huicochea CASH: The Oscars of California School Architecture-- San Francisco Chronicle California: February 23, 2011 [ abstract] California's Coalition for Adequate School Housing (CASH) pronounced winners for its Excellence in design Awards. If you're involved with K-12 school design, in any capacity, the CASH Awards are tantamount to the Oscars, which happen to be this Sunday at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. Instead of recognizing professionals in the film industry, the CASH Awards recognize the architectural merit of schools in California, with special emphasis on design solutions that creatively meet educational program needs.
California-based design Firm LPA Inc. received two CASH Awards for their design work at South Tahoe High School, in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., and Newport Harbor High School, in Newport Beach, Calif.
-- Press Release Lost Capitol Hill: The Wallach School
-- The Hill is Home District of Columbia: February 21, 2011 [ abstract] Although public schools have been part of the fabric of the District of Columbia since 1804, it was not until 60 years later that the first purpose-built school was erected in the city. The site selected was at the intersection of Pennsylvania and South Carolina Avenues, SE, a location that continued to contain schools until well into the 21st Century. The first building built was named the Wallach School, and it is its almost 90-year history that we will look at today.
Until the Civil War, schools in DC tended to be single rooms in other buildings, rooms that were used for all grades together. One of the larger structures used for instruction was in fact the old presidential stable; that school was usually referred to as Jefferson’s stable, owing to that president having been in charge when the first public schools were organized.
It became ever more clear that a purpose-built structure was necessary to properly teach the youth of the city, and so in 1864 Mayor Richard Wallach jr decreed that eight schools were to be built throughout the city. He hired Adolph Cluss (who would later design Eastern Market) and Cluss’s partner Kammerheuber to design the buildings.
-- Robert Pohl Rosenwald school still holds Smithville's heart-- Charlotte Observer North Carolina: February 21, 2011 [ abstract]
Prominently placed in the center of Smithville in Cornelius, the old Rosenwald School tells the story of segregation in the 1920s and of the rural black community of the 1950s.
But for the children in the neighborhood, the school-turned-community-center is most appealing for its large swath of land and the rickety swing set off to the side.
Regardless of its incarnation, the old school has remained a focal point for Smithville's predominantly black community.
But in recent years, residents have all but ended community events at the center, citing the high cost of rent as well as the condition of the 80-plus-year-old building.
Cornelius town officials gave the former Smithville Rosenwald School a historic landmark designation in 2006 after property owner Milton Howard requested it.
With the designation, owners must receive approval from the town's historic preservation commission to make major alterations to the building or to destroy it. It also means the owner receives a 50 percent reduction in property taxes.
-- Elisabeth Arriero Future goal remains to modernize C.B. schools
-- South West Iowa News Iowa: February 20, 2011 [ abstract] When the Council Bluffs Community School District set a goal to renovate all its school buildings, district Superintendent Martha Bruckner had asked for community feedback during a half-dozen “listening sessions” in 2008.
Most of the district’s 20 buildings are 50 years old or older, and the need to improve the buildings seemed evident. Bruckner said at the time, “We want to come up with a plan this year that we can use to improve the school facilities by 2015.”
What resulted was a new master facilities plan designed to make sure every school is suitable for “a 21st-century education,” Bruckner said, all ready for wireless technology and in compliance with federal American Disabilities Act standards.
That’s still the plan, but tight fiscal times mean district officials are carefully reviewing their goals.
“We’re being conservative on how we move forward on future projects” because of a number of factors, district spokeswoman Diane Ostrowski said.
Those factors include a stagnant economy and fewer students, both of which affect the amount of money the district will have available for projects.
Revenues are generated on a per-pupil basis. The district lost 85 students between the 2009-10 and the 2010-11 school year from an enrollment of about 9,000, and the 2010-11 enrollment numbers dictate funding for the 2011-12 school year.
The district has been able to continue work on the facilities because projects are paid for through revenue generated by the one-cent sales tax. The voter-approved tax is projected to generate about $7.8 million for 2011 and another $7.8 million for 2012.
-- Dennis Friend Carver school building committee considering 'doubling down'-- Wicked Local Plymouth Massachusetts: February 17, 2011 [ abstract] The second of what may be four public forums put on by the Carver School Building Study Committee began calmly enough Wednesday night, as the architectural firms who are designing the proposed multi-million dollar facility put on a slide show, and spoke of the building’s design elements, its natural light, and the butterfly shaped roof of the cafeteria.
“What we have tried to do,” Principal Architect Bob Vogel, of the design Partnership of Cambridge, told the two dozen or so in attendance and the audience at home, “is knit the old and the new together.”
-- Frank Mand Business people protest out of state spending-- The Casper Journal Wyoming: February 13, 2011 [ abstract]
A rally will be held in Casper Friday, Feb. 18, to protest the number of contracts going to out of state firms for the construction of local schools, community colleges and other public projects.
“They’re literally giving hundreds of millions of dollars to companies from out of state. It just doesn’t make sense,” said Josh Carnahan, president of the Associated Builders and Contractors in Wyoming. “People in the state should be working those jobs. It’s an enormous economic drain.”
Carnahan noted the unemployment rate in December for Wyoming construction workers was 21 percent (not seasonally adjusted), with some 8,400 losing their jobs since the bust in 2008.
The impetus for the Casper rally came from the recent selection by the Natrona County School District and the Wyoming School Facilities Commission of five firms, with little or no Wyoming roots, for major design and construction management work at Kelly Walsh and Natrona County high schools, and a new third high school.
“From our standpoint, I don’t know if there’s anything that can be done with the school projects,” Carnahan said of changing the Casper selections. “What we want to do is educate the public about how enormous an economic impact the decision was ... over $100 million will now not be going through local people. The vast majority will go out of state.
“This isn’t just a contractor issue, this is a business issue, because every business in the state of Wyoming is paying for it,” Carnahan said.
Meanwhile, Robert Mo-berly, the chief financial officer for Wyoming Financial Insurance, will be hosting the rally at their Casper offices. Moberly said his firm provides bonding insurance to some 60 percent of the contractors in the state, so he’s aware of the economic state of the business.
“One hundred million dollars is too much to spend out of state when we have the alternative to spend it in the state,” Moberly stated, saying Wyoming contractors are capable of doing the work that’s being given to larger out-of-state firms.
-- Greg Fladager Shepherd to show off school
-- The Morning Sun Michigan: February 13, 2011 [ abstract] A formal dedication of the major renovations at Shepherd Main Elementary School is set for Tuesday.
"We are calling this a 'community tour' to emphasize it is not just for parents, students and staff," said school Principal Tom Ryan, "but for all to attend."
The ceremony is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. in the school gym, immediately before that night's Shepherd Board of Education meeting. Ryan said it would celebrate the completion of work on the building that now houses all the elementary-age students who go to school in Shepherd.
The school building is substantially new, funded by a bond issue passed by Shepherd school district voters in 2007.
The renovations added 17 new classrooms, along with improvements in traffic flow outside, new windows, new lighting, improved heating and cooling, and a better electrical system designed for 21st-century technology. New computer labs, art and music rooms, gymnasium, cafeteria, office and lobby were built.
For the first time in generations, the elementary school in Shepherd is operating under one roof. For many years, the school was an assembly of three different buildings, plus an array of portable classrooms.
Teachers and administrators said simply putting on coats and boots to go outside to go to lunch or the school library took up an immense amount of time from the classroom day. Now, the library, the cafeteria and the gym are just down the hall.
But the building maintains some of the flavor of previous buildings.
The faé�ade of the building constructed in 1929 still stands, housing the school's media center.
The interior, however, has been entirely rebuilt. Decorative tiles from the 1929 building have been relocated to several places in the new building.
-- MARK RANZENBERGER Texas Middle School Targets 'Net Zero Energy' with 582 KW Solar Plant-- The Journal Texas: February 10, 2011 [ abstract] This summer Lady Bird Johnson Middle School, part of Irving Independent School District in Texas, will go online with a new 582 kilowatt solar installation. The move is part of a plan to make the school the largest "net zero middle school in the United States," according to the district.
A "net zero" facility, as the school described it, is one that consumes no more energy than it produces. LBJ Middle School's net zero design consists of a system of low-weight, cylindrical solar panels covering the facility's entire 150,000 square foot roof. Forty solar modules wired in parallel will make up each solar panel used in the system, which will be designed and installed by GridPoint. The district will be able to monitor energy production and consumption via a Web-based management tool called the GridPoint Energy Management System.
The building itself will be made of energy-efficient materials, which will allow the school to consume half the energy of a typical middle school, according to information released by the district.
Scott Layne, Irving ISD assistant superintendent for support services, explained that the super-efficient building will also become a living laboratory for students. "The zero-energy school will reinforce teaching and learning as it becomes an extended classroom. With the use of efficient materials and cutting-edge renewable energy technology, the building transforms into a three-dimensional learning space," he said in a prepared statement.
Irving ISD elaborated: "Students will learn through practical, hands-on experiences. Issues such as geothermal science, rainwater collection, solar panel usage, and wind turbine efficiency will help students learn responsibility for energy conservation."
-- David Nagel Eastern High School " The Pride Returns to Capitol Hill-- The Hill is Home Blog District of Columbia: February 08, 2011 [ abstract] Guest author Joe Weedon shares details from this past weekend’s information session at Eastern High.
As a parent of two elementary school kids on Capitol Hill, I’ve been watching the redevelopment of Eastern High School from a distance. While I had heard great things about the re-design of the building, had spoken with the incoming principal, Rachel Skerritt, about her plans for academic programs at the school, and had desperately wanted to believe that we would have one of the city’s best high schools in our own back yard, I remained skeptical " but still wanting to believe everything that was being promised.
I arrived several minutes early for an Information Session at Eastern on Saturday to have the opportunity to explore the school and chat with others looking at Eastern for their families. As I walked up to the school, it was hard to miss the pride that alumni have in the institution. One car pulled up with D.C. license plates proclaiming “EASTERN”. Another individual got out of his car wearing a well-worn baseball cap from his years at the school. Once inside, I began chatting with an alumni of the school who was there with her granddaughter " whom she hopes will join the Eastern class of 2015. Soon, a small group of us were escorted past the “Cyber Café” to the West Atrium for a short presentation from the school’s incoming principal.
The atrium had the feel of an outdoor café complete with natural light from the glass roof some four stories above, trees and shrubs growing along the walls, and the echoes of music from the DC Youth Orchestra rehearsal that was taking place in the school’s theater. As the room filled with approximately 100 prospective students and parents, as well as the random observer such as myself, I couldn’t help but see students sitting around small tables studying, watching their classmates performing on the small stage or milling about during an intermission at a school play.
-- Guest author Joe Weedon Oregon Lawmakers to Consider School Energy Proposal-- Gazette Times Oregon: February 06, 2011 [ abstract] : One of Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber's top environmental and economic priorities will get its first hearing in the Legislature. The House Education Committee will take a first look at Kitzhaber's plan to put people to work by retrofitting schools and other public buildings with modern energy-efficient technology. Supporters of his plan hope to protect the environment while helping schools save money on their energy costs.
House Bill 2888 would authorize the state to sell bonds that would pay for loans and matching grants for school districts that want money to improve their facilities. The bill leaves many details to be decided, including the cost. The sponsor, Rep. Jefferson Smith, D-Portland, cautioned that the measure is merely a "placeholder bill" intended to begin work on the concept. The long-term goal, Smith said, is to retrofit every public school in Oregon along with other government buildings, but this year's bill would not reach that far. "We spend a lot of dough on energy costs in Oregon," Smith said. "If we can save a little of that dough ... that seems really smart."
Smith said the weatherization concept is about more than just creating jobs or saving on energy costs. He said the bill would bring cleaner air and more light into schools, creating a healthier learning environment for students and workplace for teachers.
The committee will also consider a bill that would require all new school construction and remodel projects to meet environmental standards equivalent to the LEED Silver designation from standards developed by Leadership in Energy and Environmental design.
-- Associated Press Michigan Montessori Plans to Renovate Middle School Wing Using Green Approach-- Leelaunau Enterprise Michigan: February 02, 2011 [ abstract] A mostly-vacant area of the Suttons Bay School complex will have new life based on plans by the county’s only Montessori school. Leelanau Montessori Public School Academy proposes to renovate the middle school wing of the school using a green approach. It’s hoping to attain grants for the work.
“The building will have a completely new look and feel, with solar and geothermal systems for heating and cooling, a green roof, the means to biologically recycle water, and natural day lighting to significantly reduce energy consumption,” said architect David Hanawalt of Epochy LLC of Suttons Bay.
The school has contracted with a firm named Epochy to convert the building to an environmentally sensitive and energy-efficient facility. That could be a big project. The middle school wing is the oldest portion of the building, with construction dating back to the early 1960s"well before energy efficiency was an issue. Proposed changes in the middle school are to integrate a greenhouse and outdoor garden into the academy’s curriculum.
The Montessori method of education stresses discovery and creativity in a natural, mixed-age group setting. It fosters personal bond with nature and reinforces these with real life problem-solving exercises. “Our students will have a unique learning tool to help them better understand the world around them and the challenges we face on a daily basis,” Irvine said. It’s the perfect laboratory to nurture their curiosity and imagination.”
If it comes to fruition, the school renovation will be the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental design) certified school building in northwest Michigan. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED recognized building designs that meet very specific and state-of-the-art environmental standards. “This is a win/win situation for us,” Murray said. “We’re taking available space and bringing it up to LEED standards for adaptive re-use. Simultaneously, we’re providing an exciting new learning environment for our Montessori students.”
-- Amy Hubbel Audit finds Seattle schools need better oversight on construction projects-- Seattle Times Washington: January 31, 2011 [ abstract] Following a critical audit of Seattle Public Schools' finances last summer, the Washington state Auditor's Office has concluded that the district also needs to improve how it oversees school-construction projects.
In the audit, released Monday, the Auditor's Office concluded that the state's largest school district generally has well-designed policies and procedures for managing its capital-construction program, but also found a number of instances from 2005-2008 when district staff members didn't follow them.
The audit found that district employees sometimes bypassed the procedure for approving change orders; split up change orders to avoid the need for School Board or top management approval; didn't adequately justify or support change orders; and overpaid some invoices.
As a result, the Auditor's Office believes the district spent as much as $1.2 million more than it needed on seven different projects that together cost about $281 million.
The Auditor's Office said it was difficult to determine precisely how much money the district might have spent ineffectively, in part because most of the projects involved renovations of old and historically significant buildings where costs are often difficult to contain, and because the construction occurred at a time when the costs of building materials and labor were going up rapidly.
The office also said the district over-relies on the construction manager it hires to help manage its projects, and did not provide all the documents it requested — assertions the district disputed.
School-district leaders, in their written response, agreed that the projects cost more than anticipated because of rising costs, and that some shortcuts the auditor criticized were taken to get projects under way before those costs shot up further.
Officials said they agree with most of the findings, and that they already have taken many of the steps the auditor recommended — some even before the audit started.
-- Linda Shaw Hampton Bays Middle School Sets 'Green' Example for Students-- Hamptons Bay Patch New York: January 31, 2011 [ abstract] In the nationwide effort to set an example in environmental concern for both this and future generations, the Hampton Bays Middle School holds the honor of being one of the first such education establishments to officially "go green" in its daily functions for all of New York State.
The middle school, which opened its doors on Feb. 25, 2008, has been the source of numerous environmentally conscious accolades and recognition.
The same year of its inception, it was the recipient of the Green Project of Distinction Winner in the Green Education Showcase and coveted silver recognition certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental design system. In 2009, the Long Island Power Authority also recognized the middle school for the latter achievement with a rebate of $300,000 for efficiency measures.
According to the school district, the building itself occupies approximately 147,000 feet and accommodates about 800 students, grades five through eight.
-- Chad Kushins Construction Underway on Net-Zero Energy School Additions-- Environmental Design + Construction New York: January 26, 2011 [ abstract] The Liverpool Central School District and the Altmar-Parish-Williamstown Central School District recently broke ground on capital improvement projects that include ambitious sustainability features. These include media center additions that are expected to operate as net-zero energy buildings " on an annual basis they will create as much energy as they consume.
Peter Larson AIA, LEED AP, Principal of the Advanced Building Studio at Ashley McGraw Architects, explains how these buildings “capture, conserve and create” energy: “We’re capturing free energy from the sun in a number of ways. For instance, we’re installing trombe walls, which absorb the sun’s heat and reduce the need for artificial heating. At the same time, we conserve energy with a draft-tight building skin and well-designed insulation. These steps already reduce the building’s energy usage by about fifty to seventy percent. Then the remaining energy usage is offset by creating energy with on-site photovoltaic arrays.”
Larson’s Advanced Building Studio uses daylight and energy modeling software to predict how each design choice will affect the building’s energy consumption. The Advanced Building Studio and Ashley McGraw’s K-12 Studio then collaborate on the design of the building, using the performance data to inform design decisions like the building’s orientation, window placement, ceiling height, and more. “The building becomes a teaching tool, helping students understand concepts like resources and energy,” says Nicholas Signorelli AIA, LEED AP, ncarb, Principal of Ashley McGraw’s K-12 Studio. “And of course, natural light and thermal comfort improve the indoor environment for both students and staff.”
-- Staff Writer Preschool Raises The Architectural Bar in Long Beach, California-- Long Beach Post California: January 25, 2011 [ abstract] You might pass right by one of the best new buildings in Long Beach due to its understated confidence. Set back from the street behind a small parking lot, the two-story structure is playfully camouflaged by a living wall of plants covering half its façade. You also might not realize the building’s function until you notice a second, child-scale door in the entry vestibule"or perhaps the subtly-sized, weathered metal sign marking this as the home of Little Owl Preschool.
Having the opportunity to tour Little Owl with the architect and the Executive Director it was obvious the pride they have in the organization as well as the structure itself. The founders and benefactors of the preschool, wanted to start from a clean slate and craft the very best learning environment possible. They engaged professionals in early education to develop a learning program based on the Reggio Emilia philosophy of teachers and parents partnering with children in their exploration of the world.
The site’s small size and long, narrow proportions were used to inspire design innovations that provide much of the building‘s character. The limited property area necessitated a two-level structure, with classrooms on the ground floor and administrative offices above. As a result, the primary learning area appears to be set in a park, visible from windows in every direction. The large, open space is divided in two pods by a central circulation spine meant as an assembly area. Movable walls allow for varying degrees of permeability between the two sides. Open stairwells on each end of the building facilitate seamless connection between the two levels. Indeed, the administrative offices on the second floor are also conducive to socialization; as on the ground floor, a central hub promotes interaction. Opening directly to this hub, a large rooftop terrace allows staff to work outside, a welcome feature for a building in Southern California.
-- Brian Ulaszewski Proposed Bancroft, Massachusetts School Features Green Design-- Eagle-Tribune Massachusetts: January 23, 2011 [ abstract] : designed in the late 1960s to resemble a castle, the wood-framed Bancroft Elementary School is one of the most expensive buildings in town to operate. But town officials say the proposed replacement of the school and its new "starburst" design will include many sustainable features proven to minimize energy use and reduce the operating costs for the new building.
A wind turbine, demonstration solar panels, a rain harvesting system, and energy efficient lighting and heating systems, are all included in the school's design, officials say.
Joe Piantedosi, Andover's acting plant and facilities director, said the proposed building will be certified at the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy & Environmental design (LEED) silver level for its sustainable features. The Massachusetts School Building Authority will reimburse the town an additional 2 percent for the green features. "I would call it a very modern 'green' school design," Piantedosi said. "More and more schools will look like this in the future." He said many of the new school's green features fit in with the town's current initiatives, including high-efficiency lighting and heating systems. The building will also be the first school in town to use natural gas as its only heating source, he said.
The windows are designed to allow in the maximum amount of natural light with shading technology to reduce heat gain in the summer, while letting heat in during the winter, Piantedosi said. Also, energy-recovery units will transfer heat between incoming fresh air and outgoing stale air through the building's ventilation system.
-- Jonathan Phelps School officials open to alternatives for Blacksburg HS
-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: January 20, 2011 [ abstract] What a new Blacksburg High School will look like isn't yet school officials' priority.
But how they'll decide it is.
The Montgomery County school board decided Tuesday to solicit proposals for a new Blacksburg High building through a public-private partnership, while at the same time following the traditional design-bid-build construction process. The board also won't ignore "unsolicited" proposals, or ones that don't meet either set of guidelines.
Whichever process works better, and faster, the school board will use to replace the damaged school.
The decision is in-line with Superintendent Brenda Blackburn's recommendation, though members of the community had urged the board in recent weeks to focus on PPEA rather than traditional processes.
Penny Franklin was the only board member to vote "no" Tuesday night. She later said she wanted the district to take a "leap of faith" with PPEAs and abandon design-bid-build procedures for Blacksburg High.
With a PPEA, a school construction process that follows Virginia's Public-Private Educational Facilities Infrastructure Act, the board tells the community its general expectations for a new school. Then, architects, engineers and contractors work together on plans. They also may incorporate funding solutions different than the county's current plan to sell and rezone some school properties, raise taxes and sell bonds.
Some community members hope the process will give public input more power, speed up construction and allow for out-of-the-box solutions.
-- Katelyn Polantz A Tale of Two Sidewalks: Sidwell teaches DCPS a lesson in public safety
-- TBD Blog District of Columbia: January 19, 2011 [ abstract] The following is a guest post from D.C.-based journalist Daniel Wattenberg.
D.C. woke up yesterday morning to find itself glazed in ice.
Conditions — for drivers and pedestrians alike — were treacherous. The most harmless dustings of snow have been known to trigger school closings throughout our weather-sensitive Chesapotomappalachian region. But yesterday, with the Beltway circumscribing a skating rink, the D.C. public school system underreacted for a change, boldly opting for the 2-hour delayed opening — the can-do choice. The Ed Rendell choice. The right choice — as long as you can deliver. Otherwise, it's probably best to settle for ... doing what you can.
After flailing for close to an hour to clear our front and rear steps with a broad, gently curved and, it turns out, easily malleable shovel blade designed for scooping powdery stuff not slashing and cracking ice, I drove my daughter to school. She goes to Hearst elementary, a D.C. public school whose front entrance is directly across the street from the rear entrance of Sidwell Friends, the Quaker academy that's been the area master class's top choice for grooming its successor ruling elite for as long as I can remember.
-- Dave Jamieson Sen. Glassman Proposes Downsizing State’s Oversight of School Construction; Ending Annual “Beg-A-Thon”-- The Dagger Maryland: January 19, 2011 [ abstract] From the office of Sen. Barry Glassman:
Northern Harford County State Senator Barry Glassman (35) of Harford County is focusing on school construction regulation and funding as an area of reform. Glassman stated that “if the State is going to begin pulling back funding of pensions and direct education aide, then we should also look differently at the way we approve and fund local school construction.”
Glassman’s School Construction Funding Reform Act of 2011 would broadly de-regulate the role of the State’s Inter-Agency Committee on School Construction (IAC) which holds judgement on most aspects of local building plans. His proposal would basically take the total approved appropriation for school construction each fiscal year and send block grants to each jurisdiction based on a per pupil formula. In exchange, Maryland jurisdictions would be free from the multitude of IAC formulas, procedures and approvals. Counties would be free to move forward unencumbered to lease, purchase, design, build and use creative financing. “The annual school construction “beg-a-thon” would be a thing of the past,” commented the Harford Senator.
Based on last year’s level of funding, some jurisdictions do better than others. Glassman feels the increased flexibility of a block grant approach far outweighs any reductions and streamlining the design, building and financing would save counties millions on each project. He also hopes that the IAC may be downsized with some potential savings to the State budget.
-- Staff Writer Martin Luther King Jr. on education: In his own words
-- Washington Post National: January 17, 2011 [ abstract] Here are some writings by Martin Luther King Jr., on education. Though they are from decades ago, some of this sounds like it could have been written today.
From a speech King delivered on March 14, 1964, when he accepted the John Dewey Award from the United Federation of Teachers:
"The walling off of Negroes from equal education is part of the historical design to submerge him in second-class status. Therefore as Negroes have struggled to be free they have had to fight for the opportunity for a decent education....
"...The richest nation on Earth has never allocated enough resources to build sufficient schools, to compensate adequately its teachers, and to surround them with the prestige our work justifies. We squander funds on highways, on the frenetic pursuit of recreation, on the overabundance of overkill armament, but we pauperize education."
-0-
From “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? (New York: Harper & Row, 1967).”
"In the treatment of poverty nationally, one fact stands out: there are twice as many white poor as Negro poor in the United States. Therefore I will not dwell on the experiences of poverty that derive from racial discrimination, but will discuss the poverty that affects white and Negro alike.
Up to recently we have proceeded from a premise that poverty is a consequence of multiple evils: lack of education restricting job opportunities; poor housing which stultified home life and suppressed initiative; fragile family relationships which distorted personality development.
"The logic of this approach suggested that each of these causes be attacked one by one. Hence a housing program to transform living conditions, improved educational facilities to furnish tools for better job opportuniti es, and family counseling to create better personal adjustments were designed. In combination these measures were intended to remove the causes of poverty.
-- Valerie Strauss The closed-minded approach to Austin schools
-- The Statesman Texas: January 17, 2011 [ abstract] Austin school district leaders would be wise to come up with more options for using district schools and facilities efficiently before approving a plan that lacks equity, conflicts with City of Austin goals and ignores solutions for generating income through measures that don't require shutting down schools.
At issue are proposed recommendations by a 72-member task force that would shut down nine schools that are under-enrolled as a way of dealing with the district's budget crisis. To be fair, the task force did its job, coming up with a plan that focused on moving the fewest students around the district and maximizing use of schools. But as one task force member told us, members' hands were tied by limiting options to solutions that met those requirements.
So certain things were taken off the table or rejected early in the process. They include: Changing attendance boundaries to maximize capacity at all schools instead of building new schools to accommodate housing patterns; selling the district's valuable central administration property; preserving neighborhood integrity in low-income or central city communities; and redesigning transfer policies that steer students to schools outside of their attendance lines. (The practice hurts the neighborhood school by draining its enrollment to fill seats at the transfer school.)
School trustees have a duty to put all options on the table at the same time. That is the equitable way to address the district's economic predicament. If trustees fail to do that, they will lose the public's trust and trigger turf wars between neighborhoods that will be degraded by school closures and neighborhoods that benefit from them.
Under the proposed recommendations, East Austin will bear the brunt of school closures with five of nine schools east of Interstate 35 on the chopping block. Not only is that unfair, it shows an insensitivity to the district's history of shutting down schools in minority neighborhoods to meet court desegregation orders. More than 30 years later, the affected neighborhoods still feel the loss of schools that served as anchors for those communities.
-- Editorial Board Grad prefers saving school-- NJ.com New Jersey: January 16, 2011 [ abstract] As the Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District continues to weigh its options on the fate of the middle school, some members of the public are now urging board members to support preservation, not destruction.
At the most recent school board, Penns Grove High School graduate Michael Devonshire submitted a letter to be read aloud for the record. In the letter, he detailed his thoughts and concerns on the decision by the school board to build new and not renovate.
The district is considering building a new middle school at the site and razing the present building, saying it's too expensive to renovate the old structure to meet district needs.
The historic school building on East Maple Avenue now houses the middle school, but for many alumni of the Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District it was their high school. It served as the high school until the current high school was built on Harding Highway.
"The threat of demolition of what I and many would consider one of the most significant cultural icons of the towns of Penns Grove and Carneys Point is of great and grave concern to us," Devonshire stated in the letter.
The old high school was designed by the architectural firm of Edwards & Green.
"The school represents one of their better works," Devonshire said.
Other works by this firm are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
"It is a majestic structure built at a time when the nation was in mid-depression," Devonshire stated in the letter. "The form and design of the school building - replicating a Classic Roman temple, a form of architecture championed in this country by Thomas Jefferson - reflects the aspirations of the builders and the townspeople that the structure be a temple of education, a duty that it has served very admirably."
The school was also designed and built as part of the Works Projects Administration (WPA).
-- Phil Dunn Meridian High School construction project moving forward; state matching funds up in the air-- Bellingham Herald Washington: December 28, 2010 [ abstract] Construction of the new greenhouse at Meridian High School - the first phase of rebuilding the campus - is under way, with much of the project slated to start early next year.
In February, Meridian School District voters approved a $17 million bond measure to rebuild much of Meridian High School and renovate and expand Irene Reither Primary School.
The plans for the main part of the high school renovation and rebuild are currently in the final review stages, with Zervas Architect Group leading the way. The Meridian School Board has indicated it would prefer to use Zervas for designing the work to be done at Irene Reither Primary as well.
The majority of the high school project is tentatively planned to go out for construction bids in February, said Superintendent Tim Yeomans. The project will be done in phases, due to the campus being occupied during construction. The high school project, including the removal of the current Old Main building, is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2013.
Finishing both projects requires state construction funding, which is provided to school districts to help ensure schools are maintained and upgraded. The amount of funding a project receives depends on several factors, including the type of project, enrollment and the district's ability to raise money through property taxes. Whether a district receives funding in a given year depends on how necessary the construction project is compared to others across the state.
When Meridian started planning for the $17 million high school rebuild, the state was expected to reimburse about $12.6 million in July 2011. But with the current state budget deficit, fewer projects statewide may get funded over the next few years.
The high school project is almost entirely "front funded," which means the district has enough money to pay for almost all of the high school rebuild without any state assistance, Yeomans said. Depending on if state funding comes through, and how high the construction bids are, district officials may be able to add some "alternative plans," Yeomans said, not getting into design specifics.
"We have a project that is front funded, but to do everything we wanted to do for the community, we need state matching funds," he said.
To fulfill the second part of the bond measure - renovating and expanding Irene Reither Primary School - the district would need the state funds. The primary school project already has been approved by the state as being eligible for funds. Yeomans doesn't expect that project to go to bid until 2012.
-- KIRA M. COX School building upkeep is vital-- The Boston Globe Massachusetts: December 28, 2010 [ abstract] BUILDING CONDITIONS were supposed to be among the criteria in decisions to close nine Boston schools. Yet on closer examination, the “Redesign and Reinvest Plan’’ presents a mixed message about school closure decisions and Boston public schools’ capital planning and building maintenance.
Some schools slated for closure have benefited from upgrades, such as a new boiler at the Farragut School and a major renovation at the Hyde Park facility, paid for in part with state school construction funds. Other schools that will remain open still wait for roof replacements and repairs that can affect student health and learning.
-- Tolle Graham and Mary White Clients See Construction Quality Slipping
-- Hartford Business Connecticut: December 27, 2010 [ abstract] As finances tightened in the construction industry over the past two years, property owners say they experienced a remarkable decrease in the quality of service provided by architects, engineers and construction managers.
“There used to be a certain level of confidence that your design professional was watching your job,” said James Keaney, director of capital projects for the City of Hartford. “Now more responsibility for oversight is shifting to the owner.”
Keaney delivered this message at the Construction Institute’s Owners’ Forum on Dec. 10 at Northeast Utilities in Berlin where four property owner representatives laid out their concerns in front of an audience of design and construction professionals.
The consensus from the panel " along with design and construction professionals on a rebuttal panel " was the quality of service provided to the owners is declining, more so in the public sector where building longstanding relationships with design and management companies is much more difficult. Although many factors contribute to the decline, the main culprit is a changing fee structure awarding less money to oversight firms.
“The realization that reduced fees are affecting quality is real,” said James McManus, chairman of the S/L/A/M Collaborative, a construction design and planning firm in Glastonbury.
In the City of Hartford, which has done $500 million in school construction in the past eight years, the fees for architects and engineers dropped to 5.7 percent of a project’s cost, the lowest level since 2005 and significantly below the fees leading up to the recession. For construction managers, the fees dipped to 1.5 percent, nearly half the 2007 levels and the lowest since before 2003.
As a result, items such as preconstruction planning and management have been substandard over the past two years, Keaney said. There has been a drop off in construction administration as well, and field reports from construction sites are not as good.
Poor communication between owners and their design and management teams leads to problems such as several different types of energy efficient LED light bulbs installed in each new facility. While LED lighting is great for the environment, the building and grounds departments must stock the many different types of bulbs to use as replacements, which is difficult and costly.
“These are all small things, but as we know, in this industry small things can become big things,” Keaney said.
-- Brad Kane Shared Facilities-- Leesburg Today Virginia: December 24, 2010 [ abstract] As county leaders continue to wrestle with the difficulty in finding land for new schools they also are reevaluating a number of changes to the basic design of school facilities, with the goal of maximizing the efficiency of each campus.
The increased use of multi-level schools and the renewed interest in expanding the capacity of existing buildings are steps in that direction. One area that isn't getting enough attention is sharing more facilities among schools.
-- Staff Writer Upper West Side Charter School Could Share Space With Five High Schools -- DNA Info New York: December 24, 2010 [ abstract]
Department of Education officials confirmed this week that they want to put a new charter school inside a building that is home to five public high schools on the Upper West Side.
The DOE's plan, which hasn't been approved yet, would put kindergartners at the new Upper West Success Academy charter school inside a West 84th Street school building with Brandeis High School, the new Frank McCourt High School and three other high schools.
The DOE's Panel for Educational Policy is scheduled to vote on the space-sharing plan, known as a "co-location," at a February 1 meeting.
Some parents and community members raised concerns about how Upper West Success Academy's kindergartners would fare in a building with much older students.
"There's an inherent incompatibility of early childhood education and high schools," said Mark Diller, chairman of Community Board 7's youth and education committee.
One of the high schools, Innovation Diploma Plus, was a transfer school that served students as old as 20, Diller said.
"That's putting an enormous burden on staff who should be focusing on educating kids and instead they're going to have to police hallways," Diller said.
Diller and others raised concerns about how smaller-sized students would share facilities such as bathrooms and lunch rooms that are designed for bigger bodies.
But Upper West Success Academy spokeswoman Jenny Sedlis said one of the network's schools, Harlem Success Academy 4, has had a successful track record of co-locating with a high school.
"Upper West Side parents want great public school options," Sedlis said in an e-mail. "We're very excited to open Upper West Success Academy and serve this great community and we look forward to the extensive public review process."
The charter school is part of the Success Charter Network, a group of schools founded by former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz. The network has five schools in Harlem and two in the Bronx.
Plans to expand to the Upper West Side sparked protest from parents who worried the charter school would give seats to children from outside the neighborhood and leave fewer slots than ever for District 3 students, who've endured some of the longest waiting lists in the city.
-- Leslie Albrecht Negotiations positive for possible new Peck Slip school-- Downtown Express New York: December 22, 2010 [ abstract] Downtown kindergarteners might have a better shot at attending a public school in their district, if current negotiations between the U.S. Postal Service and the New York City Department of Education prove fruitful.
The U.S. Postal Service has reached an exclusive agreement with the D.O.E.’s School Construction Authority to open an elementary school at the Peck Slip Post Office in the South Street Seaport, according to the D.O.E. and Congressman Jerrold Nadler’s office. The time frame and logistics of the school’s opening have not yet been ironed out, since the agreement hasn’t yet been finalized.
But the Downtown community is already rejoicing as it impatiently awaits more Downtown elementary school seats to relieve overcrowding, avoiding the need to bus their five-year-olds out of the district.
“This is excellent news for everybody involved,” Nadler said in a statement, emphasizing the need for the school. “I hope that we can see both the school and retail post office realized as the negotiations continue.”
According to Eric Greenleaf, a P.S. 234 parent and New York University business professor, the neighborhood requires an additional 1000-to-1400 more elementary school seats by 2017 in order to prevent severe overcrowding in the neighborhood schools. School enrollments are growing so rapidly, he said, that the Peck Slip school would be completely filled on its opening day.
“I’d be thrilled if [the negotiations] moved forward as soon as possible,” said P.S. 234 parent Tricia Joyce, also a member of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s Overcrowding Task Force. “We’re already over-capacity, so it really can’t come soon enough.”
Kimberly Busi, another member of the task force and the Parent Teacher Association president of P.S. 234, has begun a letter-writing campaign requesting that the Peck Slip elementary school incubate at the Tweed Courthouse. The D.O.E.’s current plan is to designate the space to Innovate Manhattan Charter School, a move which Busi, Greenleaf and scores of other Downtown parents vehemently oppose.
“Everyone is pretty unified in the belief that we absolutely can’t give up Tweed Courthouse,” Busi said, having hand-delivered nearly 200 complaint letters to the D.O.E. on Monday. “We just want those seats kept for zoned kindergarten children.”
-- Aline Reynolds In jeopardy-- Salina Journal Kansas: December 21, 2010 [ abstract] A proposal to raze the former Hawthorne School, 715 N. Ninth, to make way for an apartment complex is drawing complaints from some who have been affiliated with the Salina landmark.
Members of the Salina Heritage Commission will take up the request at a special meeting set for Wednesday.
"I am appalled that one would want to take those bricks and mortar and make it debris to haul off," said Millie Moye, a former Hawthorne teacher. "We need to keep that structure up. There are too many memories and hearts in that structure to see it demolished."
The meeting will begin at 4 p.m. in Room 107 of the City-County Building. A full agenda can be viewed at salina-ks.gov.
The heritage commission must review the proposal because the building was designated in 1997 as being in the Conservation District. The designation means the school is one of 215 noncontiguous properties identified as having historical and/or architectural significance to the city. The ordinance encourages the retention and reuse of these properties.
Demolition delay
The Conservation District Ordinance provides for a delay of a demolition proposal for up to one year for designated properties while efforts to preserve and rescue the building are made. In addition to Hawthorne School, the former Bartlett Elementary School and Oakdale School are designated conservation properties.
Hawthorne School, built in 1912, was in operation until 2001, when it was closed by the Salina School District. The school served students who lived in north Salina.
Jeff Gillam, of Jones Gillam Renz Architects, said his company is familiar with the structure.
In a letter to the Heritage Commission, Gillam said the building has many issues that need to be addressed both on the interior and exterior.
"It is an old building that has not been remodeled," Gillam said Monday. "It is outdated and has been difficult to maintain."
The application, filed by Wholesale Property Services, of Topeka, calls for two two-story buildings with 16 income-qualified apartments in each. The remainder of the site would be developed with off-street parking, a clubhouse and play area. A future phase would include an additional 16 units.
School supporters rally
-- CHRIS HUNTER Hope renewed for civic auditorium
-- The Casper Journal Wyoming: December 20, 2010 [ abstract] The board of the Casper Civic Auditorium (CCA) may have an opportunity to partner with Natrona County School District #1 (NCSD). Incorporating a performing arts center into the new high school when it’s built could solve the funding problems the CCA has encountered since it began. It also would benefit local education, according to CCA Board of Directors President Bill Maiers.
“We have a lot to give,” Maiers said. Besides funds, they have knowledge of what a performing arts facility requires and experience in designing.
A crucial moment will come Jan. 15 when the district begins to design the school. The new CAPS high school campus, according to NCSD board member Steve Degenfelder contains in its preliminary plans a performing arts academy. The facility for performing arts would be an enhancement requiring community support if the original plan remains.
“From that,” Degenfelder said, “partnerships might be able to be crated that allow us to build that enhancement or allow us to enhance the enhancement.”
While it’s too early to determine anything, he believes there could be an opportunity for enhancements if benefactors are willing to support it. More will be known as the design process begins in the middle of January.
“We have an opportunity here,” Degenfelder said, “with all three of these high school sites that’s going to come around one time in about 50 years…I think it behooves us to explore as many of the opportunities as we can in this construction process and take advantage of the window because it is happening in our lifetime.”
There is no formal partnership, CCA Executive Director Patty Bratton said. But there is an emerging collaborative effort to see what the CCA, the community, the school facilities commission and the school district can do. Recent canvassing shows the CCA donor base still supports the project, if the plan proves feasible.
If so, it won’t be the first partnership between private groups and school districts for performing arts facilities, Bratton said. The CCA Board looked at several models in other states. With building prices down, a similar project in Utah ended up $1.8 million under budget.
While the original CCA vision didn’t include a high school, it always included an educational component, Bratton said. As partners, the school district would offset maintenance costs and collaborate for scheduling around educational uses.
The biggest concern from the CCA side is whether sharing with priority on education could pose a scheduling issue. It’s a topic to be addressed, Bratton said, but “We won’t have any problems scheduling.”
Natrona County and Kelly Walsh high schools both share their stages for events such as Wyoming Symphony Orchestra concerts and ARTCORE performances.
Those attending the last symphony concert at NC might have noticed it was “A little crowded,” ARTCORE Director Carolyn Deuel said. Also a CCA Board member, she sees a need for a true performing arts center in Casper and believes private-public cooperation could benefit everyone.
-- Elysia Conner Fear, hope and a failed school-- MIKE DeBONIS District of Columbia: December 17, 2010 [ abstract] Our politics sometimes isn't expressed in personalities and policies and laws and elections. Sometimes it's in a building.
This week, we learned that Dunbar Senior High School will be razed as soon as 2013. That fall, if all goes as planned, students will attend a new, glassy, airy Dunbar next door.
The Dunbar that now stands is anything but glassy and airy, and few will lament its demolition just 33 years after its opening. Certainly the raves delivered by a Washington Post architecture critic, reviewing an early version of the design in December 1971, never came to pass. Few students who have had to navigate its dark, concrete-clad ramps or learn math in its chaotic open classrooms would care to describe it as a "building of a natural, almost blushingly modest beauty" that would "give most promising shape not only to the stagnant fluid of education in our ghettos, but also the life of its neighborhood."
But in that building are lessons for politicians and planners and policymakers - not only the ones who build schools, but also the ones who govern what goes on inside them.
-- Washington Post State Announces $1.4 Billion for Shovel-Ready School Construction Projects-- State Allocation Board California: December 16, 2010 [ abstract] The State Allocation Board (SAB) announced that it has allocated $1.4 billion for “shovel-ready” school construction projects across the state. These state matching funds will help finance 442 school construction projects within 137 school districts, resulting in substantial job creation.
“The action taken at the December 15th Board meeting represents the largest round of funding for California K-12 school construction projects since 2008,” said SAB Chair Cynthia Bryant. “By granting funding first to shovel-ready projects, we give a boost to the economy by providing much needed school facility funds that help create construction jobs in communities across California.“
The construction dollars approved represent the second round of funding approved under accelerated funding rules approved by the SAB in May. The $408 million allocated in August under the initial round was recently distributed to 78 school construction projects within 42 school districts.
In order to qualify for priority funding, participating school districts certified that within 90 days of receiving an apportionment, they would have local matching funds, usually 50 percent of the total project cost, in hand, and at least half of their construction contracts in place. School districts in financial hardship were also able to compete for the priority-ordered funding to purchase sites or begin design work.
Prior to the approval of the accelerated Priorities in School Construction Funding rules, apportionments were granted based on the receipt and approval dates of complete funding applications, or on a first in, first out basis. Each approved project had up to 18 months to request release of the State funds.
-- Rebecca Kirk N.J. School Construction Using Union Workers is Slower, Costlier, Report Shows-- NJ.com New Jersey: December 14, 2010 [ abstract] : School construction contracts designed to allow only unionized workers cost taxpayers 30 percent more in the last decade and took longer to complete than projects that didn’t include special preferences, according to a report from the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Focusing on school construction completed between July 2002 and June 2008, the report found legislatively sanctioned union-only projects on average cost an additional $60 a square foot or $7,745 a student. Using that measure, the state could have saved more than $240 million on new school construction in the past decade " the cost to build five new high schools " by not limiting contracts.
The union-only contracts are established through “project labor agreements,” or PLAs, which are included in requests for bids and limit the work force in exchange for a promise by the unions not to strike and a relaxing of some work rules. Advocates for the use of PLAs say the agreements keep down costs, ensure public projects finish on time and prevent strikes or lockouts involving a single union that can disrupt an entire project. Opponents say by eliminating non-union contractors from the start, the agreements stifle competition and drive up costs.
-- Ginger Gibson New Dunbar design unveiled
-- Washington Post District of Columbia: December 14, 2010 [ abstract] After a week's worth of news about disorder and disarray at Dunbar Senior High School, District officials were pleased to change the subject for at least a few minutes Tuesday morning. In one of his last school-related press events, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) unveiled the proposed design for a new $100 million Dunbar. The new school, scheduled to open in time for the 2013-14 academic year, will replace a dingy, virtually windowless, 1970s-vintage hexagon-and-high-rise on New Jersey Avenue NW that Council member Harry Thomas, Jr. (D-Ward 5) calls "a prison with open space."
The new Dunbar looks a bit like private Sidwell Friends with its campus-like setting, atriums and plenty of natural light. The winning designers -- the team of Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut & Kuhn Architects-Engineers and Moody-Nolan Architects--said they have tried to pay homage to the original school named for the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, which was built in 1917 as the first municipally funded public high school for black students. Alumni include Duke Ellington, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) and Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray (D). Plans include a vast central lobby, with an image of Dunbar, and selections from his verse.
The school was the site of a messy transition last week, as Interim Chancellor Kaya Henderson ousted Friends of Bedford, the private, New York-based operator of the school, hired by three years ago by then-Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee to overhaul its culture and academics. Henderson said the school had been plagued by security problems and other management issues. Bedford CEO George Leonard said the removal was politically motivated and engineered by disgruntled staff and parents who, with Rhee out of the picture, were able to persuade Gray and Thomas that a change was needed. Henderson said she acted on her own in making the change at Dunbar.
The building itself is widely considered to be a factor in the school's problems. It was built in 1977 without walls to separate the classrooms, part of an "open" design in vogue at the time but ultimately the bane of generations of students and teachers who lost portions of their sanity trying to keep focused on their work. Walls went up last year, but the building is dark, dank and described by students as soul-deadening. designed to accommodate 1,100 students, its enrollment now is about 800. Large portions of the 343,000 square-foot building are empty and difficult to secure.
-- Bill Turque D.C. picks team for Cardozo renovation
-- Washington Business Journal District of Columbia: December 13, 2010 [ abstract]
The District’s Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization Monday selected Hartman-Cox Architects and Grimm+Parker Architects as the winning bidder for the job to renovate D.C.’s historic Cardozo Senior High School.
Here is a news release announcing the selection.
MAYOR FENTY AND OPEFM DIRECTOR LEW ANNOUNCE
ARCHITECT TEAM SELECTION FOR CARDOZO HS MODERNIZATION
Washington, DC"Today, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Allen Y. Lew, Executive Director
of the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization (OPEFM) announced that the
architectural design team of Hartman-Cox Architects and Grimm+Parker Architects was
selected for the long awaited modernization of Cardozo Senior High School.
“I am very proud of the phenomenal pace and achievements of the District’s school
facility modernization effort. It gives me great pleasure to know that Director Lew and
his team at OPEFM have selected a well respected DC-based architect that has teamed
with another superior firm that has played an important role in the transformation of
Sousa Middle School"a school that has made off the chart progress since its
modernization a few years ago” said Fenty.
Cardozo Senior High School will undergo a complete historic restoration of its classical
building and will receive new technology and other amenities. The final design will be
completed in approximately one year after extensive engagement with current students,
alumni, faculty, staff and the broader community.
-- Staff Writer Rockford, Michigan Students Get to Use Classroom of the Future Now-- Grand Rapids Press Michigan: December 13, 2010 [ abstract] Step into Lauren Arnett's fourth-grade class and the excitement and energy for learning is palpable. From the technology, to its design and furniture, the classroom screams 21st century learner. The Cannonsburg Elementary class is one of Rockford Public Schools six â€"Classrooms of the Future†launched this fall, two each at the elementary, middle and high school. â€"The technology in the room makes things easier to learn,†said Lauren, 10, swerving in her rolling, swivel chair. â€"I can focus more and it's fun and more comfortable. I can tell the difference from my other class.â€
The difference is the room is set-up to foster collaboration and communication. Students aren't staring at the back of someone's head in single desks lined up in a row, nor is the teacher front and center at a chalkboard or overhead. Picture an X with the teacher in the center and kids seated, face to face at tables of five or six at each four points with interactive whiteboards at three different angles.
Rockford set aside $500,000 in a prior bond issue to assist with such a project. It is partnering with Steelcase, which reached out to the district to be a prototype to gather data on how the learning environment and student achievement. â€"Companies are asking for the 21st century work skills – innovation, collaboration, critical thinking and communication skills - and a different classroom environment is needed to learn those things,†said Elise Valoe, senior design researcher for Steelcase.
-- Monica Scott Smart Energy Practices Abound in Texas Schools-- Star Local News Texas: December 10, 2010 [ abstract] Several local school districts were singled out in a new statewide study from the Texas comptroller’s office for their “Smart Practices,” money-saving measures it would like to see emulated by other districts.
McKinney ISD, which received a perfect rating in the study, was recognized for building nine of its campuses using architectural prototypes and using two architectural firms, both of which offer prototype designs, for a savings of $150,000 per building.
Coppell ISD had seven of its practices listed: Partnering with Dallas County Schools on the installation of a fuel storage tank, and buying fuel from Dallas County Schools at a discounted price, saving $14,000 annually. Repurposing an elementary school to avoid building a new high school facility, saving $700,000 annually. Using scheduling and tracking software to increase the productivity of maintenance personnel and eliminate the need for more employees, saving $40,000 annually.Implementing a district wide energy management system; installing energy-efficient equipment and automatic light sensors. Installing energy-saving bulbs, ballasts and timers for the HVAC system, reducing annual electricity use by more than 10 percent. All for a savings of $200,000 annually.
-- Andrew Snyder BAB Program's Extension Not a Sure Thing for Tax Compromise Bill-- Bond Buyer National: December 07, 2010 [ abstract] While federal lawmakers are nearing a compromise on tax legislation that would extend many expired and expiring tax provisions as well as the Bush-era tax cuts, it is not certain the measure will continue the popular Build America Bond program, sources said.
That's because the Senate's lead Republican negotiator, Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., has been a harsh critic of the program, which is set to expire on Dec. 31. In May, Kyl complained to colleagues that BABs reward states and localities with lower credit ratings because they sell BABs at higher interest rates and receive higher subsidy payments from the U.S. Treasury.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the Senate Finance Committee's ranking minority member, also has been a harsh critic of BABs but last month predicted the extension would go forward. However, sources said while Grassley might have been willing to go along with a BAB extension in return for continued ethanol subsidies, Kyl opposes both programs.
Meanwhile, the Joint Tax Committee released updated revenue estimates for the Middle Class Tax Cut Act of 2010 that committee chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., introduced last week. That bill would extend the BAB program through the end of 2011 but reduce federal subsidy payments to 32% from the current 35%, as well as extend tax cuts for the middle class and other expiring tax provisions.
The JTC estimated the one-year extension of BABs at the lower subsidy rate would result in revenue losses of $50 million in fiscal year 2011, $310 million in 2012, $306 million in 2013, $301 million in 2014, and $297 million in 2015. It was by far the costliest muni bond-related provision.
The next most costly bond provision would extend for another year and allocate more authority to recovery zone bond programs, which are designed to rejuvenate areas hit hard by the recession. The JTC estimated it would result in revenue losses of $14 million next year, $91 million in 2012, and roughly $155 million in each of the next three years.
-- Lynn Hume SMCPS Receives Exciting News on School Construction Projects-- The Bay Net Maryland: December 07, 2010 [ abstract] On December 7, 2010, St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS) received exciting news from the Maryland Public School Construction Program, which announced the second round of recommendations on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 State Capital Improvements Program.
The Interagency Committee on School Construction is recommending planning approval for the Second New Elementary School, which is needed to meet capacity and program requirements, and $2,030,814 in funding for two projects. The Leonardtown Middle School Limited Renovation project received the full amount of $1,230,814 requested in FY 2012 in construction funding and the Oakville Elementary School HVAC Systemic Renovation project received $800,000 of the $1,833,000 construction funding requested in FY 2012. The balance of $1,033,000 will be appealed to the Board of Public Works on January 26, 2011. The Second New Elementary School, to be located on the Hayden Property, received a recommendation for planning approval. The new school will provide capacity relief to the adjacent schools and will be ready for occupancy in August 2015. It will be modeled after the LEED™ Gold certified Evergreen Elementary School and will incorporate additional sustainable design enhancements, including the possibility of a complete geothermal heating system.
-- Staff Writer Town Meeting OK's $1.75m to renovate middle school-- Boston.com Massachusetts: December 07, 2010 [ abstract] After hours of debate, Wellesley Town Meeting members voted Monday to spend $1.75 million for renovations to the middle school, with construction slated to begin next summer.
"After evaluating all our options, the School Building Committee concluded that renovation and changes to the use of interior space was the most fiscally responsible move, and it also meets our programmatic needs," said School Building Committee chair Terri Tsagaris.
The original warrant article was for $1.6 million, paying for nine additional classroom spaces needed to address the district's projected three-year enrollment bubble. Total construction costs were estimated at $1.1 million, with the rest being used for inspections, architectural services, furnishing, and possible asbestos abatement.
The School Building Committee also asked the Special Town Meeting to consider an option that would allow contractors to bid on the demolition of a larger section of the second floor, freeing up another 1,600 square feet of space.
An amendment from town meeting member Thomas Goemaat in Precinct D changed the article to add the cost for the additional space onto the $1.6 million renovation cost, bringing the total appropriation to $1.75 million.
Many residents had questions about the renovation. Robert Murphy of Precinct B wanted to know why the renovations would eliminate two large lecture halls on the school's second and third floors, which are occasionally used for student and parent presentations.
"Since the school was built, there's been a change in teaching methodology," explained School Committee chair KC Kato. "Class sizes have gotten smaller, with more of a focus on students helping each other learn. Those rooms are designed for teachers to lecture at big groups of students."
-- Sarah Thomas New Net-Zero Energy Ready Seattle Area Public School Designed for 47% Less Energy Use than Stringent EnergyStar® Target-- PR Web Washington: December 03, 2010 [ abstract] The Lake Washington School District in suburban Seattle is building a new public school designed to be 47% more energy efficient than targets set under the U.S. Department of Energy’s EnergyStar® program. The Finn Hill Junior High in Kirkland, Washington, uses Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) from Premier Building Systems for a more airtight and well-insulated structure than typical school construction methods.
-- Staff Writer City to close two schools, renovate 12-- Democrat and Chronicle New York: November 30, 2010 [ abstract] Two city elementary schools will close at the end of the 2011-12 school year, and 12 others will be in for a major overhaul as planners move forward with an ambitious $1.2 billion project to renovate school buildings across the district.
The plans were unveiled to the Rochester Joint Schools Construction Board at its meeting Monday night. The school closures were included in the draft of the board’s Rochester Schools Modernization Project proposal because the district plans to use the two empty buildings to house classes while other campuses are being renovated.
Schools 2 and 6 will be shuttered at the end of next school year. District spokesman Tom Petronio said the decision is being driven by low enrollment and little demand among parents to send their children to the schools. Each of the schools has about 300 students.
The school board still has to sign off on the proposal to close the schools, which administrators plan to present at its Dec. 16 meeting. The board’s Excellence in Student Achievement Committee will first review the plan at its Dec. 14 session. Both board meetings are open to the public.
Parents of children at the two schools will be informed of the proposal in a letter being sent home today.
“There are some strong programs in the city schools and those children will be able to go to any one of them,” Petronio said.
This will be the second round of school closures brought forth by Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard as part of his aggressive plan to bring higher quality academic programs into the City School District. Last school year, Brizard came up with a plan to close eight low-performing schools and replace them with new programs designed to better serve students.
-- Tiffany Lankes New High School Boosts Hopes for Students and the City of Beverly, Massachusetts
-- Boston Globe Massachusetts: November 28, 2010 [ abstract] As 1,250 students prepare to enter the new $81.5 million Beverly High School, city officials and educators are looking forward to shedding an academic probation designation that helped spawn the construction of the costliest municipal spending project in the city’s history.
“This shows the world that Beverly is going to move forward even if things are tough," Mayor Bill Scanlon said as he stood underneath a skylight in the new school’s library, a roomy, carpeted area that stretches up two stories, is climate-controlled and bathed in sunlight.
Nearly five years ago, Scanlon stood in a decidedly more political room " the City Council chambers " and explained to councilors that unless they took immediate action and approved the new academic wing, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges would revoke Beverly High School’s accreditation. The private nonprofit accrediting agency had put the school on warning in 2000, and added the probation tag in 2003 after identifying numerous structural problems with the building, including filmy and outdated windows, cluttered classrooms, nonworking electrical conduits, leaks in the roof, and exposed wiring.
-- Steven Rosenberg Habits and Habitats: Rethinking Learning Spaces for the 21st Century -- Education Week Blog National: November 26, 2010 [ abstract] The moment students enter the classroom, the space informs them more than we can imagine about the type of learning the environment will foster and the clear direction the lead learner in the classroom wishes to go.
In many classrooms, the picture is all too familiar: desks in rows, a clear front of the classroom, podium off-center in the front, etc.. Does this image speak to the beliefs we state about 21st Century Learning? Are these spaces best capable of fostering the development of our vision for a well-educated global citizen? Have the spaces been intentionally designed in a way that supports learning and teaching?
Sadly, space design seems to have fallen into "do what we've always done" not what will best serve learning. But today, it is not enough to consider the habits we want and the teaching that will get us there. We must begin to provide the habitats that will support the creation and development of the desired habits.
Developing the habitats that will foster the desired habits starts with an honest view of your current learning spaces against your vision of learning. In other words, what does it mean to be well-educated and how do our spaces support this vision?
Of late, the focus of many educational discussions center on pedagogy, technology, and "21st Century Skills". However, rethinking the spaces that our learners inhabit eight hours a day, five days a week, and over 180 days a year is just as critical. As Sir Ken Robinson stated, "If we are looking for new pedagogical practices, we have to have facilities that will enable those to happen." Thus, it is time to provide the 21st Century Habitats that will foster the desired 21st Century Habits. The question is how will you change the school from a collection of classrooms to a robust multidimensional learning space capable of fostering well-educated, 21st Century citizens? [Includes an 8-step approach to re-thinking spaces.]
-- Ryan Bretag Design Proposals Unveiled for $40 Million School in East Baltimore-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: November 22, 2010 [ abstract] Classrooms that "grow" in size as students get older. Vegetable gardens and wind turbines that help teach city children about farming and alternative energy sources. Diverse learning spaces under a single, sweeping roof, intended to foster a sense of community.
These are just a few of the ideas presented by three teams competing to design the East Baltimore Community School, a $40 million, kindergarten-to-eighth-grade facility planned as an anchor for the East Baltimore Development Inc. renewal area.
Expected to open by fall 2014, the 103,000-square-foot building will be a "public contract school" — it will be open to neighborhood students, but its design and construction will not be funded through the city school system's standard procurement process. Money to build the school will come from a variety of sources, including nonprofits such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation, as well as from a previously approved tax-increment financing plan. More than $8.5 million has been raised so far.
East Baltimore Development Inc., a public-private partnership that is redeveloping 88 acres north of the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus as a $1.8 billion mixed-use community, is overseeing the school project. To select an architect, it launched a national competition and chose three teams to work for nine weeks on a design. Each team will receive $25,000, and the winner will be given the first chance to negotiate a contract to design the campus.
-- Edward Gunts, Stimulus Supercharges Energy Efficiency Efforts
-- Education Weekly National: November 22, 2010 [ abstract] Until recently, the students and faculty at Silver High School counted on an old steam boiler to provide their building with hot water"and the district’s facilities staff counted on the 1960s-era equipment to break down, and waste energy.
“It was a hog. And a maintenance nightmare,” said Barry Ward, the facilities manager for the Silver Consolidated School District, in Silver City, N.M. “It was not efficient, and it was impossible to buy parts for it.”
When classes opened this fall, the hot-water relic had been replaced with a solar water-heating system, which is now mounted on the roof of the high school’s gymnasium. The vast majority of the $112,000 cost for that addition was paid for by the 2009 federal economic-stimulus program, which is supporting hundreds of millions of dollars worth of similar renewable-energy and energy-efficiency upgrades in school districts around the country.
Those projects are designed to transform and reduce energy consumption in the nation’s schools, through the addition of solar power and other sources of renewable energy, and to cut utility costs through energy efficiency. They’re also meant to build students’ and communities’ understanding of alternative power sources. To that end, teachers and administrators in many districts are incorporating their schools’ new energy features into classroom lessons.
The Silver Consolidated district, which has 3,000 students and sits more than a mile above sea level in the rugged, southwestern part of New Mexico, has used a total of $357,000 in stimulus funding to make a series of energy-efficiency upgrades, including the solar-powered water heater. Other changes included putting three school campuses on an automated energy-management system, which was already in place on other campuses.
The district pays about $450,000 in utility bills each year. The new energy installations could reduce those costs by 20 percent, estimates Mr. Ward, who notes that during a prolonged economic downturn, every penny counts.
“In this environment, that saves jobs,” he said.
-- Sean Cavanagh Tennessee Elementary School Recognized for Architectural Design-- TriCities.com Tennessee: November 22, 2010 [ abstract] John Adams Elementary School has been awarded the 2010 School of the Year for Excellence in Architectural design by the Tennessee School Boards Association.
Opened in 2009, John Adams Elementary is the first newly constructed city elementary school in a decade. The 500-student school was designed by Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon and DLR Group, with the architectural concept developed through a collaborative process involving parents, students, teachers and community members. Located in the Rock Springs Community in the Edinburgh subdivision, John Adams Elementary currently has an enrollment of 250 students in grades Pre-K through 5.
The two-story facility includes an open floor plan of classroom â€"neighborhoods†that can be divided into four separate classes in each grade level. The school features a full-size gymnasium, a multi-level library including a story tower, and a community room for multi-purpose use. John Adams Elementary was designed to be an environmentally friendly school, with a geo-thermal heating and cooling system along with other energy-efficient architectural and design features.
The Tennessee School Boards Association recognizes architectural firms for their excellence in design. School of the year awards are granted in five categories including new school construction of elementary, middle, and high schools, renovation and the People's Choice Award, which is selected by the attendees to the exhibit hall during the annual TSBA convention.
-- Staff Writer Cleveland, Ohio's School District's Building Program at a Crossroads-- Plain Dealer Ohio: November 21, 2010 [ abstract] When East High's gym roof caved in 10 years ago, officials set out on a mission to replace and restore Cleveland's crumbling public schools. Now the crusade is at a crossroads because a district construction campaign is running out of money.
The Ohio School Facilities Commission, which pays two-thirds of expenses it deems justified, wants to shrink the overall cost of the program from $1.5 billion to less than $1.2 billion -- a response to declining enrollment. At the same time, a $335 million bond issue that covers the local share is nearly used up. The Cleveland district estimates it will need more than $200 million to match what the state is willing to fund and to go solo on some projects for which the state won't pay.
Since 2002, Cleveland has built, renovated or started design on 41 schools, work valued at $800 million. But the district has more than 90 schools, and about half now face an uncertain future. District leaders have discussed asking voters to extend their property-tax payments for 20 years. But officials make clear that they have to first think about seeking an operating levy to head off staggering deficits.
Nearly 400 school districts have participated in the state program since its inception in 1997, but Bill Prenosil, a facilities commission planner who works with Cleveland, did not know of any that have quit early because the local money dissipated. Prenosil said Cleveland can take a break, if necessary, and pick up where it left off when cash flow resumes.
-- Thomas Ott L.A. Unified suspends 4 key consultants on school construction program
-- LA Times California: November 17, 2010 [ abstract] Four key consultants behind the nation's largest school construction program have been suspended from their work with the Los Angeles Unified School District pending an internal investigation into their recently formed company, The Times has learned.
The suspended consultants — Charlie Anderson, John Creer, Rod Hamilton and Edwin Van Ginkel — have held prominent roles in acquiring real estate and overseeing environmental reviews, planning and school design over the last decade. They received compensation that surpassed district employees, including that of Supt. Ramon C. Cortines.
District officials have ordered a reduction in the number of highly paid outside consultants during the ongoing budget crisis. The four consultants officially had left the district only to be rehired immediately this fall as a group in a newly formed company.
"It looks funny when we say we are reducing the number of consultants, then the consultants leave and we turn around and hire their consulting firm," Cortines said.
The superintendent said he would discuss the matter with the Board of Education next week after he has reviewed an internal investigation.
Critics of the construction program have praised the increased scrutiny, but its defenders say the district is eliminating the expertise that has made the $20-billion effort successful.
The four executives recently formed Consilia, the company that was to oversee how the district would spend $7 billion in bond funds authorized under Measure Q, passed by voters in 2008.
Their role involved construction and other planning at 580 schools, for which they would receive more than $3.7 million, at a rate of about $185,000 per month. The contract also includes a $40,000 fee for furniture and related office costs, according to a new district audit.
Beyond whether officials violated the directive to reduce consultants, sources said another concern is whether the contractors circumvented competitive bidding rules with the complicity of the senior district staff.
These sources, who asked to remain anonymous because they feared for their jobs or were not authorized to speak about the issue, allege that the consultants designed the scope of the work and then created Consilia to carry it out.
District facilities director James Sohn defended the integrity of the contracting process. He said Consilia won its contract after a request for proposals was sent to "dozens and dozens" of entities, from which three proposals emerged.
-- Howard Blume Philadelphia district begins public meetings on the future of school buildings-- Philadelphia Inquirer Pennsylvania: November 12, 2010 [ abstract]
There are more empty desks in Philadelphia School District schools - 45,000 - than there are seats in Citizens Bank Park, and the district is working on a long-range plan to solve the problem.
At Wednesday's School Reform Commission meeting, officials said the district would begin a three-step process with a series of public meetings beginning Wednesday to create a master facilities plan that will result in closing or finding new uses for some of the district's 284 schools and in upgrading others.
"We have more buildings than our current enrollment dictates, and our future enrollment needs dictate," Danielle Floyd, deputy for strategic initiatives, told the commission.
She and other district officials said it was too early to know how many schools could end up being closed or finding new uses, including providing space to charter schools.
The project, "Imagine Great Schools," is designed to mesh with Superintendent Arlene Ackerman's Imagine 2014 education-reform initiative and will consider grade configurations and academic offerings.
"Really, the bottom line here is we need to achieve greater efficiencies while still supporting the key academic reforms," Floyd said.
The district, which had 198,000 students in 2001, has 163,000 now.
Declining population in parts of the city, as well as the shift of more than 35,000 students to charter schools, has left the district with partially empty buildings that still need to be staffed, heated, and maintained.
Although schools in West and South Philadelphia are underused, buildings in the east and Northeast portions of the city are near capacity or overcrowded.
"I think that it's important that people understand the complexities of what we're doing," Floyd said.
In trying to determine its future space needs, the district is working closely with the city's Planning Commission, the Housing Authority, and community development organizations to discuss their residential development plans.
-- Martha Woodall How Does Your Green School Garden Grow?-- The Lake Oswego Review Oregon: November 11, 2010 [ abstract] : For the gardeners at Hallinan Elementary School in Lake Oswego " all 342 of them " this is not a fallow season. In fact, as the fall weather turns cold and rainy, they will have some of their busiest days as they prepare for next spring’s planting.
“This started out as a small project,” said principal Steve Mauritz. “We’ve never had a project at the school that generated as much support from parents and students,” he said. “Every parent wants their child to know where their food comes from.”
As miraculously as the growth of Jack’s magic beanstalk, enthusiasm for the project shot through the school roof. The simple classroom exercise to raise awareness of where foods originate mushroomed into 24 8-foot by 4-foot raised beds enclosed behind deer-deterring six-foot tall fencing. With the help of many parents, some of whom have landscaping and construction skills, a lawn was dug up and replaced with enough garden beds for each classroom to have two to plant as they wish.
Outside the fenced garden are compost bins; composting lunch leftovers will begin soon. This fall a rainwater recapturing system will be constructed and the water used to irrigate the beds. Hallinan is pursuing the “premier” Oregon Green School designation, which very few schools in the state attain.
-- BARB RANDALL The "21st Century Classroom" Finalists-- Slate National: November 10, 2010 [ abstract] After we invited readers to design a better fifth-grade classroom a month ago, Slate received more than 350 ideas, ranging from the innovative to the utterly fantastical. Voters and judges have winnowed those entries down to 10 finalists, from which we will choose a winner at the end of this week.
. When students are asked to reimagine their learning spaces, they often put classes outdoors, so perhaps it’s not surprising that the top two vote-getters by far are outdoor classrooms"The Integrated Green Rooftop Learning Lab, by Studio G Architects, and The 21st Century Outdoor Classroom, by REAL School Gardens. Nature was an element of the top judges’ picks as well.
A variety of spaces within a room: That was central to many of the Hive entries and to four of the five top judges’ choices. The judges’ highest rankings went to two entries that were somewhat similar: Guided Learning in a Complicated World, by shellyQ (whom I’d guess is a teacher"who else thinks about where teachers and their aides can stash supplies?), and Fifth-Grade Exploration Studio, by architects Greg Stack and Natalia Nesmeianova. Both addressed comfort, provided project space, and, most important, were built around the idea of students not just being addressed by a teacher but working independently and working together.
-- Linda Perlstein 'No' vote on high school bond won't halt merger
-- The Detroit News Michigan: November 05, 2010 [ abstract] A failed $73 million bond request will not stop plans to merge Lahser and Andover high schools, school officials said Wednesday.
Voters in the Bloomfield Hills school district turned down a bond for 1.43 mills to build a new high school on the Andover site. The measure failed Tuesday with 55 percent of voters opposed.
District spokeswoman Betsy Erikson said Wednesday the district will spend the next five months addressing how to serve 1,600 students at one site on the Andover campus with the help of a facilities design firm hired last month. Focus groups and community workshops will be part of the decision-making process for parents and taxpayers.
"They will be working with us well into April on this issue," Erikson said of the firm. The Andover site as it is now cannot service the expected 1,600 students in fall 2014, Erikson said.
"It's critical that we get all stakeholders to the table in the coming weeks," said Ingrid Day, president of the school board.
In June, and after months of debate by taxpayers and parents, the Board of Education voted to close Lahser High School.
School officials have said merging the high schools will save $2.5 million a year and is part of the district's five-year deficit prevention plan.
Voters did approve a five-year, .74-mill sinking fund renewal 53 to 47 percent. The fund will provide about $2.5 million a year for building maintenance and repair at facilities across the district, offloading the obligation from the operating budget, Erikson said.
-- Jennifer Chambers Aquilla, Texas Voters Approve Qualified School Construction Bonds-- The Reporter Texas: November 03, 2010 [ abstract] Voters of the Aquilla Independent School District (AISD) approved a $1.5 million bond election. The bond will pay for the construction of a new gymnasium, locker room facilities and a potential classroom wing. The totals reflected more than a 2-to-1 margin of victory, 276 to 132. The school will utilize Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCB), a federal program designed to provide tax credits in lieu of tax-exempt interest, to investors in school bonds.
It has been estimated that the QSCB program could save the district over $1 million in interest payments over the life of the bond. The issue is projected to increase the district’s total tax rate from $1.2436 per $100 valuation to $1.3651 per $100 valuation or $.1215. The district purchased 15 acres of land last spring for the expan-sion.
-- Staff Writer St. Helena school bond leading, sales tax failing-- Napa Valley Register California: November 03, 2010 [ abstract] A $30 million St. Helena school facilities bond measure was leading in early returns, but a half-cent city sales tax seemed all but sure to fail.
As of 10 p.m. Tuesday, Measure B, the school bond, was leading with 59.3 percent of the vote, exceeding the 55 percent it needs to pass.
Measure C, the half-cent sales tax, was mustering only 38.1 percent of the vote, well short of the 50 percent plus one it needs.
The bond measure would extend the property tax rate set by a previous bond measure and provide the St. Helena Unified School District with money to build Ag/culinary facilities at St. Helena High School, replace portables at Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School with permanent classrooms, modernize classrooms district-wide, and design other facilities that could be funded by a future bond.
-- JESSE DUARTE American Architectural Foundation Honors School in Grand Rapids, Michigan-- PR NewsWire Michigan: November 01, 2010 [ abstract] The American Architectural Foundation (AAF) in partnership with KnowledgeWorks has awarded the sixth annual Richard Riley Award to Burton Elementary and Middle School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Richard Riley Award promotes the idea of schools as centers of community and honors excellence in schools that open their doors to community residents of all ages for educational resources and other services.
AAF will present the award to Burton Elementary and Middle School with a ceremony at the school on Wednesday, November 3, 2010. Educational leaders, elected officials, members of the media, and other community leaders are expected to attend.
The Richard Riley Award honors both design and educational excellence, with an emphasis on innovation. The award was named in honor of former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley, who promoted the idea of schools as centers of community.
"Burton Elementary and Middle School sets a national benchmark for how a community can create a school and campus that is truly at the center of its community," said Ron Bogle, President and CEO of the American Architectural Foundation. "We are very pleased to award Burton Schools with the Richard Riley Award."
-- Katlin Chadwick Carlisle School District Unveils One of Pennsylvania's Largest Solar Arrays-- Renewable Energy World Pennsylvania: October 19, 2010 [ abstract] The Carlisle Area School District unveiled a new 1.2 megawatt (MW) solar power array that will help educate as it provides clean renewable energy. Henkels & McCoy, Inc., headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, designed and constructed the solar array using solar panels from industry leader Sharp. The solar installation is expected to produce approximately 1,500,000 kilowatt hours of solar power a year. On an annual basis, the solar energy produced will reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 2,055,000 pounds, the equivalent of eliminating 178 cars from the road per year. Carlisle School District will now be able to meet approximately sixteen percent of its electricity needs with clean, emissions-free solar power.
This project was financed in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Financing Authority. The Project was also funded by the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority using monies from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Additional Funding will be provided to the school district under the ACT 129 renewable energy rebate program.
-- Staff Writer Energy Conservation Yields $47,000 Check for Kalamazoo Public Schools
-- Kalamazoo Gazette Michigan: October 19, 2010 [ abstract] The district has received a $47,283 check from Tower Pinkster Titus Associates, the architecture and engineering firm that designed Linden Grove Middle School, in connection with a federal tax credit that the firm received for its middle-school design. The money will be used for the district’s literacy efforts.
The tax credit is part of the Commercial Building Tax Deduction and the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which was created to encourage energy efficiency in commercial buildings. Linden Grove, which opened in fall 2009, qualified by reducing the building’s lighting, heating and cooling energy by more than 30 percent compared to American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers standards.
Because KPS is a nonprofit and does not pay taxes, it did not qualify for the tax incentive. But Tower Pinkster was able to file for the credit on project of the project, and they turned the money over to the school district.
Among the building’s energy-saving features are: abundant daylighting, allowing for fewer artificial lights and smaller HVAC systems; special outdoor light fixtures designed to decrease light pollution; dual flush toilets and low-flow fixtures; a reflective, white roof, in combination with roof vegetation.
-- Julie Mack The NREL Blueprint for Greener New Orleans Schools-- EarthTechling Louisiana: October 19, 2010 [ abstract] Hurricane Katrina destroyed schools as well as homes and businesses"and now, five years later, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is helping with the green re-building of the Big Easy by creating an energy efficient blueprint the city’s schools can elect to adopt.
Ironically, some of New Orleans’ oldest schools were among the most energy efficient, as those built 80 to 100 years ago feature large windows oriented for natural ventilation and sunlight. Schools constructed in the last half of a century, though, were not built with efficiency in mind, said Phil Voss, senior project leader for NREL’s effort in New Orleans, in a statement. In a cash-strapped area of the country, that adds up to tens of millions of dollars that could have been spent to improve education.
Among other things, the green blueprint for New Orleans’ 40 new schools and 38 schools facing major renovation will include more natural daylighting (which, according to several studies, actually improves academic performance in the classroom), as well as properly sized heating and cooling systems, and more insulation. As per the Department of Energy’s 2007 memorandum of understanding with the Louisiana Department of Education, they’ll also be at least 30 percent more efficient than code.
While the green blueprint for New Orleans’ new schools are projected to save schools tens of millions of dollars per decade, the designs will also run school districts several million dollars above and beyond what it would cost to build a school merely to code, so whether NoLa’s new schools will go for the green remains to be seen.
-- Susan DeFreitas 'School Pride' Celebrates What Matters
-- Huffington Post National: October 15, 2010 [ abstract] When is a building not a building? When it's a school.
How many times have you walked through your child's school and noticed the quality of light? How about the quality of air or sound in the classroom? Is a school just another type of warehouse boarding our children for six hours a day? When we think of our schools, do we envision an environment that supports academics, stimulates our children and actually enhances learning? If not then WHY NOT?
In 1999 the Heschong Mahone Group published their, now famous, Daylighting in Schools; An investigation into the Relationship Between Daylighting and Human Performance. They found that the amount of natural day light (Daylighting) in a classroom effected the performance of students, the attitude toward their school and the absenteeism rates of the teachers. Maybe not earth shattering if you stop and think of it now, but in August of 1999 this was vindicating for many school planners. Remember, we had come out of a decade where we thought that we could eliminate almost all windows from a classroom and save on energy costs.
According to a research study by the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS): Students in classrooms optimally designed for "daylighting progressed 20% faster on math tests and 26% faster on reading tests in one year than those with the least amount of daylight."
What about air quality, classroom acoustics, furniture ergonomics? And all of this before we even get to new computers or new band uniforms. For the better part of 30 years, I have worked as a school planner, architect, developer, teacher and builder with the conviction that better learning environments can actual effect students in a positive way. A new NBC series called "School Pride" debuts that follows students, teachers, parents and a SWAT team of organizers as they renovate aging and broken public schools. This is a "makeover" show with a difference.
But what if there was a reality TV show that allowed a community to project their desires on to a project that resulted in a grander community asset? Think of that favorite room in your house, the one that has the nicest light, with the most comfortable chair, the warmest, the coolest. Now think of your neighborhood school and picture these same desirable qualities overlaid on those educational spaces. Think of classrooms with quality light, stable and supportive furniture, clean, tempered air and imagine the effect on those students. A theme of "School Pride" is that you can not only affect your environment but you can also affect your attitude about your surroundings. I can't overstate how important this can be.
-- Ed Schmidt Celebrating the History of a Schoolhouse
-- Davidson News North Carolina: October 13, 2010 [ abstract] For many families in north Mecklenburg, The Children’s Schoolhouse in Huntersville has been an important part of children’s lives in recent years. But the current school is only the most recent occupant of a building that traces its history to the original Caldwell Station School before 1895. On Thursday, Oct. 14, friends and families will gather to celebrate that history and the building’s new designation as a historic landmark, as a well-preserved example of early 20th-century school architecture.
The Caldwell Station School " now known as The Children’s Schoolhouse " is the most substantial surviving building at Caldwell Station. The school building and a concrete railroad platform between Huntersville and Cornelius are all that’s left to show that Caldwell Station was a rural commercial and civic center in the 1850s and after. The original Caldwell Station School was established sometime before 1895. The current structure was built to replace it in 1925, and opened in 1925 with 48 students. The new facility featured a floor plan adapted from the famous African-American Rosenwald schools, with two rooms separated by a removable partition. The building had no plumbing or electricity and the classrooms were illuminated by large banks of windows.
-- David Boraks Quality School Construction bond to benefit Monforton School-- 7 KBZK Montana: October 13, 2010 [ abstract] The Monforton Quality School Construction Bond has passed with 65 percent of people voting in favor and 35 percent voting against, according to Monforton School Principal Lynne Scalia.
There was a 45.35 percent voter turnout with 576 ballots cast and 1,270 ballots mailed.
This federal bond is designated specifically for maintenance and construction projects.
Monforton Growing Together Campaign organizer Adam Galvin said during an earlier interview that the no interest bond will save tax payers about $2.6 million.
The bonds will be used to build an addition to the north side of the school, adding six classrooms and funding other renovations.
Monforton parents and staff say the old building is way too small and has poor ventilation.
Ballots were due by the end of the day on Tuesday.
-- Lindsay Clein New Schools in New Orleans, Sunnier, Greener-- Chem.Info Louisiana: October 11, 2010 [ abstract] Five years after Katrina flushed water through the failed floodwalls, destroying homes, damaging classrooms and dashing dreams, the opportunity to build green schools that save millions of dollars on energy bills is just within reach for the school districts that serve New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina knocked out dozens of schools along with thousands of homes, and for quite a while the mission was just to keep education alive and the three Rs solvent. But now, with the help of federal disaster dollars, the school district has launched an ambitious goal to build 40 new schools and renovate 38 others that are at least 30 percent more energy efficient than required by code.
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory helped stitch together a blueprint for what the new and renovated schools should become. Now that the first of the new schools have opened, NREL will monitor some schools to illustrate what works well and what opportunities were missed, helping the districts to push new school design teams toward ever more efficient designs.
-- National Renewable Energy Laboratory My School Looks Like This-- Slate National: October 08, 2010 [ abstract] While designers are busy creating the classroom of the future, many students are stuck in not merely unimaginative school buildings but actually disgusting ones. The 21st Century School Fund and Healthy Schools Campaign, which work for improvements in education facilities, and Critical Exposure, which uses student photography as an advocacy tool, believe that no one can show what is and isn't working in school buildings better than the people inside them. Each year, they ask students and teachers to shoot the best and worst of their surroundings. The "Through Your Lens" exhibit features an awful lot of peeling paint and broken windows—the kind of environment you wouldn't want your kid in for an hour, much less a childhood. But the photographers also highlight examples of spaces that work, flashes of color and sunlight and order in otherwise chaotic surroundings.
Here is a gallery of images from 2009.
In this crowdsourced Hive project, Slate is trying to reinvent the American classroom. (Read this explanation why.) We're inviting you to envision, and design, a new American classroom for fifth-graders. Your entries can be shovel-ready or fanciful. All entries must have a written description, and we strongly encourage submitting a sketch or a plan, so fellow readers can help visualize your ideas.
You can submit your design between now and Wednesday, Oct. 29. You can vote and comment on the ideas here. In early November, our expert judges and readers will choose a dozen finalists, and we'll select a winner in mid-November. Click here to read terms and conditions, then please enter your great idea here.
-- Linda Perlstein The 21st Century Classroom-- Slate National: October 08, 2010 [ abstract] While going about my day, I sometimes engage in a mental exercise I call the Laura Ingalls Test. What would Laura Ingalls, prairie girl, make of this freeway interchange? This Target? This cell phone? Some modern institutions would probably be unrecognizable at first glance to a visitor from the 19th century: a hospital, an Apple store, a yoga studio. But take Laura Ingalls to the nearest fifth-grade classroom, and she wouldn’t hesitate to say, "Oh! A school!"
Very little about the American classroom has changed since Laura Ingalls sat in one more than a century ago. In her school, children sat in a rectangular room at rows of desks, a teacher up front. At most American schools, they still do.
Slate wants to change that, and we need your help. Today Slate launches a crowdsourcing project on the 21st-century classroom. In this "Hive," we’re seeking to collect your best ideas for transforming the American school. We’re asking you to describe or even design the classroom for today, a fifth-grade classroom that takes advantage of all that we have learned since Laura Ingalls’ day about teaching, learning, and technology--and what you think we have yet to learn. We will publish all your ideas on Slate; your fellow readers will vote and comment on their favorites; expert judges will select the ideas they like best, and, in about a month, we will pick a winner. That top design may be built as a model classroom in a new charter school. We know from our previous Hive projects that Slate’s millions of readers"some of you architects or educators or designers, most of you amateurs"have amazing ideas, and we’re confident that you’ll come up with exciting new ways to reconceive the most important space for American children. Speaking of children: We encourage you to have them enter ideas too. See the bottom of the article for more details about how to submit your proposal. "
This, of course, isn’t the first effort to remake archaic school buildings. The most famous example was the "open classroom" movement of the 1970s. Walls were removed, so where you once had, say, four classrooms of 20 students each, you now had one room of 80. It was never clear what teachers were supposed to make of these new spaces. They were instructed to teach children in small sections, or maybe monitor them as they moved among hands-on activity stations, or maybe to do away with age-based groupings and teach each child at his or her level. The goals were rarely clear, and even more rarely met. Teachers taught as they always had, just with far more noise to shout over. The lesson was obvious: Education reform must begin with educators, not architects.
But in other American institutions, architects and designers did change buildings to follow function. Take the museum. As the purpose of museum-going evolved"people needed not just to see but to interact, experience, feel"buildings were designed differently. So while we now have the Holocaust Museum in Washington, the Experience Music Project in Seattle, and marvelous children’s museums in many cities, schools have remained cold, rigid boxes.
-- Linda Perlstein Judging Buildings " Hayes School-- Prince of Petworth District of Columbia: October 06, 2010 [ abstract] The old Hayes School is located at 5th and K Streets, NE. According to the DC Preservation League:
Built in 1897 by architect Charles E. Burden, the Hayes School is one of the earliest documented examples of a District public school building designed by an architect in private practice under a new policy initiative of 1896-97. The new policy represented a break from common practice of the 1880s and 1890s, when the District public schools were designed in variations of the Romanesque Revival style and all were products of the Building Inspector’s Office staff. School buildings of the period 1896 to 1910 were designed in the Classical and Renaissance Revival and the Italianate styles. Many were designed by Washington architects in private practice under contract with the Building Inspector’s Office, later the Municipal Architect’s Office. The District Commissioners instigated this change in the interest of improving the esthetic quality of school buildings.
The Hayes School was named in honor of the 19th President of the United State and was intended for white students. In 1947, in response to changes in the neighborhood, the school was transferred to the black school divisions.
It now appears that it will be a new Senior Wellness Center for Ward 6 residents.
It’s got great details:
-- Prince of Petworth School district receives $1.3 million for construction projects-- Issaquah Press Washington: October 05, 2010 [ abstract] Issaquah School District’s construction dollars will now go $1.3 million further.
In late August, district administrators applied to receive a piece of $100 million the state Legislature set aside for school construction projects.
Of the money, $50 million was designated for K-12 public school districts and the remaining $50 million was slated for K-12 public schools and public higher education.
Issaquah was one of 27 school districts to receive a combined total of $27.8 million in the state’s second round of grants. Much of the money will pay for improved heating, ventilation and air condition systems; better water conservation; replacement of inefficient lighting; and building improvements.
-- Staff Writer New elementary school rising -- The Advocate Louisiana: October 03, 2010 [ abstract] The city’s largest public elementary school, capable of educating 825 students, is rising fast from a small eight-acre plot in north Baton Rouge.
The rebuilt Claiborne Elementary, located at 4700 Denham St., will be twice as large as the school it is replacing.
To fill the new two-story $18.1 million structure, the East Baton Rouge Parish school system plans to redraw Claiborne’s attendance zone and is considering closing at least one nearby elementary school in the process.
The School Board is meeting Oct. 11, and part of that discussion will focus on attendance zone changes at schools throughout the parish, including Claiborne.
Adding to the uncertainty is the recent arrival in Claiborne’s part of town of a new charter school, Inspire Charter Academy. Located just three blocks south at 5454 N. Foster Drive, Inspire, unlike most charter schools, is a new structure costing between $7 million and $9 million to build, according to estimates by operator National Heritage Academies.
The charter management company employs a stock design for its schools, which enabled it to construct Inspire in just six months. Claiborne has a site-specific design; it’s the first two-story school East Baton Rouge has built in decades.
Inspire quickly filled up to its legal limit, enrolling 426 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, according to Friday’s count.
The school plans to add a grade at a time, until by 2014, it ends in eighth grade. Its contract with the parish school system allows it to enroll as many as 822 students. That’s roughly the same capacity as the new Claiborne Elementary School, though Inspire will enroll students in three more grades.
The new Claiborne is scheduled to open in August 2011. Claiborne students were assigned in August 2009 to two temporary locations, the former Eden Park and Winbourne elementary schools, with the older students in the former and the younger students in the latter facility.
Last year, the original Claiborne was cleaned of asbestos, slowly torn down and the site was readied for new construction. Cangelosi Ward of Baton Rouge is the general contractor, and Coleman Partners Architects of Baton Rouge designed the structure.
-- CHARLES LUSSIER U.S. Green Building Council Launches Push for Energy-Efficient Schools-- New York Times District of Columbia: September 30, 2010 [ abstract] The Washington, D.C., public school reopened recently after a renovation that added a geothermal heating and cooling system, energy usage displays, information kiosks in three different languages, numerous new windows, a greenhouse made from recycled water bottles and carbon dioxide censors.
Students are assembled in "green teams" and give tours to visitors using a guide put together by the U.S. Green Building Council. The school is attaining gold certification from the council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental design rating system, one of 6,500 schools in the country that are registered for certification or already LEED-certified.
-- Amanda Peterka Can Schools Learn from Museums? Yes, Says Innovative School in Wyoming-- PR Newswire Wyoming: September 16, 2010 [ abstract] Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + design Partnership has announced the opening of Summit Elementary School, the first new one in Natrona County School District in 25 years and a novel experiment in applying museum principles to a public school.
At a ceremonial ribbon-cutting held Sept. 14, school officials called the 400-student, K-5 school building "an active learning and teaching tool."
-- Chris Sullivan Green Building: A Real Estate Revolution-- National Public Radio National: September 07, 2010 [ abstract] Green building now accounts for nearly one-third of new construction in the U.S. That's up from 2 percent in 2005, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, which tracks the industry. The new Ross School of business building at the University of Michigan is full of environmentally friendly technology, among the highlights is a men's room equipped with dual-flush toilets, that use 0.8 gallons of water instead of 1.6 gallons. The sector for green building products: paint, wallpaper, windows, flooring is burgeoning. That sector was practically nonexistent in 1993, when the U.S. Green Building Council got its start. The USGBC created the Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, or LEED, program. The University of Michigan officials decided that the intangibles that come from LEED are worth the investment. The university committed to seek certification on all of its new building projects worth more than $10 million
-- Franklyn Cater Lancaster, Pennsylvania School District Installs 'Green' Roofs at Three Elementary Schools-- Intelligencer Journal Pennsylvania: August 26, 2010 [ abstract] When School District of Lancaster pupils return to classes at three elementary schools next week, they may be wondering: Who's gonna water the roof? That's because three of the schools — Lafayette, Wharton and Ross — installed "green" roofs this summer on new additions. The vegetated roofs, which are designed to reduce rainwater runoff and conserve energy, are the first ever installed at public schools in Lancaster County, said Mary Gattis-Schell of the county planning commission. Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster Mennonite School and a few local businesses have installed the roofs in recent years, but SDL is the first public school system to try out the green technology on a large scale, she said.
The roofs were funded with a portion of a $479,000 "energy harvesting" grant the planning commission received from the state Department of Environmental Protection. SDL received $118,710 for its two vegetated roofs at Lafayette and Wharton, each of which total 10,000 square feet. The district also received a $30,000 grant from the Lancaster Foundation for Educational Excellence for the 2,500-square-foot vegetated roof at Ross. The grants offset the higher cost — about $7 per square foot, or a total of $157,500 at the three schools — of the roofs, said Greg Collins, SDL's coordinator of capital projects.
-- Brian Wallace New Belle Valley, Illinois School Building Designed To Be Eco-Friendly
-- BND.com Illinois: August 23, 2010 [ abstract] This is the last year that starting a new school year means returning to deteriorating school buildings for Belle Valley School District 119 students. "We are just trying to take the existing buildings and make do for this year, because we know what's coming next year," said Superintendent Louis Obernuefemann. Next year, the new school year will mean a new school building that will be the first in the state to include the highest level of "green," or environmentally friendly, features.
"It's incorporated into every aspect about the construction of the building," Obernuefemann said of the features. He said District 119 is aiming for gold status Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, or LEED, certification with the new building construction. The U.S. Green Building Council developed the certification system to provide a framework for taking a green approach to designing, constructing, operating and maintaining buildings of all types of buildings.
In efforts to qualify for the LEED program's gold status, the highest rank possible, Belle Valley's new campus will include three storm-water retention ponds that will collect rainwater, alleviate flooding in the area and be used for students' environmental studies; dual-flushing toilets that will conserve water; and energy-efficient equipment that will make the building 20 percent more efficient and reduce utility costs. Also, at least 10 percent of the building materials are recycled, at least 50 percent of the construction debris will be recycled instead of dumped in a landfill and construction crews are using materials that were purchased locally.
Obernuefemann said the new school will allow the district to provide its students with an even better educational experience. "It's going to give us the room and the facilities and the equipment we need to give them (students) an exceptional adventure," he said. "I already have the faculty that can do it. All I need is the building."
-- Rickeena J. Richards LA unveils $578M school, costliest in the nation-- San Francisco Chronicle California: August 22, 2010 [ abstract] Next month's opening of the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools will be auspicious for a reason other than its both storied and infamous history as the former Ambassador Hotel, where the Democratic presidential contender was assassinated in 1968. With an eye-popping price tag of $578 million, it will mark the inauguration of the nation's most expensive public school ever.
The K-12 complex to house 4,200 students has raised eyebrows across the country as the creme de la creme of "Taj Mahal" schools, $100 million-plus campuses boasting both architectural panache and deluxe amenities.
"There's no more of the old, windowless cinderblock schools of the '70s where kids felt, 'Oh, back to jail,'" said Joe Agron, editor-in-chief of American School & University, a school construction journal. "Districts want a showpiece for the community, a really impressive environment for learning."
Not everyone is similarly enthusiastic.
"New buildings are nice, but when they're run by the same people who've given us a 50 percent dropout rate, they're a big waste of taxpayer money," said Ben Austin, executive director of Parent Revolution who sits on the California Board of Education. "Parents aren't fooled."
At RFK, the features include fine art murals and a marble memorial depicting the complex's namesake, a manicured public park, a state-of-the-art swimming pool and preservation of pieces of the original hotel.
Partly by circumstance and partly by design, the Los Angeles Unified School District has emerged as the mogul of Taj Mahals.
The RFK complex follows on the heels of two other LA schools among the nation's costliest — the $377 million Edward R. Roybal Learning Center, which opened in 2008, and the $232 million Visual and Performing Arts High School that debuted in 2009.
-- CHRISTINA HOAG Charter Oak, California Puts Final Touches on Stimulus-Funded School Renovation Projects-- San Gabriel Valley Tribune California: August 21, 2010 [ abstract] Construction crews are working to complete two renovation projects before classes at Charter Oak High School begin at the end of the month. Courtesy of $2.9 million in federal stimulus funds, the district this summer began upgrading the campus' main quad and installing artificial turf and track for its stadium. In addition, the district is replacing bleachers and installing energy efficient lights in the gym. The project will be completed after the start of the school year, Jouen said.
Charter Oak Unified applied for the Qualified School Construction Bond in November, he said. The money funded the full cost of the projects, he said. The bonds are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and are reserved for schools with "shovel-ready" projects.
At Charter Oak High School, the funding allowed the district to update areas of the campus that hadn't been modernized since it was built nearly 60 years ago, he said. In addition to the new turf field and track, district officials sought to make the quad a more inviting atmosphere for students to gather. The quad will have new sidewalks and planters that also serve as seating areas, he said. The main entrance to the school was also re-designed, he said.
-- Maritza Velazquez Public School Board: Board looking for contractors after $73M bond is reached-- The Holland Sentinel Michigan: August 18, 2010 [ abstract] Holland Public Schools is finished selling and underwriting $73 million of bonds and is now interviewing contractors for rehab, expansion and building projects.
DISCUSSION:
Holland voters approved a tax increase in May to support several school projects; it took 60 days to sell and underwrite the bonds. The total interest rate for the bonds is less than 4 percent, said Tom Page, Holland Public School’s spokesman.
The school system will save $2.5 million from its good Standard & Poors rating, $2.9 million from Build America Bonds and $3.3 million from qualified school construction bonds.
“We’re very pleased that the bond costs are going to be kept to a minimum,” Page said.
The board reviewed a prospective construction schedule, which shows much of the design work happening in 2010-11, with the bulk of construction in 2012-13. Page said some construction will begin in the spring.
“We don’t want to tear up buildings as we start school,” he said.
The board expects to award construction contracts Sept. 20. The major contracts include about $40 million in renovations to Holland High School, as well as multi-million dollar projects for four middle schools, the Van Raalte Tech Center and New Tech Academy high school.
“In a month or so we’ll begin to create schedules and put up plans on the website,” Page said.
OTHER ACTION:
The school district open house day is Wednesday, Sept. 1. The high school and eighth grade open houses are from 7 to 9 p.m., and the Holland Heights, East, West and Jefferson middle school open houses are 5 to 7 p.m.
The first day of school is Sept. 7.
-- PETER DAINING Louisville, KY School Construction Projects Benefit From Bad Economy, Stimulus-- Courier-Journal Kentucky: August 13, 2010 [ abstract] Crossroads and Roby elementary schools in Bullitt County are identical, except for their price tag. Bullitt County Public Schools paid $12.5 million to build Roby more than a year ago, but spent nearly a million dollars less for Crossroads, and the district has the depressed economy to thank.
“It’s a perfect example of what a difference a year and a lot more competition can make,” said Tom Rogers, the district’s project manager for new school construction. Ten companies bid on the Roby project, compared to a record 23 bidders for Crossroads, which helped lower the price, Rogers said.
And Bullitt isn’t the only district reaping the benefits. Across Kentucky, Indiana and the nation, the bad economy has been good for school construction projects, with lower costs resulting from more competition, lower prices for materials like steel and drywall and better bond rates.
The recession all but halted other construction, which has helped draw more competitive bids for school work, said Judy Marks, director of the National Clearinghouse for Education Facilities. “The material suppliers couldn’t charge as much as they had been and firms that had been designing and building hospitals, houses and commercial buildings were looking for work,” she said. “Even though school construction is down somewhat, it’s less down than other sectors, so all of a sudden everyone wants to compete for those jobs.”
-- Sara Cunningham High school construction update-- Boston.com Massachusetts: August 09, 2010 [ abstract] The town is preparing to seek a general contractor for the high school renovation and expansion project. According to Diane Norris, assistant town manager, the town and its architect, DeNisco design Partnership, of Boston, are preparing bid specifications, which the town expects to advertise by late this month or early September. ‘‘We’re working hard at it. It’s a big undertaking,’’ Norris said.
The renovation and expansion is expected to start in the fall. To prepare for construction, the town has started limited renovations in the vacant Dunn Wing to serve as temporary swing space for the school for the two years contractors work on the main part of the building. It is also demolishing the administrative office wing, a project that required asbestos removal. Norris said the Dunn Wing renovations are scheduled for completion on Aug. 23.
She said town officials are confident that the demolition and cleanup work will be finished by the time the new school year begins in September. ‘‘Though students and teachers are not going to be there,’’ she said of the administrative wing area, ‘‘we just don’t want demolition going on during school
-- John Laidler Chancellor Declares Emergency to Sidestep State Ruling and Expand Charter School-- The New York Times New York: August 06, 2010 [ abstract] It took almost six months for David M. Steiner, the state education commissioner, to decide that New York City had broken the law when it decided to take space from a program for autistic children on the Lower East Side and give it to an expanding charter school.
It took less than two days for Joel I. Klein, the city schools chancellor, to say he would disregard the decision, at least temporarily.
On Wednesday, the chancellor announced he would use his little-known emergency powers, based in a clause in the State Education Law, to follow through with the city’s original plans.
The emergency clause, designated section 2590-h (2-a) (f), provides that the chancellor may unilaterally transform how a school is used, avoiding the normal process of public hearings and notification, when doing so is “immediately necessary for the preservation of student health, safety or general welfare.”
It was Mr. Klein’s first use of his emergency powers, which were embedded in the law passed last summer extending mayoral control of the city’s schools. His exact reasoning as to why they were warranted in this case " whether for health, safety or welfare " is due to be posted on the city’s Web site in the coming days, a city spokesman said.
Citing continuing litigation over the issue, a spokesman for Mr. Steiner declined to comment on Mr. Klein’s move, which was reported Thursday by The Daily News.
But Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker, who represents the Lower East Side and has not been a booster of charter schools, used the terms “blatant abuse” and “breathtaking end run” to describe his reaction.
“Unfortunately, it’s the kind of arrogance that too many parents have come to expect from Chancellor Klein when it comes to having a voice in their children’s education,” he said in a statement.
In February, the city approved the plans of the Girls Preparatory Charter School, an all-girls elementary school founded by a group of wealthy investors, located in Public School 188 on the Lower East Side, to add middle-school grades.
To make room, the city decided to reduce the grades served in a program for autistic children, saying it would send students who would have gone there to other locations.
Parents of students affected by the move brought the case to the state commissioner, complaining that the city had given them no information about where the autistic children would go. In his ruling on Monday, Mr. Steiner agreed, saying that the city had to hold new public hearings before moving students, a process that would effectively put off any change for at least a year.
-- SHARON OTTERMAN California Announces $408M for Shovel-Ready School Construction Projects -- The Reporter California: August 05, 2010 [ abstract] The State Allocation Board announced that it has set aside $408 million for shovel-ready school construction projects across California. Green-lighted under accelerated funding rules approved by the SAB in May, these state matching funds will help pay for 78 school construction projects within 42 school districts and are expected to create more than 7,000 new jobs, SAB officials said in a press release.
The pilot program was created to give priority order to $408 million in available Proposition 1D funds, approved by California voters in 2006, to school projects that are ready to begin. In order to qualify, participating school districts certified that, within 90 days of receiving an apportionment, they would have local matching funds, usually 50 percent of the total project cost, in hand -- and at least half of their construction contracts in place.
School districts in financial straits were also able to compete for the priority-ordered funding to purchase sites or begin design work.
-- Staff Writer Burlington, Vermont Schools Consider Surveillance Camera Policy -- Burlington Free Press Vermont: August 01, 2010 [ abstract] The Burlington School Board is considering a policy that would clarify the use of surveillance cameras in the school district, including details of who can see the tapes and how long they would be kept. Many cameras have been installed in the schools without the policy.
Numerous school districts across Vermont have surveillance cameras on entrances and in parking lots. A statement of purpose accompanying the proposed Burlington policy says video surveillance “will act as a deterrent to a wide variety of misconduct, assist in law enforcement on school property, aid in student management, and protect property.” Under the policy, access to the video recordings would be granted to the superintendent, his or her designee and police, among others. Monitors or screens that display the video would be located in “secure areas,” and the recordings would not be actively monitored. Recordings would be retained for at least 30 days. No surveillance cameras would be installed in bathrooms or locker rooms, according to the policy, and signs would be posted at the entrance of buildings notifying the public that cameras are in place.
-- Molly Walsh D.C. seeks developers for old Bruce Monroe Elementary School site-- Washington Business Journal District of Columbia: July 28, 2010 [ abstract] The District has issued a solicitation of proposals for redevelopment of the 121,000-square-foot Bruce Monroe Elementary School site on Georgia Avenue a half-mile from the Columbia Heights Metro station in the city’s Park View neighborhood.
Bidders must provide two proposals, one for a development that would include a new school and commercial construction, and another for commercial construction only but where the money captured in the property’s sale would be reinvested in the modernization of Bruce Monroe Elementary at Park View, where students of the shuttered Bruce Monroe school now attend.
The solicitation said it’s seeking bidders “who have the creative vision, demonstrated experience, and organizational and financial capacity to plan and develop a world-class educational facility and mixed-use commercial development on the property.”
The school property is bounded by Georgia Avenue NW to the east, Irving Street to the north, Columbia Road to the south and single-family residences to the west. The site currently houses an interim park.
A new Bruce Monroe Elementary School must be at least 75,000 square feet. If a proposed development includes residential, a minimum 30 percent of the units must be designated affordable " half to households earning at or below 30 percent of the area median income, and half to households earning at or below 60 percent AMI.
The solicitation was issued Monday. A pre-proposal conference is scheduled for Aug. 10 and proposals are due by Oct. 14. There was no timeline listed for selection of a developer.
-- Michael Neibauer New Colorado School Facility to Be Saturated with Science and Technology
-- Aurora Sentinel Colorado: July 22, 2010 [ abstract] The lessons at the Cherry Creek School District’s Institute of Science and Technology will begin before any student reaches their classroom.
Prime numbers will steer the design and layout of a plaza on the lawn, and the mathematical Fibonacci sequence will be a guiding design principal for the windows on the building located between Overland High School and Prairie Middle School in Aurora. The 58,000-square-foot school is set to include an “energy dashboard,” a visible meter that will allow students to track the building’s power consumption. A column at the school’s main entrance will be in the double helix shape of a DNA strand, and the ceiling will bear the celestial star patterns of the night sky.
It’s all part of the district’s push to stretch instruction in STEM " science, technology, engineering and mathematics " beyond the classroom. It’s also part of a bid to make the subjects more accessible to a broader range of students.
-- Adam Goldstein Groton committee seeks more middle school site data before choosing-- The Day Connecticut: July 21, 2010 [ abstract] The committee tasked with planning the second phase of new school construction in Groton is receiving an extra $75,000 to conduct a traffic study it says will allow it to finally decide where it would place a proposed middle school for all the town's seventh and eighth graders.
The Phase II School design Committee has been working for the past several years to plan a new phase of school construction but has been unable to decide between two sites. The committee had initially been focusing on the King property, where Catherine Kolnaski Magnet School also sits, until Superintendent of Schools Paul Kadri authorized an additional study of the site of the current Claude Chester Elementary School, which would be razed and replaced with a new school.
-- Matt Collette Price tag for schools complex at former Ambassador Hotel site now tops $578 million-- Los Angeles Times California: July 14, 2010 [ abstract] The price tag for a complex of schools at the site of the famed Ambassador Hotel has become the Los Angeles Unified School District's most expensive school project, now surpassing $578 million.
The latest cost increase, approved Tuesday by the Board of Education, adds $6.6 million for expenses related mostly to safety and historic preservation at the complex for 4,200 students.
The main campus of the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools will open this fall. Two small schools already operate on the back portion of the 24-acre Koreatown site.
The school district first set its sights on the faded Ambassador, once a playground of stars and world leaders, in the 1980s to address severe school overcrowding. Officials battled over the Wilshire Boulevard property with developer Donald Trump, who wanted to erect the world's tallest building.
Competing legal claims stalled all development, leaving the closed hulk of the hotel in place for years. After the district finally gained control, it battled historic preservationists. They objected to the pending destruction of the hotel — the scene of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination — and its legendary Cocoanut Grove nightclub.
But others balked at the cost of renovating the existing structure as a school. Kennedy family representatives wanted the school completed as quickly as possible without the additional cost of preserving historic features.
The compromise, a semi-replica that pays homage to history, has fully satisfied few, but resulted in a visually unusual campus.
Like the old hotel, the Kennedy complex rises five stories and, from Wilshire, resembles a modern mirage of the original. The school incorporates art works and history exhibits.
The Paul Williams-designed coffee shop is reconstructed as a teachers lounge. The ballroom where Robert F. Kennedy celebrated his victory in the 1968 Democratic primary — moments before his assassination — has been rebuilt as the school library.
The high cost was substantially propelled by the timing of the construction.
A 2007 budget estimated building costs at $300 per square foot. An internal study then warned of an increase to $500. But bids came in at $700 and more. (Construction costs have since declined by half.) That peak cost drove up the budget from $309 million in 2007 to $570.5 million a year later.
"We had massive escalation," said Neil Gamble, the district's deputy chief facilities executive. "It was the economy at the time."
-- Howard Blume Board considering design options for Roosevelt school-- Sun Gazatte Pennsylvania: July 07, 2010 [ abstract] The Williamsport Area School Board took another step toward the construction and renovation of the Roosevelt Middle School Tuesday night.
In a 5-0 vote, the board approved furthering procedures and the authorization of submitting applications for funds on building projects presented to the board by Vern McKissick from McKissick Associates.
-- JASON SEYLER Stadium Lighting Poles Recalled; Many Defective Structures Along School Playing Fields -- American-Statesman National: July 06, 2010 [ abstract] The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a nationwide recall of stadium lighting poles manufactured by Whitco Co. LLP, the Fort Worth company that designed and sold about a dozen of the giant towers that have crashed without warning during the past three years.
Most of the accidents occurred at public schools in Texas; two, in Hays County and in Round Rock, were in Central Texas.
The federal agency's recall follows the American-Statesman's reporting last year linking the now-bankrupt Whitco to defective poles across the country. In addition to the poles that have toppled, nearly 100 more were found to have developed potentially dangerous cracks at their bases, most only a few years after their installation.
-- Eric Dexheimer Historic tags sought for dozens of Detroit schools-- The Detroit News Michigan: July 05, 2010 [ abstract] Nearly 90 Detroit Public Schools buildings are nominated for the National Register of Historic Places, an honorary designation that can lead to tax credits for redevelopers but may do little to prevent the demolition of some of the vacant structures.
The effort to preserve the schools was led by Detroit's Historic designation Advisory Board, whose planners spent $33,000 and more than a year surveying all the city's schools built before 1960 and cataloging their histories.
Among them:
The Lewis Cass Technical High School, built in 1922 and among Michigan's first publicly funded vocational schools.
The vacant Miller School, built in 1921 and which later served as the city's African-American high school because of discriminatory practices of the time.
The M. M. Rose School, built in 1897 and one of the oldest standing schools in Detroit.
The state Historic Review Board approved 88 of the schools for the national register and will submit the nomination to the federal government as soon as this week. Federal officials are expected to finalize the designation this summer.
The designation comes as nearly 150 Detroit Public Schools have closed since 2003, the result of thousands of students leaving the district each year. Some of the nominated schools are ones that are to close this year, such as Cooley High, built in 1927, and Hanstein Elementary, built in 1918.
Janese Chapman, a city planner who is part of the effort, hopes the designation will spark greater appreciation of the buildings and their potential uses. Instead of demolishing the community anchors, Chapman hopes the conversation will turn to: "How can we repurpose them?"
"You can't save them all," she acknowledges. "I live in Detroit. I live in the real world."
Hurdle to demolition
Historic designations generally don't prohibit the destruction of structures, but some local designations can make it more difficult for a private property owner to do so. Fewer than 10 percent of the Detroit public schools considered for national recognition are also designated as historic with the city of Detroit, Chapman said. These structures could face hurdles for demolition if sold to a private property owner, she said.
Some of the schools are slated for demolition as soon as this year as part of the Proposal S school construction bond program. Among them are the Munger/Chadsey High, Finney High, the old Cass Tech, Mumford High and Harding Elementary. The historic designation would not protect schools from being razed.
"At this point, this would not affect demolition decisions," said district spokesman Steve Wasko, noting the school district wasn't part of the process initially and learned of the effort through a City Council notice.
-- Marisa Schultz Second hearing sought for changes to government building projects-- The Washington Post Maryland: July 01, 2010 [ abstract] Five options to modify the existing wall were narrowed to the two that residents helped design at a June 1 meeting with James Song, director of the school system's construction division. Residents voted on the simpler two-tier design.
The partially completed wall on Gainsborough Road will be cut to about 3 feet, and a second wall, placed 3 feet behind the first, will rise to the necessary 11-foot elevation of the school, Song said. Landscaping will be added between the walls to improve the appearance.
-- Cody Calamaio C.W. Lewis Upgrade Cost Put At $14.6 Million
-- The Courier Arkansas: June 25, 2010 [ abstract] The patrons of the Benton School District asked for an estimate on what it would take to completely restore C.W. Lewis Stadium.
They received their estimate during the Thursday meeting of the school board, but many were not happy with what it would take to make that dream a reality.
Nabholz Construction, which has designed and implemented all of the construction projects in the district, looked at the stadium and what it would take to make it a “showpiece” for district, making it comparable to the proposed new stadium at the new Benton Athletic Complex. With a long list of needs, the C.W. Lewis renovation would cost $14.6 million, which is less than the proposed additions to the athletics complex.
-- Staff Writer Governor Signs Off on Alaska Rural School Grant Program to Build and Repair Schools-- Daily News-Miner Alaska: June 21, 2010 [ abstract] The eight-story John F. Kennedy High School in the Bronx has been broken up into six schools, including the Bronx Theatre High School, the Marble Hill High School for International Studies and the Bronx School of Law and Finance. The schools all teach required subjects like math and English and reflect their specialized themes to varying degrees.
At the theater school, students recently designed costumes and read scenes to each other. Photos in the hallway showed past productions of "Twelfth Night" and "A Raisin in the Sun."
Principal Deborah Effinger greeted students by name, telling one boy politely to stash his football in his backpack. Color-coded charts on her office wall showed that most students were on track to graduate.
Student Anna Gonzalez said she fell in love with costume design and hopes to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology when she graduates.
"I can actually create it and people wear it," she said.
New York City is not alone in seeking to engage students by opening small high schools.
Kathy Augustine, a deputy superintendent in Atlanta, said the school system there has spent $65 million to create small high schools since 2005.
"It is a far better return on our investment than losing students and having them drop out and not be productive citizens," Augustine said.
Emily Krone of the Consortium on Chicago School Research said her group studied 23 small high schools in Chicago and found improved graduation rates there as well, though not higher SAT and ACT scores.
-- Christopher Eshleman Smart Schools-- Reed Construction Data National: June 21, 2010 [ abstract] Hearing the term “high performance schools”, one might construe it in a purely academic sense, given news headlines about Race to the Top funding and other results-oriented legislation that focuses on student and teacher performance. For the AEC community, “high performance schools” carries a much different meaning: literally building an improved learning environment through carefully planned design and construction. The idea is sustainability with an aim not only to conserve energy and expense, but to facilitate a better academic environment through design and structural innovations that affect lighting, air temperature, humidity, noise levels, and other factors that can affect a school’s learning environment.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has delineated several characteristics of a high performance school, including the “usual suspects” in a “green building”: possessing good indoor air quality; thermally, visually and acoustically comfortable; energy efficient; material efficient; water efficient; built on an environmentally responsive site that conserves existing natural areas, minimizing water runoff and controlling erosion. Other notable characteristics are listed that seem specific to a public learning environment, including the building itself serving as a teaching tool, where the sustainable components of the structure can serve as a lesson on energy conservation; use as a community resource; and on an aesthetic note, the school being architecturally stimulating, creating a visual highlight for the community.
A misconception is that high performance schools cost more to build. This is not the case " the key is to plan early and thoroughly, taking an integrated systems approach to the building’s design. A variety of factors must be considered: the size of the school, its location and the climate, all of which contribute to specific needs for HVAC, lighting, building envelope, water systems and energy supply. A site-specific, tailored plan is necessary. Additionally, the cost of high performance schools is most accurately looked at with long-term operating and maintenance costs in mind, using life cycle costing as an estimating methodology.
-- Wayne Engebretson Berkeley school projects continue-- Journal-News West Virginia: June 20, 2010 [ abstract] Manny Arvon, Berkeley County Schools superintendent, said that this summer will be the continuation and/or start of various school building projects that are anticipated to help better accommodate the county's rapid growth and increase in student enrollment.
"It's going to be quite a busy summer," Arvon said. "It's our hope that during the next five years, we will be in a very aggressive building program to complete all of those projects that were passed with the school bond."
He noted that since 2000, Berkeley County Schools' student enrollment has increased by more than 4,000 students.
"It's been an ongoing thing in Berkeley County to always be planning for the future. That has sort of been our theme for the past 15 years," he said.
Currently, work is being done to Spring Mills Primary School, which Arvon said will be the first of its kind in the state, as it will be a Leadership in Energy and Environmental design-certified "green" school.
"Right now, we are about 40 percent through with work on the school, and everything should be completed in August of 2011," he said.
Last summer, Panhandle Builders & Excavating Inc. was awarded the bid to do the site work at the primary school. That site work began in July 2009.
Spring Mills Primary School is being built next to the existing Spring Mills Middle School, which is adjacent to the Hammond's Mill subdivision.
The school system received $10 million for the Spring Mills project from the School Building Authority, with a matching $1 million from the school system.
The energy-efficient school will house 550 students.
Just last week, the board approved two major additions at both North Middle and Musselman High schools.
"We're really excited about those because they are the the first two projects that were bid from the school bond call that ran in September," Arvon said. "This is sort of a celebration about the fact that we're kicking off the bond call building projects."
The $51.5 million school bond call passed successfully in September with a 63 percent "yes" vote, and from that bond will come four projects: Spring Mills High School, Mountain Ridge Middle School and the renovations and additions to North Middle and Musselman.
Each of those additions are 30,000 square feet and will result in the construction of 20 classrooms, four science labs, restrooms, elevators, stairwells and more.
The projects will eliminate the need for portable classrooms in use throughout the school year on both campuses.
-- Erienne Maczuzak Price alumni celebrate historic designation -- Salisbury Post Ohio: June 20, 2010 [ abstract] Robert Ervin's classmates at J.C. Price High School called him "Speedo" for his prowess on the football field.
Ervin, the star halfback, recalls fondly the undefeated 1957 state championship team, and old friends came up to him Saturday to reminisce about that season.
"Everybody knows me because I was such a terror on the gridiron," Ervin says.
But he and other alumni will tell you the real star this weekend was J.C. Price High School itself and what it meant to the education, social, ethnic and architectural history of Salisbury.
The J.C. Price High School National Alumni Association met at the old building Saturday afternoon to celebrate the school's recent inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
Salisbury Mayor Susan Kluttz made two important presentations Saturday.
One proclaimed the day as J.C. Price High School Day in Salisbury.
The other was the certificate from the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources certifying that the old high school property had been entered in the National Register by the U.S. Department of Interior.
The register is a list of properties "significant in American history, architecture, archaeology and culture.""Properties listed therein," the certification says, "deserve to be preserved by their owners as part of the cultural heritage of our nation."
"It means a great deal to our alumni family," said Eleanor Qadirah, coordinator for the National Alumni Historic Project Committee, which raised money toward the nomination process.
A plaque with names of all the alumni and others who contributed to the project will hang in the school, which is owned by the city and now serves as home for the Salisbury-Rowan Community Action Agency and Head Start.
"It took money to get this done," Price National Alumni President Barbara Gaul said, adding that the building's continued upkeep and preservation will mean that fundraising continues.
-- Mark Wineka Special Education School Earns A+ for Going Green -- PRNewswire Texas: June 18, 2010 [ abstract] The Monarch School, a national leader in special education programs for children with autism / Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD and other neurological differences, is celebrating the A+ earned recently by its new Chrysalis green building. The environmentally cutting-edge, 100% green powered building is the first LEED (R) Gold certified and 'designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR(R)' certified special education school in the United States.
Monarch's Executive Board President David Matthiesen said, "We wanted to build green but we thought LEED and ENERGY STAR would cause exorbitant costs. Ultimately, we took a fact-based leap of faith, and learned firsthand that building green is economical, practical, meaningful and relevant to students, particularly ours with autism / Asperger's, attention deficit and hyperactivity, and other neurological disorders."
Shelly Pottorf, the project's lead architect with Jackson & Ryan said, "Being in a sustainable environment provides a significant advantage to the development of children with special education needs, like Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), the prevalence of which has soared from 1 in 1000 (1990) to 1 in 100 children (2010). The Monarch School's results suggest that learning and playing on a green campus in sustainable classrooms would reasonably benefit all children, families and even faculty." Pottorf added, "Daylighting, outdoor views and better air quality – possibly the most critical green building strategies for healthy buildings – have been shown to improve students' health, attendance, test scores and overall productivity.
The new special education facility is also serving Monarch as a teaching tool about sustainability and the environment. Green Building Services' Senior Consultant Amanda Tullos said, "Monarch's gung ho, green students are the ones earning the school an A+ for going green. They've even interviewed Mayor Annise Parker about her plans for greening Houston." Science teacher Richard Klein added, "Monarch's curriculum integrates sustainability and clean tech with science, mathematics, engineering and technology (SMET) and other disciplines via several hands-on activities that teach leadership, entrepreneurship, neighborly respect and hospitality, as well as resource conservation for the great outdoors."
-- Staff Writer New Model for Urban Schools: Replace Concrete With Grass,Flowers, Edible Gardens -- Daily News California: June 17, 2010 [ abstract] Sometime in the last century, the design for public school campuses became set in stone in Southern California - or, more accurately, set in concrete: Unremarkable but functional school buildings surrounded by acres and acres of hard top used for parking, for large gatherings, for lunch time and for recreation. That model might have made sense 50 or 30 years ago, but the concrete fields that became the staple of 20th century schools are no longer considered ideal learning environments. And in the high temperatures of the San Fernando Valley, the blacktop yards are about as desirable as sun-scorched mall parking lots.
The parents and community members of Calvert Elementary decided these "seas of concrete" at their school had to go. They got together, raised half a million dollars and created a project called Calvert Green, in which organized volunteers replaced the concrete with grass, shrubs, flower beds and eventually an edible garden.
Officials at the Los Angeles Unified School District ought to be commended for stepping back and allowing the gardenifacation of Calvert. But we'd like to challenge the district to do more than just step out of the way when it comes to its 21st century campuses.
The school district has the perfect opportunity to innovate a new model for urban schools that employs native foliage and green spaces into design for educational, aesthetic and environmental reasons. Still in the middle of a construction spree, the district could lead the way for the next generation of schools, particularly those in more urbanized areas that already have a severe dearth of green spaces. Forget the blacktop - that is so 20th century. Instead, school and facilities officials ought to look to Calvert as inspiration for a LAUSD Green program.
LAUSD Green would ideally be an interactive program, with students participating in maintaining their school's gardens as part of their education and recreation activities. LAUSD Green would make sure every campus had vegetable gardens - if not for producing actual food for the cafeteria, then for teaching students about good nutrition, how food grows, basic biology of life as well as the rich agricultural history of both the country and the San Fernando Valley.
-- Opinion Writers School’s Walk Would Link Eco-systems and Campuses -- Sag Harbor Express Maine: June 17, 2010 [ abstract] The land behind Sag Harbor Elementary School, which currently hosts a storage container and tennis courts, will soon take on a new face thanks to a group of Sag Harbor parents and British designer Sam Panton of the environmentally friendly landscape architecture firm, Terra design.
Their plan? The Sag Harbor “Eco-Walk,” an educational outdoor walkway that is designed to connect Sag Harbor Elementary School to Pierson High School, and aims to teach children the benefits of having an “edible backyard.”
When completed, the proposed Eco-Walk, which will rely on the Sag Harbor community for both labor and funding, will provide schoolchildren the opportunity to cultivate their own food and beautify their surroundings, while simultaneously creating a greater sense of community within the whole of Sag Harbor. And indeed, what could be a more symbolic example of community-building than joining Sag Harbor’s two public schools? The group’s committee is hoping to have a pathway extend directly from Sag Harbor Elementary School across Jermain Avenue to Pierson High School, and is working with other parties to ensure the walkway is paved and efforts are made to slow traffic and make both schools more accessible to pedestrians. The students in Sag Harbor Elementary School and Pierson High School will collaborate to plant, grow, harvest, and compost the project’s yield, creating what Sag Harbor Elementary School science teacher Kryn Olson refers to as “a full cycle” of both agriculture and community.
In an effort to expedite the process and drive home the theme of community building, the Eco-Walk, with an estimated budget of $100,000, will be created with “community labor, and most importantly, solely with community money.” Most of the materials, including trees and the solar panels for the classroom, have been donated by supporters of the project, and hopes are high for continued donations from local designers and small business owners.
-- Staff Writer Winona schools, especially Central, historic, significant-- Wiona Post Minnesota: June 16, 2010 [ abstract] Central Elementary School, along with Washington-Kosciusko, Madison and Jefferson schools, are one step closer to nomination for the National Register of Historic Places after a consultant hired by the city of Winona deemed all four are eligible for such a designation.
The city’s Historic Preservation Commission hired the consultant to conduct initial work necessary to proceed with nominations for the National Register, a move that some hope may add to the desire to ensure Central Elementary doesn’t face the wrecking ball, even if it doesn’t remain a school for much longer. The District 861 School Board has voted to close Central’s doors to students at the end of the next school year, and although a group is currently studying the idea of placing a magnet school there, there is no guarantee that the vote to close the building will be overturned for that purpose.
Even if all four buildings are included on the National Register, the designation would not mean that they would be required to be preserved. A local Historic designation, which typically goes hand-in-hand with a property that makes the National Register, would mean that demolition of a building would require approval from the City Council.
Of the four buildings studied, Central stood out, adorned with marble columns and artwork afforded by Paul Watkins for the school that was adjacent to his home decades ago.
Central’s significance
Central Elementary was identified as potentially the most significant of the four because of its “objects of art” donated to the building by Paul Watkins in the early 1930s, including ornate columns of a marble called Istrain stone, a marble fountain from Florence, Italy, carved into the shape of a lion’s head that’s greeted students for decades.
“The properties are significant on a local level, since, as a group, they show the transformation of the community’s educational system as its buildings moved, almost literally, from the 19th to the 20th century,” Consultant Daniel J. Hoisington wrote in his review of the schools.
-- Sarah Elmquist Massachusetts School Hailed for Green Work -- Gloucester Times Massachusetts: June 14, 2010 [ abstract] The Manchester Essex Regional High School green team — led by Eric Magers, a foreign language teacher — want their facility to stand as the "greenest school in America." The school has received a state "Green Difference" award that placed them in the state's top three green schools, recognizing MERHS's efficient design, recycling, composting and waste reduction programs.
Sarah Creighton, school building committee chairwoman, said the $49 million school facility received the highest level of pre-certification under the Massachusetts high performance schools program. The facility requires efficient lighting, air quality controls, efficient materials and conserve materials, resources and energy. The new high-school also maximized the National Grid and Keyspan utility rebates. The school's construction, Creighton noted, includes high-efficiency lighting that dims depending on sunlight, low-flow faucets and toilets, a 30kw photovoltaic (solar) power system that provides 40,000 kilowatt hours of clean electricity. Morrison mentioned that district received a new start along with the new building.
"It's not just the construction," said Paul Murphy, MERHS assistant principal. "It's the people inside." In conjunction with the environmentally sound design, the high school created a "green team" of committed students and faculty one year ago. The group, which comprised of 100 students and 25 faculty district wide, promoted several green initiatives within the school, ultimately reducing MERHS' waste output by 85 percent. The team, led by Magers, Morrison and Cavollano, instituted single-stream recycling, composting and electronic waste disposal in the school, and stainless steel compost bins stand as a common sight in school halls. The team also introduced what Magers called "terracycling" measures — designed to reuse wrappers, expo markers, and pens, among other refuse — and Nike-Grind, a national service that turns athletic shoes into athletic surfaces. According to Magers, the waste disposal efforts saved the school $1,000 over the course of 2009-2010.
-- Steven Fletcher Making a better place to learn-- UNION-TRIBUNE California: June 13, 2010 [ abstract] For more than eight years, educators in Rancho Santa Fe have sought a new public school campus with modernized classrooms and more space.
The school district finally has that place. This fall, a new campus for 700 students in kindergarten through eighth grade will open at the site of the former 52-year-old R. Roger Rowe campus.
The school, completely re-imagined for up to 850 students, is a compact addition to the Rancho Santa Fe Village.
“I think we’ve maximized use of our funds to make a focal point for the community for years to come,” said Lindy Delaney, superintendent of the Rancho Santa Fe School District.
The school is styled after the Spanish colonial architecture that characterizes the area. The campus is dominated by two-story stucco classroom buildings topped with red tile roofs.
The school cost $37 million to build. A total of $2.5 million in construction aid has been held up by the state, requiring a handful of scaled-back plans " at least temporarily. The project has been funded by a $34 million bond measure that voters passed in February 2008, plus $3 million left over from a bond measure voters passed in 2004 to renovate the R. Roger Rowe campus.
San Marcos architect John Trittipo designed the school, but Delaney said the school district worked hard to incorporate suggestions from many people in the Rancho Santa Fe community. Construction began in May 2009.
-- Bruce Lieberman Craven finds way to finance school repairs-- ENCToday.com North Carolina: June 10, 2010 [ abstract] Craven County commissioners have one less fiscal year 2011 budget worry since public school district officials found an alternate way to pay for about $2.1 million in capital improvements.
The 2010 Qualified School Construction Bonds program, through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009, will provide interest-free loans for repairs and renovations to eight schools. The county budget had no room to pay for the projects, commissioners Chairman Perry Morris said on Thursday.
“These are projects that would have been stretched over three or four years’ time that they’ll be able to go ahead and get on,” Morris said.
The county will repay the bonds over a 10-year period, taking the payments from funds it customarily designates for facility improvements, he said.
“Every year there’s ($900,000) put into the capital reserves for the building fund,” Morris said.
Beginning with fiscal year 2011, $700,000 will go into the capital reserves and the remaining $200,000 will go toward the annual note payment, which is $216,000, Morris said.
The Qualified School Construction Bonds are a definite deal, Morris said, and he expects to sign the agreement today.
The list of projects includes restroom renovations, roofing, chiller replacements, door and window replacements and energy management upgrades. The various projects are set for five elementary schools, one middle school and two high schools in New Bern, Havelock and Vanceboro.
The county finance director works with the school district’s finance director to select a lender, which will disburse the funds, said Benjamin J. Matthews, the director of the School Support Division of North Carolina Public Schools. The county then makes principle payments over the life of the agreement, and federal funds, channeled through the state, pay the interest.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for the people of our school districts to have a low-cost funding opportunity to fix some of the schools, which will ultimately provide excellent learning opportunities for our children,” Matthews said.
-- P. Christine Smith Shelby County Commission putting need ahead of politics-- Commercial Appeal Tennessee: June 06, 2010 [ abstract] The County Commission on Monday gets its first look at nearly $60 million in school construction projects from the city and county districts.
While no one says the discussion won't be animated, the level of trust between the schools and the body that funds them is much higher these days, thanks in part to a committee of citizens and elected officials who've "fine-toothed" the specs and priorities.
The 13-member Needs Assessment Committee meets quarterly at 8:30 a.m. in a nondescript conference room in the Shelby County Office Building. From around a table, they talk out the projects, prioritizing what schools should be built and when, and where it makes sense to invest in maintenance -- based on population not politics.
The committee is made up of the school board presidents, two county commissioners, five citizens and two nonvoting county staff members.
"Not only are we citizens that care about this community, but we all have additional expertise in design, education or construction," said Nisha Powers, an engineer who owns Powers Hill design.
"Our charge was not to worry about funding; our charge was evaluating based on need. That's how we take the politics out of it."
The Needs Assessment Committee was created in 2003 when there was no way to prioritize projects, cost of construction varied enormously between the city and county, and politics could override reason.
The idea belongs to then-county Mayor A C Wharton and former commissioner David Lilliard, now state treasurer.
"We saw a need to put order to a rather chaotic situation we saw from the budget standpoint of the county," Lilliard said.
-- Jane Roberts Historic Humble, Texas Schoolhouse Fades into Disrepair -- The Tribune Texas: May 18, 2010 [ abstract] What will it take to save Bender High School?
Constructed in 1929, Charles Bender High School " also known as the old Curriculum and Staff Development Center (CSDC) building " stands empty and in decay, after serving the community for more than 80 years. Still, she proudly wears her plaques and dedications as if they were Olympic medals for a job well done. Only silence now echoes in her halls at 611 Higgins Street in Humble.
When Bender High School was constructed, with 48,000-square feet, it accommodated both junior and senior high school students. Two inspirational inscriptions, which have been read by thousands, on the side of the building read, “Impossible is Un-American” and “Ever Onward.” Although it is not listed on the Texas Historical Preservation Registry, in 1999 the City of Humble Preservation Society designated the building as a City of Humble historical site, complete with plaque. The designation encourages preservation, but is strictly voluntary and non-binding to the owner. Other plaques on the property pay tribute to WWI veterans. Each old oak tree in front of the building is dedicated to a WWI veteran.
-- Trilla Cook Fairbanks, Alaska Middle School Students Win National Award for Green School Design -- Daily News Miner Alaska: May 17, 2010 [ abstract] The school of the future is a net-zero-energy building with three triangular wings, a solar array, green roof, spherical dome and astronomy aqua-tower, all straddling a river. And it resides in Fairbanks. SubZero Middle School is a futuristic model designed by 10 students from Barnette Magnet Middle School. On April 30, the group won first place and a $2,000 prize for Barnette in the nationwide School of the Future competition in Washington, D.C. The class spent a week in D.C. in late April, competing against seven other finalists and presenting its project before 20 judges.
“I’m most proud of it because it’s not some far-fetched idea. It’s very realistic,” said Eliza Lawler, who took a feeder guppy to Washington to stock the mockup of the Chena River. “You get a bunch of 12- and 13-year-olds together, and it’s amazing. It’s unbridled imagination,” said local architect Steve Keller, who helped students with the project and accompanied them to D.C. “They’re thinking like adults, but they don’t have the constraints that full-grown adults have.”
-- Molly Rettig Manassas Park, Virginia Elementary School Winning Awards for Green Design -- InsideNoVa.com Virginia: May 16, 2010 [ abstract] The designers of Manassas Park Elementary School were recently selected by the American Institute of Architects and its Committee on the Environment as one of the top 10 examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment. The Charlottesville school firm VMDO Architects project was the only elementary building cited in the top 10 selections.
"It is especially rewarding that the Manassas Park Elementary project has been recognized as one of the 2010 COTE selections," said Bob Moje, principal of K-12 Public School Projects at VMDO. "The innovative design for Manassas Park encourages students to become future environmental stewards. We are grateful for our long-standing collaboration with this community, a truly gratifying ex-perience."
-- Katherine Mercurio- Gotthardt Middle School to be Hawaii's First 'Green' Campus -- Advertiser Hawaii: May 11, 2010 [ abstract] When students begin attending 'Ewa Makai Middle School in January, they will study in the air-conditioned comfort of the Hawai'i public school system's first completely certified "green" campus and with such high-tech tools as iPad tablet computers.
'Ewa Makai's campus will be physically unique compared with other public schools in the state. It is the first school in Hawai'i being built as one enclosed building, as opposed to traditional school campuses in the state made up of several buildings linked by open-air walkways. Part of the reason for the new design is to meet "green" building requirements, or to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental design certified, as is now required for all new state facilities. It will be the first entire school campus to be so designated. As a LEED Silver Project, the school is fitted with air conditioning and natural day lighting design for energy conservation. Contractors are also using recycled "green" materials in construction. A special storm water runoff collection system will be installed, as will occupancy sensors in rooms to control lighting and plumbing fixtures.
-- Loren Moreno Grand Forks School Board approves first step of $4 million addition projects-- Grand Forks Herald North Dakota: May 10, 2010 [ abstract] The first step of $4 million in high school construction projects got the unanimous approval of the Grand Forks School Board on Monday.
It comes less than three months after the board held a similar vote that began the process for $10.6 million of theater arts projects that will result in a new Red River High School theater and a complete remodeling of Central’s auditorium.
The board’s action Monday is the first step toward a remodel of Cushman Field and a new addition built at Central High School within two years. The request for proposal process will now start, asking architects to submit their plans for the projects before the board chooses an architect in June to draw up designs.
Tentative plans for the $1.5 million Cushman Field project call for replacing the track and installing artificial field turf, which would allow the facility to be used for more practices and football and soccer games.
-- Ryan Johnson More School Building Projects Going Green -- Washington Examiner National: May 09, 2010 [ abstract] Whether it's making them more energy efficient, bringing more natural light into the building or improving the quality of the indoor air, sustainable schools are growing in popularity. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, there are 1,330 school projects nationwide that have sought Leadership in Energy and Environmental design certification, and 156 of them have been certified so far.
Part of the go-green movement means carefully selecting the materials that are used in the project, said Steven Turckes, a principal of architectural design firm Perkins and Will. "We do not use materials that have polyvinyl chloride, or other toxins that are unhealthy when they off-gas into the environment," Turckes said.
Going green is starting to become more financially viable. With better cooperation between the sustainable school builders and the green material providers, Turckes said, the builders can now offer more competitive prices. In some cases, he said, a sustainable school building might now cost only 3 percent more than a regular building.
Some of the considerations and methods of sustainable school builders, aimed at more efficient energy use and higher comfort levels: aligning the orientation of the building to avoid the late afternoon sun heating up the classrooms more than is desired; making complicated calculations of the angle of the sunlight entering the building;installing shading devices such as horizontal light shelves that block direct light from coming in but also bounce more light inside, cutting down on the glare coming off computer screens.
-- Hristina Ninova Intelligent Design: Stanford's New Design School Building -- Stanford Daily California: May 07, 2010 [ abstract] Imagine walking into your classroom every morning not knowing what it is going to look like. The large blocks of foam that functioned as chairs yesterday are now stacked against the walls or placed in wooden boxes and pushed together to create makeshift work surfaces. The portable whiteboards that were used for brainstorming the day before are now used as walls.
This might sound uncharacteristic of an academic setting, but that sense of constant change is exactly what makes the new design School (d.school) building so unique. “Our philosophy is very purposed towards the future,” said Banny Banerjee, the director of the Stanford design Program and an assistant professor in Stanford’s mechanical engineering department. “You have no way of knowing what’s going to be appropriate tomorrow, what any situation is going to demand. And so we need our space to reflect that.”
Walking around the new building, one can see that designers Cody Anderson Wasney (CAW) & MK Think have tried to make every inch reflect the school’s philosophy. The d.school has been continuously reinventing itself, having moved four times, starting from doublewide trailers, and finally ending up in its fifth and final home in Building 550 on Escondido Mall. According to David Kelley, the founder of the d.school and innovation and design firm IDEO, “We believe you can learn anything about an organization 30 seconds after walking into their workspace.” “People sitting in cubicles have cubicle shaped thoughts,” Banerjee added. “The d.school encourages highly expansive, collaborative, inventive thinking, and we need spaces that allow that, spaces that obscure rules that inhibit creativity.”
-- Avantika Agarwal Charlotte County, Florida to Rebuild Schools with Fed Funds-- Herald-Tribune Florida: May 06, 2010 [ abstract] School officials will begin construction on two of the district's oldest buildings this summer, using $60 million in borrowed federal stimulus funds to jumpstart the often-delayed projects. The Charlotte County school district will have a groundbreaking ceremony at Lemon Bay High School, ending a process that started more than two years ago.
This year, the district was approved to participate in Qualified School Construction Bonds, a $25 billion national program which allows districts to issue bonds at no interest for building upgrades and reconstruction. Buyers of the bonds get a federal tax credit in lieu of interest.
The groundbreaking follows repeated attempts by the district to allocate funding for Lemon Bay High and Meadow Park Elementary, schools said to be in need of upgrades. Lemon Bay High was built in 1962 as an elementary school. The district added classroom wings in the '70s when it was converted into a middle school and eventually into a high school. But officials never addressed the facility's lack of elevation, leaving sections of the campus prone to flooding. Meadow Park Elementary was built in the 1970s with an open space design, a concept that limits privacy between classrooms.
-- Jason Witz Making Science Labs a Priority-- Education Week National: May 05, 2010 [ abstract] In January, an article in The Washington Post told the story of a group of Maryland science teachers who are learning how to replicate their DNA. Their school system’s DNA Resource Center, funded by six-figure annual grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has developed nine lab experiments that teach biotechnology concepts, according to the Post. The whole enterprise, it said, is “managed by a handful of part-time staff members and housed at Thomas S. Wootton High School in a supply room filled with pipettes and flasks. … The center staff trains teachers to use the lab activities in their classrooms and delivers all of the equipment and consumable materials that the exercises require.”
Last year, the center trained 70 teachers and provided more than 13,000 lab kits. School officials anticipate the budget for the center"about $280,000 in grant funds last year"will rise to about $350,000 this year, when the program expands to middle schools.
Kudos to the Montgomery County, Md., school system for implementing this initiative. But we have to ask: Why is this news? It shouldn’t be. Lab experiences and centers like this one should be commonplace in every high school building nationwide. Yet far too many school science labs are dismal at best. In fact, many students are selecting not to participate in science after high school because of the subpar facilities and instruction.
A few years ago, the National Research Council conducted a survey to assess the state of the nation’s high school science laboratories. Its conclusions were distressing. There was no consensus in the field on what, exactly, the high school lab experience should be. The survey also disclosed that most laboratory exercises do not have clear learning outcomes, do not integrate the learning of science content with processes of science, and tend to be isolated from the classroom science instruction.
"Good teachers know that high-quality laboratory and field experiences are an essential part of inquiry"the process of observing, asking questions, and forming hypotheses."
Shortly after the NRC report was issued, the organization I direct, the National Science Teachers Association, surveyed its members and asked teachers about the lab experiences at their schools. These responses reflect what many teachers told us:
“In my urban inner-city school, I teach a lab science in an old business room. There are no tables, benches, water or gas service, sinks, fire extinguishers, eyewash stations, fire blankets, or other equipment. In addition, while there is a high rate of attrition towards the end of the year, each September starts with 50 students in each class.”
“I have no specific, safe area in which to conduct labs. My yearly budget is the same as it was 12 years ago. I must purchase all my own equipment and supplies. I have no safety equipment other than a portable eyewash station and a fire extinguisher. My district claims labs are ‘extracurricular.’”
“While I do not teach high school science currently, but do teach in a two-year community college, I see many students entering with virtually no lab experience. While some students come quite prepared, it’s very frustrating for me to have students coming into a college biology class with no knowledge of basic lab equipment and techniques, such as using beakers, graduated cylinders, pipettes, or even basic microscopy skills.”
“I have not learned how to facilitate real thinking and essential planning for authentic lab experiences. I don’t know what students really need in an introductory chemistry experience at the high school level, and I cannot figure out how to teach logical thinking and sequencing to 20-plus students in lab at the same time.”
“Many teachers in my district, which is well-funded and well-equipped, lack the confidence to conduct lab experiences. They most often have poor classroom management, and therefore believe that the students would not practice safety, and that someone could be injured.”
These survey results tell us that many schools do not see science facilities as a necessary part of science instruction, and many teachers simply cannot conduct high-quality science labs. Administrators need to be adequately trained to recognize high-quality science and technology education and must work with their science departments and teacher leaders to support educators to maintain the high-level programs that are needed. Each school needs a lab budget, and should not be dependent on the pockets of the struggling teacher.
One of the most important and powerful tools in science education is providing students with the opportunity to interact directly with natural phenomena or with data collected by others. Good teachers know that high-quality laboratory and field experiences are an essential part of inquiry"the process of observing, asking questions, and forming hypotheses. They also know that for science to be taught well, labs must be an integral part of the science curriculum. This is why thousands of science educators nationwide have embraced National Lab Day.
National Lab Day, scheduled for the first week of May 2010, is more than just a day"it’s a new five-year, nationwide initiative to support science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, education in schools by connecting teachers with professionals in these fields (think Match.com), to bring more hands-on, inquiry-based lab experiences to students.
National Lab Day is one of the public-private partnerships that make up President Barack Obama’s “Educate to Innovate” initiative. More than 200 scientific societies and associations, representing six million STEM professionals, have pledged to support National Lab Day, or NLD. At the NLD website, teachers can post projects or request funding for equipment and other resources, ask for expert help with hands-on projects or lesson plans, and much more. The teachers are matched with STEM professionals, college students, or volunteers who have also registered on the site, and can assist with the expertise, resources, and/or funding needed. Projects can also center on computer labs or outdoor labs"anywhere students can observe, explore, record, and experiment, and get their hands dirty and their minds engaged, and where projects and lessons in the STEM subjects can come alive.
Is National Lab Day a silver bullet for STEM education? Probably not. But this movement can address a problem that has long been ignored by far too many schools. Building ongoing, long-term collaborations between STEM professionals and schools and teachers will help improve school facilities and provide discovery-based science experiences for all students.
If America is serious about educating its children in science, then all of us need to help provide better-quality lab experiences and equipment. Montgomery County’s DNA Resource Center is a model effort designed to bring together community experts, facilities, training, and equipment. And it should be replicated in every district in the country. National Lab Day can and should be an ongoing part of providing teachers everywhere with the tools and community resources that will give their students a high-quality lab experience.
-- Francis Eberle $325 Million Funding Initiative for High-Performing Charter Schools-- Market Watch National: May 04, 2010 [ abstract] JPMorgan Chase announced a $325 million initiative to support the growth of high-performing U.S. charter schools in today's challenging credit environment. The bank will provide $50 million in grants to community development financial institutions (CDFIs) focused on funding charter schools. In turn, these institutions will use these grants as permanent equity, which they will leverage to fund top-performing charter schools. Additionally, JPMorgan Chase will work with the CDFIs to provide about $175 million in debt and approximately $100 million in New Markets Tax Credit equity to support the development of charter school facilities. This will allow the CDFIs to access Obama Administration financing programs designed to help charter schools meet facility needs.
JPMorgan Chase estimates that this initiative will help underwrite about 40 charter schools, which will serve more than 50,000 students throughout the term of the loan.
-- Staff Writer Students Design Tomorrow’s Green Schools: CEFPI Competition Winner-- CEFPI National: May 03, 2010 [ abstract] The 2010 winners of the annual School of the Future design Competition, centerpiece of School Building Week, April 26-30, were announced during an award ceremony in Washington, DC. Sponsored by the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) and the National Association of Realtors® in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the American Institute of Architects, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and more than 20 other associations and private companies, the annual competition challenges middle school teams to think creatively as they design tomorrow’s green schools to enhance learning, conserve resources, be environmentally responsive and engage the surrounding community.
The Award of Excellence went to Barnette Magnet School, Fairbanks, AK with Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, Old Lyme, CT capturing second place. Seneca Middle School, Macomb, MI, was the third place winner. Awards of commendation were presented to Heritage Year Round Middle School, Wake Forest, NC; Roskruge Bilingual K-8, Tucson, AZ; Howard University Middle School/Math & Science, Washington, DC and Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools (ReThink), New Orleans, LA.
-- Barbara Worth Greenest buildings? Architects pick 2010 winners-- USA Today National: April 26, 2010 [ abstract] This year's best sustainable buildings include an elementary school, two universities and a New Orleans home designed for Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation, according to the American Institute of Architects. Each year, the AIA picks 10 buildings that show how design can reduce environmental impacts by reusing materials, connecting to public transit, conserving water and energy and improving indoor air quality.
One winner is the new Manassas Park Elementary School in Virginia, completed last April. AIA says it offers " intimate views of the neighboring mixed oak forest, while elementary classrooms face shady moss- and fern-covered learning courtyards." It says the school has signs everywhere to teach students about sustainability.
Also among the top 10 is Yale University's Kroon Hall, the new home for the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, completed in January 2009, and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST), completed in Sept. 2009. Saudi Arabai's King Abdullah University of Science & Technology, completed in Sept. 2009, was also selected as a winner.
-- Wendy Koch, Area schools going green in construction and in the classroom-- The Herlad Mail National: April 21, 2010 [ abstract] Elementary, middle and high schools across the Tri-State are getting serious about energy by installing geothermal wells, recycling cafeteria waste and turning off lights.
The moves are not only designed to reduce utility costs and help the environment, but to provide lessons about sustainable living for students.
“It’s interesting the impact a 7-year-old can have on a lot of things families do, whether it’s turning off the lights or recycling the trash,” said Manny Arvon, superintendent of Berkeley County (W.Va.) Schools.
-- JENNIFER FITCH Indiana School Sets New Green Standard for State-- Avon Star Indiana: April 15, 2010 [ abstract] Avon Middle School North has officially set the standard for environmentally friendly school buildings statewide. A celebration was held at the school, after it was the first K-12 building in the state to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental design certification. LEED is a globally recognized green building certification system used by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Jim Thompson, president of Gibraltar design, the lead architectural firm to work on the school, said features that helped with LEED certification include an energy-efficient heating and cooling system, lower wattage lighting and the use of recycled construction materials in the gypsum wallboard and carpeting. The $33.5 million, 220,000-square-foot middle school opened last fall to students.
-- Josh Duke Solar Panels, Wind Turbine May Power Student Creativity -- Chicago Tribune Illinois: April 14, 2010 [ abstract] On the roof of Chicago's Burr Elementary School, about 75 feet above ground, a new wind turbine spins, and solar panels soak up the sun. Inside, Doug Snower, a wind energy expert, points out a wall-mounted monitoring station that teaches about sustainable energy by letting students see how much power comes in and think about creative ways to use it, such as firing up their iPods or heating a fish tank. "We're really excited to have this. It's going to be a great learning resource for the children," said Vinita Scott, principal of Burr, a K-8 school in the Bucktown neighborhood on the Northwest Side.
Snower and his partners in a startup wind energy company worked with Scott on the project, paid for through a grant. It includes the first wind turbine in the Chicago Public Schools system and one of the first on a school in the Chicago area. While a number of environmental pioneers have put wind turbines and solar panels on their homes to reduce their electric bills, the Burr project is more about having children grow up with sustainable technologies, Snower said. Today's elementary school children will learn that the wind turbine and solar panels produce electricity and feed it, via wires, to a power closet next to the energy education station. They will see meters that show how many watts each device is producing and can graph the data, Snower said, then use it for science and math learning. They also can chart how weather affects the amounts of wind and solar power that can be produced in Chicago's climate.
The school's project cost less than $12,000, including installation, with the wind turbine only accounting for about $600 of that. The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora also has installed a wind turbine, and Snower's company is consulting with Highland Park High School students on a sustainable energy design. "We hope this stimulates the minds of students to create things we don't even know exist yet," Snower said. "That would be the ultimate."
-- Pam DeFiglio Wake County, North Carolina To Review Costs of Green School Building Efforts -- News & Observer North Carolina: April 14, 2010 [ abstract] Wake County's environmentally green schools may be costing too much financial green for members of the school board's new ruling majority to keep in building plans. Chris Malone, chairman of the board's facilities committee, called for a financial review of Wake's green building efforts, which have led to features such as waterless urinals, natural lighting and recycled building material. Malone said these features can increase costs by as much as 5 percent and may no longer be justifiable when cash-strapped school leaders will need to ask voters in the next few years to approve a school bond referendum for hundreds of millions of dollars. "If we want a bond issue approved, we have to show voters we're saving dollars," said Malone, one of four newcomers swept into office in the fall.
But supporters of green schools said abandoning these efforts would be shortsighted. Green-school features are supposed to save money in the long haul, with lower electric and water bills because of greater efficiency. "I understand that these are hard economic times, but the costs will ultimately come back to the taxpayers," said Bae-Won Koh, chairman of the Triangle chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. "They'll have to pay more later."
Wake County voters last approved a school bond issue in 2006 for a record $970 million. Plans for a follow-up bond issue have been delayed because of the national recession. With the possibility of a bond issue going to voters in 2011 or 2012, Malone said Tuesday that it's time to spend the next few months considering the planning assumptions that will be used for the next school building program. Among the areas targeted for review by Malone are Wake's long-standing efforts to design schools to be in compliance with the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) program. The U.S. Green Building Council says LEED building standards can substantially reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. More than 1,100 schools have registered across the country for the LEED program.
Malone's call for a review occurs a week before Earth Day and at a time when global warming is a hot topic. Malone said he believes that man is causing the climate to change but thinks it uncertain whether humans are the major reason. Wake school administrators have noted that waterless urinals reduce water use by 20 percent and that designing buildings to use more natural lighting instead of electric lights can cut energy use by 20 percent to 30 percent. Doug Brinkley, past chairman of the Triangle chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, also touted how green schools can help improve student learning by ensuring good air quality. Schools can use paints that don't release as many chemicals into the air that can irritate people. "It's more than just about saving money; it's about the health of those inside," Brinkley said.
-- T. Keung Hui Extensive school construction proposed to city council
-- East Bat RI.com Rhode Island: April 08, 2010 [ abstract] It’s the biggest high school in the state and according to a presentation given earlier this week, school department officials are looking to make it even bigger.
On Tuesday night, school superintendent Mario Cirillo and chief operating officer Lonnie Barham provided the city council with an update on the school department’s ongoing application process for Qualified School Construction Bond (QSCB) funds. The QSCB program is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, more commonly known as the stimulus plan. Last year, the program included $11 billion nationally and $44 million in Rhode Island. This year, Mr. Cirillo said the state’s amount is believed to be the same.
Through a lengthy application process, which includes a facilities analysis, an asset protection plan, engineering surveys of all city schools, space usage studies and other information, various school departments from around the state compete for these funds.
Currently, Mr. Cirillo said the school department is looking at a rough estimate of $25 million to repair various issues at all 13 city schools ranging from interior and exterior doors that do not lock, heating issues, leaking roofs, loose brick facings, asbestos-laden tile floors and out-of-code fire detection systems, among others.
According to the school department, various city schools received more than 130 fire code violations in 2008, followed by 71 in 2009 and roughly 120 so far this year. Under the QSCB, all funds come with zero percent interest. Additionally, the city’s poverty rate would allow almost 50 percent of the bond’s principal to be reimbursed.
Connecting two schools
But the current plan doesn’t end with fixing up old schools. With an estimated cost of $14 million, Tuesday’s presentation included initial design drawings of a 46,000"square"foot connector to link East Providence High School and the career and technical center (CTC), which are currently separated by a parking lot. Building this connector, Mr. Cirillo said, would allowed the CTC room for additional programs like robotics and cosmetology and enhancement of programs like culinary arts and computer technology.
Mr. Cirillo also said the connector would create space for an “innovative” Early Intervention Services Center. This center would be part of a pending partnership with Meeting Street School and would allow for the early screening, assessment and intervention or remediation of children from birth to five-years of age.
Mr. Cirillo said the connector would give the school a central front door. David Frieder, an architect with Symmes, Maini and McKee Associates (who have been hired to conduct a district-wide feasibility study) said the new strip would give the appearance of a “unified high school.”
What will it cost?
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The estimated financial resources needed for both the repairs and the connector is about $39 million. Anywhere between $4 million and $8 million of this amount could be saved if the school is able to meet energy performance requirements (the firm Johnson Controls, Inc. is currently performing a district-wide energy audit) leading to roughly $35 million that would need to be bond financed.
To cover this, the current plan is to look for $12 million in funds from the QSCB program at zero percent interest with another $23 million in bonds with interest rates between 3 and 3.5 percent. With a poverty rate reimbursement of 49.8 percent, the city would stand to have $17.5 million reimbursed coupled with a $1.5 million reimbursement from meeting energy efficiency standards, or $19 million total.
The remaining $16 million would fall to taxpayers. On a $16 million bond repayment, the city would have an annual bill of about $1.075 million. The cost per homeowner, based on an average value of $240,000, would come to $40 per year.
In the presentation, the financing of the plan was described as the “taxpayer deal of a lifetime.”
But all of the improvements and renovations are far from a foregone conclusion. For starters, the school department needs to have Stage II of its application approved by the Rhode Island Department of Education. The school committee and city council also have to approve the process and the General Assembly needs to approve a bond referendum. Should the process make it this far, the matter would need voter approval in November.
If everything goes according to plan, construction on the high school-CTC connector could start as early as summer 2011.
After hearing the presentation, Mayor Joseph Larisa Jr. said the plan is “reasonable” but he was concerned that while it’s what the schools need, it might not be what the city can afford.
“Sixteen million is a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of money in this economy,” Mayor Larisa said.
He added that the city may be looking to fund improvements of its own and while it won’t be included in property tax bills, residents are going to be hit with rising wastewater bills to pay for plant renovations in coming years.
“The question is how much we can reasonably afford,” Mayor Larisa said. “Quite frankly, I don’t know the answer to that right now.”
-- George Morse Keller officials may change design for new school
-- The Keller Citizen Texas: April 06, 2010 [ abstract] Keller school district officials may change the design for the elementary school slated to open next year in Marshall Ridge.
"Because of the topography of the site, we're rethinking whether the prototype is a good fit for the site," said Hudson Huff, construction coordinator.
Huff said the site has a 30-foot drop from one side to the other, meaning the prototype, a one-story "H"-shaped building, would require extensive retaining walls. The building design allows grades to be separated into wings with the cafeteria, gym, office and library running along the central hallway.
Since 1998, 10 of 14 elementary schools have been built along the same design, a move that construction officials say reduces costs by lowering architectural fees.
VLK Architects of Fort Worth created the prototype design first used at North Riverside and Willis Lane elementary schools.
The nontypical schools are Basswood, Bluebonnet, Caprock and Liberty. In each case, site constraints dictated different designs. The site for Bluebonnet was most challenging because the school had to be built into a hillside. The Marshall Ridge site is more like the one for Liberty, Huff said. All four schools include second stories, with most moving the library and third- and fourth-graders to the upper level.
"We're looking at incorporating some new things into the design such as some collaborative spaces like we have at Timberview," Huff said. Timberview is the fifth- through eighth-grade campus under construction on Old Denton Road.
Huff said the additions would stay within the school construction budget. In the 2008 bond package, voters approved $23.7 million for the district's 22nd elementary school (land purchase, fees, construction, furniture and equipment). With the slow economy, officials expect to save on building costs. The original budget included an annual inflation rate of 12 percent because of skyrocketing construction and fuel costs when the bond package was developed during the summer of 2008.
The school, which will be located just north of Mount Gilead Road, will draw primarily from the Woodland Springs Elementary attendance zone -- which includes Marshall Ridge -- with some expected to come from the adjacent Florence and Keller-Harvel boundaries, district Planning Director Jeff Baker said. Just over half of the students will live east of U.S. 377 and the rest will come from west of the highway.
Baker said the new school will help alleviate crowding at Independence and Caprock as new attendance lines are drawn.
The school should be the last constructed within the Keller city limits and one of the last campuses needed in the district. Officials expect one more elementary school will be needed on the far west side. A 1,500-home development on the west side of Interstate 35W near Basswood Boulevard was tabled by D.R. Horton in 2007. If the area develops as projected, the neighborhood would be a logical location for an elementary school, Baker said.
-- SANDRA ENGELLAND School Construction and Modernization Bond Allocations for 2010 Announced-- Thompson National: April 01, 2010 [ abstract] The U.S. Treasury allocated $11 billion in bonding authority for 2010 school construction projects among states and large educational agencies, courtesy of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
The 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico and the outlying areas will share $6.6 billion in authority to issue nearly tax-free Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCBs), which can finance the construction, rehabilitation or repair of public school facilities or buy land for a new school. The remaining $4.4 billion in QSCB authority is split among 103 large local educational agencies (LEAs) based on their relative shares of Title I funds, the U.S. departments of Treasury and Education announced earlier this week.
Another $1.4 billion in ARRA-provided authority was issued under the Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZABs) program, a more restrictive program that supports school renovation, equipment, course material development and teacher training. To qualify for QZABs, schools must be located in certain designated economic development zones, have received a 10 percent match from a private business and have at least 35 percent of students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunch.
The National School Boards Association (NSBA), in a statement praising the two programs, said several school districts have tapped these authorities for school modernization, including the Baltimore City Public School system, which is using $50 million in bond proceeds to install energy efficient upgrades, add equipment and update labs. Maryville City Schools in Tennessee, NSBA said, is using more than $20 billion in bond proceeds for a new intermediate school for students in grades four through six.
"Federal stimulus funding for school construction bonds is helping school districts throughout the nation address infrastructure needs that may otherwise be postponed because of local and state fiscal conditions," said Anne Bryant, NSBA's executive director, in a statement. "New funding resources for school repairs and construction are vital to making sure that school districts can provide healthy and modern learning environments for our students."
-- Erika Fitzpatrick Licking Heights seeks plan to address overcrowding-- Standard Reporter Ohio: March 31, 2010 [ abstract] When school buildings become overcrowded, students sometimes get frozen out of classes, struggle to get to their lockers in cramped hallways and lose important face-to-face time with teachers.
Licking Heights Local Schools wants to design a districtwide plan to prevent such a scenario from unfolding.
The school board intends to schedule a community engagement meeting this month to outline the district's current and future building conditions. It also wants to seek public input -- from parents, residents and students -- before designing a new plan to address enrollment increases.
"A lot of people with busy lives, they get up and send their children to school," school board member Chuck Seeright said. "(Overcrowding) is not something they think about."
-- CHAD KLIMACK Green Schools Designed to Catch Students’ Eyes-- Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon Oregon: March 30, 2010 [ abstract] : Students in the past may not have given much thought to how much energy their schools consume. But perhaps pupils will ask more questions when they see what makes their schools greener. More architects nowadays are choosing to open students’ eyes to green design by designing new school buildings with solar arrays, storm-water drainage systems and other sustainable building features exposed intentionally.
According to Scott Rose, a principal with DLR Group working on the new Petersen Elementary School in Scappoose, youths have minds like sponges, and will benefit from being able to see green building systems in action. “If nothing else, we want to use this building as a teaching tool,” Rose said. “If they can look at an exposed cistern with color-coded pipe showing how the rainwater is being recycled into the bathrooms, they will make the connections.”
Several studies performed in the last decade have lauded sustainable schools for improving the performance of teachers and students alike because of better lighting and air quality. However, data is still being collected on how learning in a high-performance school affects students’ concepts of sustainability.
John Weekes, a Dull Olson Weekes Architects principal, designed exposed systems for the new Valley View Middle School in Snohomish, Wash. He said the visible systems will encourage students to think more critically about their surroundings. All of Valley View’s mechanical equipment, boilers and water-reuse systems will be exposed or placed behind glass walls for observation. “Unless you can see it and touch it, you don’t understand how it works,” Weekes said. “Seventy percent of students are visual. Having these systems exposed shows there is more to a building than the rooms they happen to occupy. Then you can apply those lessons to math, science and physics in their curriculum.”
That is what science teacher Jason Hieggeoke has been doing at Da Vinci Arts Middle School. He has used a water garden, which drains storm water, as a living laboratory. “There aren’t many special places for kids in schools, and this is one of them,” Hieggeoke said. “We do water quality testing and look for invertebrates. We care for the garden so they learn about conservation. Sometimes they will see the pipes and ask where they are coming from, which gives me the opportunity to explain the storm-water system to them.”
According to Nancy Boyd, resource conservation director for Portland Public Schools, students at Da Vinci Arts Middle School also have been engaged by a net-zero music room constructed there last year. In the room, which features a solar system donated by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, kids can visit an interactive kiosk to track how the photovoltaic panels power the building. “The students are definitely paying attention to the data,” Boyd said. “We’d love to know if there are other things we could do (with facilities) to help integrate that into the curriculum.”
-- Nathalie Weinstein Future of Lorain High campus still undecided-- Morning Journal Ohio: March 28, 2010 [ abstract] The four forums to discuss a Lorain High School education campus were poorly attended, divisive and left people wanting more answers. The meetings became more focused on the site location and less on a vision of what amenities a campus could have that might breathe new life into the city.
Now that they're over, it's up to the Lorain school district, the city, Port Authority and library system to brainstorm if they want to be part of a campus, where it will be, how it will look, what it will include and how much weight the public input will have in the final decision.
The purpose of the public forums was to gather input from residents on what facilities they would like to see to complement a new high school on a campus, such as an ice rink, field house or library branch. The showcase of the campus will be the new $70 million high school, which is supposed to be up and running by 2014, school board President Tony Dimacchia said.
Several residents, such as Mike Beatty, John Wargo and Councilman at large Mitchell Fallis, focused on the good and bad aspects of Site 3, the area along the Black River.
Wargo and Fallis believe the area can be used to revive industry in Lorain by building a cargo port. Beatty said industry in Lorain is gone and it's not coming back, so what better place to build than along the banks of the Black River, utilizing Port Authority land near 14th Street and going south a few blocks. He wants the school to take advantage of the riverfront by also using wind energy to power the school. Putting the campus near downtown will help draw a crowd, which will ultimately revitalize the area, Beatty asserted.
Other residents, such as Dave Kramer and former Ward 2 Councilman Dennis Flores think sites 1, 2 or 4, near St. Joseph Community Center are better suited because building there would knock out the more blighted areas of the town and traffic would flow more easily through those areas.
Still others think the best option is to forget the campus idea and build only a high school on the Admiral King site on Ashland Avenue.
Mayor Tony Krasienko, who attended three of the four meetings, said the meetings were helpful, but they tended to get so off track the purpose was lost.
"Unfortunately, too many people had a personal agenda," Krasienko said. "We got some good information from the first couple meetings, and then I think after that, the site just became the focus of the conversation, rather than what does this community want in the future."
Restructuring the meetings would have produced better results, Krasienko said.
"I think the conversation should have been framed around the campus idea and really trying to get conversations with the public on what they would like to see," he said. "Then follow up with what do we have available in the city, whether it's Site 1, 2, 3 or 4 or another site. Have that discussion separately."
Dimacchia said he thought the meetings went well overall.
"The whole idea behind them was to gather information from the community, to see their thoughts and visions," Dimacchia said. "I think we got a pretty good idea about that."
He said he was hoping the conversation wouldn't have gotten stuck on site locations as much as it was, but "if that's what the community feels is important, then it's important."
He said one accusation made during the forums was that residents felt the school board was putting politics before education.
"That is not the case. Politics will never be a part of educating our kids," he said. "We want to give them a state-of-the-art facility. It's not like our focus all of the sudden is not on education because we're working on this project."
The Ohio Schools Facilities Commission has provided the district with the $70 million to build the school, but that money is not to be used to acquire land or build an auditorium. Voters approved a $41 million bond issue in 2001 that triggered another $175 million in state money from the Ohio School Facilities Commission to rebuild or renovate city schools. With the money set aside for the high school, Dimacchia said the district can basically design whatever it wants, but if it doesn't fall within the guidelines of what the state will pay, it gets cut or changed. Other money has to cover add-ons.
"We can't negotiate land acquisition with them and the auditorium is non-negotiable," Dimacchia said. "They said it (auditorium) is not directly tied into education. Fine arts are directly tied to education in my mind, but at the state level, they don't think like that."
Dimacchia also wants residents to understand the 8.97-mill, five-year emergency levy on the May 4 ballot is being used to operate the current buildings and not to build the campus.
-- MEGAN ROZSA Otsego board holds firm-- Toldeo Blade Ohio: March 23, 2010 [ abstract] A divided Otsego board of education Monday night reaffirmed its commitment to build a single school building in Tontogany to replace three elementaries in Grand Rapids, Haskins, and Weston.
The 3-2 vote was taken at a special meeting called by new board President Mark Tolles, who had moved earlier this month to stop the $40 million building project.
He and Judy Snyder, who also joined the board Jan. 1, voted against proceeding with construction.
The state will pay 55 percent of the cost.
The measure was approved by Jamie Harter, Elizabeth Gorski, and Brad Anderson, the third new board of education member who was considered the swing vote, Superintendent Jim Garber said.
Approximately 175 district residents attended last night's meeting in the junior high, and nearly all of them supported the plan to build a unified campus, Mr. Garber said.
The 3-2 vote to reaffirm the plan included three motions to accept the state's assistance plan, designate a half-mill for permanent improvements on the new building, and accept state requirements on the building's size.
Construction has not begun, but the district has taken out a $4 million loan, hired an architectural firm and construction manager, and begun the design.
In 2004, voters approved a bond issue to build a high school using the Ohio School Facilities Commission's expedited program.
The district paid up front the local share of $26 million and was to get a $14 million credit when it went ahead with the second phase of the project, an overhaul of the three primary schools.
The board voted unanimously last summer to build in Tontogany without seeking new tax funds.
It instead will rely on savings from closing the old schools to pay the district's $4 million share.
-- Staff Writer Colo. Faces Monumental School-Repair Costs-- EDUCATION NEWS COLORADO Colorado: March 11, 2010 [ abstract] Colorado schools have $17.8 billion in maintenance and renovation needs over the next eight years, according to a statewide schools facilities study released Wednesday.
The study, required as part of the 2008 Building Excellent Schools Today law, was the first-ever comprehensive structural review of 8,419 buildings, from large classroom buildings to sheds.
The $17.8 billion estimate covers only what the study calls Tier I buildings " basically those used for instruction.
The study found those buildings need $9.4 billion of deferred maintenance work between now and 2013. An additional $13.9 billion is needed for energy and educational suitability projects. A final $3.9 billion in work is estimated to be necessary from 2014-18.
The study was released to the State Board of Education Wednesday afternoon.
Ted Hughes, director of the Capital Construction Assistance Division, noted that the study was the first-ever statewide inventory of school buildings and their conditions.
He said the division still has to come up with a ranking system for buildings and is planning to put all the data in a searchable database, to be called Schoolhouse that will include district and individual building information. The database will be updated regularly.
Mary Wickersham, chair of the Capital Construction Assistance Board, wasn’t shocked by the numbers, saying. “A lot of us have known for a long time the broad-stroke dimensions.” Wickersham several years ago led a less extensive study of school conditions. From that, she said, researchers roughly estimated $10 billion in needs.
Board members received the report with only a few comments.
The assessment isn’t a priority list from which state officials will choose projects. That’s because BEST is an opt-in program for which districts and charters must apply. But, the construction board will use the list to help set priorities among applicants. The program also is designed to encourage use of local matching grants, with only a few projects supported fully by state funds
-- Todd Engdahl School Construction Could Yield Jobs in California, Only If...
-- San Francisco Chronicle California: March 11, 2010 [ abstract] "Jobs, jobs, jobs" was the call from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in his State of the State message. No one heckled. Jobs are a bipartisan aspiration. Turning it into a bipartisan accomplishment has been more elusive. So it is all the more frustrating when the state fumbles an easy opportunity for more employment - when projects have been designed, money is available, contractors are eager to bid, workers are desperate, and yet all sit and wait for a sluggish bureaucracy.
School district officials up and down the state tell me that they have construction work ready to go. But the plans are stalled at the Division of the State Architect which must approve them. Like many state agencies, the architect's office has required its employees to take three unpaid furlough days a month - even though when plan-checkers stay home, construction workers remain idle. The measure of the wait is called "bin time." Bin time is not how long it takes to review the plans; it's how long a plan sits before someone even picks it up. At the end of January, bin time was 12 weeks. That's right, three months.
School districts have the money for new buildings and modernization. Voters in 2006 approved $7.3 billion for K-12 schools statewide, and local bonds add millions more. California's construction industry certainly needs the work. It shrank by more than 100,000 jobs in 2009. That means that school districts are missing a prime opportunity to capture low-cost bids, giving the taxpayers more for their money. Delays on school projects are particularly disruptive. For work that must be done when students are gone, a three-month delay can turn into a year if the project isn't approved in time for the coming summer. Instead of furloughs, state architect's office employees ought to be working full time, and even overtime. If applications temporarily flood in, the agency should contract out for additional reviewers if it believes adding permanent staff is not cost-effective.
-- Joe Simitian L.A.'s Green Schools: Propane Buses, Solar Panels and Environmental Education -- Los Angeles Times Greenspace Blog California: March 08, 2010 [ abstract] What with budget cuts, teacher layoffs and increasing class sizes, the situation at L.A. Unified School District is grim. But there’s yet another issue. With 14,000 buildings housing 700,000 students spread over 710 square miles serviced by 1,300 school buses, the district is one of the largest users of water and energy in the state of California.
Now an ambitious sustainability program has been implemented to reduce the district’s environmental impact and, in the process, save money, improve student performance and serve as a hands-on teaching tool. In March, hundreds of decades-old buses will be upgraded to less-polluting, more-energy-efficient propane models. Eight schools, out of a planned 250, will have solar power installed. Still others will be outfitted with "smart" irrigation systems to reduce the millions of gallons of imported water the district guzzles each day, more than half of which is used for outdoor watering.
Building on a 2005 recycling initiative, LAUSD is striving to slash greenhouse-gas emissions, energy use and water use by 10% from 2007 levels by 2013. It also will install 50 megawatts of solar photovoltaics " a move that could save the district more than $20 million annually on an electricity bill that normally runs $85 million.
So far, most of the changes have been funded with voter-approved state bond measures, utility incentives from Southern California Edison and the L.A. Department of Water and Power and grants from such agencies as the Air Quality Management District. An additional $120 million in federal Clean Renewable Energy Bonds also may be available to the LAUSD to help it go solar.
The 44 campuses the district plans to build by 2013 will be designed to comply with water and energy efficiency standards of the Collaborative for High Performance Schools, which also encourages better classroom acoustics, air quality, mold prevention and natural lighting. "People think of the whole green issue as focusing on energy, but it’s actually only one-fifth energy. It’s also focused on air quality, land use and human comfort," said Vivian Loftness, professor of architecture at Carnegie Mellon University and co-chair of a 2008 National Research Council report on green schools. "There’s a much broader set of issues."
For the green schools study, a 5-person panel of medical doctors, school officials and building experts looked at research linking green schools to health and student performance. It found that many green building practices aided learning. Insulated walls and double-paned windows don’t just save energy, they also reduce noise pollution. Increasing natural light in classrooms doesn’t just save electricity, it triggers melatonin production, which leads to healthy sleep cycles, and it makes textbooks and other materials more colorful and compelling to students, Loftness said. Using non-VOC paints reduces respiratory problems such as asthma " the No. 1 cause of absenteeism in schools.
-- Susan Carpenter Build New or Renovate. What To Do With Akron's King Elementary School?-- West Side Leader Ohio: March 04, 2010 [ abstract] To build new or to renovate? That was the main question that brought more than 100 people out on a snowy night to King Elementary School. It was the initial community planning meeting in a process that will eventually produce a renovated or a brand new King Community Learning Center. In attendance were Akron Public Schools District (APS) officials, school board members and former members, Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) and city of Akron representatives, architects and interested community members.
King is next in the APS’ 12-year program to replace or renovate all of its school buildings, with the help of the 59 percent of the funding that is being provided by the state through the OSFC. The remainder of the money is coming from a voter-approved quarter-percent city income tax. The APS’ executive director of facility services and capital improvements, Paul Flesher, said 17 buildings have been completed, four more will be complete by the end of the summer, four are under construction and four are in the design phase. The completed buildings are called community learning centers (CLCs), not schools. When a woman at the King meeting expressed her desire to keep the name King School, APS Superintendent David James explained that since the city of Akron is providing tax money to help build them, the buildings are operated jointly and the Ohio Revised Code requires they be called CLCs.
-- Becky Tompkins Tulsa school bond vote is Tuesday
-- Tulsa World Oklahoma: March 01, 2010 [ abstract] Voters who live within Tulsa Public Schools’ boundaries will determine the fate of the largest school bond in state history Tuesday.
The school district has four proposals totaling $354 million on the ballot. Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
A 60-percent “supermajority” is required for the passage of all school bonds in Oklahoma.
The TPS bond package is designed to continue the 20-year plan for capital improvements established by the school district’s Citizens Bond Development Committee in 1995. It also would provide every single school with updated textbooks, learning materials, library books, computers, art supplies and physical education equipment for the next six years.
Here is some information about each of the four bond proposals:
# The $261.4 million facilities bond would fund a long-overdue total renovation at East Central High School, partial renovations at 22 other sites, 10 roof replacements, and window replacement at 29 sites, officials said. Other projects include a new early childhood education center, the installation of new security camera systems at every elementary and middle school, six new classrooms at Edison Preparatory School, as well as lighting and sound upgrades at district stadiums.
-- Andrea Eger Levy approvals fund Washington school construction-- SEATTLE DAILY JOURNAL OF COMMERCE Washington: February 24, 2010 [ abstract] A bevy of school levies passed across the state, and that's not only good news for students but also for the construction and design industries.
Voters approved $4.66 billion in maintenance and operations levies, along with $507 million in bond issues and $816 million in capital projects.
Four districts failed to pass bond issues totaling of $351 million, most of that in the Lake Washington ($234 million) and Marysville ($78 million) districts.
-- BENJAMIN MINNICK Fayette, Kentucky Schools Going Green With New Projects-- Herald Leader Kentucky: February 21, 2010 [ abstract] Fayette County Public Schools wants to paint some green on the Bluegrass with two upcoming construction projects. The school district says it will emphasize earth-friendly technology to reduce energy use and promote environmental sustainability at its new Locust Trace Agri-Science Center on Leestown Road and the new elementary school planned for Keithshire Way. Green concepts also will be integrated into the education experience at the facilities, district officials say.
Mary Wright, the district's chief operating officer, said the two projects should be the most environmentally friendly facilities the district has built. And green technology figures to be part of district plans from now on, she said. "We want to be more environmentally conscious, and a number of interested community groups have come to us and offered support in that regard," Wright said. "So, we're looking at utility usage, building design, curriculum planning and the impact of things like the new stormwater fees. It's all part of trying to take a more global approach."
Here are some of the green provisions being considered: buildings at both sites will be oriented to welcome morning sunshine and shade out harsh late afternoon sun, reducing power needs for lighting and cooling. Special ICF walls will provide high-insulation values; Keithshire Way will "harvest" and "manage" daylight to supplement its standard electrical lighting. Automatic sensors in classrooms and other areas will turn lights off or on as needed, saving energy; rainwater from roofs at Locust Trace will be collected and stored for irrigating soil and watering livestock. A deep well will supplement drinking-water needs. Livestock waste will be controlled. The overall goal is for the farm to "sit lightly on the land."
-- Jim Warren Gallatin County to consider tapping $61 million in state stimulus bonds-- Chronicle Staff Writer Montana: February 21, 2010 [ abstract] The Gallatin County Commission Tuesday will consider designating the county a “Recovery Zone” in order to tap $61.6 million in statewide tax-exempt stimulus bonds for local businesses.
The bonds are available for nongovernmental purposes that have been traditionally ineligible for tax-exempt financing, according to a Feb. 16 memo from Ed Blackman, county finance director.
A “Recovery Zone” is an area designated as having “significant poverty, unemployment, rate of home foreclosures or general distress.”
Unemployment in Gallatin County was 6.3 percent in January, up from 1.7 percent in 2007. In addition, construction employment declined by 15 percent in 2008 and an additional 30 percent in 2009, and foreclosures have increased, Blackman said. Possible projects that could be eligible for the bonds include rebuilding the 200 East Main Street businesses destroyed by the March 5 explosion and construction of a new hotel in Big Sky.
In other business, commissioners are scheduled to:
* Continue a public hearing and decide whether to sell a backup battery system formerly used by the 911 center.
* Hold a public hearing and decide on a request for a common-boundary relocation for First Security Bank.
* Hold a public hearing and decide whether to initiate the process of borrowing $1 million in bonds to fund the Hope House project. Commissioners agreed to fund the project last year.
* Appoint a new board member to the Rae Fire Service Area.
The commission meets at 9 a.m. in the Gallatin County Courthouse community room. The meetings are televised on community cable television and audio streamed on the county’s Web site, www.gallatin.mt.gov.
-- LAUREN RUSSELL Deer Park High School expansion expected be completed in fall-- The Spokesman-Review Washington: February 18, 2010 [ abstract] After three years of planning and two years of construction, teachers and students alike can finally see light at the end of the hallways. This is just one of the telltale signs that construction is near completion at Deer Park High School.
This tenacious expansion and modernization project is scheduled to be nearly finished this summer, putting an end to cramped classrooms, narrow hallways and outdated technology.
“It feels like I don’t have limits,” said computer teacher Kelli Demarest, while teaching a group of kids in the new Microsoft computer lab. Part of the project included building not one, but two computer labs. The new Mac lab will allow the school to be consistent with industry standards by teaching graphic design and a new mechanical design class next year on Macintosh computers.
-- Pamela J.S. Smith Green Schools Resolution Advances in Utah-- Salt Lake Tribune Utah: February 16, 2010 [ abstract] A joint resolution that would encourage the state Board of Education and Utah's school districts to build environmentally friendly and energy-efficient schools narrowly passed out of the House Government Operations committee on a 5-3 vote. Rep. Mark Wheatley, D-Murray, is sponsoring HJR20 to provide "more than just a gentle nudge" for school planners to consider having new construction meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) certification. By doing so, Wheatley said construction costs could increase 2 to 3 percent but annual energy savings would add up to about $100,000 per year -- which equates to pay for two starting teachers, 5,000 new books or 200 computers. In addition to overall cost savings, the new buildings would be better ventilated and therefore reduce the incidence of asthma, allergies and colds in students and teachers.
Susan Kuziak, of the Utah Education Association, spoke in support of HJR20. "There are buildings, older and some newer ones, where you get what's called sick-building syndrome," Kuziak said. "A good, healthy environment is important to quality education." While resolutions do not carry the weight of law, Kuziak urged HJR20 to pass "to encourage people to try to accomplish better things."
The resolution cleared the committee with three lawmakers voting against it. HJR20 now advances to the House floor for further discussion.
-- Cathy McKitrick Study on the Impact of Light on Teenagers' Sleeping Habits Has Implications for School Design-- Science Daily National: February 16, 2010 [ abstract] The first field study on the impact of light on teenagers' sleeping habits finds that insufficient daily morning light exposure contributes to teenagers not getting enough sleep."As teenagers spend more time indoors, they miss out on essential morning light needed to stimulate the body's 24-hour biological system, which regulates the sleep/wake cycle," reports Mariana Figueiro, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Program Director at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center (LRC) and lead researcher on the new study.
"These morning-light-deprived teenagers are going to bed later, getting less sleep and possibly under-performing on standardized tests. We are starting to call this the teenage night owl syndrome."
In the study just published in Neuroendocrinology Letters, Dr. Figueiro and LRC Director Dr. Mark Rea found that eleven 8th grade students who wore special glasses to prevent short-wavelength (blue) morning light from reaching their eyes experienced a 30-minute delay in sleep onset by the end of the 5-day study. In addition, the schools are not likely providing adequate electric light or daylight to stimulate this biological or circadian system, which regulates body temperature, alertness, appetite, hormones and sleep patterns. Our biological system responds to light much differently than our visual system. It is much more sensitive to blue light. Therefore, having enough light in the classroom to read and study does not guarantee that there is sufficient light to stimulate our biological system.
"According to our study, however, the situation in schools can be changed rapidly by the conscious delivery of daylight, which is saturated with short-wavelength, or blue, light," reports Dr. Figueiro.
-- Staff Writer Town Meeting approves school plan-- GateHouse News Service Massachusetts: February 11, 2010 [ abstract] After close to an hour of debate Feb. 9, voters at Town Meeting approved spending $700,000 to plan and design a new high school for Maynard.
If the majority of voters approve the expense during the election Tuesday, March 23, design of the new school will take place this summer.
The proposal passed Town Meeting by a large margin. To pass, it needed the approval of least two-thirds of the 636 voters present. It passed, 616-20.
-- Staff reports School construction on Green Church site to begin soon-- Your Nabe.com New York: February 09, 2010 [ abstract] Construction could start as soon as this May on the new school at the site of the Green Church.
Currently, the School Construction Authority (SCA) is “getting it ready,” noted Margie Feinberg, a spokesperson for the Department of Education (DOE), who told this paper that the design phase of the project " which will result in a new 680-seat elementary school for District 20 " is now underway.
Next-door neighbor Dorcas Kimball said she didn’t know exactly what was being done at the site, but there were “some excavations here and there, and some drilling.
“People have been working there for several days,” she added.
P.S. 331, as the school will be known, is projected to be completed in 2013, said Feinberg, and the goal is to have it open in time for the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year, to help relieve overcrowding in School District 20, which includes Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and portions of Bensonhurst, Sunset Park and Boro Park.
-- Helen Klein Small Oregon Schools Benefit From Stimulus Energy Grants-- CBOnline Oregon: February 08, 2010 [ abstract] The worst recession in 70 years is turning into an energy-saving boon for tiny and remote rural schools in Oregon as well as the state's poorest people. Federal economic stimulus money is paying for new energy-efficient lights and windows in schools that have not been modernized since they were built after World War II, and in houses and apartments where people struggle to pay their utility bills.
Nationwide, the Obama administration has dedicated $5 billion to weatherizing low-income housing and $3.1 billion to energy upgrades in public buildings under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Oregon's share is $38 million a year for three years for weatherizing low-income housing and $42 million a year for three years for energy upgrades in schools and other public buildings.
Stimulus-funded energy projects have been slower to be realized than, say, highway paving projects, but that is because the paving projects were already planned, while many of the energy programs had to be designed from scratch, said Brian Shipley, deputy chief of staff to Gov. Ted Kulongoski. About 200 schools and other public buildings will benefit from stimulus projects, said Oregon Department of Energy spokeswoman Ann Grim. That works out to 87 jobs created, and 306 jobs retained, under spending formulas.
Though major grants have been awarded, such as $1 million for geothermal energy development at Lakeview schools, many of the first projects coming to fruition have been at small rural schools. Long Creek School District in the Blue Mountains south of Pendleton is typical. Founded in the 1890s, its best days were in the post-World War II timber boom. The last lumber mill in town shut down about 8 years ago. The school now has about 75 students, so small they have to team up with two other schools to field one eight-man football team. Even with just six teachers and a few other staff, the school is the biggest employer in the town of 200 people.
-- Jeff Barnard New Jersey School District Considers No Flush Urinal Technology-- Independent Press New Jersey: February 02, 2010 [ abstract] Sanitary porcelain technologies are no laughing matter when it comes to the environment. Here’s why. Even adults tend to smirk and giggle a bit when discussing, ahem, “sanitary porcelain” but, when one looks at their ecological impact, there is not much to smirk and giggle about. The traditional urinal in a men’s or boy’s room subject to high traffic can consume thousands of gallons of water a year.
At the Jan. 27 meeting of the Watchung Board of Education, Charles Neiss, Chairman of the Board’s Grounds and Buildings Committee, reported on the results of investigations and tours of nearby facilities, and specifically “no-flush” urinal technology that may just save the district thousands of gallons in water bills each year. The investigations were part of a state-mandated and board approved long term facilities plan for the School District. Part of the district’s plan calls for renovations to several of the rest rooms in Valley View Elementary School, which are in need of renovation. In furtherance of the plan two years ago to focus on green goals wherever possible, the Board Committee asked the architect for the project, Kellen Chapin of Chapin Architectural Services for recommendations on how to make the rest room renovations greener.
As it turns out, the humble urinal in its traditional design is one of the most ecologically unfriendly installations in the men’s restroom. At the outset, the committee expected the “green” solution would be in the form of so-called gray water (the waste water from hand washing, for example, re-used to flush toilets and urinals). But, according to Chapin, those solutions are only cost effective for new construction, where the technology is fully integrated into a larger building or complex of buildings. He immediately recommended the no-flush technology. The concept of a waterless, no-flush urinal challenges perceptions of those who think that the inability to flush will lead to all types of sanitary and aesthetic problems. Mr. Neiss and other committee members were at first hesitant. “With no flush we immediately had a concern that there would be aesthetic and cleaning issues,” noted Neiss. “From what we observed, at the two facilities we looked at, that’s not the case,” said Neiss, adding that he toured the Willow School in Gladstone and the Meadowlands where the technology had been implemented. According to Neiss, a visit to the Willow School, an avante garde private school that uses numerous green technologies, saved 45,000 gallons of water per urinal, per year, through the use of no-flush urinals, a significant savings for any owner that wishes to save both money and the planet at the same time.
-- Robert Kopacz State OK’s $215m for building projects in 12 districts-- boston.com Massachusetts: January 28, 2010 [ abstract] State officials agreed to pay $215 million toward school construction and renovation projects in a dozen communities yesterday, including about $87 million in funding for new high schools in Natick and Tewksbury, which will use existing designs.
Natick and Tewksbury are taking advantage of the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s Model School program, which qualifies communities to receive an additional 5 percent in state reimbursements for school construction costs if the school districts use one of two of the authority’s school designs.
The program attempts to streamline the design process for new schools, but critics have said the existing designs do not always work on the sites school districts have for their facilities.
In Natick, Superintendent Peter Sanchioni said using one of the Model School designs qualified his school district for an additional $4 million in state funding.
The Natick school district will receive a total of $43.1 million in state funding for the $89 million school, as long as voters approve a debt exclusion override to pay the town’s share.
Tewksbury will receive $44.2 million in state funding for its new high school.
State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, who chairs the School Building Authority and is running for governor, said the willingness of school districts such as Tewksbury and Natick to use existing designs will enable the districts to move forward quickly and begin their projects when construction costs are down.
“This is the time to build, and even though it’s a tough time to ask people to pay higher taxes, everyone seems to understand the value by building now and voting for those overrides now,’’ Cahill said.
-- Brock Parker Charlotte County, Florida Schools to Borrow $60 Million with Qualified School Construction Bonds-- Herald Tribune Florida: January 27, 2010 [ abstract] School officials will borrow $60 million to help replace two of the district's oldest buildings as part of a federal initiative designed to improve school infrastructure. The Charlotte school district was recently approved to participate in Qualified School Construction Bonds, a $25 billion program which allows districts to issue bonds at no interest for building upgrades and reconstruction. Buyers of the bonds get a federal tax credit in lieu of interest. The announcement comes on the heels of repeated attempts by the district to allocate funding for construction at Lemon Bay High School and Meadow Park Elementary -- campuses said to be in need of rebuilding for years. Officials will now have the authority to issue $40 million in bonds to replace Lemon Bay and $20 million for Meadow Park.
-- Jason Witz SC Getting Millions in Federal Money to Replace Crumbling School Mentioned in '09 Obama Speech-- Los Angeles Times/Associated Press South Carolina: January 27, 2010 [ abstract] A South Carolina county is getting millions in federal funds to replace a crumbling school cited by President Barack Obama in his first address to Congress last year as an example of how the government should help with school construction. On the eve of Obama's first State of the Union address, local officials announced that Dillon County is receiving $39.8 million in recovery act funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The bulk of the money will go toward replacing the dilapidated J.V. Martin Junior High mentioned in Obama's 2009 speech.
Obama, who had visited the school during a 2007 campaign stop, recalled in the speech last February how "the paint peels off the walls, and they have to stop teaching six times a day because the train barrels by." All but $4 million of the federal money the county is receiving is a loan, which the area will pay back using revenue from a 1-cent sales tax levied in 2007, Dillon School District 2 Superintendent Ray Rogers said. Some of the money will be used to refurbish existing facilities and build a new early childhood development center. But about $25 million will go toward building a new J.V. Martin Junior High School.
The school is in a rural swath along Interstate 95 in the state's northeastern corner known as the Corridor of Shame, after a 2005 documentary about conditions in schools there. The school itself is a hodgepodge of buildings; the original part, a former church, dates to 1896, and the latest section was added in 1955. The auditorium, built in 1917, was condemned in 2008 by the state fire marshal. Several presidential candidates visited the crumbling school during the run-up to the 2008 election. Obama first brought national media attention to the students' plight in August 2007, when he winced as a high-pitched train whistle interrupted lessons during his visit. When Obama discussed the school during his first congressional address as president, 14-year-old eighth-grade student Ty'Sheoma Bethea was in the audience as one of his invited guests.
National support for the crumbling school began to pour in. Students got the surprise of their lives in May, when the CEO of a Chicago company donated $250,000 worth of new furniture and fresh paint on the cafeteria's walls. Bethea spoke about the school's struggles. The dress she wore to the president's speech was ensconced in South Carolina's state museum.
With the spotlight trained on their district, officials also began dreaming of what a new facility would look like. Officials in July launched an effort to rebuild the school into a model for success with a two-day conference. Architects and engineers have been doing pro bono work for the district to design a new school. "We've been dreaming a little bit about ... turning it into a prototype of what a 21st century school would look like in a poor, rural community," said State Education Superintendent Jim Rex. "What the USDA money means, we've got the bird in hand. The next phase is the eagle."
Rogers, the local superintendent, says he's ready to take the project full speed ahead. "It's been slow, but the problem is, we didn't know that the economy was going to take the downturn that it has," Rogers said Tuesday. "A lot of people have worked hard. Whatever we can do is going to be great for the kids."
-- Meg Kinnard Kentucky House Votes To Create Green Schools Caucus-- Kentucky Post Alabama: January 26, 2010 [ abstract] The Kentucky House voted to create a General Assembly Green Schools Caucus that will support healthy, environmentally-friendly schools statewide. The Green Schools Caucus, created by the passage of House Resolution 24, will encourage the construction of more "green schools" -- energy efficient, water efficient, environmentally-sustainable schools designed to improve learning and save school districts money. Currently there are three green schools under construction in the state: two in Warren County and one in Kenton County.
HR 24 co-sponsors Reps. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, and Jim DeCesare, R-Bowling Green, proposed the creation of the Green Schools Caucus after traveling to Washington, D.C. to learn more about the green school concept. The health and learning benefits soon became clear, Marzian told fellow lawmakers before today’s floor vote.
"Our teachers do such a wonderful job educating our children but, as you know, our buildings and our school buildings sometimes are quite lacking," said Marzian. "There has been data collected that kids who go to green schools have less absences for asthma. They make better grades, they do better in school, and our teachers have better attendance."
DeCesare, who represents part of Warren County, said green school technology is a good investment. "For a one percent investment on the front end of a green school, you get that back ten times," DeCesare said. "Learning is better when you are in a green school." House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins said Kentucky is a leader in green schools construction and renovation, adding "it’s amazing what’s taken place in the area of energy efficiency and conservation."
The three green schools now being built in Western and Northern Kentucky will be among the nation’s first "energy net-zero" public schools, according to HR 24.
-- Jessica Noll Irving to Adopt 'Net Zero' Model for New Energy-Efficient Middle School-- Dallas Morning News Texas: January 20, 2010 [ abstract] he green movement is reaching into public schools. The Irving school district plans to build an energy-efficient eighth middle school that will produce as much energy as it uses. The building model is known as "net zero." Few public schools in the country have opted for similar construction models, though projects are under way to build a similar elementary school in Kentucky and a high school in Los Angeles. Some colleges and universities also have built such facilities. Solar panels and wind turbines will help provide power. Other features would include additional insulation and high-efficiency windows.
Layne hopes that the unusual design will draw visits from other districts and organizations, much as the district's Singley Academy became a showpiece for its design based around career tracks.
The district has about $24.7 million set aside in bond funds for construction of the 150,000-square-foot school. Construction could begin as soon as late March, with the school opening in fall 2011. But the district wants to raise more funds from other sources for the school. The net zero construction adds $3 million to $4 million to the school's costs. Administrators are investigating grants, government stimulus funds or even business sponsorships. In the long term, the school district hopes the building will save money on its energy bill. Layne said the typical annual bill for electricity, gas and water at a middle school is about $250,000, which he hopes would drop to $50,000 with the new school. "It will allow us to only need a minimal amount from our electricity provider," Layne said. The design phase is taking a lot of work since it's a new concept – even for the architects. "We've worked on green technologies and environmentally conscious buildings, but we've never done any that take it quite to this level," said Susan Smith of Corgan Associates, an architectural design firm working with the district.
There are also plans to tie the design to the science curriculum. Hands-on learning activities could take place, including examining topics such as geothermal science. High school students in the construction program could also visit the facility. Teachers are working on writing lesson plans. "What we want is for it to be a learning laboratory for students throughout the district," said Assistant Superintendent Marie Morris.
-- Katherine Leal Unmuth Chicago schools unveil next round of closings-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: January 19, 2010 [ abstract] Students displaced by the newest round of Chicago school closings won't be bounced to equally dismal schools, according to policies highlighted Tuesday as the district unveiled the next round of schools to be targeted.
Chicago Public Schools will close, consolidate or overhaul 14 schools this year because of low achievement, underenrollment or outdated facilities.
Officials long have defended the closing of schools because of poor performance, saying they believe it gives students a shot at a better education. But recent research shows that just 6 percent of displaced students were moved to top schools and gained academically. The majority did no better because they landed at schools about as bad as the ones they'd left.
This year the district outlined criteria to ensure that the 1,900 kids displaced by closings have access to better schools as measured by things such as test scores and attendance. The schools they are sent to also either will be within 11/2 miles of their address, or transportation will be provided.
"We're going to do everything we can to get them into a higher performing school," schools chief Ron Huberman said at a news conference.
Four schools will be closed and another four consolidated with other schools, Huberman announced. One school will stop accepting new students and five others will be "turned around" by operators who will overhaul staff and offer new resources in an attempt to create a new school culture.
Despite the new guarantees for displaced students, critics remain unmoved.
Chicago Teachers Union president Marilyn Stewart noted that two of the schools to undergo "turnaround" — Deneen Elementary and Gillespie Elementary — were just beginning a reform that linked teacher pay to student performance. Indeed, many have undergone past reforms. And the principal at Montefiore school, which is to receive students from the closing Las Casas Occupational High School, said she had not been told of any such transfers.
Curtis, Guggenheim and Prescott Elementary schools and Las Casas will be closed. McCorkle, Paderewski, Marconi and Mollison elementaries will be consolidated into nearby facilities. Schneider Elementary will stop accepting new students.
Three elementary schools, Gillespie, Deneen and Bradwell, and one high school, Phillips, will be operated by the successful Academy of Urban School Leadership as turnaround schools. Marshall High will be revamped by the Office of School Turnaround at Chicago Public Schools.
New this year, the district will pay for extra classroom time at receiving schools and assign staff there to help displaced students make the transition, the district said. Schools also will coordinate with the Chicago Transit Authority and the Police Department to ensure safe passage for students.
One critical issue that could stymie the new policy is that parents might not send their kids to the designated receiving schools. Indeed, the research report on school closings conducted by the Consortium on Chicago School Research showed that parents chose to send their kids to a wide variety of schools, not just the ones suggested by the school district.
-- Daarel Burnette II New Concept for School Design Championed by Oregon Architect -- Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon: January 11, 2010 [ abstract] The old-school method of teaching may soon be history. A new concept for schools being tested in New York City could change the way children are taught, as well as the spaces they are taught in. Architect John Weekes of Dull Olson Weekes Architects recently was selected by the American Architectural Foundation to chair a design process for the School of One, a new education model developed by Joel Rose of the New York City Department of Education. Now, after a successful pilot project using input from a design charrette led by Weekes last summer, the Department of Education this year will expand the School of One program to two more city schools.
Rather than choosing one curriculum for a class, the School of One creates curriculums for each student, based on their individual learning style. Instead of one teacher lecturing at the front of a closed classroom, four or five teachers roam an open learning space where students work alone at laptops, in small groups or in larger lecture spaces, depending on their curriculum for that day. The project was named one of Time magazine’s Top 50 Inventions of 2009.
“What was envisioned is the students would arrive in the morning, and a learning plan would be provided for them with activities to go through during the day,” Weekes said. “As you move through the school, you need space to accommodate all of those activities and the flexibility to change the space during the day for specific needs.”
Architects participating in the charrette departed from traditional school design, which aligns separate classrooms along a double corridor, to create a more open space that would serve the School of One curriculum. Different types of furniture, including comfortable couches and tables and chairs, are used throughout the School of One. Glass and other transparent materials are used in movable partitions so teachers can monitor the students. For a School of One pilot project focusing on mathematics at New York City’s Middle School 131, the school’s library was rearranged to become an open, flexible space with varying sizes of group areas and individual stations separated by movable partitions.
There was a concern that the library’s few acoustic ceiling tiles would not reduce noise. But there was never a problem. “The kids were quiet,” Weekes said. “The noise one might see in a classroom where kids aren’t engaged was substantially less.” Also, students’ assessment scores improved when they were enrolled at the School of One, according to Weekes. In addition, Weekes believes that the School of One concept could lead to greater space efficiency in the design of new schools.
“If you look at the rendering for the School of One, the corridors are used,” Weekes said. “Usually at traditional schools they are empty for most of the day. With the pilot, we were able to add additional educational space without increasing the size of the building. This idea can’t require more resources, and we’re working hard to make it so we require even less space.”
Concepts like the School of One represent a larger movement in school design to move away from traditional classroom models, according to Craig Mason of DLR Group. His firm is currently working on a design for a middle school for Marysville School District in Washington state that will use more flexible learning spaces. “In the past, you’d have a science room, a wood shop and an English classroom,” Mason said. “We’re trying to get away from that and focus on different types of learning. Instead of saying this is a science lab, we’ve come up with a suite of rooms such as a small workshop, a project lab and a studio for different learning activities.”
-- Nathalie Weinstein Minnesota Seeks Ways to Ease Safety Concerns at New Charter School Facilities-- Star Tribune Minnesota: January 08, 2010 [ abstract] Minnesota's charter schools often open with a host of fire code violations. Inadequate fire alarm and sprinkler systems, improper exits, lack of firewall protection, and inadequate water supply are among problems fire code inspectors have found when they inspect just-opened charter schools. The problem, state officials say, is that the law doesn't require schools in leased space -- where charter schools generally are located -- to release building plans to state inspectors prior to signing leases and opening.
These problems emerged at a hearing being held on charter school facilities by a Senate subcommittee. The subcommittee has generally been concerned with charter schools' use of state lease-aid, which is used to help charter schools pay their rent. Legislators are concerned that the aid sometimes is being used, and abused, in tandem with expensive junk bonds to purchase buildings. That has fueled a largely unregulated charter school building boom. The concern is that the practice violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the law. A Star Tribune investigation found little state oversight of charter school construction programs and abuses of the lease-aid system. Subcommittee members hope to devise new legislation designed to tighten the oversight of charter school facilities, said subcommittee chairwoman Sen. Kathy Saltzman, DFL-Woodbury. Their proposals could be considered during the legislative session scheduled to start next month.
-- Norman Draper Plans Approved for Photovoltaic Solar Power for 16 Denver Public School Buildings-- Electric Light & Power Colorado: January 07, 2010 [ abstract] he Denver Public School Board has approved plans for the development of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy projects on 16 school buildings throughout the school district. The projects are the result of more than two years of planning and coordination by Denver-based renewable energy developer Oak Leaf Energy Partners with the School District and the Denver Green Print Council. The projects will be owned and operated by MP2 Capital, a leading developer, financier and operator of solar projects throughout North America. MP2 will then sell the electricity produced to the district under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The School Board’s approval will elevate Denver as a leader in school-based sustainability initiatives, both in Colorado and nationally. The systems will be designed and built by Boulder-based Namaste Solar.
The projects will be completed on several sites throughout the district. The locations were selected by the optimal solar and roof qualities of the schools. The 16 systems will total approximately 1.8 MW of capacity and generate approximately 44 million kWh of clean solar electricity over the course of the 20-year PPA. The systems are expected be completed by November 2010, with the first project coming on-line in March 2010.
In addition to providing clean electricity, the projects also include an extensive educational curriculum for the host schools. Created by Namaste Solar, and taught by local teachers, the program will concentrate on the science and economics of photovoltaic energy generation.
-- Staff Writer Guilford, North Carolina Schools Focuses on Building-- News and Record North Carolina: January 03, 2010 [ abstract] Guilford County Schools officials are getting a good jump on more than $400 million in new school construction that voters approved in 2008. Work on projects " six new schools and 13 renovations and additions " is beginning to pick up with planning, design and land acquisition. Voters approved selling $457 million in bonds to pay for the projects. That work includes money for the already-rebuilt Eastern Guilford High School, destroyed by arson in 2006.
Finding property has proven difficult not just in the southeast area of the county but also in the west as the school board plans for the county’s newest high school. The district hopes to alleviate some of the crowding at Northwest and Southwest high schools with the opening of a new high school in western Greensboro, near Piedmont Triad International Airport. The airport-area high school project includes the purchase of property for the high school as well as a new middle school, but no money has been allocated for the middle school’s construction. The trouble officials are running into for these schools is the location. That part of the county is a highly desirable site for industrial development, so land values are high. “Land acquisition is certainly one of the more challenging aspects of this,” LaRowe said. “It’s difficult to locate a 100-acre tract of land that will meet the needs of a high school and middle school program.”
Officials are optimistic that, with much of the preliminary work done in 2009, 2010 will be the year construction gets under way for many of these projects. School board member Garth Hebert said, “I think we have done so much groundwork in 2009, that 2010 will be a steamroller.”
-- J. Brian Ewing Plum's new Pivik Elementary School plans move ahead-- TRIBUNE-REVIEW Pennsylvania: December 26, 2009 [ abstract] Plum School Board is moving forward with a new Pivik Elementary School.
The board voted last week to proceed with a design for the building and to pursue having the building certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental design. Participation in the program makes the district eligible for additional state reimbursements for the project. LEED, a program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, recognizes the use of recycled building materials and natural lighting, conservation of water, energy efficiency and interior air quality.
The cost of the new Pivik is estimated between $15 million and $21.7 million, according to L. Robert Kimball & Associates. They stress the numbers are preliminary.
Kimball officials presented various options for the new Pivik building during a recent facilities committee meeting.
Board member Jeff Matthews, facilities committee chairman, said the Pivik design approved by the board, Option A, has a smaller foyer than the Option B design.
"I myself feel comfortable with A," Matthews said. "I'd rather save money."
The board also is moving forward with plans to renovate Adlai Stevenson and Holiday Park elementary schools. Estimates to renovate each is around $7 million.
Officials with Kimball stressed the numbers are preliminary and offer a snapshot of where the projects stand. "There's still a lot of work to do," said board member Sal Colella.
The school board last month hired Kimball to draw up plans to build a new Pivik Elementary School across the street from the current building on the Pivik soccer fields. Board members also decided on renovations to Adlai Stevenson and Holiday Park elementary schools. A feasibility study of the schools revealed the need for mechanical, electrical and plumbing work, and some have accessibility issues.
-- Karen Zapf Numbers show Casper needs new high school -- Star-Tribune Wyoming: December 20, 2009 [ abstract] There are a number of moving pieces in Path to 2025, the Natrona County School District's effort to revamp its secondary education system.
In addition to building a new high school in Casper, mostly to accommodate the movement of ninth-graders into the city's high schools, district officials want to change the way students are taught in order to make classes more relevant to them. As a result, the idea of creating "professional pathway academies" and "small learning communities" at the two major existing high schools is being considered in conjunction with planning for a new school.
Career pathways would bring about dramatic change, requiring parents and students, starting in eighth grade, to carefully evaluate each school's unique offerings before deciding where to enroll. Whether eighth-graders are prepared to make such career-oriented choices is a legitimate matter for debate.
Regardless of that issue, however, the fact remains that Casper needs a new high school. And that shouldn't be forgotten in the discussion about career pathways, learning communities and the like.
First of all, it's important to note that the district's move to a new space-grade configuration -- elementary schools with grades kindergarten through 5, middle schools with grades 6 through 8, and high schools with 9 through 12 -- began in 2004. The transition isn't quite complete, but it's getting close.
As of the 11th day of this school year, Kelly Walsh High School had 1,438 students and Natrona County High School had 1,496. Meanwhile, there are 469 ninth-graders in middle schools.
District officials want to have high schools with between 1,000 and 1,200 students apiece. Enrollment projections show Casper needs another high school to make that happen.
Some would argue that the high school population could be accommodated with some expansion of existing facilities, but that would be impractical. The Wyoming School Facilities Commission has already signed off on the idea of a new high school, giving the district $5 million to design it. An additional $48 million for construction is anticipated in the 2013-14 biennium. If that happens, construction could begin in spring 2012.
-- Star-Tribune Editorial Board Design of Forks High School building in works; historical desirable but cost a factor-- Peninsula Daily News Washington: December 17, 2009 [ abstract] Architects began asking Forks High School teachers and staff this week what they need in the new high school when it is built next year.
The architects, BRLB of Seattle, created the schematic drawing of the new high school -- estimated to cost up to $18 million -- that was approved by the Quillayute Valley School board in October.
They are expected to compile information gleaned from faculty and staff by the end of the month.
Those details will be added to a final project plan that will go out to bid next year, said Quillayute Valley School District Superintendent Diana Reaume.
"Now we are in the detail-planning stage, where we are getting into all the things the teachers need," Reaume said.
Construction is expected to begin after June 2010. The facility is expected to be completed by fall 2011.
Voters in the Quillayute Valley School District approved an $11 million construction bond in February for the high school. District officials also expect to get about $7 million in state funding.
The portion of the campus built this decade will be retained, but all other portions -- those built in 1925, 1957 and 1962 -- will be replaced.
Some portions of the school that will be replaced are not being used now because of safety issues, Reaume said.
-- Paige Dickerson School renovation price tag $37.9M-- POST-TRIBUNE Indiana: December 17, 2009 [ abstract] The cost of bringing Valparaiso's seven older elementary schools into the 21st century came in at $37,950,919, according to a report presented to the School Board and Community on Wednesday night by Gibralter design Inc. of Indianapolis.
The hard construction costs were driven by the district's educational programming needs and the existing conditions at each building.
Individual school improvements ranged from a low of $4,474,003 for Thomas Jefferson Elementary to a high of $7,572,195 for Central Elementary.
The board charged Gibralter with estimating costs for a school which would serve 350 students, would have separate art and music rooms as well as separate gymnasium and cafeteria spaces, appropriate spaces for special education, sprinkler systems and be ADA compliant. While no new regular classrooms spaces were in the estimates, the cost of enlarging and/or reconfiguring those existing classrooms to Department of Education guidelines were.
Additional costs at the century-old Central were due in part to its load-bearing masonry construction. "You can't just blow out one wall and move on," said Jim Thompson, architect.
Audience member David Geise, a former school superintendent who now manages school construction projects, commended Thompson on the thoroughness of the report and said that if one took land-locked Central out of the equation, $30 million was "not bad" for renovating six schools.
"I would strongly disagree with the gentleman's statement," said Central parent Candace Shaw. She said the 100-year-old school near the city's downtown commercial area was worth the investment.
"It has more than paid its debt to the community," Shaw said.
-- DIANE KUBIAK "Green” School Construction Options Considered-- The Garden City News Online New York: December 11, 2009 [ abstract] The Garden City Board of Education must decide what level of “green” they want to achieve in the projects included in the $36.5 million school investment bond approved by residents in October, as architects now move into the design phase.
At the Dec. 8th school board work session, architect Roger P. Smith of Burton, Behrendt and Smith, a Long Island-based, multi-discipline architectural and engineering firm specializing in educational design, asked the board to consider three options: Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, known as LEED; Collaborative for High Performance Schools, known as CHPS; or a modified version of LEED, which Smith referred to as LEED “lite.”
-- Stephanie Petrellese Central board OKs facilities design-- Clinton Herald Iowa: December 07, 2009 [ abstract] After a second comprehensive review, the Central Community School Board approved the facilities design development for construction and renovation of current and proposed buildings.
At a recent meeting, Frevert, Ramsey, Kobes of Des Moines architect Steve Zyblicki presented a timeline and projected costs for the new gym/auditorium, middle school and career/technical education facilities as well as renovations to current buildings. The projects will be funded by the $13.9 million bond referendum approved June 30, one cent sales tax money, Physical Plant and Equipment Levy funds, and private donations.
-- Janet Huffman Miami Trace settles into new buildings, excellent state ratings in -- Record Herald.com Ohio: December 07, 2009 [ abstract] This year was an historic and eventful year at the Miami Trace Local School District, headlined by the ongoing construction of a new, centralized middle school and the district's first "excellent" designation from the state.
Here are many of the highlights:
• On Jan. 6, Whitney Gentry was voted as the new president of the Miami Trace school board at the board's organizational meeting. Gentry received a unanimous vote from the board as did Bruce Kirkpatrick, who was voted in as the board's new vice president.
• On April 7, the Trace school board decided not to transfer 13 lots from their school district into the Washington C.H. City School district. This land transfer request was made by the property owner, John Halliday.
The land, which is within the city limits, is just over 10 acres in the Halliday Development, located on State Route 41 near U.S. 35. The city schools were prepared to give 100 percent of the property tax collected from this land to Miami Trace Local Schools if Trace agreed to the transfer.
-- Ryan Carter School building committee OKs design for new Minnechaug Regional High School -- MassLive.com Massachusetts: December 07, 2009 [ abstract] The Minnechaug Regional High School Building Committee has approved a general architectural style for the facade of the new Minnechaug Regional High School.
Architect David Owen of the Mount Vernon Group showed a style to the building committee that he said echoed the style of many mid-18th century and early 19th century buildings in Wilbraham and Hampden.
Owen said he used a Greek Revival style for inspiration.
The facade approved by the building committee includes red brick, a gabled entrance and Corinthian columns on a stone base.
The red brick will be accented by white and bone colors, Owen said.
The Building Committee’s goal is to break ground for the $82.7 million new high school in the spring.
Building Committee co-chairman Brian Garbecki said that the masonry and roof need to be up by November so that construction work can proceed next winter in an enclosed building.
The architect is currently completing the design plans for the project.
Officials said the latest that bids can be advertised for the project is the beginning of March.
-- Suzanne McLaughlin Modern Alabama High Schools Make Use of Green Technology -- Madison Record Alabama: December 04, 2009 [ abstract] With funding in place, Madison school officials are now faced with the task of deciding what type of high school will best serve the need of a growing student population. Building such a school doesn’t come cheap, either. If Madison follows prevailing school construction trends, the new high school will be heavy on technology and multi-use spaces. “We’re seeing an emphasis on technology and common spaces, such as cafeterias that serve as multi-use spaces,” said Perry Taylor with the State Department of Education. “Many of the new schools are incorporating lecture halls or performing arts studios.”
According to the State Board of Education, there are 470 high schools in the state, with only 43 new high schools built since 1999. The median cost for construction is $150 per square foot, a cost that includes construction, equipment, furnishings, fees and site work. High schools are designed with 27-30 square feet per students for grades first through 12.
With an estimated cost of $63 million, Madison’s school falls in line with several others in Alabama either currently under construction or recently completed. One such school is Hewitt-Trussville High School in Jefferson County. Recently completed for $70 million, the 361,000 square-foot facility incorporates an array of new technology and features found in modern high schools. The school was built as a “green” school, incorporating existing trees and woodlands and protecting flood plains. The school contains 70 classrooms, two gymnasiums, band and choral halls and a 1,180-seat theater. It also has a pedestrian bridge leading to two separate football fields, two soccer fields and a band practice field.
Madison’s new school will be built to accommodate 2,000 students in 350,000 square feet. It will cost $52.5 million with an additional $10.5 million for sports fields, furnishings, etc. and will be located in the Limestone County portion of Madison.
-- Leada Gore Wilson Kids Headed To UDC-- Washington Post District of Columbia: December 04, 2009 [ abstract] It looks increasingly likely that Woodrow Wilson High School's 1,500 students will spend the 2010-11 academic year at the University of the District of Columbia while their building undergoes a $70 million renovation. Lew's office says details still need to be worked out, but Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) and UDC spokesman Alan Etter said Thursday that negotiations for the school to occupy a campus property known as called "Building 52"--atop the Gold's Gym on Connecticut Ave--are nearly complete.
While the issue of temporary space for the kids has apparently been resolved, there's still a lack of consensus on what Wilson will look like when they return in August 2011. The proposed design by the architectural firm Cox, Grae + Spack has some striking features, including a signature four-story, glass-enclosed atrium at the center of the Tenleytown school's primary building.
The debate involves the other Wilson buildings, and Lew's strong preference for their "adaptive reuse" rather than complete replacement. Under his plan, the existing auditorium next to the new aquatic center would become the gym; what's now the gym would be a new visual and performing arts center. But Cheh, in a letter to Lew late last month, said she is concerned about "the community's disquiet" on several fronts.
-- Bill Turque Editorial: Minnesota Legislature Must Craft New Rules on Financing Charter School Facilities -- Star Tribune Minnesota: December 03, 2009 [ abstract] When the Minnesota Legislature agreed to provide lease aid for charter schools a decade ago, the need was clear. Charter programs had trouble securing suitable, stable facilities. Many school districts wouldn't rent to them, and they had no ability to tax or get lower-rate loans. Consequently, the state offered aid to help them rent. But since then, some creative financiers and school insiders have found ways to work the system to their advantage -- at a disturbing cost to taxpayers. A recent Star Tribune investigation revealed that some growing charter schools have constructed buildings with high-cost junk bonds. Reporter Tony Kennedy's Nov. 29 story also revealed that several schools diverted building funds to pay mysterious fees for lawyers, consultants and school leaders. The practice must stop. While it is not illegal under the existing and inadequate laws, it is a clear waste of taxpayer dollars.
One example involved St. Croix Preparatory Academy, a charter that recently opened a $21.7 million building near Stillwater. Using junk bond financing, school officials paid about $140,000 in fees -- including some to themselves. In another case, a local municipality authorized bonds for a charter school in exchange for a $45,000 processing fee that was used to buy a new firetruck. That may be a worthwhile use of public money, but it has nothing to do with education. Charter programs pay off bonds with state aid designated for facilities -- not for unnecessary fees or city equipment. Under state law, charter schools are not allowed to purchase or construct buildings with lease aid. But as some charters grew and needed more stability and control over their facilities, they created affiliate, nonprofit entities to buy or build facilities and serve as landlords. In essence, the schools were renting from themselves. Technically that's legal, because nothing in the law addressed such an arrangement.
-- Opinion Writers, Under Proposed Legislation, Schools Could Keep Unused Qualified School Construction Bond Allocations-- Bond Buyer National: December 03, 2009 [ abstract] Large local school districts would not be forced to give up their unused qualified school construction bond allocations to states to keep them from expiring at the end of the year under legislation proposed by the top tax writers in the House. The bill, introduced by House Ways and Means chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and ranking minority member Dave Camp, R-Mich., also would clarify that regulated investment companies such as mutual funds that purchase and hold tax-credit bonds should treat tax credits like cash and pass them through to shareholders. The legislation is designed to make a number of technical corrections to recently enacted laws, including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which created several new tax-credit bond programs and expanded others. Members of the Senate Finance Committee are expected to introduce identical legislation soon.
“This bill responds to valuable feedback we have received to improve on how America’s tax laws are operating,” Rangel said. “I hope the House and Senate can swiftly pass this legislation.” The QSCB technical correction addresses a portion of the stimulus law that had market participants scratching their heads and crossing their fingers that the ARRA did not intend to block local school districts from carrying forward unused allocations. The QSCB program, which was created by the ARRA, required the Treasury Department to allocate $4.4 billion of a total $11 billion of the bonds this year to the 100 largest local school districts across the nation. The second $11 billion tranche of QSCBs will be allocated sometime next year.
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-- Peter Schroeder, What Does Historic Mean to Winona, Minnesota School Buildings -- Winona Post Minnesota: November 25, 2009 [ abstract] To people on the outside, they might just look like old buildings. But to people who call Winona home, the facades of longtime landmarks are their past, part of the story that weaves the tapestry of what Winona is today. For this reason, the Historic Preservation Commission is unapologetic in its efforts to identify and protect landmarks that stand throughout the community. Most recently, the HPC has drawn the ire of District 861 school board chair Stacey Mounce Arnold and a local newspaper editor for announcing its intention to see four Winona elementary schools placed on local and national historic registers.
The designations would mean that current and future owners would have to go through a special process to raze or significantly alter the exterior appearances of the buildings. Arnold has decried the measure as an end run to prevent the district from closing Central Elementary, the smallest and arguably the most historically interesting of the buildings. Historic designation would drive off potential buyers of the building, she said, because of the limitations it would place on the property.
But proponents of historic preservation say the assertion is wrong, and that historic designation can actually attract buyers interested in repurposing a building using the tax breaks and grants such designation can provide. Being added to the local or national historic registers would have no impact on what the interior of a building is used for, and numerous examples exist throughout Minnesota of historic school buildings that have been turned into condominiums, apartments and community centers.
-- Cynthia Porter Legal Loophole Keeps California School Construction Cash Local: Lease-Lease Back-- The Union California: November 20, 2009 [ abstract] A Nevada County contractor has landed his second school building job in less than one year, using an innovative arrangement that keeps local tax dollars in the community. In June, Grass Valley's Sierra Foothills Construction Co. and Tru-Line Builders used the arrangement to win the $13.2 million contract for the second phase of expansion and renovation at the Sierra College campus in Grass Valley. That work was paid for through a local, tax-funded bond issue. Now, Sierra Foothills has landed a job with the Nevada City School District to build a new bicycle repair shop at Seven Hills Middle School using the same process. Planning and engineering is expected to cost $500,000, and construction to cost another $500,000, paid for by an anonymous donor. The district's contract with Sierra Foothill also calls for retrofitting bathrooms and sidewalks to accommodate disabled people at Deer Creek Elementary School, according to owner Keoni Allen. The cost for that work has not been established yet, he said.
The innovative arrangement that enabled a local builder to win the contract is lease-lease back, which is allowed under the California Education Code, said Dick Cowan, formerly of Sacramento-based Clark and Sullivan Construction. The firm completed the first phase of the Sierra College job and worked with Allen and Brady to land the second phase. â€"It's a common misconception that there's only one way†to build or expand a school, Cowan said. Under the process, contractors must prove they can do the work for a guaranteed price. When the job is awarded, the school district leases the construction site to the main contractor, Cowan said. That allows the contractor to go out and negotiate for the local subcontractors and suppliers he wants. Once the job is done, the contractor leases the site back to the school district for occupation. â€"That means we get to do the jobs with local tax money and keep the business here in town,†Allen said. â€"We're proving the local construction industry can do this kind of work quickly and efficiently.â€
Most publicly funded construction continues to be governed by state regulations that require agencies to award contracts to the lowest bidder. But about 10 percent of California's school districts are taking advantage of the provision for lease-lease back in the Education Code and using it to keep dollars local and have greater local control over design and building, said Cowan, who now works for a large, statewide construction firm. In addition, the regular bidding process â€"caused change orders and disputes that weren't the most economical way to go in the end,†Cowan said. â€"The real cool part is we have a new skill unit the college (work) helped impart to the local construction industry,†Allen said.
-- Dave Moller NH may suspend building aid programs-- Union Leader.com New Hampshire: November 18, 2009 [ abstract] School districts hoping to win state aid for new school buildings next March may have to wait a year.
A legislative committee is poised to recommend the Legislature act in January to immediately suspend the state's increasingly expensive school building aid program. The program reimburses school districts for roughly 40 percent of school construction costs.
Sen. Molly Kelly, D-Keene, said a head count of the five-member panel she chairs shows the suspension proposal will pass when it comes up Dec. 1.
The plan is to propose a bill that will move quickly through the House and Senate so the suspension takes effect before school district meetings this spring. Kelly said the program needs to be redesigned to be fair to all school districts, and affordable for the state.
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-- Tom Fahey School district moves closer to renovations-- The Gonzales Inquirer Texas: November 12, 2009 [ abstract] It appears renovation and new construction for Gonzales Independent School District facilities will soon become a reality.
Last Monday, members of the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to move forward with the resolution to retain professionals for the issuance of Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCBs) at their regular meeting.
The QSCB program is a federal program designed to provide to bond holders tax credits that are approximately equal to the interest that states and communities would ordinarily pay the holders of taxable bonds. The program doesn't include grant funding. No monetary payments or awards are issued from the state to the school district or charter school. This program allows the state to grant program authorization to a limited number of qualifying school districts and charter schools. This authorization allows those school districts and charter schools to issue QSCB bonds that benefit qualifying projects.
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-- NICOLE W. LITTLE Cool for School. Architects Design for Education, and Get an A+ -- New York Times Magazine. Design and Living. National: November 08, 2009 [ abstract] As you drive past downtown Los Angeles on the 101 freeway, one building grabs your attention, its concrete and steel tower swooping and twisting like a roller coaster. A multitiered group of oversize geometric structures arranged around concrete and grass courtyards, this complex is not, in fact, an amusement park. It’s the new Central Los Angeles High School No. 9, which opened in September. The building, designed by the edgy Austrian firm Coop Himmelb(l)au, tosses aside any preconceived notion of what a school should look like.
But then, creative architects have always contradicted conventional school-design wisdom, moving beyond the one-room schoolhouse, the concrete superblock and (more recently) the mall-like gigantosaur. Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander’s University Elementary School (1950) in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, now called the UCLA Lab School, is a collection of restrained brick and masonry buildings with large windows, wood built-ins and, in some cases, sawtooth skylights, which are situated around shaded, grassy fields, a redwood grove and a creek. Taliesin Associated Architects, founded by Frank Lloyd Wright, created the Prairie School (1965) in Racine, Wis., a series of, yes, prairie-style buildings clad in red brick, their low-lying, elegantly curved profiles hugging the landscape. The Modernist pioneers Eliel and Eero Saarinen, with Larry Perkins, designed the Crow Island School (1940) in Winnetka, Ill., as a series of L-shaped ‘‘one-room school’’ modules " each with its own courtyard " to provide a sense of both intimacy and spaciousness.
Nowadays, equally unconventional architects continue to brave bureaucracy and parental scrutiny in the name of innovation.
-- Sam Lubell New Omaha Schools To Be Built With Federal Stimulus Bonds-- Omaha World-Herald Nebraska: November 05, 2009 [ abstract] The Omaha Public Schools is mailing packets to begin finding a designer for a new middle school at 132nd and State Streets. The school could open in fall 2012. The new school is expected to be paid for with a portion of nearly $40 million in construction bonds authorized to OPS by the federal stimulus program. The district will use two kinds of bonds, which don’t require a public vote.
According to the Internal Revenue Service, Build America Bonds are available to state and local governments for building improvements. In this case, the federal government will pay up to 35 percent of the interest to investors in the bonds. The interest-free Qualified School Construction Bonds are specific to public schools and qualify investors for income tax credits in lieu of interest, according to the IRS.
District officials expect sale of the bonds to be completed this month. The bond proceeds also will build an elementary school at 42nd and V Streets and help pay for Saddlebrook Elementary, which opened this school year in northwest Omaha.
Keyword Search: ARRA, stimulus, bond
-- Michaela Saunders, Broward School Board: Despite 34,800 empty desks, district didn't overbuild-- South Florida Sun Sentinel Florida: November 03, 2009 [ abstract] Projections show Broward public schools will have more than 34,800 empty seats during the 2012-2013 school year, but beleaguered School Board members said the district didn't overbuild and the numbers don't show the whole picture. They said the district needs a school-by-school review of how classrooms are being used, rather than a school's overall capacity compared to its enrollment. For instance, some schools may have eight autistic students in a classroom designed to hold 18. Others may have 18 Advanced Placement students in a classroom for 25. The state, however, requires the district to look at overall capacity at individual schools and for the district. That means Broward can't build classroom additions or new schools in the overcrowded western part of the county because many schools in the east are underenrolled -- some up to 40 percent.
-- Kathy Bushouse Students Dig Addition-- Post-Tribune Indiana: November 03, 2009 [ abstract] Kids think it's cool to be able to watch an excavating machine at work right outside their classroom window. So how much cooler is it for them to put on construction hats and go out and watch their principal at the controls, scooping up the first dirt for the new addition to their school? Liberty Elementary School Principal Christy Jarka sat in the cab as she made the excavator take the first big bites out of the lawn to break ground for the $5.2-million remodeling and addition. She waved down at the 500 youngsters cheering and applauding her efforts.
"I've never done that before! That was so much fun!" shouted Jarka as Rudy Sutton, owner of the R.V. Sutton construction firm, helped her down from the cab.
Monday was the start of the 10-month project that will add a 29,000 square foot early learning center -- kindergarten and first-grade classrooms and space for a computer lab, art classes, and a large group instruction room, all to be completed in time for the 2010-11 school year.
Jarka passed out gold shovels to five lucky students, who posed in front of the excavator with architects Bob Gerometta and Jessica Vargas, Director of Special Services Mark McKibben, and the entire Duneland School Board. She praised the year-long work by a committee of school design experts, staff, and parents for which the board approved $5.9 million in general obligation bonds to fund construction, financing and other "soft" costs, and contingencies. "They really listened to what we needed," she said.
-- Charles M. Bartholomew City plans high-school overhaul-- Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon: November 02, 2009 [ abstract] 20-year plan for a massive redesign of Portland Public Schools’ high-school education programs is under way. But with 15 years of deferred maintenance, Portland Public Schools’ 89 school buildings will need significant and costly upgrades to make the redesign plan a reality, school officials say.
The redesign will include zoning for high-school students to attend larger, more traditional high schools within their neighborhoods called community schools. In addition, students will be able to attend focus-program schools, which will offer specialized education in the arts, sciences and other areas.
-- Nathalie Weinstein School district hopes to leverage the green-- Union Leader.com New Hampshire: October 26, 2009 [ abstract] The Governor Wentworth Regional School District is looking to add more than $1 million to the $40 million in state building aid it is already slated to receive as part of a $67.2 million school building and renovation project.
Superintendent of Schools Jack Robertson said the district could receive an additional 3 percent in state building aid, as much as $1.2 million, if the building program meets energy efficiency and environmental standards set by the Collaborative for High Performance Schools.
"It would make a huge difference to us if we qualify," said Robertson, noting that the $6.8 million geothermal heating and cooling system that would be part of the project gives the project a leg up in accumulating the points needed to win the green school designation.
-- Roger Amsden School Facing Loss Of Accreditation If Repairs Are Not Made-- WCSH6-TV Maine: October 26, 2009 [ abstract] Lake Region High School is in jeopardy of losing its' accreditation if major repairs on the facility are not made soon. The building was designed to accommodate about 400 students when it opened over 40 years ago. Today, the school has about 625 students enrolled. "The library is very, very crowded. It is simply inadequate for the numbers of kids. The cafeteria is very, very crowded," said Lakes Region Principal Roger Lowell. "We have some health and safety issues. We have a lot of crowding issues and if we want to maintain our accreditation we have got to spend some money on this building."
-- Tim Goff Community College Projects Fueling Unexpected Building Boom in L.A.-- Architectural Record California: October 23, 2009 [ abstract] The nine-college Los Angeles Community College District is in a unique situation. Despite a nationwide economic slump that is one of the worst in 50 years, the district has money to spend"and to build. LACCD, which serves more than 220,000 students throughout Los Angeles County, is in the middle of a $5.7-billion building program, funded by three bonds passed in the last eight years. The program, which began 2004 and is expected to be completed by 2014, is intended to modernize and add new facilities throughout the district. The LACCD is working with numerous architectural firms, including Leo A Daly, Arquitectonica, WWCOT, and Harley Ellis Devereaux. Of the nearly 90 new buildings planned for the district, eight are completed, 29 are under construction, and 50 are either in the design phase or do not yet have an architect assigned to them.
-- Joe Florkowski Group presents findings on Lexington school renovation needs study-- Wicked Local Massachusetts: October 22, 2009 [ abstract] Lexington High School should be the next town-owned school building renovated.
That was the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Facilities Committee (AHFC), a group put together by the School Committee last spring. AHFC was charged with studying a School Facilities Master Plan created by the design Partnership and completed in March.
-- Emily Costello N.J. school construction projects are delayed by state-contractors dispute-- Statehouse Bureau New Jersey: October 22, 2009 [ abstract] Five New Jersey school construction projects " including one to replace a Newark building destroyed by lightning " have been delayed for months because of a fight between the state and a contractors group about the bidding process.
The state Schools Development Authority said it can cut costs and speed up projects by combining the design and construction phases, but the Mechanical Contractors Association of New Jersey said the process would be unfair to small contractors and would ultimately cost taxpayers more.
The authority wanted to test the process on five of the 25 of school projects it has planned for construction or pre-construction this year, including Newark’s Elliott Street School, which burned after a lightning strike in 2006. The school’s 680 students have been split among three other schools.
The other schools affected by the fight are the Redshaw Elementary School in New Brunswick, the Lorraine Place Elementary School in Keansburg, Jersey City Elementary School No. 3 and Jersey City Early Childhood Center No. 3.
The association sued in April and the state Appellate Division the following month ordered the state to stop work on the $40 million Elliott Street School. The two sides delivered arguments today before an appellate court panel, but it could be months before the judges return a decision.
With traditional projects, the authority receives two sets of bids: one for design plans and another for construction. Last year, the authority proposed streamlining the process so that one contractor would be selected to both design and build a school in a process known as "design-build."
-- Lisa Fleisher Voters OK Hardin school bond-- The Billings Gazette Montana: October 20, 2009 [ abstract] Big Horn County voters on Tuesday narrowly approved a $7.5 million bond issue to expand and improve crowded Hardin High School.
The bond issue passed 634-619 for Hardin High School District 1 to issue and sell the general-obligation bonds. Cyndy Maxwell, a Big Horn County elections administrator, said nearly 35 percent of the voters in the district - more than 1,250 of the 3,600 voters - submitted a ballot.
She credited the strong turnout to the county's decision to use mail-in ballots.
"For a school election, that's exceptional," she said. "Historically, school elections are a low turnout vote."
The money from the bonds will go to dozens of improvements around the school, notably a 41,690-square-foot addition that would add nine classrooms, a study hall, locker rooms with showers, a commons area and extra office and storage space.
The bonds will also pay for rehabilitating the old building to accommodate the addition and upgrading the school's electrical and heating systems.
Built almost 60 years ago, the school was designed for a maximum capacity of about 400 students. It has housed as many as 500 students, but enrollment has stayed steady at about 480 in recent years.
Keyword Search: ARRA, stimulus, bond
-- ZACH BENOIT Windham school officials eye overcrowding solutions-- The Eagle Tribune Massachusetts: October 19, 2009 [ abstract] he School Board has asked for funding under the local Capital Improvements Plan to address crowded classrooms.
The board's two requests include $400,000 to design a plan for school construction and $250,000 to place in a reserve fund to defray future school construction costs.
The design plan would identify how to meet space needs in K-8 classrooms, School Board vice chairman Mike Hatem said.
-- Terry Date Warren school officials planning for new building-- The Daily News Kentucky: October 13, 2009 [ abstract] Plans for a new elementary school in the Ivan Downs area were unveiled Monday after the Warren County School Board approved an architect for the project.
The school, expected to house between 700 and 750 students, could resemble either Bristow Elementary School or a custom design created by architect Kenny Stanfield of Sherman Carter and Barnhart.
-- JOANIE BAKER HENDRICKS A better high school plan for Trenton-- The Times of Trenton New Jersey: October 07, 2009 [ abstract] Approach Trenton Central High School from any direction and you will know exactly what it stands for. When completed in 1932, Trenton High was one of the grandest high schools ever constructed in the country, and it remains today one of New Jersey's most significant historic public school buildings. With its tall clock tower, impressive columns and block-long façade, it is the centerpiece of the Trenton public school system. Its design draws on the architecture of our nation's founding, in which Trenton took a decisive role. But if the Schools Development Authority has its say, the children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, cousins and friends of its proud alumni will no longer be educated in its rooms.
The debate over Trenton High has been a long and controversial one. At the Trenton Board of Education's Facilities Advisory Board meeting Sept. 23, a community coalition known as A Better High School Plan for Trenton presented a plan to modernize the landmark building. The plan was created pro bono by a group of professional New Jersey architects experienced in school facilities design.
-- JENNIFER B. LEYNES Dayton, Texas Rosenwald Project Nears Completion -- The Vindicator Texas: October 05, 2009 [ abstract] Alumni of Colbert Elementary, the oldest school in Dayton, toured the school's renovations to see how the old school house is being restored. It was not called Colbert back then. It was called â€"the colored schoolâ€. The school's construction was partly funded by the Julius Rosenwald Foundation. Julius Rosenwald, formerly president of Sears, Roebuck and Co., worked with Booker T. Washington, of The Tuskegee Institute, so that African American children could attend school. During the Great Depression, the Rosenwald Foundation created a program, where communities in 15 southern states could donate land and/or some money, which the foundation would match with a seed grant, under Booker T. Washington's leadership. They designed each school with the highest efficiency in mind, because money was scarce. The schools all had large windows along East and West walls to maximize sunlight, and accordion doors down the center of the building, which created separate spaces for different grades. Community meetings could also be held inside. This school taught all grades, through high school. â€"From the time it was built (1933) until 1967, the school was segregated.†said Guidry, a member of Colbert-Rosenwald Corporation. This organization works on a grassroots level to raise funds to complete the Rosenwald Project. Guidry commented â€"About 5,000 schools were built throughout the South by The Rosenwald Initiative. Only a few hundred still exist.†Coleman stated â€"This was the original building, and that was all there was.â€"
-- Carol Skewes New Jersey Schools Test Design Standards for School Interiors -- NJBiz New Jersey: October 05, 2009 [ abstract] The New Jersey Schools Development Authority will experiment with a standard design and architecture plan for school interiors, with the hope that replicating those plans will save time and money. Kris Kolluri, agency chief executive, told NJBIZ the SDA will invite design proposals before December for a proposed early childhood center in Passaic City. design and architecture firms that routinely contract work from SDA were divided about the merits of the standardization experiment; many who were contacted declined to comment for fear of jeopardizing their relationships with the agency. But others said it could be a good idea if it retained the creative aspects of their work, and that it might actually redirect saved money to more construction projects. “The basic goal is to try and test a pilot school where we incorporate standard elements,” Kolluri said of the program, called Kits Apart. The plan is to settle on four sets of designs for interior fit-outs, including classrooms, auditoriums, labs, cafeterias and gyms, he said. While “not every school can be standardized,” Kolluri said the best candidates are early childhood centers and elementary and middle schools. “We don’t believe doing that for high schools is an appropriate idea at the moment,” he said. Kolluri said SDA will roll out its experiment with a process akin to a “design competition, where every community will have the ability to help us develop the schools’ outside design so it fits its individual context.”
-- Shankar P $10 Million Pledged for High School In Waldorf-- The Washington Post Maryland: October 04, 2009 [ abstract] The Charles Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted last week to give $10 million to the Board of Education to open a high school in Waldorf.
The commissioners, who had promised the funds at a work session with the board earlier in the week, said the money would come from fees charged to builders to secure infrastructure, including schools, to support new developments.
The new school is designed to relieve crowding at Charles County's other high schools, which are 1,200 students over capacity.
"We are doing everything to support" the schools, despite the economy, said Wayne Cooper (D-At Large), president of the commissioners.
Several Board of Education members said at the work session that $10 million would not cover the cost of opening a high school. They said it would take closer to $18 million to operate the high school in its first year and more than $14 million in the following years. The school board members urged the commissioners to promise the school more money and said they feared building a school and either having to cut programming at other schools or being unable to afford opening the new one.
-- Christy Goodman Designed for Learning -- Spokesman-Review Washington: October 04, 2009 [ abstract] Fresh air, daylight and elbow room improve learning in schools. Who’d have thought? Temperature, acoustics and safety make a difference too. Technology, well, that’s a no-brainer. As Inland Northwest schools are remodeled, rebuilt and modernized, greater consideration is being given to design elements that national studies show can create better learning environments. “A lot of natural light, comfortable spaces are more conducive to learning,” said Kevin Foster, Ferris High School principal and a committee member for the district’s remodeling projects. “Technology makes more items available to the classroom.”
Greg Brown, Spokane Public Schools director of capital projects, said facilities designers “know that good learning environments are positive to the education of the students and well-being of the teachers.” Spokane Public Schools is in the second phase of a 25-year plan to make major changes at all of its traditional high schools while also addressing smaller-scale changes at other schools along the way, such as heating and cooling systems that pump fresh air into classrooms, basic maintenance and upgrading athletic facilities.
-- Jody Lawrence-Turner New Orleans School Construction Oversight Panel is an Unfulfilled Promise -- Times-Picayune Louisiana: September 30, 2009 [ abstract] Nearly a year after the state and the Orleans Parish School Board approved a nearly $2 billion facilities spending blueprint for New Orleans schools, the panel charged with overseeing the projects and spending has yet to meet. In fact, it doesn't even exist. Establishing an oversight committee is 'the fiscally responsible thing to do when you are spending that kind of money,' said Linda Johnson, a member of the state board of education. Meanwhile, school officials have already spent or committed to spend more than one-third of the $700 million designated for the projects in the first phase of the plan.
The role of the oversight committee will not be to micromanage the construction process, several people said, but to play a critical watchdog function. State officials said the process of collecting nominations for the panel has gone more slowly than anticipated, but that it's now a priority. They anticipate the panel will be formed in the next month.
The oversight committee will not approve specific contracts or hold veto power. But it will regularly review the master plan budget and demographic changes that could affect the plan, as well as monitor progress. So far, local officials only have commitments to cover fully the first phase of the master plan -- the $700 million -- although Recovery School District Superintendent Paul Vallas said he still hopes to secure money for later phases, and thinks he can already count on another $200 million.
-- Sarah Carr PC School Board kicks off high school construction-- Upstate Today South Carolina: September 29, 2009 [ abstract] he Pickens County Board of Trustees Monday night officially approved construction of Pickens High School at $36,407,800 " the first of four new high schools under the school district
’s overall $365 million facilities improvement plan initially approved three years ago.
The guaranteed maximum price, as provided by Trehel/Balfour Beatty, is reflective of the scope and design, including athletics, as required by the school district.
Stewart presented board members, who approved his recommendation, with a budget of $365,063,270. Following value engineering efforts, the proposed budget was reduced from approximately $425 million to $416,398,732 and further reduced by eliminating 124,500 square feet from the high schools, 15,000 square feet from the career center and 18,000 from each of the two new elementary schools
-- Greg Oliver Insurance dispute takes center stage in auditorium drama-- Los Angeles Times California: September 28, 2009 [ abstract] Garfield High School has not hosted a play, a musical performance or an assembly in its historic auditorium since an arson fire gutted it nearly 2 1/2 years ago.
A burned-out shell -- its walls shored up with a latticework of scaffolding and steel beams -- is all that remains from the three-alarm blaze that caused an estimated $30 million in damage to the East Los Angeles landmark.
After pledges to rebuild the facility, a benefit concert by Los Lobos and donations from boxer Oscar De La Hoya, among others, the Los Angeles Unified School District is mired in an insurance dispute that could create additional delays and leave the school system footing more of the bill.
Community members and alumni, who long relied on the auditorium for neighborhood meetings and events, are frustrated -- as are school administrators and students.
"Assemblies, theatricals, rehearsals, dance, community shows -- we're mostly not doing it or doing it in a substandard way," Principal Michael B. Summe said. "We have fewer dance classes, and this may threaten our drama program. The plans for the new auditorium are incredible. But I can't get a drama teacher to come here and create a program. How many years do I tell her to wait?"
L.A. Unified contends that the 1925 auditorium needs to be rebuilt from the ground to meet state building codes. But nine insurers insist that the walls are salvageable and could support a new building, district officials said. The difference in cost is considerable.
A mediation session is scheduled for November in a final attempt to resolve the impasse. If differences can't be worked out, rebuilding may be put off longer.
The insurance companies declined to comment on the insurance claim, the nature of the dispute with the district or the amount of money involved, according to an attorney, Jess B. Millikan, who is representing them.
Demolition was to have been completed this fall, with construction beginning next year. Despite the uncertainty of recovering costs -- estimated by the district at $46 million -- designs for a new auditorium are almost complete and will be submitted soon for state approval, said facilities chief Guy Mehula. But in a further hitch, Garfield's main administration building, which is attached to the auditorium, must be retrofitted to meet earthquake standards, and officials have not determined the level of demolition needed.
Insurers have made some payouts, which have covered the costs of designs, Mehula said.
-- Carla Rivera School board proposes ‘more realistic' state funding request list-- Business Gazette Maryland: September 24, 2009 [ abstract] The Prince George's County school board appears to have learned a lesson from the effort to get state school construction funding last year, when allegations of political pandering surfaced and the wish list clashed with the economic downturn and state leaders' priorities.
This year, several south county schools revealed to be in the worst condition are listed as high priorities — an omission last year that had state and county leaders at odds. The new list only asks for money for top priorities, putting the overall funding request from the state at about half the amount sought last year.
"It looks pretty reasonable," state Sen. Douglas J.J. Peters (D-Dist. 23) of Bowie said about this year's $107 million request from the state and county.
Of that amount, the county is seeking $53.65 million from the state. Last year, the county sought $100.4 million from the state.
"They've obviously taken to heart [what happened in 2008]," he said.
Last year, residents and some state leaders claimed politics was involved in the funding wish list, giving favor to areas where politicians made promises instead of schools most in need. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach chastised the school board in a Dec. 11 letter, stating members "need to go back and make the plea on the basis of merit not on politics."
Board Chairwoman Verjeana M. Jacobs (At-Large) said at the time that the board was "being held accountable for conditions that existed before we got here," explaining that school construction is planned several years in advance, and the board did not want to upset residents by removing projects that had been promised for years.
Miller's letter sparked the Maryland Interagency Committee on School Construction, which decides which county projects get state funding, to allow the county to revise its list. The board increased its state request by $12 million, for a total of $100.4 million in state funding alone. The omitted schools were approved for design and planning last year but received no construction funding.
The debacle came at the same time Peters led a failed attempt to create a state law requiring the county request to get state representatives' approval before going to the IAC.
-- Daniel Valentine Federal Dollars for School Construction, Round Two -- Architectural Record National: September 22, 2009 [ abstract] Revisiting efforts to funnel federal funds into school construction, the House has approved a measure that would authorize more than $6.5 billion for K-12 public school and community-college projects. The provision is part of a bill, which the House passed on Sept. 17, that would expand the federal loan program for college students and curtail private lending. The measure would authorize $2.02 billion annually for fiscal 2010 and 2011 for modernization, renovation or repair of K-12 public schools. Another $2.5 billion would be available for new construction or modernization of community colleges, starting in fiscal 2011.
Groups like the American Institute of Architects support the bill and are encouraged to see the House pass it. But Andrew Goldberg, AIA's senior director for federal relations, says the legislation could face a tough battle ahead. "The outlook for passage in the Senate is unclear," Goldberg says. He notes that the Senate could vote on its version of the college-loan measure by the end of September and says, "That¹s where we¹ve seen roadblocks on school construction for some time." The House attempted to add school construction funding to what became the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act this winter, calling for $14 billion. But the Senate zeroed out that school-construction provision in the final bill in February.
Under the new House-passed measure, green design and construction, a major initiative for the Obama administration, factor heavily into the funding requirements. Half of the bill's funds for K-12 school construction would have to be used for green projects in 2010, and 75% of the money would have to be used for such projects in 2011. Half of the funds for community colleges also would be required to go to green projects. The bill also would establish an advisory council on green, high-performing public school facilities.
-- Bruce Buckley School’s Design Gets Lots of Input -- Middletown Journal Ohio: September 20, 2009 [ abstract] A project as large and complex as the new Edgewood High School has to be a creation not only of an architect, but of everyone who will be affected by it. That’s why the design of the $46 million school has seen input from everyone ranging from the board of education to community members. The current freshman class, which will be the first to attend the new building, will have its say as well. “We were involved in the design and planning,” said John Snyder, board of education president. He said the board especially liked how the building featured many wide, open spaces, with an emphasis on natural light. “It’s not a luxury kind of thing. We’re taking advantage of what’s available. We’re not building a Taj Mahal,” he said. One of the main reasons the new building was needed was to relieve overcrowding, particularly in the elementary buildings. “It provides us more room, for one thing. In the last year our enrollment did fall off a bit. We think that will pick up again. We’ll set ourselves up for 25 to 30 years as far as this new facility. We should not have space problems for years to come. It gives us the ability to put kids in classrooms and not cram kids under the stairwells,” Snyder said.
The Ohio School Facilities Commission, which provides oversight of the construction project, is paying for $20 million of the cost, while the district will pick up the other $26 million. Eventually, this will necessitate a need for more operating money, said Superintendent Larry Knapp. “This will be a bigger, better, smarter building ... the heat and air conditioning will be economically designed and installed ... it will be more economical to operate in the years to come,” said Knapp.
-- Eric Robinette City approves land for new school-- Sparks Today Nevada: September 18, 2009 [ abstract] Anticipating that growth will resume once the economy gains stronger footing, Sparks is setting the stage for a new school in Spanish Springs.
The city council this week approved a tentative amendment to the Foothills at Wingfield Springs planned development handbook to allow for the inclusion of a school.
The site involves about eight acres and is near the southeast corner of Vista Boulevard and Passage Drive.
"It is a great place for a school," Council member Mike Carrigan said. "We also saved them (school district) a lot of money. That eight acres was probably appraised at like $1.8 million, and they got it for $300,000."
The Washoe County School District made the request to the city anticipating a possible new elementary campus possibly in the 2014-15 school year, city records show.
"The proposed elementary school is compatible with the adjacent residential land uses and will provide a benefit to the residents of the Foothills by allowing for many of the students to have the opportunity to walk or bicycle to school," according to a report from the Sparks Community Development Department. "Also, the school site is centrally located within the planned development and will provide for convenient and easy vehicular access."
Services such as sewer, water, electricity and streets already are in place in the immediate area, "allowing for economically feasible development," the report found.
"The school use in this residential neighborhood is a compatible use that will be integrated into this existing residential neighborhood through the requirements" through existing design standards. These standards address issues such as building placement, landscape buffering between the school site and existing homes, along with standards for parking.
-- DAVID JACOBS Glacial Pace Of School Building-- RhinoTimes.com North Carolina: September 17, 2009 [ abstract] It's not immediately apparent, but the Guilford County Board of Education has little control of the design of schools in Guilford County.
It's been over a year since voters, in May 2008, approved $457 million in school bonds to pay for a massive $412 school building program and $45 million toward the $60 million rebuild of Eastern Guilford High School, which was destroyed by fire in 2006.
Since the referendum, the Guilford County Schools' mechanism for building new schools and renovating old ones has crawled into action. A full 16 months after the vote, only two school projects have entered construction: the new Eastern – which was given the rush treatment because of the emergency, and the need to get the school's students out of trailers and back into a real building – and Jamestown Middle School – a project that had to be hurried because the school board left it undone after the 2003 school bonds.
The school system had a design for Jamestown left over from 2003, and Eastern was built using the plans for the recently completed Northern Guilford High School.
Guilford County Schools is scheduled to break ground on a third project: the Meredith Leigh Haynes-Bennie Lee Inman Education Center for special-education students from the western half of the Guilford County. That school is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010.
Beyond those three projects, it's question marks as far as the eye can see. Of the remaining 24 projects on the list for the 2008 bond, 11 are in the design stage – which is what it sounds like – and 11 are in the planning stage – who knows, exactly, what that means.
That's not to say nothing is being done. The Guilford County Schools Facilities Department shows every sign of keeping busy – and it will have to, given its mysterious decision in July 2009, after a year of negotiations, not to hire the global construction firm Arcadis G&M, of the Netherlands and Denver, Colorado, to manage the $412 million program.
-- Paul C. Clark Parents Rally for Air Conditioning at Maryland Middle School -- Baltimore Sun Maryland: September 16, 2009 [ abstract] Dozens of Baltimore County parents rallied in Towson, continuing to push for air conditioning in a Lutherville middle school where they say a renovation project has made the classrooms intolerable on warm days. Ridgely Middle School parents have been seeking a solution for about two years, ever since the school was renovated with design features - tighter windows, lowered ceilings and an insulated roof - to maximize air-conditioning efficiency. But the cooling units were never installed because the project budget did not include money for the equipment, school officials have said.
County Councilman Kevin Kamenetz said that he has asked the county auditor to investigate whether the situation at Ridgely is unique, using temperature logs and other data, and to find alternative funding sources, such as federal stimulus money or excess funds from other projects. Slightly more than half of the county's school, center and program buildings lack air conditioning. During a presentation last December, school officials said it could take seven to 10 years to install air conditioning in the nearly 90 schools without it - and that retrofitting buildings just for air conditioning could easily exceed $450 million.
-- Arin Gencer Denver Public Schools May Save $55 Million on Bond Projects -- Denver Post Colorado: September 15, 2009 [ abstract] More than half of the 275 projects in Denver Public Schools' 2008 bond are complete and district officials think they have realized $55 million in savings through low interest rates over the life of the bond. Denver voters passed a $454 million bond in November, the largest school construction bond in Colorado history. The repayment, including interest, was expected to be as much as $990 million. The district sold the first $150 million of bonds earlier this year at a lower-than-expected net interest rate of 5.1 percent — resulting in $55 million in savings, said chief operating officer David Suppes. Suppes said the savings could continue through at least two programs designed through the federal recovery act to help the municipal bond markets.
The bond was to make critical school repairs, build a new school campus and restore historic North High School. The district also thinks it will save a minimum of $200,000 a year in energy costs by upgrading to energy-efficient fixtures, such as boilers and chillers. "We are thrilled to go green and save the district some green," said Superintendent Tom Boasberg.
-- Jeremy P. Meyer HISD gives go-ahead to apply for bonds-- Huntsville Item Texas: September 14, 2009 [ abstract] With a 6-1 vote, Huntsville Independent School District trustees gave the go-ahead Monday to apply for $7.8 million in Qualified School Construction Bonds for use on high school facility projects.
Along with the application, trustees OK’d a proposed $13.2 million construction and renovation plan for the campus, which includes new facilities for career and technology education, athletics and band departments.
Those projects will make way for renovations to the special education department, new computer labs and reconstructed science labs as well as a new elevator and attendance/security areas on the campus.
HISD Superintendent Dr. Richard Montgomery presented a total of four project plans to the board Monday " one of which, at $21 million, would have the district dig too far into its fund balance.
Two other plans presented by the superintendent did not allow for the construction of additional science and computer labs or additional space for special education, culinary arts or band.
“The plan we recommend addresses each of the needs we have discussed,” Montgomery said, “and makes full use of the funds we would receive from the bond program.”
The approved plan also includes a more time-efficient construction plan " with work on the new band hall, CATE and athletic facilities taking place consecutively.
“These things will start at about the same time and finish at different times, so we can stagger the construction of the other projects,” Montgomery said.
Trustee Larry Thornton questioned architect Ian Powell from PBK Architects of Houston, who was present at Monday’s meeting, about the possibility of constructing a third floor on the current facility.
“We did consider that option, but found that the current foundation was not designed to support another story,” Powell said. “The district would also have to add a sprinkler system campus wide; and considerations would have to be made to accommodate vertical circulation (stairs), which would eliminate space on the second floor.
“It can be done,” he added. “But there would be more costs to consider.”
In talking numbers, Montgomery explained to the board that the estimated $5.4 million balance not covered by bond moneys will be taken from the district’s fund balance.
“We currently have over $17 million in that fund, and are required to keep $12 million " or three months operating expenses " there,” he said. “That leaves us with enough to fund the rest of the project.”
Thornton asked what might happen if the district did not receive the full $7.8 million in bonds, which was discussed previously as a possibility.
“There are maintenance tax notes available,” HISD Director of Business and Finance Lois Ann New told the board. “They have similar terms as the stimulus bonds, with slightly higher interest rates.
“And we can borrow as much as we can afford to pay back.”
-- Mary Rainwater Virginia School Awarded up to $18 Million in Zero-Interest Bonds
-- Lynchburg News Advance Virginia: September 11, 2009 [ abstract] Lynchburg has been awarded up to $18 million in zero-interest bonds from the federal stimulus bill for the construction of the new Sandusky Middle School. City officials expect they will only be able to use $10.5 million of that due to eligibility restrictions. The bonds can only be used for future construction costs; the new middle school project broke ground last year and only has about $10.5 million in expenses left, City Manager Kimball Payne said. The award will save the city millions in future interest payments. The new Sandusky Middle School has a total budget of $28 million and will open in 2010. It will be the city’s first new school in almost 30 years. Its energy-conscious design is expected to be LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The state as a whole has $191 million in stimulus-backed bonds to fund school construction projects. The bonds are being allocated directly by Governor Timothy M. Kaine. The state eliminated funding for its own school construction program due to the budget crisis and is using the waiting list from that program to determine how to distribute the stimulus money.
-- Alicia Petska Schools going green big-time-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: September 07, 2009 [ abstract] Approaching Evergreen Elementary, it's clear right away that there's something different about this new school. A pair of silo-like structures squats in front of the two-story brick building - cisterns storing rainwater for flushing the toilets. Then there are the cactuses and other plants growing atop the entrance canopy - put there to soak up more rain.
Evergreen represents the latest in green school design in Maryland. The $20 million elementary school, which started classes last week in this woodsy, suburban community in St. Mary's County, has been designed and built to save bundles of energy and water, and to reduce the building's impact on nearby streams and wetlands. It's also been planned to hammer environmental consciousness home to its 600 students. It is, contends county School Superintendent Michael Martirano, the greenest school in the state.
He might get some argument on that - Montgomery County has built or rebuilt four schools now with enough energy-saving and environmental features to qualify for the second-highest rating given by the U.S. Green Building Council. But there's no doubt that green schools are starting to spread across the state.
St. Mary's school officials say Evergreen, like the Montgomery schools, is in line to get a "gold" rating under the green building council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, or LEED, rating system. Among other features, it boasts a geothermal heating and cooling system, waterless urinals and low-flow faucets, and a white reflective coating on the flat portions of the roof to keep the building from needing as much air conditioning in warm months.
Small patches of the roof also sprout plants - with the cisterns, part of a system meant to capture 90 percent of the rain that falls on the school. There is a bank of photovoltaic cells mounted on a sloped portion of the roof, and even a small wind turbine that powers one outlet. Though their contribution to the school's energy diet is tiny, the gadgets are meant to be teaching tools, not just bells and whistles.
"This is more than just a school," said Martirano as he showed a reporter and photographer around, giving what he estimates was his eighth tour of the new building. "It's a full immersion in the energy conservation issues [students] are going to experience as adults."
-- Timothy B. Wheeler State aid propels school construction to unprecedented levels-- Press & Sun-Bulletin New York: September 06, 2009 [ abstract] Maine-Endwell will open the year this week while work continues on classroom additions at both its middle and high schools.
Sixth-graders at the Jennie F. Snapp Middle School will go to classes elsewhere as the Union-Endicott continues a major upgrade of their building.
The Helen Foley Theater and art gallery at Binghamton High School will be closed until October or November, as workers continue renovating these facilities.
Across the Southern Tier, school districts spent the summer working on large scale, multimillion-dollar construction projects. While none involved building new structures, some are transforming facilities built in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
In some districts, the work will extend through the school year, with officials saying they will keep disruption to a minimum.
School construction isn't new in the region. Work over the past decade has included construction of a new elementary-middle school in Johnson City, an upgrade of the Susquehanna Valley high and middle school complex and renovation of the Chenango Valley high and middle school building.
What is new in this round of construction is the size and scope of some of the projects, which officials said is unprecedented.
"I've been in the business since 1972, and I've never seen as many $40 to $50 million projects. The last couple of years have been extraordinary for the K-12 world," said John S. Knudson, senior principal with Bearsch Compeau Knudson, of Binghamton, which designs school projects across the state.
Combined, school construction projects now under way total more than $300 million in Broome County alone.
State aid helps
One reason for the abundance of work is the success of school districts in selling large-scale building projects to voters. Residents in Vestal, Binghamton, Whitney Point, Maine-Endwell and Union-Endicott, for example, all approved major projects in recent years.
Districts need to upgrade schools to modern standards and meet new educational demands, notably in the areas of science, technology and special education, officials said. They also stress that schools need to stay competitive with others in the region, and the quality of facilities is a major selling point.
"You can't stop doing this kind of work. The environment of schools is critical to everything you do," said Steven Deinhardt, assistant superintendent for instruction in the Binghamton district.
At the same time, school officials readily acknowledge they couldn't get projects of this magnitude approved without the availability of state money.
One pot of cash is state building aid that schools historically receive for construction work. While the aid varies from district to district, based on a state formula, it can cover 70 percent or more of costs.
-- George Basler Sticker Shock: District Seeks To Explain Price Of Proposed High School-- The Morning News Arkansas: September 05, 2009 [ abstract] The question seems to arise when Fayetteville school patrons get together these days: How did Springdale manage to build Har-Ber High School for $38 million and Rogers build Heritage High for $42 million, but Fayetteville says it needs $113 million for a new high school.
The design for the proposed Fayetteville school includes a few items the other districts did not that adds to the overall costs " a more environmentally friendly campus and almost $10 million for technology. But school board members and administrators have said the larger factors that explain the difference in price are the educational philosophy behind the design, new state requirements for space, lack of state aid with construction costs and time.
The cost of the new building is estimated at $110,068,148. The construction cost is estimated at $82,038,790.
Fayetteville is the last of the four largest school districts in the area to consider building a new high school. Steve Percival, then president of the Fayetteville School Board, first suggested in February 2005 it might be time to start thinking about a new high school in the district.
That comment set off a groundswell of internal meetings, community discussion and discord on where to locate the building, residents committee studies on size and location, public meetings, development of a campus master plan and the search for an architect and construction manager for construction that won’t begin until 2010, at the earliest.
The targeted opening day would be 2013.
-- Rose Ann Pearce A State of the Art, and State of the Arts, School-- LA Downtown News Online California: September 04, 2009 [ abstract] DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - There has been no shortage of controversy for the High School for the Visual and Performing Arts.
There were gasps over the price, which soared to $232 million. There were both acclaim and criticism for its attention-grabbing design by a high-profile Austrian architect. There was the long delay in hiring a principal, including two would-be leaders who turned down the job. There was fierce debate over the composition of the student body. The school even found itself in the center of a contentious tug of war, as the Los Angeles Unified School District battled with others who wanted a charter organization to run it.
But this week, the focus is not on the back-story. When Central High School No. 9 " the official name for the school at 450 N. Grand Ave. " opens on Wednesday, Sept. 9, the spotlight, for the first time, will be on the students.
“This is an amazing place, structurally, architecturally, but that’s not what’s going to make this place,” said principal Suzanne Blake, who was hired in May. “It’s what goes on in the classroom, every single day, the relationship teachers have with their kids in their classroom and the inspiration they can bring to them.”
Still, even Blake can’t help but marvel at the sprawling 230,000-square-foot campus. During a recent visit, as staff installed dozens of Apple iMac computers, synthesizers and audio equipment, Blake admitted that she is still awestruck every time she enters some of the buildings.
Leading a tour from the 950-seat theater to a smaller black box theater in the same building, through digital animation and design classrooms to dance studios with floor to ceiling mirrors and gleaming wooden floors, Blake got giddy.
“It’s ridiculous,” she said. “Just incredible.”
Though few would argue that the facility is not state of the art, the school had its share of hurdles. Before Blake came aboard, the job was offered to two East Coast principals " each considered the post, then said no. That fueled district critics who argued that the LAUSD was significantly behind in preparations to open.
-- Ryan Vaillancourt Maxwell wants $169M for school construction-- Annapolis Capital Maryland: September 03, 2009 [ abstract] County schools Superintendent Kevin Maxwell yesterday unveiled a $169 million capital budget proposal that puts many of the projects that weren't funded this year back on the books for next year.
Plans for new playground equipment, improvements to auditoriums and athletic stadiums, and studies to design renovations for six elementary schools were all halted by slumping county finances, but the superintendent is hoping to get those projects done in fiscal 2011.
"We have no choice but to re-ask for them this year," said Alex Szachnowicz, chief operating officer for county schools.
The wish list, which the Board of Education will later review and send to county officials for approval, seeks funding for everything from textbooks to science labs to new school buses.
The priciest line item is $32.3 million for Northeast High School; the newest is $740,000 to get renovations rolling at Severna Park High School.
The proposal also puts back starter money for studying renovations and beginning design work at the six elementary schools - Lothian, Crofton, Mills-Parole, Rolling Knolls, Benfield and West Annapolis - and for repairs at Annapolis Elementary School.
The proposal seeks about $38 million more than school officials received for construction this year, but it's also less than they originally budgeted for fiscal 2011 in their six-year plan.
Still, John Hammond, budget officer for the county, said even the lower request is higher than the $130 million the county had planned to spend on school construction next year. Plus, the economic picture is still changing.
"We've said consistently 2011 is going to be at least as challenging as 2010, if not more so," Hammond said.
-- ELISABETH HULETTE A Blow To Transparent School Reform In Chicago-- Progress Illinois Illinois: August 31, 2009 [ abstract] When uproar over the questionable closing of more than a dozen public schools hit a fever pitch earlier this year, State Rep. Cynthia Soto (D) attempted to put the brakes on the Chicago school district's plans. Regular readers may remember that her proposal to impose a one-year moratorium on school closures (HB 363) was challenged by CPS at every turn. Ultimately, the moratorium proposal was dropped and the bill was limited to the creation of a quasi-independent Chicago School Facilities Task Force, which Parents United for Responsible Education (PURE) described as follows:
There will be an independent panel made up of legislators and representatives of community groups which have a track record in school facilities issues. This panel will design a fair, effective process for making facilities decisions which will then be enacted into law.
The bill passed both chambers in May and represented a significant step in the right direction, considering that CPS had been shuttering neighborhood schools while giving no criteria for the closure process. But apparently Mayor Daley refused to relinquish even minimal control over the school closings. And unfortunately, Gov. Pat Quinn has obliged.
Last week, Quinn filed an amendatory veto to HB 363 allowing Daley to appoint two additional people to the 14-person panel. Quinn explained that his changes seek "to ensure the most fruitful discussion possible." However, school reform advocate Don Moore had a different take, as Newstips' Curtis Black reports:
Quinn's changes "fundamentally undermine the likelihood that any meaningful changes will result from this process," said Don Moore of designs for Change. "It's the policies of the Mayor and his board of education that are at the root of the inequities" which the task force is to address, he said.
-- Angela Caputo Breaking ground, building a brighter future
-- San Diego Daily Transcript California: August 26, 2009 [ abstract] In the heart of the South Bay, joint venture partners Gilbane Building Co. and SGI Construction Management are providing program and project management services for the Sweetwater Union High School District Prop O Bond Program.
The first phase of the $644-million bond program has broken ground on eight campuses, with a ninth groundbreaking scheduled to take place later this month. Proposition O is funding the repairs and improvements needed to ensure that the 43,000 middle and high school students and 27,000 adult learners of the District are in a safe, healthy and quality learning environment.
Through innovative design and planning, the joint venture is building the largest 100% LEED-Gold certified school construction program in California. In a region that is on the brink of reinventing itself as a leader in sustainable living and development, Gilbane and SGI have created a program that serves as the spearhead for those South Bay efforts.
-- Staff Writer Students Roll Into Renovated D.C. Schools; Work Continues at Some
-- Washington Post District of Columbia: August 25, 2009 [ abstract] The spotty air conditioning sometimes drove spring and summer temperatures to 100 degrees in Ferebee-Hope Elementary School's gym. There was no audible fire alarm system. Kids played on expanses of dingy, moldy brown carpet. The 1970s-vintage "open classroom" design, which eliminated walls to foster closer collaboration among teachers, created only chaos. The school, in Ward 8's Woodland Terrace neighborhood, was, D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee said, "probably the darkest and most depressing school we had." But Monday was a new day for the school that Principal Sharron Stroman calls "the Hope." A crash $5.2 million renovation this summer, part of a $1 billion overhaul of the District's 125 schools, created 29 bright, cheerful classrooms with touch-screen "smart boards." The carpet is out; brand-new heating, cooling and fire suppression systems are in. "We are going to do right by the children of the south side," exulted Stroman, dressed in the school's burgundy and khaki colors.
For thousands of District students, Monday was not only the first day of classes but also the first in newly renovated buildings. The work includes more than $100 million worth of improvements to School Without Walls Senior High School; Deal Middle School; Wheatley Education Campus; and H.D. Cooke and Savoy elementary schools. The refurbished D.C. schools represent the next step in the Fenty administration's ambitious overhaul of a system notorious for its decrepit, aging buildings. Last summer's objectives included basic fixes to 75 schools, including repairing boilers and replacing windows. This year, officials are moving their focus to re-creating schools that combine energy-conserving features and natural light with restoration of original wood floors and masonry.
During the next two years, major work is expected to transform Eastern, Anacostia and Woodrow Wilson high schools. After several delays, a new H.D. Woodson Senior High School is expected to receive students in 2011. "I really believe we've turned the corner," school construction czar Allen Y. Lew said.
-- Bill Turque and Tim Craig Charlotte Central School seeks aid for construction
-- BurlingtonFreePress.com Vermont: August 21, 2009 [ abstract] At Tuesday's meeting, the Charlotte Central School Board moved a few more steps ahead with its plans for a bond vote in November.
The board authorized Chairwoman Patrice Machavern and Chittenden South Supervisory Union Superintendent Elaine Pinckney to sign a letter of intent to apply for construction aid, to be mailed to the Vermont Department of Education. The letter is an essential step in the process of renovation planning; it requests an Education Department representative to accompany the board for an evaluation of the building to be renovated.
The school's oldest portion, a three-story building built in 1949, is the target of the proposed construction work. Responding to problems including masonry cracks, aging mechanical systems, roof leaks and deteriorated wood, the board decided this year to ask voters to approve a $2.8 million bond for renovation and a separate $1.5 million bond for a wood chip heating system for the school.
Lynne Jaunich, the board's designated spokeswoman for the project, said the two bonds will be separate because of the importance of fixing the deterioration: "We felt like the repair and renovation work has to get done."
Consideration of a wood chip heating facility began last year when oil prices peaked.
"It would reduce dependence on oil, and it's a renewable energy solution," Jaunich said. "In the long run, it probably would pay for itself."
Why vote now in this economic climate?
"The work has to get done, and the money is available now," Jaunich said.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act offers the potential for financial help. Under the ARRA, the U.S. Treasury has allocated money for zero-interest bonds called Qualified School Construction Bonds, and Vermont's authorization for 2009 is $24.8 million for repair and renovation. The board estimated that obtaining the interest-free bond would mean the owner of a $400,000 home would pay $120 more per year instead of the $200 cost under a 20-year loan at 4.07 percent.
In order to qualify for the next round of QSCB bond allocations Nov. 13, voter approval must be secured before that date. A vote is planned for Nov. 3, the the school bonds will be the only items on the ballot. No municipal vote is scheduled for November.
-- Dorothy Pellett Ponca Schools Push for New School-- KPTH Nebraska: August 19, 2009 [ abstract] Ponca School District leaders are pushing for the fourth time for a new high school this fall. Three votes in 2004, 2005, and 2006 all failed, with many noting it as a divisive issue in the district community. But a new superintendent and a committed group of people are leading another charge hoping a new referendum will pass. Superintendent Bill Thompson says building in down times means lower construction costs, and more bang for your buck. "We need to do something to provide better educational facilities for our kids," Thompson explained while touring the 92 year old building Wednesday.
For the nearly 400 students that learn in the building, air is hot and space is tight. "The methods of instruction that teachers use change completely in 92 years, but we're still dealing with a 92 year old building," Thompson said, noting the lack of room for group work during class, or much technology. That's not even mentioning the wear and tear a building sees during nine decades. "It's probably reaching the end of it's life as a building," he said.
The district went back to the drawing board for this referendum, trying to learn from past failures. A new architect designed plans to build the new high school next to the current middle school, in order to share some facilities. Parent Cheri Albrecht smiled, "We're hoping some of the people that didn't vote yes last time, we can get a yes out of them this time."
The new design is a $9.5M mix of new construction and renovations. Air conditioning and larger classrooms mean more learning options, and more focused students. Albrecht said, "The science room was probably the most exciting thing we would be able to have for our kids."
The new pitch would add about $200 in taxes each year for most families. Leaders hope to bring the community together this time around, making this an asset for the district's future.
*For FAQ's and answers provided by the Ponca School District, visit the "As Seen On" section of KMEG14.com.
Reported by Jeremy Maskel. You can reach Jeremy at jmaskel@kmeg.com.
-- Jeremy Maskel Defying the Downturn, Charter School Construction Grows in New York City Area -- New York Times New York: August 18, 2009 [ abstract] In an economy where much construction has ground to a halt, charter schools are providing a minor but growing niche for the building and design industries in the New York City area. According to the city, 21 new charter schools will open in September, though only two of them will be in new buildings. The state has 141 charter schools in operation, and about 100 are in the city.
“There’s a lot of construction of charter schools going on, especially relative to the slowdown in the market,” said David M. Umansky, the chief executive of Civic Builders, a Manhattan-based developer that specializes in charter schools. Around for more than a decade, charter schools are elementary or secondary schools that receive public operating money, but have been freed from some regulations that apply to public schools in exchange for some type of accountability set forth in each school’s charter. Mr. Umansky said much of the investment is going into historically poor neighborhoods in the South Bronx and central Brooklyn, as well as in Harlem. Because of the schools, “the real estate investment in these markets is substantial,” he said.
School building in general has exploded in the last five years, since the School Construction Authority for New York City financed about $13 billion worth of projects, some of them charter schools. In June, an additional $11.3 billion was allocated for public school construction over the next five years. While charter schools account for a relatively small amount of that money, receiving $359 million in the previous five-year budget, and $210 million in the current one, the city recently lifted a restriction that had limited construction financing for charter schools. If they plan to build in neighborhoods that need more schools because of population growth, charter schools may now apply to dip into a $3.8 billion pool of state money for school construction.
-- Alison Gregor Ohio District Seeks Federal Construction Bond to Build Three New Schools -- Chillcothe Gazette Ohio: August 18, 2009 [ abstract] Circleville City Schools will ask voters in November to approve a 7.36 million bond levy to build a new high school, middle school and consolidated elementary school, said Superintendent Kirk McMahon. If approved, the levy would cost the owner of a $130,000 home an estimated $293 a year, or 80 cents a day. The bond levy, paid over 37 years, would cover the district’s portion of the $65.3 million project, or $37.9 million. The remaining $27.4 million would be covered from funding by the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC).
If approved, the district would be awarded at least $3.2 million in interest-free Qualified School Construction Bonds, which are part of the federal economic stimulus program, McMahon said. All facilities in the district’s plan would include handicap accessibility, advanced safety and security measures, improved lighting, energy-efficient heating and cooling, improved fresh-air ventilation, up-to-date technology, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) certification.
-- Staff Writer Massachusetts District Struggles To Clean Up Toxic Dump Amid School Construction -- Boston Globe Massachusetts: August 16, 2009 [ abstract] Part of a neighborhood in New Bedford stands atop a former 101-acre dump where so much garbage and industrial waste were burned through the 1950s that it left ash 12 feet deep in places. But it wasn’t until workers broke ground for a new middle school five years ago that testing began in earnest to map the dump’s footprint and the extent of toxic contamination.
Now, as this financially strapped city struggles to find, haul away, or contain the pollution, its story is instructive for old cities across the country as they redevelop their gritty landscapes. The only available open land is often on industrial sites, where the recklessness of the past can easily overtake ambitions for the future. As New Bedford is belatedly learning, the more you look for pollution in such brownfields, the more you are likely to find. Costs escalate, yet no cleanup or amount of testing may ever be thorough enough to make people feel safe, especially when children are involved.
“I would never have built a middle school on that,’’ said Mayor Scott W. Lang, a local lawyer who was elected in 2005 after the middle school construction began. “But now, we’re trying to do what’s right."
EPA officials say they have no authority over where to site schools, only to ensure that contamination is removed or contained enough so that a site is safe for human use. State Department of Environmental Protection officials say the same. And the Department of Education, which used to oversee school building construction and help foot the bill, reviewed the New Bedford school as they normally did, but only after the site was picked and the design work was finished. The Massachusetts School Building Authority, which has since replaced the state Education Department in overseeing school construction, now gets involved early on in the planning stages.
-- Beth Daley Area schools get $28.9M in bonding in fed stimulus funding-- Capital Times Wisconsin: August 13, 2009 [ abstract] Last week, Madison area schools received about $28.9 million in bonding authority through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as allocated by Governor Jim Doyle and State Superintendent Tony Evers.
The bonds came from two programs " the Qualified School Construction Program (QSCB) and the Qualified Zone Academy Bond Program (QZAB). These bonds are unique because the interest payments will be covered by tax credits from federal stimulus money.
Normally, when districts authorize construction or renovation projects they have to pay interest on the bonds they issue to pay for the project. The AARA will provide federal tax credits to the financial institution issuing the bonds, eliminating the need for the school district to pay interest on these bonds.
Wisconsin received a total of $170.7 million through QSCB, but federal law required about $72.1 million be immediately set aside for the Milwaukee Public Schools. This left the other $98.6 million for the rest of the districts in the state. Schools applied for the bonds to help pay for new construction, rehabilitation or repair of school facilities as well as acquiring new land or equipment.
Funds from the other program " QZAB " were designated for school districts that have at least 35 percent low-income students. These funds are to be used to rehabilitate or repair school facilities. Districts have about two years to issue the bonds, and can apply for both types of bonds again in 2010.
Five Madison area school district received QSCB bonds, and the Madison Metropolitan School District received a QZAB bond. Following are details from each school about their plans for the bond authority:
Madison Metro -- $2,773,000 from QZAB, $1,084,000 from QCSB
The Madison Metropolitan School District received money from both federal stimulus pools " their full request from QZAB and about 35 percent of their original QSCB request.
The district submitted two lists of potential projects, mostly deferred maintenance projects, including re-roofing part of Memorial High School, wiring for wireless infrastructure across the district, and adding safety equipment to science labs across the district.
-- Kim Ukura Neenah and Kaukauna school districts will pay no interest in $1 million loan from federal stimulus program
-- Appleton Post Crescent Wisconsin: August 13, 2009 [ abstract] The Neenah and Kaukauna school districts each have secured a $500,000 no-interest loan for construction projects through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
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Neenah will use its $500,000 in no-interest bonds to help pay for the installation of a $1.2 million districtwide fiber-optic communications network. The work is ongoing and should be completed by July 1.
"We had a shovel-ready project in technology, which is what those bonds were designed for," said Kandis Sullivan, director of business services.
Kaukauna will use its $500,000 to help pay for $1 million in improvements, including the replacement of roofs, single-pane windows and playground equipment at Victor Haen Elementary School and River View Middle School.
Gov. Jim Doyle and the state Department of Public Instruction recently announced the allocation of $98.6 million in loans through the Qualified School Construction Bond program.
Unlike a typical bond, where the issuer pays the buyer interest on the investment, the stimulus bonds provide federal tax credits to buyers, relieving school districts of interest payments.
-- Duke Behnke Residents criticize proposed site for Hyattsville school-- Business Gazette Maryland: August 13, 2009 [ abstract] Hyattsville parents, teachers and school officials are impressed by the design of the new elementary school Prince George's County plans to build in the city, which could open as soon as 2012.
But they don't like the Nicholson Street site on which the school would be built.
"Nobody is happy with this site," Prince George's County Board of Education Member Heather Iliff (Dist. 2) said at a July 29 community meeting on the proposed school. "Not the school board, not the community. It's the challenge of trying to build a school in an already built-up urban area."
Architects revealed the preliminary concepts for the school at the public meeting, which county school officials conducted at Hyattsville Middle School.
The $25 million school, which officials have yet to name, will be designed to serve 790 students and to grow and adapt to future changes in the school system while immediately easing the burdens of other elementary schools in Hyattsville — University Park Elementary, Rosa Parks Elementary and Hyattsville Elementary — that are over capacity.
The roughly 25 people who attended the meeting outlined a litany of concerns they had about the school's proposed site on Nicholson Street — which is in a lot adjacent to the athletic fields at Nicholas Orem Middle School — including that Nicholson Street already is too crowded with neighborhood traffic to handle the daily congestion a school would generate.
Residents also said they were concerned that the 3.9-acre site on which the school would be built is too small. According to the architects at the meeting, schools are typically constructed on sites as large as 20 acres.
-- Ben Giles School district could borrow $25M in stimulus funds-- Cape Coral Daily Breeze Florida: August 12, 2009 [ abstract] Lee County Schools Superintendent James Browder was directed by the school board Tuesday afternoon to look into borrowing $25 million from a federal stimulus program designed to stimulate school renovation projects.
According to Browder, the $25 million has to be used for renovating schools or construction projects that end in the addition of services for students. Furthermore, the district would have 15 years in which to pay it back interest-free.
The board was excited about the possibility of using the $25 million in stimulus funds to renovate schools, while leaving its own money in the capital account to collect interest or be used for another project slated to begin two or three years down the line.
"We think it would be smart for us to take advantage of the dollars to stimulate this local economy with construction," said Browder.
Injecting money into school construction projects could also reawaken the lagging construction industry that often dictates the health of the Southwest Florida economy.
Funds would only be accessible through the district's capital fund - used to pay for construction or renovations - so it could not help offset some of the operational funds. The capital plan is balanced for five years, said Browder.
Lee County was notified two years ago by the federal government that it was one of 11 in the state that qualified for stimulus dollars because of its high percentage of families living below the poverty level.
The board reached a consensus on accepting the stimulus funds. Board member Robert Chilmonik suggested the district uses the funds to invest in renewable energy such as solar power on buildings
-- MCKENZIE CASSIDY Huntley Project school less than expected-- Billings Gazette Montana: August 10, 2009 [ abstract] The Huntley Project schools bond request got about $5 million cheaper last week.
The district qualified for the entire $9.75 million request to be paid for with interest-free Qualified School Construction Bonds. The bonds are available as part of this year's federal stimulus spending.
The district will still ask for $9.75 million when bond ballots are mailed today, however voters will have less money to pay back if they approve the spending. The money will be used to build a combined junior high-high school to replace the high school which was destroyed by arson fire in September 2008.
If the district had to buy standard bonds, the 4.5 percent interest would cost near $5.1 million during the 20-year life of the funding. Without the interest, the average homeowner in the district will save around 13 percent each year of the 16-year life of the bonds, said Huntley Project Superintendent Wes Coy.
With the interest-free bonds, the estimated tax impact on a residential property valued at $100,000 - which means a taxable value of around $2,000 - would be about $125 a year. That's compared to about $146 if the bonds were interest bearing.
The value of a mill in the district will be updated in the next few weeks. A small change is expected, according to Bridge Ekstrom, from D.A. Davidson Co. Without the cost of interest on the bond request, the number of mills used drops from 73 to 64.
School leaders are thrilled with chance to use interest-free bonds, Coy said.
"It takes away a significant chunk of the tax burden," he said. "This is a pretty rare opportunity."
The state received about $31 million in QSCB funding. If this month's bond request fails, there is no guarantee - actually, it's probably unlikely - that the district would be offered the interest-free funding again, Coy said.
The QSCB program is administered by the state Office of Public Instruction, which notified Huntley Project school leaders of the allotment last week. The timing is good, Coy said, as today the county elections office will send ballots to around 2,400 registered voters.
Voters must return their ballots by Sept. 1. On Sept. 1, ballots may be delivered to the Yellowstone County Elections Office or to a drop site at the school. Elections officials will bring the ballots into Billings for the count, which is expected to be completed shortly after the vote closes at 8 p.m.
Huntley Project trustees hope to build a two-story, around 90,000-square-foot school. Their goal is to start construction this fall and move into a new school for the 2010-11 school year. The building is designed with wings for junior high and high school. It will have a cafeteria that is used by the entire campus.
-- BECKY SHAY Jefferson Parish school officials advance tax package for new schools-- The Times-Picayune Louisiana: August 10, 2009 [ abstract] With an eye toward building modern but modest campuses, Jefferson Parish public school officials Monday began laying out their visions for new schools and a property tax increase to build them.
Officials have less than a month to sell a $200 million construction package to the School Board but less than two weeks to draft a proposal for the board's scrutiny.
Board members plan to decide Sept. 2 whether to place the issue on the Nov. 14 ballot in the form of a 3.45-mill tax increase.
"We don't have long," said Carolyn Van Norman, West Bank regional assistant superintendent. "We've got to get this done."
Van Norman and the east bank regional assistant superintendent, Jeffery Helmstetter, conducted the meeting, the first of three this week with top-level administrators, parent leaders and officials from the Jefferson Federation of Teachers. Business leaders were invited but did not attend.
Using templates from the National Clearinghouse for Educational Planning, officials discussed everything from appropriate class and school size to school layout and design.
Most of the discussion centered on elementary schools and the need to build schools that are ready for advanced technology, have space for professional development and parent volunteers and are designed around clusters that act as "schools within schools."
Chief Financial Officer Raylynn Stephens advised against building a school that cannot be expanded.
"I'm not talking about spending a lot of money to build a Taj Mahal," she said. "But it would be more cost effective to put what we need in these schools rather than coming back at a later date and adding on or adjusting."
-- Barri Bronston Carthage School District voters adopt bond issue-- Joplin Globe Missouri: August 04, 2009 [ abstract] The voter turnout was small, but the margin of the vote Tuesday was more than enough for passage of a bond issue for the Carthage R-9 School District designed to cover interest costs on construction of a new Carthage Vocational-Technical School.
The proposal was approved by nearly 77 percent of those casting ballots, with 643 votes in favor and 195 opposed, according to complete but unofficial results. Approval by a two-thirds majority was required, even though the issue will not increase property taxes, because the measure called for a general-obligation bond issue.
“It’s great,” Blaine Henningsen, superintendent of schools, said of voters’ endorsement.
Henningsen said he did have some concerns about the measure, based on the turnout at informational meetings conducted by the school board. Two sessions were held; one resident showed up at the first one, and the second attracted no one.
“Jeff Jones (board president) said people understood the proposal and that it wouldn’t raise taxes, and he was right,” Henningsen said.
Voter approval of the bond issue doesn’t affect the vo-tech construction project. The building already is going up on a site east of the new Carthage High School.
What it does mean is that the up to $850,000 that the Steadley Foundation pledged to pay for interest financing won’t be needed for that purpose.
After plans for the building were announced, the possibility for interest-free financing was made available via Qualified School Construction Bonds that were authorized as part of the federal stimulus package.
School officials decided to seek approval for the bonds, saying that would allow the money that Steadley had pledged as interest to go to some other local needs. Federal guidelines require that voters approve such bond proposals before districts can be eligible for the bonds. The bonds will be sold to absorb the financing costs, and bond purchasers will get federal tax credits instead of interest.
Keyword Search: ARRA, Stimulus, Bond
-- Susan Redden D.C. park gets under way-- Bizjournals.com District of Columbia: August 04, 2009 [ abstract] One shuttered D.C. school site has a future filled with active children, which is welcoming news for a neighborhood where one in five people are overweight.
Demolition started on the LeDroit Park community’s former Gage-Eckington school Tuesday, which will be replaced with a three-acre community park filled with a tot lot, playground and dog park.
“We’ve worked hand-in-glove with the LeDroit Park community to get us where we are today,” said Mayor Adrian Fenty. “This is going to be a beautiful city park with great features for everyone in the neighborhood.”
Located along V Street, between Fourth and Second streets, the new park will also include a multi-purpose athletic field, running trails and rain gardens. The park is expected to be finished next June.
The D.C. nonprofit Common Good City Farm -- formerly the 7th Street Garden -- will keep managing the community garden, which sits on the site.
D.C. closed the school at 2025 3rd St. NW last year. Meetings were held throughout the LeDroit Park community in April and May to let neighbors vote for park features.
D.C.-based Lee + Papa & Associates is leading the design process and the D.C. Department of Real Estate Services is managing the demolition and construction elements of the project.
-- Tierney Plumb Stimulus Funds to Help Omaha Public Schools Build-- Omaha World-Herald Nebraska: August 04, 2009 [ abstract] The Omaha school district plans to spend at least $40 million on school construction in the coming year. And it doesn’t require a public vote. The federal stimulus program includes two different ways for school districts to tap money for construction and renovation " if they are given federal authorization. Most of the resources were designated for urban school districts. Under the stimulus program, the Omaha Public Schools is authorized over the next two years to sell nearly $35 million in interest-free Qualified School Construction Bonds. The district also is allowed to sell Build America Bonds " with a unique interest rebate for the district.
Finance administrator Dennis Pool told school board members that the bonds will allow the district to save resident taxpayers more than $13 million in interest over the life of the bonds, compared to typical bonds with no break on interest. Pool said more of the same type of bonds could be issued in as soon as six months to complete projects identified in the district’s recently released five-year facility study.
“You’d have a lot of flexibility to make some decisions,” Pool told the board. Since the district’s facility study " and its $500 million list of projects " was issued last month, Pool said he has been asked by constituents, “‘Why don’t you go issue $500 million in bonds?’” He explained to the board that legally, the district can levy only 5.2 cents per $100 of valuation to pay back bonds. The $40 million in stimulus program bonds would require 3.5 cents per $100 or less to repay. According to the Internal Revenue Service, Build America Bonds are available to state and local governments for building improvements. In this case, the federal government will pay up to 35 percent of the interest meant for investors. The interest-free Qualified School Construction Bonds are specific to public school construction and qualify investors for income tax credits in lieu of bond interest payments, according to IRS guidance.
-- Michaela Saunders S.F. school district's property portfolio
-- San Francisco Chronicle California: August 03, 2009 [ abstract] In San Francisco, where a nothing-special square foot of dirt can carry a price tag of $200, the city's school district is sitting on a gold mine.
With more than 19 million square feet of property, the district is a major player on the city's Monopoly board with real estate holdings from Baltic Avenue to Boardwalk.
Most of that real estate will continue to see children doing things like playing four square or sorting out algebra problems and probably will never see a for-sale sign.
But across the San Francisco landscape are other district properties: a de facto dog park, long-abandoned school sites, parking lots and, most notably, much of the dirt under Nordstrom at the Westfield San Francisco Centre at Fifth and Market streets.
The Nordstrom land brings in $2.5 million annually, but too much of the district's acreage has sat idle and fruitless at a time when the district has struggled to overcome a $46 million budget shortfall for the current fiscal year.
"In a perfect world, the school district could and should be doing more (with its property), and we're trying," said Chief Facilities Officer David Goldin. "We have assets that we should be leveraging to the district's economic advantage."
Weed-riddled asphalt
Take 1950 Mission St., a 36,000-square-foot plot of weed-riddled asphalt and boarded-up portable buildings splashed with graffiti.
The property is one of 10 sites identified by the district as "surplus," an official designation required by state law before school officials can sell, trade or lease district land. Until two years ago, it was the site of Phoenix High School, an alternative school where students were taught in a ring of now-rundown portables.
Under good economic circumstances, the property could be worth $14 million or more, according to a consultant's analysis earlier this year. All told, the 10 surplus sites could bring in $132 million - if the district decided to sell. But that may not be the best course of action among a number of options that include leasing, developing or sitting on the properties in case school officials decide they need them later.
Over the last couple of years, officials have stepped up efforts to assess district property and evaluate potential uses - from teacher housing to high-rise condos. They identified the surplus property in 2007 and then commissioned a study to assess the best uses for each site. The February consultant's report recommended single- or multi-family residential use in every case.
But now what?
"School districts historically are not particularly wise on real estate," Goldin said.
-- Jill Tucker New $34.4M Moultrie Middle wired for the future-- Charleston Post Courier South Carolina: August 01, 2009 [ abstract] Teachers at the former Moultrie Middle School building couldn't use Smartboards because the campus didn't have the technology infrastructure to support it.
When the new $34.4 million Moultrie Middle building on Coleman Boulevard opens in a couple of weeks, Smartboards will be standard equipment in every teacher's classroom.
"We had nothing," said school Principal Jean Siewicki. "We were really behind in terms of technology. This is so awesome. We're totally wired for anything we want to have in the future."
The technological capabilities of the new building should enable the school to have whatever it needs today and for years into the future. It's a significant change for the middle school that had outgrown its outdated building during the last three decades.
The front exterior of the new 125,000-square-foot building was designed with the site's history in
mind. The campus of Moultrie Middle once housed Moultrie High. The school district closed the high school in 1973, demolished the building and built Moultrie Middle on the same site. Town officials suggested that the new middle school's entrance mimic the original facade of the Moultrie High building, and everyone loved the idea, Siewicki said.
The new building finally gives the middle school the space it needs to serve its 850 students; more than half of the school's students had been in mobile classrooms. The campus had so many mobile classrooms that it didn't have space for more to be added.
The space constraints had a ripple effect on the school. Moultrie Middle has a strong fine arts department with a large chorus and band, but the chorus would have to gather in the cafeteria if they wanted to practice with everyone together. The band squeezed into a practice space about the size of two classrooms.
"It was pitiful," Siewicki said. "It certainly wasn't what we have now. It's just phenomenal, the space there."
-- Diette Courrégé Agency approves school projects-- The Republican Massachusetts: July 30, 2009 [ abstract] The state School Building Authority voted Wednesday to spend $20.3 million to make repairs at 14 different Springfield schools and up to $47 million to build a new Minnechaug Regional High School, a project which is yet to be approved by the voters.
The authority also agreed to move forward school construction proposals in Chicopee and Williamsburg from the "hold" category to a study phase.
The approvals are among some of the first in Western Massachusetts since the state revamped the way it assists communities in funding school building improvements. Now communities follow a series of state-approved steps to ensure there are few cost overruns or poorly designed solutions to fixing overcrowding or aging buildings.
Wilbraham and Hampden officials recently finished a feasibility study that determined it would be better to replace the aging Minnechaug Regional High School than to renovate it.
The School Building Authority's vote agreed to fund 61.7 percent of the proposed $76.79 million school project. The state grant will total $47.4 million, leaving the estimated $30 million balance to be funded by taxpayers in Wilbraham and Hampden.
"We are pleased that the MSBA has decided to partner with us to fund the major part of the cost of this project," said Peter T. Salerno, chairman of the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee. "Our mission is to provide the best educational opportunity to children at an affordable cost."
The School Committee is scheduling a meeting with selectmen from Wilbraham and Hampden on Tuesday at Minnechaug Regional High School to explain the proposed funding for the project.
School officials have tentatively discussed holding special town meetings on Sept. 21 to allow residents to approve or reject taking on the estimated $30 million debt for the project. If approved, tentative dates for the debt exclusion override elections, needed to finalize the project, would be Oct. 20.
The vote supporting Springfield projects was expected because state officials announced the grants in June. They fall under a pilot program that lumps a large number of projects together in communities which have more than 14 schools.
-- JEANETTE DeFORGE Fenty announces school improvements-- Washington Continent District of Columbia: July 30, 2009 [ abstract] D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization Executive Director Allen Lew announced the completion of the modernized H.D. Cooke Elementary School.
Members from the student body and surrounding community gathered at 2525 17th Street for the grand opening of the $35 million newly renovated historic building.
“These improvements highlight the original building structure while delivering world-class facility upgrades that will double the number of students the original school could hold,” Mayor Fenty said. “I commend Director Lew and his team for their hard work and dedication on this project. This new school is a premier facility that H.D. students will enjoy for years to come.”
“Centering on adaptive reuse, the design for HD Cooke features the reuse of more than 75 percent of existing walls, floors, and roof, and the reuse of more than 50 percent of existing interior non-structural elements,” Lew said. “Therefore, classrooms and core learning spaces will benefit from daylight, lighting, thermal comfort controls and enhanced acoustics.”
The modernized school’s square footage was increased by almost a third " from 64,000 to 86,000 square feet and will now have the capacity to accommodate 442 pre-kindergarten through 5th graders. While construction was underway, the students, faculty and staff were located at the former K.C. Lewis ES, at 300 Bryant St., NW.
The site features water-efficient landscaping and storm water management control with the installation of two sand filters. Additionally, construction materials consist of regional, low-emitting, and rapidly renewable materials, certified wood and recycled content.
More than 75 percent of construction waste has been diverted from landfills. Energy models indicate that the building design will result in 23 percent energy savings, in accordance with the District’s model of green power for 70 percent of annual electricity use.
-- Staff Writer TISD Board To Consider Athletic Field Agreement With Boys & Girls Club-- Tyler Morning Telegraph Texas: July 30, 2009 [ abstract] Dogan Middle School could see some changes to its athletic field as Tyler ISD prepares to make way for the new Griffin Elementary School that will be built next to Dogan.
Tyler ISD trustees will consider an agreement with the Boys & Girls Clubs of East Texas to build the new athletic field for Dogan at the Boys & Girls Club site across the street from the middle school.
The TISD Board of Trustees will meet at 7 p.m. tonight in the Dr. Jack L. Davidson Conference Center at the Jim Plyler Instructional Complex, 807 W. Glenwood. Closed session begins at 6 p.m.
Griffin, one of five new schools being built as part of the $124.9 million bond program approved in November, will be constructed on property next to Dogan near the corner of Broadway Avenue and 28th Street, which TISD plans to extend to Broadway.
Officials said earlier in July that TISD expects to go out for bids on the Griffin project in September. Construction could begin in mid-October.
Because of site constraints and the size of the new Griffin, there is not enough space to meet the required amount of playground area for the new elementary school, according to TISD agenda information, TISD plans to use the existing football practice field at Dogan for the playground area and build the new athletic field on the Boys & Girls Club site.
TISD retained the Brannon Corporation for the new design, according to agenda information. The design includes a football/soccer field, 6-foot-wide walking trail, irrigation, drainage, fencing and dirt work.
The administration is recommending trustees approve a bid from L&L Asphalt Corp. of $671,755.55 for the work. Funding in the amount of $737,405.55, including engineering fees, would come from the bond program, according to TISD information.
-- MEGAN MIDDLETON Wisconsin School District Consider Stimulus Bonds-- Wisconsin Dells Events Wisconsin: July 28, 2009 [ abstract] With the economy suffering, the Wisconsin Dells School Board is looking for the most cost-effective way to proceed " if it does at all " with building a $2 million, eight-classroom addition to Spring Hill School, and the board considered funding the project with special construction bonds with no or little interest because the interest would be funded by the federal government through stimulus dollars, possibly saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The board heard a presentation from Michel Clark, director at Robert W. Baird. Clark explained the similarities and differences between Qualified Zone Academy Bonds and Qualified School Construction Bonds funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Both provide funding at no interest or very low interest levels. The lender benefits from a tax credit instead of collecting interest from the school district borrowing the money. The Qualified School Construction Bonds are designed to help districts with new construction, repairs, the purchase of land or purchase of equipment for the renovated or new facility. The Qualified Zone Academy Bonds are for districts in Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Communities with more than 35 percent of students in the building eligible for free and reduced price lunches. It requires a 10 percent private matching contribution and isn’t available for new construction but rather the repair of current facilities. The QZAB could cover the cost of equipment, computers, furnishings, heating and cooling projects, curriculum development or staff development.
Across the country $11 billion has been set aside in both years 2009 and 2010 for the QSCB, according to Clark. Wisconsin received more than $170 million in 2009. More than $72 million is reserved for the Milwaukee Public Schools and more than $98 million was allocated for school districts in the rest of the state. QZABs were allocated $1.4 billion in each of 2009 and 2010 nationwide. Wisconsin received more than $26 million in 2009.
Keyword Search: stimulus, arra, bonds
-- Anna Krejci Oregon Schools: It's Not Easy, or Cheap, Being Green -- The Oregonian Oregon: July 27, 2009 [ abstract] Green schools can save energy, they're healthier for students and they offer real-life lessons on sustainability, but Oregon school districts remain cautious about building them. Of the 27 new schools approved by Oregon voters in 2006, about one in four have been or will be built to national green standards. School boards cite cost as the main reason they haven't pushed for such schools. But there appears to be a move by some districts to build green without the expense and perceived hassle of meeting national standards. Green is a nebulous term, they say, and they don't need a certificate to prove their new schools were built to be sustainable.
But how do taxpayers know the schools are truly green? Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) is widely known as the industry standard for green structures. Like a Nike swoosh, a LEED medallion on a school brings a level of recognition. At least five schools across Oregon have received LEED certifications and have the medallions to prove it. Another 16 new public schools are expected to be approved for certification within the next year. Created by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED offers four levels of achievement from "certified" to "platinum" based on sustainability points. The catch is it costs a bit more and requires a lot of collaboration and paperwork to prove the schools meet green performance standards.
Districts that build to what some school officials call "LEED equivalent" don't have the medallion or the cost because they can choose which standards to meet and there is no mandatory third-party assessment of the environmental work. "LEED equivalent is an honor system," said Portland architect John Weekes, known nationally for his work on sustainable schools.
More new schools are on the way across Oregon after voters in 2008 approved at least 15 new buildings from Salem to Redmond. Of five districts contacted, all plan to build green schools, but officials are still weighing whether to go with LEED or the equivalent.
Sherwood School District wants to prove its schools are green. The 4,500-student district is finishing construction of two schools it hopes will bring LEED gold ratings. "We believe the ... LEED certification is the highest and most rigorous measure," said Sherwood Superintendent Dan Jamison. The program can add between 1 and 3 percent to the cost of construction, according to Oregon architects and a study commissioned by the U.S. Green Building Council. For a $15 million elementary school, that can be as high as $450,000. It can tack as much as $1 million onto construction of a high school. But several Portland architects said that's changing as the economy cools demand for products and the availability of green building materials improves, which reduces prices. In addition, the Oregon Department of Energy offers grants and tax credits through its High Performance School Program. In Sherwood, Jamison said a drop in construction prices is expected to save the district $3 million on its green schools. "Perhaps that made the decision (for LEED) easier for us," he said.
-- Wendy Owen District 62 to borrow $109 million for facilities upgrades, repairs-- Chicago Daily Herald Illinois: July 25, 2009 [ abstract] Des Plaines Elementary District 62 plans to overhaul its schools with a $109 million loan that officials say won't cost taxpayers an extra dime.
The school board recently approved a resolution to issue $109 million in alternate general obligation bonds. A public hearing will be conducted on the bond issuance at the Aug. 17 board meeting. The school board must then authorize issuing the bonds, likely repayable over 20 years.
The money would be used to upgrade and repair facilities and equipment, and add on to the district's 11 school buildings beginning next year.
"There are some infrastructure needs that haven't been addressed for many, many years in existing buildings," said Nelson Gray, District 62 assistant superintendent for business. "There's also some additions that are really needed to bring us up to speed in the areas of cafeteria, kitchens, library and technology needs."
Gray said taxpayers won't see an increase on their property tax bills, adding the bonds would primarily be paid through existing general fund revenues, cash reserves, and other funding sources such as federal stimulus monies, and future tax revenues such as the proposed Des Plaines casino.
District officials have been working on a comprehensive school modernization plan for about four years. Building security, infrastructure upgrades, and overcrowding are driving the need for improvements, Gray said.
"In some cases we are redesigning entrances," Gray said. "There is no controlled access to our school sites."
Once reconfigured, all schools will have a controlled entry point where visitors can check in before being allowed to enter the building.
A major addition to the district's facilities will be the construction of an early childhood learning center at Forest Elementary School.
"We will be able to provide targeted services at one location for our early childhood population, instead of having it in all the elementary level buildings," Gray said. "It frees up some space that we need at the other buildings to allow for some new classroom/instruction settings."
The center alone is estimated to cost roughly $13 million. The district has applied for $1 million in federal stimulus funding to help with its construction.
Keyword Search: stimulus, arra, bonds
-- Madhu Krishnamurthy School Construction Work Keeps Oregon Economy Moving -- Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon: July 24, 2009 [ abstract] As if crumbling and overcrowded schools weren’t motivation enough, school district and college officials in Oregon have additional pressure to get bond measures passed: the health of the design and construction industries depends on their success. Worth $109 billion, educational construction is the building industry’s largest sector, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Nationwide, it’s been one of the few sectors that has grown during the recession and kept some life in a slumping construction market.
The trend holds for Oregon as well. Although the state does not measure the value of statewide school construction, data from individual school districts, colleges and universities suggests that work related to education projects remains strong. Dull Olson Weekes Architects, for example, is riding a wave that started rolling this past November on election night. “Because most of our work is schools, we were fortunate that a lot of the bills we worked on in planning passed,” said Tami Fuller, the firm’s marketing manager. School projects can take two to three years to complete design and construction, Fuller said. And districts often stretch out bond projects for a number of years, providing sustained work from a single bond measure. That promise of long-term work allowed Dull Olson Weekes to hire eight architectural employees and one administrative employee in the past year, Fuller said.
Educational construction has made up a larger portion of Turner Construction Co.’s work since the recession began, said Dan Kavanaugh, vice president and general manager. Turner is working on high-profile projects at the University of Oregon, Oregon State University and the University of Portland. “The public sector is really where a lot of work is available,” Kavanaugh said. “The higher ed folks seem to just keep plugging along.” They plug along because the need is so great, said Bob Simonton, capital construction director for the Oregon University System. “We have a $670 million backlog of capital repair projects and another $400-some-million in seismic (improvements),” Simonton said. All the universities need is money, Simonton said " and the Oregon Legislature just approved a bunch. The capital construction budget is $713 million, Simonton said, up from around $600 million last biennium. “We got one of the largest capital budgets in our history in one of the most difficult economic times.” Capital projects will provide jobs for years to come, he testified before the Legislature during the 2009 session. “I said, ‘I have ways to leverage the budget and create many more jobs,’” Simonton said. The university system has six years to complete projects paid for by each legislative session. And there’s always the promise of more projects in the next biennium. “It’s a great time for us to be busy,” Simonton said, “And for the contractors and design professionals. “They need the work, and we need the work done.”
-- Justin Carinci Proposed school site change sparks division on board
-- Minnesota: July 20, 2009 [ abstract] Should a new school proposed for Cook and Orr also serve Tower?
A delegation from Tower raised that possibility during a site selection committee meeting on Thursday in Orr that irritated some committee members.
Board member Zelda Bruns, who represents the Orr attendance area, complained that inserting Tower into the mix now “just muddies the waters” and would push the location of a new school to serve Cook and Orr students further south to accommodate Tower. For students from Crane Lake, Nett Lake and Ash River already commuting more than 20 miles to classes in Orr, Bruns said, it was essential to keep the new school as close as possible.
“We voted on an option that called for building a new school halfway between Cook and Orr,” said Bruns, “Tower was not a part of this... now we’re talking about changing what we’re doing.”
Board member Tom Beaudry, who represents Cook, acknowledged that it’s a sensitive issue, but contended Tower’s involvement is appropriate.
“We want a solution for the Tower area,” he said, “Personally, I’m willing to look at whatever it’s going to take to get them on board. We can talk about locations, but we’ve got to pass a vote. If we don’t, the kids are going to suffer.”
As for concerns about students from Crane Lake and Nett Lake, Beaudry said there are options identified in a transportation study that could reduce travel time for them.
Options for Tower
At issue is a reorganization plan, which reduces the number of school buildings operated by the district and will cut labor, maintenance and utility costs by $5 million. Adopted in June by the school board, the plan is designed to prevent the district from falling into statutory operating debt while enhancing its curriculum. The proposal calls for bonding for $78.8 million to pay for construction and remodeling of schools and must be approved by voters to proceed. A referendum is tentatively slated for November.
One component of the plan calls for retaining a remodeled elementary school in Tower, but requires students in grades 7-12 to be bused to Babbitt-Embarrass.
Board member Andy Larson, who represents the Tower-Soudan attendance area, voted against the plan and encouraged the board to work out a different option for T-S. Board members heeded his advice and opened talks with T-S residents on alternatives that would be more palatable but also serve students’ educational needs and be fiscally responsible. One of the options raised was partnering with Cook and Orr on a new school.
Tower resident Troy Swanson said people would be more apt to send their children to a new school near Cook than to Babbitt because the two communities share stronger bonds forged through work, school, socializing and Lake Vermilion.
Educational programming available at the school could also sway people to send students to a new school near Cook. “More alternatives in classes could smooth over some of that distance,” said Swanson.
Even so, he added that travel distance is crucial in determining where to send children to school.
-- Tom Klein Granville eager to show off new primary school-- Peoria Journal Star Illinois: July 18, 2009 [ abstract] More than five years after a spring tornado hit an elementary school here and sparked a long legal and political battle on how to replace it, Putnam County School District officials are preparing to open the doors of a new building.
The district will host an open house with guided tours from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday to celebrate the completion of the new Putnam County Primary School on Silverspoon Road at the north edge of town.
The nearly 40,000-square-foot school sits on the site long occupied by the building hit by a tornado on April 20, 2004. But it will bring its own unique combination of history and innovation to that site when it opens Aug. 14 to receive the district's youngest students in grades pre-kindergarten through second grade.
For one thing, it will stand out as a relative rarity as a totally new school in an era when additions and expansions are the more common steps taken by school districts.
"It's the first new construction in almost 40 years in the Marshall-Putnam-Woodford regional school district," superintendent Jay McCracken said.
And as such, it represents an effort to design a school building based on the needs of the youngest children being served, noted School Board president Judith Hopkins. Whereas kindergarten and pre-K children were included in public school planning almost as an afterthought not long ago, they are the primary focus of the new facility in Granville, said Hopkins, a retired teacher and administrator.
"It's only recently that schools have been built for kindergarten and preschoolers," Hopkins said. "At Putnam County Primary School, teachers and students will have a great new space for learning."
-- GARY L. SMITH FD school board considers new school-- Fort Dodge Messenger Iowa: July 14, 2009 [ abstract] Changes may loom ahead for students of the Fort Dodge Community School District in the form of a new school building.
However, plans are still a long way off as the Fort Dodge school board weighed the pros and cons of building a new middle school versus a new high school to accommodate the district's needs Monday evening.
The board approved the final draft of a facility plan prepared by the DLR group, an architecture and engineering firm hired to examine the building inefficiencies within the district. The plan included a proposal for a new middle school, along with other possible solutions.
The board ultimately decided a new middle school would be a better solution for the district.
According to Vincent Ward, senior associate with the DLR Group, a new middle school would cause less disruption and movement of students when compared to a new high school, would be built to deliver a middle school education and would have minimal impact on the elementary school levels.
"You're designing a facility which matches a middle school curriculum and won't have to have any modifications on it, so I think there's some benefit to that," said Ward.
The cost of building a new high school and reconfiguring Senior High School to a middle school would also cost around $12.8 million dollars more than only building a new middle school, said Ward.
"We're talking about major reconfiguration," he said. "This is gutting out walls and really reconfiguring it."
The higher cost also means a new high school could not be built without a bond issuance, whereas building a new middle school could be paid for with statewide sales tax funds.
"There's no way, I just don't see it," said school board member Jan Merz on building a new high school.
The board also approved a motion for a site evaluation by the DLR group to examine the feasibility of a site for a new building. The cost of the evaluation will be between $7,000 and $8,000, billed hourly and not to exceed $8,000.
-- IAN SCHMIT Superintendent: Sales tax will cover projects-- Clinton Herald Iowa: July 14, 2009 [ abstract] Clinton School District Superintendent Richard Basden says a referendum is not expected to go before voters to help cover the costs of three projects.
Instead, the school board wants more research and information, possibly from outside firms, to help determine what the trends will be for district enrollment in the future and whether the sales tax revenue " which benefits the district in the form of the local option sales tax " will grow.
The board is looking at those elements as it works to decide how to fund construction of a new middle school, air conditioning at Bluff and Whittier elementary schools and the construction of an aquatic center/gym at Clinton High School.
Basden told the board that estimates to complete all three projects range from $38 million to $44 million. The amount of sales tax that will be generated ranges from $37 to $44 million.
According to a memo from Basden to the board, a meeting took place July 7 in which those attending discussed current information as to the estimated amount of sales tax revenue that will be available for board allocation. Those who attended or participated via telephone were representatives from Piper Jaffray, Dave Briden, Iowa Association of School Board project managers, Gregg Cornilson, Jerry Van Scoy, and board members Mercia Wolf and Jim McGraw.
Board members Monday night said they believe that Piper Jaffray is extremely conservative and want more information from another source.
Many factors are impacting the estimated revenue. Supporting documents indicate that the total revenue estimates range from $54,181,647 to $69,228,313. After interest expense is deducted from both numbers the net spendable amount ranges from $37,170,002 " a worst case scenario in which there would be no sales tax revenue growth and a large decline in student population " to $44 million-plus.
On the project expense side, a new middle school was estimated to be from $25 to $30 million, the aquatic complex is estimated at $8.5 million, with the air conditioning project costing $3.5 million for a total of $37 to $42 million.
Basden is recommending the three projects move forward with design planning along with related services commitments. He said the thought originally was to possibly have a referendum to cover the projects, but that will not happen, he said.
-- Charlene Bielema Wetlands remain obstacle in Ocean Springs High School building plans
-- WLOX Mississippi: July 14, 2009 [ abstract] "It will be a beautiful campus and it will be one of the largest state-of-the-art campuses in south Mississippi, and we're overdue," said Ocean Springs Superintendent Dr. Robert Hirsch.
The new Ocean Springs High School will be so large, its length will be about the size of three football fields.
"You see the actual building, which is a quadrangle and open courtyard," he said as he pointed to the campus layout.
Hirsch wants to build the school on a large piece of land the district owns at the corner of Old Spanish Trail and the new Highway 57 extension. The campus would sit on 40 acres. However, 20 of those acres are wetlands.
"We have some wetlands issues that we're trying to resolve and we feel like we have a great plan that will please the public," Hirsch said.
That mitigation plan involves enhancing and preserving the remaining 60 acres of wetlands that are on the same property.
"There is no agency that is preserving 60 acres of wetlands south of Highway 90 that I'm aware of. That's why we think this is a community-friendly plan," said Hirsch.
Hirsch said the campus is also designed to reduce the impact on wetlands. For instance, two practice fields and a softball field would be built on the wetlands to ease drainage. And about 70 large hardwood trees would be saved to beautify the campus.
"We have a lot riding on that you know," he said. "You got actually the bond issue tax that kicks in January, 2010. We got the plans drawn up. We've have probably 20 to 30 different meetings. We have done everything that we could do. We feel like we've done our homework. We feel like we're trying to be good neighbors and certainly consider the public. Our primary motivation, of course, is the future of public education in Ocean Springs."
Dr. Hirsch said the district is in the middle of the permitting process, which takes about 120 days. If the Corps issues a permit, construction could start sometime in November.
©2009 WLOX. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
-- Trang Pham-Bui New Calculator Lays Out Job-Creation Benefits of Energy Stimulus Projects
-- GreenBiz National: July 13, 2009 [ abstract] The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy released a spreadsheet calculator that will estimate the number of jobs likely to be created by state or municipal energy efficiency projects that are funded by the federal government's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), commonly known as the stimulus program. The ACEEE developed the calculator to help officials estimate the economic benefits that a proposed project will create. The tool can be used when states or municipalities are applying for energy efficiency conservation block grants, state energy programs, weatherization assistance, or any of the other stimulus-eligible projects.
"What we have here is a jobs calculator that a variety of parties can use to estimate the economic impacts on net job creation, including well-paying manufacturing and industrial jobs," stated Dr. Neal Elliott, Director of ACEEE's Industrial Program.
The ACEEE has developed a wide range of tools and resources aimed at harnessing the potential of the stimulus bill. The jobs calculator adds to this list by including inputs that are specifically designed to analyze stimulus spending, including variables for the level of energy savings, the amount borrowed, and the period over which investments can occur. These variables make for a high level of realism in projections as well as building in flexibility sufficient to be applied to a wide variety of projects. The calculator, as well as a user's guide and the rest of ACEEE's stimulus resources, is available online at http://www.aceee.org/energy/national/recovery.htm.
Search Tags: stimulus green energy arra
-- Staff Writer San Mateo School District Seeks To Take Advantage Of Stimulus Financing Tools-- San Mateo County Times California: July 13, 2009 [ abstract] San Mateo Union High School District leaders are looking to take advantage of a poor construction market and exploring financial strategies to expand on existing improvement projects or embark on new ones. One of those projects is to increase the size of the planned new theater at Aragon High School, which could add $500,000 to $600,000 to the cost, according to the district. "It's a great time to do construction" because of the lower cost of labor and materials than in years past, said Elizabeth McManus, the district's associate superintendent of business services. The district is checking to see if it "can afford to expand (on projects) with the market the way it is now."
Currently, the plan at Aragon High calls for a 24,000-square-foot, 600-seat theater at a cost of $12.7 million, the district said. But the school has asked that another 2,800 square feet be added to the design for a classroom and dance space. The district could draw a bid for the expanded project that's favorable given the current market, McManus said. The project is part of the $298 million Measure M bond, which voters passed in 2006.
The district is also looking into various financing tools "to lower the cost of borrowing associated with capital-improvement programs," the report said. These tools are part of the federal economic stimulus package and include possibly issuing "bond anticipation notes," which would help generate $1.2 million in interest income for Measure M projects, the report said. That additional revenue could go toward the theater project or other improvement plans, Trustee Stephen Rogers said: "We would have to figure out what the priorities are." Trustees are also scheduled to consider applying for a new tax-credit program that's another part of the federal stimulus package. The Qualified School Construction Bond program provides tax credits in lieu of interest to lenders who issue bonds to eligible districts, the report said. If San Mateo Union qualifies, McManus said, the district "would save taxpayers a tremendous amount of money on Measure M projects." "They won't pay for interest expense, just the principal," she said.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra, bond
-- Neil Gonzales Sad day: historic school is demolished-- Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon: July 10, 2009 [ abstract] The southwest Portland school building whose potential demolition sparked an outpouring of community support has been torn down. The dismantling of Riverdale Grade School’s main building, built in the 1920s, brought the same reaction from preservationists and supporters of a replacement school: sadness.
“This building is and always has been significant to everybody,” said Terry Hoagland, superintendent of the Riverdale School District. “All of us felt a tingle because we didn’t want to see it come down.”
Steve Jewell, head of the Preserve Riverdale organization, the most outspoken opponent of replacing the A.E. Doyle-designed school, said the group’s efforts will turn to preserving the school’s memory, now that the building is gone. “There’s nothing to save now,” he said.
Riverdale school officials still don’t have the permits necessary to build a replacement school, and challenges could delay that process. But even if opponents successfully blocked construction of the new school, Hoagland said, the old building would not hold classes again.
Employees last month moved out of Riverdale Grade School, relocating classrooms to the former Smith Elementary School site, which the district is renting from Portland Public Schools. And the old school was readied for demolition.
In the process, Hoagland said, workers uncovered more asbestos than they expected. “The real trigger that caused our concern was the amount of abatement,” he said.
“It would be costly to repair,” he said. “We found it to be most likely cheaper in Smith.”
Tearing down the building defused another potential foil to the district’s plans. District officials believed an effort was under way to get the building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“There was (an effort), to our knowledge,” Hoagland said. “There’s a signed statement that there was.”
Mike Teskey of the Historic Preservation League of Oregon submitted that statement June 15 to Hearings Officer Gregory Frank, who is deciding whether plans for the new school fit the neighborhood. On, July 1, however, Teskey submitted another letter saying he was mistaken.
“I have since contacted the party who was contemplating a nomination and learned that in fact they chose not to proceed,” Teskey wrote. “That information had not been received by the State Historic Preservation Office who had thought that a nomination might be forthcoming.”
Hoagland said he’s confident the district will receive the permits it needs in time to meet its construction schedule, which includes the opening of a new Riverdale Grade School in fall 2011. If Frank rules against the district, or if anyone appeals Frank’s decision to the Land Use Board of Appeals, that could delay the school’s opening.
-- JUSTIN CARINCI North Carolina's First Green School Nearly Ready for Teachers -- Hickory Record North Carolina: July 06, 2009 [ abstract] As construction on Snow Creek Elementary School nears completion, the environmentally green initiatives being incorporated into the school become more evident. "Right now, I've been told that we're still scheduled to be the first green school in North Carolina (under the new criteria)," said Rick Sain, construction coordinator for Catawba County Schools.
The new criteria for schools has an increased emphasis on indoor environmental quality, better daylight, better acoustics and low-emitting materials, because young children are more susceptible to toxins, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. It also requires schools to have 10 hours of student curriculum per student per year, using the green aspects of the school as a teaching tool. The initial rating system was designed primarily for offices. In April 2007, the U.S. Green Building Council created a new rating system specifically for schools. "We're a little bit behind schedule, but the school should be ready for the staff to start moving things in by the end of July," Sain said.
Green items featured throughout the school include a sediment pond to treat storm water runoff, shade trees to keep the school cooler and large skylights in the lobby area to let in natural light. The classrooms feature more windows than are in many schools' classrooms, although not enough to qualify for green standards, Sain said. Every room in the building has automatic sensors to turn on the lights. In addition, each classroom is outfitted with light switches to control if the teacher wants all the lights off, on or turned to low. Motion detectors can activate the outside lighting of the school, as well. After hours, the inside of the building can be set to be completely dark, with lights only coming on when a door is opened, Sain said.
Another green initiative at Snow Creek Elementary includes controlling the building by an automation system, which will allow administrators to turn of the heating and air conditioning at the school at a set time. The water fountain's cold water also will be turned off at a set time, likely at 3 p.m., Sain said.
-- Sarah Newell Williamson Aspen Ideas Festival: Arne Duncan, It Is Also About the Building-- Huffington Post National: July 02, 2009 [ abstract] At the Aspen Ideas Festival on Wednesday Secretary Arne Duncan was under the spotlight on his plans to revamp the education system in America. With $100B in play, there is a lot of opportunity to encourage and support innovative educational reform and there was no denying his passion and eloquence in speaking about pushing the entire system back to being one of the best in the world.
While a small sliver of the pie I felt the most exciting aspect of this far-reaching plan was the $5B being set up to encourage and reward states that are proactively pushing reform. Additionally while I can write about the many, many positive things said what worried me, as someone involved in improving school environments, was his comment that 'it is not about the building'. Sorry Arne, while I agree it is about the children and while teacher performance is important -- it is ALSO about the building.
Many schools in this country are in utter disrepair and the outdated portable classrooms that dot the landscape of the American school system are harmful to the health of our children. (Just a few hundred miles south of Aspen we know schools built with cancer causing chemicals and rodent infestation issues). The simple fact is when you ask those who are affected by their surroundings -- environments do matter. In the 1940s teacher Loris Malaguzzi showed that children learn first through the interaction with the adults in their lives, then with their peers and finally with the environment around them. The environment is, as coined by Malaguzzi, the third teacher. Fifty years on most educators can attest to the fact that when you have a classroom that inspires children learn.
At the 2007 Aspen Ideas Festival having just spoken on a session on rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina I was walking with colleagues from Architecture for Humanity when the issue about the state of school facilities came up. Getting all worked up about the increased risks of cancer for children in older portable classrooms, we started talking about an idea of actually involving students and teachers in the design of the classroom of the future. Not willing to wait to get the green light to innovate a coalition of the willing came together to launch the Open Architecture Challenge: Classroom -- An international design competition with one caveat, design teams had to include the end users of the classroom as equal partners in the design process. The goal of this initiative is to serve as a catalyst to build safe, sustainable and smart educational facilities around the world.
-- Cameron Sinclair Performance Enhancements-- Athletic Business Ohio: July 02, 2009 [ abstract] You don't have to spend a lot of time searching the Internet to find study after study proclaiming the benefits of so-called green schools — facilities that create healthy, learning-conducive environments while saving energy, resources and money. Reports of improved test scores and reduced student absenteeism caused by illness come from all regions of the country. For example, at Third Creek Elementary School in Statesville, N.C. (the country's first LEED Gold-certified K-12 school, completed in 2002), test scores from before and after students moved into the building provide compelling evidence that learning improves in greener, healthier facilities. And an analysis of two school districts in Illinois found that student attendance rose by 5 percent after cost-effective indoor air quality improvements were made.
But can a similar parallel be made between green schools and increased performance on the basketball or volleyball court or in physical education classes? Ron Kull thinks so. "There would be no reason why you couldn't draw that same correlation," says the senior associate with GBBN Architects in Cincinnati, who is heavily involved with Cincinnati Public Schools' $1 billion facilities master plan. By 2013, CPS will be home to 54 first-class new or renovated schools — almost half of them LEED Silver-certified or higher. "If you're talking about how a student performs in certain environments, why wouldn't it apply to athletic facilities just as much as it does to classrooms?"
Seven years into the district's master plan, Cincinnati is fast becoming the site of one of the largest concentrations of sustainably designed schools in the country. Some of the green strategies include the addition of daylighting and stormwater management systems, geothermal energy technologies, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and low-VOC furniture, paints, carpets and adhesives. Increased recycling and composting efforts, reduced idling of school buses on school property, and improved overall air quality also are part of the plan. At the district's Pleasant Ridge Montessori School, which opened last August and is among the first building projects to be completed, an air-delivery system forces air to rise from the floor and through the ceiling, where it is filtered before re-entering the ventilation system with fresh outdoor air.
Gymnasiums also are a key part of the CPS master plan. Many elementary and secondary school gyms will feature heat-reducing roofs, ample daylighting from glare-reducing windows, high-output fluorescent lights and energy-efficient ceiling fans. Sensors will control the lights and fans to save energy, while also making the spaces more comfortable and conducive to extended periods of activity.
The ultimate goal, according to Robert Knight, GBBN's sustainable design initiative coordinator, is to marry energy efficiency with healthier indoor conditions. "The human body, just like the human mind, performs best in certain environments," he says. "At the professional level, the collegiate level and the high school level, people are looking for ways to create a competitive athletic advantage, and you do that through better indoor environments."
"The community has pushed us to be more aggressive with LEED," says Michael Burson, director of planning and construction for CPS, which enrolls 33,000 students (including more than 10,000 at 16 high schools). Almost half of the money used to fund the master plan is coming from a $480 million school construction bond approved by city voters in 2003. The Ohio School Facilities Commission, the agency charged with overseeing a statewide campaign to help districts fund, plan, design, and build or renovate schools, is kicking in another 23 percent, with the rest of the dollars coming from other local and state sources.
-- Michael Popke Preservationists fight plan for replacing Adamson High School building in north Oak Cliff-- Dallas Morning News Texas: July 01, 2009 [ abstract] The Dallas school district's latest bond program includes more than $48 million to "replace" Adamson High School.
Built in 1915-16 and enlarged over the years, the north Oak Cliff school has foundation and other structural problems requiring ongoing repairs, district officials say.
"We need to modernize it and bring it up to standards where it will last for another 100 years," says Jon Dahlander, a district spokesman.
But alumni leaders and others want Adamson's oldest structures preserved.
A dispute entangling the past and future is present again.
An architecture firm has recommended taking down and reconstructing the school's original three-story building, red-brick facades and auditorium/lunchroom addition "as close to the original design as feasible."
Except for renovations from 2005, the rest of the school would be demolished and rebuilt.
That kind of talk has alumni and others concerned and returning to the city Landmark Commission for help. They want the original building and facades, auditorium dating to 1921 and a 1938 addition left in place and restored.
"We hate to lose an architectural gem like this to demolition," said Glenn Straus, alumni association treasurer. "We want everything built before World War II preserved."
He and other supporters appeared before the landmark commission's designation committee last week to revive their request for city protection. Landmark status, which requires City Council approval, limits changes to a building's exterior and requires commission approval for demolition, but it doesn't affect interior construction.
-- ROY APPLETON Stimulus paves way for school construction-- Rocky Mount Telegram North Carolina: July 01, 2009 [ abstract] Local schools will benefit from zero- or low-interest bonds for construction, established as part of the federal stimulus package.
Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools and Edgecombe County Public Schools both have been allotted funds from the 2009 Qualified School Construction Bonds program. The program offers funds for the specific use of new construction, school rehabilitation or repair and land acquisition in conjunction with those projects. The state was issued $275,772,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to disperse to schools.
Edgecombe Count schools were allocated $1,576,307.06. Nash-Rocky Mount schools were allocated $2,391,375.55.
In Nash-Rocky Mount schools, the money potentially could be used for two upcoming construction projects, Special Assistant for Auxiliary Services Mark Strickland said. He said that the people selling bonds will receive a tax credit in lieu of the interest money they’d typically receive. A zero-interest bond would be a “win-win” for the district, Strickland said.
“It would just mean that we wouldn’t have to pay any interest, we’d just have to pay back the principal,” Strickland said. “In the end, there could be significant cost savings.”
Edgecombe County schools Community Relations Director Diane LeFiles said the district has a long-range facilities plan that serves as a guide for decisions about construction and renovation projects. She said there are numerous projects to be completed, both large and small.
“We have been keeping a close eye on the potential of access to construction money that may become available from the federal stimulus package,” LeFiles said. “We are ready to take advantage of any opportunity to improve the learning environment for Edgecombe students.”
Districts have until July 31 to turn in a proposed spending plan to designate the funds " a process Strickland said was in progress for Nash-Rocky Mount schools.
The funds have to be issued by Dec. 31 and spent within three years of the issue date. Districts receiving funds also have reporting requirements to make sure funds are being used appropriately.
A down economy is a prime time for school construction because firms are looking for work, and workers are looking for jobs, said N.C. Department of Public Instruction School Support Director Ben Matthews. He said the cost of materials also goes down because companies have it backed up and want to use it.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra, bond
-- Natasha Robinson 'Smart growth' begins to take root in El Paso-- El Paso Times Texas: June 30, 2009 [ abstract] For all their brainpower, school districts do not always plan for "smart growth."
They have built schools on sites that are not connected to the neighborhoods they serve. This has forced parents in dozens of schools to drive their children to class, even though they live just blocks away.
"The cooperation between school districts and municipalities when it comes to developing smart communities has been lacking," said Nathan Norris of PlaceMakers, an urban-planning firm helping the city develop better growth patterns. "Fortunately, these conversations are taking place now in El Paso, and we should soon see a change in the way our schools are built and designed."
Smart growth is urban planning that promotes streets that connect sensibly, walkable communities, mixed land uses so services are available close to home, and other features aimed at reducing the impact on roads and the environment.
Norris said schools in El Paso typically were developed with little cooperation between the city and the school districts, and the result has been campuses that do not seem to fit with the neighborhood.
Campuses such as Chapin High School in the Northeast and R.E.L. Washington Elementary on the East Side, for example, do not have homes immediately surrounding them. Others such as H.R. Moye Elementary were built along busy thoroughfares, which forces parents to drive their children to school instead of allowing them to walk.
School officials said they are cognizant of the importance of using smart-growth principles when building a school. Still, they said, the designs they use are often limited by the land that is available for development.
"There's only a handful of sites that we can buy and turn into schools. We are normally trying to catch up with neighborhoods that already exist," said Patty Hughes, president of the El Paso Independent School District board of trustees. "If there is a property that is vacant and we can actually use smart growth, then I am confident that we will."
West-Central city Rep. Susie Byrd says the city needs to do everything it can to help schools comply with the smart-growth guidelines the City Council approved last year.
She said the city will work with building officials at each school district to develop policies that guarantee all new campuses will allow students to walk to school safely.
"These schools need to find a way to complement their neighborhoods because, unfortunately, that has not been happening lately," Byrd said. "We would like to closely work with them to change that."
Plans for more cooperation are under way.
-- Gustavo Reveles Acosta New school construction continues in Lenoir County-- ENC Today North Carolina: June 29, 2009 [ abstract] New school construction is set to begin this week at Banks Elementary School, which will be completed by next summer.
Principal Cyndy Faulkner said Monday work crews have started pouring a concrete foundation for a new building addition. The building's steel beams will go up later this week.
"We are all very excited about what is happening," Faulkner said.
The new Banks school building will house fourth- and fifth-grade students, contain two computer labs, a media center, exceptional children classroom and a guidance counselor center. Faulkner said the school's parking lot will also be paved during the coming months.
Contractor R.N. Rouse will continue the construction work through next school year. Faulkner said its work will not disrupt students' time at school when the new school year resumes during August.
Beginning next year, students will be dropped off at a new parking lot at the front of Banks. Faulkner said students were previously dropped off at a location behind the school.
Additional renovations will be completed during the coming year at Banks. Two building wings at the school will also be remodeled.
Both second-grade students and the school's administration will have a newly renovated building by next September. Banks is located at 2148 Falling Creek Road in northwest Kinston.
LS3P Boney Associates designed the Banks project.
Faulkner said the school's art and music rooms will be located within the school's main building once the project is complete, as well.
-- Chris Lavender A Fresh Look-- Leesburg Today Virginia: June 26, 2009 [ abstract] Coming into office 18 months ago, the county Board of Supervisors had established more cooperative relations with the school board as a top priority. There have been gains, particularly during this year's difficult budget deliberations. However, friction over school construction plans has never been greater.
It increasingly looks as if this group of 18 people-nine supervisors and nine school board members-and their often turf-conscious staffs are not going to achieve the significant changes needed with the urgency required.
The size, design and cost of schools have been frequent debate topics over the past two decades, including the need for larger schools, small schools and schools on smaller lots. Change has been slow. For years the school leadership dismissed the push for two-story school designs as lacking the cost savings advocates attributed to them. The first two-story middle school is about to begin construction.
If the move to more economical school design is advancing, albeit slowly, the process of choosing where to build these new schools is growing increasingly dysfunctional. After the collapse of the Wheatland campus proposal, a plan initially endorsed by the Board of Supervisors, trust between the two bodies and the public's trust in them both has eroded further. The Center For Public Integrity's report this week claiming federal authorities are investigating the school system's land acquisition deals is still more troubling.
The most important concern was laid out Wednesday before the Board of Supervisors' money committee: the county's plans to build schools and other public facilities over the next five years are not sustainable. To their credit, the supervisors' first instinct was not to simply amend the county's fiscal policies and increase the voluntary debt cap. That is the type of fiscal responsibility that is needed to retain the county's cost-saving Triple-A bond ratings. Many of the county's debt cap factors are based on per capita figures and the slowing population growth rate make it more difficult to issue new debt under those policies. In theory, that linkage should not be problematic; fewer new residents should require few new services. Facility construction hasn't been scaled back to reflect the reduced influx of people. Added to the list of school and parks projects typically funded by public debt in recent years have been fire stations and road construction, leaving less borrowing capacity available for educational needs.
-- Staff Writer New School Construction Boom Focused On Environment-- NY1 New York: June 26, 2009 [ abstract] The city is in the middle of a school construction boom in response to years of overcrowding, but now the architects have to adhere to the city's new environmentally-friendly standards. NY1's Elizabeth Kaledin filed the following report.
Building new schools could be one of the city's toughest challenges. There's great need, not enough space, and of course these days not enough money. Yet 22 brand new schools will open up in September.
Sharon Greenberger, the president of the School Construction Authority, says designing schools, building them and deciding where to put them is a challenge.
"We try to identify sites that are large enough to accommodate a school, that pass environmental due diligence, that are accessible and are clearly in an area where there's need," says Greenberger.
Once a site is chosen, design teams come in. The architecture firm SBLM in Manhattan has 25 people working on school design alone. The firm has designed dozens of new city schools, and considers them to be big business and a unique art form.
"The environment of a classroom is very important. High windows and letting in lots of daylight has been proven to help in the education process," says Ed Bredow of SBLM.
-- Elizabeth Kaledin School board to apply for stimulus funds-- Watertown Daily Times Wisconsin: June 26, 2009 [ abstract] Construction is under way at several schools in the Watertown Unified School District. Thursday night board members approved applying for a loan to help fund those projects and others through federal stimulus dollars.
Brian Hess, of J.P. Cullen, the construction manager for the district facilities project, updated the board with a slideshow on the demolition at Lebanon and Lincoln schools that started earlier in the week.
â€"This is a big transition phase for the project,†Eric Dufek, of Eppstein Uhen Architects, said. â€"We've been leading the project up until this point, but after this week we'll hand the reigns over to J.P. Cullen.â€
Hess said eight to nine managers will be designated to each school project along with several workers doing various jobs alongside the contractors.
At Lebanon School the gym floor has been abated and air quality tests are being taken. Unit ventilators have been taken out and demolition on the bathrooms has been done. Hess said painting of the gymnasium will begin today and is planned to take a week and a half. Classrooms and hallways will be painted after that. In four weeks when the painting is complete the new flooring will be installed.
Replacement of windows at the high school began on Monday and will be complete in three and a half weeks. Boilers for the high school are scheduled to arrive in early August, so demolition of the current boilers will take place in late July.
A drive by Lincoln School may take many by surprise, the entire kindergarten wall was taken down to allow workers to come in Tuesday morning and dig the hole for the elevator shaft. Abatement of the flooring in the gym has been finished.
Kurt Speich, district building and grounds director, said painting at the middle school is 90 percent complete and Neuman Pools is starting work on the indoor pool.
The district approved the application for the qualified school construction bonds that are available through the federal stimulus bill. The benefit of qualifying for the loans is the district may get it at a very low interest rate that approaches or is at zero percent.
â€"Ultimately this is a very good deal for the district and taxpayers,†Doug Linse, district director of business services, said.
Linse said the board is required to pass a resolution because the funds need to be paid back through district dollars. He said they have identified dollars from the capitol improvement funds to pay back the bonds over a 10 year period.
The district will be able to borrow the remaining $2,385,000 through the qualified construction bonds and get the low interest rate. The additional part of the bonds will finance $990,000 for projects taking place at district schools that were not part of the referendum.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra, bond
-- Teresa Stowell Frank Cooper, the man who shaped Seattle's neighborhood character-- Crosscut Washington: June 23, 2009 [ abstract] Seattle closed more schools and programs last week, one program being 103-year-old Cooper Elementary with deep roots in blue collar Seattle, on the eastern edge of West Seattle. (The newer building, which opened in 1999, will remain, as will the name "Cooper School," but it will no longer be a general elementary school but instead the new home for an alternative program, Pathfinder K-8.)
Cooper? Who he? All The Seattle Times' story had to say was: "In 1939, the school was renamed Cooper, honoring a progressive district superintendent of the early 1900s."
His full name was Frank B. Cooper, and he was one of the most influential figures in Seattle history, though now obviously forgotten. His story is admirably told in a book by Bryce Nelson, Good Schools (University of Washington Press, 1988). In many ways, Cooper made Seattle the city it is today, rich in urban neighborhoods.
Cooper arrived in Seattle around 1900, recruited from New York where he was a protege of John Dewey, the great progressive education reformer. He came here at a time when Progressivism was in flower, Seattle was exploding in growth, and the city was changing from a disreputable port city into a very proper town with its own symphony, Olmsted-designed parks, and other signs of middle class respectability. Chief among these was to be its public school system, and the leadership of the town, in hiring Cooper, set on a course of building the finest system in the nation.
Among the lofty goals: high-windowed, architecturally distinguished, masonry schools to replace wooden ones, highly paid teachers recruited nationally, very small classroom size, and up-to-date instruction methods. Cooper almost achieved all of these goals. For a time, Seattle schools had the second best teacher-student ratio in the nation, and pay for teachers was so good that the system attracted nearly 90 percent of its faculty from the national market.
Cooper also imposed some lasting patterns on building new schools, ideas that helped shaped Seattle neighborhoods. He wanted schools to be the anchors of neighborhoods, normally siting them on high ground, watering the lawns and gardens all summer as living horticulture lessons, and keeping them open in the evening for adult instruction. As church steeples were for New England greens, Cooper's handsome schools were for secular Seattle.
-- David Brewster New school could help set green standard-- Delaware Online Delaware: June 21, 2009 [ abstract] Brandywine School District spends $90,000 a year in wax and other materials to shine the floors in its schools. It is one expense the district is scrutinizing as it begins to plan for the construction of Brandywood Elementary School, which could become a model for how other schools are built statewide in years to come.
Earlier this year, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control awarded the district a $950,000 grant to help make Brandywood a Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, or LEED, demonstration project. More recently, district officials have begun to plan what that money can buy to help make the school more energy efficient and environmentally friendly when it is built next spring -- including flooring that requires less upkeep.
-- Edward Kenney Building a Sustainable School on a Shoestring-- Solev Climate Alabama: June 16, 2009 [ abstract] To avoid catastrophic climate change, experts say developed nations must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 percent by mid-century. Getting there will take major improvements in energy efficiency, particularly in energy-intensive buildings.
While 80 percent might sound like a tall order, good design principles and conservation techniques can already get a building close enough to carbon neutral for technology to finish the job, says architect Lawrence Maxwell, president of Spacecoast Architects of Indialantic, Fla.
-- Patricia Kirk School building project raises traffic concerns-- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: June 12, 2009 [ abstract] The temporary closure of an access road near Ridgeview Charter Middle School may get more attention than the actual construction project.
More than 40 community members gathered at the Sandy Springs school Monday night to see and discuss plans for a major construction project that is scheduled to take two years.
Hardly any questions were asked about the actual school design, which will create a new front entrance, media center and administrative suite. Instead, the better part of an hour was spent discussing the access road and traffic on Trimble Road.
The access road gives those who live on the west side of Ga. 400 a shortcut to the east side of the state highway.
Parents at the meeting said the road closure will result in longer commutes and increase traffic congestion on Trimble Road.
During the two-year construction period, the only entrance to the school will be on Trimble Road. Principal Karen Cox said about half of the school's 600 students ride the bus, leaving 300 students walking or riding in cars. She said the school's 17 buses will use Trimble Road during the construction, as will any parents who drive their children to school.
Frank Destadio, program manager for the engineering and construction group Parsons, said a traffic engineer will assess the entire project before the road is closed later this summer.
"You will have time to give us your input," he said.
Cox said parents and community members can stay on top of construction news by visiting the school's Web site, www.ridgeviewmiddleschool.org.
-- Michelle E. Shaw PSD committee to study facility efficiency-- The Coloradoan Colorado: June 06, 2009 [ abstract] A new committee made up of community members will help Poudre School District find more efficient ways to handle school facilities in light of declining enrollment, grade reconfiguration and school-boundary shifts.
The nine-member committee will use data and recommendations compiled from a number of other reports and committees designed to tackle related problems such as the 2007-08 small schools study, which attempted to define a school too small too operate.
"We've had a decline in enrollment in the central area of our district, and we have been seeing that for a period of time," said Jim Sarchet, assistant superintendent of business services and chief financial officer for the district. "This could mean closing, combining or repurposing schools."
Sarchet said the district's 1 percent annual growth is expected to slow even in the next year.
The committee started this month and plans to make recommendations to the district superintendent by April 2010; changes in the district would likely be made in fall of 2011, Sarchet said.
The committee comprises community members from a 2007 Facilities Master plan study, as well as representatives from CSU, the city of Fort Collins, Larimer County, Front Range Community College and PSD.
The state funds districts on a per-pupil basis, meaning PSD's budget depends on the number of students enrolled in each school. The district then allocates money to individual schools based primarily on enrollment but also looks at the needs of children at that school and the cost to educate them.
Especially during times of constrained budgets, the cost to keep small schools and their programs up and running can be costly and less than efficient when it comes to looking at budget allocation.
-- HALLIE WOODS Walls May Close 40-year Debate on Open Space Schools -- The Capital Maryland: May 31, 2009 [ abstract] For 40 years, open space schools have fueled a battle in Anne Arundel County between parents who say the lack of walls is distracting to students and officials reluctant to commit enough cash to fix them. But that fight may be ending. School officials have hatched plans to put walls in all the open space schools over the next few years, starting with two pilot schools last summer and continuing with another five this summer. And the County Council agreed to fund another $8 million worth of walls, so another four or five elementary schools should soon be added to the list, said Alex Szachnowicz, chief operating officer for county schools.
While most parents are ecstatic about getting walls in their schools, some educators say they'll miss the education techniques fostered by open space - the very same techniques first promised 40 years ago by advocates who pitched the idea. Open space schools began in California in the 1960s and moved east. Instead of individual classrooms, four or five classes were fit into "pods" where nothing blocked students from seeing or hearing what was happening in the classes around them. The design was meant to foster collaboration between teachers, and it was the infrastructure component to an educational theory called "self-pacing" in which students had the freedom to "self-motivate" and "self-direct" their way through so-called "learning stations." And to county educators charged with building schools during a period of rapid regional growth, they were also economical: No walls meant cheaper construction. The county Board of Education endorsed the idea in 1968, and even ripped walls out of some older schools that had been built on traditional models. But as students moved in, parents began to protest the noise level in the pods, which sometimes contained more than 100 students.
Teachers quickly abandoned self-pacing and built barriers between their classes out of bookcases, coat racks and bulletin boards. By 2000, school officials were building 5-foot-tall partitions similar to cubicle walls, Szachnowicz said. "They were designed to be a stopgap, to very quickly do something on an affordable basis," he said. "But knowing the real long-term answer was walls." For years parents have come forward periodically to push for walls. This year the most vocal group was from Brock Bridge Elementary School in Laurel. "When I sat in a pod I found it devastating," said Donna Smith, the parent of a second-grader. "I don't think it's conducive to orderly education." Most educators admit the absence of walls can be distracting, but many have grown accustomed to team teaching and being able to
-- Elisabeth Hulette Pass/fail for L.A.'s new arts school
-- Los Angeles Times California: May 30, 2009 [ abstract] At the new arts high school downtown, it has become nearly impossible to separate the substance of the architecture, by Wolf D. Prix and the Austrian firm Coop Himmelblau, from debates over cost overruns or questions about who will attend the campus when it opens in September.
But maybe that's the wrong goal. The story of the arts academy -- still officially known by its stiff place holder of a name, Central Los Angeles Area High School #9 -- is hardly one about how bold, unconventional architecture trumps all other forces, or even exists comfortably outside them. The design of the campus, in fact, has complicated its political fate even as the reverse has been true, leaving it vulnerable to the overheated but potent charge that it is an elitist enclave standing aloof from its neighborhood.
Once the debates over cost and curriculum have fallen away -- and that may take years -- posterity is likely to look kindly on the campus, which has given Grand Avenue a powerfully unorthodox new landmark and added a mysterious and unconventional silhouette to the downtown skyline. Yet the speed with which the campus became a symbol of controversy and discord raises serious questions about whether Coop Himmelblau, known for bravura design gestures and terrifically complex form-making, was the right choice for this contentious obstacle course of a commission.
Rarely has the firm's architecture seemed so visually dramatic -- or so politically out of touch.
In its finished form, the school emerges as a symbol not so much of a rudderless school district as one where the person at the helm is continually changing -- and the direction of the ship can swing markedly from year to year. Key decisions about the shape and mission of the school have been made by a long and diverse list of architects and administrators, each one with a different vision of what the campus might be.
First came architecture firm AC Martin and Partners, hired by the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2001 to prepare a preliminary design for a traditional large high school on the sight of the district's old headquaters. Next was billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, who stepped in later the same year to propose the switch to an arts academy. Agreeing to pay for some of the school's operations -- though not necessarily for increased construction costs -- he helped arrange a design competition whose jury selected Coop Himmelblau in September 2002.
The firm emerged from a blue-chip shortlist that also included New York's Bernard Tschumi Architects, London's Foreign Office Architects and a pair of local firms: Daly Genik Architects and Michael Maltzan Architecture. After Himmelblau produced a new design, the school's fortunes fell into the hands of a string of LAUSD superintendents: first Roy Romer, then David Brewer and now Ramon C. Cortines. Richard Alonzo, superintendent for Local District 4, in which the school is located, has also helped shape its fortunes, strongly opposing the idea of drawing students through competitive, districtwide applications.
Romer, Brewer, Cortines and Alonzo all struggled to quell anger, in the public and in the media, at the news that the school's construction cost was quickly ballooning. The total eventually reached $232 million -- a vast jump, even in an era of accelerating construction costs, from a 2003 estimate of $87 million.
Last month, Cortines announced that he wouldn't allow the school to operate as a charter, an option Broad and others had pushed for as the district struggled to find a principal for the school and put a curriculum in place for September. Instead, the LAUSD will oversee the campus and will reserve 1,200 of its 1,700 slots for students in the immediate area, even though the construction of other schools has eased overcrowding in the neighborhood.
-- Christopher Hawthorne, Recent School Roof Collapses Concern Parents, Schools -- Arizona Republic Arizona: May 29, 2009 [ abstract] For 13 years, the roof of a Tempe elementary school supported more weight than it was designed to bear before caving in without warning two months ago. Inspections had failed to uncover significant problems. No one noticed the shoddy construction at a Fountain Hills elementary school that caused the roof to sag dangerously in October. And at Santa Maria Middle School in Tolleson, authorities say they had no warning of Saturday's roof collapse. Now, parents and educational authorities are concerned that recent roofing problems at those three Valley schools could indicate a larger, statewide pattern of schools in disrepair.
State School Facilities Board Director John Arnold said that he is worried the recent collapses could indicate a widespread problem. The board was created in 1999 to outline minimum guidelines for state school construction and distribute money to help keep buildings up to those standards. Arnold said he is committed to helping schools look for the warning signs that Kyrene and Fowler School Districts may have missed - even though the state lacks funding to correct any problems that are discovered.
Forensic engineer John Denny told Kyrene board members and parents Tuesday night that the faulty roof at Waggoner Elementary went 13 years bearing more weight than its design allowed before the collapse. Denny was hired by the insurance company handling the district's claim to investigate the cause of the damage. The problem, he said, is that the inspections - conducted quarterly by internal personnel and once every five years by the state School Facilities Board - are usually done by people who do not have the training or the skills to detect structural problems.
-- Megan Boehnke Shining a (Natural) Light on Green Schools -- New York Times National: May 28, 2009 [ abstract] Faced with a large stock of deteriorating public school buildings, school districts across the country are experimenting with new construction and renovations that save energy as well as improve educational facilities. Even though Congress cut the $16 billion originally proposed for school construction from the stimulus bill, the U.S. Department of Education will award states $48.6 billion under the bill’s fiscal stabilization fund to fill budget gaps in public schools and universities. School construction, renovation and repair projects can qualify for the money if it’s applied to “green” buildings.
A school addition that doesn’t use electric lights, heat or air-conditioning may sound like something straight out of “Little House on the Prairie,” but several architects and researchers from the Pacific Northwest hope to see such features become standard in new classroom construction nationwide. A prototype green classroom addition under construction at the Da Vinci Arts Middle School in Portland, Ore. includes natural daylighting, passive heating and cooling systems, solar roof tiles and other green features that yield a 70 percent efficiency improvement over Oregon building code requirements. The architecture firm SRG Partnership worked with the University of Oregon’s Energy Studies in Buildings Lab to design the 1,500-square foot music classroom and studio in order to achieve a LEED-platinum rating and net-zero energy use. One of the more unique features of the Da Vinci addition is the university’s experimental natural lighting system, called “the halo,” which provides enough light, even with overcast skies, so that there’s no need to flip on a switch at all during the school day. The system channels the sun’s rays through a skylight and into a diffuser on the classroom ceiling set at precisely the right angles to spread natural light evenly throughout the room. After dark, the lights are on but they’re mounted inside the diffuser so that the light is amplified and dispersed, using only 0.4 watts per square foot " or half of the energy used to illuminate a regular classroom, said G.Z. “Charlie” Brown, an architect and director of the university’s buildings lab.
Portland Public Schools plans to rebuild or remodel every building in its portfolio over the next 20 years and hopes to integrate as many green features as possible, said Nancy Bond, a resource conservation specialist for the district. The Da Vinci addition is a pilot project for the district to decide which new technologies will be included in future sustainable classrooms, she said.
-- Libby Tucker New high school will depend on state funding-- Casper Journal Wyoming: May 27, 2009 [ abstract] The new high school that the Natrona County School District hopes to open in 2012 “will be unlike anything this county, state or nation has ever seen before in terms of the opportunities it will offer our community’s young adults,” District Superintendent Dr. Joel Dvorak said in February in an overview of Path to 2025.
When the initiative is said and done in June, getting another high school for Natrona County still will depend on revenues in the state coffers from energy development and sales tax that flows through the Legislature and the Wyoming School Facilities Commission.
So far, the SFC has allocated $3.6 million for high school design. The district hasn’t spent any of that money, pending the completion and review of Path to 2025, according to NCSD Facilities and Planning Manager Dennis Bay.
Any additional funding for Casper high schools would come if the district’s request is included and approved as part of the SFC’s next legislative allocation.
“Even if there’s not a new high school, there’s a ton of work we can do,” Dvorak said.
Path to 2025 is “really about how we’re going to teach, some of what we’re going to teach and whom we’re going to partner with,” according to the superintendent.
The series of workshops and advisory groups that began in February originally had a hefty price tag of a little more than $885,000.
With a budget amendment that moved $368,000 for “thought partners” into the board of trustees’ discretionary account, the current budget to recreate secondary education is $517,300.
An update to the NCSD board of trustees is planned for June 8, with board final review and possible adoption tentatively scheduled for the end of the month.
As of April 22, $149,099 and change had been spent on creating the “fundamentally different learning experience for 21st century middle and high school students” outlined in the Path to 2025 mission statement.
-- Carol Crump South Carolina Schools Await Ability to Build -- SunNews.com South Carolina: May 26, 2009 [ abstract] A South Carolina bill heading to the governor's desk could help rebuild dilapidated schools across the state, including a middle school that has become a symbol of the nation's education construction woes. The measure passed by lawmakers Thursday as the legislative session drew to an end allows districts to borrow up to $20 million interest-free to build or renovate schools. It gives the state Education Department the authority to divvy up funds from a new type of bond created by the federal stimulus package, which allows lenders to receive a federal tax credit equal to the interest they would otherwise receive.
The bill is on its way to Gov. Mark Sanford's desk. Spokesman Joel Sawyer would not say Friday whether the governor would sign the school construction bill. A veto would likely be easily overridden, given the bill's overwhelming support. Under the measure, South Carolina districts can apply for a piece of $131 million in interest-free loans this year and next, with 60 percent of it designated to poor, rural schools and 40 percent to ready-to-go projects. The allotments are capped at $20 million for poor, rural schools and $10 million for "shovel ready" work.
-- Seanna Adcox Minnesota District Eyes Stimulus Money for New School-- Star Tribune Minnesota: May 24, 2009 [ abstract] Robbinsdale schools superintendent Stan Mack is hoping to rub the magic stimulus funding lamp and get a new school. With less than two months remaining as superintendent before he retires, Mack is hoping the district can plug into school construction and renovation aid funds that are part of President Obama's huge stimulus plan, designed to help rev up the recession-mired national economy. Mack said he and the school board are shooting for $20 million to $24 million, enough to build a new 1,000-student elementary school near the border of Robbinsdale and Brooklyn Center, in the northeastern part of the district.
The federal stimulus package will feed hundreds of millions of dollars to Minnesota school districts over the next couple of years. But it's a Byzantine system of different pots of money and conditions for their use that still has many superintendents and school boards scratching their heads. Tens of millions are dollars are available for school construction and renovation, according to the Minnesota Department of Education, but that's mostly in the form of tax credits that would lower the interest rates on bonds issued by districts. In contrast, the Robbinsdale district wants the entire construction cost paid for, no strings attached."The goal is to get a grant that pays for the school," said district spokesman Jeff Dehler. "And, therefore, no obligation to the local taxpayer."
Robbinsdale is one of the few north metro school districts angling for stimulus construction funds. Most other neighboring districts say they simply don't need construction funds right now, though they will eagerly use other, nonconstruction stimulus funds in the months to come.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra, bond
-- Norman Draper Duluth school officials in court today over facilities plan-- Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota: May 22, 2009 [ abstract] The complaint filed by five individuals does not challenge the Duluth school district's long-range school facilities plan. That's the plan to close seven school buildings, build four new and remodel several others. Instead, they're challenging a deal the district made with Johnson Controls, a company that specializes in energy efficient buildings.
Johnson Controls was paid $250,000 to help develop the Duluth facilities plan and will be paid a percentage of the construction and remodeling costs, a total bill that hasn't been added up yet, but could be millions of dollars.
But opponents say that deal was unlawful. Attorney Craig Hunter of Duluth said the district has to follow its own competitive bidding requirement.
"There's also case law, that whatever procedure a school district follows, it's got to be reasonable," Hunter said. "And it just cannot be reasonable to agree to buy services that end up maybe being in the range of tens of millions of dollars, before knowing what those services are going to cost."
Attorney Sue Torgerson, with the Kennedy and Graven Law firm in Minneapolis, said the district's deal with Johnson Controls was a contract for services, exempt from bidding requirements.
"Minnesota law makes it very clear that contracts for personal services, such as when a school district or public body is hiring an attorney, for example, those kinds of arrangements or contracts are not competitive bidding situations," Torgerson said.
Competitive bidding, she said, focuses on the purchase of goods. The deal with Johnson Controls, she said, purchases a service, not goods.
Meanwhile, the district has thrown its opponents a counterpunch.
The district is asking the court today to make the plaintiffs put up a surety bond - a bond that could cost several million dollars. Torgerson said Minnesota law provides a shield against frivolous lawsuits.
"This statute is designed to protect public entities from exactly this type of suit," Torgerson said. "Not because the suit can't be in court, but because when you have a large public project in the works, a taxpayer suit of any nature can slow those projects down and inflate the costs to the public."
Construction delays could be costly, she said, especially in Duluth with a short building season. And conditions are favorable now for financing, labor and materials.
Craig Hunter, attorney for the opponents of the deal, said he'll argue the bond isn't necessary.
-- Bob Kelleher Construction progressing for school projects-- Cookeville Herald Citizen Tennessee: May 20, 2009 [ abstract] Three school construction projects here are on track and will soon begin relieving overcrowded classrooms, officials say.
The new Algood Elementary School, a pre-K/4th grade school being built beside the existing Algood School, is almost finished.
The newly remodeled Jere Whitson Elementary on Jere Whitson Road, with a new addition replacing the section destroyed by fire two years ago, is on schedule for opening this August, which will bring students "home" from their temporary location at the old Algood School.
Construction is about to begin on the new Prescott South School located in south Cookeville, which is two schools on one campus, an elementary and a middle school. The new middle school there will replace the current Prescott building, which is old and increasingly unsuitable for use as a school.
At a recent meeting of the Putnam school board, architects reported on all three projects.
Margaret Butler of the Cockrill design firm said the construction of the new Algood school is now 70 percent complete. The projected completion date is July 18, just in time for the new school year, which begins in early August.
The new 110,000 sq.ft. elementary school, a $14.2 million project, will accommodate 600 students in grades pre-K/4th, thus relieving the severe overcrowding at the existing school, which will become a middle school.
Having the two schools on the same campus preserves the K-8 concept that became so popular and sought after by parents wanting their children to attend the same school for a number of years.
Butler said workers are now completing the inside work at the new building and said the project is proceeding well.
Allen Hill of Upland design Group told the board that construction workers are making "good progress" on the Jere Whitson project. He said they are on schedule and described the quality of the work as "good."
-- Mary Jo Denton HB 363 passes Senate: CPS Facilities Task Force in the making-- Catalyst Chicago Illinois: May 20, 2009 [ abstract] The Illinois Senate today passed a modified version of a bill that creates a Chicago Education Facilities Task Force to review the city’s school closing and construction policies and recommend new rules to govern facility decisions by Chicago Public Schools leaders.
Community groups have long been frustrated and confused by the district’s criteria for closing and reconstituting schools, and they want a “master facilities plan” to guide future closings, rehabs and new construction.
The Senate voted 53-0-5 on the measure (HB363); the House version passed 118-0 in April.
Don Moore, one of the bill’s architects and executive director of designs for Change, expects the House to accept the Senate’s changes soon, possibly by next week. The governor would then have 60 days to sign or veto the bill.
The Senate version, according to Moore, differs in two main ways. First, lawmakers changed the member appointment rules"giving Republicans a clear say in who will sit on the 15-member task force. Also, lawmakers moved back to Oct. 30 " from Sept. 30 " the due date for the task force’s final recommendations.
The task force would consist of eight lawmakers, two appointed by the Speaker of the House, two by the Senate President and two each by leaders in the minority party. The Speaker and Senate President would also appoint four representatives"two appointments each"from community groups with expertise in facilities issues. The School Board, the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Principal and Administrators Association would also appoint one representative each.
Read the Senate amendment on the General Assembly website.
-- John Myers Ohio's Infrastructure Receives a Grade of 'C-'-- NewsBlaze Ohio: May 20, 2009 [ abstract] The Ohio Council of Local Sections of the American Society of Civil Engineers says that an investment of more than $46 billion is needed to address pressing issues
COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ohio Council of Local Sections of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its 2009 Ohio Infrastructure Report Card today that gives Ohio's infrastructure a grade of "C-". The report graded the current condition of ten infrastructure areas that are essential to the state's economic prosperity and quality of life. Areas graded are aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water, electricity, parks and recreation, railroads, roads, schools, and wastewater. The ASCE Ohio Council estimates that an investment in infrastructure renewal of more than $46 Billion is needed over the next five years to address the state's crumbling infrastructure.
This assessment of Ohio's infrastructure follows the January 28, 2009 national release by ASCE of its fourth Report Card for America's Infrastructure, The 2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure. This report card, like its predecessors, was designed to provide a grade for the current condition of components of America's crumbling infrastructure, raise public awareness, stimulate debate, and propose, highlight, and promote solutions. ASCE graded the nation's overall infrastructure condition as a "D", and estimated the projected cost for repairing the nation's infrastructure as $2.2 trillion over the next five years. ASCE has called for a renewed partnership between citizens; local, state, and the federal governments; and the private sector to work together to define the most critical projects and get the support needed for immediate action.
Ohio's infrastructure grades ranged from a high of "B-" for bridges to a low of "D" for roads. The areas of drinking water and wastewater also had low grades of "D+". There are reasons for concern and need for investment in all the areas evaluated in the report. A brief summary of the assessment follows. Please access or print a copy of the 2009 Ohio Infrastructure Report Card by visiting the Ohio Council of Local Sections of ASCE website at http://ohioasce.org/.
School infrastructure inOhio received a grade of "C". The quality of schools inOhio is crucial to the state's long-term viability and ability to compete in the global marketplace. The American Federation of Teachers estimated in 2008 thatOhio schools require $9.32 billion in infrastructure investment. This ranksOhio 6th in the country for total funds needed. The Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) was created in 1997 as a separate state agency to oversee the rebuilding of Ohio's public schools in 614 school districts. During the 1998-2007 fiscal years, the OSFC managed yearly appropriations across all its programs totaling $5.92 billion, or approximately $592 million per year. In 2007, the OSFC reported that all facility needs in 123 school districts have been fully addressed.
-- Kevin Carpenter Students final touch at Lincoln-Way West-- New Lenox Patriot Illinois: May 20, 2009 [ abstract] On the largest school site in the district, Lincoln-Way West is nearing completion. The 418,000-square-foot high school and its 20 athletic fields and courts sprawl across 100 acres at southeast corner of Illinois Highway and Gougar Road, and in August the first day of school will bring more than 1,000 students to fill the hallways.
As the fourth high school in Lincoln-Way District 210, Superintendent Dr. Lawrence Wyllie said West " a $90 million facility " will continue the district’s tradition of academic excellence.
“The improvement of student achievement is what it’s all about,” said Wyllie as he gestured to the high school’s state-of-the-art science labs while taking visitors on a tour Monday, May 11. “Everything else flows from that. Extracurriculars, athletics " all of it starts with academics.”
The district’s strong ASSET program " meant to positively influence students " is reflected on the walls of West in the form of black and orange quotes (the school’s colors) and mission statements, while mottos and the school’s Warrior logo are prominently displayed on almost every surface. Wyllie said Lincoln-Way grad Tom Evans was the artist responsible for the colorful hallways and also did the same at Central, East and North.
The building’s library, which awaits computers and about 1,300 books, is flanked by the two, two-story academic wings boasting 100 classrooms. Wyllie also led visitors to the cafeteria with its wall of glass windows that look out to an area where students will be able to eat lunch on picnic tables in nice weather.
The fine arts wing faces Gougar Road, and Wyllie highlighted the 80-piece orchestra/band room with its ceiling “clouds” to improve acoustics. The 900-seat auditorium is also part of the fine arts wing, and will be the site of the school’s Aug. 2 dedication. The auditorium’s main stage boasts a full orchestra pit, and Wyllie said a green room with lockers and showers runs below the stage. A complete fly-gallery will allow set changes to be raised up and down during school musicals and plays.
The high school houses a field house large enough for three regulation-size basketball courts and an indoor track, and the gymnasium with a multi-level bleacher arrangement can hold about 3,000 fans. Equipment is now being assembled in the weight room and fitness center.
“We designed them so the community could use them,” Wyllie said of the sports facilities.
-- Laura Michaels Garrett Loses Battle to Cut Cost of Schools-- RhinoTimes.com Greensboro North Carolina: May 14, 2009 [ abstract] Guilford County Board of Education member Darlene Garrett on Tuesday, May 12 lost another battle in her effort to get the school board to hire an architectural firm that the board's Construction Advisory Committee, which Garrett chairs, spent a year deciding was Guilford County Schools' best shot at building cost-effective schools with the $457 million in school bonds voters approved in May 2008.
A year after those bonds passed, the school board, which says it is in desperate need of new schools, has spent little of that money.
Garrett and her committee, whose members included local architects and contractors, spent a year studying school construction methods and visited recently constructed schools in other North Carolina school districts.
The committee decided that CBSA Architects of Hickory, which designed Catawba and Snow Creek elementary schools, both in Catawba County, had a track record of designing cost-effective schools, something Guilford County Schools should emulate.
Since then, Garrett has waged an uphill campaign to get the school board to hire CBSA Architects to design some of the 27 new schools or renovations on the project list for the 2008 school bond. The school department's facilities staff has opposed her at every step, including leaving CBSA Architects off its February short list of recommended architectural firms for six projects.
At its meeting Tuesday, the school board voted to hire architects for an additional four projects: The planned north Greensboro area elementary school and renovations at Northwest Middle and High schools, Allen Jay Middle School and McLeansville Elementary School. CBSA Architects wasn't among them.
-- Paul C. Clark House Approves $6.4 Billion for Green Schools-- Associated Press National: May 14, 2009 [ abstract] The House on Thursday passed a multiyear school construction bill with the ambitious goals of producing hundreds of thousands of jobs, reducing energy consumption and creating healthier, cleaner environments for the nation's schoolchildren. Opponents, almost all Republicans, objected to the cost associated with the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act. The cost would be $6.4 billion in the first year with similar outlays approved over the next five years. It passed 275-155, and now goes to the Senate, which did not act after the House passed similar legislation last year. The situation has changed this year. While then-President George W. Bush threatened to veto the measure, objecting to a costly new school construction program, President Barack Obama made school improvement projects an element of his economic stimulus initiative.
The bill would provide states with money to make grants and low interest loans so school districts could build, modernize and repair facilities to make them healthier, safer and more energy-efficient. The funds would be allotted under a formula based on a district's share of students from low-income families, but the bill guarantees that every district that receives federal money for low-income students will get at least $5,000. A majority of the funds — rising to 100 percent by 2015 — would have to be used for projects that meet green standards for construction materials and energy sources. Those include the Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) Green Building Rating System and Energy Star. The measure also approves a separate $600 million over six years for public schools in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama damaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Among the amendments approved were items that would make reducing asthma a guideline for green schools and allow funds to be used for playground equipment, phys ed facilities, greenhouses and gardens.
-- Jim Abrams Middle school building’s target is LEED platinum-- Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon: May 14, 2009 [ abstract] Construction of the Evan-Harvard Music Conservatory at da Vinci Arts Middle School in Northeast Portland is nearly completed. The 1,500-square-foot building, featuring a high-efficiency music classroom, practice rooms and a recording studio, could be the first U.S. public school building to be certified LEED platinum.
Green building features include net-zero energy use, photovoltaic shingles, natural ventilation and natural daylighting. The project for Portland Public Schools also intends to be a laboratory to test new green building products and practices for the school district. Todd Hess Building Company is the project’s general contractor. SRG Partnership contributed design work.
-- DAN CARTER City to spend $775Gs on second school site-- Bristol Press Connecticut: May 13, 2009 [ abstract] City councilors voted unanimously late Tuesday to buy about 15.5 acres on Matthews Street for $50,000 an acre, or about $775,000 total.
The site would be used for one of two proposed 900-student schools that would house kindergarten to eighth grade classes.
The price for the land is exactly what the appraisers said it was worth, city officials said.
"We’re right on that number," said Dale Clift, city attorney.
Mayor Art Ward said he "refused to pay anything more than the appraised value" for the site near the corner of Matthews and Clark Avenue.
The other proposed school site, on the former Crowley dealership on Pine Street, will be in city hands soon. Clift said the closing is set for Monday.
With a deal to buy the 851 Matthews St. lot " which doesn’t include the historic house at the corner and 1.5 acres of the 17-acre lot " the city will soon have both school sites in its possession.
Now the question becomes whether the school system can finish the design work and begin construction quickly enough to meet state rules, which still mandate the project be underway 13 months from now. At this point, the city doesn’t even have architects or a construction manager hired to do the jobs.
With the state picking up 73.9 percent of the expected $132 million price tag for the projects, it’s crucial that Bristol gets a green light to begin the work late, officials said. Whether that permission will be given, though, is unknown.
-- Steve Collins Lucy School takes green to the extreme-- Business Gazette Maryland: May 12, 2009 [ abstract] From cork floors to motion-activated sinks and waterless urinals — everything at the new building of the Lucy School in Middletown is "green" and environmentally friendly.
The floors, desks and cabinets are made of cork, bamboo and wheat — rapidly renewable materials that eliminate the need to cut down trees and forests. The toilets are flushed with rainwater.
Covered with windows, the building is also positioned to take maximum advantage of daylight. The school also uses light tubes — a system of pipes and reflectors — to channel natural light into classrooms.
"I think that's pretty cool," said Lucy School second-grader Owen Sullivan, 8, who was fascinated when he first entered the new building earlier this year. "We rarely have to turn on the lights."
The Lucy School — a private primary school in Middletown that serves students from all over Frederick County — has started using its new, 6,500-square-foot "green" building earlier this year.
With its eco-friendly materials and nature-inspired design, the $2 million building has more eco-friendly features than any school in Frederick County.
And now it is on its way to becoming the first formally certified "green" school building in Frederick County.
The Lucy School has applied for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental design certification. To receive LEED certification, a school has to meet criteria set by the U.S. Green Building Council — a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting "green" building practices.
The council's checklist promotes eco-friendly construction materials, building design that takes advantage of daylight, or heating systems using minimal amounts of fuel. Depending on its features, a building can get a silver, gold or platinum LEED rating.
Frederick County has only one building applying for LEED certification — the new building for the Earth Space and Science Laboratory at Lincoln Elementary.
-- Margarita Raycheva Stimulus money helps schools in range of programs-- Daily Republic South Dakota: May 10, 2009 [ abstract] South Dakota's share of the federal stimulus measure will help school districts maintain general programs, boost spending on special education and programs for low-income students, and cut the costs of issuing bonds for school construction and repair.
Schools also can seek grants to buy better kitchen equipment and buses that emit less pollution.
School districts will get more than $150 million of the $776 million South Dakota is in line to get from the stimulus measure.
The education money that has received the most attention so far is designated as fiscal stabilization funds, which are intended to help states avoid cuts in education programs.
South Dakota was one of the first three states to get approval for those funds, with $104.3 million going to school districts and higher education. Most will go to school districts through the formula that distributes state aid to districts. Gov. Mike Rounds and the Legislature used the extra federal money to balance the state budget, maintain general funding for schools and avoid some program cuts that had been considered.
About $22.1 million in stimulus money was put into the state aid budget for the current budget year, and another $24.7 million for the budget year beginning July 1. More will be used in the fiscal year that starts in July 2010.
SCHOOL BONDING PROGRAMS
The state also received an authorization for tax credit bonds that can drastically reduce repayment costs for schools that need to borrow money for constructing new buildings or rehabilitating old ones.
"This is one of the most exciting things to come out of the stimulus, in my opinion," Oster said. "It's something we'll spend money on, but we'll see it 30, 40, 50 years down the road."
Schools traditionally issue bonds for construction projects and then pay back the principal and interest. When schools issue tax credit bonds, they pay no interest, which can cut repayment costs by as much as half. Buyers of the bonds get tax credits instead of interest, and they use the credits to reduce their tax bills.
South Dakota has an authorization for nearly $5 million in Qualified Zone Academy Bonds, which can be used for rehabilitating facilities and obtaining equipment. Those bonds are included in an existing program, and the stimulus measure just provides an additional authorization.
About $30 million in Qualified School Construction Bonds, a new program, are available in South Dakota. Those bonds can be used mostly for building new schools.
Schools districts are required to apply for the bonds within the next few weeks. Oster said he expects a high demand.
South Dakota will get an additional authorization for tax credit bonds for the 2010-2011 school year, he said.
Oster said he's worried that financial institutions might not be very interested in buying tax credit bonds right now.
"The one scary part of the whole thing is that we've been talking to the bonding folks, and given the economic climate that we're in, these bonds are not as attractive to the lending institutions as they once were," he said.
School districts getting ready to issue bonds for new schools could see huge financial benefits from the tax-credit bonds, Oster said.
The Faith School District, which has been using modular buildings for classrooms since its old school was condemned, might still have trouble using the tax credit bonds because the district has a low assessed property value per student, Oster said. State officials and school superintendents from across South Dakota are talking about ways to deal with such situations, he said.
"I still think we need to do some creative outside-the-box thinking on how we're going to work with a place like Faith," Oster said.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra, bond
-- CHET BROKAW Neighbors would like park on old school site-- Oneida Dispatch New York: May 08, 2009 [ abstract] Residents who live around the lot which once held the old high school on Elizabeth Street seem to agree that after looking at the abandoned building for so long, looking at a park would be nice.
“We’ve looked at that school for many years. Now it would be good to look at some flowers,” said Peter Vibbert who lives on the Elizabeth Street side of the school.
Hilary Barker, also of Elizabeth Street, agrees. “We’ve been talking about it for weeks. We would like to see a nice park. Flowers, couple of benches, maybe a playground.” She and husband William have two kids ages one and six.
Susanne Jones would also like to see a park. She lives around the corner from the school and was walking her 21-month-old son, Kai. “We’d like to see a park, he loves to swing and slide.”
And on Main Street, Cindy Wolcott said “my favorite thing would be a park. Or a new library, especially if they kept the design with the historical look of the area.”
Jim and Deborah Clarey live next door to Wolcott and directly across from the lot now piled with demolition debris.
Clarey who is on the planning board said it would be difficult to put houses on the site because of the set-back requirements. “Also, it is a historical district so houses would have to be designed with that in mind,” said Clarey.
He, too, would like to see a park “some trees, flowers, paths, benches. Or a new library.”
Clarey complimented city officials for getting rid of the “eyesore we have been looking at for all these years.”
-- JODY MCNICHOL 9-figure price : All high school options cost more than $100 million-- Northwest Arkansas Times Arkansas: May 05, 2009 [ abstract] The Fayetteville Board of Education reviewed three options for redeveloping the Fayetteville High School campus with estimated costs between $101 million to $124 million during a special meeting Monday.
While no formal decisions were made, the estimated construction costs are setting up the school board to request a minimum tax increase of between 4 to 5 mills to finance the project.
Chief Financial Officer Lisa Morstad and Dennis Hunt of Stephens Inc., the district's bond financing company, estimated a 4-mill property tax increase would cover only a $90 million bond issue. A 5-mill increase could finance a $115 million project.
In light of those figures, New asked if the board was interested in scaling back the scope of the project to lower the tax rate.
"If we say we're going to a 4-mill plan, we're going to have to do quite a bit of compromising," New said. "We do not have a 4-mill plan."
Most board members, however, indicated they weren't interested in scaling back the amount of new construction beyond anything mentioned in the three presented plans.
The board will host a public meeting from 6-8 p.m. Monday, May 11, for patrons to view the three designs in the FHS cafeteria.
A follow-up meeting to further discuss the options was scheduled at 5 p.m. May 13. The board plans to hold a millage election in September to build a new high school, but the date has not been formally set.
The three options included the master plan developed by the Concordia Group, estimated at $124,003,985 and two alternate master plans with slight variations from the Concordia plan. The estimated costs for the two alternative plans were $101,847,843 and $110,868,148.
$124 million
The cost estimates were developed by the district's architecture firm, Crafton-Tull-Sparks, and its construction management firm, Nabholz Construction.
$110.9 million
The main differences between the two alternate plans and the original master are that the alternate plans preserve the administration building, retain existing gyms and enclose Stone Street with new construction.
A new arena for varsity basketball is still included. The cheapest plan also calls for retaining the 1991 addition of the current facility as a learning community.
-- BRETT BENNETT Three neighborhoods, one gripe about Cincinnati Public Schools: arrogance-- Cincinnati Business Courier Ohio: May 04, 2009 [ abstract] It sounds like the start of some Cincinnati inside joke: What do Westwood, Hyde Park and Over-the-Rhine have in common?
But for those involved in battles over school building plans in those three very different neighborhoods, the answer is anything but funny.
Community activists in those neighborhoods are protesting the plans Cincinnati Public Schools officials have developed for their schools.
In Westwood, Cincinnati’s largest neighborhood, the civic association opposed a zoning variance the district needs to put a new gym on the side of Westwood Elementary School that fronts Harrison Avenue. City officials ruled in favor of the association. CPS is appealing. That fight came after neighbors successfully fought to renovate the school instead of razing it to build a new one.
In tony Hyde Park, neighbors near Clark Montessori School have fought the district’s plans to build a four-story high school on Erie Avenue. They argued the plan called for far too dense a school there with a design that would place Dumpsters too close to neighbors’ front doors.
And in Over-the-Rhine, one of the city’s poorest yet most promising neighborhoods, residents are fighting the proposed demolition of a large, rundown building near historic Rothenberg School. The district says it must come down to widen an alley for access. Opponents say CPS is trying to justify paying $182,500 for the building, which Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes’ office valued at less than $120,000 in 2008.
‘Treat us like we’re the opposition’
In each neighborhood, the fight is different. But as the school district works through the final stages of its billion-dollar Facilities Master Plan, activists in the communities have emerged as some of the harshest critics of the way CPS communicates with the communities it serves.
-- Lucy May Back to the Boundary Drawing Board-- Washington Post Virginia: May 03, 2009 [ abstract] A controversy over how to redraw high school attendance boundaries in central Loudoun County is back in the hands of the school district's planning staff and probably won't be resolved until the fall.
The Loudoun School Board alternated between two boundary plans during several hours of discussion Tuesday night, before voting well past midnight to reject both options and send the matter back to staff members for further review.
"Both of these plans are so flawed . . . there is no need for us to make a decision now," said School Board member Tom Marshall (Leesburg).
Boundaries must be changed for the 2010-11 school year, when Tuscarora High School is scheduled to open in Leesburg. Loudoun School Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III asked that a decision be made by the fall.
In the coming months, a panel of county supervisors and School Board members will discuss future high school construction in Ashburn and Dulles, and planning staff members are likely to wait until the talks are over before drawing up another boundary proposal.
The joint panel's work will make it clearer whether a new Ashburn area high school will be built in the next few years, a project designed to relieve crowding at schools east of Leesburg. Several School Board members spoke of their desire for a new school at Tuesday's meeting.
The boundary issue has sparked tension between the Lansdowne and Ashburn Farm communities, with one of them likely to be shifted from Stone Bridge High School to another high school when Tuscarora opens. Although boundary changes are nothing new in Loudoun, a switch in high schools can hit hard.
"I went to high school with my sisters, and I would like my children to have the same privilege," Ashburn Farm resident Cathy Dorman said at Tuesday's meeting.
Dorman's older child has attended Stone Bridge. But under the plan that was recommended by the school administration's staff, her younger child, and many other Ashburn Farm residents, would have been sent to Briar Woods, even though some of those students live within walking distance of Stone Bridge. Lansdowne residents, who live a few miles from Stone Bridge, would have remained within its attendance boundaries.
Heritage High School, which has 1,800 students -- 200 more than its capacity -- would have seen its enrollment plummet to 1,100 in 2010 under the staff plan, and Loudoun County High's enrollment would have dropped by more than 300 as students from both schools moved north to Tuscarora.
Stone Bridge's enrollment would have remained about the same, and Briar Woods' enrollment would have jumped by about 450.
The board defeated that proposal by a vote of 4 to 4, with one abstention.
-- Michael Birnbaum Florida School Boards Get Permission to Raise Taxes for School Construction -- Miami Herald Florida: May 03, 2009 [ abstract] The Florida Legislature gave school districts the option to keep some tax money designated for big-ticket school construction, maintenance and technology projects -- but only if school boards agree to a tax increase. That would pass the politically unpopular buck of raising taxes from lawmakers to school board members -- though it would give South Florida school districts a chance to save maintenance employees and plans to repair school buildings and equipment, which they have warned could be wiped out without the money.
The Miami-Dade and Broward districts had led the charge against a change in state law that shifted some property-tax money away from school districts' capital spending to day-to-day operating budgets, funding education spending at the expense of construction, maintenance and technology projects. The change went through, with a compromise giving districts permission to raise taxes this year and next year to backfill their capital budgets.
A tax increase will require super-majority, like two-thirds or three-fourths, approval from school board members. The tax would amount to $25 per $100,000 of taxable assessed property value. This would raise $380.1 million statewide, including $35.9 million in Broward and $53.6 million in Miami-Dade.
-- Patricia Mazzei School of the Future Design Winners -- PR-USA.net National: May 02, 2009 [ abstract] The annual School of the Future design Competition recognizes the efforts of young students in integrating sustainability, technology and community involvement into school design. This year's winners were announced by the National Association of Realtors and the Council of Educational Facility Planners International Foundation. Middle school students from around the country participated in the competition, which is part of School Building Week, April 27-May 1. The week is sponsored by NAR and CEFPI, as well as the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the American Institute of Architects and more than 30 associations and private companies.
The competition underscores the importance of well-designed, environmentally sensitive school buildings in enhancing student-teacher performance and engaging the surrounding community. It challenges teams to redesign their schools to enhance learning, conserve resources, be environmentally responsive and engage the surrounding community.
The grand prize winner was Imago Dei Middle School, Tucson, Ariz. Second place went to Explorer Middle School, Mukilteo, Wash. Third place was a tie between Seneca Middle School, Macomb, Mich., and the Gereau Center, Rocky Mount, Va. Honorable mentions went to the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, Old Lyme, Conn., and Charles Hart Middle School, Washington, D.C.
-- Press Release Elkins board chooses firm to design high school-- Northwest Arkansas Times Arkansas: May 01, 2009 [ abstract] At a special meeting late Thursday afternoon, the Board of Education voted unanimously to enter into negotiations with the Hight-Jackson architecture firm to build a new high school.
The selection came following interviews of six architecture firms over the last three days, which included three firms on Tuesday and three others Thursday morning.
"We had six good, very quality firms to choose from," board President Bryan Delozier said.
The Hight-Jackson firm has designed several schools and building addition projects for schools in Washington and Benton County.
The firm designed the new Bob Folsom Elementary School in Farmington and a recent classroom addition at West Fork High School.
They also listed building projects with the Siloam Springs, Rogers, Bentonville, Prairie Grove and Berryville school districts in their application packet.
Many steps remain still before construction of a school could actually begin. These include passing a millage increase and submitting a building plan to the Arkansas Department of Education's facilities division.
Harris said enlisting an architect for the project is one of the first things they have to do.
"We're not being presumptuous at all. It's the next step in the process," Harris said.
One of the tasks the district intends to charge the firm with doing is developing some drawings and illustrations of what a new school could look like.
"All of them use the word renderings," Harris said.
Harris said artistic drawings would be helpful as the board makes its case to the voters this summer that Elkins needs a new high school
-- BRETT BENNETT Architects Dispute Massachusetts' Model School Program -- MetroWest Daily News Massachusetts: April 28, 2009 [ abstract] The Norwood school will be the first to go up under a "model school" program launched last year by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which claims Norwood will save as much as $30 million by participating. Not everyone is celebrating. Many architects cringe at the thought of a model school expansion. The critics say this one-size, fits-all approach doesn't work well in Massachusetts, and they say the savings that the state building authority touts for Norwood are illusory. The program also could limit competition by directing additional school design work to the two firms - Architecture Involution and Mount Vernon Group Architects - that were behind the state's two designated model schools. Even as they criticize the building authority, members of the Boston Society of Architects realize they also have to work with the agency - especially as the concept is rolled out for elementary schools. That's why the architects met with agency staff to lobby for changes to the model school program.
Katherine Craven, the agency's executive director, says she plans to talk with the architects, however, Craven says there's no question the model school approach for the Norwood project - which was modeled after the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School - saved the town tens of millions of dollars. State Treasurer Tim Cahill, chairman of the school authority's board, has made meaningful strides in curbing the state's runaway school construction costs. Craven says Cahill backed the model school program as part of that effort. Model schools, she says, also give local officials a key opportunity to see and touch a building that will look like their own.
-- Jon Chesto Greene school board reviews school construction plan-- ENC Today North Carolina: April 28, 2009 [ abstract] An eco-friendly designed school - shaped like a dragonfly - could soon be built in Greene County.
Greene County Board of Education members were encouraged Monday by SFL Architects officials to take a serious look at alternative funding sources to build a new elementary school in the district.
The Greene County Commissioners agreed during February to purchase 62 acres at 302 Middle School Road for a new school site. School board members and commissioners met during a joint meeting to review SFL's presentation Monday.
SFL has designed about 30 percent of the state's total school construction and is actively working to assist Greene County Schools with new school construction. Superintendent Patrick Miller has met with SFL officials to discuss how a prototype school - like Western Elementary School in Cumberland County - could be modified and built in Greene County.
Western Elementary School utilizes rainwater collection units, geothermal air conditioning and solar energy to help reduce overall energy costs.
Miller said if funding is available for new school construction, he would like to see a new elementary school built and opened by 2012. The prototype school could be modified to meet Greene County Schools' needs.
Greene school board chairwoman Pat Adams agreed with Miller.
"We are going through the discovery process to see what options are available," Adams said. "It's going to come down to what funding is available."
A feasibility study for new school construction would take up to six weeks to complete. Neither the commissioners nor school board members made a formal motion to move forward with construction plans.
SFL principals Robert Ferris and Thomas Hughes discussed construction costs, alternative funding sources and the prototype school's design during the joint meeting. The firm was established in 1982 and has offices in Charlotte, Raleigh and Fayetteville.
"The school is really effective in reducing energy consumption," Ferris said.
-- Chris Lavender New York City Admits 19 Schools Toxic; No Cleanup Planned -- Daily News New York: April 28, 2009 [ abstract] The city now acknowledges finding illegal levels of toxins in 19 public schools across the city. The 19 schools are in addition to six public schools where lab tests commissioned by the Daily News last year found illegal levels of polychlorinated biphenyls in window caulking. The findings add momentum to a lawsuit filed by Naomi Gonzalez, whose two children attend Public School 178 in Co-op City " one of the schools tested by The News. Gonzalez last month filed the first stage of a lawsuit designed to force the city Department of Education to remove PCB-laced caulking from all public schools.
Since The News’ investigation, the School Construction Authority has tested caulking for PCBs prior to doing renovation work, in accordance with new state guidelines. "Of 77 schools undergoing renovation work last summer, 19 had caulk with PCB concentrations greater than 50 parts per million," the DOE said in a statement. By federal law, any material with PCB contamination of 50 ppm or higher is considered hazardous waste and must be removed immediately. PCBs are potent toxins known to accumulate in the bloodstream. They have been implicated by recent studies as causes of neurological and other disorders. According to the DOE, testing also showed soil contamination around 15 of the 19 schools with toxic caulk.
The city recently submitted for approval by the federal Environmental Protection Agency soil cleanup plans for eight schools where renovations are complete, and will file plans for the seven others when work finishes. The DOE did not disclose the names of the remaining seven schools with contaminated soil, or the four with illegal levels of PCB in caulk. Over the summer, the DOE removed PCB-contaminated soil from the grounds of four schools where The News found illegal levels of PCBs in the caulking, but the city has not yet removed the caulk itself. PCBs were commonly used in the caulk of buildings constructed before the toxins were banned in 1977.
-- Bill Egbert Concern and Suspicion Surround Woodson High's Construction Delays-- Washington Post District of Columbia: April 27, 2009 [ abstract] When Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and other District officials gathered at H.D. Woodson High School last July to announce its impending demolition, they brought drawings of its gleaming, $110 million masonry-and-glass replacement, with abundant natural light and geothermal heating and cooling. Construction was to start in January, with the building ready for students in August 2010.
But the new Woodson, promised to the families of Ward 7 for better than a decade, is still barely on the horizon. Construction has yet to begin, and officials now say it won't be open until 2011.
School construction chief Allen Y. Lew attributes the delay to problems with the design, which he said "doesn't come across as exciting to me." He said he might also take advantage of the flat economy to send the project out for a new round of bidding, which could produce a better price.
The delay has fueled community suspicions that Woodson will never reopen or that if it does it will be an elite, application-only school not open to all within its attendance boundaries.
About 530 sophomores, juniors and seniors who would have been at Woodson are at the former Fletcher-Johnson Education Center on Benning Road in Southeast Washington, and 260 freshmen are at the Ronald H. Brown Middle School on Meade Street in Northeast.
"This is like a slap in the face to us," said Mary Jackson, a Ward 7 advisory neighborhood commissioner with two grandsons at Woodson's temporary home on Benning Road.
Officials say that the sentiments are unfounded and that although Woodson is envisioned as one of the District's Science Technology Engineering and Math schools, it will also be a neighborhood school.
-- Bill Turque Bringing new life to old schools-- Worcester Telegram Massachusetts: April 26, 2009 [ abstract] Educators are fond of pointing out that schools are more than just bricks and mortar. But it’s the bricks and mortar that linger long after the students are gone, and just like their human inhabitants, sometimes schools need to adapt to a new environment.
Several communities around the region are trying to determine the best use for former school buildings, some of which are decades past their prime. In several communities former schools have been converted to residences or into municipal office or library space, while others are still charting their course.
Budgetary restrictions will close the B.F. Brown School in Fitchburg in the fall and city leaders are already in discussions on what to do with the sprawling space once the sounds of youngsters learning have faded. The School Department is consolidating buildings for financial reasons, as well as a declining enrollment.
Sally H. Cragin, a member of the Fitchburg School Committee and chairwoman of its building needs subcommittee, said the B.F. Brown building still has value. The building at 62 Academy St. was built in 1922 and has an assessed value of $5.1 million, according to city records.
“B.F. Brown is a gorgeous building that has a lot of potential,” Ms. Cragin said last week, noting she also has a fondness for the neighboring brick structure known as the annex, which was designed by famed architect H.M. Francis. “My fervent hope and wish is that individuals or groups interested in preserving Francis’ non-residential buildings will look at that building and say, let’s adopt it for preservation.”
What’s to become of the B.F. Brown building remains to be determined, Ms. Cragin said, but the School Department has not yet relinquished control of the site.
The South Fitchburg School at Wanoosnoc Road and Water Street has been empty since it was closed in 2006 with the launch of universal full-day kindergarten in the city. The city is moving forward with efforts to sell it. A request for proposals on the building was just issued, Community Development Director David J. Streb said last week, with submissions due June 12. There will be a pre-bid conference and tour of the building at 2 p.m. May 7.
That’s several hundred thousand square feet of city-owned space that can deteriorate if it’s not maintained. And that is what has happened in neighboring Leominster.
-- Matthew Bruun Earth Day: Schools Go Green -- Greenbay Press Gazette Wisconsin: April 23, 2009 [ abstract] An increasing number of area schools are going green or greener for Earth Day today, using measures great and small to make a difference for the planet. From solar panels to energy-efficient building design, educators say doing good for the Earth also can be great for learning.
The Shawano School District also hopes to save some money by going green, though officials acknowledge it will take some time for the investment in a new Earth-friendly school to pay off. The district is scheduled to break ground today on its new primary school, which is described as an Earth-friendly building that will feature geothermal heating and cooling, day lighting, sensor lights and other energy-saving elements. The building for early childhood through second grade will be certified as Leadership in Energy and Environmental design — commonly known as LEED, district administrator Todd Carlson said. The building, which is expected to open in 2010 and replace the district's Lincoln Elementary School, is the first primary school in the country to seek the LEED stamp of approval, Carlson said. Increased energy efficiency is more expensive, Carlson acknowledged — the new school will cost more than $20 million. But officials say they are confident their investment will be worth it. "We're very cost-conscious of where the fuel prices are going to go," Carlson said, "and we know what paybacks can come on certain things like geothermal heating. … We also wanted to set an example, not just for ourselves, but for the students that we're teaching." Because the new school's students are young, there won't be a lot of direct learning opportunities for them related to the new green school. But officials plan to turn the school's construction into a learning opportunity for high school students, who can learn science and technology lessons as it's built.
-- Kelly McBride Historic St. Louis Schools Face Uncertain Future-- NPR Missouri: April 21, 2009 [ abstract] The city of St. Louis is trying to decide what will become of many of its historic school buildings and the neighborhoods that they anchor.
Some of the schools were designed by architect William Ittner. His buildings — from the late 19th and early 20th centuries — dot St. Louis' landscape. Open-floor plans, 15-foot ceilings and hardwood floors are hallmarks of Ittner's designs. His concepts influenced the way schools were built around the country.
Now, the city is planning to sell 10 of Ittner's schools. Five are already on the market, and five more are slated for closing as the St. Louis Public School District cuts back. At its peak enrollment in the 1930s, 115,000 students went to St. Louis public schools. Now it is more like 27,000.
This year, the district is closing 14 schools, including some that Ittner did not design.
Troubled Old Buildings
Among the Ittner schools that will be sold, demolished or repurposed is Horace Mann Elementary, built in 1901. Principal Brian Zimmerman says the decision to close Mann came down to its lack of central air-conditioning.
Ittner's first project for the St. Louis school district — Arlington School — is one of those already up for sale. It was completed in 1898 and closed in 1994. After a decade and a half of neglect, its walls are collapsing and floorboards are cracked and warped. Brass lion heads that once decorated the roof's cornice have been hacked off.
Despite the broken chalkboards and graffiti-covered walls, the rooms have a soothing character.
On a recent visit, Michael Allen, assistant director of the St. Louis Landmarks Association, noted three tall windows in one classroom.
"Even on an overcast day," he said, the room "is bathed in a very beautiful natural light."
-- Adam Allington Schools playing with fire, inspector warns-- New York Daily News New York: April 20, 2009 [ abstract] Fire prevention sprinkler systems in several New York City public schools are a disaster waiting to happen, a plumbing inspector for the School Construction Authority charges.
Roy Van Allen told the Daily News he has warned supervisors about sprinkler systems and fire standpipes that are inadequate or may not work at all.
Van Allen contends he found serious problems at a half-dozen schools - including improperly installed pipes, a disconnected standpipe and a substandard fire suppression system.
"I wouldn't feel safe with my kids in those schools," he said. "These systems are operating not as designed. It doesn't mean it won't put out a fire, but ... you shouldn't have to wonder if it will work."
Case in point: Last December, Van Allen discovered a standpipe that would be used by the Fire Department to pump water to the upper floors of Public School 125 on W. 123rd St. in Harlem was disconnected.
"It existed for an unknown time until discovered by me by accident," Van Allen wrote in a Jan. 7 e-mail to his superiors.
In January, Van Allen found problems with a pipe used to distribute water for the sprinkler system that was installed on the wrong floor and could confuse firefighters.
In a memo to his superiors, Van Allen wrote: "This place is a wreck."
Nearly 600 children attend PS 125 in grades K to 7. The Columbia Secondary School is also housed in the building.
Harriet Barnes, president of the Community Education Council of District 5, whose office is on the second floor of PS 125, said she knew nothing about the fire safety issues. "Never mind me, there are kids in there every single day," Barnes said. "That's not right."
Principals of the two schools did not return calls. An FDNY spokesman was unaware of any problem at the school.
A spokeswoman for the city Department of Education said the standpipe at PS 125 passed a Feb. 12 inspection.
"We were not aware that [the standpipe] was disconnected. We were aware that it was not working," said DOE spokeswoman Margie Feinberg.
-- Greg B. Smith, Meredith Kolodner and John Marzulli Students Help Build New, Green School -- Salt Lake Tribune Utah: April 20, 2009 [ abstract] From their art class window, Hillside Middle School students can see their biggest project yet: a new environmentally friendly school building. The Salt Lake City School District is rebuilding Hillside as a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental design) school building, and students are helping. Buildings must meet certain environmental standards in order to become LEED certified. Utah now has two LEED-certified schools and another four, including Hillside, working toward certification.
The new Hillside building, which is being built next to the current one, will feature "light shelves" outside windows to reflect light into classrooms and hallways, while shading them from direct light to save on cooling and artificial lighting costs. The new building will also feature evaporative cooling rather than air conditioning. It will have acoustic ceiling tiles in classrooms, carpets made of recycled materials and furniture from the old school. Many of the school's building materials, including concrete blocks and sheetrock, will come from within a 500-mile radius to cut down on the pollution from transporting them. Most of all, it's an interactive lesson for many of the students who will eventually walk its hallways. With the help of artist John Schaefer, the school's seventh- and eighth-grade art students are creating art installations and at least 24 signs explaining the school's green features for future generations of students and visitors.
-- Lisa Schencker Building committee wants new Natick High School-- MetroWest Daily News Massachusetts: April 16, 2009 [ abstract] The High School Building Committee did not choose which of the options to go with for the new Natick High School, but the members did decide what they did not want - to renovate the current school.
Project management firm RF Walsh presented four options - a full renovation, a mix of renovated and new portions, a custom-designed new building, and a new building based on one of the state's models for high schools.
Having heard the alternatives, most of the 10 members of the committee supported or leaned toward going for the model school option.
John Ciccariello, chairman of the building committee and a selectmen, said he did not want to commit to the model school if the Massachusetts School Building Authority does not give Natick flexibility to change the design to fit the school's needs.
"Yes they granted (flexibility to make changes) to Norwood, but nothing I have seen indicates they have given that to Natick as well," Ciccariello said.
Representatives from RF Walsh will meet with state officials on Friday, said Project Manager David Billings. He said he would ask them about that matter.
Constructing a new school, rather than renovating the current school, appealed to the committee because building a new one would be cheaper and they believed people would like the results better.
Jack O'Neil, a committee member and partner in a development firm, said his experience with remodeling projects has been bad, and in the end you end up with basically the same, old building.
"Only a couple times in my career have I done renovations, and they took longer and cost more," O'Neil said. "It would have been much easier to tear the school down and build a new one, and you can take that to the bank."
-- Charlie Breitrose SPRINGDALE : District cautious over new schools-- Arkansas Democrat Gazette Arkansas: April 15, 2009 [ abstract] The School Board will wait for clearer enrollment growth projections and better economic conditions before asking voters to approve a millage increase for school construction, board members said at a day-long workshop Tuesday.
If enrollment projections are accurate, the district would need to begin design and construction of the nine projects on its building plan as early as next year.
But growth has been inconsistent in recent years, falling as low as 350 additional students at the beginning of the 2007 school term and as high as 1,000 additional students at the beginning of 2005. The district added 729 students at the start of this school year, exceeding expectations.
"I can tell you what my projections are, but I can't tell you how many students will walk through that door," assistant superintendent Ron Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw projects 843 new students at the start of next school year using 10-year trends. But the recession has slowed housing construction and migration, meaning that figure may be inaccurate.
The district has preliminary plans in place for several projects including two new elementary schools, a new middle school and a new junior high school.
Plans also call for media center additions at Parson Hills and Westwood elementary schools, renovations at Central Junior High School and Jarrell Williams Stadium and the construction of an athletic complex at Har-Ber High School.
To support the projects, the district may need to restructure its existing debt - extending terms to lower payments - and raise property taxes 3.4 mills to 40 mills, financial adviser Buster Beardsley said.
-- EVIE BLAD Neighbors, school leaders
at odds over Julienne’s future-- Dayton Daily News Ohio: April 11, 2009 [ abstract] Charred fragments of a torched automobile sit near the boarded main entrance of the former Julienne Catholic High School at 325 Homewood Ave. An old sofa bed someone tossed into the woods sits nearby.
“I would love to see a school reopen down there,” said Eric Riesenbeck, a 28-year-old father of two as he gazed at the mammoth building near his Old Orchard Avenue home. “I think it would be great.”
Dayton Public Schools shares that view, as do many in Five Oaks, a neighborhood hit hard by crime and foreclosures in recent years.
Visions for the site differ, however, and hang in the balance Wednesday, April 15, when Dayton City Commission is expected to vote during its 6 p.m. meeting on a Plan Board recommendation to designate Julienne historic. (The building is already on the National Register of Historic Places.)
If approved, the move would complicate, if not doom, the school district’s plan to raze Julienne and build a 550-pupil elementary school in its place. But it would preserve some neighbors’ hopes the school district would renovate the site and still open a school there.
“I’m hoping the commission will do the right thing and make it historic and the school board will do the right thing and restore and remodel a good chunk of it, if not the whole thing,” said Marc Suda, president of the Five Oaks Neighborhood Improvement Association.
School leaders say renovation isn’t an option.
“The financial issues are overbearing for the school district,” said John Carr, construction chief for Dayton schools, who says renovating the building could cost $20 million, $6 million more than new construction.
“We’re going to have to move on to another location (if commission makes it historic),” he said. “That’s not a threat; it’s just a fact of life.”
-- Anthony Gottschlich Going 'green' pays dividends for Deer Lakes School District-- Tarentum Valley News Dispatch Pennsylvania: April 10, 2009 [ abstract] Deer Lakes School District administrators are finding new responsible building practices are not just popular, they are lucrative.
The heap of environmentally friendly design factors included in the high school renovation project are unlocking a half-million dollars in state reimbursement.
"Attaining a silver certification will mean getting around $500,000 from state programs that reward green design," said Mark King, a district building consultant and former Deer Lakes superintendent. "The project is going really well, and we're going to be ahead of schedule on a few phases."
The total overhaul will adapt the school to a much smaller student body. When the building was built in 1973, it housed seventh through 12 grade, compared to four grades now.
The project will cost $39.6 million and be completed by the end of the 2009-10 school year.
Many of the materials that the builders are using are recycled. Other materials, such as wood and stone, are grown or quarried locally.
The volume of "green" design elements has put the project on the Western Pennsylvania Green Building Alliance's list of projects to watch, along with Burrell School District's Charles A. Huston Middle School.
Some of Deer Lakes' environmentally friendly design elements include:
• About 40 bicycle parking spaces
• Restoring 50 percent of the area with native vegetation
• Developing more open spaces than local zoning requirements dictate
• Reducing water use by using low-flow fixtures
• Individual climate control systems in office units
Building processes also will use environmentally friendly techniques.
-- Charlie Ban New school building brings new pride at Barnum School -- Bridgeport News Connecticut: April 10, 2009 [ abstract] Barnum School Principal Lourdes L. Delgado said her students take pride in their new building.
When a student was overheard saying he might do something bad to the building, other students immediately told school officials. “It was just a comment, but the other students didn’t like hearing that,” Delgado said.
While Barnum School moved into the new structure at the start of the 2008-09 school year, the official dedication ceremony didn’t take place until recently.
The event was a chance for the entire school community " from students to staff, and parents to community leaders " to celebrate a facility built on part of the site once occupied by the infamous Father Panik Village public housing project.
“It’s a new beginning for our school community,” Delgado said.
Ann Brignola, a well-known East Side resident, cut the ribbon during the dedication ceremony. Brignola operates a photo studio in the neighborhood, and had graduated from the old Barnum School in 1927. The old Barnum is about 10 blocks away.
The new Barnum is part of a combined school complex with a new Waltersville School. The schools share a gymnasium, stage area, kitchen, nurse’s office and outdoor play area. The old Waltersville is near the new combined site.
Each school has its own cafetorium (a combined cafeteria and auditorium), classrooms, administrative offices and media center.
Barnum and Waltersville are two of five new schools built in Bridgeport in the past few years. The others are Cesar Batalla in the West End, Geraldine Johnson in the Hollow and lower North End, and Jettie Tisdale in the East End. All are designed to serve pre-kindergarten to eighth-grade students.
-- Brad Durrell Parents pleased with latest Garrett Park elementary design-- Business Gazette Maryland: April 08, 2009 [ abstract] The latest design for the modernization of Garrett Park Elementary School presented to parents and community members last week has soothed concerns about pedestrian safety on the cramped school site.
Architects for Montgomery County Public Schools, responding to near-universal dismay at a previous design for the school, returned last week to show parents for the first time a design that made pedestrians a priority and took into account the multitude of directions from which walkers approach the site. The design is scheduled to go before the Planning Board for approval on Tuesday.
"I think that we've taken everything to heart and we understand and we're trying to make this the safest site we can," said architect Mike Bosiacki.
Parents and community members have been giving input on the design for Garrett Park Elementary School, which is to be torn down and rebuilt twice as big by December 2011. A design agreed upon in December was recently deemed by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and the Maryland Department of Transportation to be in non-compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act accessibility requirements, so MCPS two weeks ago presented a solution to that problem featuring a bus loop completely surrounding a nursery school on the site.
-- Jen Beasley Plymouth North High School construction will impact tax bill-- Old Colony Memorial and Plymouth Bulletin Massachusetts: April 08, 2009 [ abstract] How does less than a penny per $1,000 of value sound?
That is the tax increase the new model school will cost taxpayers in 2010. That number, however, will increase as the town moves closer to completing the new Plymouth North High School.
The new school project will have no impact on this year’s tax bill.
Initially, the town will be borrowing $100,000 to get the project up and running; that amount accounts for the .96 of a penny tax increase in 2010.
If the project were completed today and the town were shouldering the full $30 million debt associated with the project, Finance Director Lynne Barrett said the tax hike on a home valued at $300,000 would weigh in at about $93.56 " a number that would reduce over the life of the 20-year loan.
This tax increase, however, doesn’t include the cost of the new senior center, slated to be constructed in tandem with the new high school.
“I don’t know what estimates are on senior center,” Barrett added. “They’re in the stages of negotiating a contract for design and preliminary engineering. They don’t know what that’s going to cost yet.”
But the plan is to have the senior center share some facilities with the new school, such as the indoor track and the cafeteria. These plans may reduce costs on the senior center, according to town officials.
Voters in 2006 approved a $199 million debt exclusion allowing the town to borrow this amount to rebuild or construct new high schools and build a new senior center. The state is reimbursing Plymouth for the new high school construction at 60 percent. Barrett noted that the state is also going to reimburse Plymouth monthly as bills come in for the project. This will help the town save money by its borrowing smaller amounts incrementally as each phase of the project is completed, rather than borrowing $30 million right off the bat, Barrett said.
“It’ll minimize the amount of interest we will incur,” she said.
In addition, the town has a bond rating of AA, which helps garner a favorable interest rate and a wide spectrum of bids. The $30 million 20-year bond will have a 5 percent interest rate, Barrett said. Short-term interest rates are so low now, the $100,000 initial debt will carry a 2 percent interest rate.
-- Emily Wilcox State Announces Effort to Fast-Track Plan Review for ‘Shovel-Ready’ School Construction-- Business Wire California: April 08, 2009 [ abstract] Emphasizing a commitment to moving school construction forward, the Division of the State Architect (DSA), which provides design and construction oversight for K–12 schools and community colleges, today announced it will give top priority to reviewing school design plans that do not require state funding.
â€"The availability of federal economic stimulus funds coupled with local school bond approvals creates an opportunity to advance ‘shovel-ready' school construction projects,†said State Architect David Thorman. â€"Because state bond proceeds for school construction funds are likely to be impacted for many months, it is imperative that we remove any barriers for projects that don't require state funding.â€
The fast-track reviews apply to projects that:
Are ready to proceed to construction within 75 days from receiving stamped, approved documents from DSA; and
Are capable of financing the construction costs entirely from district and local sources and will not seek state funds.
To accomplish this, a strike team has been assembled to review and approve plans for these projects out of order, essentially moving them to the front of the line.
â€"We will continue to process all other submissions on the normal ‘first in-first out' basis,†said Thorman. â€"This new category of project approval will be in effect until California is on better fiscal footing. However, this action means facilities that don't need financial contributions from the state don't have to wait to break ground,†he said.
DSA is a division within the Department of General Services. Its primary role in state government is to ensure that California's K-12 schools and community colleges meet building codes, are seismically safe and accessible to all. Working closely with designers and school districts, it fulfills this role by reviewing construction project plans for structural safety, fire and life safety, and accessibility for disabled persons. The division typically reviews about 4,000 project plans each year.
For more information, visit DSA's Web site.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra
-- Staff Writer Don't Just Rebuild Schools—Reinvent Them-- Education Week National: April 07, 2009 [ abstract] The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act could be a boon to educational facilities, with its provisions to help reduce the interest on school construction and renovation bonds, and its permission for state fiscal-stabilization money to go for school modernization, repairs, and, as outlined in U.S. Education Department guidance, new construction. As communities gear up for the chance to utilize this much-needed help, let us remember that what may be great for bridges and highways may be exactly the wrong thing for schools.
The deep decay of our school systems is best represented not by falling plaster and leaking roofs, but by something much more fundamental"the philosophy behind the design of more than 99 percent of our school buildings. If we simply repair broken structures, we will ignore the real problems with American education while giving renewed life to a model of teaching and learning that has been obsolete since the end of the industrial era.
Let’s start with the fundamental building block of almost every single school in this country: the classroom. Who seriously believes that locking 25 students in a small room with one adult for several hours each day is the best way for them to be “educated”? In the 21st century, education is about project-based learning, connections with peers around the world, service learning, independent research, design and creativity, and, more than anything else, critical thinking and challenges to old assumptions.
So, what can we do to begin changing our current practices and modernize schooling? It’s really quite simple. We should attach strict conditions to any support for facilities projects under the recently enacted federal stimulus package. Those conditions should send a clear message to each community that facilities spending be leveraged to change the educational paradigm from the largely teacher-centered model now practiced everywhere to a 21st-century, student-centered approach.
Here are some effective ways to assess whether a school community is deserving of support for its plans. Let’s ask whether those plans include real efforts to do the following:
Create personalized learning communities. Will the money be used to break down the anonymity of the larger school by creating small, personalized learning communities of between 100 and 125 students and from four to six teachers? These communities would replace classrooms with multifaceted learning studios and common areas for various collaborative and hands-on activities.
The idea is for each student to be known, respected, and educated at a very personal level. Positive relationships with adult mentors and older peers are keys to academic success and critical to the development of good social and emotional skills. This can only happen if students belong to a community that is small enough not to exceed its members’ ability as human beings to relate on a personal level with other human beings.
Make technology ubiquitous. Will the plans enable school buildings to finally enter the 21st century in the arena of technological sophistication? Support should be given to schools that are committed to redressing the imbalance between students’ technology readiness and the schools’ willingness to let them use it for learning at all levels.
Students should have anytime, anywhere access to the Internet via high-speed wireless laptop computers, smartphones, and hand-held computing devices. Experts from all over the world should be able to pop in on demand via distance-learning programs accommodated by two-way videoconferencing facilities. Schools should be the coolest places in the community when it comes to high-end equipment and for testing new and experimental software.
Connect with the outdoors for health, fitness, and improved academics. Will schools start paying attention to the mountain of data that directly correlates human health and well-being with the amount of time spent communing with nature and the outdoors?
-- Prakash Nair Newark school district plans school closures, job cuts-- The Star-Ledger New Jersey: April 07, 2009 [ abstract] Looking to plug a $44 million shortfall in its nearly $1 billion proposed budget, the Newark school district will close two middle schools and eliminate more than 50 central office jobs.
The proposed 2009-10 budget approved Monday night by the district's advisory school board calls for the closure of the troubled William Brown Academy, as well as the Vailsburg School. No teachers will be laid off and 50 staffers will be reassigned to the classroom.
"The Newark Public Schools' 2009-2010 budget represents the district's commitment to continue on the path of fiscal accountability, education reform and transparency to ensure our business operations are effective and sustainable so that our students continue to achieve," Superintendent Clifford Janey said.
"In addition, the budget is designed to maintain school facilities and honor the obligations of the Newark Public Schools."
Students from the two middle schools will be shifted to other buildings, School Business Administrator Ronald Lee said.
Enrollment in the state's largest district has been slowly declining; the student population fell by about 500 this year to just under 40,000. Many of those who left Newark schools are now enrolled in charter schools which are independently run but funded by the district.
Because the district is under state control, Newark's $991.9 million school budget doesn't go before city voters. It must be approved by state officials, a process that could take a month or more, district spokeswoman Valerie Merritt said.
-- Jeanette Rundquist New BHS creating a 'buzz'-- The Post-Searchlight Georgia: April 03, 2009 [ abstract] The new Bainbridge High School's construction and design is creating a "buzz" around the state, and its architects, builders and school officials couldn't have been more pleased with the results, they said Thursday during the monthly Chamber of Commerce breakfast.
"This has been the smoothest running project we have ever worked on," said Keith Barrett, an architect with Altman and Barrett, who is a partner with Walter Altman in their architecture firm from Valdosta.
Barrett said the building has attracted statewide attention because of its design and how well the project has progressed.
"I've never seen anything like it," Barrett said of the building's design. He said state fire marshals are already saying how the design of the building may be copied by other school systems.
Barrett and Altman, who are both sons of educators, said after garnering much input, including that from each staff member of all the departments of the high school, the architects then looked at 10 to 12 other schools to help develop ideas on their design.
What they ended up with was a design that "is very unique," and one that the designers, builders and school officials said the community should be extremely proud of.
The two-story 369,180-square-foot building is now being finished up with some final "punch lists" getting checked off.
Decatur County School Superintendent Ralph Jones says furnishings are being installed or bid out for order, and a community grand opening is still in the planning stages.
"It's been the best project I've been associated with in 38 years," said Bob Folkman, project manager for JCI General Contractors Inc. of Moultrie.
He said approximately 1,000 workers, builders, plumbers, electricians, craftsmen and others completed the building in less than two years. Some of those employed included high school students on a work-study program.
-- Carol Heard Plans for elementary school changed after parents protest-- Business Gazette Maryland: April 01, 2009 [ abstract] A redesign proposal that upset Garrett Park Elementary School parents for what they perceived as poor pedestrian safety standards has been largely adjusted back to a previous design following outcry at a meeting last week.
The new design will be presented at an update meeting at 7 p.m. tonight at Garrett Park Elementary School, 4810 Oxford Street, Kensington.
Montgomery County Public Schools originally held five meetings with parents, staff and community members to hear input for the plans for the tear down and redesign of the school. But upon showing the consensus scheme to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and the Maryland Department of Transportation, MCPS concluded the design agreed upon could not be built in three dimensions because of the elevation differences on the site. It was also determined that the site plans would not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for accessible ramps.
The significant changes prompted another meeting last week to present the amended plans to parents, who turned out in larger numbers than previous meetings. They balked at the proposed traffic flow, which showed the bus loop surrounding a day care on the elementary school site. The bus loop, because of grade differences, was separated from the day care with a retaining wall like a moat, and parents worried that children would not use the long sidewalk around it to access the day care, where many kids play after school.
"There is no place for the kids to go once they get out of school, unless they immediately get in a car and drive off the property," said parent Natalie Grande.
-- Jen Beasley Winchester approves grade school building plans-- Jacksonville Journal-Courier Illinois: April 01, 2009 [ abstract] The Winchester School Board Tuesday night unanimously approved a lease agreement for the construction of the Winchester Grade School building addition, Superintendent Dave Roberts said Wednesday.
The lease resolution is between the Farmers State Bank of Pittsfield and the school district and, “allows (the district) to contract with a design-builder to build the (Winchester Grade School) building addition,” Mr. Roberts said.
That design-builder will be Cleary Building Corp.
The lease agreement is for 10 years with annual payments, Mr. Roberts said Wednesday.
“The first nine years’ payments are $51,957.46, the last payment is $50,000,” Mr. Roberts said, “and our first payment is not due until September of 2010 " but we have plans of starting payments early.”
Mr. Roberts said funding for the project will come out of the district’s corporate tax revenue and possibly a pre-K grant.
He said the main motivations for the building addition include moving the pre-K classrooms out of “16-year-old trailer,” he said.
Three union representatives and a local construction company owner were present at the meeting to warn board members that, if they voted to move forward with the lease agreement, the school district could be sued.
For more on the meeting, see Thursday’s Journal-Courier.
-- KATIE ANDERSON Land price for school drops-- San Mateo Daily Journal California: March 31, 2009 [ abstract] The price tag for a 7-acre parcel among a 109-acre portion of wetlands in Redwood Shores slated to be the home of a new elementary school dropped to $8 million from the base land price of $9.8 million.
In July 2007, the Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary School District entered into a contract with land owners Keech Properties for the 7-acre school site. The agreement committed the district to pay $8.5 million. The base land price was set at $9.8 million to be offset by a $1.1 million payment from either the Redwood City General Improvement District Facilities Fees or Keech Properties for development of co-use facilities on the site. With the developer fees coming in as estimated and a reduction in project costs, Max Keech of Keech Properties suggested lowering the district’s cost an additional $700,000 dropping the price to $8 million. The new agreement will go before the board Thursday.
Superintendent Emerita Orta-Camilleri was excited by the decreased cost. The price reduction will allow the district more money to put into the school, such as a fourth kindergarten classroom. In addition, more money can be put aside to ensure costs of the new school are covered, she said.
Efforts to open a new elementary school in Redwood Shores gained momentum in November 2005 when voters approved a $25 million bond measure to pay for the costs of buying land and building a school. The hope was to open the new school by this fall. In January, the opening was postponed until 2010 after a delay in receiving state approval.
Also on Thursday, the board will consider approving the inclusion of the classroom addition " which was part of the original project design, according to a staff report by Nellie Hungerford, associate superintendent of business services and operations. The $350,000 contract would be with Blach Construction and Stafford King Wiese, which offered to waive design fees for the addition if the district acted quickly.
Despite the opening delays, the district continues to work on setting boundaries for the new school site.
-- Heather Murtagh City School Construction Project Passes Halfway Point-- Bristol Herald Courier Tennessee: March 28, 2009 [ abstract] Construction of Fairmount Elementary School " the city’s first new school in 38 years " is more than half complete.
Rain and cold weather have caused minor delays, but bricklayers, carpenters and other contractors have been working weekends to meet the goal of completing the school in late November or early December, Randy Webb, BurWil Construction Co. superintendent, said Friday.
“There are seven different contractors out here and about 75 workers, and we’re probably 50 [percent] to 55 percent done,” he said.
Installation of one of the most unique features of the $13.7 million, 83,000-square-foot school " a geothermal heating and cooling system " also is under way.
“The geothermal wells are all set in place, and right now were installing the ‘vault’ that will take in hot and cold water and distribute it to different areas of the school,” Webb said.
The school was nearly 90 years old when demolition began in July. In January, 600 students are expected to head to class in the new Fairmount Elementary.
A lot has happened in the past two months. The foundation is complete, and the exterior of the classrooms, administrative areas and gymnasium are complete. The red brick, trimmed with lighter brown brick, that will cover the entire school except the gym, is being set. Many of the interior steel supports are in place awaiting a custom Sheetrock designed to withstand a healthy dose of wear and tear, Webb said.
“We’re going to be moving to the roofing next, and we’ll start installing it above the classrooms and administrative areas first, then we’ll finish off the dining area and gym,” he said.
Meanwhile, metal door frames and windows are almost all installed, as are the steel supports for the large dome that will cover the school’s library. And sprinkler lines are going in as are heating and cooling ducts and plumbing.
-- Gary Gray Details Emerge on Plan for Missouri Stimulus Money-- Kansas City Star Missouri: March 27, 2009 [ abstract] The $22.8 billion state operating budget passed by the House uses hundreds of millions of dollars of federal stimulus money for the operation of Missouri's elementary, secondary and higher education institutions. But that still leaves about $1 billion in stimulus funds — give or take a few hundred million — for lawmakers to decide how to spend. The rest of Missouri's estimated $4 billion stimulus share already is dedicated by federal law to specific purposes.
The special stimulus spending package likely will include money for repairs, maintenance or construction at state-owned buildings and public universities. Missouri has a backlog of about $1.5 billion in needed design work, maintenance, repairs and construction at state buildings, said Jeff Schaeperkoetter, director of Missouri's Facilities Management, design and Construction Division. Additionally, tens of millions of dollars of planned university construction projects have been put on hold by Gov. Jay Nixon's administration because of concerns that their funding source — the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority — cannot follow through on scheduled payments.
Earlier this week, senators endorsed a bill creating a method of distributing federal stimulus funds for school construction or repair. Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, said he hopes to put roughly $500 million from the stimulus package into the fund.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra
-- David A. Lieb Important for town to move forward now on high school-- Wayland Town Crier Massachusetts: March 26, 2009 [ abstract] For many years, the town of Wayland, under the leadership of the High School Building Committee (HSBC), has been working to address the needs of the Wayland High School facility. Three forces have coalesced to make it important the town move forward with the planning process: (1) an immediate need exists to address the school’s aged buildings; (2) three regulatory agencies (NEASC, OSHA and DEP) have cited the High School for its failing systems;, and (3) the state has restarted its school building assistance program and will provide 40 percent of the funding for the town to move forward with the first phase of a modernization project.
The process is closely governed by the new regulations of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). The first step required is a feasibility study and schematic design project. According to the MSBA, we must go through this phase even though the HSBC already has performed much analysis in this area.
The purpose of this article is to summarize the work done in connection with the preliminary phase of the feasibility study, which was performed by the Futures Team. This work was funded through money previously appropriated to the High School Building Committee at Town Meeting for the purpose of continuing to move the process forward with the state.
The Futures Team was made up of a diverse group of 57 volunteers, half of whom were Wayland residents, some of whom had favored and some of whom had opposed the original 2004 Wayland High School vote, and half of whom were teachers, students and administrators.
The mission for the Futures Team was to: 1) consider the educational needs of our students and the broader needs of our community; 2) develop draft guiding principles for the educational program; 3) begin to draft educational specifications; and 4) begin to look at possible designs for a flexible building that would address those needs now and well into the future.
The Futures Team worked with education architectural consultant Frank Locker and came to broad consensus in several areas.
-- Futures Team Massachusetts School Building Authority Foresees Funding Shortfall -- Boston Globe Massachusetts: March 26, 2009 [ abstract] With sales tax revenue on a steady decline, the Massachusetts School Building Authority is projecting its portion of state funds will fall short by at least $100 million this fiscal year. The authority gets about 1 cent for every 5 cents collected in state sales tax to help cities and towns pay for school construction, renovations, and major building repairs. Under the law establishing the authority, it expected at least $702 million to spend for the year that ends June 30, regardless of the amount of sales tax collected because of a minimum budget the state guarantees.
Katherine Craven, the authority's executive director, said that if the state isn't able to make up the shortfall, some 200 or more projects now in the earliest planning stages could be in jeopardy and the authority might have to cut back on future projects. Those schools that have already been approved for feasibility studies or for design and budgeting would not be affected by a deficit, she said. The authority has a five-year, $2.5 billion capital pipeline to fund school projects.
To make sure districts are spending their funds wisely, the authority has conducted 800 project audits and is encouraging some communities to consider adopting a "model school" program, which lowers costs by standardizing facilities' designs.
-- Christina Pazzanese An offer they can't refuse?-- Wicked Local Somerset Massachusetts: March 25, 2009 [ abstract] The Massachusetts School Building Authority approved beginning negotiations for a Model School program that could help replace the aging Somerset High School building, but both Somerset and Berkley Schools must be regionalized before moving forward on the project.
In a Model School program, the district would use an existing design of a recently built state high school, using it as a plan for another new school to cut down on design and construction costs. Where the Massachusetts School Building Authority tends to reimburse approximately 60 percent of a school building costs, with the Model School Program, additional funds could raise the state reimbursement to as high as 66 percent.
The town of Norwood recently used the program to build a new high school and saved an estimated $33 million in costs, said Katherine Craven, MSBA's executive director.
â€"It's a real opportunity to take action on some extra state funding and a good bidding environment,†said Craven. â€"Basically all we would have to do is fit a Norwood High School design into Somerset that could take as much time as trying to fix the existing building. Our board is into seeing the most bang for the tax dollar.â€
Craven said the Model Building plan cannot happen without both towns agreeing to regionalize.
â€"A tuition agreement does not provide the platinum standing that we are looking for. We want a regional agreement,†said Craven. Both the MSBA and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education officials plan to visit Somerset in the next two weeks for a question and answer forum on regionalization and the Model Building program.
Somerset Superintendent Richard Medeiros said it is obvious that something needs to be done. He's open to the idea of regionalization, but is looking for more specific information on its impact and how it will be carried out.
-- Jay Pateakos Natick Town Meeting article to start process for new High School-- MetroWest Daily News Massachusetts: March 24, 2009 [ abstract] Selectmen last night supported a Town Meeting warrant article to allow the town to bond $2 million to hire an architect to create preliminary designs for a new or refurbished high school.
The money would allow the high school project to take the next step toward becoming a reality, said School Committee Chairman Stephen Meyler.
The money will be used to hire architects to do a schematic design and create construction documents, said Bill Hurley, the district's director of fiscal and administrative services.
The district's project management firm is studying whether the project should be new construction or a refurbishing, Hurley said, and the step after that would be preliminary designs.
"Approval of the funds puts us in a very good place once the feasibility study concludes in April," Hurley said.
If Town Meeting supports the article, the project could receive approval from the Massachusetts School Building Authority - the agency that controls school construction funds - no later than July, Hurley said. Then full designs could be ready, and the construction cost could be calculated.
After the district's plan receives approval from the state, things will move fast. Natick will have 120 days to get voters to approve the school bonds to pay for the town's portion of the cost.
If the school gets the support of the state and the voters, Hurley believes half the cost of the project, including the $2 million for the designs, will be reimbursed by the MSBA.
If the measure fails at the polls, the town must still pay back the architectural design bonds, Town Administrator Martha White said.
Selectmen discussed another potential building project last night, the new community/senior center. The current plan calls for a 30,000-square-foot facility which would cost $10 million to build, said Selectmen Chairman John Ciccariello.
He recommends placing both projects on the same ballot, because elections cost so much to put on a special election, an estimated $30,000 or more.
-- Charlie Breitrose Akron board approves plans for two schools -- Akron Beacon Journal Ohio: March 23, 2009 [ abstract] The Akron school board Monday approved design plans for McEbright and Windemere elementary schools.
The projects are part of the ongoing $800 million school construction program that will shut down, renovate or replace every school in the district. The schools will double as community centers after classes let out.
The state is paying for 59 percent of the basic cost of the projects. A voter-approved city income tax hike pays the remainder, plus any extras the state won't help fund.
Akron's share of the $10.8 million McEbright project is about $5.3 million, including about $1.5 million in additional local cost for more square footage to accommodate special education needs.
Construction is expected to begin in spring 2010. McEbright students will be temporarily housed in Lincoln Elementary, which is one of five schools that will be closed at the end of this school year because of declining enrollment. The new McEbright school is expected to be ready by the fall of 2012.
Akron's share of the $11.1 million Windemere project will be about $5.7 million, including about $1.9 million in additional local cost, also mostly for special education needs.
Windemere's students already have been moved to the old Betty Jane elementary school. Construction on the new Windemere is expected to begin in late summer and take about 18 months.
City and school officials on Monday also approved paying the consortium of architects that has designed all the schools an additional $571,000 because of changes to the East High School project. Akron's share of the extra cost is $234,110.
-- John Higgins Planned Owings Mills community shrinks to add school-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: March 23, 2009 [ abstract] The number of residences proposed to be built on the last large parcel of developable land in Owings Mills has decreased by more than 100 now that Baltimore County has requested an elementary school site on the property.
Plans for Plinlimmon Farms had included 330 townhouses, 430 condominiums and a retail and office complex on 104 acres along Lyons Mill Road near Lyonswood Drive in New Town. The same parcel had been zoned for 430 detached homes.
The County Council approved the project as a planned-unit development about 18 months ago, eliminating some zoning requirements. The townhouse project was set to go to the county Planning Board until officials determined that the additional residential units would require a new elementary school to ease already crowded classrooms in the surrounding schools, said Arnold F. "Pat" Keller III, county planning director.
"Once we saw the project and the site, we knew we needed a new school," Keller said. "We told the developer 'you're it' for the school. That took a number of the initial units off the table."
The planned-unit development with fewer units will likely come before the county Planning Board for a review late next month.
Keller said the project could not proceed "without a high level of certainty that a school site would work on the property." After a review of a nearly 20-acre portion of the property, planners think the school site will work, he said.
Developer Steve Weinstein is amenable to the changes, said Robert Hoffman, Weinstein's attorney.
"The plan means less houses, but we have made the modifications and redesigned the public space for a school," Hoffman said.
-- Mary Gail Hare Lawrence, North Andover on short list for 'model school' designation-- Eagle Tribune Massachusetts: March 22, 2009 [ abstract] There could be a crop of North Andover high schools popping up across the state someday, or even a scaled-down version of Lawrence High School built in a Boston suburb.
The two high schools are on a short list of buildings being considered by the Massachusetts School Building Authority as possible "model schools." The building authority was in North Andover earlier this month for a site visit and will tour Lawrence High in the upcoming weeks.
The MSBA is in its second phase of piloting a model school program, where it looks to adapt and reuse the designs of successful, recently constructed high schools, cutting down on the time and cost of new building projects.
Lawrence High opened its doors in 2007, while North Andover High was built in 2004.
"We're looking for buildings that are designed well, efficient," MSBA Director Katherine Craven said. "We want to know how they'll fit on different sites, how easily they can be adapted ... We want to know if people are happy in the building, what people like and don't like."
The program is voluntary, meaning communities looking to build new high schools do not have to use a "model school" design.
The MSBA chose two model schools last year — Ashland High School and Whitman-Hanson High School — out of a dozen potentials. And now Norwood is using the Whitman-Hanson design as the basis for its new school.
The authority is in discussions with Hampden-Wilbraham and Tewksbury to identify model school designs those districts might be able to adapt and reuse.
"It's unusual what we're doing, to reuse the designs, but it seems to make sense for us," Craven said. "It's something Treasurer Tim Cahill is very proud of. It's a great way to save money for taxpayers."
-- Crystal Bozek New building to serve Spring Lake alternative education-- Muskegon Chronicle Michigan: March 21, 2009 [ abstract] Spring Lake Public Schools' alternative education program will be moving into a newly constructed building located near the high school later this spring.
The 4,000-square-foot building is expected to cost about $600,000 and will be funded by a $17.6 million bond voters approved two years ago to improve the district's schools, said Mark Westerberg, the district's director of curriculum and operations.
The new building replaces two portable classrooms that have been in the parking lot of Spring Lakes' Intermediate School for the last 10 years.
The alternative education program currently has 32 students in grades nine through 12. The program is designed for students who have trouble learning in a traditional classroom, according to Westerberg.
The new, larger classrooms will accommodate more students in the future and the close location of the new building to the existing high school will allow the students to make better use of the high school facilities, he said.
The previous location made it difficult for the students to have access to the high school building and its equipment.
Westerberg said the new school will be a modular building. He said the district is saving about $200,000 by using a prefabricated building, which means most of the construction is being done off-site.
He said the building will have a peaked roof, concrete foundation and vinyl siding. The building will sit on a higher foundation to reduce the risk of flooding.
"The building will look very nice and will blend in nicely with the neighborhood and resembles an office building," Westerburg said. "It was time to upgrade and the portable classrooms were very old. The students are very excited to get into the new building."
-- Dianne Christensen-Hermance Other CS8 schools' fields are 'in good shape'-- STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER Illinois: March 21, 2009 [ abstract] Go to any of the four Central State Eight Conference high schools outside Springfield, and you will find at least one well-prepared varsity baseball field at each.
“Those fields are all in great shape,” said Lanphier High School coach Joel Fulgenzi. “They do it right.”
Chatham Glenwood High School has the most elaborate setup of the four, with two fields capable of hosting varsity competition and a third that could be used if needed. All three have lights.
Glenwood plays most of its home games at Chatham Community Park, also referred to as South Park, a little more than a mile from the high school. There also is a diamond at the high school and another at the intermediate school, where the varsity used to play.
The Community Park baseball complex actually has four fields designed to accommodate various age groups. Glenwood coach Pat Moomey said one field is set up with 70-foot base paths and one with 80 in addition to the regulation 90-foot bases.
Moomey says he’s grateful for improvements the school and the community have made since he started coaching at Glenwood in the 1980s.
“I remember back to the early ’80s, when we used to have a field where we had to chase foul balls into the woods. We’d go through about a dozen balls a game.
“The commitment people have made here, even for the youth leagues, has been tremendous. I don’t think anybody can match the facilities we have for our early age groups.”
Taylorville’s turnaround
A turnaround of the baseball program and facilities at Taylorville began under then-coach Steve Torricelli, now Springfield College in Illinois coach and athletic director, and blossomed under current coach Tim Kratochvil, who took the program over for the 1999-2000 school year.
In 2002, after being selected by the Illinois High School Association to host a Class AA baseball regional, Kratochvil commented: “We have worked very hard on our facilities and have finally gotten some notice that we have one of the better facilities in the area.”
-- HAL PILGER Education"Where They’re Designing and Building Schools and Why -- AIArchitect National: March 20, 2009 [ abstract] Despite the steep drop-off in overall construction activity forecast for this year and next, the education design and construction market is projected to experience only moderate declines or lay flat. Because school construction is funded at a state-by-state or municipal level, specific geographies of growth and decline vary greatly. Firms interested in expanding their business into the education sector are advised to pair up with more experienced firms and to take on small technical renovation projects so they can meet school stakeholders and form relationships with them.
-- Zach Mortice Greener School Buildings in Idaho: Energy Savings Benefit Kids, Education -- Idaho Statesman Idaho: March 17, 2009 [ abstract] While 2009 could be a historically bad session for Idaho schools, there is one glimmer of good news. The state Senate has endorsed a bipartisan and inventive bill that would give school districts financial incentive for using green building designs. Cash-strapped school districts would get money for doing the right thing. That's a win-win.
Here's how - and why - this bill would work. Currently, the state and the school districts put matching dollars into a building maintenance fund. Under the green buildings bill, a district would get to phase in its matching payments over five years. The bill doesn't cost the state any additional money. (Gov. Butch Otter has already proposed a $2.45 million state match for maintenance in 2009-10.) The bill doesn't hand the districts a blank check, either. In order for a district to qualify for the savings, its "green" school's heating systems would be subject to annual review. The bill does not impose building design decisions on the local level. School district participation would be entirely voluntary.
Still, participation makes a lot of sense - both for the districts and for their taxpayers. As the bill succinctly puts it: "Every dollar spent on energy costs in an Idaho public school is a dollar that is not spent in the direct education of students in the classroom. As energy costs increase, the diversion of funding away from the classroom will accelerate." That has never been a more serious concern than it is now, with Idaho public schools staring at recession-driven budget cuts. Frugal, energy-efficient building design doesn't necessarily provide short-term savings. Energy efficiency pays dividends for decades.
-- Editorial Board Group revises design for new school-- Casper Star-Tribune Online Wyoming: March 17, 2009 [ abstract] A team working on the new eastside elementary school in Natrona County has reworked the design for the building, after learning the initial project was over budget.
Mark Antrim, associate superintendent for facilities and technology, said the first design from the Lee Skolnick Architecture and design Partnership was approximately 9,000 square feet more than the Wyoming School Facilities Commission's space limits, and $6 million over budget.
The School Facilities Commission funds the construction of schools, but districts must follow certain guidelines that dictate the size of the building. The commission also does not fund anything it deems an enhancement to a building.
Representatives from the commission, Natrona County School District and the architecture group worked for two weeks to meet the commission's specifications.
The group prioritized enhancements for the new building, which could potentially cost the district an additional $1 million. Possible enhancements include an outdoor amphitheater, interactive displays and a wind turbine.
The design really hasn't changed much and still incorporates much of what community members wanted, according to Lee Skolnick, owner of the architecture group.
-- JASA SANTOS School construction funding renovated
-- Casper Journal Wyoming: March 17, 2009 [ abstract] Since the first legislative allocation of funding for school construction in 2002, the Natrona County School District has spent $88.5 million on capital construction.
The expenditures don't include offside infrastructure like sidewalks, traffic lights and roads, which usually are negotiated with the developer through a separate fund.
Major maintenance, like replacing worn out electrical systems, also is paid out separately.
Approximately $50 million more in capital money already is approved, and more may be on the way.
An approved list for the next round of school projects that will be funded in the next budget biennium will come from the Wyoming School Facilities Commission in June, according to SFC Director Ken Daraie.
Even with a new round of funding, all of the new and replacement school projects that are still on the NCSD's list probably won't make the final cut. The Legislature's allocation of school construction funding is less than in the previous biennium.
"The thing to do is pace yourself; do something every year," Daraie said in an interview with the Casper Journal.
The first request list from Wyoming's school districts for the state's 400 school buildings totaled more than $600 million. According to Daraie, who became the SFC director in 2007, only a fraction of the money initially was approved by the Legislature for the first prioritized list that came out in 2005.
Redefining the SFC's qualification criteria in 2006-07 bumped more schools throughout the state off the list.
In Natrona County, four schools -- Park, Pineview, Evansville and Mills/Mountain View -- that initially made the list were cut. Some design and land purchase money stayed, but no construction money was set aside.
"It will be interesting to see where Natrona County schools fall," in the latest statewide priority list that is 90 percent based on condition and district-wide capacity, Daraie said.
School reconstruction in Natrona County started before the SFC was created by the Legislature. In 2002, the Legislature approved some "pipeline" projects that got the school construction ball rolling.
The $4.4 million renovation of Verda James Elementary and the $13.2 construction of Frontier Middle School to replace the former East Junior High were such projects. Both projects were finished after the 2003 creation of the SFC.
An additional $55,300 that was approved for a Presidential Elementary School to combine Garfield, Grant and McKinley schools never was spent.
-- Carol Crump Dallas ISD sends a bad message by charging Walnut Hill PTA to use building-- Dallas Morning News Texas: March 16, 2009 [ abstract]
The PTA Spring Auction at Walnut Hill Elementary School is a pretty modest affair. The sale items are neighborhood goods-and-services stuff like restaurant certificates; the big-dollar prize is a year's membership to the local Y.
The school includes a lot of lower-income families on tight budgets, so there are other activities besides the auction – crafts for kids, a family-friendly movie with popcorn for 50 cents a box.
In a good year, the fundraiser pulls in a few thousand dollars. It all goes to cover the costs of an annual field day, with a rented bounce house and a T-shirt for every child.
It's a gift, a little extra support for the neighborhood public school. So PTA parents were understandably injured this year when the Dallas Independent School District charged them a $650 building-use fee for holding the fundraiser.
Furthermore, they were informed, another PTA tradition – a popular overnight "lock-in" for kids and their fathers – would cost the group $800.
We never had to pay in the past, so it threw us for a loop," said Walnut Hill PTA president Catherine Lux. "We're struggling to get parents in the door. Why do they want to slap us down?"
Technically, the DISD is within its rights. Its stated policies designate Parent-Teacher Associations as community nonprofits, like Scouts and homeowner groups, that must pay hourly lease fees plus overtime for a custodian to use school facilities outside the normal school hours.
-- Jacquielynn Floyd Falling Construction Material Prices Make a Builder’s Market"Minus Credit -- AIArchitect National: March 13, 2009 [ abstract] Slackening demand is finally reversing long-established increases in construction material prices, creating a market where a dollar can stretch further than in years in the newly globalized design and construction industry"if only the frozen credit market and widespread fear of capital expenses hadn’t meant that owners and clients lack that original dollar to stretch.
In the face of a projected 11 percent decline in construction activity in 2009, dropping material prices aren’t standing up to be much of a mitigating factor for clients and architects looking to move stalled projects forward. Large firm principals, cost estimators, and building industry economists say falling material prices aren’t much of a silver lining in this current cloud of recession. “As good as this story is, it’s still swamped by the generally grim economic news,” says Ken Simonson, chief economist with the Associated General Contractors. But, “I think it’s a great time to be doing construction. Not only are material costs down, but you have your pick of competent contractors.” Architects and economists point to the sluggish credit market as the prime culprit restraining clients and owners from taking advantage of lower prices. John Cross, vice president of the American Institute of Steel Construction, calls these material price drops “advantageous” but says “it hasn’t really unfrozen the credit markets, and that’s where we see the bind.”
Estimates of overall construction cost decreases range from 10 to 20 percent. Simonson predicts that material prices will drop as much as 4 percent in 2009. Cross says he’s seen limited situations where lower costs of structural steel (which requires a $100 per ton drop for a corresponding 3 percent drop in the overall cost of a building) has made projects move forward, but they’re the exception. And the clients that are building now are getting “great value” for their money, says Joe Brancato, AIA, managing principal at Gensler’s New York office.
-- Zach Mortice Midpoints: Decision has a price-- Daily News Transcript Massachusetts: March 13, 2009 [ abstract] Years ago, while suffering through an economics course, this writer became intrigued with the concept of opportunity cost, although, admittedly, there wasn’t much else about economics that grabbed me at the time.
Opportunity cost, according to my aging college text, is defined most succinctly as the value placed on foregone opportunities, or the cost of doing one thing rather than doing another. A more recent source, Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, says that, tthe next best thing that a person can engage in is referred to as the opportunity cost of doing the best thing and ignoring the next best thing to be done.”
Personally, I’ll take the older, clearer definition over the muddled free explanation, which only proves that you get what you pay for.
As Norwood nears the critical juncture of making the final decision on going forward with plans to construct a new high school, considering the opportunity cost of one course of action over another might be a helpful way to approach the question. In other words, if Norwood chose to build or not to build, what would be the opportunity cost of doing one rather than the other?
Those who support the proposal say that their version of the facts clearly supports building the new high school. Their position is a strong one.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority has made Norwood an offer it cannot logically refuse. The proposed Model School, based on the design of New England’s most visited school building, Whitman-Hanson Regional High School, is absolutely beautiful. It has more total square feet, a larger gym, more cafeteria seats, more music space, 300 more auditorium seats, and a library that is 45 percent larger than what was offered by the original, more expensive custom-designed proposal.
The classrooms are state-of-the-art. The building is handicapped accessible and community friendly. The design is green. And the Model School building costs significantly less than the original custom design. Thanks to a generous grant from the MSBA that reduces Norwood’s share of the cost to $35.4 million, which would be financed by a debt exclusion override, the new school is a relative bargain.
What is the opportunity cost of going forward with new school construction? Norwood loses its beloved School on the Hill. Property tax bills increase significantly above the levels allowed by Proposition 2 1/2, and students, teachers and neighborhoods must endure the disruption of a major construction project.
The opportunity cost of not going forward? Norwood loses the chance to benefit from what is likely to be a one-time-only offer of considerable savings as the state’s first Model Schools program participant and finds itself back at square one in dealing with the problems of an inadequate high school that is threatened with the loss of accreditation.
-- Candace Leary Board gives nod to plans for work at schools-- DesMoinesRegister.com Iowa: March 12, 2009 [ abstract] Construction at two Urbandale schools will move forward after the school board approved design plans at a meeting Monday.
The board unanimously approved a preliminary design with three additions and more space for parking at Urbandale Middle School, and board members voted 6-1 in favor of a design plan that would add two classrooms to each grade level at Webster Elementary.
The Webster plan is now set to go before the Urbandale Planning and Zoning Commission. The board will see the middle school plans again at its April 20 meeting and likely continue discussions on a timeline for construction.
School officials have said both projects are needed to relieve overcrowding, but board member Cate Newberg questioned Monday whether more should be done to prevent future space problems.
"Maybe we should be more proactive and less reactionary and actually allow for potential growth," Newberg said.
The Urbandale school board last month approved plans to borrow against money from a future statewide sales tax for a total of $21.7 million in additions and renovations at the schools.
District officials estimate they will collect $49.9 million from the penny-per-dollar sales tax over 20 years - or an average of $2.5 million annually.
Improvements to both schools are estimated to cost $21 million, with $18 million of that total to be spent on the middle school.
Board members also discussed Monday whether other district schools need improvements.
-- MOLLY HOTTLE Budget Process Committee: Debt exclusion override could pay for building maintenance-- Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle Massachusetts: March 11, 2009 [ abstract] Buildings represent a significant investment for our community. In recent years, both the towns and school district have devoted much time to understand what is required to maintain our facilities as well as to plan for future requirements. With support from the Capital Management and Advisory Committee (CMAC), projects have been identified and prioritized such that we now have a better understanding of what the towns and school district requirements are for both the short and long term. Items that affect the safety of community members are of the utmost priority.
Equally important are several other ongoing efforts, which are designed to ensure that decision-making is fact-based and future facilities investment takes advantage of any available and appropriate outside funding assistance. In the fall of 2008, the community learned the findings of the Space Needs and Demographic Study of the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District. At a high level, this study revealed that our school population will remain virtually unchanged for the next 10 years. It also highlighted several areas of space limitations with respect to the current school buildings that are likely to become more pressing given growing class size and government regulations. More recently, the towns and the school district agreed to take the next step as far as consideration of energy services contracting. Specifically, the towns and school district have agreed to publicly advertise a request for qualification, which is the first step in possibly selecting a firm. The basic premise of these contracts is that the projects that are undertaken are funded directly by the energy savings that are derived, and that they are managed by companies that are experienced energy service providers.
-- Hamilton-Wenham Teacher: New Schools are a Gift-- New Haven Advocate Connecticut: March 11, 2009 [ abstract] When the new Co-op High School opened for the first time, I became overwhelmed with emotions of happiness. I rushed up the new Co-op stairwells to prepare my students for their new home. I mentioned to my sister, gCo-op school is incredible! If only I could go back to high schoolc the things we would be able to do!h
I could only think of the classrooms that I had to work out of when I was a student in the New Haven Public Schools. Science labs could not be conducted because the classrooms didnft offer the space or working equipment to complete a lab. History class was just too unbearable because we could only concentrate on the 100 degree temperature of the classroom and how it was impossible to breathe. Gym classes were often cancelled or shared with lunch waves because there wasnft enough space to accommodate the enormous load of students that had to meet in one designated area. It was clear that our schools needed an upgrade for the benefit of the students and teachers as well.
Currently, our tax money is spent to build new schools like Co-op and other renovated schools in New Haven. Instead of appreciation for our city officialsf commitment to serve our youth with better resources, we hear complaints from citizens. We hear complaints from citizens, who fail to recognize that the reason for school construction is for the benefit of helping our children learn. These buildings are not a wasteful art project of huge halls, open windows, and high ceilings. School construction is a grand effort to build a learning environment for our students that will later be useful for our future students. We cannot expect to cheat our students of opportunities and resources that they deserve. It is time to reform our education systems so that distractions are limited and we can focus on the development of our young citizens into great independent thinkers.
-- Fallon L. Daniels Pots of Education Stimulus Cash May be Found in Unlikely Spots-- Education Week National: March 10, 2009 [ abstract] Buried within the $787 billion economic-stimulus package are pots of federal money"beyond the $115 billion in direct education aid"that creative district business managers and education advocates think can be tapped to benefit schools. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by Congress last month will provide money for community and rural health centers, workforce-training programs, and a tax-credit bonding program that has helped charter schools build or renovate facilities, among other assistance.
One source of money may benefit charter schools, which unsuccessfully fought during congressional negotiations for a line item in the stimulus measure to help them pay for facilities. The measure expands the New Markets Tax Credit program, which benefits those who donate to federally designated “community-development entities” that make investments in low-income communities. Charter schools have been one of the beneficiaries of that bonding program, since it’s geared to entities that do not have their own taxing or bonding authority. The stimulus package raised the amount of New Markets Tax Credits to a total of $5 billion a year in both 2008 and 2009, an increase of $1.5 billion each year. The 2008 increase would allow those entities that turned in applications last calendar year, but were turned down, to potentially share in the bigger pot.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra
-- Michele McNeil The Importance of Acoustics-- Reed Construction Data Georgia: March 10, 2009 [ abstract] Few spaces demonstrate the importance of acoustics better than an educational facility. Such an environment must facilitate a wide variety of activities, the most crucial of which is learning. Unfortunately, the acoustics in many educational facilities are less than acceptable. In some cases, the acoustic conditions detract from the educational experience and hinder the learning process.
A New Standard
Recognizing the trend of sub-par acoustics, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recently introduced a standard for the acoustical design of schools, S12.60-2002, “Acoustical Performance Criteria, design Requirements and Guidelines for Schools.”
The new standard is in effect and includes several requirements focusing on noise isolation in educational facilities. The standard is broken down into sections outlining guidelines for background noise levels, Reverberation Time, Sound Transmission Class, and Impact Isolation Class. The standard is followed by annexes that give more information on how to achieve the specified standards.
Why Bother?
Many recent studies demonstrate that acoustics is a significant inhibitor to productivity and that the presence of noise is directly related to lower test scores. With the approval of this new standard, designers gain an increased awareness of the importance of acoustics in educational facilities and are given specific guidelines to help ensure the success of the facility. It is the responsibility of the design professional to take acoustic factors into consideration in order to ensure this success.
-- acoustics.com staff Russell Street School option made public this week-- Littleton Independent Massachusetts: March 09, 2009 [ abstract] The architect’s feasibility study for renovations to the Russell Street School will be reviewed by the state’s funding agency, marking the first step in scoring partial funding for the project, said Rich Crowley of the School Building Committee.
A public hearing will be on March 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the high school to present the designs.
Crowley said the architect, DRA Associates, will present several options for rehabilitating the mechanical systems at the school while the students are in session.
“The School Building Committee along with Drummey Rosane Anderson (Architect), and Daedalus Projects (Owners Project Manager (OPM)) have been working on the various schemes to renovate the Russell Street School,” said Crowley. “The architect and Owners Project Manager (OPM) conducted meetings with the teachers and administrative staff at the school during the week of Feb. 2 to assess the needs of the school against the programmatic guidelines required by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). The Architect and their team of engineers used the February vacation (week of 2/16-09) to conduct an in depth survey of the existing conditions inside and outside the school. With the data from their survey, they assembled several schemes to replace the mechanical systems and windows during the next School year (2009/ 2010), while keeping the school open.”
Crowley said one option is to employ temporary classrooms; another is to shift some students to the adjacent middle school; and a third is to use the project as a learning experience for the third through fifth-graders, rather than a hindrance, he said. There are a total of five options, he said.
-- Betsy Levinson Miami-Dade, Broward Schools May Not Get Stimulus Funds for Construction-- Digital Wire Florida: March 08, 2009 [ abstract] The $787 billion federal stimulus package set aside about $22 billion to help school districts pay for new construction -- but Miami-Dade and Broward will likely not be able to get a slice of that money, thanks to a change state lawmakers made last year that curtailed the districts' borrowing power. In 2008, the Florida Legislature required school districts to shift some property-tax revenue normally designated for construction projects into day-to-day district expenses so the state wouldn't have to increase taxes to fund school systems. The change lowered districts' ability to borrow because they have less money to back their debts with -- thus making them riskier to investors. Now, Miami-Dade and Broward are so close to exceeding their debt limits they may soon not be able to borrow any more money for construction. That's a problem because the stimulus package includes tax provisions that would let districts issue interest-free construction bonds to buy land and build new schools. The federal government would pay for the interest. That would translate to about $212.7 million in bonding capacity available for Miami-Dade, the fourth-largest district in the country, and about $100.7 million for Broward, the sixth-largest -- but not with the districts' existing borrowing pictures.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra, bond
-- Patricia Mazzei Planners OK Permit For New School-- Southern Pines Pilot South Carolina: March 07, 2009 [ abstract] A new school proposed near West End will receive a conditional-use permit for construction in zoning districts designated for residential and agricultural uses.
The Moore County Planning Board voted unanimously Thursday night to grant the conditional-use permit for the school to be built on a 25.42-acre tract adjacent to the existing West Pine Middle School on N.C. 211. The site will have access by Archie Road as well as along an extension of the existing driveway to West Pine.
During a public hearing on the request, the owner of neighboring property raised objections because of heavy traffic expected once the school is operational.
Donnie Corcoran was the only person who signed up to speak during the hearing, other than two representatives of the school proposal.
John Hawthorne, supervisor of construction for the Moore County School System, tried to assure Corcoran that road improvements would alleviate her concerns. He told of plans by the N.C. Department of Transportation to add school lanes and left-turn and right-turn lanes at the school. Hawthorne said this should eliminate some traffic on Archie Road and added that the campus is being designed to avoid heavy lines of backup traffic when drivers drop off and pick up school children.
Hawthorne also said the campus layout and buffering would help the situation.
"That's not the problem. The problem is the traffic," Corcoran said.
Board members asked a number of questions of Hawthorne and architect Mollie Wood. Kim VonCanon sympathized with Corcoran's concerns about traffic conditions near a school, and Martha Blake asked about alternative routing.
However, Hawthorne said all feasible alternatives had been explored. He also said that regulations and guidelines established by the N.C. Department of Insurance, NCDOT and the state school administration prohibit the designated use of certain drives by both school buses and private vehicles.
Dave Kinney asked how many people live in the area across from the school site. Told that several others own property and live in the area, he asked why the others were not present to add their voices to Corcoran's. She replied that apparently they were depending on her to serve as their spokesperson.
-- FLORENCE GILKESON Pomona Unified plans immediate upgrades-- Pasadena Star-News California: March 07, 2009 [ abstract] More than a dozen school campuses will be the sites of construction work this summer as part of the first wave of school modernization carried out with money from the voter-approved Measure PS.
School board members last week authorized Pomona Unified School District administrators to move forward with the sale of $35million in bonds.
The bonds will pay for projects getting under way this summer as well as for the design and engineering work for other modernization and campus reconfiguration projects in the district.
At a time when the district is looking for ways to reduce about $15million in costs for the 2009-2010 school year, it is also preparing to begin a major modernization program.
"I think it's a little bit of apples and oranges," said school board President Andrew Wong.
The bulk of the district's general fund - 93percent - is used to pay teachers, staff and other personnel, he said.
The funds from the bond measure can't be used to pay personnel or for academic programs. They can only be used for the modernization of schools as approved by voters.
"While we do have certain monies ... those are two separate pots that don't overlap," Wong said.
Residents of Pomona and part of Diamond Bar in November approved Measure PS, a $235million bond that will generate money to modernize campuses across the district.
-- Monica Rodriguez Schools lose $500,000 in capital funds-- Wilkes Journal Patriot North Carolina: March 06, 2009 [ abstract] Wilkes County will lose approximately $500,000 in capital construction funds, following the state's decision to use money originally designated for school construction to cover some of the state's budget shortfall.
State officials told educators throughout North Carolina on Friday they will use about $43 million from two of the state's school-construction accounts-lottery money and the public-school-building-capital fund-to balance this year's budget.
"It will cost us about one-half million dollars," said Wilkes County Schools Superintendent C. Stephen Laws.
However, Laws said the funds are all meant for brick-and-mortar projects, not for school operations.
"The money is coming from two pots," Laws said. "One is lottery money, and one is the public school capital fund, from which we get installments per quarter."
Wilkes County will not get approximately $340,000 in lottery funds, and $150,000 in school capital funds, he said.
â€"We were one of three counties in the state to get the formula for lottery-fund distribution changed to our benefit,†Laws said.
N.C. Sen. Steve Goss, former N.C. Rep. Tracey Walker and current N.C. Rep. Shirley Randleman worked to adjust the formula for counties like Wilkes, resulting in a 74 percent increase in lottery allocations for Wilkes, Laws said.
The loss of lottery funds will not alter any current projects in Wilkes, he said.
â€"We had not designated a project,†Laws said. â€"We were going to build the fund up for improvements to Moravian Falls, North Wilkesboro and Mount Pleasant.
â€"The governor's plans will delay our ability to take care of those projects. They're still on the list, but we're just going to have to wait a little longer.â€
-- Mark Gabriel Facilities plan vote set March 18
-- 2TheAdvocate Louisiana: March 05, 2009 [ abstract] After meeting nearly six hours and hearing five presentations from firms vying to help plan the future of parish school facilities, the Lafayette Parish School Board decided Tuesday to continue its question and answer session before making a final decision on March 18.
Any plan will likely call for major renovations and new construction in the district. That will mean rousing community support for the plan " both in mind and pocketbook " because a bond issue will likely be needed to implement the plan.
Each firm is more than capable of doing the job, board member Rae Trahan said following the presentations.
“The most important portion is the community aspect,” Trahan said. “Being able to go out there communicate with the community and get them on board in the very beginning.”
Tuesday’s meeting ended just after 11 p.m. Each team had 30 minutes to make a presentation and 15 minutes to answer questions.
Four of the five presenters were partnered with local architecture or construction firms. The teams included a who’s who in local design and national educational facilities consulting.
A master plan to address deferred maintenance and future facility growth was tagged as a major need for the system by the Community Coalition for Lafayette Schools.
The coalition drafted the request for proposals, which included a plan to address deferred maintenance and ongoing maintenance needs " a move not often considered by school districts in the planning process, according to some of the presenters.
The coalition ranked the proposals prior to the presentations, and the team of CSRS and Architects Southwest finished at the top of its list.
While the team’s proposal came at the top of the price list at $1.3 million, the firm committed the most hours to the project " 9,522 total hours and 1,196 devoted to community meetings and outreach.
The SHW Group/Architects Beazley Moliere was ranked second by the coalition. It offered 1,040 hours committed to community meetings and charettes for a total of 7,491 hours for a total project estimate of more than $1 million.
-- MARSHA SILLS Project offers unprecedented school support-- Amador Ledger-Dispatch California: March 05, 2009 [ abstract] Throughout the years I've served on the Amador County Unified School District Board Of Trustees and been in public education, I and many others have often been frustrated by the lack of funding for state-of-the-art school facilities for the children of Amador County and Sutter Creek. In my view, providing top-notch schools helps our kids reach their potential and helps preserve our quality of life here in the Mother Lode.
Today, Sutter Creek children attend two antiquated schools. Many parents are forced to drive all the way to Ione to drop their children off at the junior high school. Due to the rising cost of land and the small size of our school district budget, we have been unable to marshal the funds for school property.
The Gold Rush Ranch project is a rare opportunity for Sutter Creek and the school district to build a high quality school our children need and deserve. When Gold Rush Ranch was first conceived many years ago, its project sponsors sought me out and were very clear about their commitment to improve Amador County's schools, even if that meant going far above and beyond their legal requirements. To their credit, the Gold Rush Ranch project sponsors listened to our needs - and then we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. After years of collaboration, the result is a project designed to meet the academic needs of our kids with the following unprecedented contributions:
- The proposed donation from the Gold Rush project sponsors of a 17-acre school site worth millions of dollars and perfect for a new K-8 school
- New funding to the school district, including $10 million in new fees and $6 million in annual revenues
- Possible donation of a site for a new public library
Normally, the school district would have to use its scarce taxpayer dollars to purchase a 17-acre school site. This proposed donation from Gold Rush Ranch means our district can better use your tax dollars for construction of a state-recommended K-8 school that will reduce the need for parents to shuttle their children to multiple schools. Gold Rush's donation is all the more critical now that it is clear that the state of California will not be able to help us fund new school construction due to its own budget problems.
In the long run, the investment that Gold Rush Ranch is willing to make in creating high quality local schools will help sustain the vitality of our community and the Mother Lode's quality of life.
Gold Rush Ranch has applied the same kind of thoughtful planning to the rest of the project as they exhibited with schools.
-- Mary Walser Somerset readies for school renovation-- Delmarva Daily Times Maryland: March 05, 2009 [ abstract] Somerset County schools have been approved for the first installment of $17.75 million needed for a limited renovation of Washington High School.
The county will receive $5.2 million from the state's Public School Construction Program after the start of the next fiscal year, July 1.
School officials will find out in May if they will receive an additional $779,000, which will round out the amount to $6 million, said Superintendent Karen-Lee Brofee. The state also is expected to provide more money during the following two fiscal years in order to complete more work in the building.
Currently, design work is under way and will be followed by state review and the bidding process, said Rodger Daugherty, supervisor of facilities and transportation for the school system. It will be at least August before any construction begins.
Although school officials hoped to complete a full renovation of Washington High School, estimated at $24 million, but they scaled back plans after learning that funding for such projects was being slashed statewide.
Work to the building will include upgrades to heating and air conditioning systems, electrical service, lighting and plumbing, Daugherty said. New science labs, a school-based health center and the reconfiguration of some interior walls also will be included in the scaled-back renovation plan.
-- Liz Holland North Carolina's School Construction Money Will Be Used to Plug Budget -- Winston-Salem Journal North Carolina: March 02, 2009 [ abstract] Money originally designated for school construction will now be used to cover some of the state's budget shortfall, officials said. State officials told educators throughout North Carolina that they will use about $43 million from two of the state's school-construction accounts -- lottery money and the public-school-building-capital fund -- to balance this year's budget. It's their plan for making it through the rest of the fiscal year without asking school districts to send back more money. The lottery money for second-quarter construction was about $37 million statewide, and there was about $5 million in the public-school-building-capital fund, which is a corporate tax that companies pay for school construction. But using school-construction money means that local systems will not be able to tap those funds to help repay construction debt for new schools.
-- Lisa Boone-Wood $43 million set aside for school construction will go toward budget shortfall-- Winston-Salem Journal North Carolina: February 27, 2009 [ abstract] State officials told local school officials their plans for making it through the rest of the fiscal year this morning, which will mean draining some money from two accounts set up for school construction.
In an audio-video conference call this morning, state officials told school officials from across the state that they'll be using about $43 million originally designated for construction from lottery funds and the public school building capital fund to cover some of the state's revenue shortfall.
The lottery money for second-quarter construction was about $37 million statewide and there was about $5 million in the public school building capital fund, funded by a tax that companies pay for school construction.
"Here in Forsyth, we're looking at probably about $1.4 million," said Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools' Superintendent Don Martin. "Clearly counties are unhappy… everybody is unhappy with it, but counties in particular because they have to pay a debt service and now they won't have that money."
Martin said that school officials would have also been unhappy if they would have had to find money to send back to the state this month.
"You can't turn off the lights and say we're not going to go to school today…that's why there was this direction," Martin said. "There's a little $43 million bump the state identified to help get through the rest of this year."
-- Lisa Boone-Wood Top two FHS campus designs pay homage to Trail of Tears-- Northwest Arkansas Times Arkansas: February 27, 2009 [ abstract] A historical fact about Fayetteville High School's location that is very rarely promoted by the district provided inspiration for two favored ideas for redesigning the campus.
At Thursday's charette event for developing redesigns of the campus, two of the top three ideas selected by participants were new north-south configurations with trails through the campus.
Facilitators for both groups that came up with the ideas said they intended to pay homage to the school's location along the historic Cherokee Trail of Tears.
There were 14 redesigns developed at the event, attended by about 100 people. Participants in the 14 groups developed their designs on boards with maps and boundaries of the campus property.
Groups 6 and 8 said their ideas were based on the Trail of Tears. Hilary Johnson, appointed speaker for Group 8, said they envisioned the campus as "a sprawling village, with a trail through the campus."
Some of the features included an exterior eating space for students by the cafeteria and breaking up parking into a variety of lots.
Both groups' plans start with a series of new structures close to the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard boundary of the property, then the structures would extend north up the hill toward the campus' Stone Street boundary.
The third most favored design was by Group 3, which developed a horseshoe-style building.
-- BRETT BENNETT Keith Dixon: School district’s Red Plan is ‘green’ as well-- Duluth News Tribune Minnesota: February 26, 2009 [ abstract] Three years ago, at the very beginning of the development of our long -range facilities project, before anyone heard of a Red, White or Blue plan, we heard lots of talk about green. Not in reference to money, but in terms of design. In other words, if you’re going to invest in your buildings, are you going to take the important step of making them environmentally friendly?
We heard that question from the community repeatedly.
The answer is “Yes.” In fact, our school board adopted green standards for the LRFP this week. Other Duluth organizations have already taken that step, like SMDC, UMD and Lake Superior College.
Green buildings deliver lower energy and water bills, create less waste, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide less exposure for students to mold, mildew and other indoor toxins. Green buildings are healthier and reduce absences related to respiratory illnesses and other environmental illnesses. They’ve also been shown to have a positive impact on test scores.
Our school district will use the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) program as the sustainable design standard for the new schools we build. The LEED program for schools was specifically crafted for use in school construction and provides measurable results that include third-party review. For renovation of existing school buildings, we’ll follow the same standard without the certification.
LEED encourages adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria. A LEED-designed building can provide a healthy place to teach and learn, ongoing operational budget savings and hands-on learning opportunities for students.
As in other commercial buildings, the net cost of building a LEED school is comparable to building a conventional school. The majority of standards required to achieve LEED silver-level certification are available at little or no additional cost, based on currently available technology and good design practices. Examples include:
-- Keith Dixon Ergonomic Classroom Furniture Lets Students Stand While They Work -- New York Times Minnesota: February 25, 2009 [ abstract] Inside a classroom near Minneapolis, an experiment is going on that makes it among the more unorthodox public school classrooms in the country, and pupils are being studied as much as they are studying. Unlike children almost everywhere, those in Ms. Brown’s class do not have to sit and be still. Quite the contrary, they may stand and fidget all class long if they want. And they do.
The children in Ms. Brown’s class, and in some others at Marine Elementary School and additional schools nearby, are using a type of adjustable-height school desk, allowing pupils to stand while they work, that Ms. Brown designed with the help of a local ergonomic furniture company two years ago. The stand-up desk’s popularity with children and teachers spread by word of mouth from this small town to schools in Wisconsin, across the St. Croix River. Now orders for the desks are being filled for districts from North Carolina to California. The stand-up desks come with swinging footrests, and with adjustable stools allowing children to switch between sitting and standing as their moods dictate.
With multiple classrooms filled with stand-up desks, Marine Elementary finds itself at the leading edge of an idea that experts say continues to gain momentum in education: that furniture should be considered as seriously as instruction, particularly given the rise in childhood obesity and the decline in physical education and recess.
Teachers in Minnesota and Wisconsin say they know from experience that the desks help give children the flexibility they need to expend energy and, at the same time, focus better on their work rather than focusing on how to keep still. Researchers should soon know whether they can confirm those calorie-burning and scholastic benefits. Two studies under way at the University of Minnesota are using data collected from Ms. Brown’s classroom and others in Minnesota and Wisconsin that are using the new desks. The pupils being studied are monitored while using traditional desks as well, and the researchers are looking for differences in physical activity and academic achievement.
-- Susan Saulny School building’s history to be featured-- Joplin Globe Missouri: February 24, 2009 [ abstract] The Joplin High School building at 2104 S. Indiana Ave. has stood through the desegregation era, the Vietnam War and the paving of the Internet highway.
Students, teachers and administrators from that tenure are coming together Saturday to celebrate the building’s 50-year history, and to note some of the local and world events that helped shape students’ lives during the period.
The event, “Rockin’ Through the Ages,” will feature 24 graduates who attended high school in the building. Also to be featured are 12 short video presentations of photographs and music from high-school classes of Joplin Senior High School from 1959 to 1968, Parkwood High School from 1969 to 1985, and Joplin High School from 1986 to the present.
The event is free and open to the public.
“Anybody who’s had a kind thought or a great moment in this building, we want them to come,” said Janet Myers, chairwoman of the communication arts department at JHS. “We’d like to see a lot of old friends and familiar faces.”
According to Post Memorial Art Reference Library records, the current high-school building was built in 1959 to answer the problems of overcrowding and landlocked structures.
Joplin’s high school was located at Fourth Street and Byers Avenue in the late 1890s, and it had to be expanded in 1907 because of rapid growth.
In 1918, the high school moved to a $350,000 brick building at 310 W. Eighth St., the current location of Memorial Middle School. The building was to house just more than 1,000 students.
The current building at 2104 S. Indiana Ave. was made possible by a $2 million bond issue authorized by voters in August 1955. It took four years to build the new school on its 32-acre site at a cost four times the original estimate. It was designed to accommodate 2,000 students.
-- Melissa Dunson Top-quality high schools promised in Wise County-- Kingsport Times News Tennessee: February 24, 2009 [ abstract] Top-quality high school facilities is the goal of Wise County public education officials now pursuing consolidation of the six existing schools into three modern academic complexes.
Attendance was light but discussion was lively at a public forum Tuesday designed to give people an opportunity to say what the new schools should look like and offer. What school division officials will deliver, said School Superintendent Jeff Perry, will be top-notch, attractive facilities people can be proud of.
First impressions are lasting, he said.
“People won’t question, ‘Is this a rinky-dink school system or a high-quality school system?’” Perry said of the future high schools, yet to be designed. “We’re thinking through some things. We’ve got some ideas already. We are totally committed that we shall have the finest academic facilities here in Wise County.”
Food courts, spacious auditoriums, teacher lounges and work areas, media centers, fine arts and performing arts facilities, superb science labs, computer labs and mobile labs, ceiling projectors and ample electrical outlets in bright classrooms, specialty centers such as for guidance " all and more were put on a wish list by teachers at 5 p.m. and about a dozen citizens at 7 p.m.
Lu Ellsworth, chairman of the Virginia Commission for the Arts and retired dean of the Appalachia School of Law, said Wise County should keep the arts in mind when designing the new schools.
“I hope as the facilities are planned that art education is (considered) an essential and not a frill part of the curriculum,” he said.
Music studios, art studios to accommodate kilns, and drama should all be a part of the final design, Ellsworth said.
Perry said fine arts will be accommodated in the new facilities in a major way.
-- Steve Igo N.M. educators ready and waiting: State to receive $481 million to boost education budgets-- Farmington Daily Times New Mexico: February 23, 2009 [ abstract] Four Corners public school districts know generally where the stimulus funds are going, but many details remain obscure.
The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday sets aside at least $100 billion for education during the next two years.
New Mexico's slice of that education money is $481 million. Exactly how much the four districts here are going to get, however, remains a mystery.
New Mexico Secretary of Education Veronica GarcÃa is traveling to Washington, D.C., next week. She said she can begin allocating the funds once she receives guidance from the federal government.
Janel Ryan, Farmington Municipal Schools superintendent, doesn't expect the numbers to change much from estimates released in late January.
"The district could receive up to approximately $7 million over this two-year period," she said.
If the estimates are accurate, Aztec Municipal Schools is slated to receive $1.5 million; the Bloomfield School District $2.1 million; and the Central Consolidated School District $8.1 million.
What the school districts do know is where the majority of the funds are going. The stimulus designates money for three core areas: Title I programs, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and school construction.
School construction is ongoing in all four local districts and more is on the horizon.
Bloomfield High School is scheduled to enter its final phase of reconstruction soon; CCSD has a few schools due for renovation; two sports complexes are under construction in Aztec and the Farmington district is considering a new middle or elementary school in the next few years.
Federal funds traditionally only can be used to supplement state funds. Public schools in New Mexico receive the majority of their operational funds from the state. The state pays for salaries, benefits, utilities, insurance, supplies, custodial services and educational programs.
Marlene Frazier, director of curriculum and instruction for CCSD, used an analogy to describe the system during a community meeting Tuesday night.
If state funds are used to buy a language arts textbook, Frazier said, federal funds can purchase novels to accompany it. But the federal funds can't buy the textbook.
The stimulus money comes on the heels of statewide school budget cuts announced last week. The four local districts lost a combined $854,000 out of their operational budgets.
-- G. Jeff Golden Stewart pares facility projects -- Daily Journal South Carolina: February 23, 2009 [ abstract] Pickens County Interim Superintendent Mendel Stewart successfully completed his own high wire act Monday night " trimming more than $60 million from the district’s school facilities program while fulfilling all building requirements previously made by the board and administration.
Stewart presented school board members, who approved his recommendation, with a budget of $365,063,270 that is balanced as of Feb. 23. Following value engineering efforts, the proposed budget was reduced from approximately $425 million to $416,398,732 and further reduced by eliminating 124,500 square feet from the high schools, 15,000 square feet from the career center and 18,000 from each of the two new elementary schools.
“This budget allows us to deliver the program as it was presented to the citizens of Pickens County,” Stewart said, adding that none of the square foot reductions will impact the instructional program. “We are ready to get started and move forward. We’re positive about this program and what it means to the county.”
While the building program is moving forward, Stewart’s proposal includes several changes. The first involves the timeline for the new schools as Liberty High, Pickens High and the new career center will now open in the fall of 2011; Easley High, Jan. 2012; and Daniel High in the fall of that year. The new Liberty-area elementary will now open in the fall of 2010 and the new Dacusville Elementary in Jan. 2011.
While the revised timeline pushes back the opening of the new schools by an additional year, in most cases, district officials said they would seek to open them earlier if possible.
Also, the orchestra pit and black box theater at Easley High School and the mock courtroom at Pickens High School have been removed from the plans.
But Stewart emphasized that the programs would not be compromised by any of the reductions.
“There are other spaces in the plans that will serve these needs,” Stewart said.
The interim superintendent credited assistance from the district’s high school principals, career center director and the two elementary school principals as well as a change in mechanical systems " from four-pipe to heat pumps with backup boilers " and selecting the most economical, yet well-designed roofing systems for making the cost reductions possible.
-- Greg Oliver Warren school received historical designation-- Beaumont Enterprise Texas: February 23, 2009 [ abstract] A depression-era school building in Warren is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
The designation will mean little, however, unless the Warren Independent School District or private residents can raise sufficient money to preserve the building.
Woodville resident Dorothy Powell spearheaded the effort to get the school placed on the list. Powell, 77, graduated from Warren High School in 1950.
"Sometimes you let things like that pass and don't think about it until later, but it was a very unique building," Powell said. "The building was so much more ornate then the other buildings that I had gone to school in. I guess that's what really caught my eye."
To be eligible for the list, a property must be at least 50 years old and maintain its historic integrity, according to the Texas Historical Commission Web site.
It also must meet at least one of the following criteria: be associated with significant historical trends or events; be associated with the lives of significant people; represent distinctive design or construction; or have the potential to re-veal important archeological data.
The Warren school building represents both a significant time in history and distinctive architecture, according to National Park Service information provided to The Enterprise by Powell.
Completed in 1935, it was funded in part through the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, a precursor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Public Works Administration, Powell said. Herman Weber Construction Co. built it.
The building features French doors, pedestal-topped pillars, tongue-and-groove woodwork, and an olive-branch-and-lantern-adorned school insignia, according to previous Enterprise coverage.
-- EMILY GUEVARA San Mateo County school districts grapple with federal stimulus plan, state budget-- Tri Valley Herald California: February 21, 2009 [ abstract] Local education leaders are relieved that a massive federal economic stimulus plan and the long-awaited state budget have both been ratified in recent days.
However, they continue to sort out exactly how the federal aid and state budget funding will impact local school finances. Questions remain as to how much the federal money can ease the impacts of state cuts to education.
"The federal stimulus package we're really pleased with," said Elizabeth McManus, associate superintendent of business services for the San Mateo Union High School District. "But the concern is it's one-time money. At some point, you have to have another revenue stream to replace the money as it goes away."
San Mateo Union stands to receive an estimated $1.7 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law Tuesday by President Barack Obama.
Overall, the $787 billion act will give San Mateo County's K-12 public education an estimated $23.1 million for special-education and low-income students over 2009 and 2010.
Initially, the stimulus plan included funds specifically designated for school districts to renovate campuses. But the final version rolled that money into the state stabilization fund "to backfill cuts to education programs and for school modernization and upgrades," said Melissa Salmanowitz, spokeswoman for the House Committee on Education and Labor.
A state's governor must apply to obtain those funds, giving assurances for meeting certain requirements, according to the California Department of Education.
I think it would benefit school districts if they have that money directly to renovate facilities," McManus said.
Now it appears that districts will have to go through the state and face "different strings and eligibility" to see money for building improvements, she said.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra
-- Neil Gonzales How will stimulus help CMS?-- CharlotteObserver.com North Carolina: February 20, 2009 [ abstract] North Carolina's schools are to receive $2 billion in federal stimulus money designed to save jobs, educate disadvantaged students and renovate campuses.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials have warned the ongoing financial crisis might force layoffs of up to 1,200 employees, including teachers and teacher assistants.
School board chairwoman Molly Griffin said Thursday she hopes the federal money will eliminate at least some of those layoffs among CMS' 19,000 employees. It remains unclear, though, how much CMS will get or when it will arrive.
CMS officials have been scrambling this week for details. Chief Financial Officer Sheila Shirley went to Raleigh for a briefing from state Department of Public Instruction officials. She didn't respond to Observer requests for interviews Wednesday or Thursday.
â€"As far as I know, we don't have anything approaching clear guidance yet,†Griffin said. â€"Once the state understands (the conditions placed on the dollars), they have to decide how to divide what they've got.â€
The bulk of the state's school-stimulus money, $1.4 billion, would come through the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund – designed to help states avert education budget cuts. The money can also be used for school modernization, renovation or repair.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra, bond
-- Eric Frazier No new schools can be built with stimulus funds
-- Daily Mail West Virginia: February 20, 2009 [ abstract] Those new schools in West Virginia the federal stimulus package was going to pay for?
Forget about it.
School Building Authority director Mark Manchin said he has looked at the massive spending bill signed into law earlier this week and believes the state will get a fraction of the money it requested for some major school construction projects.
"We're poring through this thing and trying to determine what we can and cannot do, but I can't see anywhere in the way this bill was passed that there is any new construction funding," Manchin said. "It only appears we can renovate, repair and modernize."
West Virginia officials compiled a $545 million wish list of capital projects at public schools and colleges across the state based on hints from the federal government that a stimulus package would include billions for new school construction.
Last month, Manchin said stimulus money could be used to build five brand new facilities: a $7.3 million pre-kindergarten-through-eighth-grade facility in Harts, Lincoln County; a $9.2 million middle school for Mercer County on the campus of Pikeview High School; a $20.5 million high school in Mingo County to replace high schools in Gilbert, Matewan, Williamson and Birch; a $31.3 million combined middle and high school in Cameron, Marshall County; and a $53.1 million high school in Berkeley County.
But the amount of money designated for education initiatives in the stimulus bill that passed this week includes a little more than $219 million to help county school systems and higher education deal with budget shortfalls. Another $156 million appears to be set aside for school construction bonds, but the focus of that funding is to improve energy efficiency at schools, according to information from the Obama administration.
Manchin said he has identified a $48.5 million pool of money in the bill that could be used for school renovations and repairs, but those funds also can be used for other government services, including public safety and higher education.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Those new schools in West Virginia the federal stimulus package was going to pay for?
Forget about it.
School Building Authority director Mark Manchin said he has looked at the massive spending bill signed into law earlier this week and believes the state will get a fraction of the money it requested for some major school construction projects.
"We're poring through this thing and trying to determine what we can and cannot do, but I can't see anywhere in the way this bill was passed that there is any new construction funding," Manchin said. "It only appears we can renovate, repair and modernize."
West Virginia officials compiled a $545 million wish list of capital projects at public schools and colleges across the state based on hints from the federal government that a stimulus package would include billions for new school construction.
Last month, Manchin said stimulus money could be used to build five brand new facilities: a $7.3 million pre-kindergarten-through-eighth-grade facility in Harts, Lincoln County; a $9.2 million middle school for Mercer County on the campus of Pikeview High School; a $20.5 million high school in Mingo County to replace high schools in Gilbert, Matewan, Williamson and Birch; a $31.3 million combined middle and high school in Cameron, Marshall County; and a $53.1 million high school in Berkeley County.
But the amount of money designated for education initiatives in the stimulus bill that passed this week includes a little more than $219 million to help county school systems and higher education deal with budget shortfalls. Another $156 million appears to be set aside for school construction bonds, but the focus of that funding is to improve energy efficiency at schools, according to information from the Obama administration.
Manchin said he has identified a $48.5 million pool of money in the bill that could be used for school renovations and repairs, but those funds also can be used for other government services, including public safety and higher education.
As recently as last week, Manchin said he saw hope the stimulus package would include at least $100 million to build some new schools in West Virginia.
But that version of the bill looked drastically different than the final version the president signed this week.
"The Senate effectively gutted it," Manchin said.
Manchin said whatever funds are steered toward the School Building Authority likely would be used for repairs or to install new heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems.
There also is federal money available for Qualified Zone Academy Bonds, which are federally backed tax credits for financial institutions that lend money to build public schools. But those bonds are limited to $1 million per county and also can't be used for new construction.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra
-- Ry Rivard The $4 million question: To renovate the Alta High School or add on to the middle school -- Storm Lake Pilot Tribune Iowa: February 20, 2009 [ abstract] The high school facilities study completed at the Alta High School reveals it could take close to $4 million to renovate the 1916 building; adding on to the middle school building to accommodate the high school students could be more.
The report prepared by architects at FEH of Sioux City and recently sent to the school, revealed "darn close to what we were thinking it would," said High School Principal Tom Ryherd who has been spearheading the project.
When Ryherd was named high school principal a little over two years ago he was aware that the board was putting dollars aside from the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) and from sales tax dollars received for future renovation projects. He questioned whether that was the most effective use of funds. With money being tight, he said, it is the responsibility of the board and administrators to make sure dollars are being spent as efficiently as possible.
It began as very informal discussion until November when a committee of community members and faculty was formed. A facility study completed five years ago was looked at and an architect firm was hired to complete another study.
Many, many questions were asked of the administrators regarding the building, photos were snapped and a full-day tour was included, checking out "every nook and cranny" of the 93-year-old structure. Electrical engineers, mechanical engineers and two architects took part in the tour taking notes along the way.
The report has been received and the results are "about what we expected," Ryherd said.
"They said we kept up the facility nicely," Ryherd said, "but there is a lot of extra space that needs to be maintained and taken care of for the number of kids that are here." Ryherd explained that when the building was constructed in 1916, it was designed for kindergarten-12th grade; now as a nine-12 building, there is a great deal of space not necessarily needed.
Another area of concern is the electricity is at or near an overload which could take some major work to remedy.
Included were a number of "what if scenarios" and data "to help in our decision making."
The dollar amount to do any renovation is huge but only a "ballpark figure", Ryherd stressed. "When you start tearing into an older building you never know what you'll find."
-- Lorri Glawe WFISD scheduled to receive $5.7 million-- Times Record News Texas: February 20, 2009 [ abstract] Members of Congress are calling it the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but school officials like Dr. Tim Powers and Anne Poplin are calling it “wonderful.”
The $5.7 million in stimulus money that’s earmarked for the Wichita Falls Independent School District may seem like manna from heaven, but Powers, the Wichita Falls Independent School District’s interim superintendent, warned that none of it has been gathered yet.
“We’re very grateful for all that money,” Powers said. “I hope there won’t be any misconceptions that ‘now the district has this money, and now we can do everything.’ We still don’t know what we have.”
Region 9 superintendents, including Powers, discussed the implications of the relief act on their districts in a meeting Wednesday with Region 9 Education Service Center Executive Director Anne Poplin.
Powers said he expected some of the money allocated to school districts would be skimmed off by the Department of Education and by the Texas Education Agency. Poplin said final totals can’t be known for sure because charter schools and higher education facilities will also share in the bounty.
The money that has been designated to WFISD " $2.5 million in Title funds (for low socio-economic children) over the next two years and $3.2 million in special education funding " has been tagged for those two funds and can’t be spent indiscriminately.
But that’s not what Powers was keying in on first for his district.
“I’m more interested in money that will become available for facilities,” Powers said. He described a chunk of money that is expected to be available through grant funding for shovel-ready projects that could be put to use in 90 to 180 days. That money would be handy for just such a laundry list of projects that Powers and school board members discussed last week " urgent construction projects like classroom restorations at Lamar Elementary School, a re-roof at Milam Elementary, a Head Start playground at Cunningham Elementary, parking lot expansions at Fain and West Foundation Elementary schools, and more.
-- Ann Work Belle Valley North is all cracked up; district asking voters for $39.5 million-- News-Democrat Illinois: February 19, 2009 [ abstract] Belle Valley School District board members are hoping voters understand the benefits and urgency of the district's $39.5 million plans for a new school.
"Time is of the essence," said Gaines Smith, the board's vice president and building committee president. "Every day we don't get this done is a day we lose."
The district is asking voters for $39.5 million to fund the project, which will include building and equipping the new school, improving the site, refinancing debt and demolishing buildings. If approved, the measure could mean a $226 to $280 increase in the taxes paid by the owner of a $100,000 home.
Smith and Board President Karen Kunz said the district needs a new building because its South Middle School building needs about $10 million in health and life safety repairs and its North Elementary School building is sinking.
The collapse of the defunct Ell-Rich Coal Mine about 150 feet below the ground caused a mine subsidence at Belle Valley North, which has settled about 8 inches since state surveyors began taking measurements in the fall of 2007, and about 12 inches altogether.
State engineers have said the district has about 10 years until the building becomes structurally unsound but the district already has closed two classrooms in the most affected wing "mostly from a perspective standpoint," Smith said.
"I don't know if you'd want to send your kid in a room that looks like that," he said of the two rooms with large cracks in their walls.
The district already has purchased 44 acres off Green Mount Road to build a new building for its nearly 900 students. It will take two years to design and build the two-story building and its surrounding campus, to which Smith and Kunz said the community would have access.
"If the taxpayers are going to pay for this, we need to let the community have access to it," Smith said. "We want to make this a community area."
-- RICKEENA J. RICHARDS Schools mull overhaul of construction policy-- Explore Howard County Maryland: February 19, 2009 [ abstract] As Glenelg High School was renovated and a new wing added to the building in recent years, students commonly complained of headaches, nausea and asthma problems they believed to be caused by noise, dust and fumes from the construction, according to parent Johnnie Nussbaum.
As the school's PTSA president, Nussbaum wants those kinds of distractions minimized or eliminated, she told the Howard County Board of Education at a public hearing last week.
"In order to fix the problems that occurred during our construction and renovation project we need a policy ... that clearly outlines all the preventative safety measures needed to ensure the least amount of negative impact on the people in the building," she told the board.
Nussbaum was one of eight people who testified before the school board Feb. 12 regarding proposed revisions to the school system's construction policy. The policy sets forth guidelines for school planning and construction projects. Others who spoke about the policy urged the board to consider making all of its construction projects meet environmentally conscious design standards. Such projects can be certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.
Although the board was slated to vote on the construction policy March 12, last week's public hearing convinced officials to consider additional revisions, board chairman Frank Aquino said, adding that he expects the policy to be presented to the board again later this spring.
Work raises health concerns
With more and more school renovation projects on the horizon, the work cannot always be limited to the summer months. When renovation occurs during the school year, safety standards must be heightened, according to Elizabeth Edsall Kromm, a representative of the county Health Department who testified on behalf of county Health Officer Dr. Peter Beilenson.
"The Health Department firmly believes that school construction and renovation policies, and procedures must be designed and implemented in a manner that protects the health and safety of our students and staff," she said. "The school environment should not interfere with our students' focus on learning."
-- Jennifer Choi Hope offered for school plan-- The Republican Massachusetts: February 18, 2009 [ abstract] Selectmen Chairman Jeffrey P. Vannais said the potential for federal stimulus money for school construction in Massachusetts could mean that building a regional elementary school with Holland could come sooner than officials were thinking just weeks ago.
With votes of support from last year's town elections, officials of the two towns have been putting plans together for the past few years to build a regional elementary school, but last fall they said state funding problems could mean a delay of up to 10 years.
As an alternative, plans are being developed with administrators of the Tantasqua regional school system to have a merged Holland-Wales elementary school operate for the next several years in the two aging school buildings that now house the towns' two separate elementary schools.
But Vannais said that if federal stimulus money is put toward school construction in Massachusetts, the Holland-Wales plan could move to design and construction much sooner.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority, which oversees school construction in the state, is trying to get some federal stimulus money applied to city and town shares of school construction costs, which could move projects through the pipeline sooner.
"We will keep trying positively to stay a little bit ahead of the game, so when people at state and federal level ask questions we will be ready for them," Vannais said.
"I still think that project is exactly the kind of thing they were looking for," he said.
-- JOHN APPLETON Rock Island County Kids First campaign-- Aledo Times Record Illinois: February 16, 2009 [ abstract] The campaign to win voter approval of a key education funding initiative to improve school facilities picked up momentum in the new year by announcing its campaign committee, a new web site (www.kidsfirstil.org), and a supporter with a perspective from Iowa.
“We are pleased to announce the formation of a campaign committee that reflects support from every school district and region throughout Rock Island County,” said Tom Getz, Co-Chairman of the Rock Island County Kids First Campaign.
Quad Cities community leaders Mary Lagerblade and Tom Getz are co-chairs of the campaign effort aimed at winning approval of a referenda initiative that will boost the sales tax one percent to fund school facilities improvements and construction in Rock Island County.
Getz also announced the creation of a new web site designed solely to inform voters in Rock Island County about the Rock Island County Kids’ First Campaign and its issues. “We urge voters to visit our new web site at www.kidsfirstil.org to keep up to date on the progress of this campaign as we head toward the critical April 7th election,” Getz noted. “We want this to be a grassroots campaign involving concerned citizens who want to put schools and kids first in this county.”
If approved by a majority of voters on April 7, 2009, the sales tax revenue generated would be spent exclusively on school facility improvement projects (no dollars can be used for salaries or personnel costs). Items excluded from the one-percent sales tax increase would include groceries, cars, drugs, medical supplies, boats, recreational vehicles, farm equipment and parts.
Funds would be allocated on a student population formula by school district. Estimates are that a one-percent increase in the sales tax would generate as much as $13 million a year for schools in Rock Island County, according to estimates provided by the office of the Rock Island County Treasurer.
-- Staff Writer Campus Construction Fund Cut From Stimulus Bill, but Options Remain-- Chronicle of Higher Education Blog National: February 13, 2009 [ abstract] At the insistence of Senate participants, the $789-billion stimulus bill that Congressional negotiators agreed to this week does not include a designated fund for campus construction, as an earlier House version of the measure did, The Chronicle’s Sara Hebel reports. But colleges could get to use some of the money in a “state fiscal-stabilization fund” to repair, modernize, or renovate their facilities. The bill also contains $1.5-billion for the National Institutes of Health to spend on renovating university facilities to help them compete for biomedical research grants.
The fund for state fiscal stabilization, budgeted at nearly $54-billion, includes money that states would be able use to limit budget cuts to colleges and schools and to spend on other priorities. Of that total, close to $40-billion would be set aside for states to funnel to public colleges and school districts, which could use the money in various ways, including to restore budget cuts, prevent layoffs, or modernize facilities. Governors would be given $8.8-billion to allocate to high-priority needs, which could include money for public or private colleges.
The House and Senate could schedule final votes on the bill as early as today.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra
-- Blog Writer District Proposes Closing 3 Schools-- Washington Post District of Columbia: February 07, 2009 [ abstract] D.C. officials proposed yesterday closing three elementary schools, two in Ward 8 and one in Ward 5, moves that they said would improve academic programs and reduce duplication of resources.
The plan, which has drawn opposition, would close Birney, Draper and Webb elementary schools at the end of this academic year.
Birney, on Martin Luther King Avenue in Southeast Washington, and Webb, on Mt. Olivet Road in Northeast Washington, are "receiving" schools, accommodating students displaced by renovations at Savoy and Wheatley elementaries. The proposal calls for Birney students to move to the newly refurbished Savoy, on Shannon Place in Southeast, this fall. Webb students would attend the redesigned Wheatley, on North Capitol Street in Northeast.
Officials said Savoy and Wheatley are being renovated to U.S. Green Building Council standards, creating healthier environments for children. They also said the consolidation of Savoy and Birney, which share a building but have separate principals and faculty, will reduce duplication and not significantly affect students.
Draper, on Wahler Place SE, has only 84 students in pre-K through sixth grade, and its enrollment is projected to be lower next year. Its second and third floors are occupied by a public charter school, Achievement Preparatory Academy, that offers grades 4 through 8.
-- Bill Turque Neediest New Jersey School Districts Must Wait for School Construction Funding -- Star-Ledger New Jersey: February 04, 2009 [ abstract] A school district cannot compel the state to finance school construction projects that had been approved but delayed because of a shortage of funding for the program to build and repair schools in New Jersey's neediest districts, a state appeals court ruled.
East Orange was seeking a di rective that the state fund construction of two projects that stalled three years ago when the state ran out money in a first round of funding, which totaled $6 billion, for schools in school districts designated as needy under the Abbott vs. Burke school-funding court decision. The appeals court said East Orange failed to prove "that its specific need for projects that have been deferred is greater than any of those other Abbott districts."
-- Rudy Larini FORUM: Logic, student safety should come first-- North County Times California: February 01, 2009 [ abstract] When the goal of protecting the environment stands in the way of the public good, there must be a method of compromise.
Such an issue exists in the city of San Marcos.
I and several community leaders have been engaged in an effort over the past two years, to relocate San Marcos High School away from what is arguably the busiest intersection in North County. The idea is not new. Discussions have taken place many times over several years, but now the matter is critical.
The current facility is outdated, too small, and in need of a total reconstruction in an effort to provide the required classrooms for the schools' growing population. Two choices exist. One is to remodel the existing facility, presenting a logistical nightmare for the orderly operation of the overcrowded campus. The other is to relocate, but where?
The most ideal location, all parties agree, is a 33-acre site at the northwest corner of Linda Vista and Los Posas. The traffic counts on the four bordering streets, Los Posas, Linda Vista, Pacific and La Mirada, are 75 percent less than San Marcos Boulevard and Rancho Santa Fe Road where the children must now travel. Conversely, the proposed site offers three convenient walking patterns from the Westside where most of the school's students reside. However, at present there are environmental concerns that stand in the way of placing the school on this otherwise ideal site.
The conundrum therefore exists that the issue of protecting the environment stands in the way of protecting the youth of the community, notwithstanding the fact that several potential mitigating solutions can be presented for environmental preservation.
Meanwhile, the San Marcos Unified School District is placed in the untenable position of having to press forward with expensive plans to design, finance and remodel a facility in a location that is inferior, less safe for students, and far less desirable than building a totally new and modern campus for the mushrooming constituency.
Further exacerbating the potential problem, plans are now in the works for the city to widen the intersection of Santa Fe and San Marcos Boulevard, and possibly creating an overpass for Santa Fe traffic, thereby further impacting student pedestrian traffic.
-- BILL EFFINGER At Waterford's Old School, A Lesson in Restoration-- Washington Post Virginia: January 28, 2009 [ abstract] Waterford boasts several landmarks that reveal its rich history, including a standing grist mill and a quaint post office that dates to the late 19th century.
But the village's social center for many decades has been the Old School, site of weddings, birthday parties and memorable plays and concerts. So when the building burst into flames on a winter day in 2007, the community banded together to rebuild and restore its cherished gathering place.
"The old mill is the heart of Waterford. The Old School is the soul," said Nancy Doane, executive director of the Waterford Foundation, the nonprofit group that owns and operates the 1910 building that once housed a Loudoun County public school.
On Sunday, the second anniversary of the Jan. 25 fire that damaged the Old School, the foundation celebrated the restoration of the two-story structure by giving public tours. It also kicked off a campaign to raise funds for a more ambitious project: the rebuilding of the auditorium added to the school in 1928, which burned to the ground.
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The Waterford Foundation celebrates the renovation of the Old School, an 1810 building that was damaged in a fire two years ago. (Katherine Frey)
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Assistant Director Margaret Good welcomes Joe Goode (no relation) to the Old School. (Katherine Frey)
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A guest at the open house gazes out the window of the newly renovated Old School. (Katherine Frey)
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Belinda Burley watches her daughter, Isabella Burley, who says her age is 4 3/4, add a message to the chalkboard during the open house. (Katherine Frey)
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David Middleton, who has lived in Waterford for less than a year, listens to the the string trio Prometheus as they perform in an upstairs classroom. (Katherine Frey)
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Photos of the devastating fire of January 2007 line a chalkboard at the Old School in Waterford at the open house. (Katherine Frey)
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Guests climb the stairs to see the restored second floor of the 1810 Old School. (Katherine Frey)
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The repairs to the school cost about $600,000, which the foundation covered through donations and an insurance policy. To rebuild the auditorium, along with a kitchen and small walkway that were destroyed in the fire, the group has set a fundraising goal of $1.6 million. It has raised about $400,000, including a $150,000 contribution from Loudoun County government toward purchase of a sprinkler system and underground water tank.
About a year before the fire, the auditorium had undergone a small renovation and cleaning of its ceiling, curtains and maple floor. "It was a general fix-up of the place, but mostly paint and polish," said Hans Hommels, chairman of the foundation steering committee for the rebuilding project.
The auditorium, which hosted the Waterford Concert Series and other performances, sat behind the school and about 10 feet from the street. Now, a grassy field strewed with broken tree branches and chips of glass lies in its place. Among the items destroyed was a $20,000 grand piano.
The new auditorium will be built at a different spot, adjacent to the Old School and farther from the street, giving it room to expand. It will have the same roof design and the same layout as the original auditorium, as well as the same capacity: 275 seats. But it will have handicapped-accessible ramps, a slightly larger stage, a basement, a small atrium with restrooms and a larger kitchen.
Once enough funds have been raised, construction is expected to last about nine months, Hommels said.
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The Old School lies within a county historic overlay district and a state historic easement, both of which carry strict architectural guidelines. Meeting those guidelines can be an expensive and challenging task, foundation officials said.
Doane said the Old School had to be restored using materials salvaged from the fire, whenever possible. "It's a labor of love," she said.
For example, about 75 percent of the glass in some of the restored classroom windows is the original leaded glass, Hommels said.
-- Kafia A. Hosh Process starts to annex land for school-- West Linn Tidings Oregon: January 28, 2009 [ abstract] Going against appeals from a handful of citizens, city councilors on Monday approved the first step in a process to annex 21 acres of unincorporated county land into West Linn.
“I certainly favor annexation: I think this property is clearly shown as somewhat of an island, maybe a peninsula, of the county,” Councilor Scott Burgess said during a public hearing attended by about 20 citizens at city hall.
The next step is a second public hearing and a vote on whether to send the issue to voters, who would make the final decision.
The West Linn-Wilsonville School District is pushing the process of bringing land into city limits in hopes of building a new elementary school at the site, located on the south side of Hidden Springs Road, east of Rosemont Road and west of Clubhouse Drive.
District Operations Director Tim Woodley said Palmer and Darlene Erickson own some of the land in question; the district bought the rest in the late 1980s.
“It has always been expected that it would be a school site,” he said.
Because the property includes two wetlands and the headwaters of Trillium Creek, district leaders envision a facility promoting environmental education.
“We see (the wetlands) as an opportunity for learning,” Woodley said.
Many neighbors said they backed that plan, which also earned support from voters when they recently approved a bond measure that would fund the new school. The district intends to relieve overcrowding and dispose of portable classrooms.
And no one questioned bringing the land into city limits. It’s already within the area designated for regional population growth and is surrounded on most sides by areas already part of West Linn.
Even so, many neighbors worry about zoning, which would dictate how many houses could be built " an issue if funding for the project flounders or if the district decides to build the new school elsewhere.
Marty Cresalia lives on Cheyenne Terrace, south of the planned school. He said if the annexation went through, he hoped councilors would set “the most restrictive zoning,” making the property less valuable for higher-density residential development.
-- Kara Hansen Architects submit design for Corinth's new elementary school -- Daily Journal Mississippi: January 27, 2009 [ abstract] The proposed design of Corinth's new elementary school includes features that emphasize safety, function and design components teachers have requested.
During last week's city board meeting, Superintendent Lee Childress gave city officials and members of the public a look at a rendering of the building.
The 128,000-square-foot facility, designed by Pryor & Morrow architects of Tupelo, will include up to 60 classrooms, as well as computer labs, a cafeteria and a gymnasium.
The new school will include students in kindergarten through fourth grades who now are educated at East Corinth and West Corinth elementaries.
Fifth- and sixth-grade students from South Corinth Elementary will attend Corinth Junior High School, which will be renovated to accommodate those grades. Corinth High School also is scheduled for renovations in the overall plan.
District officials gathered ideas through focus group meetings held last summer that included teachers and administrators telling architect Rud Robison some of the design elements they felt were key for the new school.
-- LENA MITCHELL W. V. School Building Authority Director Likes House Version of Stimulus Bill -- MetroNews West Virginia: January 27, 2009 [ abstract] There could be more earth moving and hammering than ever before when it comes to new school construction in West Virginia. The U.S. House version of the stimulus bill sets aside $101 million as the state's share for education building projects. State School Building Authority Executive Director Mark Manchin says the good news couldn't come at a better time. "Some school systems are facing crisis stages as their schools age and deteriorate. So this is a great opportunity for us and the children of West Virginia,†Manchin said.
If that amount stays in the final bill that comes before President Barack Obama it would build a lot according to Manchin. "It will allow us to construct anywhere from eight to ten additional schools that we otherwise would not,†he said. â€"It would allow us to build three new high schools around the state, at least two new middle schools, at least five or six new elementary schools." The SBA planned to spend about $100 million this year on new school construction and renovation as well as new heating and air conditioning units. But $32 million of that is already earmarked for projects in Lincoln, Mercer, Mingo and Greenbrier counties. That leaves around $68 million in funds for more than $300 million in requests. But Manchin says if you add in an additional $100 million from the stimulus package, it changes everything. And luckily there are lots of projects that are ready to begin construction right away. One of the criteria for the federal funding is projects must be 'shovel ready.' "Thank goodness we already had a lot of projects that were that far along through the DD (design and Development) phases that are ready to go to bid over the next three to six months,†he said. â€It's perfect. The timing is perfect."
The U.S. Senate is working on its own stimulus package so the amount of money for school construction could change. But Manchin stresses, any extra funding will be a big help and the SBA will make the most of it.
-- Staff Writer New Law Encourages Arizona Districts To Reduce Utility Costs-- Arizona Republic Arizona: January 26, 2009 [ abstract] The classroom lights could go out for students later this year as Arizona legislators consider cuts to battle the rising state budget deficit. At issue is $120 million in excess-utilities funding for school districts, which the state could tap as early as July. Cuts would force districts including Mesa Public Schools, Paradise Valley Unified and Scottsdale Unified to make millions of dollars of cuts just to cover electricity bills. And it's likely to affect the classroom, with districts having to increase class sizes and eliminate some teaching positions and programs to make up the difference.
Since 1985, Arizona school districts have been allowed to pay for a percentage of their heating and cooling, electricity and water bills through their local property tax. District budgets could not keep up with rising energy costs in the 1980s and the excess-utilities provision allowed districts to spend outside their budget to pay for skyrocketing utility bills.
A law passed during last summer's budget negotiations provided future funding by calculating the average utility costs for the previous two years. The state will pay 90 percent of that cost. Districts have to come up with the remaining 10 percent as well as any increase in utility bills. Under that legislation, the 90 percent funding formula based on previous years' costs would last through 2021. By forcing districts to find the 10 percent for the 2009-10 school year, it pushed them to reduce utility costs sooner rather than later, according to Chuck Essigs, director of governmental relations for the Arizona Association of School Business Officials. "It was designed to provide greater incentives for districts to be energy efficient," Essigs said.
-- Alex Bloom Battle over new school site-- Chicago Journal Illinois: January 21, 2009 [ abstract] WEST RIDGE
West Ridge residents battled it out with Ald. Berny Stone (50th Ward) over the site of a new elementary school at community meeting held at Beth Yitzchok Temple on Jan. 14.
Stone and the Chicago Board of Education plan to build one of its prototype public elementary schools on the 6600 block of N. Whipple.
The school is intended to relieve overcrowding at West Ridge's Boone and Clinton elementary schools whose student populations range between 1,200 and 1,500. Clinton exports its third and fourth grades to a nearby church. Both schools average five classrooms per grade, leaving little room for computer labs and other enrichment programs.
Residents listened quietly to Chicago Public Buildings Commission Deputy Director Leona Kettra run through the features of the three-story building. The prototype elementary school that has been built in other neighborhoods throughout the city includes a library, computer lab, music and art rooms, cafeteria and 24 classrooms. The school will support a green roof that will be incorporated into the school's science curriculum.
About 30 parking spaces are planned on campus for more than 50 staff and faculty members. School buses, cars and emergency vehicles will access the campus off of Whipple.
The public buildings commission, which oversees public works projects for the city, aims for silver certification under the U.S. Green Buildings Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental design rating program.
Then the fireworks started. The mostly Jewish Orthodox audience immediately questioned Stone about the school's lack of parking and traffic congestion before and after school.
"I live on Whipple," resident Yulka Friedman said. "I hear everybody up there liberally throwing around the word 'community.' The community may have had a lot of good ideas to alleviate issues on Whipple."
-- LORRAINE SWANSON Yonkers' wish list for stimulus aid: $645M-- Lower Hudson Journal news New York: January 20, 2009 [ abstract] City and school officials have put together a $645 million wish list of construction projects, including a $45 million downtown baseball stadium, that they hope can be funded through a federal economic stimulus package promised by the new presidential administration.
The total construction-funding wish list comprises $321 million in city projects and $324 million in school projects.
City officials want the federal government to pick up the entire cost of infrastructure improvements required by the massive downtown revitalization project by Struever Fidelco Cappelli, at $159 million. The biggest element in that request is $112 million for public parking required by the SFC's signature project, River Park Center, which includes a $45 million stadium and two apartment towers atop an 11-story shopping and entertainment complex.
Much of the school list was outlined in a report several years ago by Cannon design, which found that district school buildings needed nearly $300 million to fix leaky roofs, crumbling walls, failing ventilation systems and other problems and $1.3 billion to bring the entire school system to current standards.
There's been no shortage of proposals in the past month for how the federal stimulus funds expected to be released under the Obama administration should be spent. An $850 billion version of the package released last week by House Democrats calls for $550 million in new spending, including construction, and $275 billion in tax refunds.
-- Len Maniace Stimulus Bill Includes $142B for Education -- eSchool News National: January 16, 2009 [ abstract] Some $20 billion for school modernization and $1 billion for educational technology are among nearly $150 billion in funding targeted toward education in the House version of the new economic stimulus package, which lawmakers introduced Jan. 15. Working closely with President-elect Barack Obama, House Democrats called for $825 billion altogether in federal spending and tax cuts to revive the economy, with strong emphasis on energy, education, health care, and jobs-producing highway construction. The legislation calls for federal spending of roughly $550 billion and tax cuts of $275 billion over the next two years--totals certain to change as the measure works its way through Congress. A good chunk of the money is ticketed for education, including money for schools and colleges to shield them from the effects of state cutbacks in services, as well as tax credits designed to make college more affordable.
"We will enable students of all ages to learn in 21st-century classrooms, labs, and libraries to help our students compete with any worker in the world," reads a press release about the proposal, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.
The education portion of the bill includes: - $41 billion to boost learning in local K-12 school districts through Title I ($13 billion), IDEA ($13 billion), a new School Modernization and Repair Program ($14 billion), and the Education Technology block-grant program ($1 billion).
-- Staff and Wire Reports Wisconsin Schools Tighten Security Measures -- Wisconsin State Journal Wisconsin: January 11, 2009 [ abstract] The Verona School District is planning to become the first in Dane County to lock all doors at some schools and require visitors to appear on camera to receive permission to enter, and the first to require that high school students display identification badges at all times. Many students support the moves, even as others question whether they're really needed in the community that calls itself "Hometown, USA." In Middleton, educators are deep into discussions that could lead to asking taxpayers for $3.5 million for cameras, other equipment and remodeling projects to tighten security at their 10 schools. Madison school officials have begun a major review of security measures that by spring could lead to proposals to control the public's access to that district's 48 schools. These are signs that despite tight budgets, Wisconsin educators are pushing ahead in their efforts to keep schools safe — efforts that took on added urgency with the 2006 slaying of Weston High School principal John Klang by a student, and other tragedies across the nation.
Increasingly, local educators are banding together and working with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and emergency response officials to devise and coordinate school safety strategies — plans that contain growing numbers of cameras and locks, and state-of-the-art architecture requiring visitors to pass through a front office. But there are limits to the gadgets and designs. Experts agree that the key to school safety remains building strong personal connections between students, parents and school employees.
-- Andy Hall Residents urge change at Danville school facilities forum-- Urbana/Champaign News-Gazette Illinois: January 08, 2009 [ abstract] Danville resident Dean Carlton still remembers feeling a draft in his North Ridge Middle School drafting class about 35 years ago, when the school would have been about 10 years old.
"They were poor designs and built on the cheap, and we've had to live with them," he said, also referring to South View Middle School and East Park Elementary.
"This is an awful building," resident Sybil Mervis agreed, recalling seeing buckets in the halls to catch roof leaks years ago when Associate Superintendent Mark Denman was North Ridge's principal. "I would hate to see you put another dollar in these three buildings."
The comments came Tuesday at the first of three forums to inform community members about the school district's facilities needs and to hear what they would like see happen – and are willing to pay for.
"Everything is on the table," board President Randal Ashton told the 25 people in attendance. All ideas will be given to a facilities review committee charged with bringing recommendations to the board by April.
East Park, North Ridge and South View were built as middle schools in the 1960s to deal with expanding enrollment. Denman said they cost $1 million apiece. He said several more costly proposals were floated, but referendum proposals for those failed. Voters finally approved spending $3 million to build all three.
-- Noelle McGee Board questions school design-- Clarksville Leaf Chronicle Tennessee: January 07, 2009 [ abstract] Two School Board members are concerned with the planned design for a new elementary school to be built in the Sango area.
The new elementary, which is scheduled to be completed in June 2011, is to be constructed with the plans currently being used to build Rossview Elementary.
It has been the practice to reuse designs for new schools, which reduces the architectural fees by as much as 50 percent.
Board member Jim Mann, whose District 7 includes the new school site, and District 6 board member Eula Gardner Dowdy told other board members during Tuesday's nonvoting work session that they are uncomfortable about committing to use the unproven Rossview design on a future school.
Rossview Elementary is scheduled to open in August.
Board members were discussing a resolution to appropriate money for the design of the new elementary in the Sango area. The school system staff is recommending the Rossview design be used for the new school.
Mann and Dowdy, who have been board members for 20 years or more, said over the years, the savings have not been realized and always when a design is reused, issues arise after the school is occupied, which leads to changes in the design for the next school.
"I have major concerns with the plans," Mann said, adding earlier that a new school has been built nearly every year he has been a board member.
Dowdy agreed.
"Every time we build a school we find problems that need to be changed for the next school," she said. "I'm not comfortable using a building design from a school they we have not occupied yet."
Jim Sumrell, the school system's chief operations officer, said the new design came about because, in the past, the school system changes the design being reused after 20 years.
-- MARK HICKS Roseville board to vote on plans for sixth high school-- Sacramento Bee California: January 06, 2009 [ abstract] Roseville Joint Union High School District trustees are expected tonight to hire an architect to design a sixth high school campus for an area of the district with few homes and few students.
Although the district was forced to make significant budget reductions this school year and faces a potential cut of $3 million from its 2009-2010 budget, a $115 million school construction bond approved by voters two years ago can't be used as a budget bailout.
By law, it can only be used to build school facilities.
One thing is certain, district board member Garry Genzlinger said, "There will be a sixth high school eventually."
Such are the challenges school districts face planning for the future in the midst of a unpredictable economy.
"It's all about housing starts. Development is slow right now," said district Superintendent Tony Monetti.
In January 2007, hoping to get ahead of the growth curve, the district created a school facilities improvement district to tax future property owners for a new high school in a sparsely developed portion of Placer County.
Later that year, the handful of registered voters living within the improvement district approved a bond to help fund the new school.
The final tally in the special election was 11 to 1 in favor.
The improvement district is anticipated to someday have 25,000 homes.
However, with the sluggish housing market, homes aren't popping up as quickly as anticipated.
-- Walter Yost School of Dreams: Cesar Pelli Designed School Set to Open in New Haven -- New Haven Register Connecticut: January 05, 2009 [ abstract] After more than two years of demolition and construction, the $70 million flagship of the citywide school construction project, the downtown Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School is slated to open Jan. 20, despite unfinished stairways and unpacked furniture. “I used to shake,” said Superintendent of Schools Reginald Mayo, of seeing down-to-the-wire construction projects. “I don’t anymore.” The school “will be ready to roll,” he said.
The city is in the midst of a $1.4 billion effort that began in 1995 to rebuild or renovate every public school. Twenty-seven schools have been completed, six are under construction and three more are in design.
Coop has been particularly ambitious in the quality of the arts spaces, as well as the downtown setting near Yale University and its arts community, the Shubert Theater and the planned new location of the Long Wharf Theatre. The city has paid a premium to locate the school downtown, including protracted legal battles with displaced property owners. The building is the first high school to be designed by architectural giant Cesar Pelli, who is based in New Haven. “This really takes the school to a new level academically,” Mayo said. “So many little spaces that make a difference.”
-- Elizabeth Benton Group organizes to oppose Ordean expansion-- Duluth News Tribune Minnesota: December 30, 2008 [ abstract] A group of Ordean Middle School neighbors concerned about neighborhood impacts have begun organizing to influence the Duluth school district’s plans to convert Ordean into a high school.
A newly proposed access road, along with a stadium that could rival Public Schools Stadium and the threat of eminent domain proceedings, has united neighbors from 35th Avenue East to 40th Avenue East and from London Road to Superior Street.
“I would say about 90 percent of the neighbors are against this,” said Tom Kasper, a neighbor of Ordean and the city’s gardener. “This plan threatens our way of life.”
The group started to organize after the most recent set of schematic designs was released for the Ordean proposal. The plans call for building an access road through an undeveloped plot of land off 36th Avenue East that would run parallel to the North Shore Scenic Railroad tracks all the way to the school on 40th Avenue East.
Architect Doug Hildenbrand said the proposed street is aimed at easing traffic congestion in the area. Residents say the road could create a traffic nightmare.
-- Sarah Horner School Construction Will Continue for 4 Years in Oklahoma City -- The Oklahoman Oklahoma: December 30, 2008 [ abstract] The MAPS for Kids tax is ending, but work on the projects is far from over and is expected to continue for another four years. With some of the biggest projects now finished, work will speed up, said Terry Wolfe, senior facilities officer for Oklahoma City Public Schools. About 30 to 40 projects haven’t started yet. Most of those are renovations or additions to schools, Wolfe said. Those take less design and construction time, he said. The last projects should start in 2010 and finish by the end of 2012. "The pace of the work is going to be much faster,” Wolfe said.
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said the city can’t get distracted by other big improvement projects such as the Ford Center improvements. "I want people to understand that since I’ve been in office, MAPS for Kids has been our No. 1 priority,” Cornett said. "It’s the largest project and initiative this city has ever undertaken, and I would argue it’s the most important.” One of the big goals of MAPS for Kids was removal of portable classroom buildings, Wolfe said, and now that many of the additions and renovations have started, the portable buildings will begin to cycle out. Some portable classrooms are stored at the district’s service center to address emergency needs, he said.
Construction of two new schools also remains. Cesar Chavez Elementary School will be built on Grand Boulevard about a mile east of Shields Avenue. Officials likely will seek bids in the spring. Another new elementary school is planned for the downtown area. District officials are looking for a location.
-- Dawn Marks and Bryan Dean Full Steam Ahead in '09 for School Construction in Hamilton, Ohio -- Journal News Ohio: December 29, 2008 [ abstract] Through ongoing and new construction scheduled in 2009, residents all over the Hamilton City School District will see their tax dollars at work. Four elementary schools are scheduled to open in 2009; four more in 2010. "Given the excellent level of planning and design that has gone into these buildings, the taxpayers and students are getting an excellent value for their investment, time and money," said Jim Boerke, district director of planning, operations and construction management.
The top priority for new construction in the district is to improve the learning environment for student success, officials say. "When we open all of these new buildings, it's not going to be the same old thing," said board President Dr. Glenn Stitsinger. "Structure of the new buildings is very important but how and what students are taught is more important. "The curriculum is going to be vastly improved due to technology and new expectations for both students and staff." State-of-the-art science and computer labs and media centers will be obvious to students and parents visiting the new schools.
What may not be as obvious is a number of energy cost cutting initiatives, which include an HVAC system with high efficiency mechanical systems. Energy recovery wheels which allow for heat and cooling energy to be recovered as air is expelled from the building and that energy that is recovered is able to treat the fresh air required for ventilation, which reduces energy required to treat outdoor air by 70 percent. Demand ventilation, which will allow officials to limit the ventilation air to only what is required for the present occupants. Occupancy sensors, which control lighting in all spaces and turns lights off when there are no occupants. A daylight harvesting system — which maximizes the access to daylight and minimizes the need for artificial light — will be provided in all classrooms. It includes sloped ceilings to introduce natural lighting deep into space, and daylight sensors and lighting fixtures that dim automatically according to the amount of natural light. "All of which creates an excellent learning environment," Boerke said.
-- Linda Ebbing San Mateo County School Districts Seek Data on Buildings' Seismic Safety -- Mercury News California: December 28, 2008 [ abstract] San Mateo County school districts are seeking information from the state about their buildings' seismic safety, but the nation's severe economic downturn casts doubt on how much they can tackle any needed fixes. Since September, the state has contacted all districts at least once about a list of nearly 8,000 public school buildings at risk of collapsing during a major earthquake. At least 500 districts have so far responded and asked for an inventory of their buildings, according to Liz Gransee, a spokeswoman for the Division of the State Architect. The increased interest in that list managed by the division follows a San Mateo County Times investigation revealing that only about 100 of the state's 1,052 districts had requested the inventory.
Assembly Bill 300 created the list that in 2002 named the school buildings statewide possibly in danger. These schools, built between 1933 and 1978, are seen as urgently needing evaluation. If they fail a review, districts need to either retrofit or demolish the buildings. "Seismic retrofitting is very expensive," said Enrique Navas, chief business officer for the Jefferson district. "If districts don't have the funds available (to address earthquake issues), we have other priorities." Right now, state funding for campus renovations in general is very much up in the air. Earlier this month, the state Pooled Money Investment Board decided to freeze funds designated for school projects across California because of the ongoing budget shortfalls. Consequently, "the School Facility Program will not be able to release funding for the foreseeable future," Rob Cook, executive officer for the state Office of Public School Construction, told California's education leaders in a Dec. 22 letter. "School districts cannot rely on state bond funds to proceed with projects." The office plans to contact districts about projects that recently earned approval for funding from the State Allocation Board, Cook also said in the letter.
-- Neil Gonzales Fuel Cell, Gas Line Proposal Could Cut Heat Bills in New High School -- Norwich Bulletin Connecticut: December 24, 2008 [ abstract] Killingly will vote next month on whether to ask residents for roughly $3 million to install green technology in the new high school. The Town Council set a Jan. 13 public hearing date on an ordinance that would appropriate $3.3 million for fuel cell technology and to place a natural gas line to service the $81.2 million school building. After grants and state assistance, taxpayers could be responsible for up to $1.7 million of the bill, Town Manager Bruce Benway said. He estimated it would take fewer than 10 years to pay off the expense while the system would provide considerable long-term energy savings. “The town’s portion could be paid off in nine years, but we’re talking about putting this technology into a building expected to be used for 40 years,” Benway said.
Nearly $1.7 million of the bond would be used to design, construct and install a 300-kilowatt fuel cell and booster pump, expected to save $494,000 in school heating and electric costs annually. Benway said he’ll recommend postponing any referendum on the bond until additional funding options are explored, including approval of a $990,000 subsidy from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. The ordinance also includes approximately $1.5 million to run a gas line from Route 101 to the high school, under a proposed contract with Yankee Gas.
-- John Penney School Design Can Help Spark Student Curiosity.
-- Working Waterfront Maine: December 18, 2008 [ abstract] It isn't just for the sake of doing business that architect Steve Blatt wishes there were lots of island schools off the coast of Maine. After designing the North Haven Community School, which opened this fall, he is now planning the renovations and new construction for the Islesboro Central School. That experience is making him realize the significance of these institutions in an island community. Typically the largest of all civic buildings on an island, and considered the most important, island schools provide many facilities also shared with the public, perhaps offering a fitness center, gymnasium, library, music and art studios, gallery space, auditorium, meeting rooms, computer technology, cafeteria and kitchen. Schools can offer residents a place to shoot hoops, compete at volleyball, attend cultural performances, enjoy a fundraiser, or share a potluck. But most importantly, as Blatt sees it, these schools make islands a viable place for families to live.
As a sailor who knows the coast, and with a home on Vinalhaven, Blatt feels comfortable working with island communities. And he sees one of his initial tasks in designing their schools as getting to know the community. He especially feels that staff who will work and teach in a school, and not just administrators, should be involved in articulating what a new building should provide. Blatt says his goal as architect is "to make a school the best it can be for everybody." He believes the building needs to be welcoming and available to the public and also serve as a source of civic pride. He hopes his designs draw on the ambience and the architecture of the community, at the same time slightly reinterpreting some aspect of that look. He calls it "edgy;" and that could be interpreted to mean that some slight variation of a familiar theme offers a fresh, new perspective.
-- Tina Cohen What Will Obama’s Presidency Mean for Architects? -- Architectural Record National: December 18, 2008 [ abstract] On December 6, President-elect Barack Obama revealed key elements of his sweeping economic-recovery plan, part of which calls for building roads, greening federal offices, and making schools more high-tech, all of which should bode well for those in the design and construction industries. “This has to be great news for architects,” says Robert Dunphy, who studies infrastructure issues for the Urban Land Institute, based in Washington, D.C. Advocates have made the case for years that the government needs to invest in infrastructure, he says, “but it was always easy to put off to a future date.”
Some are concerned that Congressional squabbling could delay rollout of a soup-to-nuts building plan, which analysts say could reach $500 billion. But many aren’t waiting until Obama’s January 20 inauguration to make a case for their projects. Chief among them are highway advocates, who calculate that there are 5,000 projects worth a total of $64 billion"from erecting bridges to filling pot holes"ready to launch within six months.
Schools will also be targeted by Obama’s infrastructure campaign, which already has mayors and governors vying for slices of the pie. In December, the National Governors Association unveiled a request for $136 billion, part of which would go toward fixing up classrooms; the U.S. Conference of Mayors also recently debuted a $73.2 billion plan with similar aims.
Barbara Nadel, FAIA, a New York architect who has represented the AIA on Capitol Hill for years, says she suspects school construction will be a significant portion of Obama’s spending plan because it “touches every community in America.”
-- C. J. Hughes Report: More than 100 school spots not ADA-accessible
-- The Northwest Florida Daily News Florida: December 17, 2008 [ abstract] A dreary picture was painted for the Walton County School Board when a district committee presented more than 100 findings of noncompliance regarding disabled access.
The school board created the Accessibility Advisory Committee in April 2007 and asked it to develop a list of projects designed to make Walton County facilities more accessible and in line with state and federal guidelines. The board approved the 60-page list of recommendations Tuesday.
"We have basically audited ourselves on this," Superintendent Carlene Anderson said. "I believe it was more than we expected. Regardless, this district is going to be ADA compliant."
The issue of accessibility was first brought to the board's attention in June 2007 by then student services coordinator Cynthia Jeselnik, who was diagnosed with progressive remissive multiple sclerosis in September 2003.
It wasn't until a 2005 heart bypass procedure that Jeselnik recognized the extent of the county's problem.
"When I started going around to different schools with my walker, that's when I realized I couldn't get places," Jeselnik said.
Jeselnik submitted a list of requests for accommodations to the school system. Many of those accommodations were deemed "unreasonable" and Jeselnik's contract was not renewed the summer of 2007.
"We do have handicapped employees and we do have handicapped children, and of course we are open to the public, so we want not only what is legally acceptable, we want to be completely acceptable," Anderson said.
-- Kelli Hernandez New Jersey Relaunches School Construction, With an Economical Eye -- Star-Ledger New Jersey: December 04, 2008 [ abstract] Newark's new Central High School shines as one of the jewels of New Jersey's massive school construction program, a $102 million structure of brick and glass that draws praise and awe from those who enter its vaulted atrium entrance. But as the state relaunches the construction program after years of scandal and mismanagement, state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy looked up into the same sunlit atrium and used it as a cautionary example of what the state can't afford any more. "We want to make sure we don't do this again," Davy said of the atrium. "It's gorgeous, but it's a lot of space, a lot of costs. Can you imagine just the heating and air- conditioning?"
Such is the challenge for the state as it proceeds with the program that already cost more than $8 billion and now has another $3.9 billion infusion that most officials and advocates agree is still far short of what is needed to rebuild the school infrastructure in the Garden State's neediest districts. As another 50 projected projects now get under way, and others stand in the pipeline, Davy said the kinds of designs previously approved by the state are all being revisited and may not get the same treatment this time around. "It's not about being cheap but about being as economical as possible while still serving the educational needs," she said. Davy's comments came after her testimony at a legislative hear ing held in Central High Wednesday, where the new director of the state's Schools Development Authority was introduced and testimony was heard about projects approved and many still waiting.
-- John Mooney New York Schools Plan to Expand Capacity -- Epoch Times New York: December 03, 2008 [ abstract] The New York City Department of Education (DOE) is continuing to expand capacity in its schools, with 34,000 more seats from the current capital plan and 25,000 seats in the fiscal year 2010-2014 capital plan. The plan, whose first draft was released last month, is meant mainly to upgrade facilities and to ease classroom overcrowding in existing buildings. The DOE opened 18 school buildings this fall and is anticipating the opening of campuses on Metropolitan Ave. in Queens, Mott Haven in the Bronx, Beekman Place, and Battery Park City. All schools that were designed beginning from January 2007 are environmentally, â€"green-designed schools,†said DOE Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm during a city council hearing on the new capital plan. In total, the budget is $11.3 billion, with $5.2 billion dedicated to expanding capacity and $6.1 billion dedicated to facility enhancement and remediation. To cope with tough financial times, Mayor Michael Bloomberg mandated that all City agencies must reduce spending by 20 per cent. The figures in the new capital plan represent an 18.1 per cent reduction in spending from the current plan.The capital improvements portion of the plan will focus on maintaining the exteriors of buildings. The $6.1 billion allocated to this portion of the plan is divided almost evenly to address serious conditions in improving technology and facilities, and making sure that facilities meet building code standards. A new focus of the DOE is to address overcrowding by neighborhood rather than by district. It estimates that the neighborhoods of North and South Corona, Lefrak City, and Elmhurst will need 2,214 new seats, more than any other neighborhoods in the city. To assess the enrollment needs by neighborhood, the DOE and School Construction Authority examine trends from each neighborhood's housing sector, rezoning projects, and consider reports from school principals.
Approximately 80 school buildings will see their leases expire in 2010-2014. The FY2010-2014 plan builds off the current five-year plan (FY2005-2009), rolling over 8,000 seats from the current plan that have yet to be sited. The DOE expects most of the new seats to be created during school years beginning in Fall 2009 and Fall 2010.
-- Christine Lin The Little Green Schoolhouse
-- Washington Independent District of Columbia: December 03, 2008 [ abstract] The sixth-graders in Marti Goldstone’s science class at Horace Mann Elementary are working on a project that could save their D.C. public school a lot of money. They are conducting an energy audit of their entire school. They calculate how much energy each classroom, gym, cafeteria, office, etc. uses, how much electricity each item in a room consumes, which appliances eat up too much electricity and what adjustments can be made to save energy.Goldstone is one of about 100 teachers nationwide who have teamed up with the conservation group the Alliance to Save Energy in an effort to make schools greener by identifying wasteful practices and adopting more energy-efficient measures to replace them. The group’s energy-audit exercise is part of its Green Schools program. For public school teachers like Goldstone, the energy-audit lesson is a great opportunity for students to use math, science and social studies in pursuit of an important environmental goal. For superintendents of school districts, the project is worthwhile for another reason " it can save them money.
Many schools spend thousands of dollars a month on energy bills, said Emily Curley, who runs the Green Schools program at the Alliance to Save Energy. Even such simple no-cost acts as turning off classroom lights and computers and adjusting thermostat settings can save schools between 5 percent to 15 percent of their energy bills, she said. “That’s pretty significant, especially for public schools that might not have the upfront funding for big [green] renovations.” Still, some public school districts have spent money to conform new construction, or retrofit existing buildings, to green standards. A few districts are required by law to make their campuses more energy efficient. Montgomery County in Maryland, for one, passed a measure requiring all its public schools achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental design) certification. LEED, which is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, is the most widely used green-building rating system in the nation.
-- Suemedha Sood New Jersey Proposes Plan to Speed Up School Building -- Star-Ledger New Jersey: December 02, 2008 [ abstract] Officials of New Jersey's school construction program announced plans to step up the pace of work on at least six new schools next year, including a long-delayed Phillipsburg High School project, through a streamlined building process. "What we're trying to do is work essentially toward meeting the governor's mandate to accelerate these projects," said Kris Kolluri, the former Department of Transportation Commissioner who announced the streamlined building program during his first meeting as chief executive officer of the state Schools Development Authority.
Within the month, Kolluri plans to present the authority's board with a proposal to build six or seven schools using a truncated design-build process. That strategy would speed construction by combining both the architecture and contracting work on each job, eliminating the need to seek new construction bids after an architect has wrapped up design work.
-- Dunstan McNichol Mansfield administrators tour new school-- Mansfield News Journal Ohio: November 27, 2008 [ abstract] Mansfield City Schools principals and administrators toured Twin Oak Elementary School in Mount Vernon Monday for an up-close look at a facility built to Ohio School Facilities Commission specifications.
The $8.2 million school, Mount Vernon City Schools' first new elementary building in more than half a century, opened in 2004. It was designed by MKC Associates Inc. of Mansfield.
"In coming months we will invite Mansfield civic, labor and government leaders to join us in visiting new schools in surrounding districts," Superintendent Lloyd Martin said. "In the year or two ahead our community must decide if we will accept the state's offer to pay 78 percent of the cost of replacing our outdated elementary and intermediate buildings."
Twin Oak houses 378 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The 57,000-square-foot building features two computer labs, areas designed specifically for art and music, a gymnasium with a regulation-size basketball court, and wireless amplification systems which allow teachers to be heard easily anywhere in their large classrooms.
Last week the commission conducted an architectural assessment of the condition of all Mansfield City Schools buildings except the high school. That assessment is the first step toward qualifying the district for the state funding share of 78 cents on the dollar.
-- LARRY GIBBS Fayetteville: Green Schools a Growing Concept -- Arkansas Democrat Gazette Arkansas: November 24, 2008 [ abstract] Sensors measure sunlight streaming through large windows at Butterfield Trail Elementary School, dimming or shutting off electric bulbs when natural light will suffice. It is one of many energy-saving features in a new addition to the school set to open in January. A reflective roof coating will lower the building’s temperature, air conditioners are 24 percent more efficient than typical commercial units, and sensors will shut off lights when rooms are unoccupied. After a year of occupancy and exhaustive documentation by project engineers, Fayetteville administrators hope the U. S. Green Building Council will grant the building LEED certification, affirming its environmentally friendly construction and energy-saving features.
“If we’re going to do the right thing, let’s underscore it,” said Dick Johnson, assistant superintendent for the Fayetteville School District. “Everything we do is observed and interpreted, and this is a branding that’s recognized nationally.” LEED, an abbreviation for Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, has slowly spread from commercial to public spaces as taxpayers have become more engaged in “green” building construction, Johnson said. But while some school leaders strive for the designation, others resist it, claiming the label elevates project costs without guaranteed return and raises questions from the public, sensitive to every increase in a building’s budget.
The U. S. Green Building Council ranks buildings seeking certification on a 69-point scale, adding points for designated building features and materi- als. Buildings that score at least 26 points receive certification, and those scoring higher receive silver, gold and platinum ratings, according to the council’s Web site. In 2007, the council launched an accreditation scale specifically for schools that awards points for the acoustic qualities of classrooms and for using the building as a tool to teach about environmentally friendly building techniques.
-- Evie Blad Slow Economy Brings in Lower Bid for New Florida School Construction -- News-Journal Florida: November 19, 2008 [ abstract] The economic slowdown that's sparked deep budget cuts has finally produced a bonus for the Volusia County School Board with an elementary school construction bid coming in $3.5 million lower than expected. The board agreed to hire Mark Construction Company of Longwood to build the new school at Hazen Road and Plymouth Avenue in DeLand for $14.987 million. The architect's cost estimate was $18.5 million, and the board is spending $18.3 million to build a Hurst Elementary replacement from the same basic design. The Hurst project was bid about a year ago, facilities director Pat Drago said, and included $800,000 worth of fill dirt for its site off LPGA Boulevard in Daytona Beach. No fill was needed for the DeLand site, she said.
Drago attributed the lower than expected price to a highly competitive bidding environment with construction companies scrambling for business in the slumping economy. Fourteen companies bid on the DeLand elementary school project. That's a stark contrast to just two years ago when construction projects were plentiful and a new high school in Orange City attracted only one bidder the first time around. The board rejected that $99.3 million price as too expensive and rebid the project with some changes. It got two bids the second time around and the board agreed to pay $95 million -- the most ever for a Volusia school -- to build the high school that's now expected to open in August 2010.
-- Linda Trimble Building Affordable Schools -- Boston Globe Massachusetts: November 15, 2008 [ abstract] With the costs of building schools in Massachusetts skyrocketing, the state cannot afford the "edu-palaces" some communities want, replete with extra municipal amenities such as swimming pools and hockey rinks. The state created the Massachusetts School Building Authority to rein in cost overruns, and state Treasurer Timothy Cahill is appropriately focused on creative approaches to bring school building costs under control.
Those of us who design schools across America have learned valuable lessons - some good, some bad, and some we can do nothing about. For example, with the rising cost of energy, the cost of construction materials has also risen sharply. But there are elements that can be contained.
First, as Cahill suggests, the cost of a community's educational needs must be separate from its broader municipal needs. If a community wants a pool, it needs to disconnect it from school building budgets. Second, the bidding procedures and construction management systems need to be moved into the 21st century, by allowing for "construction managers at risk" and a review of construction bidding procedures that currently disconnect the general contractor from subcontractors, dramatically diminishing control over the schedule, quality, and cost overruns. Third, the state should develop a "best practices" program and a centralized "clearinghouse" that offers cost-effective school designs. This allows communities to review cost-appropriate design components without being compelled to build a school designed to meet another community's needs. Fourth, the state should consider the proposal by architect Charles Thomsen for the "rotation" of good design concepts developed in one project that can be carried over into multiple projects. Key is the maintenance of "continuous working standards," updated by a central program manager who incorporates new best practices in design, as they emerge in individual projects. Thomsen argues, ". . .standards shouldn't be static; they should be a platform for continuous improvement."
-- Diane Georgopulous Montana High School Unveils Wind-powered Generator -- MontanasNewsStation.com Montana: November 14, 2008 [ abstract] It's been a project two years in the making, but now an $11,000 educational tool is standing tall on the grounds of C.M.Russell High School. Students, teachers, and a number of community supporters gathered to celebrate the hard work that went into bringing the only currently operating wind generator into the city limits of Great Falls. Mark Yaeger, Applied Physics Teacher at CMR, said, "The classes over the last couple of weeks - construction classes, pre-construction classes, landscape class, architecture and engineering class, some of the welding classes even were out here working on this. We had at least80 students who've put time one way or another in getting this thing up."
The turbine, funded by a federal Perkins Grant, stands just over 60 feet high. The generator will serve mainly as a teaching tool, but the power it generates will also help heat the school's welding shop. Darren Pocklington, CMR landscape design student, said, "I think this project is good because it's going to generate more power for the school. Then we won't have to pay so much - well not AS much - in the electrical bill." An enthusiastic supporter of wind power, Cascade County commissioner Peggy Beltrone, also was on hand and said, "Teachers want to get this into the classroom. They're trying to do it. This example here at CMR is wonderful and we're going to see more and more at schools across northcentral Montana." Fairfield, Cascade, and Stanford high schools are also installing wind generators this fall, and 40 local teachers will attend a wind workshop to help bring wind energy lessons into the classroom.
-- Staff Writer Newark School Gets Another Chance to Grow
-- Star-Ledger New Jersey: November 13, 2008 [ abstract] In 2000, the State of New Jersey passed legislation for a school construction program designed to decrease the disparity between school buildings in wealthy and needy districts. Gladys Hillman-Jones School, a small middle school at 24 Crane St., in the shadow of a high-rise apartment near Route 280, was on that list of needy schools. The existing 91,836 square feet of space was no longer adequate to educate the students who used it. The plan to upgrade the school called for expansion, which first required demolition of the abandoned buildings behind the school that faced Seventh Avenue. When the project started, the school had already begun its transformation, going from a middle school to Barringer Ninth Grade Academy.
All seemed well for the school on Crane Street, and then the School Construction Corp. disintegrated in 2005, freezing school construction throughout the state. That frost officially touched Barringer Nine in April of 2007, leaving the empty lot behind it untouched for over a year. On July 9, 2008, Gov. Jon Corzine signed a bill releasing $3.9 billion in state financing toward the construction of schools, putting Barringer Nine back on track. With money in the coffers, the school can begin to construct a new gymnasium, which will replace the current gym on the fourth floor. When finished, the basketball team will have a true home-court, complete with space for spectators to cheer for them. The team, and the students who take physical education, will also have locker rooms to change in, showers to freshen up in and enough space for larger phys-ed classes. Once that portion is completed, the old gym will become the new media center -- complete with computers, cameras, television screens, and recording devices to sharpen student's media savvy. "It allows us to deliver the curriculum in a better way, and the students will be more computer-literate," Donna Marable, principal, said.
-- Gregory C. Washington Pescadero schools face legal mess over construction permits-- Tri Valley Herald California: November 06, 2008 [ abstract] School officials in Pescadero are working overtime to clean up a legal and administrative mess left behind by a construction management company that designed and built school facilities without first seeking appropriate permits for them from the state.
The company, known as the Zahn Group, designed and built two temporary classroom facilities — one for middle school students, one for elementary students in Pescadero.
It's the first stage in a four-year, $20 million project that will see a new wing attached to Pescadero high school, while middle school students will occupy the former classrooms of the high schoolers. Eventually, the elementary school portables will be replaced by permanent modular structures.
For now, however, much of the project is in limbo as the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District grapples with the evidence that they were misled about the permit requirements for both facilities.
The school district's board of directors voted to fire the Zahn Group a month after BJ Burns, a Pescadeo resident and flower farmer, went through the district's contracts and discovered that the school district had nearly finished construction on the two initial projects without necessary approvals from the California Division of the State Architect (DSA) and without an independent inspector to oversee compliance with an approved construction plan.
The school district also proceeded without a Coastal Development Permit as required by the California Coastal Commission, although it has since obtained a temporary one.
-- Julia Scott Across Maryland, a Call for Classrooms with Walls -- Baltimore Sun Maryland: November 02, 2008 [ abstract] Crofton Woods Elementary is one of 34 Anne Arundel County schools without walls separating its classes. Now, county school leaders are planning to spend millions of dollars to construct real classrooms - joining school systems across the state in a multimillion-dollar mission to put to rest the '70s-era experiment of "open-space" schools. From the Eastern Shore to Western Maryland, students are still struggling to learn in classrooms without walls. And school systems are lining up for money to build walls. Anne Arundel County schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell designated $5 million in his recently proposed capital budget for construction at five elementary schools and is hoping to install so-called "open space enclosures" at five or six schools a year. Anne Arundel County school board member Eugene Peterson pushed successfully to bring the level of potential funding for the next fiscal year to $8 million. His daughter, now grown and teaching music at a county elementary school, attended Brock Ridge Elementary, an open-space school in the southern part of the county. "We put up with it," Peterson said. "She got good grades. She paid attention." But, he added: "The bottom line is: They're not, in my opinion, a good environment for learning. We tried that experiment. It didn't work."
-- Nicole Fuller Redondo, California School District Has Plans to Go Green -- Beach Reporter California: October 29, 2008 [ abstract] The Redondo Beach Board of Education is considering whether to pay approximately $470,000 to have the Measure “C” construction projects at the high school officially considered “green.” At the Oct. 28 School Board meeting, district trustees discussed paying the princely sum to have the new construction certified as Leadership in Energy and Environmental design buildings, or LEED. The LEED certification program is part of the Green Building Rating System, which was created by the U.S. Green Building Council a decade ago. The certification system gives a set of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. Since 1998, LEED has certified more than 14,000 projects in the U.S. alone.
“I’ve been discussing the modernization of all of our facilities, but in particular, going green and pursuing LEED certification at the high school,” said Superintendent Steven Keller, who, along with local architect Peter Phinney and School Board President Todd Lowenstein agreed that it was a good idea to discuss the issue. According to Phinney, the district already has much of the requirements met, at least to meet the minimum amount of points for the basic level certification. Phinney explained how the procedure of becoming LEED-certified works, and reviewed a general estimate of the costs for filing the paperwork to become officially certified.
-- Alex Distefano Champaign County sales tax: New approach to school funding
-- Urbana/Champaign News-Gazette Illinois: October 26, 2008 [ abstract] Randy Johnson doesn't live in Champaign County – he's in Vermilion – but he's hoping the proposed 1 percent sales tax for Champaign County school facilities passes Nov. 4.
He does most of his shopping in Champaign, so he knows he'll pay more at the cash register, but Johnson – the representative for Carpenters Local No. 44 in Champaign – thinks the new tax will help boost the economy by generating local jobs in the trades and help local education.
"I know people are going to look at it as 'Oh, here we go, another tax,'" he said. "If this is a good way to help education with our kids, then it's a plus for all of us."
But University of Illinois student Sean Mills sees several minuses. He sees a tax designed to hit him – and other UI students – in the wallet.
Mills, co-chairman of the Student Senate's governmental affairs committee, said a new tax couldn't come at a worse time. He said many students are paying more for tuition, books and rent already this semester.
He's not against giving money to schools but feels the tax unfairly targets those who don't own homes, both in terms of promised abatements and in terms of what's taxed.
"The tax itself is completely unfair to students," he said.
Many of his fellow students agreed. The majority of the UI Student Senate voted against the tax.
Following are some questions and answers about the proposed tax.
1) Who's getting more money? Who's spending more?
If the majority of voters approve that 1 percent sales tax, Champaign County residents will pay that much more in tax on clothes, household goods, appliances, gas, eating out and most other retail expenses.
To counter that, those owning property in most of the county's school districts may also see a decrease in their property taxes if the sales tax passes. School officials are promising to pay off building bond debt – now paid with property taxes – with some of the sales tax money they'll receive if the tax is approved.
So will you end up paying more taxes or less taxes?
-- Amy F. Reiter Construction Slowdown Dams Flow of Impact Fees -- Time Press Recorder Florida: October 24, 2008 [ abstract] The slowdown in construction on the Central Coast also is restricting the flow of developer impact fees into county, city and school and special district coffers. Most local jurisdictions say they aren’t seeing any major impacts on their projects yet, and the reasons for that are many. But most agencies are looking at tightening their belts in the future or using alternative funding sources. Impact fees are paid by developers to offset the increased demand for services " ranging from roads, sewers and water systems to school buildings and parks " that will be created by their developments. The fees are designed to prevent current residents from subsidizing an expanded infrastructure to serve residents who don’t even live here yet or new demands " such as on roads " from commercial projects that bring in customers from other areas.
Developer fees in Pismo Beach rose from $560,000 in 2001 to a peak of $1.34 million in 2003, then fell to $273,000 in 2008, a 26 percent drop from 2007. Edes said impact fees in the first three months of 2009 are very close to 25 percent of last year’s total. If the rate holds steady, that would put the city on track to hit $273,000 again this year. “That can change according to the quarter and such, but we don’t see any signs of change,” he added. “But we’re watching it closely.”
The reduction in fees may slow down some projects, Edes said, but probably none will be placed on hold. “One of the reasons I say that is the voters in June approved a half-cent sales tax that went into effect the first of October,” he said. About $500,000 is projected to be raised by the half-cent sales tax increase for the six months of the current year that the increase was in effect.
-- Mike Hodgson New Orleans Schools are Going for the Green -- Times-Picayune Louisiana: October 20, 2008 [ abstract] The Samuel L. Green Uptown, and across town at St. Paul's Episcopal School in Lakeview, are two schools that are becoming models of eco-conscious education in New Orleans. Spun off of the flagship Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, Calif., two years ago, the Samuel L. Green program takes up one-third of an acre and features extensive organic flower and vegetable gardens, as well as a fully-staffed outdoor classroom that hosts classes three to five times a day. Although sustainable gardening is a hallmark of the program's output, the Edible Schoolyard is more about fully integrating outdoor, hands-on, environmentally friendly activities with the school curriculum, program director Donna Cavado said. Like the Edible Schoolyard, St. Paul's Episcopal School has begun incorporating environmental components into its curriculum, with plans for an even deeper integration into its overall mission.
The greening of St. Paul's involves much more than just student classwork and extracurricular activity. Since last fall, the school has worked to build a sustainable vision for its entire Lakeview campus. Head of school Merry Sorrells said she was inspired to propose bold changes to the school's mission after touring a Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) certified green middle school under construction in Washington, D.C. "Outside of that building there was a simulated wetland that they were using for water filtration," Sorrells recalled. "When I saw that I thought, 'The city and our wetlands need saving. This is a way to take part in making our educational system a sustainable one, and to have an impact on wetland recovery.' "We don't have to simulate a wetland. We have a wetland, and our kids can be a catalyst to bringing them back." Faculty and parents galvanized behind her message of the school leading by example with a healthy lifestyle. Working with architectural firms specializing in green school design, St. Paul's has begun to develop a formal master plan for improving the health and efficiency of existing buildings and outdoor spaces, as well as the construction of a new LEED-certified classroom building.
-- Molly Reid San Mateo Union High School District is Seeing -- San Mateo County Times California: October 20, 2008 [ abstract] The San Mateo Union High School District is seeking to design new buildings and other campus upgrades using as much "green" technology as possible. The district board is expected to consider approving goals that encourage alternative-energy designs in school construction. The goals would meet guidelines set by the Collaborative for High Performance Schools, an organization that advocates energy-efficient construction designs. The district is exploring green technology as it starts on projects funded by the $298 million Measure M bond, which voters passed in 2006. "Like everyone else, we're weighing the (costs and) benefits of making our buildings environmentally friendly," said board president Peter Hanley. "We're all trying to be energy-conscious."
The goals would urge designs maximizing daytime lighting and natural ventilation, incorporating solar and other clean energy, and fostering water conservation, district officials said. District leaders would study green technology for such projects as theater renovations, new buildings at Capuchino High School, and cafeteria remodeling at Burlingame High, said district board vice president Linda Lees Dwyer. "We're big energy consumers (because) we have big facilities," she said. "We hope to lessen our power use."
-- Neil Gonzales A Builder of Dreams, in Brick and Mortar
-- New York Times New York: October 17, 2008 [ abstract] The question was put to a class from a Brooklyn high school: Had they ever given a moment’s thought to their school building? The quick answers were no, no, no. Then: “Huge windows,” said Justin Statia. “I wondered why the hallways are so thin,” said Gaston Ovando. “It’s old,” said Hanifah Presley. “My granduncle went here.” The students attend the Academy for Young Writers, a small program housed in Junior High School 50 on South Third Street in Williamsburg. The building opened in 1915, so for these students " and for tens of thousands of others at schools across the city " a hand from the distant past shapes their daily pilgrimages.
At the turn of the 20th century, one man, Charles B. J. Snyder, designed and supervised the construction of 400 public schools in New York. The one on South Third Street is among 270 Snyder buildings still in use, a roster that includes such majestic presences as Curtis High School in Staten Island, Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn, Morris High School in the Bronx and the old DeWitt Clinton High School, now occupied by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in Manhattan. Though Snyder’s vision has been part of the lives of tens of millions of schoolchildren, few people know of him or of his role in transforming New York. He died in 1945 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, his death unnoted in The New York Times.
-- Jim Dwyer High school site plan almost done-- Daily News Transcript Massachusetts: October 13, 2008 [ abstract] Architects working on the design of the proposed new high school have nearly finalized a site plan for the building, parking lots and access roads.
The High School Working Group will meet Monday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. at the Police and Fire station's community room to go over the plan in detail and possibly get a final approval from town officials.
Working Group Chairman Dick Kief said Friday the plan, which has the proposed new 227,500 square-foot school being built behind the existing structure on Nichols Street, has been studied by a number of different town officials and committees.
Kief said he wants to get the plan finalized as soon as possible to bring it to the Planning Board for the necessary permits, a process that is scheduled to begin Nov. 24.
Kief said he might also have an interior plan for consideration.
"Hopefully we'll have that done - the architects are working on that now - but I don't know if it will be ready," Kief said.
Kief said the current site plan is a good one.
"The working group is in consensus that this plan meets all the various requirements from safety and traffic flow points of view," said Kief, who said the plan will also leave the proposed new school with more parking spots than the existing facility, which has 244.
-- Brian Falla New Schools, Explosive Construction Costs in Utah -- Salt Lake Tribune Utah: October 13, 2008 [ abstract] When West Jordan's Oquirrh Elementary School burned down in 1995, it was rebuilt using a design the Jordan School District would use again and again. Compared with today's construction costs, it was also rebuilt at a fire-sale price. As the first of its kind for the district's "repeat school" plan, the Oquirrh design was carried over to more than a dozen elementary schools. The same materials. The same number of square feet. As such, the district's many elementary schools make an almost perfect illustration of just how much construction costs for Utah school districts have risen over the years. Jordan, the state's largest school district - at least until it splits in 2009 - isn't alone in coping with the escalating costs. When it was rebuilt in 1995, Oquirrh Elementary School cost the district $5.5 million said Randy Haslam, director of new construction for Jordan. Eight years later, the same building plan cost the district $7 million when it was used in Foothills and South Jordan elementary schools. Five years later, however, that cost has more than doubled. Among the most recent construction projects the district completed, Falcon Ridge and Eastlake elementary schools cost a stunning $15 million each, Haslam said. The district blames the rising cost of materials brought on by the demands of a global economy coupled with the skyrocketing cost of land. "We're at the mercy of those changes," Haslam said.
-- Ben Fulton Revised Proposal Cuts Costs for New Florida School -- St. Petersburg Times Florida: October 05, 2008 [ abstract] The new school costs $50.8-million, but you've only got $27-million. What to do? For Bo Bavota, facilities director for the Hernando County Schools, the answer is clear: Get lean. At a School Board workshop, he plans to show a revised design for a new K-8 school off U.S. 19 and Hexam Road that's stripped down in nearly every way. There are fewer classrooms, and the library and gym have shrunk. The weight-lifting room and dance studio are gone. Even the hallways are narrower.
Post-diet, the proposed school would cost $28.5-million to build — $17.4-million less than the original design. Including site improvements, the total project cost would drop from $50.8-million to $34-million. That's a far cry from the $52-million the district paid for the new Explorer K-8 that opened in August in Spring Hill. And with the economy slumping, a well-built school with fewer frills might be just what taxpayers are looking for. "The quality of construction won't change," Bavota said, describing the proposed school as a "good, safe building." "(But) I think you need to change your way of thinking and change with the times," he added. "This is very similar to what they do in Hillsborough and the southern districts."
-- Tom Marshall Barrett expansion vote may come Wednesday-- Pocono Record Pennsylvania: September 30, 2008 [ abstract] The contested expansion of Barrett Elementary Center could come up for an important vote by the Pocono Muntain School District board on Wednesday night.
The $20 million renovation and expansion project is scheduled for discussion and "possible resolution" under PlanCon D and E.
The sessions are mandated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education for any large-scale school construction project.
These phases of PlanCon call for the approval of the cost of the project and anticipate how much reimbursement will come from the state, as well as set out the planned architectural design of the building.
Opponents of the project say it will impose a burden on taxpayers during bleak economic times and is unnecessary for the current size of the building, given static enrollment growth.
The building can house 543 students without modular classrooms, and 624 with them. If expanded, it can hold 750 students. As of last Friday, 461 pupils attended school there.
On Wednesday, the district will present a review of room usage at each of the building's elementary schools.
-- Dan Berrett Making Space for Full-Day Kindergartners in Maryland -- Baltimore Sun Maryland: September 25, 2008 [ abstract] Though Anne Arundel County school officials have met the mandate to provide all-day kindergarten, they struggled to find additional space for their youngest students. Along the way, the number of portable classrooms more than doubled. Now Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell and the school board are working to reverse that trend - and are seeking to put all students in a school under the same roof.
The county school board recently approved design plans for construction at five elementary schools that would create more classroom space and eliminate the need for portable or relocatable classrooms. "It's not an ideal situation for anybody," said Bob Mosier, a spokesman for the county schools. "We'd certainly like to bring those children back in the main building."
In response to the Thornton Commission's sweeping study on the state's education system, the legislature passed in 2002 the Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act, which required all of the state's 24 school systems to implement full-day kindergarten by the 2007-2008 school year. Though school districts received increased state funding over three years beginning in fiscal year 2005 to pay for the initiative, it was not enough to cover the $26 million facilities expansion in Anne Arundel, said Alex L. Szachnowicz, the chief operating officer for county schools.
-- Nicole Fuller District Unveils Design Plans for Malibu High School-- Malibu Surfside News California: September 24, 2008 [ abstract] The front of Malibu High School would be radically changed in favor of a sweeping pair of buildings topped by plants and photovoltaic cells, according to the first architectural drawings for new classroom and library facilities released this week by the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
The familiar 1960s-style entrance to the school would be razed, and the main entranceway moved to the southeast side of the campus, under the plan to replace the school’s library and outmoded front office with a student, counseling, meeting and administrative center.
The “Schematic design Submittal” unveiled by district officials Monday starts the public comment period as the district solicits comments from parents, faculty and students on the sweeping changes funded by the $168 million bond issue approved by voters. And it differs significantly from a “Master Facilities Plan” approved by the school board before the public vote.
The schematic design was to be formally unveiled at a minimally publicized meeting scheduled for Wednesday night, after the Malibu Surfside News went to press. District officials gave The News a sneak peak, and said a series of public meetings to listen to comments about the proposed architecture, school facilities and traffic plan will be held this fall to solicit input before any final plans are drawn.
-- HANS LAETZ Factory-Built Schools Get Attention From Other Districts -- Herald Washington: September 24, 2008 [ abstract] When the Marysville Secondary Campus opened last spring, it made history as the first major public school project built from manufactured housing in Washington. Except for the gymnasium, which was built from the ground up, the entire campus was constructed in a factory and trucked to its home on the Tulalip Reservation. The three schools on the site were built much faster and cheaper than traditional schools, Bingham said. And the state doesn't count portable classrooms when it determines funding for school construction. That means these classrooms won't affect the amount of state funding the Marysville district can qualify for in the future.
Since the campus has opened, Bingham has led more than a dozen groups from school districts across the state on tours of the modular schools and the Marysville factory where they were built. The tour now also includes a stroll through Grove Elementary, which opened in September that combined a "stick-built" portion with eight portables camouflaged into the design. The district tried to make the portable classrooms mirror rooms in the "stick-built" portion and even surrounded them with bricks to make them blend in. The district owns the design plans for Grove and plans to replicate the layout in future schools, Bingham said.
-- Kaitlin Manry California Schools Need Quake-Proofing, But Where's the Money?-- Contra Costa Times California: September 21, 2008 [ abstract] Bill Savidge, engineering officer for the West Contra Costa Unified School District, recently appraised a structurally unsound, circa-1957 three-story school in the Richmond hills that he said is 1,000 yards from the dangerous Hayward fault. Adams Middle School, with 900 students, is on a state inventory of nearly 8,000 older school buildings that engineers say are prone to collapse during a major quake. It lacks even a complete shear wall, a basic seismic safety structure that absorbs some of the force of a quake. "This is our next priority," Savidge said. But he's frustrated that it doesn't qualify for a still-untapped $199.5 million state fund for school retrofits. "It's quite upsetting for us," he said.
When voters in 2006 approved Proposition 1D, a $10.4 billion school construction bond, $199.5 million was set aside to establish the state's first fund dedicated to paying for seismic retrofits at public schools. First in line were districts with structures on the state inventory of seismically vulnerable buildings.
But two years later, not a dime has been spent to move thousands of students and their teachers into modern classrooms designed to survive even severe shaking, or shore up existing school structures with steel anchors and braces. "That's one of the biggest stories out there," Savidge added.
-- Suzanne Bohan New Jersey School Construction - $6 Billion for Only a Few Facilities (PART V)
-- NJ Voices New Jersey: September 14, 2008 [ abstract] One of the most important factors that resulted in the construction of so few facilities for the $6 billion designated for the poor urban Abbott districts was the unwillingness of state leaders to act expeditiously. NJ Supreme Court decisions requiring state funding to replace deteriorating and educationally inadequate schools and build new ones to reduce overcrowding were ignored for three decades. The result has been an enormous increase in the magnitude of the state's responsibility as well as the cost of the required construction and repair.
The passage of time alone greatly increased the costs of land and building and the numbers of students increased dramatically. After the state finally responded to the 1998 decision, legislation approving funds for construction did not pass until mid-2000. More time passed before the School Construction Corporation (SCC) was put in place. In April 2005, more than $4 billion had been borrowed with eight loans completed between April 2001 and February 2005. SCC had spent $3.2 billion and was scheduled to expend another $2 billion during the remainder of the year.
The Codey administration suspended the awarding of new contracts and the new state Inspector General was charged with reviewing pending deals. Star-Ledger investigations reported that it found six schools erected by SCC since 2002 cost, on average, 46 percent more than the 19 schools built by local districts at the same time. The report showed that SCC accepted $526 million in change orders, was paying its architects and construction managers more than double the standard rate, and had awarded $1 billion in work to firms that are members of the Building Contractors Association of NJ, where the SCC chairman served at executive director, lobbying and political fund-raiser. After 2000, construction costs rose dramatically as world wide demand for materials grew rapidly. Construction costs have risen 7 to 14 percent annually, eating up a huge proportion of the original $6 billion and dramatically reducing the number of school repaired or built.
-- Judith Cambria Fenty Offers $1.3B Plan To Update Schools-- Washington Post District of Columbia: September 11, 2008 [ abstract] Mayor Adrian M. Fenty presented the outlines of a $1.3 billion modernization plan yesterday that he promises will place all D.C. schoolchildren in dramatically improved buildings by 2014.
The blueprint, called a master facilities plan, is consistent in character with other school initiatives crafted by Fenty (D) and Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee that are designed to show visible results quickly. Like other Fenty-Rhee initiatives, the 250-page document drew criticism almost immediately for its abbreviated timetable and shortage of details.
The plan does not specify estimated costs for each school project. Neither does it offer many details about the scope and scale of the work envisioned.
The most unusual aspect of the plan, which is subject to review and approval by the D.C. Council, is its short timeline. Most facilities plans try to peer 10 to 15 years into the future. Fenty, who has staked his political future on transforming the city's low-performing school system, wants at least some physical improvement to all the District's 120 schools -- 62 elementary, 12 middle, 18 high, 22 pre-K-8 and 6 special education -- between 2009 and 2014.
-- Bill Turque A call to lead-- The Arizona Republic Arizona: September 09, 2008 [ abstract] Our state has a long-standing problem, a decade-old failed solution and strong need for leaders to step forward and concentrate on finding a long-term solution. You could file the reasons for doing something under any number of categories, from "altruistic" to "self-interested."
Children are the immediate beneficiaries of good schools, but the state's competitiveness rises and falls with the reputation of its education system.
In this case, we are talking about repairing school buildings. Some might argue that the condition of the classroom is less important than what goes on inside. Others insist the immediate need for repairs is being met.
But consider that Porfirio H. Gonzales Elementary School in Tolleson can't get the money to repair a collapsing sewer line unless the sewage backs up into the building. This lamentable case was outlined by Republic reporter Pat Kossan in a story that detailed problems that exist despite the 1998 reform designed to correct them.
-- Staff Opinion $1 billion later, school funding to level out -- Powell Tribune Wyoming: September 01, 2008 [ abstract] An attentive crowd listens as Sen. John Barrasso speaks during the dedication of the new Powell High School last month. Barrasso spoke of the importance of education and praised the Wyoming Legislature for providing funding for improving school facilities in the state.
Tribune photo by Toby Bonner
Now that two new schools have been completed in Powell, what is next for school construction in the community?
While two more new schools are projected for Powell, the timetable for building them is uncertain, because the school construction program in Wyoming is evolving.
Currently, a new Westside Elementary is being designed, but construction hasn’t been funded yet. Todd Wilder, the Big Horn Basin project manager for the Wyoming School Facilities Commission, said he can’t be sure when it will be funded by the Legislature.
“It depends on priorities,” Wilder said.
Those priorities may change this winter as the commission re-evaluates all the schools in the state.
After the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that the state was responsible for providing equitable facilities to all Wyoming school children, the Wyoming Legislature intiated an assessment of all the school facilities in the state. In that study, conducted in 2001, schools were to be evaluated on their condition, capacity and educational suitability.
However, no criteria for educational suitability were available for the study, so the schools were rated mostly on their condition and their capacity. A number of schools were identified in need of immediate attention due to structural problems, safety factors, overcrowding or, in some cases, exceeding the capacity needed for the student body. Powell High School was one of the schools put on the priority list.
-- Don Amend 69 school districts to split education funds-- Redlands Daily Facts California: August 31, 2008 [ abstract] State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced last week that the State Allocation Board has awarded more than $259 million to 69 school districts and county offices of education.
The money will go toward construction and modernization projects in districts statewide, including Adelanto Elementary, Hesperia Unified and Needles Unified.
O'Connell also announced that nearly $13 million in emergency repair funds were awarded to help pay for repairs at schools statewide.
"Improving our school environments is an important part of our work to improve student achievement," he said. "These funds will help create safe, clean, and modern school environments that will help students learn."
The allocation board is responsible for determining the allocation of state resources, such as proceeds from general obligation bonds and other designated state funds used for the new construction and modernization of local public school facilities.
The school construction funds are available as a result of voter-approved bond issues.
The designated funds include about $20.2 million for a new elementary school to be built in the Adelanto Elementary School District and a little more than $12 million for the new Oak Hills High School and Krystal Elementary School in the Hesperia Unified School District.
-- Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell Model school planned
-- Boston Globe Massachusetts: August 31, 2008 [ abstract] Officials in Tewksbury have taken the first crucial step in applying for state funding for a new model high school, voting to submit a plan to the Massachusetts School Building Authority showing how they would hire a manager for the job.
The move last week is key to getting the needed state aid for the district, which is on a short list to become part of a new pilot program to construct model high schools using a standardized design that would tamp down the cost.
"I think it's a fabulous idea," said Christine L. McGrath, Tewksbury school superintendent, of the district's bid to stay on the pilot building program. "If it potentially saves the community money, I think that would certainly have great appeal to the community."
Tewksbury, which has struggled with its finances in the last few years, is one of eight communities around the state being considered for the new program for school construction, one of the most expensive projects a community can undertake.
The School Building Authority, which awards grants to pay for a portion of local school construction or renovation costs, recently approved financial aid to several communities in this area. Last month, it gave Chelmsford a grant of $8.7 million as reimbursement for renovations at its high school. In April, the authority's board voted to consider fund ing projects at Andover's Bancroft Elementary School, Methuen High School, Shawsheen Valley Vocational Technical High School, and Tyngsborough's Early Childhood Center.
-- Connie Paige New Swiftwater elementary school site praised-- Pocono Record Pennsylvania: August 30, 2008 [ abstract] The newest, biggest elementary school in Pocono Mountain wowed students and parents during a series of tours on Friday morning.
"I think it's beautiful," said Rose Gonzalez as she strolled the halls of the new Swiftwater Elementary Center with her daughter, Kayla, who is starting first grade next week. "It seems like it will accommodate the children better."
Parents and children streamed in and out of the new building on Friday morning, led on tours by members of the school's student government association.
They were led through the skylit entrance hall to the new library and through the large cafeteria. They passed the school's science labs, music and art rooms, and many of its 41 classrooms.
As first-grader Rosemary Gazza, 6, caught a glimpse of her new classroom, she smiled. "I think it's nice," she said. "I saw pencil cases on desks."
Her mother, Debbie, found the building impressive. "They said it was state-of-the-art and I'm not disappointed," she said. "I just mailed my tax bill. I don't mind so much now."
The building was budgeted at a cost of about $50 million. It will house some 870 students, as of the latest enrollment numbers, said building principal Tamala Toleno. It can house up to 1,350 pupils.
Each grade will occupy a different wing of the building, each of which is also color-coded in soft hues and marked by likenesses of bears, deer, owls, rabbits and other animals.
The organization and design of the wings are intended to instill a sense of community in each grade, and to diminish the effect of the building's overall size.
-- Dan Berrett Schools Rapidly Turning Green Across America -- Press Release Newswire National: August 28, 2008 [ abstract] Tens of thousands of students across the country will go back to school this fall to find their halls and classrooms turning green " as in environmentally sound and healthy, energy efficient and high performing. Hundreds of thousands of additional students are poised to attend environmentally designed schools within the next few years, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. As the school year begins, nearly 1,000 school buildings will have met or are seeking LEED certification, with applications growing at a rate of more than one per day. The total number of square feet of LEED certified and registered school space will exceed 100 million square feet as the school year gets underway, according to new figures released by USGBC. LEED certification provides parents, teachers and communities with a “report card” for school buildings " verifying that a school was built to meet the highest level of energy and environmental performance. Through July, more than eight million square feet of school space are certified LEED while another 90 million square feet of projects are registered with USGBC. Registered status applies to projects before they are completed and applications are finalized.
-- Ashley Katz District Students Head Back to School-- Washington Post District of Columbia: August 25, 2008 [ abstract] About 50,000 D.C. students headed back to class this morning and officials said the system's 123 schools were ready for the first day despite delays in an ambitious modernization project that kept crews scrambling to complete their work.
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee opened the year at the newly-renovated Sousa Middle School in Southeast. Inside, a strong smell of paint and varnish filled the hallways. Empty trophy cabinets stood waiting to accept awards. Cheerful posters covered the walls, though one science classroom was still piled high with boxes.
"We're thrilled to have kids in . . . positive learning environments for this first day of school," Rhee said.
In Rhee's first year as chancellor she already has made significant changes. She replaced more than 40 principals and assistant principal and dismissed 98 central office staff members.
In June, Rhee closed 23 schools because of low enrollment and designated 28 others to receive thousands of children from the shuttered buildings. Some schools needed extensive renovation to accommodate pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students, but there were concerns the fixes might not be completed in time for opening day.
At Eliot-Hine Middle School in Northeast, indoor renovations appeared to have been largely finished. The auditorium that last week was filled with scaffolding was completed and gleaming this morning. Outside, the landscaping remained unfinished and yellow police tape circled an athletic field that held two dumpsters, a backhoe and other heavy equipment.
Carol Colbert, who had just escorted her grandson, Demetrius Costley, 14, into the school to begin eighth grade, was thrilled with the changes. She said the school and the grounds were spruced up and cleaner.
"It's lovely, I loved it," Colbert said. "It is such a great improvement."
-- V. Dion Haynes and Bill Turque Overseer Of School Revamp Fires Back-- Washington Post District of Columbia: August 22, 2008 [ abstract] D.C. school construction chief Allen Y. Lew came to his own defense yesterday, promising that all classrooms and common areas in schools under renovation would be ready for the beginning of the academic year Monday. He attributed problems in completing other key repairs to delays in council action, District politics and a contractor who fell behind schedule.
"All the back and forth on the council didn't help," Lew said yesterday as he inspected Eliot-Hine Middle School, where 700 student lockers delivered overnight from a Lancaster, Pa., supplier were being installed because another shipment from China will not arrive on time.
Lew was referring to the D.C. Council's decision to delay approval of some construction funding because of questions about cost and educational policy. Lew said the deliberations made a tight schedule even more difficult, forcing his office to issue two-week "stop work orders" at several sites.
"I was hoping that matters could have been resolved more quickly," said Lew, who was barred by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's office from talking to a Washington Post reporter Tuesday.
Lew's comments are the latest in a round of preemptive finger-pointing over who is to be held accountable if schools do not open smoothly Monday after an eight-week program of closings and consolidations ordered by Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee. She closed 23 schools and designated 28 others to receive the thousands of children displaced by the closures. Some buildings needed extensive redesign to accommodate pre-K and kindergarten students. In all, 60 buildings underwent repairs and fixes. While work at most of the schools in the $200 million summer overhaul was done without a hitch, some projects have posed problems.
On Wednesday, Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) released a letter to Fenty (D) saying that Lew had been put in a no-win situation by the mayor and the chancellor, with too much work to do in too little time.
Privately, officials on the construction side say Lew has been caught in the crossfire of two camps: Fenty and Rhee, desperate to show immediate progress in their quest to transform city schools, and members of the council -- particularly Gray and Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) -- who want to administer some comeuppance to a mayor who they think has not shown them deference on school issues.
-- Bill Turque D.C. Council Chief Criticizes Quality of Some School Repairs-- Washington Post District of Columbia: August 21, 2008 [ abstract] The quality of this summer's $163 million in renovations to D.C. schools varies widely, with some projects suffering from time pressures, poor planning and inadequate oversight of contractors, Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray said yesterday.
In a letter to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), Gray said council staff visits to 15 schools over the past two weeks show "major improvements" in areas such as roofing, science labs and auditoriums. But they also reveal problems that leave several schools "not learning ready," with classes scheduled to begin Monday, he said.
The letter from Gray (D) is the latest sign of deep official anxiety over whether city schools will open smoothly after a nine-week program of school closures and consolidations imposed by Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee. In June, Rhee closed 23 schools because of low enrollment and designated 28 others to receive thousands of children from the shuttered buildings. Some schools needed extensive renovation to accommodate pre-k and kindergarten students.
City officials acknowledged Tuesday that renovations at four schools that are scheduled to accept hundreds of additional students -- Browne Education Center, Emery Education Center and Eliot-Hine Middle School in Northeast, and Raymond Elementary in Northwest -- may not be finished by Monday.
Gray took no responsibility for the delays, although his concerns about the costs and education policy implications of the school realignment delayed council approval of some funding and slowed work at some sites for about two weeks.
His letter also cited Eliot-Hine and mentioned others schools that might encounter problems next week. He said asbestos abatement in the auditorium at Garnet-Patterson-Shaw Middle School in Northwest has prevented other renovations from going forward. "This is a de facto acknowledgement that the work cannot be finished before the start of school," Gray wrote. He also mentioned Francis-Stevens Learning Center, a newly consolidated Pre-K-8 school in Foggy Bottom, as "not learning ready."
-- Bill Turque Pennsylvania Elementary School is New, Green and State-of-the-Art Facility -- Herald Standard Pennsylvania: August 21, 2008 [ abstract] The Albert Gallatin Area School District closed a chapter in a more-than-a-decade old book of building renovation and construction projects, officially marking the completion of its last project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held recently. The new A.L. Wilson Elementary School is an energy-efficient building with state-of-the-art computer equipment and a security camera system displaying views of the inside and outside of the building, said school and design officials in touting a few features of the $9 million project.
The 43,648-square-foot school contains 15 regular classrooms and two learning support classrooms. All classrooms are standard size, while the kindergarten classrooms are a little bigger, said architect Jeanine Vanucci. Refurbished, flat-screen computers deemed Energy Star efficient are housed in each classroom. The computer literacy room houses 30 and the library houses 12 computers. The school's technology can accommodate distance learning and PowerPoint presentations. In the classrooms, the teacher's computer is wired to the classroom television, allowing it to display on-screen computer programs. Vanucci described the building as a "very clean" school, an outcome of meeting requirements to become Leadership in Energy Environmental design (LEED) certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED program is designed to make schools more environmentally friendly, Vanucci said. "Not only is it a very clean school that will save taxpayers a great deal in energy costs, but the materials used were non-toxic and the building has been flushed out with fresh air so the students will be entering a very clean environment," Vanucci said.
-- Angie Oravec DC unveils new school for building trades-- Examiner District of Columbia: August 19, 2008 [ abstract] A new high school devoted to architecture and construction trades is opening in the District of Columbia.
City officials cut the ribbon Monday on the $63 million Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering High School.
The renovation of the former vocational school aims to capitalize on the city's construction boom. D.C. officials say it will offer programs both for students interested in specific trades, as well as for college-bound students.
The renovated building is certified by the Green Building Council and includes a geothermal energy system and a solar power component.
Officials say the design of the school is also educational. For example, ceiling pipes are exposed and color-coded so that students can follow their paths.
-- Staff Writer Economy May Curtail Florida Coast's School Construction -- Palm Beach Post Florida: August 16, 2008 [ abstract] When school starts this year, thousands of students in St. Lucie County will walk into new state-of-the-art campuses, replete with the latest in technology and design. At Allapattah Flats K-8 School in Port St. Lucie and Palm Pointe Educational Research School at Tradition, students will use wireless technology, laptops and even a television studio. Classes will be arranged around small community learning areas, and teachers will stream video from the Internet to a projection screen at the front of the room. Teachers' voices will be amplified by a microphone hanging around their necks. Schools like these - with technology packages that can run $7,000 per classroom - became the model in St. Lucie County during Florida's recent real estate boom.
But deep budget cuts and economic uncertainty may mean the end of such schools in the future and less appealing options, such as adding portable classrooms and even redistricting - an issue that proved contentious just a few years ago. "We're certainly looking at redistricting. We're looking at using every classroom we have," said Marty Sanders, the district's executive director of growth management. "We'll have to look at things very hard over the next few years." Martin and Palm Beach counties, which also have delayed construction projects, face budget cuts and state-mandated reductions in class sizes but have not had the complication of St. Lucie's rapid growth. "We're primarily a constant but slow growth," said Julie Sessa, Martin's facilities director, who said the district's school construction has focused on renovating more than expanding to keep pace with growth in student population.
-- Cara Fitzpatrick New Orleans Schools Set for Building Boom -- Times-Picayune Louisiana: August 16, 2008 [ abstract] Armed with $685 million in recovery cash, New Orleans public school leaders aim to radically remake the city's bloated portfolio of aged school buildings, most of them rotted as badly from neglect and plummeting enrollment as from the final blow of a biblical flood. Indeed, as with the wholesale transformation of school governance, the flood cleared the way -- financially and politically -- for the largest school construction effort in the city's modern history.
The schools' master plancalls for the construction or complete renovation of 28 schools in about five years, including eight new high schools. Six of the projects included in the master plan's first phase are already under way as part of the system's "quick start" construction initiative. Just as important, officials say, the plan would close or liquidate dozens of buildings -- for instance, cutting the number of high school campuses in half -- to create a more efficient system housed in state-of-the-art environments. All told, more than 50 existing buildings would be sold or put to new uses as part of a $1.8 billion, six-phase facilities plan designed to span three decades.
-- Sarah Carr and Darran Simon School Principal Gets an Education in Planning New School
-- Virginian-Pilot Virginia: August 12, 2008 [ abstract] Linda Scott's office is filled with scraps of carpet. Thick books stuffed with blueprints are spread across the Oscar Smith Middle School principal's desk and samples of wood patterns are propped up next to piles of boxes. Scott isn't renovating her kitchen. The blueprints are for the new Oscar Smith Middle School being built next door. She's scoured them for ways to improve traffic flow between classes. She's picked through the samples to decide on carpeting and cabinets in the new classrooms. The boxes are needed because, in a few weeks, Scott will move out of her office and into a trailer on the site of the new school's construction.
They don't teach this stuff in principal school. "It's all by experience," Scott said with a sigh. Scott will take a year off from her day-to-day duties to get the new Oscar Smith Middle ready to open in the fall of 2009. Before Grassfield High School opened last fall, Principal Carolyn Bernard spent two years in planning mode.
As education grows more research-based, schools today are built with more input from the educators who actually see the buildings in action. Teachers in new schools fill out surveys on how they could be improved; principals help form committees that discuss school design.
-- Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer Miami-Dade Opens 11 New Eco-Friendly Schools -- Miami Herald Florida: August 10, 2008 [ abstract] When the new school year starts, first-day jitters will take on a whole new meaning in Miami-Dade County. That's because 11 new schools will open -- the most ever for the district. Also making their debut are two replacement high schools. More than 11,000 students are expected to pour through the doors of the new facilities. The new schools, built at a total cost of $565 million, are part of the Miami-Dade school district's $3 billion push to ease overcrowding and meet state-mandated class-size reductions. They will create an additional 27,000 spaces for students, according to school officials.
Digital blackboards, eco-friendly buildings and wireless Internet access are just some of the features that students will find in the newly minted schools. Sunny Isles Beach Community School, that city's first school, features seaside views and high-tech touches like a cyber cafe right off the lunchroom where students can work or surf the Internet after lunch. Teachers will wear microphones that will pipe their voices through ceiling-embedded speakers. Most of the new schools feature futuristic touches and designs.
-- Laura Figueroa New Name, New Life for Costly Los Angeles Campus Rebuilt Atop an Old Oil Field -- Los Angeles Times California: August 10, 2008 [ abstract] Veteran school administrator Scott Braxton could not help but wonder about his new assignment, principal of the school formerly known as the Belmont Learning Complex. Was this most infamous of schools safe? That was the first question I had when I came in for the job interview," said Braxton, speaking in his office at the soon-to-open Edward R. Roybal Learning Center, the school's new name. The more than $400-million school atop an oil field, just west of the 110 Freeway downtown, became notorious not only as an allegedly toxic site but as the nation's most expensive high school construction project. The furor over Belmont drove out incumbent school board members, a superintendent and a regiment of career administrators. It also led to the rewriting of state law and local policy regarding environmental issues at school sites.
In the process, the Belmont Learning Complex became a symbol of dysfunction for the Los Angeles Unified School District. The construction project led to investigations, commissions, hearings and demonstrations. It was battled over, delayed, canceled, partially demolished and redesigned over 15 years. All the while, thousands of students continued to be bused out of overcrowded neighborhood schools. And Belmont High operated year-round with more than 5,000 students -- their academic year shortened by nearly a month to fit them all in.
-- Howard Blume Solar Solutions -- Canton Journal Massachusetts: August 07, 2008 [ abstract] With energy costs skyrocketing all over the state, the Canton School Department might be looking up to the sun for some cost savings within the next couple years. Steven Strong, Canton High School graduate and owner and creator of Solar design Associates, proposed placing solar panels on school buildings.“It’s all about renewables now,” Strong said. Solar design Associates has constructed solar panels on dozens of colleges in Massachusetts, such as Tufts University, Harvard University and MIT.
Strong explained there would be no new financial commitment to the town and, with the help of a third party investor, the town would receive a lower energy bill than it would if it were to stick solely with its traditional utility company. “I don’t see any downside whatsoever,” said School Committee Chairwoman Reuki Schutt.
-- Jeff Mucciarone Student Reaches for the Sun and Succeeds
-- Washington Post Virginia: July 17, 2008 [ abstract] Even with an overcast sky, the solar panels on the roof of George Mason High School in Falls Church were absorbing enough sun on a recent morning to power the air conditioner in a classroom. The newly installed panels are meant not just to help fuel the school's lights and cooling system but also to energize a growing movement to reverse global warming. James Peterson, a recent graduate, spent hundreds of hours over the past year selling the idea of solar power to school officials and then fundraising to put the panels in place. Peterson said he wanted his alma mater to be an example. "I wanted to educate the community and the students about alternative energies and how they are viable," he said.
Students such as Peterson, 18, are often the ones pushing environmental initiatives. "There's a monumental shift going on in this generation of students. More and more younger students are fluent . . . in the language of green," said Rachel Gutter, education outreach coordinator for the U.S. Green Building Council in Washington, which certifies new buildings that embrace environmental concerns in energy generation and eco-friendly design.
-- Michael Alison Chandler Doubts Aired on Using Prototype School Design in Massachusetts Town -- Daily News Massachusetts: July 16, 2008 [ abstract] Butting heads with colleagues during a Board of Selectmen meeting, Helen Abdallah-Donohue urged the town to reconsider plans to build a new high school, a project that has won initial approval from the state, the town, and voters. Expressing concerns about the state Model Schools pilot program, Selectwoman Donohue said the board should re-examine the possibility of renovating the existing high school, an option the state rejected as less financially prudent than a new facility. If the town participates in the program, as the Massachusetts School Building Authority has suggested, state officials have said it could save millions of dollars by constructing the school using one of several previously designed plans. However, Donohue said last night that she learned that none of the state's pre-designed schools had been tested in other towns. "I thought the state already had three or four plans that all the quirks had been worked out of, but now I understand that three or four plans are going to be submitted, and they haven't been tried out yet," she said.
-- Lindsey Parietti New school construction to continue despite moratorium-- Vail Sun Arizona: July 16, 2008 [ abstract] Due to a freeze in funding from the state legislature for the construction of new schools, the Vail School District approved the use of bond money to ensure the new Rincon Vista Middle School will be opened in time to help prevent overcrowding in district schools.
At the July 8 Governing Board meeting, Calvin Baker, Vail schools superintendent, informed the board the previously approved funding for Rincon Vista would not be transmitted to the district during the coming fiscal year. The district had been approved for funding the construction of the new school last January.
From a state legislature budget meeting on June 27, a construction moratorium from the Arizona School Facilities Board said the board is prohibited from awarding funding for the design or construction of any new school facility. The only exception is the board may provide money for architectural and engineering fees, project management services and preconstruction services to districts that qualify to additional space due to implementing a full-day kindergarten program.
Had the board not taken action to fund Rincon Vista on schedule, Baker warned the district would see a severe shortage of K-8 classrooms. At this time, the only district schools with available K-8 classrooms are Senita Valley Elementary and Desert Willow Elementary.
Several district high schools are also currently operating with an over capacity of students. Empire High School is already around 100 students over capacity with a waiting list and Cienega High School is projected to be around 200 students over capacity.
Due to the overcrowding, the Vail schools administration recommended continuing to proceed with construction on Rincon Vista using available bond money from the district. The district anticipates it would cost $12 million to construct the school out of the total $16 million in bond funds they have available.
-- Adam Bernal New School Serves as Prototype for Sustainable School Buildings in Florida
-- Associated Construction Publications Florida: July 15, 2008 [ abstract] A charter grade school in Palm Bay, FL " which recently achieved the U.S. Government’s Energy Star rating for high performance buildings " is serving as a model for new sustainable school building in the state. The Odyssey Charter School is a pre-K through 8th grade school designed in ArchiCAD by Spacecoast Architects P.A. of Indialantic, FL. The 47,000-square-foot building potentially serves as a prototype for a series of new eco-friendly schools, with high energy efficiency, to be built in Florida. The Palm Bay school was rated 95 out of 100 through the Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager, which ranks a building’s energy performance against similar buildings nationwide. The architects achieved this energy efficiency through optimized site orientation, extensive use of day lighting, thermally efficient materials, advanced HVAC technology, and clever energy demand management strategies.
The second prototype school, to be built in Orlando, is expected to achieve a perfect 100 rating through the addition of thin-film solar photovoltaic panels and automatic lighting controls. Odyssey Prototype-2 will have an annual energy savings of 6,212,241 kBTUs and reduce CO2 emissions by 361.6 tons. The Odyssey Charter School was evaluated through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Star Challenge program. Applying an ArchiCAD BIM model, the Challenge criteria enabled Spacecoast Architects to confirm the validity of their multiple energy savings design decisions, said Lawrence Maxwell, AIA, the firm’s president.
-- Steve Hudson Brick Sculptures Depict Students’ Images at New Indiana High School
-- Post-Tribune Indiana: July 14, 2008 [ abstract] Johnny Hagerman looked down from a second-floor classroom at the new Hobart High School as local brick masons assembled one of two, three-dimensional wall sculptures he designed. "I’m sure the community is going to be proud," said the Virginia artist who specializes in fire brick sculptures. The red brick sculpture Hagerman spent four months designing for Hobart depicts the sports and academic pursuits in which Hobart students are involved. A second sculpture will highlight Hobart’s history and growth. Both will cost $34,000 and be displayed near the main entrances of the $62.5 million high school scheduled to be completed this fall. Hagerman, 53, carved the images of the students into each brick before they hardened. "This is a very interesting piece because of the depth of motion," said Hagerman, who works for General Shale Brick, a Tennessee brick manufacturer.
-- Karen Snelling A Hot Time For School Construction Projects -- Washington Post Maryland: July 10, 2008 [ abstract] Teachers and students get summer vacation, but it's the busy season for the people charged with building and maintaining schools. As with schools across the country, districts across Maryland often save the most difficult work -- those projects that, for example, involve jackhammers, intrusive roof replacement or the resurfacing or repaving of parking lots -- for the months when classes are not in session. The capital budget approved by state lawmakers for the fiscal year that began last week includes $333 million for public school construction, the second-highest allocation in state history but less than the $400 million approved last year. David G. Lever, executive director of Maryland's public school construction program, said the state tries to approve funding proposals early in the year to give school officials time to finish designing projects and solicit bids so work can begin as soon as students leave in June. "Major projects might get started in summer but will continue in the school year," Lever said. "They could stretch on for 15 months or longer."
-- James Hohmann Eco School Construction Friendly to the Budget -- Amarillo.com Texas: July 09, 2008 [ abstract] Building a "green" school, in many cases, means buying local, installing carpet and ceiling tiles made from recycled materials, and perhaps using odorless paint.But for the 2,800-student Borger Independent School District, building green also means an extra investment of up to $300,000 that officials say will lower operating costs and contribute to healthier students at the district's newest elementary school, scheduled to open in August.
Borger intends to join a growing number of districts opening environmentally friendly schools that meet standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council. Borger has one of 31 Texas school construction projects registered with the council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, or LEED, program. So far, only two Texas schools have the distinction of being LEED-certified. Both campuses are in the Houston area. LEED certification is a prominent, nationally recognized designation.
-- Brenda Bernet Lack of Funds Cited For Halting Renovations-- Washington Post District of Columbia: July 03, 2008 [ abstract] City officials said yesterday that they will halt renovations of 14 schools slated to receive students from schools that have been closed because the D.C. Council has not approved funds to continue the work.
Most of the schools on the list are being converted to pre-K-8 and are designated to receive students from buildings that have been shuttered.
Preliminary work has been done in anticipation of the contracts being approved. But in a letter to Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D), school construction chief Allen Y. Lew said the council's failure to approve the funds meant he will have to issue immediate "stop work" orders on the jobs.
The 14 schools are West, Lasalle, Raymond, Powell, Truesdell, Brightwood, Noyes, Whittier, Cleveland, Shaed, Burroughs and Langdon elementaries and Francis and Browne middle schools.
Gray has held up approval of the contracts until Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso provide more information on the need for the conversions. A spokesman for Gray said he will hold a hearing on the matter as early as next week.
-- Bill Turque California Charter Schools Awarded Facilities Funds -- Los Angeles Times California: July 02, 2008 [ abstract] State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced that 21 charter schools will share $9 million in facilities awards. Charters, publicly financed and independently run, complain that facilities typically are their No. 1 problem -- rents are high and space in desirable locations is scarce. The awards are part of the State Charter School Facilities Incentive Grants Program and authorized by the California School Finance Authority, of which O'Connell is a member. The group received 17 applications and made the selections based on need, the number of low-income students, overcrowding, non-profit status and test score data.
The charters can use the money for rents, mortgages or debt service payments for existing or new facilities or toward the purchase, design and construction costs of acquiring land and constructing or renovating a building. The Los Angeles charters that will receive the grants are: Camino Nuevo Charter Academy; Gabriella Charter School; Heritage College Ready Academy High School; Los Angeles Academy of Arts and Enterprise; Crescendo Charter Conservatory; Centennial College Preparatory Academy; Wisdom Academy for Young Scientists; Animo Pat Brown Charter High School; College Ready Academy High School No. 6; Crenshaw Arts Tech Charter High; Oscar De La Hoya Animo Charter High School; Academia Semillas del Pueblo; Animo Leadership Charter High School; Excel Charter Academy and New Heights Charter School
-- Beth Shuster Historic Augusta, Georgia Schools Must Be Preserved -- Augusta Chronicle Georgia: July 01, 2008 [ abstract] In January of this year, the Richmond County Board of Education made the wise business decision to sell a number of surplus properties, and to invest the proceeds in the education of our children. Included in the list of properties were four historically significant school buildings -- the old John S. Davidson School on Telfair Street; Martha Lester School on Broad Street; A. C. Griggs School on Grand Boulevard; and the old Sue Reynolds School on Wrightsboro Road.
These four buildings, designed by notable architects and built in 1933 and 1934, are all of architectural significance, and are irreplaceable. Davidson occupies a key location in the Downtown Historic District, and Martha Lester is in the Harrisburg-West End Historic District. Sue Reynolds and A.C. Griggs individually would qualify for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. All four buildings feature design, craftsmanship and materials that cannot be found today. Three of the buildings are in good condition and could easily be put to new uses, while even Davidson, which has suffered severe deterioration has value because of the considerable tax credits available to such a building. These beautiful buildings are not only culturally important, but also are of great economic value to all of us. Augusta's historic neighborhoods are its favorite neighborhoods, and they are Augusta's competitive advantage with respect to other communities. And it is buildings such as these schools that give our city its charm and desirability. If the schools are appropriately restored and put into service by subsequent owners they can add to the vitality of their neighborhoods and to all of Augusta. If these buildings are lost, by being destroyed or defaced, then all Augustans will be poorer for that loss.
-- Tennent Houston Indiana School Construction Projects Now Must Face Referendums -- Post-Tribune Indiana: July 01, 2008 [ abstract] Eight Lake and Porter county school districts from Merrillville to Tri-Creek to East Porter and Highland have already snagged state approval in the past year for multimillion-dollar projects. They got in before a new law went into effect that calls for a voter referendum on school construction. Several more districts, including Valparaiso, Portage, Union Township and Gary, are bouncing around ideas now about the future of improvements to school campuses and could face voter scrutiny. The law requires approval by voters for building projects more than $20 million for high schools and more than $10 million for other schools.
Valparaiso is still in the early stages of deciding on replacing elementary schools and redesigning the high school, business manager David White said. "If there is a project forthcoming it would require a referendum, but that would be a board decision." Many Valparaiso residents, however, voiced disapproval of the project that would eliminate neighborhood elementaries in favor of three new large schools. In Newton County, North Newton is readying plans to pursue a referendum to improve three elementary schools and the junior-senior high school. Portage Township Schools would be required to have one for its planned addition to Willowcreek Middle School. Portage Superintendent Michael Berta said the district is still deciding on the costs and square footage and might not be ready to seek a referendum until next year.
-- Sharlonda L. Waterhouse School Officials Urge Approval Of Funds for D.C. Building Repairs -- Washington Post District of Columbia: July 01, 2008 [ abstract] School officials have warned the D.C. Council that failure to approve $83 million in building repair contracts could leave thousands of children in severely under-equipped schools or stranded altogether when classes begin Aug. 25. In separate letters to council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D), Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and Allen Y. Lew, head of school modernization efforts, said the contracts are critical to the renovation and repair of buildings designated to receive students from the nearly two dozen schools Rhee ordered closed this month because of low enrollment. Thirteen of the schools targeted for work are slated to become pre-K-8 campuses. Work at many of the schools, which got underway when classes ended June 12, involves extensive plumbing and electrical repairs, including the installation of elevators in some buildings. All renovations were scheduled to be completed Aug. 15, 10 days before the start of the academic year. In a letter that Rhee sent to Gray on Friday and that her office released late yesterday, Rhee said contractors retained to do the work on tight summer schedules might be unwilling or unable to complete the jobs because of uncertainty over whether the council will approve the money to pay them.
-- Bill Turque Wilson Middle School estimates are through the roof
-- Youngstown Vindicator Ohio: June 29, 2008 [ abstract] The final engineering estimates are in for the proposed new Wilson Middle School, and they aren’t good.
The construction bids for the new building are expected to come in at just over $12.3 million, some $3.2 million higher than the original 2004 estimate, according to Heery International Inc., project manager for the school district’s rebuilding program.
Wilson is one of 14 buildings being replaced or renovated in a $180 million to $190 million effort stretching over a half dozen years. The Ohio School Facilities Commission is picking up about 80 percent of that cost.
The school board approved the construction documents last week, agreeing to put the project out for bid.
Bids are to be opened July 29, and the new 66,568-square foot building, designed to house 350 pupils, is slated to open sometime in fall 2009. It will be built on Gibson Street, the site of the former Wilson High School.
-- Harold Gwin MA School Building Authority Wants Town to Consider Using Prototype Design -- Daily News Massachusetts: June 25, 2008 [ abstract] The nascent design process for a new Norwood High School may be scrapped under a new plan proposed by the state building authority. The Massachusetts School Building Authority has sent a letter to the Board of Selectmen asking whether members would like to join a proposed new program in which the town could choose from a menu of schools that have already been designed and built. Selectman Tom McQuaid, who is the new chairman of the School Facilities Task Force, said the goal is simple. "The theory is to copy the design of one of these schools and cut out the architectural and engineering costs of designing a new one," said McQuaid. General Manager John Carroll confirmed selectmen did get a letter from authority Executive Director Katherine Craven Monday, which informed the them of the program. "Basically, it just tells us we're eligible for the program," said Carroll. Carroll said he plans to make a recommendation to selectmen for its next meeting, July 1.
-- Brian Falla Peoria grade school designs taking shape-- Journal Star Illinois: June 25, 2008 [ abstract] Two new grade school campuses, modern both in their designs for improving children's educations and their abilities to involve and raise the values of the communities around them, were unveiled Tuesday night.
They still exist only on paper, but District 150 School Board members liked what they saw of the proposed new Harrison and Glen Oak grade schools.
While board-hired architects have discussed the schools' plans with the board's Building Committee and city officials, the full School Board met to study them for the first time.
Board members' comments and questions to the half-dozen architects presenting the plans revealed no disappointments.
"I'm really happy about the lighting at both schools," board member Mary Spangler said in reference to window-laden designs that will bring an in abundance of natural daylight.
The general plan surrounding Harrison "is to bring nature inside" the school, said Judy Helm of Best Practices Inc. That education consulting firm took ideas from more than 100 parents and others in helping design the new Harrison and its surrounding campus, much of which formerly held Harrison Homes public housing.
-- MICHAEL SMOTHERS State to borrow $3.9 billion for school construction -- Press of Atlantic City New Jersey: June 24, 2008 [ abstract] The state Legislature on Monday approved borrowing $3.9 billion for school construction, with both supporters and detractors saying they voted with the children in mind.
Supporters, mostly Dem-
ocrats, said funds were needed to replace ancient, decrepit schools across the state. De-
tractors, mostly Republicans, said today's children would be stuck with the debt as they grow older and begin to pay taxes.
Vineland and Pleasantville are expected to be among the beneficaries of $3.9 billion. Both districts have been approved for new schools but are stalled in the design phase. The bill also could provide some funds for a proposed new building for the Atlantic County Institute of Technology.
The bond will provide
$2.9 billion for the 31 urban districts managed by the Schools Development Corpor-ation, formerly known as the Abbotts. Another $950 million is expected to go to suburban districts and $50 million to vocational schools. The state education commissioner also would be required to develop a priority system for the suburban projects.
The bill, A-2873, passed largely along party lines 21-18 in the Senate and 42-36-2 in the Assembly.
First District legislators bucked the trend. State Sen. Jeff Van Drew and Assemblymen Nelson Albano and Matthew Milam, all D-Cape May, Cum-
berland, Atlantic, voted against the bill. Albano said they were living up to a campaign pro-
mise not to borrow any more money without voter approval.
"Schools are needed," Albano said, "but there must be some type of income to pay for it."
-- DIANE D'AMICO Massachusetts Cracking Down on Funding Grand Plans for School Amenities -- Boston Globe Massachusetts: June 22, 2008 [ abstract] The town of Wellesley has a vision: a $159 million new high school, where its students will have access to a theater, a state-of-the-art broadcast studio, and an indoor track. In Norwood, the plan is to spend $80 million to $100 million on a new high school with a gym large enough to replace the two they have now, and maybe even a replica of the old school's landmark clock tower. Both plans face a major hurdle: the state, on which each project depends for significant funding help.
State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill has made it clear that he will use the power of the purse to control the costs of local school projects. He criticized the Wellesley proposal for being too extravagant, likening it to the new Newton North High School under construction for $197.5 million. He vowed to prevent any more such projects in Massachusetts, saying earlier this year that the state's job is "not to build Taj Mahals."
Norwood has already received the go-ahead from the state to design its project, along with a commitment for funding, although the money is conditional on the school's final design being approved. Wellesley has yet to even meet with the state. Officials in both towns are concerned that they won't be allowed to build the schools they want, or believe their communities can afford, and Cahill is doing little to allay those fears. "Cities that want to tear down buildings and build new ones, yet want everything they had in the old buildings and more, may have to rethink their mindset," Cahill said in an interview. "We're not going to let communities, educators, and architects push us around. We're not going to let them build something nobody, not state or local taxpayers, can afford."
-- Rachana Rathi First School in NYC; First Primary School in NY State Achieves LEED Certificatio -- AIArchitect New York: June 20, 2008 [ abstract] Brooklyn Poly Prep Lower School celebrated its LEED® Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council"in addition to its distinction of being the first school in New York City as well as the first primary school in the State of New York to be LEED certified"in a plaque presentation on June 10. In attendance was Sam White, representing the project architecture firm Platt Byard Dovell White Architects as well as borough commissioners, members of the public, and students from the school.
Unanimously approved by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, the new addition preserves distinguishing characteristics of its original 1892 Hulbert mansion, which has been reconfigured, with a new addition that features eight new classrooms, a multi-purpose gymnasium, and a skylighted dance studio. Among the sustainable features that helped the project achieve its LEED certification are design for a 30-percent reduction in potable water consumption, demand-controlled ventilation in high activity spaces, 83.4 percent of construction waste diverted from landfill, recycled products used for 22.5 percent of project’s materials, and daylight and outside views afforded to all classrooms.
-- Staff Writer Fund Closes $4.2B Deal for School Build-- GlobeSt New York: June 19, 2008 [ abstract] The New York City Educational Construction Fund has closed the first phase of an agreement with the World Wide Group LLC to construct two new schools here in conjunction with a 59-story--up to 715 feet in height--residential and retail tower at 250 E. 57th St. at Second Ave. Anderson Kill & Olick PC represented the Fund in the transaction, negotiating the lease and development agreements encompassing all facets of the project, including the financial terms, design and construction, insurance and indemnity.
In June 2006, the Fund revealed that it had designated locally based World Wide Group to be the developer for the redevelopment here, which currently houses the High School for Art and design. The project will include a new high school designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill. The project will also include a new elementary school, approximately 200,000 sf of retail space, and a 488,000-sf, 300-unit residential tower containing affordable and market-rate housing. In 2006, plans were to begin construction in late 2008. James Cullen, head of Anderson Kill's real estate and construction practice, tells GlobeSt.com that they hope to start construction by September.
As GlobeSt.com previously reported, the mixed-use project is expected to cost $500 million, and Cullen tells GlobeSt.com that that number is very much "in the ballpark". The High School for Art and design will gain 40% more space than it has at present, incorporating an art gallery to display students' work and significant upgrades to its studios and labs, according to a prepared statement.
-- Natalie Dolce Developer to Finance Construction of Two New Schools in New York City -- GlobeSt.com New York: June 18, 2008 [ abstract] The New York City Educational Construction Fund has closed the first phase of an agreement with the World Wide Group LLC to construct two new schools here in conjunction with a 59-story residential and retail tower at 250 E. 57th St. at Second Ave. In June 2006, the Fund revealed that it had designated locally based World Wide Group to be the developer for the redevelopment here, which currently houses the High School for Art and design. The project will include a new high school designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill. The project will also include a new elementary school, approximately 200,000 sf of retail space, and a 488,000-sf, 300-unit residential tower containing affordable and market-rate housing. In 2006, plans were to begin construction in late 2008.
The mixed-use project is expected to cost $500 million. The High School for Art and design will gain 40% more space than it has at present, incorporating an art gallery to display students' work and significant upgrades to its studios and labs, according to a prepared statement.
-- Natalie Dolce Greener Fields of Learning in Florida County -- Herald Tribune Florida: June 16, 2008 [ abstract] When it comes to building schools with good air quality, pleasant lighting and fixtures that save water and energy, Charlotte County leads Florida. While Charlotte has lagged behind its neighbors in setting other green trends, such as buying land for preservation and passing laws to limit fertilizers, its schools have received national recognition for eco-friendly designs. Though Charlotte is ahead in building green schools in Florida, it is not alone. Sarasota school officials are are visiting Charlotte for ideas on creating classrooms that conserve natural resources and the district is building two green schools for certification in North Port. The Manatee County School District is building a green school near Bradenton. Both counties have been incorporating green technologies, such as recycled materials and efficient lighting, in their new schools for the past year or so.
At Neil Armstrong Elementary School in Port Charlotte, students sit in airy classes with soft, adjustable lighting. They use low-flush toilets, recycle paper during recess and spell vocabulary words on electronic boards instead of using chalk or dry-erase markers. When teachers and students leave their classes, they usually turn out the lights. If they do not, sensors do the job for them. And at the end of the day, janitors wield reusable mops and rags that swish nontoxic, odor-free soaps. Neil Armstrong is the second public school in the state to receive certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its energy-efficient design.
-- Kate Spinner North Carolina School Board Considers Funding Partnership With County Board -- NBC17.com North Carolina: June 16, 2008 [ abstract] Wake County and the county's public school system are closer to forging a new partnership, in which the county would take responsibility for the building and maintenance of school facilities -- if the schools receive more funding to focus on student achievement. Under the school board's proposal, the county would commit to a multi-year funding plan of about $2,600 per student per year. The county would be given the duties of locating and acquiring land for new schools, and designing, building, and maintaining the facilities. The school system requests that the boards draft and agree upon maintenance and design standards. The school board wants to have final approval on the locations of school sites. The boards have not yet taken any joint action on the funding partnership.
-- Kerry Hall South Carolina County Planners Shopping Possibility for Green Schools -- Beaufort Gazette South Carolina: June 16, 2008 [ abstract] The schools of Beaufort County's future could operate with dramatically lower utility costs and offer a healthier, more comfortable environment for students and faculty that can improve learning. Schools built with green goals in mind experienced an average of 33 percent lower utility costs with an up front premium of only 1.65 percent above regular construction costs, according to a study of 30 green schools across the country. Impressive facts like that flew from the podium one after another at a joint committee meeting of the Beaufort County Council and Beaufort County Board of Education on Tuesday, where Joel McKellar, a research assistant with the Charleston architecture firm LS3P and chairman of the Lowcountry branch of the U.S. Green Building Council, briefed the committee on the benefits of building green schools.
The topic is particularly relevant because the school district has a five-year facilities plan calling for more than a quarter billion dollars in new schools and major renovations. As part of that plan, school officials put a bond referendum before county voters in April, who narrowly authorized borrowing $162.7 million. To date, North Charleston Elementary School is the only school in the state to obtain the green building council's increasingly popular Leadership in Energy and Environmental design certification. County planning director Tony Criscitiello, whose department arranged McKellar's presentation, said the county's comprehensive plan will include a chapter entirely about sustainability. The document is meant to guide county development for the next 10 years.
-- Jeremy Hsieh At Benning Elementary, School's Out Forever-- Washington Post District of Columbia: June 12, 2008 [ abstract] Last June 12 was a day of unusual promise at Benning Elementary, a dingy, virtually windowless school near RFK Stadium with a leaky roof, occasional air conditioning and dismal test scores.
That day it became the first school visited by Michelle A. Rhee as chancellor, just hours after her surprise unveiling by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty.
In an elegant white jacket, she walked the dimly lighted corridors and soiled carpets with Fenty and a platoon of cameras, chatting up students and teachers, promising to fix what ailed Benning. Fenty (D) picked the Northeast Washington school for Rhee's debut, aides said, because it crystallized many of the technical and academic challenges she would face. Her brief tour created the most striking image of change on a momentous day in the city's history, the first in which the long-troubled school system was under mayoral control.
Today, exactly a year later, change has overtaken Benning, but not the kind that most parents, teachers and staff had sought. As summer break begins for 47,000 D.C. public school students, Benning is closing for good, one of 23 low-enrollment schools Rhee has decided to shutter. After a moment of such genuine hope, it is a bitter thing for many parents and staff members.
Some teachers worry about how their fifth-graders, who would have completed sixth grade at Benning, will fare with bigger kids -- and some bullies -- at Kelly Miller Middle School, which they are slated to attend. Parents of younger children are unhappy about the longer walks and major street crossings that will come with attendance at Smothers and Plummer elementary schools, designated to receive Benning youngsters.
"What can I say? My word means nothing," said Tamika Jackson, mother of a second-grader. Like many Benning parents interviewed, she said she is looking to charter schools as an alternative.
-- Bill Turque Learning Landscape Prototype Constructed at Bronx Public School -- Design Taxi New York: June 10, 2008 [ abstract] Students and teachers at the Adlai Stevenson Campus in the Bronx completed a 16'x16' prototype of a rooftop "learning landscape" planned for their building with materials provided by Pittsburgh Corning and Tremco. The prototype is the forerunner of a 20,000-square-foot project that will transform the concrete surface of the school's roof into a living laboratory for hands-on study. Fundraising for the full-sized landscape is being led by the Stevenson Green Roof Consortium, a group including public and private entities, and is currently reaching its final stages. When completed, the landscape will be one of the largest monitored green roofs ever realized in the city and among its most innovative, featuring a structural system designed by Rafael Vinoly Architects' first annual Research Fellow, Joe Hagerman (2005).
Located in an area in which enrollment and graduation rates are a constant challenge, the Stevenson Learning Landscape is designed as a suite of interactive classrooms for teaching and outdoor experiments in math and science. The curricula, developed by the Salvadori Center and New Visions for Public Schools with the participation of Stevenson Campus teachers, will be supported by the Federation of American Scientists. In addition to the usual green roof benefits, reduction in summer air-conditioning costs and the cooling ambient air - the project will also bring new life to an aging building, serving as a model for environmentally-conscious enhancement that also provides a visual amenity for hundreds of surrounding residents.
-- Staff Writer House approves funds for 'green' schools-- The Associated Press National: June 05, 2008 [ abstract] The House on Wednesday committed more than $20 billion over the next five years to help states build and renovate schools to make them more energy-efficient and good for the environment.
Democrats said the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act would save school districts billions in energy costs while reducing asthma and other environmentally linked health problems. The White House threatened a veto, saying it was wrong for the federal government to launch a costly new school building program.
The legislation passed 250-164 and now must be considered by the Senate.
The measure approves $6.4 billion for the 2009 budget year and similar sums in consequent years to help school districts modernize facilities to improve the learning climate, promote student and teacher health and make schools more energy efficient.
Projects would have to meet one of three widely recognized standards for building construction materials and energy sources: Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, Energy Star, or Collaborative For High Performance Schools. Requirements for meeting the green standards would be phased in, but by 2013, 90 percent of the funds would have to be used for green projects.
-- Staff Writer Scottsdale district grappling with failing roofs-- Scottsdale Arizona News Arizona: June 05, 2008 [ abstract] What looks like a black rubber tarpaulin is stretched out over the roof of Scottsdale's Mohave Middle School. Lines of hard yellow foam crisscross the roof, patching up tears.
The wood peeking through those tears is the only thing other than that rubberlike membrane covering the building, explained John Muir, building services director for the Scottsdale Unified School District.
This is just one of the failing roofs at 12 Scottsdale schools that need to be replaced, something that would cost the district more than $9.3 million, according to a study the district initiated in 2006-07. But due to a lack of funding, it's one of only three roofs being replaced in time for next school year.
The district is spending about $1 million on three roof replacements and new coatings on another three roofs.
"Welcome to my nightmare," Muir said.
According to the study, roofs on the 12 school buildings are failing and need to be replaced by 2010.
The study designates failing roofs as those that are in very poor condition and will continue leaking until they are replaced. It doesn't indicate failing structural integrity in the building, Muir said.
The roofs in absolute worst condition are being replaced. Supai already has one new roof, and some buildings at Ingleside and Mohave will get replaced this summer. Money saved from the existing bond will be used to put a new roof coating on one of Saguaro High School's older buildings.
-- Amanda Keim County considers delay in school construction funds-- Commercial Appeal Tennessee: May 31, 2008 [ abstract] Memphis City Schools could take a double hit in school funding next year.
Just as the Memphis City Council has considered pulling $93.5 million from the urban school system's operating budget, some county commissioners want to postpone a $60 million appropriation for city and Shelby County school construction.
A proposal introduced Friday by County Commissioner Mike Ritz asks the county to hold off giving the $60 million until after July 2009, possibly delaying the construction of three new schools -- one in the city and two in the county.
Ritz's resolution, which will be discussed Wednesday during the county's next budget committee meeting, calls for postponing or dropping almost $150 million in construction projects planned for the next three years, including three road expansions. Of that, $120 million would have been designated for schools.
"We've got some serious budget problems coming and the best way for us to prepare is to slow down our capital spending in the next few years," Ritz said.
Yet both school districts say cutting capital funds next year would make it difficult to complete pending projects.
-- Alex Doniach Blueprints for a Green School -- San Diego Union-Tribune California: May 17, 2008 [ abstract] Talk with Dax London about his plans for the future High Tech High Quarry Falls School and you'll hear about sustainable development, green building standards and the basketball court he wants to add to the roof. London, 15, is one of 45 students at Point Loma-based Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High School learning about city planning, environmental awareness, property rights and more through designing a green school slated for Mission Valley.
During the â€"Gravel to Green†project, students from Isaac Jones and Peter Jana's 10th-grade classes are acting as architects for the 700-student kindergarten-through-eighth-grade charter school planned for a 3Â1/2-acre parcel in the proposed Quarry Falls development. No architect has been chosen to design the school, but officials say it is possible some of the elements from the Gravel to Green project would be incorporated into the campus.
-- Jennifer K Mahal Shovels turned for Cane Bay Elementary School
-- Post and Courier South Carolina: May 16, 2008 [ abstract] Berkeley County school officials gathered Thursday to kick off construction of an elementary school and check the progress of a new high school.
Both schools are in Cane Bay Plantation, a new development on U.S. Highway 176.
Cane Bay Elementary School is scheduled to open in August 2009 with 700 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. It's pegged at $19.8 million for 98,000 square feet.
Cane Bay High School is scheduled to open in August with 700 to 800 ninth- and 10th-graders. Enrollment will expand a grade level per year to 1,500 students, with the possibility of expansion. The school cost about $70 million for 365,000 square feet.
A middle school is also being designed on the site, although no money has been allocated. Cane Bay developer Ben Gramling III donated about 150 acres for the three schools.
"We consider these schools to be the cornerstone of this community," Gramling said at Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony for the elementary school.
-- Dave Munday Administrators Weigh Pros, Cons of Open Space and Effects on Children -- Cumberland Times News Maryland: May 15, 2008 [ abstract] A number of stakeholders in the open space classroom design have complained about excessive noise levels, which are proving to be a distraction for students. Finding a balance between the creation of an environment conducive to learning and teaching with a plan to maximize the utilization of available space is not so easy.
The pros and cons of opens space classrooms - learning centers not divided by walls - were discussed during Allegany County Board of Education meeting. Jane Dawson, board vice president, said she's been asked several times by principals to research partitions that could absorb noise. That approach, she said, "doesn't deal with the problem." It also brings up concerns about the fire code. She said she's talked with Vince Montana, director of facilities, about seeing what an architect might be able to design to address the noise. But for board member Tom Striplin, it's a new concern. "Is there a problem?" he asked. One administrator said yes. "There is a problem," said Dan Clark, principal at George's Creek Elementary School, which has had open space classrooms since the 1975-76 school year. "Groups of six to eight kids do get boisterous (and) loud." He said the concept of the open space classroom is "a naturally loud program," noise from which can be "heard sometimes through three classrooms. It pulls (other students') attention away."
-- Kevin Spradlin Guilford County Schools Recognized for Energy Efficiency
-- Carolina Newswire North Carolina: May 13, 2008 [ abstract] In recognition and affirmation of efforts to improve energy efficiency in school facilities, Guilford County Schools (GCS) will participate in a meeting with North Carolina’s Governor Mike Easley.
The meeting takes place today at 1 p.m. and will be held at the Governor’s Office in the Governor’s conference room. During the meeting, individuals will discuss increasing energy efficiency in public schools. Representatives from the State Energy Office, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, local universities and other school districts will join GCS staff for the meeting.
“We are excited about the opportunity to share with others our standards for building energy efficient schools in order to reduce our dependency on non-renewable energy sources,” said Joe Hill, GCS facilities consultant. “Several notable goals in our design of new school facilities include reducing operating costs, protecting our environment, designing buildings that teach, improving academic performance and designing for health, safety and comfort.”
-- Press Release House Committee Approves High Performance Schools Bill-- The Angle National: May 09, 2008 [ abstract] The House Committee on Education and Labor approved AIA-backed legislation that would provide $6.4 billion in grants to state and local school districts to renovate, repair, and modernize schools. The 21st Century High Performing Public Schools Act (H.R. 3021) directs funding to projects that improve health, safety, energy efficiency, and the overall learning climate in school facilities. The Education Committee approved the legislation by a vote of 29-18. Under the bill, each state would receive funding that would then be dispersed to local school districts for modernization projects. Eligible projects include replacing building systems, lighting, doors, and other modifications that would improve the teaching and learning environment. Andrew Goldberg, Assoc. AIA, senior director, Federal Relations, praised the work of the committee at a time when schools across the country are in desperate need of renovations. "Architects have long known that properly designed, high-performance schools offer a far better learning environment for students," he said. Education Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) indicated that this bill could be voted on by the full House later this year.
-- Staff Writer Beaver visioning school buildings-- Morning Journal Ohio: May 07, 2008 [ abstract] Several community members along with Beaver Local officials and a representative from Strollo Architects met to discuss their needs and wants for new school buildings, which would be funded with the passage of a 5.1-mill, 28-year bond issue levy.
Voters have rejected the proposed bond issue five times. It will make its sixth appearance on the November ballot, and Superintendent Sandra DiBacco hopes the district’s visioning sessions with Strollo Architects, the first of which was Tuesday, will encourage discussion among community members. Residents would pay 31 percent of the $39.5 million project with the state picking up the other 69 percent.
“It’s about the community and your ideas,” DiBacco told those attending the session.
“This is a collaborative process,” Tom Madej of Strollo Architects said of designing a new building. “We don’t design schools in a vacuum we work with the community.
Strollo was not paid for his involvement in Tuesday’s session, and his firm has yet to be hired by the board.
Though there are guidelines from the Ohio School Facilities Commission architects must follow when designing a school, Madej said his firm would work to make classrooms inviting and the buildings as eco-friendly as possible.
“The OSFC template can be tailored to fit your needs,” he said.
Addressing the issue of parking, a teacher said he would like to see more access roads going to and from the high school.
DiBacco agreed, saying that parking was the biggest issue the high school faced.
-- CASEY BARTO Committee sends schools' building request to Finance
-- Cleveland Daily Banner Tennessee: May 07, 2008 [ abstract] The Commission's Education Committee has transferred a request from the Bradley County Board of Education to the Finance Committee on the construction of new school facilities.
The Bradley County school board has previously requested the construction of two new elementary schools, one for the north side of the county and a second new school to the south. The request is also asking for the addition of six additional classrooms and a library at Valley View Elementary School.
School Board Chairman David Kelley forwarded a letter to Education Committee Chair Connie Wilson urging the committee to move forward with the request.
Monday's meeting prior to a Commission voting session included discussions on several issues, including reasons for the selection of property for one new school, the estimated cost of construction and renovations and whether or not some funding may be available from the state.
Wilson said she had hoped the legislature would have progressed with an effort to provide excess lottery funds for capital improvement projects for schools. She emphasized this has not yet happened, and the possibility has dimmed somewhat.
In Kelley's letter, he said the school board anticipates using the design of Waterville Community School for the two new schools.
"The cost to build this school in today's dollars would be approximately $155 per square foot for a construction budget of $12 million (per school)," Kelley said. The cost of Waterville School (seven or eight years ago) was $6.5 million.
-- Larry Bowers Schools Tapping into LEED Building Trend -- Environmental Protection Magazine National: May 01, 2008 [ abstract] The U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental design certification program for green schools has a registration rate of one school a day. Green schools are more energy and water efficient, which save taxpayers money. They also have significantly improved indoor air quality, and that results in healthier kids. Michelle Moore, senior vice president at the council, says â€"energy savings alone could pay for 5,000 new textbooks per school per year." According to Moore "Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, and Virginia have the most LEED-certified schools to date, and many local school districts and state departments of education are beginning to develop and implement policies that require schools to be built green." The state of Ohio is leading the way. Hundreds of new and renovated schools are set to meet higher energy efficiency and environmental standards through the Ohio School Facilities Commission's adoption of the LEED for Schools Rating System as part of its school design standards. When the commission did the math, it determined it could save more than $1.4 billion in taxpayer money over the next 40 years through energy consumption reductions.
-- Staff Writer Contaminated Site OKd for L.A. Elementary School -- Los Angeles Times California: April 23, 2008 [ abstract] The Los Angeles Board of Education designated the field of an overcrowded east Hollywood middle school as the site of a new elementary campus, a plan that calls for building fields on a contaminated plot that the district repeatedly has passed over for previous projects. An environmental consultant hired by the school district said the soil and underground water contamination on the site next to Virgil Middle School could be cleaned up for a "very preliminary estimate" of $10 million, which would include installation of an impermeable barrier to stop off-site pollution plumes from recontaminating the site. The district will now begin more in-depth environmental analysis before construction begins.
-- Evelyn Larrubia Environmental Studies At A Specially Designed Green New Haven School
-- Hartford Courant Connecticut: April 21, 2008 [ abstract] The Barnard Environmental Studies Magnet School reopened in 2006 after a $43 million renovation. This month, Barnard became just the second building in the state (Yale's Daniel L. Malone Engineering Center was the first) to earn Gold LEED certification — meaning it is truly "green."
Barnard, designed by Roberta Washington Architects, is one of 274 buildings worldwide to reach the gold standard, the second highest. It serves more than 400 students in kindergarten through seventh grade. The school is expansive and filled with natural light. The electric lights turn off automatically, and heating and cooling systems scale down when classrooms sit vacant or when a window is opened to let in fresh air.
-- David Funkhouser No Money for Oversight Unit of New Jersey School Building Program
-- Star-Ledger New Jersey: April 18, 2008 [ abstract] With lawmakers poised to consider a $2.5 billion infusion of new funds into New Jersey's school construction program, budget cuts have forced the Attorney General to ax a special unit designed to keep crooked contractors out of the program. Attorney General Anne Milgram told lawmakers that shifting responsibilities now handled by the Unit of Fiscal Integrity in School Construction to the State Police and other agencies will save about $1.5 million, eliminating 16 staff positions.
The Integrity Unit was created by the legislation that set up New Jersey's $8.6 billion public school construction program. Lawmakers insisted on it as an attempt to keep contractors with past records of criminal wrongdoing or fraud out of the lucrative program. Annual reports show the unit screens more than 1,000 prospective school contractors, alerts officials to potential problems with about 300 and denies certification outright to about a half-dozen applicants each year. Despite the unit's work, the construction program was rocked by scandal in 2005 after a Star-Ledger review found its first six schools cost, on average, 45 percent more than similar schools built by local school districts.
-- Dunstan McNichol Palm Beach, Florida Schools Commit to Green Building -- Palm Beach Post Florida: April 13, 2008 [ abstract] Low gas-emitting paint and carpeting, lights tripped by motion sensors, solar roof fabric and waterless urinals are just some of the environmentally friendly staples that will be found in new Palm Beach County schools. The school board is the first in South Florida and perhaps in the state to pledge an all-green building program. It joins school districts in Colorado, Ohio and Maryland that have promised to build to national standards that consider conservation in construction practices and the use of natural environment in design. "It's everyone's responsibility to do as much as they can in conserving all aspects of the environment," board member Carrie Hill said. "We're basically protecting the future."
In August, the district will open Pine Jog, its first school certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. Two new elementary schools will follow a year later. A fourth green school, a middle school breaking off of Pahokee Middle/Senior, is in the design phase. Eco-friendly schools cost roughly 2 percent more to build, an extra $600,000 for a typical $30 million elementary school, said Joseph Sanches, the district's chief of facilities management. It takes about seven years to pay off the extra cost in utilities and other savings in the 50- to 60-year life of a school. But school districts that consistently build green have gotten the added cost down to 1 percent or nothing, said Rachel Gutter, the Green Building Council's schools sector manager.
-- Laura Green Pride Built Into School's Design
-- Gary Post-Tribune Indiana: April 11, 2008 [ abstract] Hobart school officials say construction of the district's new high school is proceeding on schedule and within its projected $62.5 million budget. Work on the new high school campus began two years ago and is to be completed this fall. Classes are set to begin at the school in January. "It's a frugal, very classic and tradition building. Yet, it will prepare students for the 21st century," Associate School Superintendent Peggy Buffington said, pointing out the building will offer students a wireless computer environment. She said about 80 percent of the construction work is done, including the school's cafeteria which is shaped like a football. School Board member Michael Rogers said the cafeteria was not intentionally designed to make a statement about Hobart's strong Brickie football tradition. "It just happened," he said during a recent tour of the building.
-- Karen Snelling Editorial: Building a Sustainable, Green School -- Sandy Post Oregon: April 10, 2008 [ abstract] Results of a recent community survey indicate that Oregon Trail School District citizens understand the need for a new high school, and for making energy, safety and security upgrades at our elementary and middle schools. That is very good news. Our community has also made it clear that they expect a new school to be functional and sustainable, with “green” characteristics. As the Oregon Trail School District’s superintendent, a parent, and a taxpayer, I echo those sentiments.
While the terms “sustainable” and “green” are often used interchangeably, they are more complementary than they are synonymous. A green school is designed and built with a focus on achieving a healthy living environment for our students and staff, as well as one that is energy efficient. Sustainability seeks, through the building design, construction and long-term operational practices, to protect our environment for future generations. According to Merle Kirkley, president of the Council of Educational Facility Planners International, “Building green is part of a comprehensive effort that includes sustainability, indoor air quality, energy conservation, and all other matters that pertain to the environment and the overall health of students and faculty.” Most importantly, evidence strongly suggests that the operation of sustainable, green schools leads to increased academic performance, decreased absenteeism and significant cost savings.
-- Shelly Redinger Council president floats plan to cut construction funds-- the examiner Maryland: April 09, 2008 [ abstract] Montgomery residents would wait longer for some improvements under a proposal floated Tuesday by their council president that delays some school renovations and park construction in an effort to reconcile a ballooning capital budget with scarce funds.
Council President Mike Knapp’s suggestions were nonbinding, but were intended to get the County Council and the public to realize that the commitments made by council members for capital projects are $363 million over spending guidelines recommended to keep the county’s AAA bond rating.
County Executive Ike Leggett proposed a $3.2 billion capital spending budget in January that raised spending by only 1.1 percent over the last budget " saying it was necessary to keep spending in check given difficult financial times. Some council members, however, had criticized Leggett’s lean proposal as unrealistic, because it allocated money for the planning and design of many projects but often did not include funds for actual construction. Since then, council members have tacked on $363 million more in funds saying they wanted the budget to reflect the entire cost of a project.
Knapp’s suggestions Tuesday, however, were somewhat similar to Leggett’s proposal, often recommending axing the construction funds allocated for projects but spending money on design
-- Kathleen Miller California Ballot Provision Forces Public Campuses to Share Space with Charters
-- Los Angeles Times California: April 07, 2008 [ abstract] The faculty at tradition-proud but low-performing Fairfax High School has worked for two years on a plan to improve the school while also attracting long-absent middle-class families. Scheduled to start next fall, the new setup includes dividing the sprawling campus into small academies -- each with a different theme, each designed to devote attention to every student. But there's something Fairfax wasn't planning on. The school suddenly is expected to share space with one of the district's privately run charter schools.
A vocal group of teachers, students, parents and community organizations say the charter school will impede Fairfax's rise by taking up needed classrooms and creating logistical headaches. "I don't think I've ever seen an issue that has brought together teachers in essentially unanimous agreement that this is hurtful to everything we're trying to do at Fairfax," said social studies teacher Mike Stryer.
-- Howard Blume The Real Value of Designing a Green School -- The Wellesley Townsman Massachusetts: April 03, 2008 [ abstract] Wellesley is designing its first green school, and decision-makers are weighing which sustainable design elements should be included. Some green features have direct financial payback " the most notable a reduction in energy use " while others improve productivity by creating a healthy learning environment. But some green features are worth doing because they transform the way engineering, technology and environmental science can be taught.
Green schools across the country are now recognized for a higher mission than energy-efficiency, superior indoor air quality, and treading lightly on the environment. Green schools actually foster a different kind of learning and kids emerge as different kind of citizens, more vested in and accountable for the world around them. Many green schools are linking their building technologies, based on principles of sustainability, directly to the curriculum. The Sidwell Friends Middle School in Washington, D.C., is a good example. The school is nestled in constructed wetlands that treat building wastewater on site and recycle it for graywater use in the building. Rainwater is filtered on the school’s green roof, or directed toward a “biology pond” that supports a native habitat. At Sidwell Friends, students regularly observe the interconnected role that water and buildings play in natural habitat support.
-- Pamela Posey Oregon Board Rejects Historic Status for Schools -- Mail Tribune Oregon: April 02, 2008 [ abstract] The Medford School Board rejected a proposal by the Medford historic commission to give local historical designations to two circa-1911 elementary schools scheduled to be demolished and replaced by the end of 2009. "I think homage has been paid to the historical value of the schools (in the design of the replacement buildings)," said board member Mike Moran. "But we don't have the resources to preserve the buildings with the facade, and the condition is not conducive to student learning." The board's decision terminates the historical designation process for Jackson and Roosevelt schools pending receipt of a written refusal. However, under law the rejection means the school district may not receive a permit to demolish the buildings for at least 120 days.
-- Paris Achen Building Green Schools in Ohio Now May Save Later
-- Columbus Dispatch Ohio: April 01, 2008 [ abstract] New environmental standards will increase the cost of Columbus' 15-year school-construction plan, but also could improve long-term energy costs and student learning, a school district official said. The state requirement will add about $500,000 to the cost of building each new elementary school, which will have to meet standards in energy efficiency and environmental sensitivity, Columbus schools facilities executive Carole Olshavsky said. The Ohio School Facilities Commission, which helps fund and manage Columbus' half-billion-dollar school-construction program, recently adopted construction standards set by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental design for Schools Rating System.
-- Simone Sebastian Hine Sight - Envisioning School Reuse
-- The Hill Rag District of Columbia: April 01, 2008 [ abstract] In January of 1966, two Hine Junior High School buildings stood on Seventh Street SE. The older was at C Street, where the schoolyard is today, and the newer, immediately adjacent. (Look for photo 3045 from the Capitol Hill Association of Merchants and Professionals – CHAMPS – collection at Sizzling Express.) Shortly thereafter, the classic – if outmoded – structure was razed, leaving the more up-to-date facility, designed for a mid-20th century neighborhood.
This June, Hine will consolidate with Eliot Middle School in Northeast, leaving behind the 131,300-square-foot building, now situated in an area that early students of the school would barely recognize. The Metro canopy and temporary Eastern Market structure would surely have appeared â€"futuristic†to Hine students of 1966 or earlier. And the Metro itself, as well as many of the higher and denser developments now part of the area, were not part of Capitol Hill in the 1960s.
â€"You have to look at the site in terms of where the community is today, not when the school was built or when the previous building was built,†says Don Denton, local realtor and founding member of CHAMPS. â€"The highest and best use of that site today would be other than a school site. But we need a community process to see what is the best use for the community today.â€
Although Ward 6 was not included in a recent series of â€"School Reuse Community Meetings†organized by the deputy mayor for education, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells notes that â€"the community vetting process seems to have already begun.†Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B, the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, and Barracks Row/Main Street have already adopted resolutions outlining their hopes and expectations for the Hine site following the school's closure.
-- Virginia Avniel Spatz School Open Plan Design Adds to Problems -- Natchez Democrat Mississippi: March 28, 2008 [ abstract] A recent trip to Natchez High School reminded me of the residual consequences of bright ideas that fail to live up to their expectations. Much has been written in recent weeks about the problems of the Natchez-Adams School District. Most people agree that the area schools are not improving as demonstrated by annual test scores. A small, vocal group of citizens has targeted the district superintendent and his administration as the problem. Others, including me, see the lack of parental involvement in the schools as one area in sore need of attention. Improving something as complicated as a school system requires a multi-faceted approach. There is not just one thing that will magically fix our schools. But some of the school district’s problems, particularly at the high school, may predate even this superintendent’s graduation from high school.
The 1960s witnessed one of the most dramatic educational reform movements in U.S. history involving the introduction of middle schools, community education and open plan schools. With funding from the Ford Foundation, a group of educational innovators called the Educational Facilities Laboratory collectively changed the face of schools across the country, including Natchez. School construction was dominated by ideas of flexibility and freedom. Classrooms were open, desks were not lined up in neat rows, teachers taught more than one class. It was a hopeful architecture " one that trusted in the ideals of society. It relied on good students, creative teachers and the highest standards of education. It did not take into account a future filled with school shootings, discipline problems and a teen culture dominated by television, cell phones and the Internet.
-- Ben Hillyer Florida District Speeds up School Projects to Boost Economy -- Orlando Business Journal Florida: March 25, 2008 [ abstract] Orange County Public Schools announced it was speeding up its school-renovation program to boost the economy and trim construction costs. Instead of the four projects planned this year, the district will start work on 15. The district plans to advance $12 million from its 2009 budget to fund planning and design for the 15 projects this fiscal year. The district will advance $50 million for construction funding in the 2008-2009 fiscal year and $96 million for projects in the 2009-2010 fiscal year. If the district has success with moving up its projects, it may continue doing so in future years.
-- Staff Writer Connecticut School Designated for Green Cleaning Project
-- Record Journal Connecticut: March 19, 2008 [ abstract] Head Custodian John Beardsley stood over a kind of environmental divide at Platt High School. He gestured to the foyer before him and explained that it had been waxed using traditional chemicals four times since August. The adjoining hallway had been waxed once in that time with a "green" sealant containing no substances harmful to the environment. "It takes a lot less to get to that shine," Beardsley said of the environmentally friendly wax. Though a number of schools have been experimenting with such cleaning agents, the district has designated Platt as the city's green school pilot project.
-- Andrew Perlot Indiginous Design in Sarasota, Florida -- Metropolis Magazine Florida: March 19, 2008 [ abstract] Unique local conditions were once celebrated by the mid-twentieth-century architects who built in Sarasota before the profession was seduced by air-conditioning. A Sarasota School’s pioneering work"a melding of Modern modularity and technology with sensitive siting, daylighting, natural ventilation, and aggressive shading against the relentless sunshine"may serve as a prototype for twenty-first-century innovation, giving new meaning to site-specific architecture. Later this year the school board of Sarasota County will decide if its city will once again be the model for progressive thinking. It is expected to vote on a new design that promises to bring back, update, and adapt the shockingly neglected and bastardized Riverview High School. designed by Paul Rudolph and built in 1958, the school brought international attention to this quiet Florida arts colony. With its free-flowing spaces and openness to nature and movement, the building reflected the experimental ethos of the time.
-- Susan S. Szenasy School Haze -- Metropolis Magazine California: March 19, 2008 [ abstract] Los Angeles public schools are in a bind. Overcrowding has reached such levels that teachers have had to share their classrooms, cutting the overall academic calendar by up to 17 days while forcing students to sit through school in shifts year-round. One middle school squeezes 2,700 students into a facility designed for 800. The most obvious remedy, building more space, is complicated by a 2003 state health-and-safety law that bans most school construction within 500 feet of a freeway. Los Angeles has 24 freeways, covering 250 miles. That’s like telling Venice not to build by water.
A partial solution is emerging in the least likely place: the freeways themselves. Douglas Hecker and Martha Skinner, of the South Carolina design firm Field Office, have devised a highway-barrier system that would replace sound walls with a porous pollution-combating cement shield. Though not fully developed, Super Absorber, a runner-up in the 2007 Metropolis Next Generation design Competition, would digest noise, light, and, most pressingly, toxic air particles"as many as four billion tons a year if implemented nationwide. No project has been launched, but the husband-and-wife team is in talks with the L.A. Unified School District. “This is a pretty simple thing that could have a real impact on our environment,” Skinner says, “if we’re able to do it.”
-- Suzanne LaBarre Rough design for new intermediate school unveiled -- The Daily Times Tennessee: March 15, 2008 [ abstract] The architects and builder of the new intermediate school on Sevierville Road, which is scheduled to open in 2010, unveiled Thursday "rough representations" of the school's future design.
Maryville City Schools Director Stephanie Thompson said the preliminary work gives the public a chance to see how the architect's ideas had progressed from the Feb. 12 public input session.
Johnson Architecture's Daryl Johnson said they had received great input into the project from the school board and administration. His firm has drawn nine plans for the intermediate school's construction, which leave enough room for a potential second school on the site. Some of the plans were dismissed quickly, Johnson said.
A common theme of all the plans is a shared kitchen between the two schools, which would save more than $100,000 in operating costs, he said. Architects are also trying to incorporate as many green building principles into their design as possible. They have recommended construction proceed with plan I.
-- Matthew Stewart Schools Didn't Follow Mold Policy -- Greenwich Time Connecticut: March 13, 2008 [ abstract] Five years ago, when mold problems began surfacing at the old Hamilton Avenue School and other buildings, school district officials implemented a program to help identify and prevent similar problems from occurring in the future. But now they admit the program was not uniformly put into practice across the district.
Everyone was trained," Superintendent of Schools Betty Sternberg said of the program called Tools for Schools. "It was variably implemented from school to school." Tools for Schools is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program designed to raise awareness about air quality issues, including assembling committees of teachers, administrators, parents and custodians who work together to identify early indicators of mold and other problems.
-- Hoa Nguyen District Officials Consider Future Actions After Defeat of a Bond Issue -- Beavercreek News-Current Ohio: March 12, 2008 [ abstract] With the defeat of a bond issue last week, Beavercreek School District officials must decide what actions they are going to take. "Students and staff thrive academically in better buildings with proper air quality, lighting, temperature control and proper classroom design,"?superintendent Dennis Morrison said. "This is what all the research tells us. We are not interested in renovating our schools just for the sake of renovation. We want to renovate our schools to make sure our children receive the best education possible in order to learn, graduate and attend college. It's all about preparing our students for the future. One national study states that students who attend school in better buildings have test scores ranging from five to 17 percentile points higher than students in substandard facilities." Morrison said he is preparing to make recommendations to the board of education when it meets March 27. "We'll go back to the board and see what they want to do,"?he said.
-- Doug Skinner New Hampshire School Districts Refit Buildings for Energy Savings -- Concord Monitor New Hampshire: March 10, 2008 [ abstract] Facing the realization that rising fuel costs are here to stay, several school districts in the Concord area have begun refitting their buildings to conserve heat, purchasing wood-pellet-burning boilers to replace traditional oil-powered furnaces and forming buying collectives to get better deals on utilities. Business administrators say that incentive programs from utility companies and growing voter concern about global warming have helped them invest in technologies designed to insulate both their buildings from the cold and municipal budgets from variations in heating costs. Several local districts have seen their utility bills stabilize thanks to efficiency projects, after several years of 7 percent and 8 percent annual increases.
-- Margot Sanger-Katz Palm Beach County: Green Schools Cost More, But Will Pay for Themselves -- Sun-Sentinel Florida: March 06, 2008 [ abstract] It costs more to go green, but big benefits are coming for local schools built with environmentally helpful features. That's the message from Palm Beach County School District officials, who provided a clearer outline of the potential expenses and savings for building green campuses. Earlier, the School Board expressed reservations while approving $585,620 for extra green design costs on three previously approved school construction projects scheduled for the next two years.
The county will get its first look at a green school in August, when the district opens a $37.6 million elementary campus next to the Pine Jog Environmental Education Center west of West Palm Beach. Green buildings feature environmentally sensitive and recycled building materials, an emphasis on natural light and low-flow plumbing fixtures. It costs an extra $150,000 to $225,000 to design a typical 120,000-square-foot elementary school to meet the standards of the U.S. Green Building Council and receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental design rating, said Joseph Sanches, district facilities management chief.
-- Marc Freeman New School Building Will Have Latest Technology and Hurricane Protection -- Hernando Today Florida: February 26, 2008 [ abstract] Officials got a sneak peak at Explorer K-8, the new 2,100-student school set to open this August in Spring Hill. A prototype of Challenger K-8 School of Science and Mathematics in Spring Hill, the school's two-story architecture will look much like Challenger. However, the new school's "high-tech" design is expected to set the stage for future school construction in Hernando County, with $43 million in construction costs paying for state-of-the-art hurricane protection, audio-enhancement technology and a rail system to help transport students with profound disabilities.
At an estimated $9,500 each, the school's 99 classrooms will be equipped with overhead speakers and small microphones that teachers will wear on their collars, said facilities director Roland "Bo" Bavota. "That way, teachers won't have to speak in a loud voice," he said. "(The school) will open with the latest technology." Much of the school will be wireless, or have Internet and network connections that do not require being connected via hard wires, and each classroom will have four desktop computers and one laptop. Intermediate students will also have 30 laptops in carts. Other technology components include video cameras and screens in each classroom that can be used for teaching purposes, as well as "Interwrite Pads," or an interactive overhead projection system that will allow students to write on pads and have their work appear on screens.
-- Linnea Brown End of an Error
-- Washington City Paper District of Columbia: February 20, 2008 [ abstract] Low-rent arson, chaotic hallways, scofflaw students"all of these things are sadly common nowadays in Washington’s public high schools. But only at Woodson are all of those things warehoused in a nine-story reinforced-concrete tower"a building now singularly unsuited to containing an American high school, a building scheduled after the close of this school year"less than 36 years after its opening"to be demolished and replaced by a wholly new facility.
When Woodson opened in 1972, it was the first new senior high school to be constructed in the District of Columbia since Ballou was built in Congress Heights in 1960. To that point in the history of the D.C. Public Schools, city high schools were invariably sited on hills or otherwise geographically prominent plots of land and designed in a stately, almost monumental style.
In drawings presented to the school board in 1965, architects proposed building a six-story tower, which would hold the regular classrooms, atop a two-story base, which could be kept open separate from the rest of the school as a community center. Eventually the plans were revised to make the building an eight-story tower atop a one-story base, with the roof of the base used as a plaza. Neighborhood residents fought the tower on the grounds of its imposing height, but it got rave reviews from architectural types. Charles Atherton, secretary of the federal Commission of Fine Arts, said the school would “be a good symbol and an excellent landmark.”
-- Mike DeBonis RSD provides best hope for N.O. schools
-- New Orleans City Business Louisiana: February 18, 2008 [ abstract] Paul Pastorek, state schools superintendent, and Paul Vallas, Recovery School District superintendent, talked candidly about our schools at a presentation last week sponsored by the New Orleans Business Council and the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce.
The topic for their one-hour presentation: “Planning for the future of school facilities in Orleans Parish.” Both are polished, professional speakers and their subject matter is compelling and very, very important.
Pastorek set the stage with background information. Some of it was interesting, some trivial and some breathtaking.
First the interesting and trivial.
Seventy schools in Orleans Parish have been rehabilitated, renovated or are working out of modular buildings. The schools have been rebuilt using money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and community development block grants, which are one-time funds designated to help rebuild schools.
-- Mark Singletary Kansas Water, Energy Efficiency Plan for New Schools Under Fire
-- The Capital-Journal Kansas: February 14, 2008 [ abstract] Kansas Sierra Club lobbyist Tom Thompson lauded today a Senate bill that would set energy and water efficiency standards for all new public school and state-owned buildings. Critics of the legislation formed a human wall, denouncing the measure as an expensive intervention by state government certain to drive up local taxes. “Often building construction is looked upon as a short-term expense,” Thompson told the Senate Natural Resources Commission. “If conservation and efficiency methods are included in construction, there an be long-term savings.”
His view isn’t shared by public school officials, and representatives of the Wichita and Olathe districts pressed the point with committee members. Under the bill, all new state buildings or public school buildings must be designed and constructed in ways that conserve 25 percent more energy than standards established by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers or the International Energy Conservation Code.
-- Tim Carpenter New Tax to Affect New School Construction in Oregon -- The Times Oregon: February 14, 2008 [ abstract] Starting March 1, the Tigard-Tualatin School District expects to see developers paying for the impacts they have on local schools. The Tigard-Tualatin School Board approved a resolution allowing the collection of construction excise taxes. Senate Bill 1036, which came out of the 2007 Oregon legislative assembly, allows school districts to charge $1 per square foot for residential construction and 50 cents per square foot for commercial construction with a limit of $25,000 per structure. The tax is designed to help school districts fund capital improvements for school facilities. For development within the Tigard-Tualatin School District boundaries, the taxes will be collected by the governing agencies responsible for issuing building permits. The district has signed intergovernmental agreements with five entities " Washington and Clackamas counties and the cities of Tualatin, Tigard and King City. The city of Durham is expected to finalize the IGA on Feb. 26. In early 2007, district officials had estimated that a construction excise tax could bring in about $800,000 annually in revenue for the district. But during discussions on the tax, School Board members said they wanted to educate the public about what the new tax revenue means for the district. The revenue, which is supposed to only be used for capital improvements, is very small when compared to the real costs of building a new school or purchasing new property.
-- Staff Writer Bill Would Require New Idaho Schools to be Energy Efficient -- Education Week/Associated Press Idaho: February 11, 2008 [ abstract] Idaho lawmakers want to require new public schools to be more energy efficient, an initiative that could save the state money and protect the environment at the same time. The Senate State Affairs Committee voted to debate a bill that would impose new school construction rules, starting in 2009. Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise, told members of the committee that the state has a compelling interest in improving school building design because the state general fund pays for all school operations and maintenance costs.
The bill is part of a push by lawmakers to incorporate environmentally conscious designs into taxpayer-supported construction. Late last month, lawmakers in the House introduced a bill to require that any major state-funded building conform to new energy efficiency standards. A number of states across the country, including Kansas and New Mexico, are debating legislation that would boost energy efficiency in schools. The Idaho bill would pay for school districts to use third-party companies to examine building design for energy efficiency, adding 0.85 percent to the cost of every school building project. That's estimated to cost the state $90,000 per year, paid out of a state fund to assist school districts with bond payments.
-- Staff Writer Sales Tax New Option to Mull for Illinois School Construction -- News-Gazette Illinois: February 10, 2008 [ abstract] Carterville High School, just northeast of Carbondale, was built in 1924 and designed to hold about 200 students. It now has an enrollment of 500 – and growing.There is one set of restrooms for those 500 students. One electrical outlet in each classroom. Problems with heating and plumbing systems. Voters approved a ballot question in 2003 for their share of the cost to build a new high school, with the rest of the money coming from the state. The district is still waiting for the state to provide the money, and students are still learning in the same overcrowded, antiquated school.
About 22 miles to the southeast, Creal Springs School in the Marion district is 97 years old. Two walls in the school are being held together by cables. The cafeteria can't hold all 200 elementary students, so some eat their lunches in the hallways. They also share one set of restrooms. Enrollment is growing at the school, and so are class sizes. The district needs a new high school as well. The school superintendents are not waiting to see whether the state will come up with money for school construction. Nor are they asking taxpayers to approve building bonds, which would raise property taxes.
-- Jodi Heckel West Virginia Wants Prototypes for Schools
-- Charleston Gazette West Virginia: February 10, 2008 [ abstract] Every year, it costs more to build a school in West Virginia. Officials with the state School Building Authority want to encourage efficiency in design, so the state can build more schools and stretch your tax dollars even further. If they standardize the cost and type of materials used to build schools, they say, follow-up requests from county school officials who need extra money to finish a project could be avoided. "Right now there's not uniformity, necessarily," said Mark Manchin, executive director of the School Building Authority. But some architects don't want to stamp out identical schools, also known as prototypes. They say it would reduce their professional role, lead to design problems and even legal issues.
Manchin expects his agency to approve statewide guidelines in June. Each county would have to adhere to the guidelines, he said. Floors, walls and roofs would have to meet certain standards, as would a school's location. Environmentally friendly concepts might be included. Kanawha County already has some specific design standards, said Chuck Wilson, lead architect and facilities planner for the county's schools. He supports new standards for roofs, heating systems, floors and walls, and acknowledges that prototype classrooms, gymnasiums and multipurpose gym/lunchrooms are a good fit in some schools. Still, he and other architects take issue with a one-size-fits-all prototype for an entire school. Needs usually differ from county to county, said Rod Watkins, vice president of ZMM Architects and Engineers in Charleston."If we don't respond to that with our client, then our client's not satisfied," he said.
-- Davin White Sustainability Becomes Part Of School Construction’s Core Curriculum
-- New York Construction New Jersey: February 08, 2008 [ abstract] NY, CT, and NJ: 2007 will go down as the year of sustainable building for the Tri-State region’s schools [Connecticut, New Jersey and New York]. All three states made milestone commitments to promote sustainable, energy-efficient design and construction in most public education projects. The New Jersey Schools Development Authority issued its 21st Century Schools design Manual, a set of 24 design criteria that will apply to all new projects it funds. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority collaborated with the State Education Department to create the New York Collaborative for High Performance Schools, a set of voluntary guidelines designed to improve academic achievement and reduce operating costs. In Connecticut, the state’s Department of Public Works is developing criteria to meet a state legislative mandate requiring major public school construction and renovation projects to achieve LEED silver or equivalent rating beginning in 2009. Not surprisingly, rising energy costs are the primary driver behind each state’s choice of green as the defining color for the modern version of the little red schoolhouse.
-- Jim Parsons Utah Schools Face Disparity in Building Funds
-- Salt Lake Tribune Utah: February 02, 2008 [ abstract] According to a report from the Utah Foundation equitable funding to build schools in Utah could cost $67 million to $178 million. The Capital Outlay Foundation Program set up by the state to address school building equalization is well-designed to supplement poorer school districts' ability to raise funds for building through property taxes, but it's not funded very well said Steve Kroes, president of the nonprofit research organization. School construction is primarily financed in Utah by property taxes collected by school districts, but districts with high assessed property values have an advantage. The report states that wealthier districts have up to seven times more funding for facilities than poorer districts and taxpayers in poorer districts pay property taxes at rates up to five times greater than those in wealthier districts. The capital outlay program exists to help poorer districts, but inequity still exists. The foundation's report came as lawmakers are considering how to address the problem of enrollment growth in some districts and the pending break up of one school district.
-- Roxana Orellana Teams grade schools for Rhee in overhaul process plan-- Examiner District of Columbia: February 01, 2008 [ abstract] Teams are grading 27 D.C. schools for Chancellor Michelle Rhee as a critical step in the process to determine what steps to take as part of a drastic overhaul of substandard education facilities, officials said.
By next month, Rhee is expected to decide which of several major methods of restructuring to use at each of the schools, basing that decision in large part on the scores delivered by the teams.
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, schools that fail to make Adequately Yearly Progress for five consecutive years are converted to a charter school, designated for outside help from a private consultant, taken over by the state, or stripped of its current teaching staff.
Tracy Martin, the chancellor’s chief of schools, said it’s pretty likely that combinations of these choices will be applied to the schools.
The teams " made up of central office members, consultants, parents and members of the teachers union " awarded points for how well the school staff fared on teaching and learning, creating a safe and effective environment and getting parents and community members involved.
Team members noted how challenging the classes appeared, a teacher’s tone and competency and the use of classroom materials.
The assessments will be implemented in all schools next year.
-- Dena Levitz Maryland Governor O'Malley's Goal: Green Buildings -- Baltimore Sun Maryland: January 30, 2008 [ abstract] From the outside, the new brick classroom building at St. Mary's College looks much like the other Colonial-style structures on the riverfront campus of this small, historic liberal-arts school. But inside, Goodpaster Hall represents something very different for St. Mary's - and for the rest of Maryland. From the recycled wood flooring to the sod covering part of its roof, it is one of the state's first "green" college buildings, and a potential prototype for many more such taxpayer-funded facilities to come.
Gov. Martin O'Malley has proposed legislation that would require using energy- and resource-efficient building design and materials in all newly constructed or significantly renovated state buildings, as well as in all state-financed public school buildings - even if they cost a little more to build. Advocates say the buildings will save money on energy bills in the long run.
Growing concerns about rising energy costs and the threat of global warming are driving the spread of green buildings across the country. If the governor's bill passes, Maryland would join about two dozen other states and dozens of cities and counties that have adopted laws, policies or regulations to incorporate energy-saving and environmental features into new public facilities, such as compact fluorescent lighting, solar or geothermal heating, bamboo flooring and nontoxic wall coatings.
-- Timothy B. Wheeler School in Green-Elite -- Coloradan Colorado: January 28, 2008 [ abstract] Bethke Elementary in Tinmath might be one of the first green schools certified under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, or LEED for Schools Program. Poudre School District officials have partially submitted paperwork to certify the new Timnath area elementary school with a LEED gold certification, the second highest certification for green schools. It costs approximately $5,500 to become certified, said Rachel Gutter, schools sector manager for the U.S. Green Building Council. The new LEED for schools came in April when USGBC officials realized schools needed different standards than the LEED for new construction certification, Gutter said. "There was a tremendous demand in the marketplace for more green school construction," Gutter said. "We wanted to specifically address the needs of schools." Under the new rating system, schools have different requirements for daylight and acoustics in the classroom, as well as more stringent air quality standards. The USGBC also awards points for schools that engage their inhabitants, acting as an interactive learning tool. "One of the things we're trying to do is to heighten that awareness and create those opportunities to ask questions about how the building operates," Franzen said.
-- Hallie Woods Idea for Prototype Schools in Indiana Doesn't Thrill Architects -- Journal & Courier Indiana: January 19, 2008 [ abstract] If an area state senator is successful, schools from Fort Wayne to Evansville could have more in common than curriculum standards. They could be built using the same designs. Senate Bill 13, introduced by Brandt Hershman, a Wheatfield Republican who represents much of Lafayette, calls for the state to create a repository of school construction plans. Districts seeking to build schools would choose among those -- or face several rounds of bureaucracy to prove the designs won't fit their need. "Between 1984 and 2006, property tax for school debt service and capital projects has increased by over 8 percent annually, which is far in excess of the rate of personal household income," Hershman said. "So it's a problem, and it's growing." On the heels of the governor's call to reduce property taxes, of which about half go toward local schools, Hershman said the impetus for the bill is to save money by eliminating the need to pay architects to "reinvent the wheel" and to scale back superfluous designs by offering fiscally prudent options. In 2007, the Department of Local Government Finance approved $597.6 million in new school construction. Of that, $30.3 million was spent on architect fees, according to the proposed bill's fiscal impact statement. Hershman acknowledges some money will have to be put up to create the original plans, which would be developed before July of this year. But he says once the repository is built it would save the roughly 5.5 percent of project costs that currently go toward architect fees.
-- Meranda Watling Schools Targeted For Closure-- Washington Post District of Columbia: January 13, 2008 [ abstract] Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee have proposed to close 23 underenrolled public schools, all but three this summer. The proposal has generated numerous complaints from parents who will voice their objections at a series of hearings this week and from council members who say they were excluded from Fenty's decision-making process. No schools in Ward 3 are affected, and Ward 5 has the most proposed closings.
Bruce-Monroe Elementary
(closing 2010)
Built in 1973, when the open-space classroom design was all the craze, Bruce-Monroe sits on Georgia Avenue NW. More than two-thirds of the 307 students are from low-income households, and 62 percent are Hispanic. The school has a dual-language program for pre-kindergarten to first grade. Sixty percent of the students come from outside the neighborhood. Principal Marta Palacios has been praised for knitting a diverse community into a strong school where 41 percent of students passed a standardized test in reading and 40 percent passed a test in math, exceeding benchmarks.
Bruce-Monroe's enrollment declined by less than the median enrollment loss between 2002 and 2006, but Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee recommended closure in part because of "the size and condition of the building."
-- Theola Labbé and V. Dion Haynes Green School Goes for Gold -- Contractor Pennsylvania: January 09, 2008 [ abstract] Armed with the knowledge from building its first “green” elementary school, Radnor Township School District officials here decided to embark on an even more ambitious sustainable school project. In some ways, the district was ahead of its time when it began the Radnor Elementary School’s design process in 1998, prior to the release of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental design rating system. Presently, district officials are seeking LEED-Gold certification after completing the district’s new $48 million Radnor Middle School this year. Many of the elements that make the district’s new school eligible for LEED certification are a residual effect of the community’s forward thinking, according to Leo Bernabei, the school district’s director of operations. “The community and school district’s interest is in supplying the best possible learning environment for the students and staff and to be environmentally responsive to the larger community more so than achieving any certification or getting any plaques,” Bernabei said.
-- Brian Wasag West Virginia Agency Wants Consistent Construction Standards for Schools -- Charleston Daily Mail West Virginia: January 09, 2008 [ abstract] The School Building Authority hopes that by the time funding is allocated to new school construction in July, a new building quality and performance criteria document will be in effect. The document will ensure more uniform facility components at all schools across the state, said Mark Manchin, executive director of SBA. "What we're trying to do is be more uniform," he said. "A school that is built in Wyoming County will be the same as one built in Berkeley County." That's not to say that every school across the state will be identical in all regards, but there will be certain qualities that will be required in all schools that receive SBA funds. "The architects will still have some ability to design what a building looks like," Manchin said.
-- Kelly L. Holleran Dream Dies for Retail Site at Los Angeles School
-- Los Angeles Times California: January 07, 2008 [ abstract] A relic of the tortured Belmont Learning Complex project was laid to rest last month when school officials voted to spend $35.9 million to turn an abandoned shopping center shell beneath the school into a training and testing center for teachers. The commercial space was to have been part of an ambitious re-imagination of what a school could be -- as well as a potential money-generator. In addition to a high school, the site was to have housed a market, retail shops and restaurants, affordable housing and a community center. Those plans fell apart seven years ago. The new concept is being touted as a long-run money saver that will allow the Los Angeles Unified School District to spend less on hotel conference space and leased offices.
When the school opens next fall under a new name, Vista Hermosa, it will almost certainly have the distinction of being the nation's most expensive high school, with construction costs in excess of $400 million. One element of this price tag was the retail development included in the initial design. The retail portion drove the layout of the entire school, situated on a 33-acre site at First Street and Beaudry Avenue just west of the Harbor Freeway downtown. As originally envisioned, businesses would be at the bottom of an immense concrete structure with parking in the middle and the school sitting on top. The campus itself would stretch almost level into what remained of a steep, expansive hill that would be shorn away. This multipurpose design grew out of discussions with residents and merchants in the working-class community, said former school board member Victoria M. Castro, who represented the Belmont area during most of the initial planning.
-- Howard Blume Teams Will Visit Failing Schools To Help Tailor Restructuring Plan
-- Washington Post District of Columbia: January 06, 2008 [ abstract] D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee is sending evaluation teams into 27 of the city's lowest-performing schools, a fact-gathering effort aimed at helping her decide how to improve schools that for years have failed to meet reading and math testing benchmarks.
The teams, made up of nine to 11 teachers, parents, students, residents, education experts from outside the District and representatives from the Washington Teachers' Union, will begin one-day school visits this week. They will observe classes, hold focus groups with teachers and students, and review lesson plans and student test data, among other activities, to gauge how well the schools educate children.
The 27 schools -- six elementary, 11 middle and 10 high -- have failed to make adequate yearly progress on standardized tests for at least five consecutive years. Because of that, the schools have been deemed in need of "restructuring," according to standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind law, which also outlines five remedies.
The options: Bring in private firms to manage the schools; convert them into charters; keep them under the school system's control but replace the principals and teachers; allow the state -- or in Washington, the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education -- to seize the schools; or devise another plan.
Rhee spokeswoman Mafara Hobson said that the "quality school reviews" are one part of Rhee's restructuring approach, designed in part to increase parent and community involvement and have each school reflect on its strengths and weaknesses.
"Each school is at a different level, and so through these reviews, we can tailor a plan specific to each school's individual needs," Hobson said.
-- Theola Labbé Wyoming Schools Wait on School Construction Funding -- Jackson Hole Star Tribune Wyoming: January 03, 2008 [ abstract] The Natrona County School District is waiting for key decisions from the Wyoming Legislature and the Wyoming School Facilities Commission before proceeding with four new elementary schools. designs for the new Evansville, Pineview, Park and the Mills-Mountain View schools have all been funded, said Dennis Bay, the school district's facilities planning and construction manager. "We're anxiously awaiting what, if any or all, of these schools will get construction funding from the Legislature," Bay said. The commission will prioritize which schools will benefit from an estimated $442 million for capital construction and other maintenance projects, based on surveys conducted on each school building in the state.
-- Jasa Santos California District Eyes 1970s Pod Classroom Design for Renovations -- Record California: January 01, 2008 [ abstract] Veteran teacher Ellen Old was presenting information on ancient Egypt not long ago to her sixth-graders at El Dorado Elementary School, but for students at the very back of her classroom, it was nearly as easy to hear the math lesson being taught by neighboring teacher Tracey Sittig. In reality, Old and Sittig don't teach in "rooms." The operative term to describe the open classroom style of school architecture at El Dorado is "pods." Pod classrooms were most popular in the 1970s, designed to promote a free-flowing style of education where students moved from one learning area to another and teachers worked in teams. Instead of solid walls separating rooms, some schools of that era use partitions, none of which reach the ceiling. Instead of walking out one door and into another to go from class to class, you simply walk around the partitions. Unfortunately, noise goes around the partitions just as easily as people do, often making it distracting for teachers and students alike, Old and Sittig said. "It's like living in an apartment," Old said. "It's shared space."
-- Roger Phillilps Questions Raised About Leasing Schools in North Carolina
-- WRAL.com North Carolina: January 01, 2008 [ abstract] Two years after state lawmakers approved the concept of using public-private partnerships to build public schools, the first such projects are beginning to take shape. Private developers build schools in the partnerships and lease them to school districts. Advocates say the arrangement gets schools built more quickly and cheaply than traditional methods of issuing bonds to pay for construction. But some people have questioned whether the savings truly exist.
Cumberland County Schools administrators could decide in the coming weeks whether to proceed with the FirstFloor K-12 Solutions design for a new school. Ferris said leasing schools over time doesn't add to the building costs, and the energy-efficient model he is designing will cut utility bills over several decades. "There's absolutely no doubt in my mind this will save millions of dollars," he said. "Thirty school systems across the state have expressed interest."
-- Kelcey Carlson Old High School a Source of Pride -- Journal Gazette Times Courier Online Illinois: December 24, 2007 [ abstract] When Casey welcomed its first high school, part of the world was aflame with war and the night skies around the town were illuminated with oil well flares. A copy of the 1927 edition of the Casey High School yearbook “The Flame” tells of how construction started on the brick and tile structure in 1917, the year America entered World War I. But, despite a labor shortage, the high school was fully equipped and ready for students by September 1918. Work started on the school with a $70,000 bond issue in the Casey school district. The 1917 school building incorporated an all-in-one design with classrooms, science labs, study hall, library and downstairs gymnasium.
The new school on the north end of the community was a great source of pride. “You will read in the yearbooks how the school was so advanced for its time. They really took great pride in it,” said Casey-Westfield High School Principal Clyde Frankie in reference to the yearbook articles from 80-plus years ago. The Casey community aimed to be progressive when the oil industry was prospering in that part of Illinois. “I’ve been told the yearbook was named ‘The Flame’ because the well flares would light up the night around here back then,” said Bob Rue, a 1957 graduate of Casey High School. “You can still see some flares north of town, but it’s not as bright as it used to be.” The local legend is the oil industry helped build up the Casey education system during the early 20th century, including the 1917 high school and the gymnasium that opened in 1929. “As the oil industry is partly responsible for our wonderful school building ...” an article in a 1920s era edition of “The Flame” states.
-- Herb Meeker The Future of Aging Lansing, Michigan Schools
-- Lansing State Journal Michigan: December 20, 2007 [ abstract] Every year, Lansing taxpayers foot the bill for about 5,000 students who never step foot inside a city school. Not for textbooks or teachers, but in costs related to the buildings that were built for them a generation or two ago - aging buildings that now are under-used because of a steady decline in students over the past 10 years. "Most of our buildings were built when we were a 20,000-student district," said Chief Operations Officer Brian Ralph. "Now we're a 15,000-student district, but the buildings are still here." Ralph chairs the district's Facilities and Support Services task force, one of 11 such groups mapping a strategic plan to improve the district in all areas. A large part of that, he said, is deciding what to do with excess building space. While Ralph said his group won't discuss specific school closures, it will lay out a facilities plan, which will include criteria by which such decisions could be made. "The utilities still have to be paid and gas prices aren't getting any cheaper," said task force member Marty Ruiter, an architect with DLZ Michigan who helped design the new Pattengill Middle School.
-- Derek Wallbank $100,000 Grant to Make Lake Forest School Building More Energy Efficient -- Lake County News-Sun Illinois: December 07, 2007 [ abstract] Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn was in Lake Bluff to honor Lake Bluff School District 65 for designing what will be one of the state's first certified "green" schools. The district received a $100,000 grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation to pay for environmental design features that will make the new school -- planned for 350 W. Washington Ave. -- more energy efficient. "This energy-efficient building will help Lake Bluff School District 65 save money on ever-increasing costs of heating and cooling," Quinn said. "This model of green construction will certainly help our students understand the importance of energy conservation," Superintendent David Vick said. State Sen. Susan Garrett, D-Lake Forest, said the new building is setting a precedent and she was impressed with the fact that residents took the initiative. "What makes this such a great project is it was a real partnership between the school district and everyday citizens of the community who felt strongly about the environment," she said. "The residents thought it was important enough to get involved in a grass roots movement that helped push this proposal," she said, "It will be a much better building because of it." Garrett said that the project will add about $200,000 in extra costs to the school's construction and she said the district will try and secure the other $100,000 through other sources.
-- Staff Writer Bill to Create Standardized Plans for School Facilities Proposed in Indiana -- Rensselaer Republican Indiana: December 07, 2007 [ abstract] A bill to help taxpayers control school construction costs and reduce debt service payments on new facilities by creating standardized plans for school facilities was filed by state Sen. Brandt Hershman (R-Wheatfield). Senate Bill 13 will create standardized plans for school facilities to control construction costs and debt service payments for those facilities. Approximately 50 percent of property taxes collected in Indiana are used to fund local schools. Of those tax dollars, a significant amount is used to pay for debt service. “Hoosiers want significant, permanent property tax reform,” Hershman said. “In order to achieve that, we must contain costs. Since school spending accounts for approximately 50 percent of our property taxes, this seemed a logical place to start.”
Senate Bill 13 is part of a package introduced by the Senate Republican Caucus to provide significant and permanent property tax relief. The bill: Requires that a contract for professional services for design of school facilities must provide that any completed plans and specifications developed under the contract become the joint property of the person providing the services, the school corporation and the State. Requires the DOE with the assistance of the State Building Law Compliance Officer to develop and update standard plans and specifications for the construction of school buildings and athletic facilities. Requires State DLGF approval (in addition to County Review Board approval) for schools that elect to use a non-standard design for a school facility.
-- Staff Writer Schools Watching Indiana Statehouse. Tax Reforms May Hit Building Plans.-- Courier Press Indiana: December 02, 2007 [ abstract] The 2008 Legislature will consider sweeping property tax reform legislation. Among proposals offered by Gov. Mitch Daniels is a plan to have voters approve or reject large capital projects, such as school construction, through referendums, instead of the current petition-drive remonstrance process. Meanwhile, Senate Republican leaders have introduced their own property tax reform legislation " three proposed constitutional amendments and 11 bills. One of them, Senate Bill 13, is aimed at the debt on school bond issues. It is intended to curb what critics call exorbitant architectural design costs for school-construction projects that are passed on to homeowners through property taxes. The bill would create a central repository of standardized school blueprints at the state Department of Education. When school corporations need to expand, building plans would be available off the shelf to construct, thus saving the cost of designing a new building from the ground up.
-- Bryan Corbin Daylight, Clean Air, on Michigan School Priority Lists -- Business Review Michigan: November 29, 2007 [ abstract] Studies have demonstrated that not only does natural lighting save schools money, it also improves student performance. So architects are tossing out the 1980s notion that big windows are big money-wasters -- the small ones didn't save that much in heating or cooling, later studies showed. That's according to Susan Einspahr, president and CEO of Kingscott Associates Inc. in Kalamazoo. School architecture, she said, is the firm's specialty.
The new windows are more energy-efficient than windows of an earlier generation, and the interior lights probably are on sensors that dim them or turn them off completely when daylight is brightest, added Greg Monberg, senior associate and project engineer for Fanning/Howey Associates Inc. another school architecture specialist. The Michigan City, Ind., office has done projects for the Dowagiac, Three Rivers, St. Joseph, New Buffalo and Buchanan school districts.
designing for sound is important, too, Einspahr said. Schools are being built with auditory enhancement systems that require speakers throughout the classroom. Mechanical system design must minimize noise, she said. The U.S. Green Building Council and its Energy Star program are shaping school design. The single most important considerations in school LEED certification is air quality, Monberg said, because children are more susceptible to air contaminants. Kingscott designs from a "green" baseline, and offers more as the client asks, Einspahr said.
-- Staff Writer 83 Schools Make First Cut for Massachusetts School Construction Funds -- Boston Globe Massachusetts: November 28, 2007 [ abstract] Eighty-three schools around Massachusetts have been selected as the leading candidates for millions of dollars in school construction money, potentially bringing relief to parents, educators, and school administrators frustrated for years by crumbling libraries, classrooms, and roofs. The Massachusetts School Building Authority will vote on whether to approve the list, which was culled from an initial pool of 423 requests representing 162 districts asking for state money. While not a guarantee of funding, the selection means the schools won the first round of a stiff competition for $2.5 billion set to be spent on school construction over the next five years.
The state had delayed school construction spending for years in order to get the new building authority up and running. In its first year, the school building program is authorized to spend up to $500 million, which would cover repairs, feasibility studies, design work, and some initial payments for construction of new buildings that win approval. The the school building program, set up by the Legislature in 2004, is designed to force districts to justify their requests. The idea was that in working with the authority, districts in some cases would choose to seek state-funded repairs, rather than new schools. The feasibility studies will verify enrollment projections, investigate alternatives to expensive new buildings, and pore over bid documents. The new approach contrasts with the state's previous process in which state funding for school projects was either approved outright or summarily rejected. Now, the state monitors the process more closely.
-- John C. Drake and James Vaznis Green Schools Get Better Results -- Coloradoan Colorado: November 28, 2007 [ abstract] Mike Stohlgren can get a glimpse of the outside world in every classroom. With solitubes, large windows and lots of natural lighting, Stohlgren never feels like he's going to school in a cave. "My grades are better, and I'm sure that's why," joked Stohlgren, a 10th-grader at Fossil Ridge High School. But Stohlgren's sense of humor isn't too far-fetched. Studies have shown green buildings can increase productivity and improve health for those who spend large amounts of time in them.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, or LEED, certified buildings have more natural lighting and exposure to outdoors, which can improve productivity, said Ashley Katz, communications coordinator for the U.S. Green Building Council. "LEED-certified spaces offer a connection to the outdoors with large and operable windows, which makes it more pleasant to spend your day," she said. Students in Pennsylvania moving from a conventional school to a 2002 LEED gold building had a 19 percent increase in average Student Oral Reading Fluency Scores compared with test scores from the previous building, according to a study done by George Kats, funded in part by the U.S. Green Building Council. A study by the California Energy Commission found that having a better view out a window was consistently associated with better performance.
-- Hallie Woods Columbus Elementary School Renovation Paves the Way for Historic Schools -- ThisWeek Ohio: November 22, 2007 [ abstract] The tin ceilings are still there, and the original wooden floors are polished to a soft gleam. Central hallways, brightly painted in cream and blue, are 16 feet wide and the terrazzo tile in the stairs has stood the test of time. These are features architects wanted to keep in the original 1898 Ohio Avenue Elementary building. On the other hand, a 1950s wing has been replaced by a new cafeteria - a bright space with soaring ceilings and a bank of windows. The computer lab is state of the art, and is supported by a technology room that the original designers of the 109-year-old building could never have dreamed of. Bathrooms have been replaced, air conditioning added and elevators and ramps make the building fully handicapped-accessible.
-- Sue Hagen Making a School a Masterpiece in Los Angeles -- Los Angeles Downtown News California: November 20, 2007 [ abstract] Although it will not open for almost two years, passersby already stop and stare at the Los Angeles Unified School District's most beguiling work-in-progress. The boulder-sized ocular windows, a winding helix tower and a library that looks more like a nuclear reactor all make the arts academy hard to miss. Officials with the school district say the $232 million High School for the Visual and Performing Arts is 70% complete. Starting in fall 2009, the campus will serve about 1,600 students.
Its location on the northern edge of Grand Avenue - a street that contains structures designed by some of the world's most prominent architects - has raised expectations. Originally conceived in 2000 as a traditional high school, local leaders, including billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, pressed the district to make it an arts-oriented academy. As a result, the curriculum was retooled to focus on four areas: visual arts, music, theater and dance. Each discipline will be housed in its own building. LAUSD reopened the project to an international competition when the decision was made to shift to the arts academy. Ultimately, Vienna-based Coop Himmelblau was chosen to handle the designs. HMC Architects are also involved.
-- Evan George It Pays to Build Schools Better -- Charlotte Observer North Carolina: November 19, 2007 [ abstract] A recent report on the condition of our nation's school facilities notes, "The needs of school building construction and repair present us with a tremendous challenge and at the same time, an extraordinary opportunity. With the investment of such large expenditures of taxpayer money comes the responsibility to be thoughtful as we approach the issue of school design." Voters' approval of a Mecklenburg County bond package that includes $516 million for school construction provides our community the opportunity to make decisions that will benefit not only today's students, teachers and our community, but future generations as well.
Research shows evidence of a direct link between the quality of a school's physical environment and student achievement. A number of studies link student performance on standardized tests and teachers' ability to deliver education with building quality, newer buildings, thermal comfort, indoor air quality, daylighting and use of nontoxic materials, as well as specific building features such as science laboratories and libraries. A 2007 Wake County study shows that among fast-growing urban districts, Charlotte Mecklenburg schools are built at some of the lowest per square foot costs in the state and the country. But this "initial cost" is only part of the equation. We can be even more cost-conscious by taking into account the total life cycle costs to operate and maintain school buildings and not just the construction costs.
-- Kathryn Lauria Horne As Rhee Weighs Privatization, Doubts Abound
-- Washington Post District of Columbia: November 18, 2007 [ abstract] D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, in considering turning over the management of 27 failing public schools to nonprofit charter education firms, is sending a clear signal that she intends to shake up the moribund bureaucracy that has failed generations of students.
But experts and school advocates say they are uneasy about the lack of details surrounding her idea, particularly given evidence across the country that charters and schools under private management sometimes fare no better than traditional public schools.
"There's nothing in the literature [to suggest] that privatization will get you revolutionary results," said Henry M. Levin, director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education at Columbia University's Teachers College.
Rhee, under pressure from the No Child Left Behind law, must take a drastic approach with the 27 schools deemed in need of "restructuring" -- those that have failed to meet academic targets for five consecutive years -- or risk losing federal funds. Enlisting education management firms and turning the schools into charters are two of five options the law offers.
With all but a few of the city's 140 schools designated as in need of improvement, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) hired Rhee in June with a mandate to improve student achievement as quickly as possible. But her approach is garnering criticism from parents, the Washington Teachers' Union and some members of the D.C. Council, who question the wisdom of putting public schools under the authority of private firms.
"We have a new leadership team in the city. You go to outside private entities when you give up on the government," said council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), a former school board member. "This is the wrong time, when we're making an investment and showing that government can run its own schools."
-- Theola Labbé and V. Dion Haynes Project to Take Learning Outdoors -- Northwest Arkansas Times Arkansas: November 17, 2007 [ abstract] Dirt work started this week on the planned “ outdoor learning environment” at Washington Elementary School. The project is part of a partnership between the Washington Parent Teacher Organization and the University of Arkansas School of Architecture to redesign part of the school’s northern playground area into an outdoor classroom setting. Architecture professor Michael Hughes and his students are overseeing the project. The PTO has been saving money for five years to fund the project and has donated $ 35, 000 for the architecture students to use. Hughes said the project would probably cost more than $100, 000 normally, but the student labor and several donations of labor and materials from area businesses will keep the costs near $ 30, 000.
Workers have already been moving dirt with heavy equipment to prepare the area for the new construction. Hughes said the design includes a courtyard and a roof overhang for a gathering place. There will also be a stage with the potential for small assemblies. It should have dual uses both for academic instruction and as part of the playground, he said. “ Obviously, it’s a place for kids to come outside and have a class outdoors, ” Hughes said. “ It’ll also be more of a park. ”
-- Brett Bennett Sanford: Make Whale Branch smaller -- The Beaufort Gazette South Carolina: November 17, 2007 [ abstract] Whale Branch High School, designed for 650 students, is too large for the rural area it will serve in Seabrook and should be redesigned as a smaller, more intimate school, Gov. Mark Sanford said Wednesday.
Sanford, who has spoken against the school's construction in the past, said he was concerned the district might eventually need to pull students from areas as far away as Lady's Island to fill the school.
Although Beaufort County Board of Education members have repeatedly called Whale Branch High a neighborhood school, the school's capacity should be about 400 to better match the school's attendance zone, Sanford said in an interview at The Beaufort Gazette, a stop along his Harvest Tour this month.
-- JONATHAN CRIBBS Cincinnati Schools May Incorporate Wood From Doomed Ash Trees -- The Enquirer Ohio: November 15, 2007 [ abstract] The emerald ash borer is expected to decimate the trees of Hamilton County, but Cincinnati Public Schools could gobble up some of the leftovers. An architect said that he’s studying how to incorporate into 51 school buildings some of the wood from thousands of ash trees in Cincinnati parks or along city streets that might be felled because of the invading Asian insect. The wood could be used to build everything from gymnasium floors and stages to simple cabinetry and shelving, said Robert L. Knight, a project manager for GBBN architects downtown. “My task is to partner with entities like the parks in the county to bring these ideas to the table and make them happen,” said Knight, who is the sustainable design initiatives coordinator for city schools. “There are 10 architects under contract now,” Knight said. “We have 26 (schools) in design and construction right now and another eight coming up next year. What I’m trying to do … is integrate these ideas into the projects.”
-- Barrett J. Brunsman A New ‘Green’ School for Lower Manhattan
-- New York Times New York: November 13, 2007 [ abstract] The city will build a 950-seat elementary and middle school in Battery Park City, a recognition of the unanticipated surge in population in Lower Manhattan since 9/11, officials announced. The school, with about 125,000 square feet, is to be the “first entirely ‘green’ public school in New York City,” according to officials. Among other features, it will use occupancy sensors to turn off lights when rooms are not in use and photovoltaic panels to convert light into electricity. The construction materials are designed to improve indoor air quality, reduce the the emission of volatile organic compounds and conserve water. The Battery Park City Authority will contribute $3 million toward such “green” features. The new Battery Park City school will be built on the state’s last vacant building site in the area, according to officials. The state is providing the land through the Battery Park City Authority, at no cost to the city.
The school, to be built at 55 Battery Place, will be fully air-conditioned and have 40 classrooms, including 10 for special education students; a kitchen and cafeteria; a medical suite; an auditorium; a library; wireless Internet access; art, science, and music rooms; a 5,400-square-foot gymnasium, and a 1,500-square-foot exercise room with rooftop educational and recreational spaces. Construction is expected to begin in June and to be completed by September 2010.
-- Jennifer Medina Patrons Enjoy Look at Striking New Energy-Efficient Elementary -- Saline County Voice Arkansas: November 07, 2007 [ abstract] Hurricane Creek Elementary School opened as the first ecofriendly elementary in Arkansas. A "green school," Hurricane Creek becomes the second Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) certified school in Arkansas, say Benton School District officials. Bryant's Bethel Middle School was the first. The school's design allows it to rely heavily on natural light. Though the project cost $10.4 million, reduced maintenance and energy costs save the school $65,780 and $24,280 a year respectively. The design is overall expected to save the community $8.5 million over the building's expected 50- year lifespan.
Bryant patrons approved the millage increase to fund the project in 2003. In subsequent months, state Sen. Shane Broadway accompanied Dr. Richard Abernathy, Bryant school superintendent, to Austin, Texas searching for ideas for new schools in development. The two visited J.J. Pickle Elementary School, and were intrigued by the design. After discussing the options, as well as the various hurdles and potential obstacles, the idea to steer the Bryant district toward environmental friendliness was born. Principal Beggs said Hurricane Creek was an architect's dream. "It takes my breath away."
-- Jason Woods HVAC Systems Improve Efficiency, Health at Schools -- Green Building News National: October 30, 2007 [ abstract] Through the combination of more efficient technology and adoption of green building guidelines, officials can be responsible to both the classroom and the environment, receive a payback on their investments, and achieve their operating goals while improving teacher and student comfort, productivity and performance. School districts can save 30 percent to 40 percent on utility costs each year for new schools, and 20 percent to 30 percent on renovated schools by applying sustainable, high performance, energy-efficient design and construction concepts to improve classroom comfort, according to the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council. Creating a high performance, comfortable classroom environment requires an integrated approach between sustainable design and construction standards, and the corresponding selection, implementation and ongoing maintenance and operation of building control systems and technologies.
-- Maureen Lally Getting a Greener Education in Houston -- Houston Chronicle Texas: October 24, 2007 [ abstract] At Walnut Bend Elementary School, the building boasts plenty of windows to bring in sunlight, energy-efficient light bulbs and " a favorite among students " toilets that flush automatically. As an added bonus, the toilets help conserve water, too. The new Walnut Bend campus, which opened in August, is one of two facilities that the Houston Independent School District has built according to nationally recognized green standards. Last month, HISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra vowed that the 24 new schools slated for construction in the most recent bond proposal would be environmentally friendly. If that promise is realized, Houston would be one of the largest school districts in the nation to go green, said Rachel Gutter, who manages the school program for the U.S. Green Building Council. The nonprofit building council certifies green buildings through a program known as LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental design. To meet LEED standards, buildings must show energy efficiency, water savings, use of green materials, good air quality, sustainable site development, and more. "This is not something the majority of America has committed to by any stretch of the imagination," Gutter said. "It sounds as though Houston is looking to strike out as a leader in the state, and it could be a national leader."
-- Erika Mellon North Carolina School Design Saves Water
-- news14.com North Carolina: October 24, 2007 [ abstract] From the outside, Northern Guilford Middle School looks like an average school, but with its solar panels and slanted roof, the school conserves energy and water. "We have a reservoir that contains 360,000 gallons of water and that water is supplied through the roof that drains on both the high school and the middle school," said Joe Hill, a project consultant for Guilford County Schools. The reservoir is hidden underneath a basketball court in front of the middle school. The water is primarily used for flushing toilets, which accounts for 75 percent of the school's total water usage. "We specify the very low-flow toilets and other plumbing fixtures and then we use rain water for flushing toilets. By doing that we do that 9 million gallons of water saving," added Bae-Won Koh, the architect who designed the building.
-- Kira Mathis Design makes large friendly -- The Eudora News Kansas: October 18, 2007 [ abstract] A new 1,000-student elementary school in Eudora might not be that scary after all.
Making size manageable is the driving force behind the design for a building that could house the district's first- through fifth-graders as early as the fall of 2009 should a $45 million bond referendum pass Nov. 6.
Bond architect Kevin Greischar of DLR Group presented the Eudora USD 491 Board of Education Thursday with new renderings of the proposed building.
If the bond passes, the $27 million school will be built on 46.6 acres southwest of the intersection at 10th and Peach streets. The proposed school would replace the deteriorating Nottingham Elementary School as an attendance center.
"We don't really have anything like this in our designs anywhere,"Greischar said. "This will be a new school to us, DLR, and to the area."
Welcome to the neighborhood
The proposed building consists of five separate pods, or neighborhoods, surrounding one common area.
The campus will have the capacity to educate up to 1,000 students, with each five-classroom neighborhood would accommodating 200 students.
"I think the basic concept of the building is really collaboration and keeping everything in components that young kids can really recognize and feel comfortable with," Greischar said. "Even though we have a thousand kids in there, they are going to have their own neighborhood."
The central area, or Main Street, will have library, gymnasium and cafeteria areas that will be shared by all the grades, Greischar said.
-- Patrick Cady Report Examines High Cost of School Construction in California
-- Business Wire California: October 18, 2007 [ abstract] A group of more than 20 leading representatives from California’s governmental, educational, legal, design, and construction communities recently authored a 27-page report detailing why construction costs are so high for kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) educational facilities and community colleges in California. The document, titled “A Report on the High Cost of Construction for K-12 Schools and Community Colleges in California,” examines possible reasons for these high costs, including economic and construction market conditions, increases in the number and complexity of designs, and legal restrictions for project delivery and contracting processes. The report also identifies initiatives to lower costs without sacrificing public and educational objectives.
-- Press Release Developers may help fund school work-- The Examiner Maryland: October 09, 2007 [ abstract] Developers would be more likely to foot some of the costs for expanding over-capacity schools in areas where they build large housing complexes under changes to the county’s growth policy debated by Montgomery County’s council Monday.
The Planning, Housing and Economic Development committee members analyzed a planning board proposal to charge developers a school-facilities payment when development would cause projected enrollment at area schools to increase to 110 percent of listed capacity.
The proposal would also put a moratorium on development around schools once they have reached more than 135 percent of capacity. Only permanent classrooms, not portables, would be factored into infrastructure capacity calculations.
“One of the problems with all the infrastructure is that it tends to be lumpy,” Planning Board Chairman Royce Hanson said. “You can’t build enough lane for one car or enough school for one student so you have to do it in bigger batches. Part of the trick here is to try to design a policy that can produce clumps of money that make it possible to produce clumps of infrastructure.”
-- Kathleen Miller Shades of Green: School Energized for Future -- Sacramento Bee California: October 09, 2007 [ abstract] There is momentum building worldwide for environmentally sound school designs. Increasingly, green schools are viewed as sound investments in the environment, student performance and the bottom line. Now, schools looking to incorporate green design into new or revamped buildings can apply for state funding. The state Department of General Services' Office of Public School Construction(OPSC) said last week that schools can apply for $100 million in High Performance Incentive Grants. High performance schools are defined as those that feature energy- and resource-efficient classrooms. "Studies have shown that there's a 20 percent improvement in math and reading test scores for students in well lit classrooms," said Rob Cook, an executive officer with OPSC. "Maximizing natural light is a great element to integrate into schools."
-- Ngoc Nguyen Sustainable Classroom Design Captures San Francisco Bay Breezes and Sunlight -- AIArchitect California: October 05, 2007 [ abstract] The Windrush School in El Cerrito, Calif., located on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay, recently broke ground on a new 14,000-square-foot, two-story classroom wing that will use sustainable design techniques to take advantage of the region’s moderate climate. Emeryville, Calif.-based Ratcliff created the K"8 school to capture and distribute sunlight and bay breezes using clerestory windows, a combination natural ventilation and radiant heating system, photovoltaics, and a green roof with a water runoff system. The project makes up the first phase of the Windrush School’s four-phase development plan and will meet the 2010 requirements for 50 percent carbon neutrality. In addition to significant energy cost savings, Windrush is expecting to be the first LEED certified project in El Cerrito. The classroom wing will be completed for the 2008 school year. The Windrush school hopes to save an estimated $10,000 per year with the new classroom building, with an annual energy cost of just $500.
-- Russell Boniface High-Tech High
-- Government Technology Pennsylvania: October 03, 2007 [ abstract] At 8 a.m. on Sept. 7, 2006, a school bell rang for the first time at Philadelphia's School of the Future, officially opening one of the nation's most advanced high schools. The school, conceived by the School District of Philadelphia, Microsoft and the community of West Philadelphia, delivers a new approach to curriculum, school design and the integration of technology into the daily lives of teachers and students. Instructional, environmental, architectural and technical elements focus on building a sustainable, curriculum-driven environment to help students learn, and help teachers and administrators succeed.
-- Staff Writer Regulations Passed to Begin Funding 'Green Schools' for California
-- Business Wire California: October 03, 2007 [ abstract] The Department of General Services' Office of Public School Construction announced that regulations have been approved to allow it to begin the process of awarding $100 million in High Performance Incentive Grants to California schools for more energy and resource efficient "green" classrooms. The funding was approved by California voters last year as part of Proposition 1D. In December 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger signed an Executive Order that ushered in the State's Green Building Initiative and encouraged schools built with State funds to be resource- and energy-efficient, while creating safer and healthier learning environments. The High Performance Incentive Grant program will promote the use of high performance attributes in new construction and modernization of projects for K-12 schools. These attributes include using designs and materials that promote energy and water efficiency, maximize the use of natural lighting, improve indoor air quality, use recycled materials and materials that emit a minimum of toxic substances, and feature acoustics that help the teaching and learning process.
-- Press Release Schools of the Future Will Look and Function in Surprising Ways -- University of Buffalo Reporter New York: September 28, 2007 [ abstract] Buffalo teacher Donna Grace tells the story of a new student who entered Buffalo's Waterfront School, one of the city's stunning new magnet schools, for the first time 30 years ago. Wide-eyed with awe, the little girl took in the soaring ceilings, stone floors, walls of glass and colorful, open-design classrooms and said, "This for children?" Studies repeatedly have found that high-quality school environments increase self-esteem, student-teacher and peer interactions, student motivation and discipline. Those that have designs that incorporate complexity, surprise, novelty and beauty encourage exploratory behavior among students, as well as interest and involvement in school itself. Unfortunately, the reverse also is true.
-- Staff Writer In the Crucible of Growth, Fast School Construction Is a Science -- Washington Post Virginia: September 23, 2007 [ abstract] To make a Loudoun County elementary school, start with 1,700 cubic yards of concrete for the foundation. Combine 137,000 cinder blocks and 129,000 bricks to make the outside walls, and set aside about 3,500 square yards of asphalt for the parking lot. Such formulas, honed down to the brick after a decade of phenomenal growth, have put Loudoun in the vanguard of assembly-line school construction. Sticking to a standardized design has helped encourage competitive bidding for contracts and speedy construction, a virtue proved this year when Sycolin Creek Elementary in Leesburg was raised in seven months.
Most school systems, including Loudoun's, like to allow a year to 18 months to build from the foundation to the finishing touches. Fairfax County once accelerated that time frame to 10 months to replace an elementary school that had burned down. Prince William County's record is eight months, including site preparation. Even Clark County, Nev., which as the home of Las Vegas churns out 11 new schools a year to accommodate explosive growth, reports its tightest timeline for a new elementary was 8 1/2 months.
-- Michael Alison Chandler School Officials Eager to Get Going on Yorktown Rebuild-- Sun Gazette Virginia: September 21, 2007 [ abstract] It might now be closer to a 50-50 possibility, but county school officials remain hopeful that the new Yorktown High School can be built within its $102 million budget.
School Board members were briefed on plans for the new school at their Sept. 20 meeting, but put off approval of the final design for the school as they await action by several county government committees.
At the end of all the deliberations, the County Board must approve a modified-use permit in order for the project to move forward.
“We will be back to this just as soon as the County Board has acted,” School Board Chairman Dave Foster said.
The Yorktown plan already has been considered by a number of advisory panels, but awaits review by the Transportation Commission and Planning Commission. The County Board, which this month deferred action on the proposal, is set to take it up in mid-October.
The new facility will be built on the site of the existing high school in North Arlington.
School Board spokesman Linda Erdos told the Sun Gazette that it was too early to know whether the school would come in under its budgeted amount. In a memo to School Board members, Superintendent Robert Smith and his staff also hedged their bets.
As any homeowner who goes through a remodeling project knows, delays and changes can lead to extra costs.
The same is true for school construction, and school officials are bracing for additional costs because of the delays in getting the project through the approval process.
-- SCOTT McCAFFREY Ohio School Officials Discuss Scope of Preservation
-- Tribune Chronicle Ohio: September 20, 2007 [ abstract] The façade of Warren G. Harding High School, which was constructed in 1924, will be saved as construction of a new high school proceeds. The state is funding 81 percent of the total $152 million project, which includes a new high school and four new K-8 buildings. The remaining cost will be funded through a bond issue passed in 2003. A locally funded initiative for $1 million also was passed to preserve part of the historic Harding building. A project outline shows that a total of 43,510 square feet of the current building will be retained in its current location. The plan aims to maintain the street-side exterior with it’s elaborate design and prestigious-looking columns. All three stories of the building behind that center of the structure will remain, including the auditorium and offices. The classroom wings to the sides will be removed along with the gymnasiums.
-- Jennifer Kovacs Green Schools: Color Them Healthy Places of Teaching and Learning -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer National: September 13, 2007 [ abstract] During the 1950s and '60s thousands of schools were built across the county, but now those learning facilities have aged to the point that they desperately need modernization or replacement. In the next 10 to 20 years, the U.S. will spend hundreds of billions of dollars on school construction. Each of those schools will last an average of 80 years.
Because buildings are the No. 1 contributor to climate change through their greenhouse gas emissions because of the massive amounts of energy they consume, we have a tremendous chance to address this situation. We can employ a smart, economically viable, environmentally responsible approach to creating schools or we can allow first-cost objections to cloud the judgment of school boards and follow the business-as-usual approaches that will result in a slew of cheaply constructed, energy-hogging schools littered throughout the nation that fail to create better learning environments.
It is imperative that we design the next generation of schools to teach about a more sustainable way of living, use minimal energy, eliminate the creation of toxins and waste and be interdependent with natural systems. This country's educational infrastructure desperately needs a modernized green school system. Green, high-performance schools are not a panacea. They will not solve all of the ills in the nation's school system but they will provide a foundation for a better education, in which teachers will more easily be able to focus on what matters most -- teaching -- and students will focus on what matters most -- learning.
-- R.K. Stewart Arlington Co. education officials say board’s delay in approving high school may cost time, money
-- The examiner Virginia: September 12, 2007 [ abstract] Arlington school officials are concerned that the county board’s delay in approval of the construction application for Yorktown High School will add to the cost of the project and put it behind schedule.
Schools officials want to break ground in June on the $100 million project, which will replace much of the existing school.
The Arlington County Board deferred a vote beyond its meeting Saturday so two of its citizen panels " the planning and transportation commissions " can resolve concerns with the design.
“We’ll take the comments from the commissions and do our best to address it in October,” County Board Chairman Paul Ferguson said.
-- Maria Hegstad San Francisco School Avoids Landfill, Reborn as Green School of the Future -- TreeHugger Newsletter California: September 11, 2007 [ abstract] designed with the idea of fostering an atmosphere where independent thought and personal social responsibility are the norm rather than the exception, the Waldorf School’s newest addition to their thousand strong campuses around the world is an interesting take on the future of high schools everywhere. Essentially, they’ve taken the initiative to completely redesign their high school building in San Francisco.
So what have they chosen to include in this, the high school of the future? Well, for starters how about the fact that rather than demolishing the old building they simply saved the pieces, and through a bit of technological wizardry were able to put them all back together again. Of course, this time they’re in a much greener configuration. With a smarter usage of natural light, heat and ventilation, the addition of a 99% efficient boiler, smart sensors that pump outside air in if C02 levels get too high inside, infrared and C02 sensors to locate vacant rooms and adjust ventilation accordingly, new energy-efficient windows, and even cabinets and counter tops made from recycled paper and glue composite they’re aiming to help students put those lessons on independent thought and personal responsibility into action. And ultimately, in fact, they’ve even made the grade as San Francisco’s first LEED Gold high school.
-- Kenny Luna Titans of Ecology: Rising Number of 'Green' Schools -- Washington Post Virginia: September 11, 2007 [ abstract] In the Washington region and elsewhere, local governments are spending big money on a new generation of schools designed to be sensitive to the environment. The campuses -- often equipped with the trappings of an upscale hotel, such as waterless urinals and motion-sensing light systems -- stand in sharp contrast to schools with mold, chipped ceilings and more fluorescent light than natural light.
The number of schools nationwide built or designed under strict environmental guidelines has increased in the past seven years, according to the U.S. Green Building Council in Washington, which certifies new buildings of all types under its Leadership in Energy and Environmental design rating system.
Sixty schools nationwide have obtained council certification, including three in the Washington area: John M. Langston High School Continuation Program in Arlington, the middle school of the private Sidwell Friends School in the District and Great Seneca Creek Elementary School in Montgomery County. At Sidwell Friends, the middle school's protective skin is made of western red cedar reclaimed from wine fermentation barrels. And at Great Seneca Creek, students have cubbyholes that look like wood but are made of wheat. More than 360 others, including T.C. Williams, are applying for certification. In 2000, only four were in the pipeline.
-- Ian Shapira Redesigning the Concept of School -- Baltimore Sun Maryland: September 07, 2007 [ abstract] Bolstered by emerging research that suggests smaller schools boost academic performance, improve graduation rates and curb truancy and other disruptive behavior, Anne Arundel County school officials are considering ways to make high schools feel smaller. It's the district's first comprehensive look at high school design since the mid-1970s.
In the future, Anne Arundel high schools will have students organized in buildings according to grade, so freshmen will find all their classes in the same hallway or section of the school and will be taught by a familiar team of teachers. Most of the district's 12 high schools have already started to do this through "freshmen academies" to ease their transition, but under the new design, sophomores, juniors and seniors will also benefit from a tighter-knit approach to education.
Currently, high school campuses are configured by subject, so that all the math classes are in one hall, all the social studies in another, and so on. Rearranging high schools to keep common groups of students together by grade level will help students build closer relationships with teachers and each other.
-- Ruma Kumar Baker board will ask for a new middle school
-- Baker City Herald Oregon: September 06, 2007 [ abstract] The Baker School Board will ask voters a second time to approve a bond measure to fund construction of a new middle school building.
The board agreed in a 4-to-1 vote Thursday night to place a $21 million bond measure before the voters in the Nov. 6 election.
The measure requires a double majority to pass, said County Clerk Tami Green. That means 50 percent of the district's 8,160 eligible voters (4,080) must cast their ballot in the election and more than half of those who turn out must vote in favor of the measure in order for it to pass.
Unlike the $19.8 million request the district placed on last year's ballot, none of the money would be used to fund improvements at the district's other schools. Voters defeated that bond measure with 52 percent voting no and 48 percent voting in favor.
The board approved the plan Thursday night after first seeking more information from Scott Steele of Steele Associates Architects. The Bend firm was hired in August 2006 to design a new middle school on property the district plans to buy in north Baker City near the Baker Sports Complex.
-- CHRIS COLLINS Utility Savings Reach $1 Million in Illinois School District -- Daily Herald Illinois: September 01, 2007 [ abstract] In 2004, Community Unit District 300 launched an ambitious program designed to save millions in utility costs over an 11-year period. Three years later, District 300 already has saved more than $1 million, with 15 of 18 buildings in the district exceeding their energy-saving goals last year. The district has been able to save about $1.1 million in utility costs since 2004 with a two-pronged strategy of upgrading facilities and obtaining energy at favorable rates.
The district's energy conservation program is being spearheaded by Johnson Controls of Milwaukee and David Ulm, District 300's energy management coordinator. District 300 hired both Johnson Controls and Ulm during the summer of 2004. Johnson went to work to upgrade school facilities to use energy more efficiently. Wasteful toilets were replaced with low-flow models. Motion-activated faucets replaced manual faucets. Automation systems were installed so administrators could turn off heating and cooling systems when buildings weren't in use.
The other part of the energy savings equation came in the form of cheaper natural gas and electricity. The district now purchases both through Constellation New Energy, which buys energy in bulk at much lower rates. "Basically, we're getting it at wholesale price instead of retail," Ulm said. The district also monitors its natural gas reserves. Ulm watches the market and purchases a month's worth of gas -- the maximum the district is allowed to store -- when prices are low.
-- Jameel Naqvi What Can $327 Million Buy These Days in San Diego? 5 New Campuses.-- San Diego Union-Tribune California: August 27, 2007 [ abstract] A decade-long effort to build new San Diego schools culminates in September with the opening of five campuses built at a cost of $327 million. The San Diego Unified School District, the state's second-largest education system with about 130,000 students, has not had this many schools open simultaneously in four decades. Burbank Elementary, Laura Rodriguez Elementary, Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary, Thurgood Marshall Middle and Abraham Lincoln High incorporate multimedia technology, energy-efficient designs, fresh landscaping, performing arts theaters, and specialized classrooms for science, arts and technology.
The schools are funded by the $1.51 billion Proposition MM approved by San Diego voters in 1998. Their completion represents the fulfillment of most of the promises made to voters under the bond. The district has built 13 schools so far and modernized 161. Four more schools partially funded by the bond could open in the next several years. Land prices have nearly doubled, and construction costs have gone up about 20 percent since the bond passed in 1998. The new schools have cost millions more than originally estimated.
-- Helen Gao A Minnesota School Built by a Thousand Hands -- Star Tribune Minnesota: August 21, 2007 [ abstract] Principal Jim Murphy stands in the school's atrium, pondering a decoration in front of him. Above the entrance to the music wing at the new Shakopee High School, a giant music staff adorns the wall. Instead of notes, lights are scattered on the staff. And Murphy laughs. "It's neat, but we don't know how to turn the lights on yet," he says. "Our custodians haven't found the switch."
design of new high schools is a telling marker of what a community values. In the past 15 years, the south metro has had a wealth of new schools go up. Ask school officials in these districts who designed their new high schools, and their eyes start to glaze over. "Well," they'll start, and then they'll describe an involved process with task forces, community groups, teacher committees and hundreds and hundreds of voices.
In Shakopee, for example, the school district started with a long-range planning committee to study growth and facilities needs. After voters approved the school's funding, there was a committee that talked about the actual design. There were hundreds of meetings with community and teacher groups. Eventually, a design emerged.
-- Emily Johns New school will be trucked to Tulalip site in 121 pieces-- Everett Herald Washington: August 06, 2007 [ abstract] The two-tone green building stretches longer than a football field and fills an industrial storage yard.
Sometime later this month, it will disappear from the 57-acre Whitley Evergreen Inc. grounds at Smokey Point.
In 121 parts, it will be rolled on truck beds along roads paralleling I-5 to a recently excavated spot on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. There, it will be reassembled by crane over two weeks.
And the Marysville School District will have its newest school.
Marysville Arts & Technology High School won't be a conventional campus.
The custom-designed school was built in sections in a factory. Those 121 pieces will be joined together, somewhat similar to a Boeing 787 jetliner.
"It's kind of like a jigsaw puzzle," said Jon Krimm, general manager at Whitley Evergreen.
A 38,000-square-foot jigsaw bound by big bolts. Inside are enough single-story classrooms for 400 students and several common areas with 28-foot high ceilings and glass to bring in natural light.
Arts & Technology will be the first of three small schools to open on the site just south of Quil Ceda Elementary School in what will be called the Marysville Secondary Campus.
Tulalip Heritage High School and Tenth Street School, a middle school, are also being built in the Smokey Point factory, each with different designs.
"We wanted to give them their own identity," said John Bingham, the district's capital facilities director.
-- Eric Stevick Better Test Scores by Green Building Design?
-- Times-Picayune Louisiana: July 20, 2007 [ abstract] The quest for higher student test scores seems to be never-ending. But perhaps our search has been fruitless because we've been looking in the wrong places. Green thinking. That's the message of Global Green USA, the American affiliate of Green Cross International. The group contends that schools built or renovated along green building principles are healthier and more cost effective in the long run. Perhaps, most importantly, these schools also promote improved test scores and better attendance on the part of both students and faculty. "Public school advocates have been so focused on the curriculum and the teachers for so many years that the quality of the buildings that the students are learning in has generally been pushed to the background," said Beth Galante, the director of Global Green New Orleans. "Our report references a study of 2,000 classrooms in three school districts that found that children performed 26 percent better on reading tests in classrooms with maximum natural daylight versus those in rooms with the least amount of natural light," Galante said.
"Green schools use an average of 33 percent less energy than conventionally designed schools. Studies find an average asthma reduction of 38.5 percent in buildings with improved air quality," she said.
-- Lolis Eric Elie Fenty’s aides: $200M for D.C. schools isn’t enough-- The Examiner District of Columbia: July 18, 2007 [ abstract] Barely a month after promising a swift, low-cost fix of the city’s stricken schools, Mayor Adrian Fenty’s administration is quietly conceding it may take tens of millions of dollars more than initially projected to rescue the system from decades of neglect.
Allen Lew, the mayor’s school construction czar, is scheduled to hold a news conference next week and will announce that the $200 million budgeted for school reconstruction over the next two years won’t be enough, two top aides to Fenty told The Examiner.
The aides also said that Chancellor Michelle Rhee is expecting a shortfall in the schools’ operating budget, which is separate from construction funds, before the end of the fiscal year.
The aides spoke on condition of anonymity because the Fenty administration still hasn’t figured out how big the budget gaps are.
In recent years, the schools have been short up to $40 million, one aide said.
It’s not clear if the Fenty administration will ask for more money or cut other parts of the schools’ $1 billion plus budget.
Victor Reinoso, deputy mayor for education, told The Examiner that the Fenty team learned about construction cost problems shortly after taking over the $75 million summer repair “blitz.”
The blitz was designed to fix the most immediate problems in the schools, from leaking roofs to broken ventilation systems, and was approved by the Board of Education and former Superintendent Clifford Janey.
-- Bill Myers North High Scaled Back to Remain on Budget -- Worcester Telegram & Gazette Massachusetts: July 17, 2007 [ abstract] The size of the planned North High School has been scaled back by about 45,000 square feet to ensure that the school project remains within its $72.8 million budget while also meeting educational needs. The 1,100-student replacement school was originally going to be 270,000 square feet, but is now projected to be about 225,000 square feet. Robert L. Moylan Jr., commissioner of public works and parks, said the reduction reduces construction costs without sacrificing the school’s educational program. Moylan said his department will evaluate all options relating to renewable energy and energy conservation and expects to receive a $75,000 design grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative for the inclusion of renewable energy technologies. He said the city may subsequently be eligible for another grant of $150,000 to $300,000 to offset the cost of materials and installation.
-- Nick Kotsopoulos Price Tag of Massachusetts School is Now $154 Million -- Boston Globe Massachusetts: July 15, 2007 [ abstract] Newton North High School was already the most expensive high school building project in Massachusetts history; now, the official cost estimate of the project had risen to $154 million. The city had previously pegged the official cost at $151 million. The Globe estimated the cost of the project at $154 million in April, based on public records. The latest cost estimate was given to the city by Dimeo Construction of Providence, which is overseeing the project. Mayor David Cohen and the School Committee considered but rejected design changes that could have shaved millions of dollars off the project's cost. The city has decided to spend extra for a more efficient heating and cooling system in the hope of cutting future energy costs and also opted for a more expensive brick facade and the creation of a school theater balcony. While the state will contribute $46.5 million to the project, the rest will come from city coffers. Sandy Pooler, Newton's chief administrative officer, said debt payments would cost the city an estimated $13 million annually by 2019. Officials from the mayor's office still held out the possibility the city could find other savings to trim the cost.
-- Megan Woolhouse Summer Break, But Plenty of Work to Fix Crumbling D.C. School Facilities -- Washington Post District of Columbia: July 01, 2007 [ abstract] In an early test of his ability to improve education in the District, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty plans to spend $17 million on summer repairs to the city's crumbling schools, an effort designed to create visible improvements by the time classes resume in August. Fenty's education office has hired District-based Smoot Construction to manage repairs at 33 schools. The work includes asbestos removal, toilet repairs, heating and cooling system maintenance, patching or replacing leaky roofs and other issues that have lingered for years. Additionally, at least 40 businesses have signed up for the mayor's "buff and scrub" initiative, which calls for contractors to donate repair work worth $10,000 at each of 50 schools. Contractors are being matched with principals to discuss the work. City officials said they would release the full list of schools and contractors sometime this week.
The repairs are part of the mayor's political strategy to show change in the 55,000-student school system now under his control. In an interview, Fenty (D) said he plans to have repairs completed at all 141 schools in the system to make "things noticeably different when people go in on the first day of school." But, one aspect of summer repairs has already hit a snag. Work on a "blitz" repair program at 37 schools has stalled because the contract bids came in higher than the budgeted amount, city officials said. The program, launched in January by the school system, is a separate effort to fix urgent problems.
-- Theola Labbé The "Big Box"-- American School and University National: July 01, 2007 [ abstract] The small-schools movement has revolutionized educational concepts, design and construction. By reconfiguring large high schools into smaller learning academies, districts believe they can educate students more effectively. The â€"big box†warehouse philosophy often found in public education is going the way of the dunce's cap.
Planners face numerous challenges in creating or renovating small schools, especially in urban environments where high real-estate prices can hinder development. Creating small schools for specialty curricula such as science, technology or performing arts presents a challenge in the planning, design, construction and administration of these facilities.
Rethinking high school
In 2003, New York City launched its â€"New Schools Initiative†as a core strategy of its â€"Children First†reform agenda. As of September 2006, the initiative had created 184 new secondary schools, six elementary schools and 36 charter schools. Most of these are renovated schools.
Organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Open Society Institute and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation have contributed funding for the New Schools Initiative.
The New York City Department of Education Office of New Schools provides generic program guides to start the process, while its School Construction Authority oversees design and construction. School administrators collaborate with designers and planners to adapt spaces to meet specific needs.
-- Warren Gran and Kevin Krudwig Trash or Treasure-- American School and University National: July 01, 2007 [ abstract] In June 2000, the National Trust for Historic Preservation added historic neighborhood schools to its annual list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Although there has been a surge in renovating school facilities for adaptive reuses such as office space or lofts, thousands of historic schools are in danger of demolition.
Renovating an existing structure may provide the highest and best use in some cases, but often a new facility is mandatory. Not all historic schools are worth saving. But when possible, salvaging a historic school can add to the social fabric of communities and provide opportunities for building on the future while preserving the past.
Sustainable preservation
All old buildings should not be considered assets. However, reusing existing buildings truly is a sustainable concept, and renovating a historic school should be considered before opting to build new.
Replacing a historic building with a more energy-efficient modern structure may sound like an environmentally friendly option, but the opposite may be true. When comparing the embodied energy present in the existing building and the amount of energy expended to demolish a building with the energy consumption of constructing a new building, it becomes apparent that in some cases the most sustainable route may be to maintain the existing structure.
Renovations that are designed with sensitivity can significantly lower energy consumption, as well as reduce building demolition waste, which totals 65 million tons per year according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
-- Adele Willson and Gary Petri N.Y.C. Green School Rules Released -- New York Construction New York: June 29, 2007 [ abstract] The New York City Department of Education and its School Construction Authority division have released new standards for green design to serve as a roadmap for contractors and architects as they take on the city’s $3 billion school capital program. The N.Y.C. Green Schools Guide and Rating System released this spring was the result of a more than 18 month-long collaboration between the schools agencies and several consulting firms, led by Dattner Architects of New York, DVL Consulting Engineers of Hackensack, and Viridian Energy & Environmental of Norwalk, Conn. The system will bring the schools into compliance with Local Law 86, a citywide measure enacted in January that requires all municipal construction projects to meet minimum sustainable design standards.
-- Staff Writer 150 Colorado School Construction Projects To Be Re-inspected
-- Rocky Mountain News Colorado: June 21, 2007 [ abstract] The state will re-inspect more than 150 public school construction projects after auditors said they found serious code violations, including insufficient sprinklers and fire walls. Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety Director Dick Piper, who is in charge of inspections, said that he will hire extra help to review the projects in the next six to eight weeks. Inspectors will be looking at projects designed or built in the past 18 months. Many of them are already in use. Piper said he is going to ask the legislature for emergency funding to finish the re-inspections before schools reopen. He said he won't know the cost until he can assess the extent of the problem. "We believe schools are safe," said Piper, who has been with the division of the Department of Labor and Employment since 2002.
-- Betsy Lehndorff Some New Toledo Schools Opening to Space Crunch -- Toledo Blade Ohio: June 17, 2007 [ abstract] Leaders of Toledo Public Schools envision having all new or renovated state-of-the- art buildings and a classroom seat for every child in five years. In the meantime, the school system could be in a lurch this fall as it opens Keyser Elementary, the second new school that will turn out to be too small for its number of students " forcing the district to keep both the old and new buildings open at the same time. Additionally, two more school buildings " DeVeaux and Byrnedale middle schools " are scheduled to open later in the academic year and could have the same problem. Superintendent John Foley said adjustments to the district’s building program master plan since it began five years ago, coupled with school closings last year, have caused a domino effect of problems. “Previously, designers of the plan have built schools that may fit the projections of 2012, but don’t fit today’s population,” Mr. Foley said.
-- Ignazio Messina Planners of New Orleans' Schools' Future are Selected -- Times-Picayune Louisiana: June 13, 2007 [ abstract] Two firms, including a company that helped coordinate the Unified New Orleans Plan, have been selected to craft a master plan that will govern the rebuilding of public schools in New Orleans, education officials said. Concordia, an architecture and planning firm based in New Orleans, and Parsons Corp., a construction management and planning firm based in Pasadena, Calif., will work together to develop a blueprint for school renovation and construction. The two companies beat out four firms to win the $3.8 million contract. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse the school district for the cost, officials said. The state-run Recovery School District, which operates the bulk of the 58 schools open in the city, and the Orleans Parish School Board will work together on the plan, expected to be completed in 2008.
Deciding which schools will open, and where, often presents thorny political issues. To earn community support, the planner will seek broad input, officials said. Concordia plans to hold forums in each of the 13 planning districts designated in the city's unified plan, probably starting in the fall, said Bobbie Hill, a principal in the company. For practical reasons, most of the reopened school are in the least devastated parts of the city. Some rebuilding neighborhoods still have no schools.
-- Darran Simon Disabled Access in Los Angeles Schools Faulted -- Los Angeles Times California: May 31, 2007 [ abstract] An audit of the Los Angeles Unified School District's progress in building and remodeling schools to make them accessible to the disabled found chronic problems in the design of parking, restrooms, ramps and drinking water fountains, as well as a troubling lack of documentation and misstatements of accomplishments. The school system was sued in 1993 on behalf of disabled students, principally alleging that the district had failed to provide adequate special education. The suit resulted in two consent decrees, known as the Chanda Smith decrees, in which the district agreed to make future schools accessible to the disabled and spend at least $87.5 million to upgrade existing campuses to provide access, in compliance with state and federal laws. An independent monitor was appointed by the court to review the district's performance.
-- Evelyn Larrubia Green School Takes Lots of Green -- Palm Beach Post Florida: May 29, 2007 [ abstract] The windmills will have to go. So will the distinctive, angled metal roofs, designed to reflect sunlight. But hopes of building the state's first certified green elementary school at Pine Jog Environmental Education Center in Palm Beach County remain very much alive. First, the school district had to get around the environmental problems caused by dropping the new school into Pine Jog's 150-acre suburban wilderness. Sure, some had complained that putting a school in a preserve was akin to destroying the forest to save it. But district officials would be careful, preserving trees and applying "green" building standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The first bill came in at $1.5 million to replace all those slash pines and cabbage palms that had to be killed or moved to build the green school. The school district gulped. They had budgeted $250,000.
The first construction bids on building the school and a $3 million center for Pine Jog come in at an astronomical $38 million. Only $28 million has been budgeted, and that's up from $20 million originally. School district officials, to say the least, are scrambling. They blame the high costs of steel, cement and fuel. They're cutting costs but not, they say, at the expense of the school's green virtues. Not all of them, at least. They found $4 million in duplication, knocking the bid immediately to $34 million. Then the hard work of cutting costs without losing green certification began. Switching to a traditional flat roof saves $1 million, but they lose some green points. Eliminating the windmills, meant to drive irrigation pumps, saves a mere $50,000.
-- Joel Engelhardt Prototypes Offer Efficient Method for Building Schools -- Island Packet South Carolina: May 28, 2007 [ abstract] The Beaufort County School District has gotten a jump-start on its future bond projects with a new design for elementary schools and early learning centers. The prototypes should govern the layout of schools to come, saving time and money, say district officials. By 2010, three schools should be complete in Bluffton that will adhere to the designs -- two early learning centers and one elementary school. The projects are part of the district's $162.7 million building program that voters approved in April.
-- Kelly Vadney Prototype School Design Concept Unworkable in Iowa -- Sioux City Journal Iowa: May 14, 2007 [ abstract] Several new elementary and middle schools have been constructed and more are being planned. Rather than the expense of designing each school separately, why hasn't one good design been used for all? -- Sioux City
After the 1 percent local option sales and services tax was passed in 1998, the School Board investigated the concept of a prototype design for middle schools and elementary schools, according to William Stoneburg, chief financial officer. The conclusion was a prototype design concept was unworkable for several reasons and the architectural consultants working with the board agreed with the conclusion. Among their findings: 1. State law requires all school building projects have an architect and/or engineer develop "plans, specifications and a bid form of contract" for the Public Hearings and Competitive Bidding process. The City Building Code Department also demands architect drawings and plans to get City permits, etc. So even if a prototype design was being used, each project would need individual architect attention and time to adapt general plans to the particular site and current building regulations and technology. 2. Constraints on some building sites could require two floors and elevator, even though single level would normally be preferred.
-- Jeannette Lubsen New Building Plans Aim to Make Schools Safer -- Daytona Beach News Florida: April 27, 2007 [ abstract] Matanzas is a school built around a courtyard, one way administrators and teachers keep closer tabs on students. It also exemplifies a trend in the way schools are built today, driven by safety above aesthetics. "Our schools built in the last five to seven years all have a courtyard so you enter the campus through a clear point of entry and then all the students are kept in an interior area," said Pat Drago, facilities director for Volusia County schools. "It's easier to supervise that way, and, if you have someone outside the area, it's easier to say, 'Why are you here?' "
School security has taken on more urgency after 32 people were killed April 16 at Virginia Tech, local parents and educators say. Although local colleges are now clamoring for money to better secure their buildings, public school planners and architects have spent the past few years changing the way they think about school design. There are costs to the extra school security, though. For one, school playgrounds and ballfields are not likely to be accessible to the public on weekends. And to some, schools are starting to look like penitentiaries. The focus on school security grew after the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, when two Colorado students killed 12 of their classmates and a teacher, before committing suicide, Orlando architect Dave Torbert said. But it wasn't until a few years ago that local school districts started thinking about security before a blueprint was drafted.
-- Janette Neuwahl Plan OK'd by FEMA for New St. Tammany Parish High School-- Times-Picayune Louisiana: April 19, 2007 [ abstract] After tussling with FEMA for months over design differences, the St. Tammany Parish school system has reached a compromise on the preliminary scheme for a new Salmen High School. Salmen was the only campus in a 52-school system to be destroyed by Katrina. The Slidell school will be rebuilt as a consolidated, one-story complex at the original campus, officials said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay $20 million of the project's approximate cost of $36 million with a public assistance program grant, awarded to state and local entities to expedite disaster relief.
-- Jenny Hurwitz Charlotte County, Florida Working to Get Future Schools Designated as Green-- Charlotte Sun Florida: April 16, 2007 [ abstract] The Charlotte County school district is taking steps to ensure its future buildings are environmentally sound. The School Board voted unanimously to accept a proposal from TLC Engineering to provide Leadership in Energy and Environmental design commissioning at Baker Pre-K Center, Peace River Elementary and Neil Armstrong Elementary. TLC will provide professional engineering services for the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems at the schools, which were damaged by Hurricane Charley in 2004. The total cost is $140,000, but the "green" buildings will actually save on operational costs. According to the LEED Web site, certified green schools save an average of $100,000 per year, as the buildings consume about 30 percent less energy and water. "We're trying to do that with as many of our schools as we can," said Superintendent David Gayler about the green schools designation. LEED uses a national rating system for design, construction and operation of nvironmentally friendly structures. It evaluates performance on five key areas of human and environmental health, including water savings, energy efficiency and materials selection. LEED will be used in the construction of other schools destroyed by Hurricane Charley, including East Elementary, Punta Gorda Middle School and Charlotte High School.
-- Staff Writer Schools Set Standards With LEED Certification-- Green Options National: April 12, 2007 [ abstract] With all the buzz around green building, it's no surprise that K-12 schools around the country are starting to see the benefit of sustainable design. In fact, there are 32 K-12 buildings in the US and Canada that have already been LEED-certified. Incorporating environmentally elements such as energy-efficient lighting, heating, and cooling, locally-sourced materials, renewable energy sources, non-toxic sealants, adhesives, and paints, green roofs, and greywater systems, schools are creating buildings that are working models of sustainability, providing excellent tools for lessons along with the obvious benefits to the environment. Not only is the environment benefitting, but green school design serves other purposes, as well.
-- Kelli Best-Oliver $187 Million Public School, Under a Cloud in New Jersey
-- New York Times New Jersey: April 08, 2007 [ abstract] The new high school in New Brunswick will not be endowed with luxuries like a food court, a swimming pool or a greenhouse, even though at $187 million it is one of the most expensive to be built in the state’s history. It would have cost $30 million more had an additional wing of classrooms and an auxiliary gym not been shelved to save money. As it is, the price tag covers the land, the design and the construction costs for a 407,000-square-foot school on a 26-acre property along Route 27. If it is ever finished.
This month, the Schools Construction Corporation, the state agency financing the campus, is expected to suspend work on some of the 40 projects it is developing because it has run out of money. The corporation has not announced which projects might be delayed, but it has said the New Brunswick high school’s budget has soared by nearly a third since 2004, mainly because of costs associated with labor, construction materials and relocation of tenants. The sharp increase has led to renewed scrutiny of the schools corporation, which is charged with constructing schools in the state’s poorest urban neighborhoods.
-- Winnie Hu When it Comes to New School Buildings, Texas Districts are Playing it Safe
-- The Monitor Texas: April 02, 2007 [ abstract] When McAllen completes its new middle school building next year, visitors may experience some déjà vu. With a few changes, the school will be a near-exact copy of Cathey Middle School. The school district plans to open four new elementary schools this August " all with simple, familiar, no-frills designs " and the middle school and a fifth elementary school in fall 2008. Some school districts use new buildings as an opportunity to try out new ideas and models in education. In past years, those ideas have given birth to modular classrooms with movable dividers instead of solid walls; rooms with extra daylight to aid students’ learning; and the “buddy door.”
-- Sara Perkins How Much School Does $154.6 Million Buy?
-- Boston Globe Massachusetts: April 01, 2007 [ abstract] Tagged as the most expensive high school in Massachusetts at $154.6 million, the new Newton North High School's design features a new outdoor stadium, an indoor swimming pool, state-of-the-art vocational education workshops, a glass-walled cafeteria, and a restaurant. Newton voters approved the project by a wide (58 percent) margin in a January referendum, in part based on Cohen's pledge that he would cap the price at $141 million. To meet the $141 million target, project planners have put together a cut list. Should the new school have carpet throughout? Vinyl tile might do. A theater with balcony and loge seating? A single-level auditorium may be enough. And the exterior bricks? Well, planners are considering substituting polished "masonry units" -- basically cosmetically enhanced concrete blocks -- on parts of the exterior. Cohen made several design decisions, including to spend more money for a more efficient central heating and air conditioning system and an all-brick exterior, and to save money by opting for a flat roof and a smaller main corridor. Cohen also decided against cutting the theater balcony. State education officials say that the new $127 million high school planned for Quincy, the costliest construction project in that city's history, could actually outpace Newton North in terms of construction cost per student.
-- Ralph Ranalli Price Tag for New Jersey School: $187M -- Star-Ledger New Jersey: March 29, 2007 [ abstract] The price tag for a proposed state-of-the-art high school in New Brunswick has soared to $187 million -- double the original projections and far more expensive than any other project undertaken so far in New Jersey's school construction program. Officials of the state Schools Construction Corp. said yesterday the price has been pushed up by land costs of $1 million per acre, labor and material expenses rising at the rate of $800,000 per month, and increased costs for relocating a business from the site. The total bill for the 2,000-student high school is on track to exceed $450 per square foot. It would exceed the $175 million New Jersey set aside in 2002 for the revitalization of the entire city of Camden. In addition to 33 standard classrooms, the new school is scheduled to include music rooms, art rooms, 10 science labs and an auditorium, gymnasium, day care and health center. The 26-acre site will have soccer, baseball and softball fields. Scott Weiner, the SCC's chief executive officer said "It has been designed without frills and without design excesses." Until recently the projected cost had grown to $217 million, but officials sliced $30 million by eliminating one classroom wing and dropping plans for a second gymna sium. The current estimates put the actual construction cost at $129 million, plus $22 million for furni ture, equipment and developer's fees, $7 million in design costs and $26 million in land acquisition.
-- Dunstan McNichol New York City School Maintenance and Construction 'Going Green'-- CBS News New York: March 20, 2007 [ abstract] The New York City Department of Education and the School Construction Authority announced the publication of the NYC Green Schools Guide and Rating System, which will be used to guide the sustainable design, construction, and operation of new schools, modernization projects, and school renovations. The guide and rating system will assure compliance with local law, which established sustainability standards for public design and construction projects. The implementation of the Green Schools Guide and Rating System makes New York City one of the first and largest school districts in the nation to have sustainability guidelines required by law.
Sustainable schools will conserve energy and water, reduce operating costs, promote a healthy environment, and help teach environmental responsibility, officials said. Energy efficiency measures required by the GSG, including high efficiency building envelope and HVAC systems, will ensure that NYC's "green schools" save energy costs by at least 20 percent. Water-conserving plumbing fixtures such as metered faucets, dual flush toilets, low-flush urinals, and low flow showers will result in the reduction of potable water usage in each school by more than 40 percent. Efficient classroom lighting fixtures will save energy and provide high quality illumination. Stringent acoustical standards will ensure that instructional spaces are isolated from outside sound interference.
-- Staff Writer Amenities in California Schools Vary Widely-- Sacramento Bee California: March 19, 2007 [ abstract] While some school districts in the Sacramento region are closing campuses because of low enrollment and funding, others are pulling together millions for state-of-the-art schools in growing communities. Sacramento-region school districts report that inflation in the cost of steel and other materials and demand for construction workers is wreaking havoc on plans. Some districts didn't budget enough for the increased costs and must revise designs, rebid projects, seek millions more in bonds or pursue alternative forms of financing. California's formula for school construction calls for the state to fund 50 percent, with school districts responsible for the rest. Under a proposal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the formula could change so districts pay 60 percent.
No two schools are created equal; each project has its set of parameters and circumstances that drive costs, said Constantine Baranoff, Associate Superintendent of Facilities and Planning at the Elk Grove District. Since 2000, the Elk Grove Unified School District has opened 17 new schools and plans to open four more by 2008 to handle the city's booming population. West Sacramento's $140 million high school will replace River City High. The new school will feature: 86 classrooms, eight science labs, a television studio and associated high-end computer lab, six multipurpose labs, an electronics-robotics lab, a 450-seat performing arts theater, three swimming pools and several athletic fields and courts. At 114 square feet per student, West Sacramento's new high school is in line with other schools being built such as Whitney High School, Rocklin, 111 square feet per student; Inderkum High School, North Natomas, 118 square feet per student; and Rosemont High School, Sacramento, 139 square feet per student.
-- Lakiesha McGhee White Plains Elementary School to be Among New York’s First -- Journal News New York: March 19, 2007 [ abstract] The Post Road School in White Plains will be among the first public schools in the state to be built green. The future of public school design in New York is changing; the state Education Department recently issued guidelines for new schools that places a heavy emphasis on green construction. The environmental improvements are costly to install, but typically pay for themselves over a decade or two. At the Post Road School, the improvements added 5 percent to 10 percent to the building's $38.7 million cost, which the school district will recoup in energy savings over about 15 years, said architect, Russell Davidson. "Building design is the single best opportunity to improve energy usage patterns in this country," he said, because buildings account for nearly half the nation's energy consumption.
-- Keith Eddings New Memphis High School Will Embrace the Community-- Commercial Appeal Tennessee: March 16, 2007 [ abstract] When the new Douglass High opens, it will represent a new way to build schools in Memphis. The school will become a partner to Douglass Park as a North Memphis community hub. The site is northwest of Warford Street and Chelsea Avenue. "We are shifting our paradigm on how we can support each other, working toward comprehensive planning rather than isolated development," said Michael Goar, schools chief operating officer. The joint efforts save taxpayers money when the city and city schools aren't duplicating efforts, said Robert Lipscomb, chief financial officer for the city.
The Douglass community was heavily involved in the school's design. Two meetings last summer drew nearly 500 people, said Leonard Myers, schools facilities project manager. As the system renovates and builds other schools, it plans to repeat this process, getting community input and working with local government to create neighborhood projects.
The historically black school was closed in 1981 due to low enrollment. A nationwide network of alumni, including Memphis City Councilwoman Barbara Swearengen Ware, have been working for 24 years to bring the school back. Stone from the old building will be used for the front arch. Bricks will be sold and bear inscriptions from alumni and will be placed in the courtyard. The new school will house the national alumni association's office and will have its gym, media center and auditorium available for community use even when school is out of session. Details are still being worked out on paying for and supervising community access. â€"We are focused on creating community-based schools to revitalize the community," said Louise Mercuro, schools director of capital planning. "We are hoping (the school) will help spur further investments."
-- Dakarai I. Aarons Kansas and Missouri Schools Improve Tornado Preparations-- Kansas City Star Missouri: March 12, 2007 [ abstract] Tornado season for Kansas and Missouri schools officially begins this week and many schools will participate in annual statewide tornado drills. The tornado drill tradition dates back decades, but schools adjust their twister plans annually and preparations gained a sharpened focus after eight students were killed when a tornado hit an Alabama high school.
New school buildings are designed with storm safety in mind. Thick poured concrete walls and ceilings shield the designated shelter areas in some buildings. Special doors are designed to withstand debris whipped by high winds. Older buildings are getting a second look to ensure that the areas where students take shelter are as safe as they can be.
-- Melodee Hall Blobaum Is Glass The Way To Go?
-- The Connection Virginia: March 06, 2007 [ abstract] When the architects of the Yorktown High School renovations presented their designs to the public last month, they touted their use of glass walls that would bring natural light into the building and make it more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. But an official with Arlington Public Schools (APS) told the Connection that this couldn’t be further from the truth. "There’s never an example where glass makes a building more efficient," Kevin Chisholm, the energy manager for the APS design and Construction Department, said. "It always reduces the [energy] efficiency of the building." He said that designing an efficient heating and cooling system for a building that uses a large amount of glass is nearly impossible because of the great degree of temperature variability that comes with transparent walls.
-- David Schultz Green Schools for Better Education-- Stanford Daily California: March 02, 2007 [ abstract] All parents want their children to be healthy and do well in school. Elementary schools are places of learning where impressions and ideas that last a lifetime are formed. But existing schools are often built on tight budgets and to the bare-minimum standard necessary to meet building codes. Building codes, however, are rarely designed to enhance the learning environment for children. A new approach toward building schools is needed.
A recent study by Greg Kats of Capital E definitively shows that schools could be “healthier, more comfortable, and more productive” by using well-known green building techniques for an initial cost premium of under 2%, but with cost savings of twenty times the cost of going green over the lifetime of the school. Building green means designing a building so that it is constructed in an environmentally sensible way, with environmental criteria as one of the foremost, if not the top, priority when making design decisions. Green buildings considerably reduce water and energy consumption, and are healthier for their occupants.
-- Jonas Ketterle Students Find New Doors Open With Completion of Academy
-- Washington Post District of Columbia: March 01, 2007 [ abstract] Phyllis Percy grew up playing with tape measures and helping her father as he handled the repairs in their Northwest home, everything from hanging windows to coping with plumbing emergencies.
Now the senior at Cardozo Senior High School in the District is poised for more formal training at the school's new construction academy -- a brightly lit renovated wing with hands-on learning stations and new equipment that will give more students throughout the city a chance to study heating, ventilation and air conditioning, carpentry and electrical trades.
"I can't wait to get in here so we can build nice stuff that I can put in my room," said Percy, 18, looking around yesterday at a jigsaw, a band saw and other tools.
After more than three years of planning with the city's leading developers and construction businesses, school and city leaders officially opened the doors yesterday of the Cardozo Academy of Construction and design, a $2 million public-private partnership that represents the first construction of new classrooms for those disciplines in 40 years.
The goal is to have a technology-focused program that trains students to meet industry needs.
"It's not the same type of courses that students . . . are in now, that their parents associate with vocational education," said Alisha Hyslop, assistant director of public policy for the Association for Career and Technical Education. "It's a much more rigorous, challenging environment that's very relevant to their futures."
The poor state of vocational education in the city was a point of discussion during last year's political campaign for District and school board positions. The construction academy is designed to prepare students who may not go to college for jobs connected to the city's economic development.
Most D.C. public school students don't graduate from high school, and less than 10 percent graduate from college, according to a report released in October by the State Education Office.
The Cardozo program is supported by the nonprofit District of Columbia Students Construction Trades Foundation Inc., whose members include construction companies Miller & Long and Donohue, developer PN Hoffman and United Bank.
-- Theola Labbé Fenty makes final bid for public schools plan
-- Washington Times District of Columbia: February 28, 2007 [ abstract] D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty yesterday made his final pitch to take over the public schools, telling council members he would increase student test scores, redesign the report card and explore offering bonuses to overachieving teachers and principals.
The proposals were detailed in a 31-page report of initiatives and classroom results Mr. Fenty submitted to council members to support his takeover bid.
"Just like other agencies under my administration, the school system and the transformation on which we are about to embark will be managed by outcomes," Mr. Fenty said during the seventh council hearing on his proposal. The series of forums have featured nearly 60 hours of testimony and hundreds of witnesses.
-- Gary Emerling Fenty's Overhaul Plan Echoes Janey's-- Washington Post District of Columbia: February 27, 2007 [ abstract] D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, seeking to gain control of the city's school system, has drafted a 31-page plan for education improvements that offers few new initiatives and instead stresses the need to speed up restructuring measures already being implemented by Superintendent Clifford B. Janey.
As part of his campaign to win direct authority over the struggling, 55,000-student system, Fenty (D) also would impose stiffer accountability measures on the administrators charged with carrying out restructuring. His report is intended to answer critics who have said he has offered no specifics about what he would do if awarded control.
A draft of the report, obtained by The Washington Post, largely echoes the school system's Master Education Plan. Following that document as a guide, Fenty promises to beef up reading and math programs in kindergarten through eighth grade, expand Advanced Placement and vocational education in high schools and create incentive pay for teachers in troubled schools, offering bonuses for those who perform well.
Fenty's report comes as he prepares to testify today at the D.C. Council's seventh and final public hearing on his proposal to reduce the power of the Board of Education and require the superintendent to report to the mayor and council.
Where he does offer new ideas, Fenty focuses primarily on trying to change the culture of a school system that is often criticized for being unresponsive into one that is service-oriented and customer-focused.
The mayor proposes creating training academies to increase parental involvement in the schools, redesigning the school system's Web site to make it more user-friendly and implementing an accountability system called SchoolStat that judges administrators on a range of performance-tracking measures. Fenty has implemented a similar CapStat program for his agency directors.
-- David Nakamura and V. Dion Haynes Education by Design " Architects Fill Schools with Learning-friendly Features
-- Deseret Morning News Utah: February 20, 2007 [ abstract] A space shuttle appears to be coming out of the front of a building on Washington Boulevard in Ogden. If you were to go inside, you'd soon find yourself in what appears to be a space-age control room. It's Ogden School District's aerospace magnet elementary school, as yet unnamed, which will open in the fall. And it's nothing like the school design most adults remember from their own childhoods. Neither are the trapezoid and triangle halls at Nibley Park Elementary, or the crayon lights lining the halls of North Star Elementary in Salt Lake City. But the concept of studying at round tables in a steep glass-enclosed alcove at Ecker Hill Middle School in Park City or traversing gently curved glass-sided hallways at Harrisville's Orion Junior High, planets dancing overhead, doesn't seem foreign to most children.
Schools are being designed using a whole new set of principles. And the architects have the scientific evidence to back them up. A well-designed school "enhances and supports the healthy development of students," says Dennis Cecchini, vice president of MHTN Architects, "so they become vibrant, healthy contributors to society. It's about a lot more than making sure the carpet doesn't give off gas or meeting building codes." "In the last 10 years or so, studies show buildings affect learning," says Steve Crane, owner/partner of the architect firm VCBO, one of several in Utah that design schools. He cites a study of three locations with distinctly different climates: Colorado Springs, Seattle and Orange County. It found that students in classrooms with a lot of daylight had 26 percent higher math scores and 28 percent higher reading retention, compared to those who relied solely on interior lighting.
-- Lois M. Collins Securing Our Schools-- Barre Times Vermont: February 20, 2007 [ abstract] Many of Vermont's schools were designed decades ago with varied educational, athletic and community uses in mind. Access, not security, was the goal. But the bloody events at Essex Elementary School set in motion self-examination and varying degrees of changes at area schools. And it has forced schools to spend money on security issues, big and small – just one more way school costs get bumped up.
Spaulding exemplifies the challenges of retrofitting older schools to reflect changing priorities. "Spaulding is a big place" – up to 1,150 students mill around inside it – "that goes back in multiple layers," Maher said. The academic part was built in the mid-60s. The technical center was added in 1969.
-- Mel Huff School Design Often Calls for Outside Perspective-- Springfield Business Journal Missouri: February 19, 2007 [ abstract] What brings a national powerhouse architectural firm to a smaller market like Springfield to design schools? According to Jim French, senior principal at DLR and leader of the K-12 practice sector, it’s an ongoing revolution in how schools approach curriculum. With technology making the world smaller all the time, “what school districts are beginning to do is look for some outside expertise to help them with some of the planning and programming and the initial design work,” French said. As school facilities are get larger, educators are turning to small learning communities " small groups of students and teachers that give the feel of a small school environment " to personalize the education experience. Facility design can aid this process. Also, “school districts want to be more sophisticated in the way they deliver the educational program,” French said. That means more technology, early emphasis on career paths and spaces in which students can apply what they are learning. When districts decide they want to embrace these kinds of approaches, they sometimes turn to specialist firms such as DLR. It’s not that local architects aren’t capable of the work, but “having somebody that has dealt with these situations and speaks about these things nationally at conferences is a little more comforting to those school districts that feel they want to explore (new) educational curriculum,” French said.
-- Clarissa French Many Wisconsin School Buildings Date Back to When Security Wasn't a Concern-- Journal Times Wisconsin: February 15, 2007 [ abstract] It's hard to know who's entering and exiting a school building when the main office can't view the front doorway. Yet that's the case for most of Racine Unified's aging school buildings, some of which date back to the post-Civil War Reconstruction. Red Apple Elementary School, where an intruder sexually assaulted a 6-year-old boy, was constructed in 1872, with a major remodeling in 1921.
With main offices in some of Unified's schools tucked well into the interior of buildings - in some cases placed on a second floor - the school designs reflect times when security wasn't a concern. Times have changed. "It poses a huge challenge even when you do have a buzzer entry system," said Dan Thielen, principal of Gilmore Middle School, who has served as principal at a number of Unified elementary and middle school buildings. Even in the early 1970s, the construction of Gilmore Middle School - the last completely new building constructed in Unified - didn't include a main office near the doorway. It's down a hallway near the building's center. Some of Unified's buildings - including Red Apple - employ a camera-and-buzzer entry system, but those systems have limitations. People are often too polite, holding open doors and, as a result, defeating the security measure. Additionally, once buzzed into some buildings, there's easy access to other parts of the building before reaching the office.
-- Brent Killackey Architects Go Back to School-- Business Week National: February 14, 2007 [ abstract] For almost sixty years, ever since the post-World War II Baby Boom created a classroom shortage of unprecedented proportions, school design has received a tremendous amount of attention within the architecture and education communities. So why, then, after decades of study, is there still no one “correct” way to design a school? One of many answers to this question is that architects, educators, and parents are by nature optimistic. Because they believe what they’re doing for their children ought to be the best it can be, school design will always evolve.
Efficiency is probably the greatest enemy of innovation in school design, and changing what is known to be efficient"long corridors with classrooms on each side of them, for example"means that those who hold the purse strings must take chances. Unfortunately, it is notoriously difficult to definitively establish what makes any kind of environment successful. Anyone brave enough to add to this already challenging task by trying to demonstrate how an environment should be arranged to significantly enhance academic achievement has taken on one tough assignment. It isn’t easy to convince a district to build a school so it can be used to study a hypothesis"good research takes years and there is always the chance that the results won’t be as hoped. The urge to try new things, even if they are not costly, nearly always clashes with risk aversion.
-- Charles Linn and Joann Gonchar Paul Rudolph-Designed School May Get a Second Chance-- Architectural Record Florida: February 13, 2007 [ abstract] The Sarasota County School Board is reconsidering its earlier decision to demolish the Paul Rudolph-designed Riverview High School, in Sarasota, Florida. The board agreed to accept the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s offer to conduct a charrette concerning the school’s expansion plans. The 49-year-old building is among the finest examples of the Sarasota School of Architecture, a local brand of climate-sensitive Modernism that counted Rudolph as well as Gene Leedy, Ralph Twitchell, and Victor Lundy among its practitioners. Its fate has been uncertain for the last few years while the school board has been evaluating various redevelopment schemes.
The school board’s current design team, headed by BMK Architects, originally proposed restoring the Rudolph structure in 2004. More recently, though, the board decided to raze it, citing cost, crowding, and security concerns; the board also said that the site was too small to accommodate any portion of Rudolph’s design alongside a new building. Accordingly, BMK received approval to begin construction drawings for a new facility that includes a parking lot in Riverview’s place. The building would begin construction in 2009 and deliver in 2013. Sonya Delong, who founded the group Save Riverview, filed a nomination to include Riverview on the National Trust’s “America’s 11 Most Endangered Historical Sites” list for 2007. Further queries resulted in the National Trust’s offer to conduct a charrette with designers and relevant stakeholders, free of charge. “The school can be rehabilitated and integrated into a newly built campus,” Delong contends. A timeline for the National Trust involvement has yet to be determined"and a favorable outcome for preservationists is even less certain. Even if the charrette demonstrates that rehabilitation is possible, the school board can reject its recommendations. “We won’t know the outcome until we get there,” Delong says
-- David Sokol Schools Leading Green Charge-- Charlotte Observer North Carolina: February 07, 2007 [ abstract] One of the "greenest" schools ever proposed in the Carolinas will transform a campus of modular classrooms into a working environmental laboratory. Carolina International School, a 415-student charter school in Harrisburg, is working on a construction plan that calls for green features ranging from rooftop vegetation to recycled water. The project is part of a green surge in the Carolinas. Charlotte's next three skyscrapers will be green, and residential developers have begun to promote environmentally sensitive neighborhoods. But that might not be the biggest piece of the action. Across the country, architects and contractors are calling green educational facilities -- not commercial buildings -- The Next Big Thing in construction.
McGraw-Hill Construction says the $53 billion education market -- the largest industry sector -- is the nation's fastest growing for green buildings. Fueling the trend, studies say, are such factors as energy cost savings, less impact on the environment, improved student and teacher health and better academic performance. The U.S. Green Building Council, which rates and certifies Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) buildings, says 31 schools (K-12) are certified nationwide.
The outlook for green educational construction is rosy, experts say, because many schools systems -- Charlotte-Mecklenburg included -- adopt green building principals without incurring the expense of LEED certification. The USGBC awards points based on energy savings and environmental design and certifies projects as Silver, Gold or Platinum, the highest level. Guy Chamberlain, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' assistant superintendent for auxiliary services, believes most of the system's schools built since 2002 would quality for the lowest level of certification. Environmentally sensitive issues such as energy efficiency, day lighting, stormwater runoff and water-based paints and adhesives will figure into the planning for 60 new schools over the next 10 years, he said.
-- Doug Smith Going Green: Design Movement Growing to Build Environmentally Friendly Schools-- NewsTimes Connecticut: February 04, 2007 [ abstract] If you could build a new school that was sunlit and healthy, environmentally friendly, and that would save you lots of money for years to come, why wouldn't you? That's the question people throughout the country are increasingly asking. At a Green Buildings conference at the State capitol there was unanimity that the green buildings principles -- siting the building correctly on its land; using natural lighting wherever possible; using state-of-the art heating, cooling and electrical systems; using recycled construction materials, allowing fresh air into the building -- have huge advantages for the owners and users of those buildings. They also reduce the air pollution such buildings emit. Less carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter going into the air means cleaner air. That means less pollution contributing to global warming.
-- Robert Miller Audit Finds $300 Million Surplus but Issues Caveat on School Finances
-- Washington Post District of Columbia: February 01, 2007 [ abstract] The District government has achieved a budget surplus topping $300 million for a third consecutive year, according to an independent audit that warns the city to address problems in the way the public school system manages its finances.
The findings of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for fiscal 2006 come as Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) is proposing to take control of public schools and give the D.C. Council line-item control over the schools budget. The council is holding a series of public hearings on the proposal and is scheduled to vote on it in April.
Fenty and Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi unveiled the audit at a news conference yesterday. Gandhi said the school system's poor record-keeping, unauthorized overtime and other financial flaws could hurt the city's financial standing. The District, which ran a $518 million deficit in 1996, now has good bond ratings, but the schools' financial troubles could lower those ratings, making it more difficult for the city to borrow money for future capital projects.
"Read between the lines if you want or just have me say it: When we talk about more accountability for this school system, it is not only for programmatic reasons but for financial reasons," Fenty said. "I sat on this council for six years, and I see when the school board comes midyear and says, 'We've overspent our budget; we need more money.' Those days have got to stop."
Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), who supports Fenty's school governance proposal, said the audit findings "bolster our case in favor of the takeover."
Gandhi said that the school system's fiscal problems are not a "novelty" and that they have been heightened by findings of the U.S. Department of Education, which designated the public schools as a "high-risk" recipient of federal funds in April.
-- Nikita Stewart and David Nakamura Proposal Unsettles Charter Schools-- Washington Post District of Columbia: January 16, 2007 [ abstract] Officials at some charter schools say Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's education proposal could cause them to lose touch with the public because it would place them under an appointed board.
Under the proposal unveiled by Fenty (D) last week, 18 charter schools under the D.C. Board of Education would be transferred to the D.C. Public Charter School Board. The charter board, created by Congress in 1996, is a seven-member panel appointed by the District mayor in consultation with the U.S. Secretary of Education. It has authorized 37 schools. The D.C. Board of Education also authorizes charter schools and has approved 18.
Ramona Edelin, executive director of the D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools, said officials of many of the 18 schools are angry and anxious. "The whole point of being a public school is to be connected to officials in the public policymaking process," Edelin said. "They don't see the [charter board] as that same kind of connection."
Norman Johnson, executive director of the Integrated design and Electronics Academy (IDEA) charter school, said he applied to the school board 10 years ago because he wanted to be accountable to the local elected body.
"Parents still want to talk to an elected board about their issues," said Johnson, whose school opened in 1998. "When you have an elected board, you get people who represent people."
But Fenty and some D.C. Council members described the planned consolidation as a much-needed improvement of the charter school structure, which splits power between the two boards.
"It's quite confusing today, who's in charge," council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) said last week at the announcement. "Putting those all together and having an oversight responsibility is critical as we go forward."
-- Theola Labb New Orleans Recovery District Planning to Build 10 Modular Schools-- Times-Picayune Louisiana: January 09, 2007 [ abstract] Even after the state-run Recovery School District completes its plans to erect at least 10 modular campuses around the city, some children in eastern New Orleans will have to be bused to schools in other parts of town next school year, Superintendent Robin Jarvis said. One 600-student modular campus is under construction. At least 10 more modular schools, designed to house 7,200 additional students, are expected to be open in the fall. Four of them are slated for Planning District 9 in eastern New Orleans. The site of severe flooding after Hurricane Katrina has just one open Recovery District school now. Construction on another 600-seat modular school began in December. Two west bank campuses -- Rosenwald Elementary, capacity 400, and L.B. Landry High School, capacity 800 -- are repaired but unoccupied. "Most of our needs are on the east bank," Jarvis said.
-- Bill Barrow Making Schools Safe-- Seattle Times Washington: January 08, 2007 [ abstract] Through the windows of her office, Newport High principal Patty Siegwarth can watch a delivery man walk through the school's front entrance and observe students eat lunch in the main commons. If need be, she can hit a mushroom-shaped button and all of the exterior doors to the Bellevue school will automatically lock. "We have three entrances onto campus; the old design had 22," Siegwarth said of the school, which is in the final weeks of a complete rebuild. "It will be so much easier to monitor students. The new campus is much safer."
Like Bellevue, many Seattle-area districts are modernizing or rebuilding older schools and are keeping safety in mind. In the wake of the recent shooting at Foss High School in Tacoma, which left one student dead and another in jail, school officials say newer designs and technology can help them more effectively monitor their campuses.
Many older schools, built during the 1950s through the 1970s, used a ranch-style design, with one-story buildings spread out over their campuses. Hallways and exterior corridors were narrow, with smaller courtyards and alcoves scattered throughout the campus. Often, the main office was buried in the middle of the school, away from the main entrance. But all of this is changing. "We try and keep it simple, with a common-sense approach," said Evan Ujiiye, director of capital projects for the Northshore School District, which is in the final phase of rebuilding Bothell High School. "Clear lines of sight, keeping areas open, and limiting hidden areas."
-- Rachel Tuinstra School Construction Funding Tops Wish List in Maryland Assembly-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: January 04, 2007 [ abstract] Saying school buildings in Baltimore County are deteriorating, County Executive James T. Smith Jr. called on the state to provide $95 million to help with renovations. The request tops his list of priorities for the General Assembly session that begins next week. While Smith acknowledged that the county is unlikely to get the amount he is requesting, he said school construction is critical in a county where almost every high school was built during or before the Nixon administration. "We are committed to ensuring that every student is able to learn in a well-designed, high-performing, well-maintained school facility," the second-term Democrat told lawmakers and county employees gathered in a ceremonial courtroom outside his office in Towson. The $95 million request for school money is nearly 2 1/2 times what the county received last year. The county received $36 million after asking for $110 million in school money, Smith said.
-- Josh Mitchell Charlotte Schools May Build Complex-- Charlotte Observer North Carolina: December 14, 2006 [ abstract] Faced with a need for more space, the Iredell-Statesville school board is considering a complex that could house an elementary school, a high school magnet program and district offices under one roof. Board members selected FirstChoice Public-Private Partners to look at building new schools for the district under a capital lease agreement, a form of financing that was approved recently by the state legislature to help speed school construction projects and possibly reduce costs. The district can provide the land, and the developer would handle the school design and construction.
-- Lena Warmack D.C. School Libraries Make Room to Learn-- Washington Post District of Columbia: December 07, 2006 [ abstract] The District's public school libraries are undergoing their most substantial upgrades in decades as the school system, federal government and private donors invest millions of dollars to add new books, update computer technology and redesign spaces to spruce up the aging media centers. Last month, improvements to three public school libraries in the Capitol Hill area were completed as part of a $2.4 million public-private initiative that ultimately will include eight schools. The Capitol Hill Community Foundation joined the school system and parent volunteers to raise money for the project. The Capitol Hill project coincides with a broader school system plan to spend $12 million, including some federal funds, updating its elementary school libraries this year and in 2007.
Upgrades at 48 elementary schools were completed in October with the addition of new computers, digital cameras, shelving, carpeting, painting, electrical fixtures, furniture and access to electronic databases. An additional 37 elementary school libraries are scheduled for similar improvements next year.
-- Theola Labbe Janey Asks for Time to Turn Around Schools-- Washington Post District of Columbia: November 29, 2006 [ abstract] In a major address designed to help him keep his job, D.C. School Superintendent Clifford B. Janey delivered a robust defense last night of his two-year record as leader of the city's beleaguered school system and urged city leaders to allow him to finish the work he has started to move schools forward.
Janey called for laying "a new foundation" for schools that includes higher academic standards, more rigorous student assessment and modernized facilities. It was his first-ever "State of the Schools" speech, as well as his first formal public statement since his future came into question when Mayor-elect Adrian M. Fenty said in September that he might seek to take over the schools.
Fenty has been calling for a dramatic shake-up in the school system, saying that reform is moving too slowly. Janey has been walking a fine line attempting to cooperate with Fenty while asserting his position as the city's chief education leader.
In the sweeping 43-minute address to an enthusiastic audience of about 1,000 school staff, parents, students and city leaders at McKinley Technology High School in Eckington, Janey cast himself as a change agent who was moving quickly to restore the rich legacy of a school system that educated leading African American scientists and historians. He responded to criticism that he lacks urgency by using a metaphor of running a race.
"Like training for a marathon, turning our schools around will require that we build a strong foundation, develop an iron will and maintain the confidence that working together we can achieve the required change," Janey said.
-- V. Dion Haynes and Theola Labb Wyoming School Facilities Commission Limits Elementary School Designs-- Billings Gazette Wyoming: November 24, 2006 [ abstract] Future elementary schools built in Wyoming must follow a handful of established designs, a state commission has ruled. The Wyoming School Facilities Commission adopted a policy requiring the use of five or six prototypical school designs. Officials say using the same designs for schools built around the state should make construction simpler and cheaper. Commission Director James "Bubba" Shivler said the policy applies primarily to elementary schools. He said it's harder to apply it to middle schools and high schools because they generally have more specific needs. "What it saves you more than anything is time," Shivler said.
The state now has five or six commission-approved elementary school designs, including the new Freedom School in Cheyenne and a school in Torrington. Shivler said it's not accurate to call the approved designs a "cookie-cutter" approach when the schools will be spread out all over the state. He said school district officials can visit the existing elementary schools and pick the design they like the most.
-- Associated Press Building Better, or at Least Less Costly, Schools in North Carolina-- Charlotte Observer North Carolina: November 11, 2006 [ abstract] It's an urban myth here that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools wastes money building overly elaborate schools full of expensive, unneeded luxuries. I guess it depends on what you consider luxuries. Windows? Bricks? Some of those complaining about so-called luxury schools would never house their own families in buildings as cheap and dispiriting as the ones they seem to wish upon public schools. But even the best school designs can be improved if smart minds get in a room together and brainstorm. That's what CMS just finished doing.
It was one of the recommendations from the School Building Solutions Committee chaired by former N.C. Gov. Jim Martin. So CMS invited architecture firms to compete in a design competition for middle and high schools. The winners would get commissions to design two new schools each: the Belmeade Road and Ridge Road area middle schools, and the Bailey Road and Mint Hill area high schools. But -- this is key -- their designs had to be flexible enough to be prototypes. CMS held two week-long design charrettes -- a term architects use for an intense brainstorming-and-drawing workshop that includes public input. Teachers, principals and students were interviewed. Both of the winning designs are more compact. That might help alleviate a problem many high school students have trying to dash across a sprawling campus between classes.
-- Mary Newsome Safety by Design: Security Concerns Have Changed the Way Schools Are Built-- Washington Post District of Columbia: November 08, 2006 [ abstract] Clarksburg High School Principal James Koutsos has an expansive view from his front office: the parking lot, the front entrance and, with just a few steps, the hallway that funnels 960 students to class each day. The $52 million building, which opened in August, is energy efficient, aestheticaly pleasing and designed with security in mind. The placement of the office makes it difficult for visitors to slip into the building unnoticed. The open stairwell in the front hall, visible from the window of the security team leader's office, makes it easier to keep an eye on students.
It is a legacy of the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School that in an increasing number of schools, security drives decisions about everything from where to place the principal's office to what kinds of locks and windows are selected. "There are a lot of schools that should be commended," says school architect Joel Sims, "but a lot of existing schools need money to be put into them to make them right. It's not that complex."
-- Lori Aratani Fewer Buildings Likely for Arizona Schools -- Arizona Republic Arizona: November 03, 2006 [ abstract] Students walking to class in future Arizona schools could be more apt to find themselves in hallways than open air. The Arizona School Facilities Board unanimously voted to limit the number of buildings it would pay for a new school in an effort to save on construction costs. The logic is that fewer buildings mean fewer exterior walls, less utility installation and less outdoor concrete work. It also means fewer schools using the campus-style design, unless the district can cover additional costs.
Campus designs are prevalent across the state, thanks largely to the mild climate. These designs consist of multiple buildings with open-air spaces and little or no interior hallway space. "(Campus style) is fun. It looks good. It's fresh. But is it really necessary?" asked John Arnold, interim executive director of the state board. The Facilities Board, created in the late 1990s, approves state-funded school construction and sets minimum adequate standards for what the state will pay for. Under the new guidelines, schools with less than 60,000 square feet will only receive funding for one building. Schools above 60,000, but under 125,000, square feet will receive funds for two buildings. The bulk of school construction in the state falls under these two categories, Arnold said. Of the state's existing schools, only about 18 percent would meet the new building limitations, according to Facilities Board figures. The average number of buildings for an Arizona school is roughly estimated at 6.4.
-- Tony Lombardo Study Shows Going Green Saves Schools $100,000 a Year
-- GreenBiz.com National: November 02, 2006 [ abstract] A new national report finds that building "green" would save an average school $100,000 each year - enough to hire two new additional full-time teachers. The report breaks new ground by demonstrating that green schools - schools designed to be energy efficient, healthy and environmentally friendly -- are extremely cost-effective. Total financial benefits from green schools outweigh the costs 20 to 1. With over $35 billion dollars projected to be spent in 2007 on K-12 construction, the conclusions of this report have far-reaching implications for future school design.
Sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers, the American Institute of Architects, the American Lung Association, the Federation of American Scientists and the US Green Building Council, the report includes a detailed analysis of 30 green schools built in 10 states between 2001 and 2006. The analysis demonstrates that the total financial benefits of green schools are 20 times greater than the initial cost, and include energy and water savings, and improved student health and test scores. If all new school construction and school renovations went "green" starting today, energy savings alone would total $20 billion over the next 10 years.
-- Staff Writer Board 'Inclined' to Relinquish Monitoring Role-- washington post District of Columbia: October 29, 2006 [ abstract] The D.C. Board of Education is considering giving up authority over charter schools and transferring oversight of the 18 public charter schools it monitors, according to key members of the panel.
No decision has been finalized, and the proposal does not make clear whom the Board of Education would designate as the day-to-day manager of the charter schools. The board, which is dealing with a federal investigation of its charter school office, is expected to take action on the plan at its Nov. 13 meeting.
"The board right now is inclined to get out of the business of doing the day-to-day oversight and management of charter schools," board president Peggy Cooper Cafritz said. Next month, she said, the board will probably consider a proposal under which it "would continue to charter and close schools that need to be closed, but we will solicit a university or nonprofit to provide the monitoring of the charter schools."
The proposal comes at a time of great uncertainty in D.C. education as the Democratic mayoral primary winner, council member Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4), is talking openly about seeking control of the schools, a move that could affect the existence of the current school board.
The board's plan would require the approval of the D.C. Council, and possibly of Congress, which passed the 1996 law permitting charter schools in the District and gave the Board of Education authority to open charters. The law also created a second chartering board, the D.C. Public Charter School Board, a seven-member appointed panel.
Some school board members said yesterday that it is time for them to focus on the city's 141 traditional schools. School advocates agreed that the board, which has been accused of lax charter school oversight, would be taking the right step.
-- Theola Labbé and V. Dion Haynes The Greening of the LAUSD
-- Los Angeles City Beat California: October 26, 2006 [ abstract] Beginning well before the year 2000, when former Colorado Governor Roy Romer took over as superintendent of the LAUSD, the public has heard little but bad news about the state of the district " especially during this summer’s bruising fight over Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s ambitious plan to take control of the schools. During that time, however, the district has moved inexorably into the forefront of green, energy-efficient, sustainable development in its massive building program. Even as new, sustainable schools continue to come on line " 57 so far, and 10 more this fall " the talk surrounding L.A. Unified is dominated by poor student performance and the legal battle over the mayoral control issue. Sadly, the design standards that have established the LAUSD building program as a national showcase have gone virtually unnoticed.
The LAUSD is enormous " 947 campuses and centers to accommodate K-12 enrollment of roughly 720,000 with another 160,000 adult, occupational, and other students, yet prior to 2002, there had been practically no construction for a quarter century, with no major expansion since post World War II. The exploding enrollment that necessitated 1997’s Proposition BB and a succession of state and local bond issues required a plan for 150,000 new seats. While most citizens equate optimal learning conditions with class size, textbooks, and teacher preparation, an enlightened corps of architects, engineers, environmental scientists, project managers, and energy professionals have persuaded the local educational hierarchy of much more: the maximum efficient use of daylighting; the optimizing of thermal, visual, and acoustic comfort; the reduction of heat islands through shading and lighter paving materials; managing storm water runoff; incorporating high-performance HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems; as well as the maximum use of recycling in both construction and demolition " in short, high performance schools.
-- Mitch Paradise Same School Design, Higher Cost
-- The Arizona Republic Arizona: October 13, 2006 [ abstract] Higley school district taxpayers will have to spend $3.5 million more to build the same school again. Gateway Pointe Elementary was bid in 2004 for $7.8 million, with state money paying for the entire project. Two years later, Chaparral Elementary, which will open next fall, went out to bid for $12 million even though it's the same design. A Nov. 7 vote will decide whether Higley gets the $3.5 million to equip Chaparral, with items the state will not fund, such as carpeting, landscaping and a bus loop. School construction costs have gone up about 20 percent while funding from the School Facilities Board, the state agency responsible for building public schools, has increased 12 percent.
-- Ray Parker Rise in Costs Could Affect School Design-- Charleston Daily Mail West Virginia: October 09, 2006 [ abstract] Rising construction costs may lead to changes in how new schools are designed; Chuck Wilson, facilities director for Kanawha County schools, estimates school construction costs have gone up about $100 per square foot in the last three years. He said costs have spiked mainly because of increased steel and fuel costs. David Sneed, interim executive director for the state's School Building Authority, agreed the cost of school construction has significantly increased. "Copper wiring, roofing, insulation, any kind of plastic or material made with petroleum. . . they've all gone up," Sneed said. Sneed said the building authority has been forced to boost its funding formula for schools numerous times to compensate for increased costs. The last time funds were divvied out, the building authority provided $161 per square foot for the construction of high schools, $165 per square foot for middle schools and $142 per square foot for elementary schools. Kanawha County school board members decided in August to construct two new elementary schools. According to cost projections, the price tag for the two new schools, after some redistricting, is about $26.1 million. According to preliminary cost estimates, the building authority might provide about $10.5 million of that, leaving the county to pay the remaining $15.5 million. "Costs have gone up tremendously since we started looking at those schools. I imagine that by the time we build it, costs will have doubled," Wilson said. "We need to look at ways we can use our educational facilities and be as efficient as possible.†Wilson said. Instead of full computer labs, Wilson said he has suggested rolling or mobile laptop labs; instead of each teacher having his or her own classroom, one teacher uses the room while another spends off time in the planning room.
-- Jessica M. Karmasek A School Locker Jam Session-- The Journal News New York: October 02, 2006 [ abstract] Dozens of New York school districts in the past few years have renovated or added classrooms and hall space, and have been faced with the question of lockers. Surprisingly, locker size, shape and configuration appear to be wholly dependent on the year the school was built and the whims of the architect, and even the architect sometimes leaves them to the last minute. "Lockers are the red-headed stepchildren of school construction," said Daniel J. Peterson, senior production manager/lockers with Penco Products Inc., one of the country's largest makers of commercial steel lockers. "They'll suddenly say, 'Oh, we need lockers, too.' And then, lot of times, it's driven by design and aesthetics," he said. "Very few times is it driven by form and function."
The state Education Department, which must approve all school building design, has only two requirements for lockers: hallways must have 8 feet of clearance when the locker doors are open, and new lockers have to be handicapped-accessible. For new construction, the rule of thumb is to take the population of the school and the amount of available hall space and divide them, then add more lockers for future growth. Schools with little space and lots of students opt for thinner lockers or for stacking wider lockers above each other. Renovations usually mean a school duplicates existing lockers, but can go wider — or narrower — if the original lockers weren't working for students. Clarkstown North High School, built in 1953, has 9 1/2-inch-wide lockers in its original building, 12-inch-wide lockers in the section built in 1960 and 10-inch-wide lockers in the new science wing added during the summer.
Lockers provide private space for kids to store their books and coats, and alleviate hall crowding and inadvertent whacks with 30-pound backpacks. Today's students carry more stuff than their predecessors, pointed out veteran educator Pam Schaefer, who began teaching at North Rockland High in 1969. They carry class books, college textbooks, papers, binders, of course. Add to that compact discs, MP3s, cell phones, headsets, college literature and SAT prep packets crammed into backpacks. Their parents quaintly carried books and papers in their arms. Some schools with narrow lockers allow students a second one if they need it or switch them to a larger one, if available. Paradoxically, many students never see their lockers during the school year, having lost the combination or just decided the mad dash to a locker two floors or a building away isn't worth it.
-- Randi Weiner and David Novich 'Green' School Will be Embedded with Lessons-- Palm Beach Post Florida: September 27, 2006 [ abstract] Windmills might be the first tip-off that this will be no ordinary school. The shade from the windmills is designed to form sundials. Greenhouse-like labs will open into a courtyard that will be a microcosm of the 150-acre Pine Jog Environmental Education Center preserve surrounding the elementary school, which will be built starting in April. Architects released design plans to show how learning can be improved through environmental architecture. Natural lighting, acoustics, color and views are physical factors designed into the building to influence teaching effectiveness. Architects Jose Murguido and Robert Kobet also will design science and engineering lessons throughout the 964-student school, which will open at Jog Road and Summit Boulevard in 2008.
The cost estimate of $20 million last year was increased to $25 million last week. The School Board agreed last January to spend another $3 million to build a separate Pine Jog Environmental Education Center next to its new "green" school. "Great ideas are coming from every corner, making this school rich with learning opportunities," Murguido said. "I've been in educational architecture for 25 years and I've never seen such passion before. There's been so much energy." Much of the creativity comes from Florida Atlantic University, which owns Pine Jog and has leased 15 acres to the school district for the elementary school.
-- Tim Pallesen A New Generation of Miami-Dade Prototype Schools-- Miami Herald Florida: September 24, 2006 [ abstract] A dozen new schools, scheduled to open in 2007 and 2008, are the first products of an ambitious prototype program that Rose Diamond, the school district's facilities chief, proposed in late 2004. Copies of those schools are expected to follow regularly for at least a few years, cutting millions of dollars and dozens of months from the time and expense of drafting plans for each school from scratch.
Using such prototypes is an old idea. They have been wildly successful in Las Vegas, a costly mistake in North Carolina, and controversial in large and small districts across the country. Miami-Dade County's architectural archives are littered with so-called prototypes that were used only once or twice. And a grand jury chastised Broward County in 1997 for choosing innovative architectural plans instead of simpler designs, as well as for reusing the same designs without waiting to see if they had any problems.
-- Matthew I. Pinzur Upgraded Facilities, Academics Part of 15-Year Plan-- Washington Post District of Columbia: September 15, 2006 [ abstract] D.C. School Superintendent Clifford B. Janey outlined an ambitious 15-year plan yesterday to transform the city's dilapidated schools into gleaming, new facilities with model academic programs, a move designed to raise student achievement and attract parents back to a school system with declining enrollment.
The $2.3 billion modernization plan would build 23 schools, renovate 101 and close 19 by 2019. Officials said the school system would be smaller -- with 121 buildings compared with 146 -- but more educationally rigorous and better organized into campuses and clusters.
-- Theola Labbé and V. Dion Haynes Wood Chip Heating for Vermont Schools-- Burlington Free Press Vermont: September 15, 2006 [ abstract] Voters in November might be asked to approve installing a wood chip heating plant at South Burlington High School, which would also heat Frederick Tuttle Middle School. The state could pay for 90 percent of the capital costs, according to district officials and Cathy Hilgendorf, Vermont Department of Education school construction coordinator. The school district sees the switch from natural gas to wood chips as a way to save substantial amounts of money and use a renewable energy source, said David Young, acting co-associate superintendent. Though administration and the School Board are in favor of making the switch, a question remains over how the issue will be presented on the ballot, Young said. One option is to request the bond money from voters outright. The other is to ask voters for approval to re-designate a $2.7 million bond they approved a few years ago for an administration office and cafeteria project to construct the wood-chip facility.
School administration is looking into the legal issues of asking voters to reassign an approved bond, Young said. The district would address the administration building issue as it and the city continue looking at citywide infrastructure needs. Administrative offices are spread out over the high and middle schools. Wood chip heating systems are not cheap -- Young estimates it will cost about $1.9 million to get the high school and middle school on line -- but with the state reimbursement plus the cheaper fuel costs, the system could pay for itself in a few years, Young said. Hilgendorf said she has not seen South Burlington's proposal and could not comment on how the state would pay for it, but capital improvements dealing with renewable energy are eligible for 90 percent reimbursement. Regular heating system upgrades, which would have to be done with or without the switch, are eligible for 30 percent reimbursement, she said.
-- Sky Barsch School of the Future Comes to Philadelphia-- MSNBC Pennsylvania: September 08, 2006 [ abstract] After three years of planning, the Microsoft Corporation-designed "School of the Future" opened its doors, a gleaming white modern facility looking out of place amid rows of ramshackle homes in a working-class West Philadelphia neighborhood. The school is being touted as unlike any in the world, with not only a high-tech building -- students have digital lockers and teachers use interactive "smart boards" -- but also a learning process modeled on Microsoft's management techniques. The company didn't pay the $63 million cost — that was borne by the Philadelphia School District — but shared its personnel and management skills. About 170 teens, nearly all black and mainly low-income, were chosen by lottery to make up the freshman class. The school eventually plans to enroll up to 750 students.
Students — who are called "learners" — use smart cards to register attendance, open their digital lockers and track calories they consume. They carry laptops, not books, and the entire campus has wireless Internet access. Teachers, or "educators," rather than using blackboards, have interactive "smart boards" that allow teachers to zoom in and out, write or draw, and even link to the Internet. There's no library, but an "interactive learning center" where information is all digital and a "multimedia specialist" will help out students. Instead of a cafeteria, there's a food court with restaurant-style seating. The performance center — where two sections rotate close to create a smaller space — replaces the typical auditorium.
-- Associated Press L.A. Unified Shows Off New Campuses-- Los Angeles Times California: September 07, 2006 [ abstract] The school year began for about 415,000 Los Angeles-area students, thousands of whom will benefit from the opening of 13 schools. To mark the day, officials showcased three new schools and two controversial construction sites as well as some academic reforms. The highlights included a school that returns young children to their neighborhood, a high school within a trade school, and a bridge over a busy street that leads to a pool fit for Olympians.
Thirteen schools would make up an entire small district in many states; L.A. Unified is 63 schools and six years into a building boom of 160 campuses planned over 12 years. The school system operates more than 800 campuses. The first stop on the tour was Wilshire Park Elementary, a 3-acre, two-story campus for 450 students that relieved crowding at two nearby schools. As in many other new schools, a multilevel design saves space, and the play area includes grass — the district says it will add 800 acres of green space to the city through its new schools. The school is an example not only of elevated design but also of rising costs. A few years ago planners talked of elementary schools priced in the $4-million range. Wilshire Park's $37 million in project expenses works out to more than $82,000 per seat. Construction costs over the last three years have gone up at a rate of 2.5% a month, said Guy Mehula, who oversees district construction. Critics, however, accuse the district of wasting money. All told, new schools and school buildings in the Koreatown area have helped take more than 3,000 children off the bus, returning them to neighborhood schools.
-- Howard Blume Shapes and Colors: Special Education Design From the Vision of Michael Graves-- Washington Post District of Columbia: September 06, 2006 [ abstract] It was the first day of classes at St. Coletta Special Education Public Charter School, a brand-new facility that will serve close to 260 of the most severely mentally disabled children (and some adults) in the area. The face of the new school combines several geometric shapes -- four cubes turned to various angles, and a cylinder -- and a full palette of color, ranging from Carolina blue to deep burnished orange to sea-foam green. One side is brick-red and creamy vanilla. Windows come in rectangles, squares, circles. The impression is almost whimsical, like a child's elaborate drawing come to life. The building's pedigree, however, is far more impressive than that. The design firm is headed by Michael Graves, the architect famed for his postmodernist style and powerful use of color.
-- Jennifer Frey New Orleans Schools Approve Message System for Emergency Preparedness-- Times-Picayune Louisiana: August 17, 2006 [ abstract] In a move designed to avoid confusion in the event of another evacuation, the Jefferson Parish School Board approved the purchase of a system that would allow officials to deliver messages to staff and parents in a matter of minutes. The board agreed to spend $161,000 on a one-year contract with Connect-ED, an automated telephone messaging system that can communicate emergency information and other types of school-related messages in a timely, efficient manner. The system can make 400,000 calls in 30 minutes and in the event of another hurricane can relay information to parents and employees about school cancellations, school restart dates and the status of the parish. During Katrina, relaying such information was nearly impossible because of widespread communications disruptions. Under the new plan, parents and staff will provide six phone numbers, and Connect-ED will continue to call the numbers until a person answers or the message is delivered via answering machine or voice mail. The system also can be used to deliver information related to testing, study guidance, meal eligibility, transportation and employee payroll. In addition, principals can use it to send important messages to their student bodies and faculties.
-- Barri Bronston Harford County, Maryland Debates Facilities Statute-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: August 08, 2006 [ abstract] A Harford County councilman is charging that the county government is violating a law delaying development around crowded schools - a touchy issue this election year. Suburban politicians are under pressure from voters resentful of school crowding and traffic congestion to limit home construction, while builders complain the restrictions are driving up housing prices and forcing people to commute farther to work. But Harford County government approved nearly 2,200 residential permits in 2005, the most in at least a decade, according to figures from the Planning and Zoning Department. Despite that, county officials said the planned opening of a new school next year should relieve the crowding, while at least one councilman says that is not good enough.
In a letter to County Executive David R. Craig, Councilman Dion F. Guthrie said that allowing development around three overcrowded schools based on projections that crowding will decrease next year violates the county's adequate public facilities law. The law prevents new projects being planned around county schools at more than 5 percent of their rated capacity.
Counties throughout Maryland have laws designed to prevent new homes from overwhelming essentials such as roads, water and schools - with varying degrees of success. In Baltimore County, a task force was formed in the spring to study why homes were continuing to be built near severely crowded schools. At the same time, a study by the University of Maryland's National Center for Smart Growth found that building restrictions in Harford, Howard and Montgomery have caused housing shortages, driven up home prices, and steered growth to areas that were meant to be preserved. As far back as December, Harford's Adequate Public Facilities Advisory Board had suggested moratoriums would be lifted because of redistricting and the opening of Patterson Mill.
-- Justin Fenton Louisiana Officials Plan $200 Million in School Hurricane Repairs-- KATC.com Louisiana: August 08, 2006 [ abstract] A $200 million block of federal hurricane relief aid is planned to help repair schools damaged by Katrina and Rita, though schools being completely rebuilt will have to follow design criteria being developed by state officials. A legislative panel reviewed the plans and the governing board of the Louisiana Recovery Authority will consider them.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is covering much of the costs of repairing hurricane damage to schools around south Louisiana, but local officials are required to pick up 10 percent of those repair costs. Some other items, including fire code violations and damage not resulting directly from the hurricanes, aren't covered by FEMA. The $200 million pool _ federal block grant aid in which Louisiana has wide discretion to spend on hurricane recovery _ will provide the 10 percent match to the FEMA dollars for local public school districts and will cover the costs of some other emergency needs that may not be eligible for FEMA reimbursement, according to Andy Kopplin, executive director of the LRA.
New schools built to replace hurricane-damaged ones or schools that involve significant reconstruction will be expected to meet certain criteria to receive the money, if the LRA board agrees, however: smaller schools with integrated technology, adjustable lighting, flexible classrooms and equipment and other design and safety standards.
Lawmakers on a joint House and Senate education panel applauded the plans presented by LRA staff, saying those criteria ensure the dollars will be appropriately spent. Before the dollars can go out, lawmakers must approve the spending by mailed ballots. Local school districts will have to apply for the repair money, and the LRA, governor's office, Legislature and education department will review the projects before the money is spent, according to a process outlined by LRA staff. Kopplin said estimates of the school repair needs reach as much as $387 million, but LRA officials didn't want to set aside that much in block grant aid until they get a better idea of local district repair requests. He said he expected that all needed school repairs would be covered with the federal block grant dollars.
-- Associated Press State-of-the-Art Florida Facility Welcomes Students into High-Tech Classrooms-- Florida Today Florida: August 06, 2006 [ abstract] After two years of construction and $47.5 million, Brevard Public Schools' first new high school campus in eight years is expected to open its doors to about 960 students and 100 teachers, administrators and support staff. Interviews and a review of construction documents show the 298,000-square foot school was built on budget but delayed by labor shortages during a booming construction market. And the school district is proud to complete a high school that, while not representing a bold new design, offers a comprehensive, 21st century facility for what now seems like a bargain. With contracts, officials locked-in a guaranteed maximum price just as construction costs took off and contractors became scarce. District officials say they are delivering the best value possible with limited taxpayer dollars.
If Viera High looks familiar, it should. It was built from the same boilerplate design as Bayside High, which opened in 1998, a plan used by more than 30 schools across the state. But district officials sound almost apologetic to Bayside when they describe Viera's upgrades. They include "21st century" classrooms featuring digital projectors that bring the Internet and PowerPoint presentations to a pull-down screen or whiteboard; a lighter, brighter feel; widened breezeways allowing more natural light, airflow and landscaping; a "black box" theater for for plays and musical performances, opening onto the cafeteria, which designers expect will add flexibility for a variety of community events; storm shelter; windows throughout the school use impact-resistant glass; and the school also includes a child care center that will double as training ground for students interested in early education, a state-of-the-art TV studio that will produce district programs and a pellet-gun range for Jr. ROTC students.
Reusing old school designs, which the district has done with its last three elementary schools, saves money by cutting design costs and cultivating a network of contractors familiar with the work.
But changes in teaching and curriculum have pushed planners to reshape traditional school spaces, driven by new technology and understanding of different learning styles. For example, many new schools strive to create more varied and flexible spaces, from L-shaped classrooms instead of traditional rectangles to lecture halls and large, open rooms combining individual student stations and meeting spaces. "The traditional model of a teacher in front of a classroom with 30 kids at stationary desks, while probably the norm in many places, is breaking up, especially in high schools," said Judy Marks, associate director of the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.
-- James Dean Alabama Voices: Neighborhood-Scale Schools Greatly Preferable-- Montgomery Advertiser Alabama: August 04, 2006 [ abstract] The Montgomery Board of Education, City Council and County Commission should certainly be commended for coming together and recently approving the new school facilities plan and budget. Indeed, this joint effort has the potential for important long-term improvements to Montgomery County schools. However, even with such potential, whether these improvements are fully realized remains uncertain because two critical questions have yet to be unanswered: Where will the new schools budgeted under this plan be built? How will they be designed?
These two questions are critical because where school districts locate new schools and how they design them intrinsically affect a variety of key factors ranging from student scores to student health to community cohesiveness. Here's how: Today, one of the biggest causes of unsustainable sprawl in our towns and cities is when school districts place new schools on the peripheral fringe -- isolated from the neighborhoods where our students live. Worse still, school districts then build mega-sized schools surrounded by vast asphalt parking lots on these remote sites (sometimes because they are forced to do so by state law -- as is the case in Alabama).The end result being that students can neither walk nor ride their bike to these isolated "super-sized" schools. Indeed, studies continue to show that this movement away from building neighborhood-scale schools toward focusing on large, remotely located ones results in a variety of concerning trends. In the end, by building super-sized schools on the sprawling fringes of our cities, school districts are causing great damage to both our students and communities.
Ultimately, whether the recent approval of the school facilities plan ends up being a positive, long-term benefit to Montgomery will primarily depend on whether the new facilities budgeted under that plan are designed and built as walkable, neighborhoods schools or whether they end up being yet another example of inefficient, sprawling "super-sized" schools that hurt our students, our neighborhoods, and our county as a whole. With such critical decisions looming, the school district, city council, and county commission must once again come together and commit that these new facilities will be designed as sustainable and walkable neighborhood-scale schools. Anything less than that would evidence a truly historic example of poor stewardship with taxpayer money and, most importantly, our students' best interests.
-- Chad Emerson In Push to Open Small Schools, a Big Obstacle: Limited Space-- New York Times New York: August 03, 2006 [ abstract] With the Bloomberg administration pushing forward in its drive to create more than 200 small schools, city education officials have crashed into a cold reality that has long vexed New York City dwellers: They are running out of space. In the Bronx, 500 students in two high schools are not sure where they will go when classes start next month. The schools were supposed to share a former elementary school, but nonprofit groups that have occupied the building since 1982 refuse to leave and a lawsuit has been filed. The students are likely to end up in trailers outside the building. On the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a furor has erupted at Martin Luther King Jr. High School because the Department of Education announced last month that a sixth small school would join five others already jockeying over shared space. And in Lower Manhattan, in perhaps the starkest example of the space crunch, Chancellor Joel I. Klein announced two weeks ago that a new charter school would be housed in the basement of the department’s own headquarters.
The space squeeze comes at a critical time for the city’s small-schools movement, just after an initial group of schools achieved promising graduation rates better than the city average, and at a time when many small schools will have their first 12th-grade classes this fall. Many of these schools are now in their second locations; some are in a third, still waiting for a permanent home. City education officials say the space shortage is an inevitable result of their huge and hurried push to create more and better choices for students, especially in high school. Demographic shifts are also in play with more students in high school and fewer in middle grades. Officials note that the city has spurned no option in creating new schools " converting old factories and warehouses and even leasing space in office towers. City school buildings, they say, have never been used so efficiently.
Since September 2003, the administration has created more than 170 small schools, with 48 scheduled to open this September. The small schools are typically designed to serve 432 students " 108 per grade " in order to build closer relationships between children and educators.
-- David M. Herszenhorn Delaware School Construction Funding Formula Misses Costs-- The News Journal Delaware: July 31, 2006 [ abstract] Delaware's funding formula to pay for school construction more closely reflects market prices than in recent years, but the state's cost estimates may still fall short of market costs, some school district officials say. The state's approval process for projects also drags, district officials say, forcing local taxpayers to pay for costs not included in the original estimate that determines the state's contribution.
John Marinucci, a state official who oversees construction projects, said the state Department of Education is trying to solve those problems. Marinucci's going to convene a panel to evaluate the formula so the department can update it regularly and avoid a disparity with the market. To alleviate cost disparities caused by delays in approval, design and contracting, the department has budgeted 5 percent yearly increases in how much the state will pay for 2007 projects, he said. In funding construction projects, the Department of Education calculates how large a school needs to be by its enrollment, Marinucci said. The state estimates construction costs at $230 per square foot for elementary schools, $250 per square foot for middle schools, and $290 per square foot for high schools. Those costs are based on bid estimates and market trends, he said. Finally, the state calculates how much of those costs a district can afford from an "ability index" derived from property values, Marinucci said. Depending on a district's relative wealth, the district pays 20 percent to 40 percent of the costs; the state pays for the rest. But any costs not included in the estimates are footed entirely by the districts.
-- Andrew Tangel Off-the-Shelf Plans for New Delaware Schools Could Save Design Fees-- The News Journal Delaware: July 31, 2006 [ abstract] As school officials look for ways to cut costs, Colonial School District Superintendent George Meney believes he has found one answer, and state officials seem to agree: building prototype schools. Earlier this year, Colonial started construction on Wrangle Hill Elementary School in Red Lion, using the same blueprint it used to build Southern Elementary School in 2001 near Delaware City. The tactic is saving Colonial $1.2 million in design fees, as well as an estimated $1 million in the routine design changes that often occur during construction of an original structure. Colonial saves doubly because the schools are designed to be two schools in one, housing 1,200 students but splitting them into two 600-student, mirror-image wings. The wings share common areas such as the main office, library, kitchen and power and air plants. The design keeps each wing small and manageable for students and staff, but saves money by eliminating the need to build separate facilities or purchase land at separate sites, Meney said.
The Legislature's Bond Committee is looking at Wrangle Hill as a pilot school to see if similar construction might be the way to go elsewhere, he said. "We think it's a good idea," Meney said of the twin schools. "We think it's something that makes sense. Using the same model has to make sense. Look at what we do in housing construction. Do they have 35 designs, or do they have a limited number of designs they choose from?" Andy Brandenberger, interim superintendent for the Brandywine School District, said the Cape Henlopen School District built two middle schools from the same model when he was superintendent there. Beacon Middle near Lewes and Mariner Middle in Milton were constructed at the same time and completed in 2003. The double plan saved about $500,000 by duplicating the design and another $300,000 by separating the bids by several days so bidders on the second school knew what to expect and came in lower on their bids. "I think the state of Delaware should have some basic, off-the-shelf plans for schools that should be available to school districts," Brandenberger said. Delaware state Auditor R. Thomas Wagner Jr., who estimates that the state will embark on more than $200 million worth of school construction projects in the next few years, said constructing prototype buildings is a good idea. Wagner proposes soliciting bids for prototypes, which would be updated and improved along the way. According to Wagner, architects get 10 percent of the final cost of a school, creating a financial incentive for designers to increase a project's total cost.
-- Edward L. Kenney and Andrew Tangel San Diego School With Big Designs and Joint Use-- San Diego Union-Tribune California: July 26, 2006 [ abstract] The Del Mar Union School District plans to break ground next month on its eighth elementary school, doubling its number of schools since 2000. The Carmel Valley campus will be the district's largest, based on square footage. Ocean Air Elementary will be built on six acres and the district will build playgrounds on six acres of city-owned land as part of a joint-use park.
The design of the new school will be distinct from other schools in the district. Most of the classrooms will be in two-story buildings. The library will have a metal roof shaped like an open book. Posts will resemble crayons. And there will be open space on three sides of the school to make the grounds more visually appealing. Child-friendly shapes and colors will be combined with rustic tones and a stone veneer finish that blends with the character of the neighborhood, said Frisco White of Westberg + White, the architectural firm on the project. The city owns 15 acres adjacent to the school, six of which will be used for the school's playing fields. The city is planning to build a gymnasium, restrooms, a play area for smaller children and basketball courts.
-- Sherry Saavedra Lacking School, Developer's Proposal Rejected in Virginia-- Washington Post Virginia: July 25, 2006 [ abstract] The Prince William County developers offered more than $2.5 million to the school system as part of their package for more than 1,000 homes, offices and restaurants on 128 wooded acres near Gainesville. But it wasn't enough. The anonymous partners behind Wheeler's Grove LLC and HC Land Company LC did not designate any space for an elementary school, and so the Prince William Planning Commission rejected their proposal, recommending that the Board of County Supervisors deny it. The commission's action signifies a strategic shift by Prince William officials seeking to balance the county's rapid growth with its need for new schools. In a county where 16 schools are expected to open or be built in the next 10 years, developers are being pressured to offer school sites with their proposals because vacant land has become so scarce.
The need for schools in Prince William is clear, county officials said. The school system -- the third-largest in Virginia behind Fairfax County and Virginia Beach -- grows by about 3 percent a year. It is expected to have about 70,200 students this academic year and nearly 87,000 students in 10 years. The school system is so concerned about obtaining the right land in the right place that it has been pushing to open a middle school in the central part of the county, despite the community's concerns that a sewage treatment facility now occupies the site. Prince William schools have become so crowded that some schools are using multiple trailers to house classrooms. In the Gainesville proposal, the developer did not offer any land for a school, which is needed because other schools in that area already are using trailers, said Ronald Burgess, Planning Commission chairman. A handful of schools nearby, in the county's west end, have a total of 22 classroom trailers, he said.
-- Ian Shapira New Jersey Targeting School Architects, Builders it Says Wasted SCC Funds-- Star-Ledger New Jersey: July 21, 2006 [ abstract] Shoddy work by designers and contractors has cost the state's cash-strapped school construction effort at least $75 million, and attorneys have begun legal work to recoup that money, the program's top officer said. The schools program has been in upheaval since last year, when officials revealed they had committed the entire $6 billion allocated to projects in the 31 communities, stranding scores of promised schools on the drawing board. A series of reviews of the corporation found pervasive mismanagement, waste and potential fraud, and a Star-Ledger analysis showed that the state program's schools cost, on average, 45 percent more than schools built without SCC involvement.
Deane Evans, director of the Center for Architecture and Building Science Research, said the SCC plans to rank future projects for funding based on each district's educational needs and ability to locate sites for proposed projects. Evans said the state plans to give priority to projects that reduce classroom overcrowding, expand pre-school offerings and address urgent repairs. "We all want to avoid the legacy of the past, when the priority was on how fast a project could get designed and which was the first in the door," said Scott Weiner, transitional chief executive officer of the state Schools Construction Corporation. Weiner said with that approach, the SCC ended up acquiring $200 million worth of property that it cannot build schools on because it now does not have enough money. Moving forward, Weiner said one way to help more schools get built would be legislation to allow school boards to incorporate schools into other development projects. The state's bid to recoup damages from the professional firms it has worked with was one strategy recommended by the state inspector general in a critical review of the corporation last year. In her initial report on the agency in April 2005, Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper noted that the SCC had paid change orders worth $22.9 million that were attributed to "design errors and omissions." Since starting work on schools, the SCC has paid out a total of $3.3 billion, including more than $300 million in payments to architects and another $295 million to the construction firms hired to manage the school work, SCC records show. Contractors building the new schools have collected more than $2 billion.
-- Dunstan McNichol Architects Unveil School Designs. Facilities To Be Community Learning Centers.-- Journal Star Illinois: July 20, 2006 [ abstract] Peoria community members were offered a glimpse of facility design guidelines for two new District 150 schools set to open as soon as fall 2008. The guidelines show possible outlines for classroom shapes, sizes, and amenities for the new schools. The presentation was the culmination of five weeks of school design workshops. Steve Turckes of Perkin+Will in Chicago, the architectural firm teaming with local architects LZT Associates Inc. to design the schools, said the point of the meeting was to hear the residents' reactions and questions and show the design workshop members what their ideas look like in a concrete way. "It takes actually seeing it laid out and drawn for people to react," Turckes said.
The final "laid out and drawn" product is a "community learning center," with "villages" - clusters of classrooms and common areas - for babies through eighth-graders. The community learning centers aim to provide a facility available for school purposes during the day and community use during evenings and weekends. The centers would provide ample indoor classrooms with lots of windows and space for student projects. The centers would also surround themselves with plenty of outdoor stimuli. An outdoor water playground, community garden, a walking and jogging path and multiple sports fields and courts are discussed in the facility design guidelines.
-- Emily Anderson Florida School Board Scrambles as Construction Costs Balloon-- Orlando Sentinel Florida: July 20, 2006 [ abstract] Facing a $7.4 billion bill for building schools and short $1.5 billion to pay for it, Orange County School Board members are throwing up their hands and asking voters for help. The board plans to poll neighborhoods, conduct community forums and hold marathon budget sessions during the next month, hoping that public input will help them find ways to balance a bloated construction budget. After looking at the sobering numbers, members decided they couldn't scale back the school-building program without knowing what cutbacks parents are willing to stomach.
The board explored growing problems with the district's building plan, part of which is funded with a sales-tax increase the board sold to voters in 2002. If renovations on existing schools continue at their current pace, the cost of projects paid for by sales-tax dollars will double to $4 billion, and the district will run out of money halfway through its 136-school priority list. To compound the problem, board members learned that by 2016, they also need 20 more new schools than they planned just to keep pace with growth. To cover it all -- fully refurbishing or replacing 136 schools and building 68 new ones -- would cost more than $7.4 billion during the next decade. The board, however, expects to have only $5.9 billion to spend. That means all of the 136 schools can't get fully refurbished campuses. All of the 68 new schools might have to open with portable classrooms. Board members hope voters can help them find a middle ground.
Costs have skyrocketed since voters approved the sales-tax increase nearly four years ago. For example, Orange County Public Schools estimated that renovations to the 1960s-era Robinswood Middle School would cost roughly $3.8 million. The Pine Hills-area school is scheduled to be rebuilt next year. But now the price tag is more than $37 million. District officials attribute most of the increases for Robinswood and the other schools to rising materials and labor costs and unanticipated mandates, including statewide class-size reduction demanded by voters. But the projects are costing more because the district is doing more to each school. Over the years, officials discovered the original designs would not correct enough problems, provide enough classrooms or bring schools to district standards.
-- Erika Hobbs New Jersey's Abbott Districts Criticize Construction Freeze-- Courier-Post New Jersey: July 20, 2006 [ abstract] A Camden School District official spoke of large chunks of facade falling off Camden High School and a fire alarm system that has yet to work properly. New Brunswick's superintendent spoke of millions of wasted dollars for leases and transportation caused by construction delays to his schools. Members of a joint legislative panel heard about those issues and more during lengthy testimony on deteriorating buildings and lost dollars caused by a freeze on new projects in New Jersey's beleaguered school construction program.
Superintendents and other officials from New Jersey's Abbott special-needs districts also argued that, by its victory in state Supreme Court last year on holding aid at last year's levels, the Corzine administration will wreak damage in 2006-07 on programs and cost numerous jobs. Democratic lawmakers on the panel expressed frustration at the yearlong halt on seeking funding for new projects. The state Schools Construction Corp., found to have been fraught with waste and mismanagement, launched more projects than it could finish with the original $6 billion allocation in the 31 special-needs districts. Gordon MacInnes, a Department of Education assistant commissioner, testified that he and others on a working group of top state officials will provide recommendations in mid-August on how to restart the program, focusing on 97 schools that have been designed but saw construction funding run dry. Gov. Jon S. Corzine has refused to release money until oversight reforms are finished. Both Democrats and Republicans were riled about the program for different reasons. Sen. Ronald Rice, a Democrat from Newark who serves as a committee co-chairman, said the delays are unacceptable. If the administration doesn't provide cost estimates by August, he said, he will ask Corzine to appear before the panel. Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck, R-Red Bank, said considering there are projects in suburbs in her own district and elsewhere that need funding, public backlash is possible. After MacInnes spoke, officials from Abbott districts described their mounting facilities woes.
-- Larry Hanover Opinion: Fund Arizona Schools Construction Adequately-- Tuscon Citizen Arizona: July 11, 2006 [ abstract] Arizona's growth, albeit great for our economy, means more schools must be built despite skyrocketing costs of construction materials. But because of inadequate funding by the Legislature, schools may be forced to forgo key features such as parking lot lights, playground equipment and landscaping. And the state may no longer pay for campus-style elementary schools. That is not acceptable.
The state took over the responsibility of paying for school construction in the late 1990s after poorer school districts sued, claiming they were being shortchanged by low property tax revenue. Since then, the amount paid for building schools has climbed. In the past two years alone, legislators have increased the square-footage funding by 14 percent. But it isn't enough. While the state now provides $116 per square foot to build an elementary school, contractor bids come in the $130s, The Arizona Republic reported recently. For a 100,000-square-foot school, a $10 square-foot difference means a $1 million shortfall. Arizona's School Facilities Board, which will spend $360 million in 2006-07, is required by law to build schools at minimum standards. That includes classroom temperature and air quality equipment but not playground equipment or parking lot lights. Yet playground equipment is essential in an age of increasing childhood obesity. And parking lot lights reduce vandalism, assaults and other crimes.
To cut costs, the Schools Facilities Board also is considering forcing districts to erect elementary schools with only one or two buildings. The campus-style design common in Arizona, with classroom doors opening to an outdoor courtyard, reduces the need for indoor hallways to heat and cool. Amid Arizona's efforts to increase use of renewable energy sources, the campus style takes optimum advantage of our abundant sunshine. And although school design may seem to be a strictly aesthetic issue, it actually has a profound effect not only on energy costs, but also on how classrooms are organized and how students learn. We concede that few could have foreseen the startling spike in prices for construction materials. Nonetheless, Arizona's students must not be shortchanged because of that. Indeed, the growth that necessitates construction of new schools is largely to thank for the budget surplus the state enjoyed this year. Arizona leaders must, in turn, pay the attendant costs of that growth and build complete schools, not bare-bones facilities. That is especially important when it comes to our students' achievement, safety, health and well-being.
-- Editors Strings are Attached to School Facility Funding from State of Arkansas-- Arkansas Leader Arkansas: July 05, 2006 [ abstract] Before state schools see any of the $265.7 million budgeted last Thursday for academic facilities funding, districts are required to sign a seven-page project agreement that includes a recommendation that districts hold architects liable for part of the cost if a project goes over budget because of architect error. The agreement allows the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation to conduct on-site inspections and review construction plans as well as change orders.
This fiscal year, the commission has approved $600 million in construction related to its facilities- partnership program, $300 million for its transitional program and $71 million for immediate repair needs. That puts school and state appropriations for facilities at $971 million. The highest state share for a project approved under the partnership program is $9.8 million for a new junior high school at Marion. The lowest is $26 to make a lavatory in the Two Rivers School District handicapped accessible.
Districts will be allowed to apply for assistance through the partnership program annually. The Legislature will consider another facilities appropriation during the 2007 session, he said. The 2005 General Assembly created the three facilities programs after an assessment of school buildings proposed about $2 billion in facilities needs. The immediate repair program was designed to address projects where repairs or construction was needed immediately; the transitional program covers school facility costs from Jan. 1, 2005, to June 30 of this year. The partnership program begins July 1 and continues annually.
Education Commissioner Ken James, Department of Finance and Administration Director Richard Weiss and Mac Dodson, president of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, make up the Commission for Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation.
-- Sara Greene Arizona Schools Hurt by Soaring Cost to Build-- Arizona Republic Arizona: July 02, 2006 [ abstract] Faced with rising construction costs, Arizona officials are refusing to pay for many public-school campus features that have long been considered basics, such as parking lot lights, playground equipment and landscaping. Officials also are considering capping the number of campus buildings, which would force school districts to abandon the popular open-style design and return to pre-1970s blueprints with one or two buildings. Some districts say the shift may force them to seek a property-tax hike from voters or persuade more developers to help pay for schools. Otherwise, they will have to cut to what they consider bare bones.
The cost-control efforts have reignited debate over what the state should spend on school construction. The law requires the state to provide enough money to build facilities at minimum standards, but in recent years enough money was often left over to pay for extras. Now, with the mounting cost of concrete, steel, copper and lumber, state officials say they cannot afford to pay for everything they did in the past. Arizona School Facilities Board staffers even told school districts last year that the state wouldn't pay for flagpoles, until a review of the law found that flagpoles are mandatory.
The state took over responsibility for paying for schools in the late 1990s after poor districts sued, saying wealthier districts had an unfair advantage. New schools now must meet minimum adequate standards, for which the state will cover the entire cost. The standards, set by the facilities board, include everything from the classroom temperature and air quality to the brightness of classroom lights. In the first few years, schools were able to meet the minimums and cover extras such as trees, bushes, swings and slides. Then, several years ago, a housing boom and red-hot global economy drove up construction costs. Schools have been hit hard. Although state legislators have raised the per-square-foot funding formula by 14 percent in the past two years, it isn't enough to cover costs. The state gives $116 per square foot for an elementary school, but bids are in the $130s. A difference of even $10 a square foot can be significant, adding $1 million to a 100,000-square-foot school. Over-budget schools are having to look for money elsewhere if they want things such as window blinds or a concrete courtyard. The state will only pay to carpet kindergarten through third-grade classrooms. School officials say it's tough to meet even the minimums. Nearly every state-funded school built in the past 1Â1/2 years has kicked in some of its own money through bonds or other means, said Arnold, who heads the facilities board staff. In the past year, nine of the 25 schools that started construction asked for more money just to meet minimum school standards. The state has approved 52 schools that have not broken ground and are scheduled to open between 2007 and 2009.
-- Anne Ryman School Spaces Could Have Many Uses-- Journal Star Illinois: June 23, 2006 [ abstract] If there's one theme emerging from design workshops for District 150's two new schools, it's that every space should have more than one use. A gym can be turned into an auditorium. A band room can become a dance studio. And two classrooms can be turned into one large gathering room. "We've tried to condense the square footage of (these designs) to keep it affordable," architect David Henebry said at a school design workshop. "It's taking the tax dollars and stretching them a lot further.
-- Clare Jellick It's Not Just a Gym. Kids Win When We Let Them Be Part of the Team-- Philadelphia Inquirer Pennsylvania: June 17, 2006 [ abstract] Lankenau High School in the Andorra section of Philadelphia is getting a new gym. The $11 million addition is a very small part of the city school district's $1.7 billion construction makeover. But it could make a big difference in the future of some Lankenau students, because educators and the project architect took the time to make them a big part of the design team.
"I wanted to involve the whole school community in the project," said architect David Schrader. So he began work last September by involving students in a five-day version of the hands-on brainstorming sessions that architects call a charrette. The students were asked to help come up with options on where the addition should go, how it should look and how related renovations to the existing school should be handled. To give meaningful input, they had to learn about design, engineering, site planning, "green" buildings and landscaping. During the year, Nancy Bellew's math class and Michael Hardisky's science class took the lessons way further, under the guidance of Schrader's firm and architecture students from Philadelphia University. The 20-plus Lankenau students built handsome scale models of the building and of the entire site out of foam and butter board. They did a thorough environmental survey of the land on which their school sits. The students presented their work to their teachers, parents and members of the community last week, with enthusiasm, style and the inevitable hip-hop soundtrack.
-- Editorial ALABAMA VOICES: Neighborhood-scale schools greatly preferable -- Montgomery Advertiser Alabama: June 11, 2006 [ abstract] The Montgomery Board of Education, City Council and County Commission should certainly be commended for
coming together and recently approving the new school facilities plan and budget. Indeed, this joint
effort has the potential for important long-term improvements to Montgomery County schools.
However, even with such potential, whether these improvements are fully realized remains uncertain because
two critical questions have yet to be unanswered:
Where will the new schools budgeted under this plan be built? How will they be designed?
-- Chad Emerson Hearing on school closings is tonight-- Journal Sentinel Wisconsin: June 11, 2006 [ abstract] A public hearing is set for today on plans to close some schools in the Milwaukee Public Schools system.
Administrators expect to announce in October what schools they have designated for closing at the end of the 2006-'07 school year, as the next wave following the decision last fall to shut down four schools at the end of this school year. Before making a decision, MPS officials want to get some input from the public.
Today's hearing, the last of six such meetings, is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the MPS central administration building, 5225 W. Vliet St.
Superintendent William Andrekopoulos said the schools selected last fall constituted the first phase of a process of reducing excess space in MPS. The four schools tabbed in that round of closings included Juneau High School and Webster Middle School.
Andrekopoulos projected that the first wave of closings will put MPS almost halfway toward a goal of saving $10 million a year in school operations. But more closings are necessary, he argued.
-- ALAN J. BORSUK Time Adding to Bills for Building Texas Schools-- Dallas Morning News Texas: June 08, 2006 [ abstract] The design is the same, but the price is significantly different. Just two years after paying $8.7 million to build Couch Elementary School, Garland ISD will spend $10.8 million each on two Couch clones slated to open in 2008. District officials say they can foot the unexpectedly high bill – fueled by construction costs – without scaling back their plans, but with a high school and middle school in the works, further inflation could force the district to delay construction of an 8,000-seat football stadium. "I have been doing this for 30 years, and I can't remember prices jumping this fast," said Jess Hudson, Garland's executive director of school facilities. "I think we'll be OK. Prices should level off. But we're not where we wanted to be at this point, and if we have another big hurricane season, well, I don't even want to think about it." The unnamed elementary schools will be financed through a $385 million bond package approved in 2002 to finance five new schools, the stadium and expansions at elementary schools.
Couch came in slightly below the district's initial estimate, as did expansions at several older buildings, but the new elementary schools will force Garland ISD to tap into its contingency funds. Much of that extra money will be spent on metal. Steel prices have jumped 40 percent since the district signed the Couch contract in 2004; copper prices (important in wiring and plumbing) have more than tripled. Rising oil prices have also taken a toll. In addition to boosting fuel bills for bulldozers and backhoes, costly crude has inflated the price of drywall, which is made from petroleum, and even bricks, which require a lot of energy to manufacture. "I compared component prices for Couch and the new schools, just to see where we're taking a beating," Mr. Hudson said. "Turns out, we're taking a beating on everything from concrete foundations to ceiling tiles. We can't even get cheap dirt anymore. You know things are bad when dirt's expensive."
-- Andrew D. Smith New Orleans Learning Center Plans Unveiled-- Times-Picayune Louisiana: June 03, 2006 [ abstract] The St. Tammany Parish school system's first early-childhood development center will feature 37,000 square feet of classrooms and administrative space as well as an exterior with a more residential appearance, according to early design plans. Certain touches, including sloping roofs and brick facades, add a residential feel to the center. Keeping the young ages of the students in mind, architects allocated room for 108 parking spaces, allowing parents to park and walk their children into the school, and included coverings for all drop-off and pick-up areas/ One feature involves windows into each classroom from the hallway. These let parents, teachers and other students observe classes. Architects also left space on the 10-acre campus for growth, including a four-classroom expansion wing and a kitchen. With those additions, the school would grow to about 44,000 square feet.
-- Jenny Hurwitz Deteriorating Yonkers Schools Need As Much as $500 Million to Fix-- The Journal News New York: May 28, 2006 [ abstract] Yonkers' long-neglected school buildings are falling apart, creating health and safety issues for thousands who report to school each day. The repair bill, now nearly $500 million, is mounting every day. Protective scaffolding just went up around Lincoln High to protect students from bricks falling off deteriorating masonry. Roof leaks at Scholastic Academy and Roosevelt High have caused substantial interior damage. There's a cracked wall and inoperable elevator in the district's newest school while ventilation systems at Yonkers Middle/High have left surface mold on ceilings, according to a report by Cannondesign, a district consultant.
The cash-strapped city of Yonkers has committed an average of $4 million a year for repairs during the past decade. That hasn't kept up with repairs, leaving the district of 25,000 students and 4,000 employees in numerous buildings in serious need of attention. Though this year's city budget plan earmarks $16 million to fix buildings, schools Superintendent Bernard Pierorazio said it's nowhere near enough. It may not even cover the pressing needs detailed by Cannondesign. "We have red-flag issues that have to be dealt with immediately, and I'm not sure the $16 million is enough to pay for them," Pierorazio said.
Many parents are upset by the conditions their children face each day. At School 21 in south central Yonkers, Rosa Kastsaridis said her daughter rarely uses the bathroom in her kindergarten room, with its corroded stalls and flaking paint. Down the hall, a garbage can by one doorway catches water when it rains. "It's really bad," said Kastsaridis. "My child deserves a better environment in which to learn." The need for a more aggressive repair program comes at a crucial time for Yonkers, which serves a student population that's predominantly minority and low-income. Twelve percent are diagnosed with asthma, which is exacerbated by damp indoor conditions; one in five students has asthma in a school that has had a leaky roof for years.
-- David McKay Wilson Rough Guess: $5.4 Billion Needed to Restart New Jersey School Construction-- Newsday New Jersey: May 25, 2006 [ abstract] The state would need $5.4 billion to revive 97 school construction projects stalled when the state's school construction agency ran out of money, the agency's chief told lawmakers, though he cautioned it was a rough guess. Scott Weiner, interim head of the New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation, said the agency needed time to prioritize projects and solidify plans and costs before beginning construction anew. Weiner said the SCC will make a recommendation to Gov. Jon S. Corzine in August. He emphasized he had little confidence in the $5.4 billion estimate and said inexact estimates helped lead to the agency spending $8.6 billion previously without finishing its job.
"No additional monies should be authorized until we can be certain the funds are spent appropriately and wisely and that they are used for the purposes for which they were intended," Governor Corzine spokesman Anthony Coley said. Of the $8.6 billion provided to the SCC by the state, $6 billion was for schools in the state's poorest school districts. But the SCC, created in 2002 under Supreme Court order to provide new schools in the 31 poorest districts, has been plagued by management and oversight problems. Government reports found waste and potential fraud, and 315 school projects were shelved after the SCC spent all its money. Earlier this year, state officials estimated it would cost at least $12.8 billion to do all 315 projects. Ninety-seven of the 315 had design work suspended, and Weiner said those projects would be the first to move forward if additional money is provided by the Legislature.
-- Tom Hester Michigan School Districts Rework Security Inside Buildings-- The Times Herald Michigan: May 21, 2006 [ abstract] When most students participate in a lock-down drill, their teacher closes the door and the children sit quietly at their desks or on the floor. Bernie Howard's fifth-grade class at Sparlingville has to hit the road. During the drills, which practice securing individual classrooms in the case of an intruder or other threat, Howard's students must walk down the hall and around the corner to a designated classroom on the other side of the building. The reason is simple: about half the classrooms at Sparlingville don't have doors - as is the case with several classrooms at Thomas Edison Elementary School in Fort Gratiot. School officials said security awareness is one of the reasons the Port Huron Area School District Board of Education approved about $50,000 to install doors to improve security in the event of a lock down. School administrators said the renovations are a sign of the times, where student safety has evolved into a presence parents expect when they walk through the doors.
Sparlingville and Thomas Edison elementary schools were built in the 1960s, when large, open spaces were in vogue. Now, in addition to being noisy and visually distracting, open classrooms are making security tougher. At Sparlingville, the building is divided into two wings. Third- through fifth-grade students are assigned to the upper-elementary wing while kindergarten through second grade is in the lower-elementary wing. The lower-elementary rooms, which do have doors, frame the school's lunchroom. Upper-elementary classrooms ring the school's media center and do not have doors. The layout allows Sparlingville administrators to lock the outer doors and secure the building's perimeter. It does not allow teachers to secure each individual classroom, Sparlingville Principal Brenda Stevens said. Fourth- and fifth-grade rooms at Thomas Edison don't have doors and only have three walls, though teachers can pull a curtain to block out visual distractions. The rooms are arranged in an octagon shape around a common study area. School board funding also will pay for the installation of walls.
Most schools, including Sparlingville and Thomas Edison, have several security measures in place, including limiting access to the main entrance, mandatory visitor registration and extensive planning. In addition to individual security measures, all of the county's schools received training through the St. Clair Regional Educational Service Agency, which received a $350,000 grant about three years ago. In addition to training, the grant paid for consultants and some equipment, such as the two-way radios RESA bought for all of the district's schools. The most tech-savvy school security in St. Clair County may be at Yale Community Schools, where all buildings are equipped with video cameras at all entrances. In addition, all schools have an intercom entry system at the main entrances. Visitors must use the intercom to alert office personnel, who can see the visitor on a video monitor and are able to let them into the building.
-- Molly Montag Portables a Not-So-Temporary Solution in Tucson-- Arizona Daily Star Arizona: May 04, 2006 [ abstract] Stroll across Blenman Elementary School and you see the cluster of 20- to 30-year-old portables — referred to by some parents as "shady pines" or the "trailer park school." Inside, you'll find rooms with only a few 8-inch-tall windows near the ceiling. There's a little light from dim fluorescent lights above, one of which is flickering. The situation has Blenman parents growing increasingly vocal, speaking at recent school board meetings and wrestling through the bureaucracy of the Tucson Unified School District.
Blenman isn't alone. Thousands of Tucson children spend their days in portable units, designed as a temporary fix for a shortage of classrooms. Nearly 80 of TUSD's 122 schools have portable classrooms. In terms of total square footage, they make up about 4 percent of TUSD's school space, according to the Arizona School Facilities Board, which is responsible for allocating funding for new school construction. By comparison, they make up about 3 percent of total square footage in the Sunnyside Unified School District and roughly 9 percent in Amphitheater Public Schools. But Woods says the problem is magnified at Blenman. A third of the school is in portable units — that's about 200 students and nine classrooms. And the portables account for about 20 percent of the school's total square footage. Only a handful of other TUSD schools have as much portable space, and most have more total square footage.
-- Daniel Scarpinato Student Input Can Aid in School Design-- Arizona Republic Arizona: April 30, 2006 [ abstract] Including students when designing and building new schools can not only make the school better but also help the kids feel invested in the project. Campuses are popping up across the Valley to accommodate student growth and as aging facilities are replaced. Some architects check in with students or the schools to add that unique student touch to schools.
Jim Koehler, project manager at DLR Group, said parts of the new school evolved as a result of student influence. "First, they want their own place 'to hang out,' and secondly they dread fighting the crowds in the hallways to move from class to class," Koehler said. DLR Group, in response, designed the school in Laveen with students in mind. When the campus opens, students will find smaller schools within a larger high school as a solution to ease student congestion and the stress of pushing through crowds in between classes. The design also focused on combining social space and learning space "making the school an inviting place for students to interact and create lasting relationships," Koehler said
-- Betty Reid 'Open' Design Flawed-- Saginaw News Michigan: April 29, 2006 [ abstract] In three to four decades, parents may spin yarns about the days when teachers wrote on chalkboards and lectured wide-eyed students rapt with attention, school design experts predict. Instead, with more focus on creativity and self-guided learning, wide open spaces will dominate the educational landscape, they say, and architects will abandon traditional classroom settings. If that's the case, the design of primary and secondary school buildings in the United States will have come full circle.
Like hundreds of other school districts, Saginaw Township tried that approach in the 1960s. At Plainfield Elementary School, which would face demolition under Tuesday's $104.7 million bond plan, students often trek through other classrooms for recess, lunch and trips to the media center. Less than two miles away at Sherwood Elementary School, the three-walled classrooms aren't accessible to all students with disabilities. Students must walk down steps to reach their desks. With their school tax request, Saginaw Township Community Schools officials have professed that they intend to "prepare the district for the next 30 to 40 years," but is that possible? Project architects think so, but some school architecture authorities wonder if the district will buck trends and miss out on the next educational design wave.
-- Corey Mitchell Memo challenges school closures-- The Oregonian Oregon: April 26, 2006 [ abstract] Portland Public Schools' fast-paced school closure and reconfiguration plans could "doom" a November tax measure designed to give the district five years of financial stability, pollster Lisa Grove said in a memo leaked Tuesday by closure opponents.
Grove's conclusion, expressed in a March 31 memo to the Portland Schools Foundation, contradicts the recommendation of the district's citizen budget committee. That group, including several parent activists, reiterated Monday night that the district needs to move forward with the closure plan to sway skeptical voters.
Grove Insight conducted the February poll for the Portland Schools Foundation that showed unexpectedly high voter opposition to new taxes and slammed the door on Mayor Tom Potter's proposed school income tax.
-- SCOTT LEARN and PAIGE PARKER Schooled in Iconoclasm in Los Angeles-- Los Angeles Times California: April 23, 2006 [ abstract] As architect of the Grand Avenue arts campus, Wolf Prix is obliterating the box to let inspiration flow from the outside in. It's not a bird. Could be a plane. The collective Angeleno imagination will have 2 1/2 years to conjure an appropriate image for the irregular-looking assemblage of gray- and sand-colored structures in concrete, plaster, glass and steel that will soon begin to rise downtown above the Hollywood Freeway. However the city eventually decides to define the strange shapes on its new public arts campus, given the estimated cost of $208 million, it had better be Superschool.
As an aesthetic construct, the new high school faces a big challenge: It must hold its ground in comparison to Gehry's concert hall, two long blocks to the west, while also complementing Jose Rafael Moneo's Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Himmelb(l)au chose to echo the cathedral's bell tower in a 140-foot-high tower of perforated steel, festooned with a big, swirl-shaped sculptural logo that will be the high school's elaborately lighted signature. Prix sees the cathedral and high school tower combo as a quasi-symmetrical gateway to downtown, straddling the freeway in architectural splendor that, one hopes, won't dazzle motorists to the point of dangerous distraction.
The school — unnamed apart from its bureaucratic designation as Central Los Angeles Area New High School No. 9 — has its share of distinctive touches. There's the cylindrical, tilting library that from the outside looks like a fez without the tassel — and inside, like a hive with a skylight 60 feet above the floor. Viewers also will be drawn to huge round windows, like portholes on an ocean liner. Prix wants the city to be able to peer inside and see learning in motion as L.A.'s next generation of artists works at becoming sculptors, painters, dancers, actors, musicians and performing arts technicians.
-- Mike Boehm Houston School District to Pay $60 Million for Repairs-- Houston Chronicle Texas: April 20, 2006 [ abstract] Some of Houston's older schools could get their air conditioning replaced and leaky roofs repaired as part of a three-year, $60 million maintenance proposal. The package would help erase the effects of years of neglect at some of the Houston Independent School District's more than 300 campuses, officials said. While specific funding sources haven't been disclosed, district leaders said they expect to pay for most of the work from the operating budget and savings fund.
HISD has added nearly 3 million square feet of building space in the past seven years, increasing its total square footage to 26.7 million in 2005-06. During that period, the budget for maintenance and operations fell from $55 million to $45 million. In addition, school trustees reduced the tax rate in 1987 by cutting 3.7 cents that had been earmarked for capital projects. That decision has cost the district more than $300 million in two decades, officials said. The repairs are a major component of a new "facilities to standard" initiative, designed to develop guidelines for building and maintaining schools. The standards, for instance, will outline the square footage of libraries and what type of heating systems schools should use. District leaders also will determine the cost of bringing existing buildings up to those standards, although they doubt HISD can afford the whole bill.
-- Jennifer Radcliff Florida Lawmakers to Pay $1.1 Billion for Buildings To Meet Class Size Amendment-- The Ledger Florida: April 19, 2006 [ abstract] The Florida Legislature is poised to appropriate $1.1 billion to construct new schools to meet requirements of the Florida Constitution's class-size amendment, but Republican legislative leaders haven't given up trying to weaken the measure. Senate President Tom Lee said that he believes the Legislature should not earmark any more money although school districts are expected to need several times that amount to comply with the amendment's 2010-11 deadline and lawmakers this year have a $4.1 billion surplus.
The Senate Education Appropriations Committee set aside the $1.1 billion for class size construction, matching the same figure previously earmarked in the House budget. Governor Jeb Bush opposed a citizen initiative that voters approved in 2002 to put the class size limits in the constitution, arguing it would be too expensive. It will require limits of 18 students in kindergarten through third grade, 22 in fourth through eighth grade and 25 in high school. The Legislature has spent only $600 million for school construction projects designed to meet the requirements over the past three years.
-- Bill Kaczor Public discussion of school closures starting this week-- Seattle Times Washington: April 19, 2006 [ abstract] Kerry Cooley Stroum was so opposed to a Seattle school-district plan to close schools last spring that she helped design T-shirts for parents and kids to wear to board meetings.
Protests from parents like Stroum, whose twins go to Montlake Elementary, helped pressure Superintendent Raj Manhas to scrap the money-saving proposal last May.
Almost a year later, a multi-million-dollar deficit remains, and a new plan to close schools has surfaced. But you won't find Stroum digging out her "Public schools are the heart of our city" T-shirt. This time around, she said, she'd support school closures if they're done for the right reason.
-- Emily Heffter Wake County Cuts Cost of New Schools-- The News & Observer North Carolina: April 12, 2006 [ abstract] Students in Wake County's new schools will sit in smaller classrooms and play football in other schools' stadiums. Those are results of cost cuts designed to get voter approval this fall of a bond issue to pay for school construction. The school board voted that new high schools will be built without football stadiums, saving $2.56 million per school. The board also agreed to build smaller classrooms in new elementary and middle schools. Some classrooms would be smaller than the state's recommended minimum size. The board declined to make some changes, such as eliminating sinks in elementary school classrooms, replacing auditoriums with "cafetoriums" at middle schools and reducing high school classroom sizes.
-- T. Keung Hui Atlanta High School's Design 'Nightmare' Nearly Over-- Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: March 26, 2006 [ abstract] Walton High School in east Cobb County, an academic standout, is finally overcoming an architectural plan that has plagued the school since it opened 30 years ago. A $12.1 million rehabilitation and expansion, to be completed this summer, reworks the original design, an "open classroom" model that teachers say never worked. The project may be the largest of its kind that the Cobb school system has ever undertaken, said construction supervisor Larry Wall.
In 1976, classrooms without walls were in vogue. Education researchers theorized that students would absorb information overheard from surrounding classrooms. Architects jumped on the bandwagon, designing open classrooms to facilitate cross-pollination of information. In reality, the arrangement created chaos, said Linda Rathjen, chairwoman of Walton's English department, who recalled the experience as a nightmare. "Teachers would shove chalkboards together to try to create walls to separate their classroom from the one next to it," Rathjen said. "I'd be giving a test on participles and you could hear the teaching next door." School officials came up with a fix of sorts, building walls to divide classrooms that were laid out in an irregular pattern. Although they added a measure of privacy, the new walls brought problems of their own, because students had to pass through other classrooms to reach their destination one. Late arrivers often disrupted instruction as they passed between teachers and pupils in one classroom to get to their class in another.
Construction crews worked double shifts, ripping out heating and air conditioning systems, replacing ceilings and lighting, removing walls, expanding the cafeteria, rewiring for technological upgrades, replacing the 1970s-era kitchen with a food court layout, rearranging administrative space, upgrading restrooms, adding a classroom wing, paving a parking lot, adding new lockers and painting. Crews were at work earlier this month building a defining main entryway. Walton's new portal will be a two-story enclosed rotunda topped by a dramatic glass dome, allowing natural light to flood the area. Three additional skylights will brighten the space, which will be quickly accessible from curbside.
-- Diane R. Stepp Volume Rises in Debate on Classroom Acoustics-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: March 13, 2006 [ abstract] The Baltimore County school board has set aside $400,000 in its proposed budget to install and test "sound enhancement" systems - wireless microphones and speakers designed to distribute a teacher's voice evenly around the room. At least seven schools in the Baltimore area are already using it, and others in Maryland and across the country are investing in the equipment. Proponents say the technology can help children hear lessons over the shuffle of papers and other classroom noises. They say it can also ease the strain on teachers' voices.
A typical classroom is awash in sounds: the hum of overhead projectors, computers or ventilation systems; the kickball game outside; the roar of an airplane overhead. Hard surfaces such as tile flooring and painted walls reflect noise, as well as words, creating interference. It can be even worse in "open" classrooms without walls. And children's hearing is not the same as adults'. Voices must be at least 15 decibels higher than the ambient noise for children to understand speech properly. The Maryland State Department of Education and other agencies recognize that sound field amplification technology can help in existing buildings where attempts to improve acoustics have failed, according to a state classroom acoustics manual that will be published this year. However, the guidelines do "not support widespread use of these systems in new construction." Instead, the manual states that the best approach is to design schools according to established acoustic standards.
-- Liz F. Kay New Mexico Schools Blaze Path to LEED-Certified Construction Status-- New Mexico Business Weekly New Mexico: March 10, 2006 [ abstract] An independent school in Santa Fe is on track to construct one of the first LEED-certified buildings in that city, potentially the second such certified project in New Mexico. The Baca Dlo'ay azhi Community School, located on the Navajo Nation reservation in Prewitt, north of Grants, is currently the only LEED-certified building in the state. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, is a voluntary, national standard established by the U.S. Green Building Council. The USGBC certifies buildings in four categories, including Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum, based on the number of LEED credits achieved through the project's design and construction. Within the past year, both Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez and Gov. Bill Richardson mandated that more city and state government buildings achieve at least LEED-Silver status.
The Santa Fe Preparatory school is shooting for silver itself, although it might be able to reach the gold standard, depending upon whether the project is able to incorporate more "green" (energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly) elements into the 20,000-square-foot structure. The building eventually will be the home of a new library, digital language labs and additional classrooms that, together, are expected to save up to 30 percent on energy costs compared to a more conventional project, a key reason these building owners seek to meet the LEED certification standards.
-- Abby Roedel Los Angeles District OKs Downtown Arts School-- Los Angeles Times California: March 08, 2006 [ abstract] Pushing aside concerns about the costs of a new performing and visual arts high school, the Los Angeles Board of Education approved plans for the $208-million downtown campus. The cost is now twice what board members had expected to pay, and about double that of a typical high school. Plans for the elaborately designed school, on the site of the former district headquarters, call for 1,700 to 2,000 students to study in seven major buildings, including a 950-seat theater, music rehearsal rooms, and art studios. With a futuristic design that some board members have said they dislike, the school would be partially clad in a metallic-colored material and feature a soaring tower and conical library.
Board members have set aside $117 million to build the school, after the projected costs were raised from about $87 million. The $172-million bid from PCL Construction caught the board off guard. More than a third of the increase, said facilities executive Guy Mehula, is due to the high cost of hiring workers who are able to build the school's unusual concrete outer walls. The rising costs of concrete and steel are also to blame, he said.
-- Joel Rubin and Tanya Caldwell School Board Moves to Restore Two New Orleans Schools-- The Times-Picayune Louisiana: March 03, 2006 [ abstract] In a move that may help finance the rebuilding of two flood-ravaged schools in the district, St. Tammany Parish School Board members gave preliminary approval redirecting money from a 2004 bond issue to pay for the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. The action came at the urging of Superintendent Gayle Sloan, who recommended that the board hold a public hearing to revise the $75 million bond measure, diverting some of the money toward restoring Brock Elementary and Salmen High, both in Slidell. The bond was originally intended as part of the district's $92 million capital improvement project, meant to finance a number of school renovations and construction projects across the parish. After months of intense scrutiny by federal officials, hurricane-ravaged Brock has been granted historic status, saving it from the possibility of demolition, school officials revealed Thursday. Salmen was deemed unsalvageable months ago and will have to be rebuilt entirely. While Brock's historic designation represents a victory to some members of the school community who had been fighting for its survival even before Hurricane Katrina, the restoration will now require "a lot more layers of bureaucracy" and expense than are normally required, Sloan said. She recommended that the board hold a public hearing, in which they could present their plans to the community and allow for public comment. The board will take a final vote on the bond issue after the hearing.
-- Jenny Hurwitz The District's Modernized Schools-- The Washington Post District of Columbia: February 27, 2006 [ abstract] As the D.C. Council works to find funding to support the public schools' modernization program, opponents look for reasons to avoid committing to it.
One myth about D.C. schools is that school modernization is a "rabbit hole," down which money is thrown without results.
A review of the facts shows otherwise.
The system has completed modernizations at 13 schools; four schools are under construction, and several more are in the design stage. Cost overruns on the early Army Corps of Engineers projects have been replaced by a much-improved track record, especially on projects managed by D.C. Public Schools. The program stalled because of severe cuts in capital funding, but it is gearing back up now.
As a result of the modernization program, thousands of students attend schools that have fire sprinkler systems, elevators, cafeterias, early-childhood classrooms, art rooms, air conditioning, health suites for nurses and other elements that schools in other jurisdictions take for granted.
At the modernized schools, enrollment is generally up, even while the school system is losing students overall. Enrollment at Key Elementary School in Ward 3, for example, has grown from 200 students to 340.
Such schools can help transform their communities.
Are there problems? Yes. Work must continue on cost control, schedules need to be improved, and maintenance of schools before and after modernization is a challenge. But let's work on solving those problems by committing to secure, adequate and stable funding, along with vigorous oversight.
SARAH WOODHEAD
Washington
The writer was chief of facilities for D.C. Public Schools from 2002 to 2003 and is on the steering committee of the School Modernization Campaign.
-- Sarah Woodhead - Letter to the Editor New Saint Louis Schools are High-Tech and Multiuse-- St. Louis Post Dispatch Missouri: February 06, 2006 [ abstract] Say the words "school building" and what do you picture? A boxy brick structure, with long hallways flanked by desk-crammed classrooms? Take a tour of some new schools and that image will change - pretty radically. The schools built today feel more like sleek museums, or some type of highly advanced craft designed for travel. As local school districts have replaced outdated buildings or have built to accommodate growth in the past few years, educators and community members have asked that their schools respond to the demands of a fast changing, security-minded, technologically driven culture.
Post Columbine, school districts have asked for more advanced security systems, and buildings in which students can be seen more easily. Research has shown the importance of teaching students in groups of varying sizes, so teachers and administrators are asking for a variety of classroom sizes - some for one-on-one attention and others for study groups. School districts - and the voters who pay for new schools - have asked for schools that act as community centers. Elementary school gyms are used for adult leagues, and auditoriums for civic meetings. The most important trend, architects say, is that of "environmental" architecture, in which the design of a school can actually enhance learning. Sound systems can play different music in different parts of the building, to elevate moods or calm them. Acoustics have been retooled so students in the back of a room can hear just as well as in the front. Natural light is incorporated as much as possible, sometimes without traditional windows. Color also plays a role.
-- Georgina Gustin EPA Helps Schools and Child Care Facilities Reduce Lead in Drinking Water-- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National: January 26, 2006 [ abstract] EPA has released a specialized toolkit to encourage school officials and child care facilities to reduce lead in their drinking water. The "3Ts Toolkit" explains how to test for lead in drinking water; report results to parents, students, staff, and other interested parties; and take action to correct problems. The toolkit also includes an update to 1994 EPA technical guidance on helping schools design and implement testing programs. Steps in the program include: collecting information on school drinking water and identifying assistance to implement a school lead control program, developing a plumbing profile, developing a drinking water testing plan, testing the facilities' drinking water for lead, correcting problems when elevated lead levels are found, and communicating with the school community about a school lead-control program.
-- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Chicago Elementary Pupils Return to Building That Was Condemned in 2004-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: January 24, 2006 [ abstract] An Ingleside school that was once days away from the wrecking ball reopened, apparently bringing an end to a bizarre two-year saga that spawned a flurry of lawsuits and divided the community. Gavin Central Elementary School, completed in 1996 at a cost of $6.5 million, was condemned in April 2004 after many of its roof supports were found to be cracked or broken. After an 18-month legal fight, repairs began in November, and inspectors hired by the Regional Office of Education have ruled Gavin fit for occupancy, school officials said. "This building would not be open if it were not completely, 100 percent safe," said Barb Mende, school board president of Gavin Elementary School District 37. The message of safety resonated with parents, some of whom said they were initially uneasy about entrusting more than 400 young lives, plus dozens of teachers and staff, to the building.
The trouble at Gavin Central began when a broken wood roof truss was discovered over a classroom in February 2004. The school was quickly closed, then condemned after more cracked or broken trusses and other problems were found. Citing the problems, including improperly designed metal trusses holding up the roof over the gymnasium, the school board and the now-departed superintendent sued the builder, Boller Construction, and designer, Legat Architects, both of Waukegan, for $5 million and went to court to get the school torn down and rebuilt. The suit was settled in October, with the defendants agreeing to repair the building at their own cost. Robert Boller, head of the construction company, said he is still suing several subcontractors and declined to say how much the repairs cost.
-- M. Daniel Gibbard An Old Sound Fills New School-- St. Louis Post Dispatch Missouri: January 23, 2006 [ abstract] Like many newly built schools, Columbia Middle is airy and light-filled, with gleaming surfaces and clean, contemporary lines. But listen as you approach the entrance, and you'll hear something from another era: the strains of classical music floating through the air. "We have it playing throughout the school day," said Principal Roger Chamberlain. "In the library, the gymnasium, the locker rooms, the restrooms - all the time." Classical music is as much a part of the new building as the soaring "cafe-torium" (a combined cafeteria and auditorium) and the spacious classrooms. That was part of the plan, Chamberlain said.When school administrators and faculty members sat down with architects from St. Louis-based Wm. B. Ittner Inc. to come up with design ideas, a good sound system was a priority. The system at the former school building was "old and crackly" and could only play music, barely audibly, in the hallways over an aging public address system, Chamberlain said. Now, administrators in the school's front office can pop in a few CDs, press some buttons and pipe music into different rooms at different volumes over a state-of-the-art system.
For educators, and the architects who design schools for them, sound has become just one component of creating a positive learning environment. Years ago, explained Dennis Young, president of Ittner, school administrators wanted public address systems just to communicate. "Now," Young said, "we've progressed into what I call environmental design, which includes sound systems, acoustics, lighting and daylight harvesting. Now, the principal has at his or her fingertips all the tools necessary to create an educational environment to enhance the learning process."
-- Georgina Gustin Charters Seek to Tap North Carolina Lottery for School Costs-- The News & Observer North Carolina: January 19, 2006 [ abstract] Raleigh Charter High School spends about $539,000 every year to lease the old Pilot Mill building it occupies near downtown Raleigh, but that expense comes from the same budget the school uses to pay teachers, buy textbooks and do everything else. Raleigh Charter is joining charter schools across the state seeking to stake a claim to lottery money designated for new schools and other capital costs. To Raleigh Charter leaders, a share of that lottery money could help pay the rent and increase the school's overall budget -- about $3.4 million this year. The state doesn't provide North Carolina's 97 charter schools with money for buildings, and the lottery wouldn't, either. But during a news conference at the Raleigh high school, charter leaders said that charter schools should benefit from the same funds provided to conventional public schools. The money for capital expenses would amount to about $162 million in the lottery's first year. Charter leaders said they don't have a formula that would determine their share, but they said they want an equitable amount.
-- Todd Silberman Student Safety Incorporated into School Design-- Daytona Beach News Journal Florida: January 19, 2006 [ abstract] Student safety and campus security help shape Volusia and Flagler county schools before the first shovel of dirt is turned for their construction. "What we're trying to do is make it secure without making somebody think it's a prison," said Pat Drago, facilities director for Volusia County schools. Drago said school officials typically work closely with architects to evaluate access into and out of the school, lines of sight for monitoring campus activity, lighting, landscaping and restroom design to ease student supervision and eliminate possible hiding places. The new Belle Terre Elementary, for example, is designed around a central courtyard where children can gather without being visible from outside the school. The local attention to security issues in school design is part of a national trend, said Bill Brenner, director of the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities. "It's been a gradual evolution over the years," Brenner said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C.
-- Linda Trimble Energy Efficient School Design Pays Off-- Star News Minnesota: January 17, 2006 [ abstract] The Elk River Area School District is getting paid, big time, for building energy efficient schools. In addition to yearly savings on electricity heating and cooling, the district receives big rebates from Xcel Energy and CenterPoint. The rebates range from $75,000 to $180,000. A number of strategies have been used in district schools to increase energy savings, including improved lighting design, lighting controls, daylighting controls, high-efficiency chillers, load responsive equipment, and CO2 control of outside air.
-- Jake Muonio In New School Design, Parents Can Peek In-- Charlotte Observer North Carolina: January 11, 2006 [ abstract] Students at Rock Hill's future elementary schools may have extra pairs of eyes on them in class -- but they won't know it at the time. A prototype building design presented to school board members includes closed-circuit cameras in every classroom, and special rooms where observers, such as parents, can look in on classrooms. The cameras also give the potential for remote access, so that district staff could tap into any classroom in an emergency to find out what's going on.
District staff members worked with architects from Moseley Architects over the past two months to develop the design. They visited schools that had designs and features they liked, such as the observation rooms. The resulting 73,450-square-foot prototype includes four wings branching out from central administrative offices. Parent and bus drop-off points would be on different sides of the "X" shape. Two grades would be located in each of three wings, and the fourth would have common areas such as a multipurpose room, a media center and art and music rooms. From the hub of the school, there's access to every classroom wing, which means it would be easy for administrators to monitor the hallways. And visitors could get to the office without disturbing classrooms. The roughly symmetrical design also makes it easy to modify the location of entrances and parking lots.
-- Deborah Hirsch Scandal Muddies San Antonio's Schools' Construction -- Express-News Texas: January 08, 2006 [ abstract] Residents can't figure out why Douglass Elementary School is still a construction site. More than three years ago, about 320 students were moved about a mile to a temporary campus so extensive renovations could begin. They've been there ever since.
Voters approved the Douglass project, budgeted at $8.3 million, as part of a 1997 bond referendum. The renovation was to include the main building, the rebuilding of the cafeteria, and the addition of a wing of classrooms, among other tasks. The project was supposed to be completed by June 2004. Hundreds of documents and interviews with school officials, subcontractors and other parties familiar with the projects show that high turnover among construction superintendents, the general contractor's inability to keep workers on the job and squabbling all around contributed to the delays. It took months for the project architects to obtain building permits, in part because city officials were slow to finish their initial review of the plans. At Douglass, pride was also a factor. Community members guarded the architectural integrity of the circa 1914 school — which the city's Historic design and Review Commission recognized as having historic value — and protested the architect's initial design. Talks with the community went on for a year before construction began. The building's outdated design also presented challenges in complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
-- Michelle M. Martinez The Greening of America's Campuses-- New York Times National: January 08, 2006 [ abstract] Colleges have long marketed their campus amenities, their rosters of scholars, their selectivity and study-abroad programs. To that list, add one more thing: their green credentials. From Berea College in Kentucky, where students designed a house that produces its own electricity, to Middlebury in Vermont, where local forests supply wood for construction, the greening of higher education is everywhere, showing signs of outlasting earlier, faddish fits and starts. Nationwide, more than 110 colleges have built or are building structures certified by the United States Green Building Council, a nonprofit group that promotes construction and designs that meet high standards of energy efficiency. But it's one thing to put up a trophy of recycled glass and brick that relies on the sun, the wind or other renewable resources for power. It's another to build a curriculum - and to get students to look at the world differently - with green buildings as a centerpiece.
-- Timothy Egan N.J. Schools Agency Told Again to Improve-- Philadelphia Inquirer New Jersey: December 22, 2005 [ abstract] The agency in charge of building schools in New Jersey's neediest districts suffers from management problems and confusion over some of its employees' roles, according to a report issued by the state inspector general. The Schools Construction Corporation is in charge of a fund to repair, build and expand schools in 31 so-called Abbott districts. Costs have been higher and progress slower than expected when the agency was established in 2002.
This year, Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper issued a blistering report on waste and the potential for malfeasance and conflicts of interest in the agency. That report led to sweeping changes in policies and personnel. The new leaders asked Cooper to delve deeply into the agency's design and Construction Division and suggest changes, prompting the new report. "Our review revealed the absence of an overall coordinated plan to enable design and Construction to efficiently build schools," Cooper said in a statement. The report said relationships between the state-employed project officers and the private firms managing construction were murky. In some cases, the state workers had a hard time getting the firms to follow direction; in others, the report said, the state workers provided little oversight.
-- Associated Press New Jersey School Construction Corporation Review Report -- New Jersey Office of the Inspector General New Jersey: December 21, 2005 [ abstract] The New Jersey Office of the Inspector General conducted a review of New Jersey Schools Construction corporation's design and Construction Division. The Inspector General assessed the overall organizational structure, management operations, human resources, and staffing of D&C to determine its ability to perform its important role in the completion of SCC's core mission to efficiently and effectively build schools.
-- New Jersey Office of the Inspector General Charleston School Teaches Lessons in Design and Conservation-- Post and Courier South Carolina: December 19, 2005 [ abstract] A lot can be learned at the new North Charleston Elementary School without even stepping foot inside a class. That's because the architects, contractors and school district committed to making the school an environmental model. First, they tried to recycle the original 1922 building, but it was too susceptible to earthquakes and had to be taken down, says architect John Ciccarelli of McKellar Associates. When designing the new school, McKellar chose to replicate the original building's footprint, height and roof shape, a logical decision for a school that blended in well with the surrounding neighborhood off Park Circle. Much more was recycled than the old school's size and scale. About 87 percent of the original school's material was not tossed in a Dumpster, but reused. Inside, the heart of the school is given over to a chiller the size of two SUVs, which makes ice that chills piped water and cools the air in the classrooms. The icemaking is done mostly at night, when the power costs are lower. While that chunk of equipment is the most obvious difference, the school's design also saves energy by maximizing the amount of natural light in classrooms and using motion sensors to turn on lights in classrooms and water in sinks.
-- Robert Behre Do Brighter Walls Make Brighter Students?-- CNN New York: December 19, 2005 [ abstract] A project to spruce up dreary hallways at inner city schools is based on a simple idea: Bright walls make for brighter students. Publicolor, a program in which students are permitted to paint over the industrial shades of their schools' interiors, is credited by school officials with lowering dropout rates, decreasing discipline problems and increasing attendance. The program, now a decade old, has already redecorated 71 schools in blighted city neighborhoods.
Ruth Lande Shuman, an industrial designer who created the program, said Publicolor has far surpassed her expectations and won over once skeptical city school officials. "They didn't understand that schools are not meant to look like prisons," Shuman said. "I was, frankly, horrified by how hostile these schools looked and felt." Alarmed by accounts of the city's dropout rates at some schools in the early 1990s, Shuman said she wondered how to help engage disinterested students. "I thought color," said Shuman, who has researched the colors' psychological effects. "Color has enormous power. It can make you feel sad. It can make you feel happy. It can make you feel energetic or lethargic." Shuman began simply, by providing paint and brushes to students and letting them transform drab walls and doorways into colorful entrances and pathways that set them apart in blighted neighborhoods.
-- Associated Press University of Michigan Renovation Shows High-tech Environmental Design-- Detroit Free Press Michigan: December 12, 2005 [ abstract] On the University of Michigan campus, one venerable building is beginning its second century decked out in a trendy new color. Green. Sunflower seed hull cabinets, bamboo floors, solar panels and composting toilets are among the green -- meaning environmentally friendly and energy-efficient -- components of the recently renovated Dana Building, home to the School of Natural Resources and Environment.
A few blocks away in Ann Arbor, construction is to begin next year on another green building: U-M's new $145-million Ross Business School. When complete, it will have plants growing on part of its roof, a feature intended to reduce storm water runoff and keep classrooms and offices warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Across Michigan and the nation, many schools are opting for more energy-efficient structures to save money on energy and water use. In the process, they become highly visible models of green construction.
-- Marty Hair Florida School's Design Has Safety in Mind-- St. Petersburg Times Florida: November 27, 2005 [ abstract] While Dunedin's old middle school has fallen to the wrecking ball, a new elementary school will rise in its place. The new and improved Dunedin Elementary will be larger, more secure, and beefed up to meet hurricane standards. Fleischman-Garcia Architects designed the new facility to fit in with the community aesthetically, said Jeff Pelszynski, a senior associate with the firm and project manager for the school. "It will be broken up into smaller units so it won't look like a huge box and will be less intimidating to the youngsters," he said. The proposed design incorporates five buildings, most of which are two stories high, connected by covered walkways.
In today's world, safety is front and center. "The overall design is in keeping with the latest advances in security and surveillance," said Pelszynski. The entire area will be fenced, with gates open at arrival and dismissal times. "No one will be able to gain access to the campus without going through the administration office," Pelszynski said. Thirty-two cameras for full-time surveillance are incorporated into the plan. The media center and multipurpose rooms on the west side of the 12-acre site may be accessed separately after hours for community programs, school functions and other meetings.
-- Terri Bryce Reeves $132-Million Belmont Pact Sought-- Los Angeles Times California: November 15, 2005 [ abstract] First they found the explosive methane gas. Then it was the earthquake fault line under the half-built high school. Twice they have tried to finish Belmont Learning Complex. Twice it has been abandoned. Now, eight years and about $175 million after construction first started, the deeply troubled downtown campus is again on the verge of resurrection.
Los Angeles schools Superintendent Roy Romer will ask the Board of Education to approve a $132-million construction contract to complete a scaled-back version of the school. Using outdated estimates that did not fully account for the dramatic rise in the price of building materials, district officials had expected construction costs to be about $40 million less. All told, including new design, inspection and equipment costs, the final cost is expected to approach $350 million. It is believed to be the nation's most expensive public school. A divided school board, which agreed to finish the troubled campus in 2003, is expected to vote on the construction contract. The staggering figures, and an unusual plan to use money from developer fees to pay for the school, have rekindled long-running concerns over the wisdom of pursuing the project.
-- Joel Rubin Florida Schools Use Architecture and Technology to Test New Ways of Learning-- Sun-Sentinel Florida: November 09, 2005 [ abstract] Computer textbooks. Handprint ID scanners. Super-sized high schools with "expandable" hallways and wireless Internet hot spots. School of the future? Not really. Public schools in South Florida already are testing these and other high-tech ideas, from energy-saving reflective windows to computerized gizmos that will alter the way teachers and students communicate. In Hollywood, for example, South Broward High is letting police peek into campus with a $5 million computer system that links school security cameras to police cruisers. At Boca Raton's Don Estridge High Tech Middle, students, as an experiment, will pay for lunch and check out library books using an ID scanner that measures the unique shape of their hands. And North Miami Senior High is replacing its sprawling, low-slung campus with a mammoth four-story building, a $78 million project complete with tree-lined "skypatios" on the third floor and a state-of-the-art theater.
"For many decades now we've shortchanged the public in the quality of school design," said Rose Diamond, the chief facilities officer for Miami-Dade County schools. "We've solved overcrowding so far with trailers, turning them into trailer parks. My mission is to change that." School designers are always mulling over new classroom shapes, "expandable" learning nooks in hallways and other ideas that promise to make life better for students. It's hard to say which will become standard issue and which will bust. But administrators say the next generation of schools will follow a few distinct trends.
-- Chris Kahn Another Kind of Intelligent Design: Schools Tie Architecture to Academics -- Associated Press Virginia: November 05, 2005 [ abstract] In schools, style is taking on substance. From the width of the corridors to the depth of classroom sinks, the smallest detail is viewed as a way to foster an academic advantage. Advocates of fresh school design, however, have work to do. They must show elected leaders and taxpayers that such attention to detail does not drive costs out of reach.
At Manassas Park High School in Virginia, scores in algebra, geometry and writing have jumped since 1999, when students moved into a building featuring light, versatility and open spaces. Principal Bruce McDade says he has no doubt the school's physical features have contributed to those scores. "That's exactly the message," McDade said. "The design of this building does in fact have a measurable effect on student achievement and student behavior." Studies support what educators consider to be common sense: Students do better in school when they hear well, see well and are not packed into tight spaces. Noise, light, air quality, cold and heat have all been found to influence behavior.
"Let's not build warehouses for students," said Ronald Bogle, president of the American Architectural Foundation and former president of the Oklahoma City Board of Education. "Let's create environments that are uplifting, that are exciting, that are interesting." That sounds great to policymakers, until the question turns to money. Leaders are under pressure to ease crowding and ensure safety, which means design is often seen as a luxury. Bogle, whose foundation leads a national drive to improve school design, said success stories need not be more expensive. The nation spends roughly $30 billion a year on school construction, he said, and "good design can be accomplished at the same price as bad design."
-- Ben Feller Schools Plan For High
Energy Bills-- Associated Press, Gazette Wisconsin: October 31, 2005 [ abstract] Students always want to be part of the cool crowd. Now, because of higher energy costs, chances are they will be a little cooler, thermally if not socially. Districts across Wisconsin are turning down thermostats, eliminating unnecessary appliances and upgrading heating systems in a bid to keep energy bills affordable. Complicating the issue are state caps on tax increases that restrict schools from raising additional funds and a mandate that schools maintain minimum standards of comfort. So school administrators have been forced to design creative solutions to cut both energy costs and usage as bills continue to rise.
State law mandates a minimum classroom temperature of 68 degrees. Bishop said his district keeps temperatures between 68 and 72 degrees, and turns heating systems off as soon as the last bell rings. Kids who participate in indoor after-school activities are advised to wear warm clothes. Schools are also driving down electricity costs by eliminating perks from classrooms and offices such as coffee pots and microwave ovens, appliances that administrators say aren't there for the kids. One district has automated certain outlets so power can be cut off to energy-intensive machines -- vending machines, water coolers, computers -- after school hours. Some districts are negotiating with unions to shut down between Christmas and New Year's, instead of having some support staff on duty, to keep heating costs down. Other districts use their size to their advantage. Larger schools consume enough energy that the district saves money by buying natural gas in bulk on the open market. Even small changes make a difference. Turning off all 8,000 computers in the Kenosha district at the end of the school day instead of letting them run all night saves nearly $48,000 a month, according to estimates by state utility We Energies.
-- Associated Press School Designs That Inspire-- New York Times New York: October 30, 2005 [ abstract] designing a school building for a Long Island district was once a humdrum assignment for many architects. But the process of choosing an architect and agreeing on a suitable design for a school building in recent years has undergone a sea change. Today, it's 100 percent more exciting because the users are more educated and they expect more out of the architects who they hire. Some school officials and communities now hash out the particulars of new school buildings and the bond issues needed to build them, sending out inquiries to dozens of architectural firms and conducting hours of interviews to select the right one. The result has been an inspiring collection of modern school buildings across the Island.
-- VALERIE COTSALAS Eco-friendly School Design Costs More, But Reduces Energy Bills
-- Herald-Sun of Durham North Carolina: October 20, 2005 [ abstract] Rashkis Elementary School is one of the most environmentally friendly schools in the state. Rashkis, which opened in 2003, is one of two Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools designed for high performance - meaning that virtually everything on the building is designed to be as environmentally friendly as possible. A high school scheduled to open in 2007 will expand upon the features, possibly making it the most environmentally friendly school in the state. What is unique about Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Scroggs said, is the school board's policy - adopted in 2000 - requiring district officials to include every possible green feature in new schools. Among other things, they must reduce the use of water, conserve natural resources, limit excessive noise and provide high-efficiency lighting, heating and cooling.
Smith's sloped ceilings are lined with windows, housed in triangular-shaped roof monitors to provide daylight to classrooms and offices. Fabric "baffles" lining the windows can be closed if a room gets too bright. Solar panels on the roof provide some energy used to heat water and power lights and equipment. The school also has a rainwater collection tank out back, from which water is obtained to flush toilets and irrigate fields. With light-colored walls and ceilings to diffuse sun throughout the building, the school has made environmental awareness something of a theme. Students monitor energy use and embark on recycling projects. They've also done comparisons with other middle schools.
-- Carolyn Norton New Orleans Board at War Over School Plans
-- The Times-Picayune Louisiana: October 19, 2005 [ abstract] A bitter split on the Orleans Parish School Board widened into a chasm, as warring factions battled over how to reopen the first schools on the West Bank and who will do it. Despite the board's October 7 approval of a plan to charter 13 West Bank schools and open several of them to students from across the city in November, School Board President Torin Sanders said a recent court order -- stemming from allegations that the board violated the state's open-meetings law -- voids that decision.
The chartering effort is designed to take advantage of a $20.9 million federal grant to expand, repair and create new charter schools. Officials with Alvarez & Marsal said the district's ability to reopen schools is contingent upon concessions from the federal government and preservation of its funding by the state. Although as many as eight undamaged schools in Algiers are able to open to 7,111 students from across the city, only about 3,000 have expressed an interest in returning so far, said Steve Alschuler, a spokesman for Alvarez & Marsal. Alschuler said company officials are working simultaneously on plans to open schools as charters and under the district's plan.
-- Steve Ritea Editorial: Design Schools With Eye to the Future
-- Philadelphia Inquirer Pennsylvania: October 04, 2005 [ abstract] Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have displaced tens of thousands of students and severely damaged dozens of school facilities in the Gulf region. Before the storms, some $30 billion was expected to be spent this year on school construction in the United States. Much more will be needed now. The challenge is to spend it wisely. At this critical moment, we have a unique opportunity - obligation, even - to rethink the classic American schoolhouse and to design and build schools that serve the educational needs of the 21st century. The educational facilities we design today are expected to last 50 or more years. While the Gulf region has immediate needs for schools, it is important that we take the time to plan, design and construct these facilities to serve the unique needs of each community. A one-size-fits-all solution is a sure recipe for failure. A failure we cannot afford in New Orleans, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Washington or in any of the many cities needing significant investment in educational facilities.
-- Ronald E. Bogle Schoolyard Gardens Just Crawling With Lessons
-- Washington Post District of Columbia: October 03, 2005 [ abstract] In recent years, an increasing number of schools in the Washington area have begun "habitat gardens" on school grounds. These can range from simple vegetable patches, where children can plant tomatoes and oregano to "grow a pizza," to Asian-themed gardens landscaped by parent-designers. Said Arlington schools' science supervisor, Constance Skelton: "You can be a very environmentally challenged school with a lot of asphalt on it and still make use of nature. Every school has some trees." Many schools in Alexandria, the District and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Montgomery counties have versions of "Edible Schoolyards." Popular themes include "Beatrix Potter" gardens, with the vegetables from Mr. McGregor's garden; butterfly gardens, where children can witness caterpillars' metamorphosis; and pumpkin patches, where they can carve jack-o'-lanterns from the fruits of their labor.
-- Tara Bahrampour Smart Design Should Drive This Building Boom, but LAUSD isn't Making the Grade
-- Los Angeles Times California: October 02, 2005 [ abstract] With 45 Los Angeles schools finished and another 115 in the pipeline, there is less optimism for promising designs for the construction program. As LAUSD seeks voter approval next month for a $4-billion bond measure — the building campaign's fourth in eight years, which would push the budget for the construction and renovation campaign to a staggering $17.2 billion — the architectural promise has largely faded. Certainly the district deserves praise for confronting, after years of official neglect, the twin problems of overcrowding and aging facilities. The building campaign's central goals — to move every student back to a traditional two-semester calendar and into a neighborhood school — are finally within sight. But as the district has become more aggressive about asking for money and tackling new lists of educational problems, on the design front it has shrunk into caution and insularity.
Architects who continue to work for the district say they have sensed a growing backlash from facilities officials in the last couple of years against high-profile firms and progressive design. The district's goal now appears to get the remaining campuses finished without incident or controversy — to keep the assembly line moving. Given how dramatically the building program is remaking neighborhoods from San Pedro to Canoga Park, you don't have to be a parent to find the shift troubling.
-- Christopher Hawthorne Mississippi Portable Classroom Contract Questioned
-- Washington Post Mississippi: September 30, 2005 [ abstract] The senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee said that the government is vastly overpaying for hundreds of portable classrooms purchased for Mississippi schools in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and that auditors should investigate. Missississip Representative Bennie Thompson charged that the government is paying $88,000 per mobile classroom under a $39.5 million deal but that the classrooms should cost no more than $42,000 apiece. The contract is with Akima Site Operations LLC, a firm that does business as an Alaska Native Corporation. The designation allows the government more flexibility in giving it no-bid contracts. Thompson also suggested in his letter that Akima "does not have any particular expertise in constructing or installing portable classrooms or other temporary structures." Thompson said in an interview that he's concerned not enough local firms are being given federal work. "If we're going to rebuild Mississippi, we're going to have to use Mississippi companies and let some of that money return to the state," he said.
Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Michael H. Logue said that Akima is getting the job done and that the price is reasonable. Logue said the lower price cited by Thompson does not take into account the difficult conditions and the speed needed. "We've got 70 school districts where the schools have either been totally obliterated or seriously damaged. There is no school in south Mississippi to speak of," Logue said. "These things represent classrooms and libraries and cafeterias." Logue said Akima was chosen because it had a pre-existing Army contract for related work.
-- Griff Witte Wyoming School Facilities Commission Seeks More Power-- Star Tribune Wyoming: September 27, 2005 [ abstract] The Wyoming School Facilities Commission asked a legislative committee to help redefine and, in some cases, increase its power in the state. The commission needs more explicit power to force school districts to opt for efficient building plans, said director James "Bubba" Shivler. It also needs the authority to work with districts' architects earlier in the building design process to keep costs down, he said. But in other issues arising from the statewide push to rebuild and remodel schools, the commission wants to take a hands-off role. For example, it doesn't want to get involved in any aid the state might provide school districts or municipalities for off-site infrastructure, such as roads. The commission also reported that the state's 48 school districts have requested about $600 million in facilities funding in the coming biennium, a figure the commission does not expect the Legislature to fully allocate.
One proposal brought to the committee would give the commission more power to compel school districts to accept value engineering suggestions. The value engineering process is one in which school plans are assessed at different stages for efficiency and educational suitability. While most districts comply with the findings, Shivler said some do not. Another potentially contentious proposal would give the commission the authority to contract with architects working on districts' building designs and to develop standardized school plans for the state. As it stands now, districts contract individually with architectural firms. Both proposals, Shivler said, are integral to keeping construction costs down in a rapidly fluctuating market. He said school building bids are consistently coming in over estimates, and that the cost to build a school in dollars per square foot is unpredictable throughout the region.
-- Jenni Dillon Dayton Schools are Being Replaced with High-Tech Buildings
-- Dayton Daily News Ohio: September 26, 2005 [ abstract] Across Ohio, the shiny bricks and gleaming white concrete of new schools are everywhere. But the schools don't only look good. They feature larger classrooms with the latest audio technology and sound systems that make it easier for teachers and students to understand and communicate with each other. Security cameras allow principals to quickly spot trouble and new ventilation systems mean staff and students are breathing cleaner, healthier air. The construction boom is driven by population changes, a state effort to renew schools and in some cases, the simple cycle of time. But in place of the cracks and crumble of the buildings that have passed into memory, these new buildings are returning schools to a treasured place as community anchors with bold architecture, cutting-edge technology and creative, functional designs that teachers of the past could only dream about.
Green Making the Grade at Washington Schools
-- Seattle Times Washington: September 22, 2005 [ abstract] Ben Franklin Elementary in Kirkland opened this school year as one of the newest schools to be constructed under the state's "green school" standards. Other districts, including Seattle, Northshore and Arlington, also are using elements of the green standards in new construction. Ben Franklin, of the Lake Washington School District, was designed to be more environmentally friendly, using natural light and ventilation and natural materials such as rubber and wool. The school cost $9.8 million to build, about the same price as for a conventional school, said Kathryn Reith, spokeswoman for the district. The new building is at least 35 percent more energy efficient than the old one and will save 40,000 gallons of water yearly by using waterless urinals. The new school has carbon-dioxide monitors in each classroom that trigger louvers, which let in fresh air to keep students and teachers from feeling drowsy. Overhead lights dim when the natural light is bright enough, and motion sensors turn the lights off when the room isn't in use. Windows facing south are shaded to keep the light from causing glare in the room, and the light is diffused and bounced farther back into the rooms with the help of light shelves. The school is an example of a trend toward using sustainable resources in school construction. These new, environmentally friendly school designs will become standard for public schools seeking state matching funds for construction beginning in 2007.
-- Rachel Tuinstra Wyoming May Standardize School Buildings
-- Star Tribune Wyoming: September 21, 2005 [ abstract] The Wyoming School Facilities Commission may be moving toward some form of standardizing new schools. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jim McBride suggested offering school districts a half dozen designs of schools that have been built and paid for and meet all requirements for Wyoming. The commission also could have a laundry list of "enhancements" the districts can choose from. The list of enhancements can be extensive, McBride said, but it should be made clear that the state won't pay for these extras.
Commission members have been dogged by the enhancement issue ever since they began the job of bringing schools in the state's 48 districts up to standard as required by the Wyoming Supreme Court in a 2001 decision. In that decision, the Supreme Court moved the responsibility for school construction and maintenance from the local school district level to the state. The commission does not pay for such amenities or enhancements as a swimming pool or extra space for a lab.
-- Joan Barron Rapidly Growing and Underserved Districts Feel The Pinch For More Facilities
-- Engineering News Record Nevada: September 16, 2005 [ abstract] Fueled by aging and inadequate facilities, the "baby boom echo," immigration and relocation, the K-12 construction market is providing a steady stream of work for contractors and design firms. In the first half of this year, construction started on $15.6 billion worth of school facilities in the U.S., a 4% increase over same period last year. If the economy continues in its pre-Katrina trajectory, the growth should continue for the next few years, due to improving state and local government conditions and an increase in property values, which are closely tied to funds for school construction.
The need for new facilities should persist, however, especially in parts of the country with rapidly expanding populations, such as the South, Southwest and South Central regions. The Clark County School District, which includes Las Vegas, anticipates a 58% increase to its current enrollment of 295,650 students over the next decade. In Texas, K-12 enrollment is growing by 70,000 to 80,000 students each year. Even districts with declining enrollment have huge needs. Between the past two academic years, Los Angeles Unified School District enrollment dropped by almost 6,000 students. Even so, LAUSD estimates a deficit of nearly 200,000 seats. To address the problem, LAUSD is in the midst of a construction push that will add 165,000 seats by 2012. In November, voters will face a $3.8-billion local bond measure for school construction, on top of $9.5 billion approved since 1997. Statewide, California voters have signaled support for new schools by approving more than $15 billion in bond measures since 2002.
Florida is another hub of K-12 activity. Districts in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties together are spending about $1.5 billion. One huge driver for K-12 construction in Florida is an amendment passed by voters in 2002 that requires class sizes be reduced by 2010. Conservative estimates put the cost of compliance at $10 billion. Court decisions are increasingly shaping construction programs. Observers are watching New Jersey, where a 1990 state Supreme Court decision required that the state boost school construction in its poorest districts. Earlier this summer, the Schools Construction Corp. announced that its $8.6-billion construction fund was nearly tapped out, leaving more than 200 planned projects in limbo. In New York City, the School Construction Authority’s $13.1-billion five-year capital plan, to be completed by 2009, anticipates $6.5 billion from New York state in response to a 2003 state Court of Appeals decision. The court found New York City schools have the highest local costs but receive the lowest per-student funding. But the legislature has not yet complied with the decision.
-- Joann Gonchar Schools, After Katrina. New Orleans has a Chance to Rebuild its School System
-- National Review Louisiana: September 15, 2005 [ abstract] New Orleans presents an educational challenge. Its public schools have struggled for decades and have shown few signs of getting better. Yet the needs of the Big Easy's children are so great. Fully 27 percent of New Orleans residents lived below the poverty line. That social challenge deserves our attention and compassion. And poor children deserve excellent schools. They weren't getting them in New Orleans pre-Katrina, which means getting back to the status quo ante does little to meet those kids' educational needs.
Break the mold on school buildings. The physical structures of schools should be a means to an end — housing excellent educational institutions — not an end in itself. With the whole city a rebuilding project, why not throw out our old notions of stand-alone buildings, behemoth high schools, and other vestiges of the industrial age? Instead, New Orleans could build schools that are more integrated into the community — as part of housing developments, or near offices, or strategically located near recreation opportunities. Most important, the educational design should come before the facility design.
-- Chester E. Finn Jr. & Michael J. Petrilli Macon School Buildings Are in Disrepair
-- The Telegraph Georgia: September 11, 2005 [ abstract] Some of Macon's oldest schools are falling apart. At Southwest High School, a teacher complained that students drink warm water from water fountains, and an air conditioner blows hot air. A heater blows cold. "Some buildings are in such disrepair you could go into a science lab and look up at all the holes," said Southwest teacher Henry Ficklin, also a Macon city councilman. And cracks in the walls of the band room have allowed snakes to get inside. Bibb County voters will decide Sept. 20 whether to approve a $165.6 million special purpose local option sales tax for education that will pay for upgrades such as technology, buses and new schools.
At Central High School, which has student-used buildings that date back to 1917, there is a shortage of classroom space. Teachers often pack students into whatever rooms they can find, unlike contemporary schools that are logistically designed. For instance, a calculus class meets behind a weight-lifting room where barbells clang and near a choir room where students can be heard practicing their octaves. Once a building is 35 or 40 years old, it's a candidate for a major overhaul or total replacement, said Bob Nickels, a Bibb County school board member. School officials said one-third of Bibb's schools need to be rebuilt.
Rising Costs of Building Speed Palm Beach Plans-- Sun-Sentinel Florida: August 28, 2005 [ abstract] How expensive is it to build new schools today? Officials are speeding up a new Palm Beach Gardens High to keep the cost from exceeding $92.5 million. When it opens in August 2008, a year early, the 2,500-student school will be the priciest campus ever in the county. Then, early next decade, a new Lake Worth-area high school is expected to cost $102.7 million while the bill for a new Riviera Beach high school will hit $106.6 million. These projects are the chart-toppers in the school district's new $1.7 billion construction program for the next five years. The School Board last week reviewed the plan and the sources of money to pay for it. School construction costs are rising at least 5 percent a year, while prices for building designs are rising about 2 percent per year, Facilities Chief Joseph Sanches said. But between January 2004 and January 2005, the price of steel is up 46 percent and copper is up 22 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "We're seeing significant price increases throughout all construction services," Sanches told board members.
Since 1998, the school district has opened, replaced or renovated more than 60 schools. About the same number of major projects is scheduled between now and the end of the 2009-10 school year, along with several building additions, remodeling jobs, and technology updates. Four factors continue to fuel the building spree: an annual influx of about 5,000 new students; a schedule of modernizing campuses that are more than 35 years old; a policy of preventing overcrowded schools; and the state's class size reduction law that requires more classrooms in order to serve smaller groups of students. Funding for the plan comes from loans, property taxes, state sources and the sales tax, schools Treasurer Leanne Evans said. The half-percent sales tax runs through 2010, but administrators say they would consider seeking an extension if demand for new schools keeps up.
-- Marc Freeman As School-Building Plan Fails, New Jersey Is Left With Slums-- New York Times New Jersey: August 26, 2005 [ abstract] With its gangs, police shootings and struggles to modernize, Newark seems to have enough problems. Now it has one more. Dewey Street used to be a proud middle-class neighborhood, a chamber of peace and quiet in Newark's gritty heart. But last year when the state cleared out tracts of land to build a school, most of the families were driven away. And now that the money for the school has evaporated, more than three dozen lots sit abandoned, one after another. "The state has created a monster," said Newark's mayor, Sharpe James. "We now have a concentrated, abandoned front in the heart of Newark. And I've been asking: If you don't have enough money to build a school, then why you do have enough money to bring down a neighborhood?" The state agency facing that question is the New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation, an ambitious program built for speed. It was established three years ago to bring new schools to the state's poorest districts, but recent investigations have exposed millions of dollars wasted on excessive bonuses, exorbitant fees, and design errors.
-- Jeffrey Gettleman Turning The Tables-- Tampa Tribune Florida: August 22, 2005 [ abstract] Instead of individual desks, areas in the intensive reading class at Wharton High in New Tampa are tailored to tasks students perform. The format is becoming more common. Fewer teachers are opting to set up classrooms with long rows of individual desks. They say a less- rigid layout stimulates students and holds their attention. The traditional approach was to assign students to seats alphabetically. Students with vision or behavior problems were often placed near the front, and talkative friends were separated. Now teachers often place students in the most productive work situation. Students do written exercises and group work at large tables. A station of computers lets the class use software and online programs. Another table lets the teacher work one-on- one with students. The most unusual spot in the classroom may be the "living room." The space features couches, comfortable chairs, a coffee table, a rug and even a lava lamp.
Most educators agree that classroom layout contributes to student success. Configuring different classroom layouts is standard in teacher training. The guidebook given to new teachers in Hillsborough County features tips for classroom setup and offers sample layouts. Renalia DuBose, Hillsborough's director of training and staff development, said unusual layouts are more common because teachers aren't as afraid to take chances. "There was a time when it was believed that a quiet class was a class on task," DuBose said. "But the research shows you need that discussion and interaction between students. Teachers aren't afraid anymore to group their students." Although more teachers are veering from traditional classroom seating, don't expect to find recliners replacing desks anytime soon. Some subjects, such as math, are more easily taught in a traditional format. Also, some classrooms are too small for elaborate designs.
-- Michele Sager Design for Learning
-- CNN Education National: August 12, 2005 [ abstract] While traditional schools have served their purpose for decades, new models of teaching and learning have come on the scene. To prepare students for an evolving information-based society, architects are designing innovative schools to support these changes. designers are replacing traditional classrooms with "studios" that contain storage areas for long-term projects and spaces for individual, small-group and large-group work. There is a push to build smaller schools, with smaller class sizes. When redesigning large school buildings, architects reconfigure schools into "neighborhood groupings" and remove corridors to make more spaces for learning. designers also consider factors such as energy-efficient spaces that maximize the use of sunlight and have good indoor air quality. Getting away from centers of technology like the audiovisual storage closet from decades past, results in improvements right at the teacher's fingertips, such as classrooms with ceiling-mounted LCD projectors. As portable electronics enable students carrying handheld PDAs and wireless laptops to learn anywhere, at anytime, the question arises as to whether the school building itself could become obsolete.
-- Lisa Porterfield San Diego Schools Shed Open-Space Look -- San Diego Union-Tribune California: August 10, 2005 [ abstract] You can throw away a beanbag chair. You can hock your lava lamp on eBay. It's a little harder to shake off the design hangover when the fad is embedded in the 1970s architecture of your neighborhood public school. Loft, or open-space, schools went up everywhere in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Chula Vista Elementary School District built eight of them. The schools' few internal walls divide them into warehouselike pods shared by three or four teachers and perhaps more than 100 students. With the benefit of 30 years' hindsight, open-space schools look more like the public education analogue of bell-bottom pants and feathered-back hair – groovy styles at the time, campy relics. As school districts throughout the county renovate these decades-old campuses, open-space schools are going the way of the eight-track tape.
-- Chris Moran New Jersey’s $8.6-Billion Building Fund Is at an End
-- Engineering News Record New Jersey: August 08, 2005 [ abstract] Officials of New Jersey’s Schools Construction Corporation officially delivered the hard facts long feared by participants and customers"that the state’s mandated $8.6-billion public school construction fund is tapped out and would only finance completion of 59 more projects. That leaves 300 others in limbo. SCC released the news and the list of lucky projects July 27. The agency claims factors such as status of design and land acquisition, existing health and safety risks, overcrowding, and lack of past construction progress in a district affected project selection. Several non-SCC state officials also participated. "It required much more than construction judgement," says SCC Chairman Alfred C. Koeppe. The 59 listed projects represent a $1.4-billion investment of remaining agency funds. The announcement sent shockwaves through New Jersey public school districts as officials realized that projects"designed, conceived or promised"might never be built. SCC and its schoolbuilding mission began in 2000 in response to a 1990 state supreme court decision that required New Jersey to boost school construction spending in its 31 poorest school districts. The legislature earmarked $8.6 billion for the long-term project, which also included some state funding for work in wealthier districts.
-- Debra K. Rubin Officials Explain Costs in School Construction
-- Jacksonville Daily Progress Florida: July 27, 2005 [ abstract] While residential construction in the East Texas area can be quoted as low as $40-$50 per square foot, architectural firms are giving local schools estimates more in the ballpark of $110 per square foot. What accounts for the disparity between the building costs between residential homes and educational facilities? Superintendent Marvin Beaty said it's due to the amount of traffic flowing through a school building, requiring sturdy and expensive materials, and the capacity to cool large spaces. Architect Mike Leinback said the difference in costs is mostly all the little things. "For one, we have to abide by the International Building Code," he said. "So we have to design for things like fire sprinkler systems and alarm systems. We also have to take into account that an air conditioning system, for example, is much more difficult to deal with in a large building like a school than a house. Generally, you have one A/C per house, but in a school, you need control of the temperature in each classroom, in part to defray energy costs and in part to accommodate kids. So in a school building, you have a rooftop unit atop each classroom. Maintenance-wise, that makes sense, because you don't want to shut down an entire wing if one unit goes bad." "There are also certain regulations that have to be followed from the International Conservation Code," he said. "That deals with extras like bi-level lighting (having two light switches, each controlling half the lights) put in place to help defray the energy costs. Leinback said educational facilities also had to concern themselves especially with the Life Safety Code, which addresses safety features such as lighted exit signs, which he said can cost about $100 each, and emergency exit issues, like emergency lighting. "Another thing is a plumbing code, which stipulates how many fixtures you have to have based on occupant load," he said. "Suddenly, you put 600 kids on a campus, and that's a lot of toilets."
-- Micah Bateman Moving Small Chicago School Stirs Fury at Another-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: July 26, 2005 [ abstract] Chicago Public Schools plans to move a small military academy from its campus to a shuttered elementary school--a decision that has another small school there questioning the district's commitment to remaking troubled schools. District officials say the move will give Phoenix Military Academy its own building while increasing enrollment to 600 students each at the three small high schools that remain at the former Orr High School campus. The fact that student enrollment is going to increase has exacerbated an already tense situation at the campus' Mose Vines Preparatory Academy. Some parents and teachers are in a standoff with the principal over staff turnover, discipline, class scheduling and what they see as a lack of community collaboration. By design, small schools are supposed to offer an alternative to large and impersonal neighborhood schools, where violence, dropout rates, truancy and academic failure remain intractable problems. Small schools also offer choice and specialized curriculum in intimate settings, where teachers and parents are active leaders in a school's direction. Enrollment typically is capped at 500 students.
-- Tracy Dell'Angela New Pittsburgh School to be 'Green'
-- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pennsylvania: July 21, 2005 [ abstract] The new two-story, 270,000-square-foot stone-and-brick high school building in Moon will employ green design principles, a practice becoming more standard in new construction. Green buildings incorporate energy-saving features and often recycled and nontoxic materials. Thus, they are healthier for their inhabitants and the environment. They also help preserve another type of green, money, as they're designed for maximum long-term flexibility in their use and reuse, thereby promoting a longer life for the building.
Zelienople-based Foreman Architects and Engineers, who specialize in school construction, have listed four pages worth of green design aspects in the project. Such elements range from using locally produced brick to recycled material for ceiling tile to using a gym floor supplier that employs replanting programs to replace the lumber stock it harvests. Each room will have a sensor that will turn out the lights automatically if no one is inside. Another sensor in each room will turn off the outside air flow to unoccupied rooms, cutting back on heating and cooling costs. Carbon dioxide monitoring will be used to determine and maintain air ventilation rates in the building. More windows and skylights offer daylight, reducing the level of energy needed for lighting, increasing occupant productivity and reducing absenteeism.
-- Dan Gigler OECD Countries Agree on Steps to Reduce Earthquake Risks for Schoolchildren
-- OECD Press Release National: July 21, 2005 [ abstract] Children need safe learning environments, yet schools, which often serve also as emergency shelters, have collapsed in even moderate earthquakes. OECD countries have agreed that governments in earthquake-prone countries should take steps to prevent such occurrences, including improved controls on school design. An "OECD Recommendation Concerning Guidelines on Earthquake Safety in Schools", approved by the OECD’s governing council, sets out principles and elements for possible action programmes. Under a new OECD peer review process, governments will assist each other in formulating and implementing policies for improved earthquake safety in schools. The experts agreed that improvements in the design and construction of schools can often be made quickly and at reasonable cost that would significantly lower the seismic risk to schools and help prevent further injury and death.
-- Hannah v. Ahlefeld Spending of School Funds Outrages Camden's Board
-- Courier-Post New Jersey: July 14, 2005 [ abstract] The Camden Board of Education demanded a place at the table in discussions of city redevelopment plans and voiced outrage with the state's use of school-construction funds for the district. More than one third of the $437 million allocation the state approved for school construction in Camden has been spent, although ground has been broken for just one building, a district official said, citing data from the state Schools Construction Corp. The SCC has spent nearly $184 million in Camden, including $10 million for land, $70 million for a new Catto School, $29 million for health and safety improvements and $21 million for design fees to architects, according to the SCC data. The only new building now under way is the district's Early Childhood Development Center.
Board President Philip Freeman said the district deserves to get a more detailed accounting from the SCC, where the state inspector general earlier this year found mismanagement and overspending at the agency entrusted with expending $8.6 billion for new schools. Dwaine Williams, the city's school construction coordinator, said a portion of Camden's share of the money went into land acquisition to replace green space the district acquired for Catto School. Building costs have risen dramatically since the district put together its capital plan, Williams said. The board also complained that the city's Community Redevelopment Agency has excluded it from choosing school sites and other decisions that affect district operations and its students.
-- Sarah Greenblatt Connecticut Schools Garner Energy Efficiency Awards
-- Fairfield Minuteman Connecticut: July 08, 2005 [ abstract] Though problems controlling the new building's temperature irked some teachers and parents at Burr Elementary School this past year, the United Illuminating Co. and the Connecticut Building Congress have honored the school for its energy efficient design, saying that taxpayers will reap long-term benefits from the facility. Burr was one of three K-12 schools in the state that earned awards. New Haven's John S. Martinez Elementary School took first place, while Burr School and Truman Elementary School in New Haven were each given an award for merit. The awards focused on conservation measures such as highly efficient heating and cooling systems, energy efficient lighting, premium efficiency motors, and an energy efficient building envelope.
-- Chris Ciarmiello Design Competition for California High School Theater
-- San Diego Union-Tribune California: July 06, 2005 [ abstract] San Dieguito High School Academy, a campus with a patchwork of buildings of various colors, styles, surfaces and sizes, may get its most unusual addition yet. The district invited hundreds of architects to enter a competition for designing a new theater. A 10-member jury of students, community members, professional architects, and Principal Barbara Gauthier will pick the top design from among five finalists. Such competitions are common in the private sector and some government agencies, but they're rare for public schools. The school district is paying $25,000 for a competition adviser to coordinate the contest and $10,000 for each finalist to create a design. The adviser, San Francisco-based Bill Liskamm, is an architect and environmental planner who has overseen sixty such competitions, but this is his first public school project.
Steve Ma, director of business services for the San Dieguito Union High School District, said this competition is a smart investment. "We're spending a lot of money up front so we can have it done successfully later," said Ma. "We're looking for some unusual architectural designs." The complex will cost about $8 million. The district has half the money, and school officials hope to raise the additional $4 million through grants, corporate sponsors and community donations. Fundraising events will be organized soon. The community can view the finalists' designs at the beginning of the school year, and the public can critique the plans at a forum. The jury will then view presentations from each firm and rank the projects.
-- Sherry Parmet Philadelphia Forum Participants Hail School Designs
-- Philadelphia Inquirer Pennsylvania: June 28, 2005 [ abstract] Philadelphia schools chief Paul Vallas said the district's extensive, $1.8 billion renovation and building projects would create schools that are welcoming, light-filled, and able to adapt to evolving educational needs. Vallas spoke at the culminating event of the Franklin Conference on School design, a civic engagement project sponsored by the Inquirer editorial board and the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Urban Research.
Several hundred people met to discuss three designs produced by the project - for a new high school in Logan, a high school focused on science in Center City, and an elementary school in West Philadelphia. The designs were devised in a daylong collaboration of architects, educators, experts and residents in a forum called a charrette. Vallas said that the charrette model - and the underlying principles of creating welcoming, healthy, flexible and interactive schools - is a desirable way to get community input to the design process. "The vast majority of these projects haven't even entered the design phase, so we have an opportunity to apply these principles to the new projects," he said. Some groups have complained that the district, in its breakneck schedule to renovate, expand or build schools from scratch, has not taken enough time to think about how the buildings should reflect both educational and community needs.
-- Dale Mezzacappa Brighter School Days in Philadelphia
-- Philadelphia Inquirer Pennsylvania: June 26, 2005 [ abstract] A recent workshop brought more than 20 top design professionals from the Philadelphia region together with students, teachers, and other citizens to brainstorm ideas on how to design the schools of the future. The workshop, called a "charrette," was cosponsored by The Inquirer Editorial Board. The volunteers worked in three teams to generate ideas for three potential school sites being considered by the School District of Philadelphia. [Article links to 5 additional articles: "Visions for Better Schools;" "Small, Bright and Functional;" "A School to Heal the Land, Lift a Community;" "A Plan to Convert Some Old Offices into a Center for Science and Community;" and "Participants."
-- Chris Satullo New Jersey School Designs Will Be Recycled to Cut Cost
-- Star-Ledger New Jersey: June 23, 2005 [ abstract] Two years ago, architects for a new school in Long Branch offered district officials a 50 percent discount to re-use the building's blueprints for a nearly identical school they were about to construct in the town. But the Schools Construction Corporation, the state agency managing school construction in Long Branch and 30 other needy communities, turned down the offer and put the new school project out to bid. The firm that offered the discount, Tomaino & Tomaino, won the new bid for $1.5 million -- double its cut-rate offer. Yesterday, spurred by a recent state Inspector General's report that assailed it for waste and mismanagement, directors of the Schools Construction Corporation voted to re-use school designs whenever possible. Officials said the new policy should cut design costs in half. The board also agreed to charge architects for design mistakes that end up increasing the cost of school projects by at least 2 percent. In her report, Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper said $22.9 million of change orders had been attributed to errors and omissions, and recommended adopting a policy to seek reimbursement of those costs.
The policy shifts come after the SCC has already spent $465 million on architecture fees. "We would expect to save about 50 percent of the design cost through the re-use of the design on another site," said Jack Spencer, chief executive officer of the SCC. Vineland architect Bruce D. Turner, president of American Institute of Architects New Jersey, said the SCC changes appeared reasonable. "We understand we have to be sensitive to the issues that are important to taxpayers," he said. The new policies are the latest in a series of sweeping reforms developed since February, when a Star-Ledger analysis showed the six schools built by the SCC since 2002 cost, on average, 45 percent more than 19 schools built without SCC involvement at the same time. The analysis found that the SCC paid it architects fees that are almost double the industry standard.
-- Dunstan McNichol Philadelphia Schools by Design: Civic Imagination
-- Philadelphia Inquirer Pennsylvania: June 19, 2005 [ abstract] All it took was seven forums, 300-plus public-spirited citizens, hours of animated dialogue, and an untold number of oatmeal raisin cookies and lemon squares. The Inquirer Editorial Board joined with the Institute of Urban Research at the University of Pennsylvania to ask Philadelphians what they'd like to see emerge from their school system's ambitious $1.6 billion program of school renovation and construction. This project in civic dialogue, called the Franklin Conference on School design, resulted in the list of Philly-flavored "principles" for good school design. The conference aimed for a marriage of expert knowledge and citizen values. Participants heard experts in design and education speak about best practices and cool design ideas being tried at schools around the land. Some schools have been designed with public input in ways that enhance their use as centers of community. Other schools have designs that nurture growing educational trends toward collaborative learning and real-world experiences for students.
-- Editors Philadelphia Schools by Design: The Franklin Principles
-- Philadelphia Inquirer Pennsylvania: June 19, 2005 [ abstract] design principles concerning schools as welcoming places that are safe and secure, encourage interactions, flexible and adaptable spaces, healthy, smart and green, and are designed through the involvement of broad public input.
-- Editors New Jersey School Fund is Falling Short
-- Philadelphia Inquirer New Jersey: June 14, 2005 [ abstract] Only half the school-construction work set for New Jersey's neediest districts will be completed with the $6 billion set aside for them, the chief executive of the state's school-construction agency told the Assembly Budget Committee yesterday. John F. Spencer testified that his New Jersey Schools Construction Corp. had begun managing the $8.6 billion program without the proper expertise and with unrealistic construction cost estimates. "The money was significant, but it was never enough to deliver all the required state mandates that are needed in the Abbott districts," Spencer said, referring to the 31 districts designated for special attention. Of the $8.6 billion, the Legislature allocated $6 billion to meet a 2000 state Supreme Court mandate that New Jersey fix up schools in the 31 districts. Other districts were eligible to apply for the remainder. The school-construction agency did not have a chief financial officer or board members with construction or financial backgrounds, Spencer said. Nor did its program include money for tenant relocation, site cleanups, historic preservation, demolition, administrative costs, land acquisition, or inflation.
-- Rosa Cirianni Wyoming Lawmakers to Face Request for More K-12 Construction Funds
-- Billings Gazette Wyoming: June 12, 2005 [ abstract] Lawmakers likely will be asked to increase school-construction funding next year due to rising costs of building materials. Jim "Bubba" Shivler, director of the state School Facilities Commission, said Gov. Dave Freudenthal has agreed to support a 10 percent to 15 percent increase in dollars per square foot. Shivler said higher costs for materials like wood and steel are driving up bids. Recent bids for three elementary schools in the Afton area were more than $200 per square foot, far above the architect's estimate of $120 per square foot, he said. Under current guidelines, the state allows $165 per square foot overall for new schools. The commission might have to become involved in design work earlier, along with the contractors, Shivler said. "We need to do that before they sell it to the public," he said. Besides a recommendation to allow more state funding per square foot, Shivler also wants to give contractors more flexibility to modify architects' designs to save the state money.
-- Associated Press Philadelphia School District Hopes to Flush Bad Restrooms
-- Philadelphia Inquirer Pennsylvania: June 11, 2005 [ abstract] For generations, schools throughout the country have grappled with how to improve safety and sanitary conditions in bathrooms, which typically go without direct supervision, and often bear the brunt of student anger and frustration in the form of vandalism. Schools use various methods to improve conditions: Controlling access by keeping bathrooms locked. Maintaining logs of student use. Posting monitors outside the door. Painting over graffiti quickly. Now, Philadelphia School District officials say they have more plans in the works. The district is designing a new bathroom prototype that will be easier to clean and maintain, chief executive Paul Vallas said. The bathrooms, which will feature seamless flooring to cut down on waste and odor absorption and concrete block walls with an epoxy finish, will be rolled out in newly constructed schools first and eventually become part of renovation projects. Also, the district in September will launch a Student Conservation Corps in every school to spur students to take more responsibility for beautifying and maintaining their schools, Vallas said. Schools will post signs in bathrooms, cafeterias and classrooms defining good care-taking.
-- Susan Snyder Don't Blame Us, Wyoming Contractors Say
-- Star Tribune Wyoming: June 08, 2005 [ abstract] A group of Wyoming building contractors called for the state's School Facilities Commission to take another look at its guidelines on the cost of building new schools. The contractors also recommended that they be given more flexibility so they can modify architects' designs and save the state and school districts money. They emphasized that the cause of the jump in school construction costs is Wyoming's remoteness and the hike worldwide in the costs of steel, wood, concrete, and other building materials.
"We're here to tell you it's not us. The price has been going up severely and it's outside our control," a contractor said. The one thing contractors can control is labor costs, and, they said, they have maintained flat wages for the past few years to remain competitive. Wyoming costs are higher than other states because of its remoteness and lack of locally manufactured materials. "Most of the national figures come from very populated areas in the South and the coasts, where labor and materials are more readily available." a contractor said. "They don't put up with the weather problems that we do. We deal with wind and snow and cold year around. We just want the public to know we are doing everything we can to keep costs down."
-- Joan Barron Don't Blame Us, Wyoming Contractors Say
-- Star Tribune Wyoming: June 08, 2005 [ abstract] A group of Wyoming building contractors called for the state's School Facilities Commission to take another look at its guidelines on the cost of building new schools. The contractors also recommended that they be given more flexibility so they can modify architects' designs and save the state and school districts money. They emphasized that the cause of the jump in school construction costs is Wyoming's remoteness and the hike worldwide in the costs of steel, wood, concrete, and other building materials.
"We're here to tell you it's not us. The price has been going up severely and it's outside our control," a contractor said. The one thing contractors can control is labor costs, and, they said, they have maintained flat wages for the past few years to remain competitive. Wyoming costs are higher than other states because of its remoteness and lack of locally manufactured materials. "Most of the national figures come from very populated areas in the South and the coasts, where labor and materials are more readily available." a contractor said. "They don't put up with the weather problems that we do. We deal with wind and snow and cold year around. We just want the public to know we are doing everything we can to keep costs down."
-- Joan Barron Steel Prices Still Squeezing Builders
-- Dayton Business Journal Ohio: June 03, 2005 [ abstract] Last month, John Carr met with fellow school construction bosses from Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo, and Cleveland to discuss the worrisome issue of high steel costs. Carr, chief construction officer with Dayton Public Schools, said the cost increases have caused delays in the school's $627 million rebuild project. He has had to have plans redesigned to find areas where builders could replace steel with less expensive materials. Prices for steel products used in construction are up roughly 40 percent, industry sources say. The price dipped slightly in April, but area builders say it shot back up in May. Steel is vital building material and is used for structural framing, concrete reinforcement, drywall, doors, ceilings, and fences and gates.
-- Caleb Stephens School Security Measures Being Considered
-- Sun Journal North Carolina: May 26, 2005 [ abstract] Video surveillance could be instituted in Craven County, North Carolina middle schools and electric door locks installed on front doors if the Board of Education determines these security measures are needed. A preliminary estimates put the cost of 16 cameras at about $26,000.
While the measures are designed to protect children, some research indicates the extra security can impact some students in a negative way. Researchers at East Carolina University are studying post-traumatic stress disorders in children after natural disasters and have looked at their reactions to restrictive environments meant to ensure their safety, said Carmen Russoniello, director of ECU's psychophysiology and biofeedback laboratory. There is a line that can be crossed between protectiveness and creating an "atmosphere of fear" that makes children become hypervigilant, Russoniello said.
-- K.J. Williams Call for Changes in Wyoming School Facilities Commission
-- Star Tribune Wyoming: May 25, 2005 [ abstract] The Wyoming School Facilities Commission is in need of some changes, Superintendent of Public Instruction Trent Blankenship says. In a letter to Governor Dave Freudenthal, Blankenship asked that the governor step in to help improve public perception of the commission and address concerns he has heard from school districts throughout Wyoming."Throughout this state, there is a pervasive misunderstanding of the roles of the commission, the chairman and the director," Blankenship wrote. "There is frustration at the loss of local control, micromanagement and the closed nature of decisions." Commission Director James "Bubba" Shivler said the superintendent's concerns came as a surprise to him.
The School Facilities Commission serves as a government mechanism to oversee school construction projects designed to bring all schools in line with a Wyoming Supreme Court mandate for equity. The commission includes full-time staff, including Director Shivler, as well as commissioners, including a chairman, who make decisions about school facility guidelines and construction plans. The director and chairman are appointed by the governor, but Blankenship also appoints some commission members and is a commissioner himself.
-- Jenni Dillon Who's in Control in Wyoming?
-- Star Tribune Wyoming: May 23, 2005 [ abstract] Before Wyoming's School Facilities Commission was formed, decisions about school buildings were completely in the control of local school boards and the communities that elected them. But these days, all building plans must be approved by the state entity, from the choice to remodel or rebuild to the design and cost of new projects. Such changes to the process of school construction have caused some backlash throughout the state, where a number of school districts are lamenting their lack of control over their own educational space. However, not all school districts in the state have found fault with the new process. [Part of a 5-part series on Wyoming's new school facilities system.]
-- Jenni Dillon Nagin's Vision Faces Hurdles
-- The Times Picayune Louisiana: May 12, 2005 [ abstract] A proposal by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin to create a new school district composed of 20 of the city's worst-performing public schools was as bold as it was impassioned. In his State of the City address, Nagin called for construction of high-tech school buildings with no more than 15 students per class and easy access to city health clinics, playgrounds and after-school learning opportunities.
But crucial decisions lie ahead, such as who would govern the new district and how the city would pay for new buildings or school renovations. The first hurdles would seem to be legal and political. Barring a change in state law, the mayor lacks the authority to run schools, and asking the School Board voluntarily to cede control to City Hall seems an uncertain strategy, given the board's past resistance to any erosion of its authority.
The mayor decided to take on as many as 20 schools because he felt that if the new district resulted in a good geographical cross-section of schools that had been successfully turned around, it would help attract businesses to the city and result in the graduation of a larger number of skilled workers to fill existing jobs. The mayor has been talking with educators, university presidents, business people and private firms about what makes a successful school and how other cities have formed partnerships with schools to improve student achievement. Steven Bingler, a principal of Concordia Architects in New Orleans, said he first met with Nagin and Superintendent Tony Amato in February to educate them on how school design can affect student achievement. Since then, he has had several meetings with Nagin and the leadership of the New Orleans Education Foundation. Bingler said his company has done extensive research that shows parental and community involvement is the key factor to improving student success. His company designs schools and creates master plans that incorporate both school and community functions. For instance, at one school the gym may serve as a community center at night and on weekends. At another, the auditorium may become a weekend performing arts center. Students may also use city health clinics or nearby city playgrounds. The result is shared facilities and services at a lower cost.
-- Martha Carr and Brian Thevenot New Jersey School-Construction Agency Plans Overhaul
-- Philadelphia Inquirer New Jersey: May 11, 2005 [ abstract] The state agency in charge of building schools in New Jersey's neediest areas has set August 15 as the completion date for overhauling its operations in response to criticism about mismanagement and possible conflicts of interest. Acting Governor Richard J. Codey accepted Jack Kocsis' resignation as chairman of the agency, the New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation, and replaced him with business leader Alfred C. Koeppe. The actions came less than three weeks after the state's inspector general gave Codey a scathing report on the construction agency. He ordered the agency to comply with all 10 of the report's recommendations, which ranged from minor procedural changes to considering closing branch offices. Under the new timetable, the agency will hire a new chief financial officer by the end of May, and halt the use of private contractors for many jobs by the end of July. The agency, which manages the state's $8.6 billion school-construction program for 31 districts designated for special aid and helps pay for new buildings elsewhere, plans to devise guidelines by June 22 on how to choose sites for new schools. By August 15, the agency said, it will have written procedure manuals for all its divisions.
-- Geoff Mulvihill Wyoming School Building Costs Skyrocket
-- Caspar Star-Tribune Wyoming: May 03, 2005 [ abstract] If construction costs keep going up, the state may have to turn to a standardized design for new public schools, the director of the Wyoming School Facilities Commission said. James "Bubba" Shivler said that, as an architect, he does not like prototype or model school designs. "The problem is we're seeing prices over $200 per square foot. We have to be careful because we're not sure the Legislature would be willing to spend that much," he said.
Spurred by the Supreme Court ruling, Wyoming has embarked upon a string of school construction projects that is expected to cost about $1.1 billion. The ruling placed the burden of school construction on the state, instead of local school districts, and that change resulted in creation of the School Facilities Commission. While local school boards still have influence over the design of new schools, the state commission must approve those plans. That oversight has resulted in considerable conflict between local boards and the commission, with some complaining that the state is moving toward a "cookie-cutter" school design that fails to take into account individual community needs and desires.
-- Joan Barron Montana School Officials Work to Create Impact Fees
-- Ravalli Republic Montana: April 28, 2005 [ abstract] With subdivisions come more students, and with taxpayers reluctant to pay for additional growth, Florence-Carlton School District officials are hoping to design a fair method of charging developers an appropriate mitigation fee for new subdivisions that are impacting their already overcrowded school system. Under current subdivision regulations, school districts in Ravalli County propose a voluntary mitigation fee - and if county commissioners agree with the amount, the developer is assessed the fee when the subdivision is approved.
With the passage of the Montana Senate Bill 185 during this legislative session, the door has been opened for counties and other municipalities to assess all types of impact fees, including school fees, to fund necessary capital improvements. The bill clarified for county officials that they could move forward on impact fees, which had been previously challenged in the courts.
-- Dana Green Inspector Flunks School-building Agency
-- The Star-Ledger New Jersey: April 21, 2005 [ abstract] The agency in charge of New Jersey's $8.6 billion school construction program is crippled by glaring gaps in oversight and accountability that have led to millions of dollars in questionable spending, according to a preliminary assessment by the state's inspector general. Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper's report finds that the state agency supplements its 270-person staff with 22 temporary workers hired under a contract that pays them triple what comparable state workers would earn, has paid local governments a total of $67 million for school building sites that were already publicly owned and covered back taxes on some of the properties, approved $22.9 million in extra construction costs made necessary by architectural design errors but failed to seek reimbursement from the architects responsible for the added costs, paid its top officers thousands of dollars in "inappropriate" bonuses in 2003 and 2004.
Cooper recommends 10 changes that she says should be implemented before Codey lifts a suspension of school construction work he imposed at her request last month. In addition, she said the agency should suspend its land acquisition program until it can "undertake an extensive review to establish appropriate guidelines for selection of property suitable for school construction."
-- Dunstan McNichol Architects: No Possible Way to 'Tornado-Proof' School Facilities
-- Hattiesburg American Mississippi: April 10, 2005 [ abstract] The recent destruction at Mize Attendance Center may have some parents of school-aged children concerned about the structure of schools, and builders say there is no way to completely "tornado-proof" any facility. About 650 students at the Smith County school escaped injury when an apparent tornado ripped the roof from one of the buildings during storms that whipped through much of the state.
Architect David Landry, who has designed numerous Pine Belt schools, said the schools he designs are built to standards of structural strength. "People think about holding the building up, but we also think about holding the building down, which we also have to take into consideration when we design the building," he said. He said buildings in the Pine Belt should be constructed to withstand speeds of 100-110 mph."With the wind speeds you have in tornadoes, it's virtually impossible to design a building to withstand it," he said. "You can have a tornado come through with winds in excess of 200 mph."
Some school administrators, however, are more optimistic about the buildings they are responsible for. The school buildings are periodically inspected and safety upgrades are performed. Older buildings are probably not as safe as newer ones because codes have changed over the years. However, if a building is properly maintained, it should have an unlimited life span. The only thing a school can do to prevent danger to the children is to have early warning systems.
-- Lindy Sholes Palm Beach County School's 'Green' Design May Be First in State
-- Sun-Sentinel Florida: April 07, 2005 [ abstract] It will be a place where natural light is plentiful, urinals are waterless, and environmental awareness matters most. The first "green" public elementary school -- built and designed for energy efficiency -- is coming to Palm Beach County. And the school, which will be built in the middle of a wildlife sanctuary, could be the first of its kind in Florida. Palm Beach County School Board members agreed to build the $19.9 million elementary school on the grounds of the Pine Jog Environmental Education Center. Clearing the property for the green-themed school ironically will mean uprooting some of the natural wilderness, officials concede. But they promise to pay for the removal of any wetlands or upland vegetation by restoring a comparable amount elsewhere.
To make the project distinctive, the school's construction will follow the strict standards of the U.S. Green Building Council. That means using energy-efficient equipment and designs such as relying heavily on daylight. It also may include waterless urinals, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and environmentally sensitive and recycled building materials.
-- Marc Freeman What America Thinks: School Modernization, Repair
-- The Angle National: March 31, 2005 [ abstract] A nationwide poll of voters (1,000 sample, margin of error +/- 3.1) conducted by two respected national pollsters - The Tarrance Group, a Republican firm, and Lake Snell and Perry, a Democratic firm — found that among projects the government could consider spending tax dollars on, an overwhelming 91 percent of voters surveyed said that "repairing unsafe and dilapidated school buildings" was an important priority. Sixty-six percent rated the issue "very important" and 25 percent "somewhat important." On another question, 77 percent said they agreed with the statement â€"We are in urgent need of renovating existing school buildings.†Fifty-one percent said they â€"strongly agreed†while 26 percent said they â€"somewhat agreed.†High percentages of all demographic groups saw the need for renovating schools; notably, 82 percent of women and 86 percent of Hispanics were in agreement. In addition, the survey found that voters believe state and local governments are not doing a particularly good job of repairing dilapidated school buildings. Only 27 percent positively rate "state and local governments' ability to repair dilapidated school buildings." In fact, a whopping 11 times more voters rate them "poor" compared to "excellent" on this issue. "The results indicate that school construction and modernization is a big sleeper issue across the nation," said Ron Faucheux, vice president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). "Local, state, and federal officials would do well to keep these expressions of public opinion in mind as they craft budgets, develop issue priorities, and plan future campaigns." The survey was sponsored by the AIA's Center for Communities by design and the AIA Government Advocacy Team.
-- Staff Writer Shootings Spur School Building Design Changes
-- The Oregonian Oregon: March 25, 2005 [ abstract] High-profile shootings during the past decade have prompted fundamental changes in school architecture. Schools in the area and nationally are being built or retrofitted with a greater emphasis on student safety, using design and technology to help avert tragedies such as the killings by a high school student in Minnesota that left 10 people dead. The office location, classroom door locks, and limited entrances are among the measures to make new or retrofitted schools safer.
-- Luciana Lopez Idaho School Construction Bill
-- KPVI.com Idaho: March 24, 2005 [ abstract] A Southern Idaho lawmaker's attempt to scale back a program designed to subsidize school construction interest costs is meeting with success. The first bill by Representative Scott Bedke of Oakley would have eliminated a third of the state's wealthiest school districts from being able to participate in the bond-interest subsidy plan. Bedke's new bill does that, but it also allows all districts to stay in the subsidy program until January 1st, 2006. That means any bonds passed between now and then still would be eligible. After next year, funding for the subsidy program would no longer come from state lottery profits, which are already earmarked for schools. Instead, it would come from the state's permanent building fund.
-- Staff Writer Revised School Construction Policy Won't Bring Savings Soon-- The Star-Ledger New Jersey: March 22, 2005 [ abstract] Under fire for signing overpriced agreements with consultants and contractors to build schools in the state's poorest districts, officials with the state Schools Construction Corporation announced plans last month to scale back the role of "project management firms" in overseeing the state's massive $6 billion investment in these districts. The private firms, used as extensions of the SCC office, are involved in all phases of the new school projects, from design to construction, and are typically paid 9.5 percent of the overall construction cost. But since most of these firms have already inked long term agreements with the SCC - in most cases deals spanning the next 10 years - it is unlikely taxpayers will realize any savings from the new policy any time soon.
-- Ken Thorbourne Wyoming State Aid Now Available to Towns Trying to Save Old Schools
-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: March 14, 2005 [ abstract] With local control of education slipping away, communities received a major boost in efforts to hold onto old schools thanks to a bill signed into law by Governor Dave Freudenthal. The measure provides funding to help towns convert into community centers those schools ordered to be abandoned or demolished by the state. "This program is designed to help cities and towns keep the traditional role of their school buildings, which have always been a place for people to gather," Freudenthal said. "I believe this is a quality-of-life question for many of our communities, particularly the small towns that have relied historically on school buildings to meet a range of community needs." The Wyoming Community Facilities Program is infused with $7.5 million to provide grants and loans administered by the Wyoming Business Council. Communities, recreation districts and joint powers boards may apply for the money to preserve former school and government facilities that have potential as community gathering places or recreational, swimming, and athletic facilities. The measure was driven by recent Wyoming Supreme Court opinions that hold the state solely responsible for school construction and maintenance funding.
-- Robert W. Black Uneasy About Staying Put in Emergency-- The Washington Post District of Columbia: March 10, 2005 [ abstract] When the fire alarm sounds at Frost Middle School, a 15-year-old student watches a parade of classmates march through the hallways and down the stairs. He knows they are heading out the door as he pilots his motorized wheelchair to a classroom where a teacher will be waiting. Fairfax County school officials say the designated room -- with a window, near a stairwell and known to firefighters -- is the safest place for the student and other wheelchair users who happen to be on the second floor. The students disagree and are lobbying school officials to install so-called "evacuation chairs" that will allow them -- with help from an adult -- to get down the stairs and out the door.
In the 3 1/2 years since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, debates such as this one have become more common as governments and private companies focus on improving emergency plans. Hilary Styron of the National Organization on Disability's Emergency Preparedness Initiative said there is no clear consensus on whether evacuation devices or designated safe areas are better. She said the success of any emergency plan depends on proper training.
Dean Tistadt, assistant Fairfax superintendent for facilities and transportation services, said school officials decided that the chair's risks outweigh the benefits. There is concern that staff members or students could be injured during the transfer to the evacuation chairs and that it would be difficult to ensure that enough employees are trained to use the device. Tistadt noted that Fairfax firefighters, who helped develop the district's emergency plans, can be at any school in minutes and know where children in wheelchairs will be waiting. The staging areas, marked with signs inside and outside the building, are equipped with two flags, one to hang out the window and one to hang in the hall. An adult helper has a two-way radio.
-- Maria Glod Students Envision New School
-- Journal-Advocate Colorado: March 05, 2005 [ abstract] Seven architecture students at Sterling High School in Colorado designed a new high school as a class project, imagining a school full of the latest amenities, as well as what staff and teachers think works best for them. Their work has gotten the attention of architects at the Neenan Company, the group hired to put together a facility study for the Sterling school board. The architects were impressed with the magnitude of what the students were trying to accomplish, including their interviewing process and research. The architects thought that their design showed they were "in tune" to what the school and community needed and wanted and that they were very creative and thorough in their approach.
-- JENNIFER KLEIN Detroit School of Arts Opens With High Hopes-- Detroit Free Press Michigan: March 01, 2005 [ abstract] After years of planning and two more of construction, the Detroit School of Arts officially opened for business as one of the most elaborate high schools in the United States. At a cost of about $125 million, the six-story structure of glass and shiny steel features some of the most high-tech computer equipment and amenities available to high school students anywhere, including an 800-seat auditorium, an acoustically designed recital hall, dance, radio, and tv studios, and news media labs. The school is being paid for with a $1.5-billion capital improvement bond approved by Detroit voters in 1994.
-- Salina Ali School Portables Can Be Cool, Too-- Honolulu Advertiser Hawaii: February 27, 2005 [ abstract] Hawaii depends on portable buildings to make up for the shortage of classrooms in crowded public schools with as many as 18,000 students being taught in them every day. But local architects say they don't have to be hot boxes that stifle learning if good design principles are used. Using the principles of green design, they can build a cooler portable that won't need air conditioning. Toward that end, architects, college faculty, state employees and University of Hawaii students gathered last summer to create portable designs for the state Department of Education that are cool, ecologically supportive, and conducive to learning. The group is running its top two designs through a computer simulation program to see how well they disperse heat. They expect to turn over the final plans to the state next month.
-- James Gonser New School Designs To Be Safe And Green-- The Las Vegas Sun Nevada: February 17, 2005 [ abstract] The goal of Clark County School District officials for the next generation of campus prototypes is a combination of environmental conservation with the latest in crowd control and security. District officials say a new vocational high school will be a model of efficiency. The design calls for high-efficiency lighting and for water, heating, and cooling systems that maximize natural resources. The new vocational high school will be the first of the district's campuses to seek a "silver rating" from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The $3.5 billion 1998 construction program allows for new prototypes to be introduced every four years. Using the current prototypes, the district completed or has under construction 39 elementary schools and 16 middle schools. With bids on school projects up 21 percent for the 2004-05 academic year, district officials say they're struggling to find available contractors willing to meet the budgeted price. The new prototypes will minimize the use of the most expensive materials, such as steel, without compromising safety.
-- Emily Richmond D.C. School Officials Seek Way to Stretch Facilities Budget
-- The Common Denominator District of Columbia: February 03, 2005 [ abstract] The D.C. Board of Education is considering a new plan to address D.C. public school facilities problems that seeks to make less-extensive improvements to a greater number of schools. School officials' so-called "Option D" proposes to reduce the scope of construction projects planned for some public schools in order to free up money, which could then be reallocated to fix more schools. The plan represents a switch from a focus on modernization to "systemic rehabilitation" for public schools. The current modernization plan attempts to fix antiquated and decrepit school facilities by redesigning existing buildings and constructing new ones. It anticipates fixing 48 schools, about a third of the district's buildings, by 2020. "Systemic rehabilitation" entails repairing only the outdated components of a building rather than constructing entire new buildings. It includes replacing roofing systems, exterior walls, electrical systems, fire alarm systems, heating/ventilation/air-conditioning systems, plumbing, windows, doors, interior walls and partitions, and furnishings. It does not include the construction of new program-related facilities such as libraries, art rooms, music rooms, gyms, cafeterias, or special education classrooms. Using this approach, proponents of Option D expect to see significant improvements made to 147 public schools and learning centers by 2020.
-- Stephanie Brinson A Lesson in Simple but Edifying Architecture
-- The Washington Post National: January 29, 2005 [ abstract] The village school that Diebedo Francis Kere designed in the West African nation of Burkina Faso is modest in scale. But the ambition it represents is grand. The long, low structure measures 5,661 square feet. It was built by hand with blocks of compressed earth and a few metal struts. Simple slatted windows in the three classrooms ward off the blistering Sahel sun. Curving sheets of corrugated tin serve as an affordable and surprisingly elegant canopy roof. Most important, the roof's innovative design eliminated the need for a crane to lift it into place. In the village of Gando, a community of 3,000 about 125 miles from the capital city Ouagadougou, a construction crane is the kind of unimaginable luxury that villagers live without. Men, women and children of Gando acquired the skills and provided the labor to build the school.
Architect Kere's school is one of seven winners in the latest cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. designed to serve 120 young children and constructed at a cost of less than $30,000, it exemplifies the simple but thoughtful goals of a highly unusual global design prize. The Aga Khan awards jury saluted the "elegant architectonic clarity" of the design and the community involvement.
-- Linda Hales Schools Back New Plan for Builder Choice
-- Miami Herald Florida: January 19, 2005 [ abstract] The Broward School Board has given tentative approval for a new way to choose school architects. A new Consultants' Review Committee will recommend one firm to the school board one, which the board will vote up or down This is designed to take the politics out of the selection process, a move some board members have said is needed. Board members currently hear presentations from architects, and then rank them to pick a winner.
-- Steve Harrison Georgia Town Eyes LEED Silver for New Cultural Center
-- GreenBiz Georgia: January 17, 2005 [ abstract] Construction is beginning on the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center, a two-story, 50,000-square-foot educational facility in Buford Georgia. The building design utilizes locally harvested materials and energy- and water-saving strategies. The daylighting and water management strategies that the firm integrated into the Center’s design will result in a structure that reduces water and energy use by 50% and 35%, respectively.
Superintendents Call Him Bond Issues' 'Kiss of Death'
-- Des Moines Register Iowa: January 16, 2005 [ abstract] A northwest Iowa man is earning a reputation - and a living - as the newest threat to Midwest educators trying to raise construction money for new schools. Paul Dorr, an activist and home-school parent from Ocheyedan, sells his services to taxpayers who want to derail school bond issues. By his own calculations, Dorr has designed campaigns to fight 24 school tax proposals, and successfully helped defeat 21 of them - at a savings for taxpayers of more than $237 million. The levies were for school buildings or for overrides to legislative caps on growth to general budgets. School officials say they welcome a healthy political debate but don't think Dorr plays fair, using distorted statistics and releasing them just days before the polls open. "I bring a breath of fresh air and some hope to a whole disenfranchised class of people who have lived in fear of the local public schools," said Dorr, a 48-year-old father of 11 home-schooled children.
-- Jenifer Dukes Lee In Push for Small Schools, Other Schools Suffer
-- New York Times New York: January 14, 2005 [ abstract] Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's efforts to overhaul the school system and create new small high schools has created problems for existing high schools where enrollments have soared. Typically, a big school that might have housed 600 to 1000 ninth graders is being replaced by four schools with no more than 108 ninth graders each, sending hundreds of students spilling into the remaining big schools. In the last two years, the city has opened 99 small high schools designed to have no more than 500 students each, and later this month the administration is expected to announce as many as 50 more to open next September. However, the vast majority of the city's 300,000 high school students still attend large schools, and many of those are far above capacity.
-- David M. Herszenhorn Janey Proposes Changes to D.C. Master Plan
-- The Washington Post District of Columbia: January 13, 2005 [ abstract] D.C. School Superintendent Clifford B. Janey proposed to change a master plan to fix many of his district's dilapidated school buildings by reducing new construction and increasing rehabilitation, an approach designed to help more schools more quickly. Mary Filardo, executive director of the D.C.-based 21st Century School Fund, agreed the new approach would allow more schools to be helped.
The current facilities master plan calls for $300 million a year in spending, although less than $100 million is available -- a reality that prompted Janey to propose the revision to emphasize renovations. His approach would cost $641 million from 2006 to 2011. It would allow for the completion of construction projects now underway but would reduce the scope of work planned for a number of schools.
-- Valerie Strauss and V. Dion Haynes Panel: Albuquerque Public Schools Wastes Money on Building
-- Albuquerque Tribune Arizona: January 11, 2005 [ abstract] A scathing report by a citizen review committee says the Albuquerque school system wastes tax money on construction and misled the public on spending. The 11-page report cited such problems as expensive school designs and technology expenditures that did not benefit students.
The panel found that the costs per square foot are too high - 31 percent to 61 percent higher than Tucson-area schools and 15 percent to 30 percent higher than the national average. District administrators and members of the Community Oversight Committee fear the news could sway voters to defeat the $218.6 million levy question on the February ballot.
-- Susie Gran Green Day Dawns for Pupils-- The Chicago Tribune Illinois: January 04, 2005 [ abstract] Prairie Crossing Charter School began holding classes in its new, environmentally friendly 10-classroom building in Grayslake. Pupils kicked off the first day in their new school with a treasure hunt, searching for all the ways the building is distinctive. They found classroom floors made of bamboo, which grows back quicker than other trees used for flooring. They saw motion-sensitive lights that automatically turn off when no one is in the room. And they tested the water-saving toilets--turn the knob up if you need extra water, down if you don't.
The $3 million school is among the most environmentally friendly in the country, said Taryn Holowka, communications manager for the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington-based nonprofit group that certifies buildings as "green. It is the most environmentally responsible and progressive school in Illinois." The new building cost 8 percent more than a traditional school of the same size, said school director Linda Brazdil. "The money will be recouped in savings on energy, lighting, and other costs. It is 40 percent more energy efficient than a typical school."
Prairie Crossing likely will become the first certified in Illinois under the rating system designed four years ago by the Green Buildings Council. In May, Chicago school officials announced they had adopted the council's standards for all new construction, with the philosophy of using resources efficiently and making the health and productivity of students and staff a priority.
-- Jodi S. Cohen Kentucky School System Ready to Begin $10 million in Improvements-- Franklin Favorite Kentucky: December 22, 2004 [ abstract] The bids came in lower than expected and the interest rates are favorable. Those two factors made the Simpson County Board of Education’s decision easy. They voted unanimously to issue bonds to launch a $10 million construction project that includes major renovations at the middle school and lesser ones at Simpson Elementary. "In the words of our fiscal agent, we hit a grandslam," said Superintendent Jim Flynn. "This thing fell right into place."
The School Board will spend $7.5 to $8 million on renovations and additions at the F-S Middle School and Simpson Elementary. In addition, another $2.4 million derived from performance contracts through guaranteed savings on utilities is to be bonded by the local school district. Additional monies realized by the district through the lower-than-expected costs will be used to complete other priorities on the school’s facilities needs list, such as a new roof for the high school and a parent dropoff loop for the middle school. Flynn said upgrades designed to save on utilities and thus free up more money for bonds will begin in January 2005.
-- Staff writer The Schoolhouses That Gates Built-- The Christian Science Monitor Illinois: December 07, 2004 [ abstract] The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has poured billions of dollars into public education and millions into creating and redesigning high schools in troubled districts like Boston, New York, Chicago, and Oakland, California. While there's no single "Gates model," the foundation leans toward scrapping traditional high school behemoths for small schools with focused missions, frequent interaction between students and faculty, and designs that can be reproduced in other places. Chicago recently announced a plan to shut dozens of failing schools and open 100 smaller new ones. New York has also signed on to the small-schools approach, and is rapidly starting new schools. Gates has helped create or redesign 1500 schools.
More recently, the foundation has been active at a broader policy level. Because its funding strategy has been so focused, it has had an effect on the direction of school reform even greater than the billions spent. Wielding that kind of private influence over a public arena is a tricky business, and some people question whether it's a good idea. Chicago and New York may have initiated their reforms even without Gates - the foundation is certainly just one of many factors, including the accountability movement, pushing change, and both cities had done some experimenting with small schools on their own. But in an age of diminishing resources, it can be hard for a district to say no to extra money. The Gates checks have arguably pushed a specific reform strategy - small schools - front and center, even though there's still little data on their success.
-- Andy Nelson Lawsuits Filed to Prevent Razing of Ambassador
-- Los Angeles Times California: November 24, 2004 [ abstract] The Los Angeles Conservancy and a coalition of other local organizations announced that they have filed two lawsuits seeking to stop the Los Angeles Unified School District from razing a significant portion of the historic Ambassador Hotel. The school district wants to build a $318-million campus for 4,200 students on the hotel property. In October, the Los Angeles Board of Education narrowly voted to back a plan that calls for saving the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, a coffee shop designed by noted architect Paul Williams, and parts of the ceiling of the Embassy Ballroom " but little else. That preservation would cost the district about $15 million. The district billed that plan as a compromise aimed at appeasing preservationists and those calling for the district to knock the hotel down altogether in favor of expediently building schools on the site.
-- Cara Mia DiMassa New Las Vegas School Designed with Safety in Mind-- Las Vegas Sun Nevada: November 17, 2004 [ abstract] After years of urging by educators and community members, the Clark County School District is poised to replace Kermit Booker Elementary School with a $16.7 million facility that combines the latest in architecture with the community's demands for a safer learning environment. The first step was to design a more secure entry that limited access by outsiders, said architect Jess Perez, and the challenge was to emphasize safety without turning the building into a fortress. The school's main entrance, the school bus lanes, and parking areas will be situated to keep students away from the streets.
-- Emily Richmond New York City to Restore 25 Libraries in Schools by Fall 2006-- The New York Times New York: November 09, 2004 [ abstract] NEW YORK: Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced yesterday that New York City will expand its partnership with the Robin Hood Foundation to rebuild elementary school libraries, with the goal of rebuilding twenty-five by September 2006. The Robin Hood Foundation, a nonprofit organization that fights poverty in New York, has already refurbished or built thirty-one elementary school libraries across the city. The new libraries are designed by award-winning architects and are stocked with thousands of new books as well as new computers. Typically, the new libraries include a classroom area for group lessons, a casual storytelling area, and a section of tables, desks, and study nooks for individual reading. And, of course, new wooden shelves stacked with new books.
Mr. Bloomberg said the city would spend $10 million on the next twenty-five libraries, and education officials said the Robin Hood Foundation would contribute $6.5 million, including a $1 million donation by the investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston, in addition to millions of dollars in books donated by two publishers, Scholastic and HarperCollins.
-- DAVID M. HERSZENHORN Summit Assesses D.C. Schools-- The Washington Post District of Columbia: November 06, 2004 [ abstract] Top D.C. government and education leaders, including the mayor and the school superintendent, met yesterday with parents, teachers and activists at the start of a two-day education summit designed to help set an academic course for the city's ailing public schools.
-- Valerie Strauss A Passing Grade-- The Southwest Contractor Nevada: November 01, 2004 [ abstract] A unique joint-venture partnership has created the new $32.5 million, 52-acre Bishop Manogue Catholic High School in Reno, Nevada. Q&D Construction Inc., Reno, helped the Catholic Diocese of Reno, owner of Bishop Manogue High School, to develop, finance, design, and construct the new state-of-the-art facility. Q&D Construction partnered with the Catholic Diocese to assist in a land swap with the University of Nevada, Reno, in exchange for a joint fund-raising effort for the school's new site. Q&D guided the land search, purchase, and development. It then helped sell portions of the property to generate the initial capital needed for construction. UNR's pledge to buy the existing site for its sports programs was contingent on state funding not yet passed by lawmakers.
-- Tonya Illia Woodinville School toTry Out Sustainable-Schools Movement -- The Seattle Times Washington: October 12, 2004 [ abstract] The renovation of Cottage Lake Elementary School in Woodinville this fall will help shape the budding "sustainable schools" movement in Washington, offering legislators a window into new design and construction practices said to improve student performance and cut down on energy costs.
The goal of the sustainable-schools movement is to create a new generation of buildings that are healthy for people and the environment. In practical terms, that means special attention is paid to everything from air quality to water conservation, from heat sources to the use of daylight.
-- Cara Solomon School Built to Double as Refuge-- St. Petersburg Times Florida: October 07, 2004 [ abstract] Crews are building the new Spring Hill K-8 facility to withstand hurricane winds so that it can be designated as a community shelter. The school is estimated to cost about $34 million, and after the experience Florida has had this season, no one is complaining about the extra cost. All new Florida school facilities must be designed to serve as hurricane shelters according to a 2003 state law. Schools must be constructed with high-strength concrete frames, steel reinforcing to make the walls more wind resistant, and impact-resistant windows strong enough to withstand winds of up to 132 mph.
-- Mary Spicuzza A 'Green' School Saves on Costs of Energy-- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pennsylvania: August 30, 2004 [ abstract] An eco-friendly elementary school near Pittsburgh serves as a landmark example of how efficient design can save costs. Among features that keep the building efficient are recyclable modular carpeting, recycled steel siding, and recycled cement block construction.
-- Bill Toland School May Be Razed for Faulty Construction
-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: August 30, 2004 [ abstract] Bent and broken steel trusses installed above the gym and lunchroom at a condemned Ingleside elementary school has forced district officials to consider demolishing the building and starting from scratch. Engineers have discovered that the single-truss roof support system was not built to the building's design, which called for a double-truss system. And 10 of those trusses were installed backward, they said.
School officials said the district would sue the architecture firm and construction company, if the companies do not offer to repair the damages and compensate the district for the lease of temporary classroom space. Repairs could cost up to $3.5 million.
-- Manya A. Brachear LEAD & MANAGE MY SCHOOL
Practical Information on Crisis Planning Brochure-- US Department of Education National: August 25, 2004 [ abstract] U.S. Department of Education Secretary Paige has announced a new emergency response and crisis management brochure with practical information designed to assist schools and communities prepare for a crisis.
-- Press Release School Tapping Culture of Tribe-- The Arizona Republic Arizona: August 16, 2004 [ abstract] Building a high school has been a goal of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community since the 1970s. Opening Monday, the $22 million high school, complete with a cafeteria and an auditorium, is funded largely by the tribe's gaming revenues. Community leaders said they hope Salt River High School, which will serve students in the seventh through twelfth grades, will attract the many reservation teenagers who attend Mesa Public Schools and provide them with a secondary education that emphasizes Native American studies.
In 2000, the tribe started designing the school with their Native American culture in mind. Shaped in a half-moon, the building is a clay-red with sand-yellow stripes to signify the desert and Red Mountain near the reservation. Windows throughout are etched with basket designs. The culture extends to the school's curriculum, which includes Native studies, including history and crafts such as beading. The native language, O'Odham, is mandatory.
-- Jordana Mishory Broward Schools Add $19.3 Million to Five-Year Building Needs-- Sun-Sentinel Florida: August 12, 2004 [ abstract] The Broward School Board tacked another $19.3 million worth of projects to the long-term construction and renovation plan for the next five years, as well as big-ticket items such as paying off bonds and buying computers. Several 24-classroom additions on the drawing boards were expanded to 36-classroom structures; three 24-classroom additions were added that were not in a plan approved last month.
Board members are designing their $2.426 billion blueprint for the next five years to cope with increasing demands of the class-size reduction amendment, a continuing influx of students, and the decades-old crowding backlog the county has yet to erase.
-- Bill Hirschman Public Schools Seek Private Partners to Build Schools-- The Associated Press Maryland: August 05, 2004 [ abstract] Faced with an estimated $3.85 billion needed to bring every Maryland school up to minimum health and safety standards, Maryland is joining a growing number of states by looking for private partners to help improve school facilities. A law that took effect July 1 allows Maryland's school systems to fund school construction and renovation projects using alternatives to traditional financing, which usually comes from the sale of bonds by public agencies to banks and investors.
More extensive private investment is taking place in Denver, where developers are building several schools from the ground up. Officials struck a deal this year for the schools to be built as part of a planned community, hoping to draw families to the area by improving the image of local schools.
A model public-private partnership school opened in 2001 in Washington, D.C., when a national real estate firm designed and rebuilt a school in exchange for half the land to build an apartment complex.
-- Brett Zongker $11.2 Million Deficit Found in Seattle School-Renovation Fund-- The Seattle Times Washington: August 04, 2004 [ abstract] A Seattle School District review shows that its school-renovation programs are running deficits that could mean some projects will be delayed, trimmed, or eliminated. The Building Excellence I (BEX I) program, which voters approved in 1995, is running an $11.2 million deficit because of $23.6 million in unforeseen expenses, officials say.
Earthquake damage at West Seattle High School and a fire at Coe Elementary, both in 2001, accounted for about $3.5 million of BEX I's unforeseen costs, but the rest was due to design errors or board decisions, district records show. For example, errors in the structural design of Stevens Elementary put that project about $4.4 million over budget. A decision in 1997 to use the former Lincoln High School building as an interim site while Ballard High School was being renovated cost about $8.5 million. Land acquisitions for Ballard High and the African American Academy added $2 million. About $1.5 million in tax revenue remains uncollected. And the district tapped $4.1 million in interest from the fund to balance its operating budget in 2001-02.
-- Sanjay Bhatt New Schools Bring Welcome Relief to Palm Beach-- Sun-Sentinel Florida: August 01, 2004 [ abstract] Seven new schools are set to open in Palm Beach County this month, adding more than 10,000 seats to accommodate the district's booming student population. At 399,462 square feet and with a 56-acre campus, Park Vista High School is the largest high school in Florida, big enough to house 24 air-conditioned vehicle bays for its automotive-technology career academy and a 5,400 square foot, $1 million kitchen for apprentice chefs. Academies within the school will offer specialized programs in architectural drafting and design, information technology and Internet marketing, and the culinary arts.
The new Don Estridge High Tech Middle School will showcase technological advances that could be the prototype for all future schools, including video cameras in the classrooms for distance learning and biometric hand readers for teachers to use to take attendance.
-- Mark Freeman School Is a Focal Point, Even for Those Who Don't Go There-- The Dallas Morning News Texas: July 23, 2004 [ abstract] Although many of the children in the area attend private schools, families around Kramer Elementary School in Dallas have embarked on an aggressive campaign to fund $150,000 in playground improvements with hopes of turning it into more of a gathering spot. The fund-raising effort shows how public schools can serve as important focal points in neighborhoods, even those where significant numbers of parents choose other educational options.
The new playground will have a rock-climbing wall, a rope and fitness course, and an activity center with slides and climbing areas. Other playground plans include an area designed as an outdoor classroom and informal meeting center, and an area, dubbed the "young poets thicket," that will be tree-lined and serve as a study area.
-- Toya Lynn Stewart Construction Chief: Flaws at School Easily Detectable -- St. Petersburg Times Florida: July 11, 2004 [ abstract] The Homosassa School District's facilities chief has found a serious construction defect in its new elementary school: its masonry walls were built without the specified reinforcing steel and grout infill that is needed to give them strength. The district-required three-way check among the design team, the contractor, and the district's inspection team should have caught the flaw, but inspections were not performed frequently enough. Now much of the masonry work will have to be redone.
-- Collins Conner Union and Gaston County Schools Get Grants-- Charlotte Observer North Carolina: July 10, 2004 [ abstract] Federal money from the U.S. Department of Education's Smaller Learning Communities grant program will be used to design smaller learning environments in large high schools in North Carolina. With the intent of helping students with the transistion from middle school to high school, the grant money will be used to create freshman academies for ninth grade and upper school academies for grades 10 to 12.
-- Emily S. Achenbaum Schools Power Down for Summer-- Las Vegas Sun Nevada: June 30, 2004 [ abstract] The Clark County School District is wrapping up a frantic effort to turn off every possible light, appliance, and air conditioner at its nine-month campuses by the time Nevada Power raises its rates in July. Last year's conservation efforts shaved $2 million off schools' summer power bill, and the goal is to do at least as well this time around.
Many schools are hooked up to computerized systems that allow for automatic shut-offs and can be monitored from the district's main office. However the systems aren't foolproof, necessitating on-site inspections.
The district's energy conservation program, launched in 2002, is a year-round initiative and includes water-saving measures as well. New school prototypes are built using energy-efficient designs, display lights for vending machines have been disconnected, and campuses that cut their power bills by at least 10 percent each year receive a rebate check from the district.
-- Emily Richmond Preservationists, Educators Square Off Over Old School-- Los Angeles Times California: June 29, 2004 [ abstract] A group of preservation-minded Thousand Oaks residents are pushing to have the oldest remaining school building in town designated a historic landmark. The former two-classroom building once known as Timber School is at the center of a skirmish between the school district, which owns the 80-year-old structure, and those who want to save the building, complete with round arches and a domed bell tower. The school was designed by Roy C. Wilson, the first licensed architect in Ventura County.
-- Gregory W. Griggs Renovation Project Takes New Prep School to the Bank-- New York Times New York: June 21, 2004 [ abstract] The Claremont Preparatory School will renovate and occupy the former home of Lee, Higginson and Company, a long-vanished investment bank built in 1928 one block away from the New York Stock Exchange.
A gymnasium will be built on the ninth floor and a lap pool in the basement. Classrooms will occupy the third through eighth floors. Offices, conference rooms, and a library will be on the second floor, some in partners' quarters that still have fireplaces and elaborate woodwork. In the subbasement, a cafeteria will surround the old vault, which will serve as a kitchen.
The particular glory of the building, designed by Cross & Cross, is the 29-foot-high main banking hall, with mosaic-encrusted, bronze-capped columns, and a 225-foot-long seafaring mural by Griffith Baily Coale.
-- David D. Dunlap Ohio County First with New School Security Program-- Coshocton Tribune Ohio: June 16, 2004 [ abstract] Coshocton County is the first in the nation to implement responder-friendly security technology in its public school buildings, said Andy Arthurs, director of Coshocton County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The program, "Securing Our Students," was recently launched for school representatives, emergency responders, and government officials. Its computer-assisted navigational system is designed to simplify identifying the location of an incident in the county's 21 public school buildings, showing such details as main utility shutoffs, entrances, trees, fencing, parking lots, concealed areas, and even which way doors swing. Plans are color-coded, so a caller simply needs to tell the 9-1-1 dispatcher the room number and color. Outside doors are numbered so emergency personnel will know which door to enter for the quickest response time. As responders approach the site a dispatcher will be able to direct them to the nearest access door and through the building to the scene of the emergency.
-- Kathie Dickerson Missouri Court Backs Panel on Architect-- St. Louis Post-Dispatch Missouri: June 02, 2004 [ abstract] The East St. Louis Financial Oversight Panel acted within its power when it told the East St. Louis School Board it couldn't hire the architect it wanted, the state appellate court of Mount Vernon has ruled.
As the case wound its way through the court system, the School Board decided to use another architect to design two new schools. Still, the board spent nearly $500,000 in legal fees to fight the panel's refusal to approve a contract between the school district and architect firm Kennedy and Associates Inc. of St. Louis.
-- Alexa Aguilar Many Flaws Found in Florida School Building-- St. Petersburg Times Florida: May 28, 2004 [ abstract] A testing firm found so many deficiencies in the construction of a St. Petersburgh elementary school's new media center that a structural engineer said "it may be cheaper to tear the damn thing down and start over" than to repair it.
The report from Central Testing Laboratory is a 21-page litany of missing reinforcement, missing welds, support beams that failed to support anything, roof connections that weren't made, beams that weren't properly attached to walls, and walls that didn't connect with each other.
The school superintendent said that the next step would be to have the architect design a fix, and that the district would track down how such grievous construction flaws could have escaped the notice of the people in charge of overseeing the project.
-- Collins Conner and Barbara Behrendt Mall Design Planned for Las Vegas High School-- The Las Vegas Sun Nevada: May 24, 2004 [ abstract] A new two-story-mall prototype school is slated to replace a 50-year-old North Las Vegas school. According to the school's principle, "The layout is going to seem familiar and comfortable to the students -- it's going to be an exciting place."
The prototype provides extensive natural light and fresh air for classrooms, and the layout provides a more secure, closed campus than the current high school. There are plans to divide the school into four "houses," each with its own assistant principal, dean, and student services.
-- Emily Richmond Historic Hawaiian School Faces Explosive Growth in its Next Century-- Honolulu Advertiser Hawaii: May 20, 2004 [ abstract] Wailuku Elementary School will hold a community celebration to honor its 100-year past, but future enrollment and overcrowding is what the principal has on her mind. The five-acre Wailuku Elementary campus is landlocked and has no room to expand or add buildings, and the school is expected to exceed its capacity in 2006. Although the master-planned Kehalani community includes room for a new elementary school, allocation of design money is years away.
Anchoring the campus is a century-old stone building designed by noted Hawai'i architects Charles W. Dickey and Edgar Allen Poe Newcomb. The stone building, which houses the main office, library, health room, and other offices, is listed on the state and national registers of historic places.
-- Christie Wilson Plans for Cell-Phone Towers Said to be OK'd Minus Community Input-- San Diego Union-Tribune California: May 19, 2004 [ abstract] Parents of students at San Diego's Black Mountain Middle School say the Poway Unified School District approved plans to build two cell-phone towers on school property without seeking community input. Opponents of the plan say the towers will encroach on a soccer field, pose possible health risks for students, and serve as an unsightly monument to wireless technology.
The district superintendent said the proposed towers would be unimposing structures designed to look like pine trees, blending in with the surrounding landscape.
There are 10 cell-phone towers on school property in the Poway district, with plans for several more at other schools also in the works. The towers, including the two at Black Mountain Middle School, would bring in more than $1 million in revenue to the district and would be used for technological improvements such as updates to computers and software.
-- Pat Sherman Old is New Again-- Sacramento Bee California: May 16, 2004 [ abstract] Contemporary architecture aside, the new Inderkum High School opening this summer in North Natomas shares a key feature with California high schools built in the first half of the 20th century: It is contained within one two-story structure.
Because it is packed into two stories, Inderkum consumes less than 40 acres of land, compared with about 60 for a typical California campus. The striking, $58-million complex, with a sharply angled roofline designed to make the best use of sunlight, is more efficient to cool and heat and contains other environmentally friendly features that are starting to find their way into schools around the state.
-- Mary Lynne Vellinga Still No Explanation for Cracks in Roof Trusses at Ingleside School-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: May 14, 2004 [ abstract] Officials at a shuttered Ingleside elementary school are still trying to figure out why a quarter of its wooden roof trusses cracked and whether 615 displaced pupils can return to class there in the fall.
Structural engineers crawling through the rafters at Gavin Central Elementary School have found ten trusses installed backward, multiple trusses lacking braces, and trusses apparently not designed according to drawings the architect and school district approved.
Officials question whether the project had adequate supervision and whether chemical treatment of the fire-retardant wood beams may have caused them to disintegrate.
-- Manya A. Brachear Site Scarcity Alters Design of Georgia Schools-- Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: May 12, 2004 [ abstract] Flat sites — the school system's ideal for its standard, one-level elementary and middle schools — are now as scarce as caribou north of Canton, school officials said. This has forced architects back to the table to come up with prototypes that stack classrooms in two-story and multilevel designs to accommodate the increasingly mountainous terrain.
-- Diane R. Stepp Houston School Lands State, Federal Honors for its Backyard Habitat-- Houston Chronicle Texas: May 04, 2004 [ abstract] Houston's Branch School outdoor wildlife habitat has been recognized by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the National Wildlife Federation with the "Best of Texas Backyard Habitat" designation. It also has been named an official Texas Wildscape.
The three-year-old wildlife habitat, located in the school's playground area, is composed of at least 75 percent native plants and includes additional areas, such as vegetable, herb, and flower gardens, designed for students of all ages.
-- Daphne Rozen New Portland School Aims to be 'Green' -- Portland Press Herald Maine: April 29, 2004 [ abstract] Revised plans for a new $10.5 million Portland elementary school calls for a "green" school that will ensure a healthy, energy-saving environment, while recycling some materials from the mold-infested building it will replace.
The new building is designed to meet modern environmental standards; its heating, cooling, drainage, insulation and other systems will promote fresh air exchange and limit opportunities for mold growth and sick-building complaints. Building materials will be made without toxic chemicals and won't require harsh cleaners. Specially designed window systems will make the most of natural light, reduce electrical costs, help keep classrooms cool, and, it is believed, improve student performance.
-- Kelley Bouchard 'Green Design' Likely for New High School -- The Ann Arbor News Michigan: April 25, 2004 [ abstract] For the design of its proposed new high school, Ann Arbor school officials want an environmentally friendly building and campus with features such as geothermal heating, low-flow water faucets, paint with fewer volatile chemicals, skylights that let in natural light, and building materials containing high levels of recycled material. The goal is not just a building less damaging to the environment, but one that operates efficiently and is a healthier place for students and teachers.
-- Ann Schimke Future of Historic School Debated-- The Washington Post District of Columbia: April 15, 2004 [ abstract] The 93-year-old Alexander Crummell School, named for a prominent African American educator-abolitionist and designed by Washington's first municipal architect, is a graceful red-brick building that has been vacant for almost 30 years -- and is now the subject of a heated redevelopment dispute.
At a recent committee hearing, representatives from the Ivy City-Trinidad Citizens Association and the Citizens Planning Coalition said they oppose the city's decision to sell the school. They want the site renovated for use as a training center for building trades and arts preservation and they worry that that won't happen if the property is sold to a private business developer.
-- Patricia Sullivan Radical Idea: A 'Child-Centric' School-- Washington Post Writers Group National: March 28, 2004 [ abstract] The columnist discusses innovative school projects and concepts, including designing more flexible, smaller, learning-centered schools that are energy-conserving and built for community use; that are more welcoming space; and that accomodate multiple types of learning.
-- Neal Peirce Akron City Council and Schools Create Joint Board of Review-- The Leader Ohio: March 25, 2004 [ abstract] The Akron City Council and the Akron Board of Education have begun work on the 12- to 15-year project to rebuild or renovate all of Akron's schools into community learning centers. A Joint Board of Review will make recommendations to the school board and Akron City Council on site selection, design, construction, and changes to the master plan which has been approved by the Ohio School Facilities Commission.
-- Becky Tompkins Facilities Study Web Site Online-- Arkansas News Bureau Arkansas: March 23, 2004 [ abstract] A Web site designed to keep everyone informed of the progress of a $9 million Arkansas educational facilities assessment study has been unveiled to lawmakers in Arkansas. The Web site will include meeting agendas, an overview of the study, study updates, answers to frequently asked questions, a progress report, and photographs of meetings and events. Ohio-based DeJong and Associates Inc. began work last month assessing Arkansas' 5,600 public school buildings as authorized in a $2.3 million contract.
The study, with an estimated cost a total $9 million, is to be completed by next fall. About $6.4 million of the total $9 million will pay local assessment teams to compile information about every public school building in the state.
-- Rob Moritz Repair Delays Keep School Empty -- Washington Post District of Columbia: March 11, 2004 [ abstract] The repairs at a Washington, D.C. special education school seemed easy enough: remove some asbestos and replace windows and exterior wall panels. But a year and a half after the project began, the work is far behind schedule and months from completion. In the meantime, the school system faces mounting bills as water seeps into the building through plastic tarps, and as more special education students who would otherwise have attended this school go to private schools at taxpayer expense.
Work has been behind schedule for a number of reasons, including problems with the design, delays in the construction of wall panels, difficulties in obtaining city permits, and a lack of continuity in the contractor's staff, according to the Corps of Engineers, which handles a number of D.C. school system construction projects.
-- Justin Blum Billions For New Schools: How Well Spent?-- Washington Post Writers Group National: March 08, 2004 [ abstract] With a tidal wave of school construction rolling across the nation, troublesome questions are surfacing. Are new schools being built where they should be? Are too many serviceable older schools -- and the downtowns and neighborhoods they stand in -- being abandoned? Are we building the right sized schools for best student achievement? Is creative architecture going into the new schools? Or are too many new schools being designed and built with "a homogenized blandness" that recalls the country's blizzard of chain restaurants, drugstores, and strip shopping centers?
-- Neal Peirce Schools at a crossroads -- Cleveland Plain Dealer Ohio: February 22, 2004 [ abstract] These should be days of glory for the architecture of Cleveland public schools.
But with the district ready to break ground soon for the first four new schools in the city in more than 20 years, the forecast for design is discouraging.
designs for two of the buildings, the K-8 Riverside and Memorial schools, look as though they were intended for cornfield sites rather than dense, intricately textured city neighborhoods. designs for the two others, A.J. Rickoff K-8 School and John Adams High School, are somewhat better, but they don't break out of the generic sameness that's becoming a pattern.
-- Steven Litt Schools fail to act on design grant-- Cleveland Plain Dealer Ohio: February 22, 2004 [ abstract] The National Endowment for the Arts handed Cleveland a terrific opportunity in 2002 when it decided to fund part of a national competition to design a new Mound Elementary School in Slavic Village.
It was a chance to inject fresh ideas into a massive, $1.5 billion school-reconstruction project across the city. But more than a year and a half later, the competition is in limbo, and the opportunity is slipping away.
After issuing one extension, the NEA is scheduled to withdraw its $75,000 grant in December.
-- Steven Litt Audit says architect avoided paying for mistakes-- South Florida Sun Sentinel Florida: February 19, 2004 [ abstract]
Taxpayers forked over a half-million dollars to correct flaws in designs for the expansion of South Broward High School rather than forcing the architect to pay for its errors, a school district audit reports.
The internal audit, the third criticizing the way construction projects are managed, also cited poor oversight by school district officials and questioned the oversight by the contractor hired to manage the entire project.
At the center of the controversy is the method of hiring a contractor called Construction Management at Risk.
It has been successfully used in other school districts, said Deputy Superintendent Mike Garretson, but it has been so problematic in Broward that he has suspended its use while he analyzes what has gone wrong.
-- Bill Hirschman New school buildings planned-- Honolulu Advertiser Hawaii: February 09, 2004 [ abstract]
Gov. Linda Lingle has earmarked $4.86 million for a classroom building at Wai'anae and $4.765 million for another eight-classroom building at Waipahu High School, where they will not only relieve overcrowding, but allow smaller class sizes and permit additional class offerings as well.
Projected Timeframe: 2 years
Limitations include space:
The new building had to be designed to skirt the tsunami inundation zone and comply with city building codes.
One of the highlights in the new building will be a special-education classroom that might look more like a studio apartment, with a kitchen, shower, living area and computer station.
-- Treena Shapiro Building Plan Adds Schools and Reduces Size-- New York Times New York: February 04, 2004 [ abstract]
The Bloomberg administration has revised its five-year, $13.1 billion school construction proposal so that it now calls for building 90 schools with a capacity of 66,000 students instead of 76 schools for 63,000.
Nine of the additional buildings are needed because officials overestimated the size of schools that could be built at designated sites.
To pay for the additional buildings, city officials reduced the plan's emergency fund.
The plan still relies on extra aid from Albany, money that may not be forthcoming.
Eva S. Moskowitz, the chairwoman of the City Council Education Committee, said the revisions included some much-needed fixes but said she remained concerned about reliance on New York State to pick up half the price tag.
-- DAVID M. HERSZENHORN Trust, Not Cameras, Best Prevention?-- Washington Post District of Columbia: February 03, 2004 [ abstract] D.C. high school principal Reginald Ballard knows the difficulty of keeping his students safe. His school just purchased a $70,000 security system designed to keep the side and rear doors locked from the inside, except in case of fire or other emergency.
But he declined to explain how it works, because such information would allow a student to circumvent the system.
Most D.C. high schools have metal detectors at the main entrance.
D.C. school officials, and their counterparts nationwide, say without a guard at every doorway, there is no guarantee that a student won't sneak a weapon in.
National experts in preventing school violence say educators are increasingly turning to programs that teach youngsters to resolve conflicts peacefully.
-- Debbi Wilgoren Proposing policy for historic / landmark designations -- Dallas Morning News Texas: January 14, 2004 [ abstract] Dallas school trustees may soon have guidelines on when to support neighborhood efforts seeking historic or landmark designations.
The policy would set several conditions for trustee support of such efforts.
The need for a policy was highlighted when parents sought historic designation for a middle school and Dallas Independent School District administrators questioned whether landmark status would be good for the district.
The Landmark Commission doesn't need DISD's approval to move the process along, but an official said it's rare for buildings to get landmark status without their owners' approval.
If a school were designated a landmark, the district would need approval for changes to the external structure. With many major renovations scheduled, another concern was increased construction costs.
-- TOYA LYNN STEWART New high school may see new construction-- St. Petersburg Times Florida: January 08, 2004 [ abstract]
A new round of construction could soon begin at Nature Coast Technical High School.
The school board must decide if funds coming available will add a final wing or athletic facilities - or both - at Nature Coast Technical High School.
After tallying the bills for the school, which opened in August, district finance officials estimated that about $1.5-million remains from the sales tax, which expired last week. The money must be spent on Nature Coast.
Athletic fields topped the wish list from the school and district administration.
Some school board members noted, though, that the campus still lacks one wing from its design and signaled their desire to build it first.
-- JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK School relocates while it gets lead out -- Times-Picayune Louisiana: January 08, 2004 [ abstract] After the latest round of lead testing revealed unacceptable lead levels at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, New Orleans school officials said they plan to shift classes to a temporary site for several weeks while they attempt to eradicate the problem.
School officials hope to rent the former St. Matthias school from the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
Steve Freeman, director of facilities and maintenance, told parents the problem is with aging varnish on the windows. During the coming weeks, his department will coat window frames with a substance designed to capture the existing lead-based varnish and seal it in. Workers also will install weather stripping on the windows to cut down on rattling that can disturb paint and create dust.
-- Aesha Rasheed Suburbs turn to 2-story schools-- Atlanta Journal Constitution Georgia: January 03, 2004 [ abstract]
The multistory school is becoming more common in Atlanta suburbs as it runs low on available land.
The Fulton County school system recently agreed to build its first two-story elementary school in 30 years.
The benefits include consumption of less land and the flexibility to place schools within walking distance of neighborhoods.
Construction of multistory buildings generally is more expensive, but the higher building cost often is offset by reduced land costs.
In suburban Los Angeles two-story schools have become the norm because of rising land prices.
State fire code requires the youngest children to be placed on the bottom level.
Some parent worry that heights and stairwells pose danger. School system officials say designs take safety into account.
-- Mary Macdonald Mold in Schools Raises Fears of Illness-- The Washington Post District of Columbia: December 24, 2003 [ abstract] Many school heating and ventilating systems are not designed to deal with the extraordinary humidity of 2003 and this resulted in mold.
Medical research on the health risks of mold is scanty. Exposure can trigger allergic reactions, asthma attacks, cause inflammation, leading to a weakened immune system, and this can open the door to pneumonia.
Like other plants, molds produce gases, toxins and allergens.
There are no federal, state or local government standards when it comes to acceptable levels of mold.
Several studies are underway, and a bill recently introduced in Congress calls for the EPA to set standards.
In the meantime, individual jurisdictions tackle the problem as best they can.
-- Michele Clock Schools' modern looks bring promise-- The Sun Herald Mississippi: December 22, 2003 [ abstract]
The $20 million investment in building two new elementary schools in East Biloxi is expected to lure new residents and generate economic development.
In 1998, residents helped defeat a bond issue because there were no plans for a new school. After plans were revised to include a new Nichols Elementary, the bond issue passed.
When architects designed the two schools in East Biloxi, they first surveyed teachers for constructive criticism. The architects used pastel colors in the interior instead of primary colors, which teachers said caused excitement in some children. They also shortened walking distances by making hallways more compact and constructed built-in teacher desks in classrooms.
The Biloxi School District is completing a $71 million building program.
-- TOM WILEMON Paying for schools: lessons from Maryland-- The Sacramento Bee National: December 15, 2003 [ abstract]
The small state of Maryland offers some big lessons on what it takes to overhaul a school funding machine:
Take your time. Bring in outside experts and listen intently. Never underestimate the force of a personality. Count on compromising at the last minute.
Maryland's categorical mess was akin to that of California, where a tangle of more than 100 special funding streams for schools exists. Over the space of a decade, assorted governors and legislators in Maryland had set up one special pot of money after another, all designated for separate purposes close to their political hearts: Class-size reduction. Grants for new technology. A popular boost in teacher pay. Special dollars for Baltimore city schools. More money exclusively for Prince Georges County...
-- Deb Kollars School set to build special playground-- Palm Beach Post Florida: December 15, 2003 [ abstract]
For many of the severely disabled children at the Challenger School, a typical playground is more like an obstacle course.
That's why parents and teachers at the school have been working to get a specially designed playground at the school. And though the group is about $140,000 away from its goal, school officials are considering starting construction as early as March.
Palm City resident Linda Hall, the mother of former student Danielle, said it's hard to raise money from many Challenger parents
"When you're a parent of a child with those disabilities, all of your energy goes into caring for that child," she said. "You don't really have the time and energy to put into outside projects."
-- Rani Gupta Phoenix school first to install face scanners-- The Arizona Republic Arizona: December 11, 2003 [ abstract]
A Phoenix school is the first in the nation to install cameras designed to detect sex offenders or missing children and instantly alert police.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the cameras will not violate the privacy of anyone not already in a sex offender or missing children database. Images that do not match the databases are erased.
The system is not set to recognize people wanted for other crimes.
Principal Mike Christensen said he volunteered to test the new equipment, even though the campus has reported no problems.
A Royal Palm mother would like to see the campus install a third biometric camera in the parking lot, a more likely place to find sex offenders lurking.
-- Pat Kossan Public can help plan schools -- Akron Beacon Journal Ohio: December 07, 2003 [ abstract] The public is invited to help make plans for the first eight new Akron school buildings, part of an $800 million project.
All of the district's 60 school buildings will be replaced or renovated over the next 15 years.
The new buildings, to be called community learning centers, will be available for civic activities in the evening and on weekends.
Residents can volunteer to be on one of the eight planning teams.
Meetings will be conducted by representatives of the city, the schools, the consortium of architects that will design the buildings slated for construction in the first phase of the project, and Concordia, a consulting firm that specializes in turning schools into community learning centers.
Call 330-761-2805.
Historic school building in Denver has become an eyesore-- Denver Post Colorado: November 16, 2003 [ abstract]
The vacant Evans School in Denver, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. But it has come to symbolize "a failure of preservation. It's a case of demolition by neglect," Denver historian Tom Noel said.
The school has stood vacant for 29 years - a nationally recognized building too prized to demolish but increasingly expensive to restore.
Eber brothers' company, A&R Investments, has owned the vacant building ever since 1974 and still hopes to restore it as an office.
For many years, it served as the only school in the Denver area to teach deaf, blind and physically handicapped children.
It would cost an estimated $9.3 million to restore and meet modern codes.
The Evans School nomination to the historic register called it "an exceptionally fine example of the Classical Revival in Denver" and one of only three Dryden-designed schools that "remain in essentially their original form." "a beautifully crafted example of the neoclassical style that influenced Denver's 'city beautiful' movement"
-- David Olinger The high-tech homeroom: Schools streamline the day with technology-- The Buffalo News New York: November 02, 2003 [ abstract]
In a few weeks teachers at Buffalo's Enterprise Charter School will no longer take attendance. In what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind development, pupils will check in by swiping their identification tags.
And clerks won't have to stitch together attendance lists from 19 classrooms.
Computer chips will do it instead.
The system is designed to give teachers more time for instruction, reduce paperwork and produce more accurate attendance records.
And while Enterprise is the first local school to use computer chips to monitor student attendance, that move reflects a growing reliance on technology to streamline operations, track student performance and improve safety at schools throughout the area.
-- PETER SIMON High school gets mini-golf -- The New Orleans Times-Picayune Louisiana: October 15, 2003 [ abstract] Grace King High School is about to get a 9-hole wheelchair-accessible miniature golf course in its central quadrangle.
The redesigned space will also provide performance space for the school band and space for teachers to hold classes. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, which provided $25,000 of the funding, will use the quad for community relations programs, taking senior citizens, disabled people and others to the school yard for mini-golf and band performances.
Out of a total enrollment of 1,555 students, Grace King has about 150 in special education with a variety of exceptionalities.
Landscape architect Marcel Lavie, will design the project free of charge and some students will help with the construction.
-- Mark Waller A School In Shambles-- Newsday New York: September 25, 2003 [ abstract] Hempstead, New York officials closed Prospect School the day before classes were to begin because of deteriorating conditions, including mold growing outside the cafeteria, a caved-in chimney, rodents, fire violations such as rescue windows that do not meet design standards, and sewage leakage in the basement. District officials said they had no idea the building, built in the early 1900s, had gotten so bad, but parents of the more than 400 displaced Prospect students insisted the violations could not have developed overnight.
-- Nedra Rhone School Districts Seeking Class-size Moratorium-- Palm Beach Post Florida: September 23, 2003 [ abstract] South Florida's largest school districts are asking Florida's Department of Education for a moratorium on new requirements to design and build smaller classrooms until the fate of a class-size amendment to the constitution is more clear. The amendment says by 2010, class sizes must be capped at 18 students in elementary, 22 in middle school, and 25 in high school. Gov. Jeb Bush and the State Board of Education support repealing the class-size amendment because of its cost.
-- Kimberly Miller New designs freshen schools -- Cincinnati Enquirer Ohio: August 24, 2003 [ abstract] New Ohio schools being built today are bigger, air-conditioned, and designed for community use after school hours. They are wired for computers in the classroom or designed for wireless laptops and include
spaces for teacher collaboration, small group projects, and vocational instruction. Many contain studios for distance learning or video productions, as well as outdoor learning labs. An average of $2.5 million is being spent on school construction per day in Ohio.
-- Sue Kiesewetter School-district changes recommended-- Miami Herald Florida: August 12, 2003 [ abstract] A Miami-Dade grand jury has called for a series of construction and ethics policy changes at the county school district -- many of which had already been put in place when the report was issued last week. 'We tried to restrict our recommendations [for the most part] to things that could be easily accomplished by the School Board,' the report said. Grand-jury recommendations carry no force of law but are designed to publicize issues of community importance. Recommendations include requiring plans for new construction or major renovations of public schools to win approval from a fire marshal, and signing agreements to work more closely with fire marshals to repair violations.
-- Matthew I. Pinzur School Builders Design for Better Acoustics-- Wall Street Journal National: August 04, 2003 [ abstract] According to educational experts, poor acoustics are one of the biggest treatable obstacles to learning. Last year, the American National Standards Institute approved acoustical benchmarks to limit background noise and reverberation in schoolhouses. While the new standards have their critics, many states and school districts are willing to fund extra costs in their construction budgets to insure adequate classroom sound. School architects are adding ceilings that slope from front to back so sound carries, but doesn't echo, changing the footprint of the rooms to reduce the tendency of sound to reverberate, using double layers of sound-absorbing ceiling tiles, insulated glass windows, and thicker walls where they abut raucous spaces such as stairwells, and installing quieter heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
-- Alex Frangos Atlanta schools wasted climate-control funds -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: July 28, 2003 [ abstract] Shoddy installation and missing equipment, as well as poor maintenance and design flaws in the heating and cooling systems of Atlanta public schools have caused many of the units to need repairs or replacements relatively soon after their installation. Operating problems with almost new heating and cooling systems became widespread just a few years after the equipment was installed at many city schools. The repairs and replacements have cost Atlanta taxpayers $2.7 million, in some cases because officials let the warrenties run out before inspecting or installing the equipment. As a result of these problems, Valerie Thomas, executive director for facilities services with Atlanta Public Schools, has announced changes in the office's procedures. Now, staff is required to inspect equipment before warranties expire, and equipment is not puchased until it is ready to be installed. The process has also been streamlined so one company, rather than two, is hired to purchase and install major equipment, making it easier to hold a contractor accountable.
-- Paul Donsky Builders Seek Relaxed Limits-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: July 22, 2003 [ abstract] The Howard County Council is considering new enrollment projection charts designed to limit building residences near crowded schools. At stake is whether homebuilders will be allowed to build in large areas of Howard County or delay construction until the county finds ways to relieve school crowding.
-- Larry Carson New Schools Built for Shared Use-- Arizona Daily Star Arizona: July 14, 2003 [ abstract] New schools in Arizona are being designed in a modular style to better adapt to shifts in neighborhoods' demographics. The schools are being built in pods that contain several classrooms and a teacher workroom. If a school's enrollment drops, the building can be converted to satisfy the needs of a community that has fewer children. In the meantime, many of the schools have rooms that are used in the evenings and on weekends for public activities. This smart growth approach has caught on with today's architects as well as officials responsible for funding Arizona's new school construction.
-- Jennifer Sterba and Nicole R. Grubbs Arts and Enterprise Campus to Occupy Former Boat Sales Lot-- Daily Bulletin California: July 08, 2003 [ abstract] The School of Arts and Enterprise, a Pomona charter school, will renovate a closed commercial property and turn it into its main campus with the assistance of an essentially interest-free $1 million federal bond that the school won by lottery. The bond is part of a federal program that gives bond holders tax credits for lending money to schools. The property was once home to a boat sales business. The whole complex will be designed in a loft-and-gallery theme with a design meant to encourage creativity. The building will accommodate 350 to 400 students who will have classroom space along with plenty of room for a variety of studios and laboratories.
-- Monica Rodriguez Richland 2 Seeks Way to Use Mall as School-- The State South Carolina: June 30, 2003 [ abstract] Richland 2 district officials have been exploring using non-traditional space for schools, hoping it could be a creative and affordable way for the district to cope with its growing pains. Under discussion is the possibility of housing five magnet programs at a 200,000-square-foot strip mall, which includes the former Kroger and Target buildings.
Architects have assured the district that the mall could be converted into a school, despite state regulations on school design. The district would have to repair a roof that leaks badly and make other substantial renovations to get the mall student-ready, but the district would save money on infrastructure, since water, sewer and roads are already in place.
-- Nicole Sweeney Back to nature-- Sacramento Bee California: June 06, 2003 [ abstract] As schools across California face budget cuts, an energy crisis, and reduced state aid, school districts are turning to green and energy efficient technology as a means to economically improve school facilities. Methods are being adapted for all climates and are part of an effort to design campuses that provide a better atmosphere for learning, are more economical to operate and help protect the environment as part of the "sustainable" or "high performance" movement in school construction. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that nationwide, schools could slash 25 percent of their $6 billion-a-year energy costs by using more energy-efficient designs and materials. Some of the methods being used in California include: installing low-wattage fluorescent light bulbs, enlarging windows for optimal sunlight, using geothermal heating and cooling units, using materials with a high percentage of recycled content, low-flow water fixtures, a central boiler, adn solar panels.
-- Walter Yost Briefs from the state Capitol-- The Advocate Connecticut: May 30, 2003 [ abstract] The Connecticut State House approved a bill that would require school districts to conduct environmental assessments of proposed school construction sites, list materials used in building projects, and design preventative maintenance programs for the buildings.
-- AP Lead-paint exposure forces Cincinnati school to close-- Cleveland Plain Dealer Ohio: April 27, 2003 [ abstract] The Cincinnati Department of Health closed a local elementary school after a child had elevated levels of lead in his blood, and the school had significant amounts of paint chips and dust. The 500 students from the school will finish the school year at another area school while old windows are replaced and lead paint is removed from the building. Additionally, 23 of the district's older schools will be inspected. A maintenance program designed to check for and repair incidents of lead paint in schools was completed in 1986, but because of budget cuts and generally overlooking public school buildings, the program was not continued.
Leasure school roof collapse blamed on faulty bracing -- Delaware News Journal Delaware: April 06, 2003 [ abstract] Part of the roof at Leasure Elementary School in Bear, Delaware collapsed on February 18. The school was closed for President's Day weekend. An independent consultant hired to investigate the incident says it was caused by heavy snow on the roof and inadequately braced trusses. The state is determining whether to take legal action against the firms contracted to design and install the truss system.
-- Michael Besso Broad scope of Students FIRST being questioned-- Arizona Republic Arizona: March 30, 2003 [ abstract] Arizona is facing tremendous budget shortfalls this year, and many now point the finger at Students FIRST, a program designed to help the state's poorest school districts improve school facilities. Students FIRST was created in 1998 in response to a lawsuit brought on by the poorer school districts. Critics of the plan question why the same amount of money is spent in poor districts as in wealthier counterparts which can also use tax revenues towards school projects. All school districts were supposed to meet state-regulated guidelines by June, 2004, but construction delays, and rising costs have put about half the projects behind schedule, putting a further drain on the state's budget.
-- Pat Flannery Elementary school problems focus of town forum -- Providence Journal Rhode Island: March 25, 2003 [ abstract] A Rhode Island elementary school has been flooded, had its water declared undrinkable, inadequately heated, had mold growing in some walls, and the roof leaks, all in its relatively short lifetime of 13 years. The chronic problems and scores of parental complaints lead Town Council members to fear a public outcry over future school related bond issues. The council has arranged a public forum where parents and citizens can voice their concerns to a panel of architects and school administrators involved in the design and upkeep of the school.
-- John Hill Editorial: Build flexibility into schools -- Cleveland Plain Dealer Ohio: March 22, 2003 [ abstract] The University of Washington released a report "The Future of School Facilities: Getting Ahead of the Curve" which urges the planners and designers of new school construction to plan for changes that will inevitably occur in school districts and buildings throughout upcoming decades. The report points out that school plans may seem reasonable and feasable at the time of planning, but students and staff must use them for decades. Past trends such as open-schools are proving to be a liability to school districts, and the report is trying to stop a repeat of design flaws in current plans.
-- Editorial Cities lag in school construction -- Newark Star-Ledger New Jersey: March 19, 2003 [ abstract] Two years ago, the state of New Jersey passed an $8.6 billion school construction program aimed at improving school facilities across the state. However, a new report released by the Coalition for our Children's Schools says that while construction is well underway in the more affluent suburbs, the poorer cities in the state have seen little or none of the money or projects. The report does concede that the McGreevey administration has done a lot in the past six months to improve the design and construction process, but there is still much work to be done. The report points a finger at the state Department of Education, claiming that they are slow to approve projects in the poor districts. The plan was originally implemented to help the state's Abbott districts, 30 poor school districts across New Jersey that the state Supreme Court ruled to be entitled to state funds to bring their levels of education on par with the rest of the state. However, the report points out that in eight of the 30 districts, no construction projects have been approved. The state will pay for all of the construction in the Abbott districts. $6 billion of the total construction plan was estimated to be spent on the Abbott schools when it was passed. Government officials say the problem is that many of the suburban schools had construction plans ready and approved, and were just waiting on money, but many of the Abbott schools are starting from the beginning of the process, which naturally will take longer to come to fruition. A state spokesman said the public should be able to see signs of construction across the state by the summer.
-- John Mooney Broward outlines $2.1 billion plan to build, upgrade schools -- Florida Sun-Sentinel Florida: March 05, 2003 [ abstract] Broward County, Florida school officials announced a 10-year, $2.1 billion construction and renovation blueprint, outlining where new schools will be built, which campuses will get relief from overcrowding, and where some children will attend school through 2012. Officials point out that this is not a guaranteed list of what will be done, it is a documented assessment of what the district needs. Specific decisions about construction and renovations will be made on a year by year basis by the school board. The plan indicates that the district needs to raise approximately $1 billion to complete the projects. Almost every one of the districts 216 schools will have some work performed on them, ranging from complete demolition and reconstruction to preventative maintenance. This new document, called the Long Range Facility Master Plan, looks five years farther down the road than any previous plan and is based on more detailed and verified raw data. Also, the need for more classrooms was determined not by how many children the schools were designed to hold but instead on how many children actually use the building. However, the plan does not account for the class size amendment passed by voters in November legally limiting the number of students in each classroom.
-- Bill Hirschman Falls Church Schools Giving Builder Control -- Washington Post Virginia: February 12, 2003 [ abstract] In an attempt to streamline the school building process and save time and money, Falls Church, Virginia, is entering into an exclusive and somewhat new partnership with a developer to build the city's new middle school. The process, which involves giving complete control of the project, from beginning to end, to the developer, eliminating the need for many steps in the building process, including land acquisition, design, and contract bidding. The new plan allows for many different options, including allowing the developer to own the land and the school, with the district paying in a long-term lease. This alleviates the need for schools to come up with large amounts of money at one time. Other counties in Virginia are considering a similar model but this is the first attempt since the passage of a new state law that allows municipalities to form public-private partnerships to build schools and other public facilities.
-- David Cho New and improved school, or just new? -- Lexington Herald-Ledger Kentucky: January 23, 2003 [ abstract] This editorial piece focuses on the Fayette County, Kentucky school board's decision to build a new high school. Estimates on the school are more than $40 million for the most up-to-date design, but the school board was expecting a $30 million or less price tag. The author encourages the school board to build the best school building possible and to spend the money now, rather than spending years making improvements and modernizations which will most likely wind up costing even more. She writes, "Fayette County will either have to build a pack of new schools too modest for Kentucky's most prosperous city, or must go to the taxpayers and explain how a rich district can't afford the schools it needs." The author also warns that if the board opts for the lesser expensive model, thereby decreasing its capacity, it may open itself up for criticism, alleging discrimination against lower-income and minority students.
-- Cheryl Truman Community meets school plan warily -- Boston Globe Massachusetts: January 14, 2003 [ abstract] The town of Natick, Massachusetts is facing a dilemma regarding the local high school. The current school is in desperate need of modernizations and repairs, but state budget cuts and the citizen's lack of enthusiasm for increased property taxes leaves town leaders wondering how to pay for the construction. It will be approximately $7 million cheaper to build a new school than to renovate and repair the existing structure, according to current architectural designs. Regardless, school officials are at a loss as to what to do about the school- state aid cannot be relied on now or in the future, and some say that an alternate solution should be investigated.
-- Scott W. Helman Construction Managers Create Online Planning Service -- School Construction News California: January 14, 2003 [ abstract] Vanir Construction Management Inc. now offers its own online project management tools to give owners, architects, and engineers real-time access to school plan and specification reviews. "We wanted
to find a way to meet the demand for design accountability and control from planning to construction" said a company spokesperson. Key program features include design checklists and project dialog boxes for specific review of
plans and specifications, a summary for clients, secure permission settings, and instant messaging.
New park, school for lakefront site -- Chicago Sun-Times Illinois: January 09, 2003 [ abstract] Chicago city officials announced that six acres of prime lakefront real estate will be developed into a park and a school by 2005. The structures, to be built on a former golf course, is meant to serve an upscale condominium complex in the area, but school attendance boundaries have not yet been decided. The school will cost $12 million and is designed for 400 kindergarten through fourth grade students. The top floor of the building is will house Park District offices and will be open to the public. The developers are donating the land and $3.5 million, and the city will pay the rest of the cost.
-- Kate N. Grossman Airy classrooms aid learning, study says -- Las Vegas Sun Nevada: January 03, 2003 [ abstract] Clark County, Nevada, home of Las Vegas, is the nation's fastest growing school district. With 88 schools scheduled to be built, engineers and architects are turning to designs that maximize air quality in hopes to build schools which are not only aesthetically pleasing but also educationally sound. The school district based the decision to build airy classrooms heavily on a report published by the National Center for Educational Facilities, a Washington organization that stores data for the Department of Education, which states children learn better in classrooms with natural light and less dust. The report and subsequent actions by the school district, have sparked a controversy regarding older school buildings. Many feel that older buildings are being neglected and not receiving needed renovations because money is instead being spent building new schools. The older schools are often inadequate and may contain harmful materials such as mold or asbestos, and advocates feel these schools and the children attending them, deserve a 21st century learning experience just as much as those students fortunate enough to attend a newly constructed school.
-- Emily Richmond Alexandria School Plan Feels Pinch -- Washington Post Virginia: December 16, 2002 [ abstract] Schools in DC's suburbs are overcrowded, but it is often difficult to find a solution to the problem, as land in these areas is often scarce and expensive. Alexandria, VA has only one high school which is more than 300 students over capacity, and the district is weighing the options of building an entirely new school or modernizing the existing structure. designers will be asked to allow for space for future "schools within schools," a planned wireless network, and to take specific requests and suggestions of teachers into consideration.
-- Elaine Rivera In Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, a School Outside the Mold -- New York Times New York: December 09, 2002 [ abstract] The newly built Public School 69 in South Brooklyn is very different from any other New York City public school building. The school houses 650 Pre-Kindergarten through fifth-grade students, sits on a 160-by-200 foot lot. The school features colorful tiles, is designed to let in maximum natural light, and is the first school in the city equipped with a wireless computer system, and each child in grades 3-5 is assigned their own laptop computer. The school took two and a half years to complete at the cost of $40 million.
-- Dennis Hevesi Warner Assures Schools of State Aid -- Washington Post Virginia: December 03, 2002 [ abstract] Virginia Governor Mark Warner (D) announced today that his new budget will protect $4.6 billion in annual state aid to public schools, but warned that he may cut education programs that "cannot show clear results and success in raising student achievement." Cuts will most likely be made in other programs, however, including youth-oriented programs designed to help those on the verge of dropping out or in need of special assistance.
-- R.H. Melton Landmark designation could save old school -- Cleveland Plain Dealer Ohio: November 26, 2002 [ abstract] A seventy-three year old elementary school in Cleveland is about to be named a historic landmark, squelching plans to raze the building and build a bigger, modern, K-8 school on the site. Once the mayor signs the bill protecting the building, planners and builders will focus their efforts on other area schools while a new plan is devised to handle the children bound for the historic school.
-- Mark Vosburgh School Projects Are Designed for Use by the Public -- New York Times New York: November 12, 2002 [ abstract] As school districts update aging facilities, more school buildings are being designed for use both by students and the public. The collaboration has come about as districts attempt to take full advantage of costly construction projects, according to Charles Szuberla, coordinator of facilities management and information services for the New York State Education Department. Schools across the region are keeping gymnasiums, swimming pools, multipurpose rooms, and classrooms open past school hours for community members to exercise, hold meetings, or attend night classes.
-- Carole Paquette Design Contract for Newark Science Park HS Awarded -- Natioanal Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities New Jersey: November 04, 2002 [ abstract] Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, Architecture & Engineering, P.C. was recently selected to design the new 250,000-square-foot Newark Science Park High School, located in one of 30 special needs (or, "Abbott") districts in New Jersey. The new magnet science, math, and technology school will help train Newark's future workforce. It will be surrounded by four higher education institutions in an area called "University Heights," permitting curricular relationships with the universities and mentor relationships with the area's technology companies. The school will serve 1,200 students in grades seven through twelve.
Panel suggests cutting frills in new schools -- Baltimore Sun Maryland: October 31, 2002 [ abstract] A commission studying runaway school construction costs in Anne Arundel County made a series of recommendations yesterday that it said would save the county enough money to build two or three extra schools over the next five years.
The group found that there has not been a consistent effort to ensure that schools are built in an economical fashion; that overly complex designs for new schools were driving up costs; and that red tape and slow payments were discouraging some contractors who might offer lower bids. The commission also recommended abiding by simple, no-frills designs and appointing and advisory group of industry professionals to assist in keeping costs low. The report said new school designs should be rectangular or cubical in form, with the administrative offices, cafeteria and gym at the center. Straight walls are cheaper than those with angles or indentations, commission members said.
-- Laura Loh School Officials Study Facility Costs -- Education Week Arizona: October 30, 2002 [ abstract] A rural school district in Arizona facing a huge population boom is using public and private partnerships coupled with simple school design to pay for much needed new schools. Construction on new homes in the area expects to bring an additional 12,000 students into the school system over the next 10 years, but Arizona law prohibits local governments from requiring developers to pay "impact fees" to help build new schools to accommodate increasing populations. Rather than ask residents for more bond money, the 3,200-student Higley district has managed the growth by partnering with local government agencies and private groups to build new schools that serve as multiuse facilities. The article also discusses a new computer program in place in Fulton County, Georgia that helps school officials predict growth patterns and locate new schools in areas where they will be most effectively utilized.
-- Joetta L. Sack S.J. School Finds a Home -- San Jose Mercury News California: October 28, 2002 [ abstract] A charter school in San Jose designed specifically for students who have previously regarded college as out of reach, with a 90% Latino population, and 70% from low-income households. The school's mission is to send every student on to college. The school had been previously located in three separate sites, requiring a 20-minute break between classes to allow children and teachers time to trek from building to building. Now, the school has found a new home in a former fitness center, and students now feel more comfortable and relaxed, and teachers have more time to devote to teaching.
-- Larry Slonaker Rebuilding work lags at schools -- Cleveland Plain Dealer Ohio: September 14, 2002 [ abstract] Cleveland's Joh Hay High School is the first city school slated for work in the city's $1.5 billion construction project, but work is quickly falling behind schedule as school board officials take extra time in choosing a design firm. The school sits empty, as students and teachers were transferred to other locations at the end of last year while a new roof is being constructed. Critics point out that building a new roof on a school scheduled for redesign is foolhearty, because renovations may need to occur in the near future to a brand new roof to meet new systems requirements. Across the district, scheduled projects are falling behind, but school officials say the schedules are designed to have some flexibility so that losing a few weeks isn't a problem on a project that will take many months to complete.
-- Janet Okoben Board blasted for cost, design of new schools -- Baltimore Sun Maryland: September 05, 2002 [ abstract] The head of a large Baltimore construction company upbraided the Anne Arundel County school board yesterday for allowing the cost of new schools to spiral out of control with scant oversight and little regard for saving money. Edward St. John, President of MIE Industries and chairmain of the county's Blue Ribbon Commission on School Construction, visited a newly opened school and was stunned by the extravagances he saw, including 2 1/2 story hallways and curved glass block walls. St. John's commission will issue a report by the end of the year, but he said he already knows his top recommendation will be to form a commission of people in the construction field to monitor the costs of new schools, with the authority to rein in the architects.
-- Stephen Kiehl Design Principals Guide new Schools -- Chicago Tribune Illinois: August 27, 2002 [ abstract] As school districts across the suburbs open new facilities next week, the common denominator among the buildings' designs seems to be flexibility--for teachers, taxpayers and the community. Having learned lessons from spending millions to modernize schools built decades ago, administrators want buildings that can change with educational needs and with the neighborhood. Architects are designing prototype-based schools based around teacher input and community needs.
-- Crystal Yednak Cookie-Cutter Schools Give Students Deja Vu -- Washington Post District of Columbia: August 25, 2002 [ abstract] This article presents both sides to the argument for prototypical school designing, a process in which one school is designed, and the plans are recycled and used again to build more schools. The schools are nearly identical, varying only in minute detail. Opponents of the concept, including Mary Filardo, Executive Director of the 21st Century School Fund, argue that schools provide an essential base for the surrounding community, and building cookie-cutter molds takes away the individuality of a community. Additionally, school buidlings meet a unique set of needs for each community, and a prototype built without the input of the community is unlikely to meet many of these needs. Propoents of the system say that the identical schools provide feelings of comfort to students transferring from one school to another, and, more importantly, save costs on planning and development.
-- Rosalind Helderman Citizen Involvement Gets the Most Out of New School -- The Columbus Post Ohio: August 08, 2002 [ abstract] The six largest public school districts in Ohio passed an important milestone last week. The Ohio School Facilities Commission approved their master plans for construction and renovation of school buildings. Some cities still must come up with local funds to match the state’s financial contribution, but all are heading into a new phase of the work - that of developing actual designs to guide construction. These construction projects will affect virtually every urban neighborhood in the state neighborhoods that confront all of the challenges of cities in the 21st century.
-- Chad Wick School architects bank the mold -- Denver Post Colorado: July 30, 2002 [ abstract] An architecture and design firm in Colorado saves districts money in school design by modeling all schools after pre-designed and approved prototypes. The schools are efficient and conducive to learning, and save tax payer dollars by eliminating a costly step in the construction process.
-- J. Sebastian Sinisi SCA Funds Frozen; Is Future In Doubt? -- New York Construction News New York: July 01, 2002 [ abstract] Capital construction funds for the next fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2002, for the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) have been frozen, putting all new capital construction line projects and Capital Improvement Projects (CIP), on hold, even though designs have been completed but not yet bid, according to SCA Executive Director Peter McGlinchy.
-- Ellen Lask Playground study cites dangers -- The Boston Globe Massachusetts: June 21, 2002 [ abstract] Bay State playgrounds are now safer than ever, but three of four area playgrounds still pose some safety threats, according to a new study by the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group. The study, part of a larger, nationwide investigation, found that despite improvements in the construction and design of playgrounds, the majority of the 35 Massachusetts playgrounds surveyed posed threats to children's safety.
-- Alice Gomstyn Chalkboards slowly erased from schools -- CNN.com District of Columbia: June 02, 2002 [ abstract] While the old-fashioned chalkboard remains a fixture in most U.S. classrooms, school designers have all but eliminated it. Taking a page from the business world, they're outfitting most new and remodeled schools with whiteboards, in some cases installing high-tech devices that turn them into virtual computer screens.
Toledo Superintendent pitches fall levy for rebuilding project -- Ohio: April 05, 2002 [ abstract] A successful bond levy campaign this fall for the proposed $800 million
school rebuilding and renovation project will depend on Toledo Public
Schools persuading voters to overlook the district's "academic emergency"
designation, Superintendent Eugene Sanders said.
Toledo Superintendent pitches fall levy for rebuilding project -- Ohio: April 05, 2002 [ abstract] A successful bond levy campaign this fall for the proposed $800 million
school rebuilding and renovation project will depend on Toledo Public
Schools persuading voters to overlook the district's "academic emergency"
designation, Superintendent Eugene Sanders said. Toledo would be eligible for state money to fund 77 percent of its project. The 23 percent needs to be raised locally. Under the state program, money can only be used for capital projects, not academic initiatives.
Foundation to Fund 70 Small U.S. High Schools -- Los Angeles Times California: March 20, 2002 [ abstract] California will get at least four new small high schools as part of a $40-million project by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation, aiming to increase high school and college attendance nationwide, is donating the money to organizations that will create or redesign 70 small high schools around the country.
-- Sufiya Abdur-Rahman School Project Plans Aired -- The Hartford Courant Connecticut: March 19, 2002 [ abstract] The architect overseeing design for the Hartford Public High School renovation urged the school building committee to rent portable classrooms to house most of the high school during construction.
-- Rachel Gottlieb Ohio Schools get $31 million grant from Gates, others -- The Cleveland Plaindealer Ohio: March 09, 2002 [ abstract] A cadre of foundations led by Bill Gates' philanthropic group is giving Ohio a $31.5 million grant to transform large, troubled urban high schools into small, innovative learning academies.
The bulk of the money - $20 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and $5 million from the Cincinnati-based KnowledgeWorks Foundation - will be used to redesign existing high schools or to create new, smaller schools in six to eight cities.
-- Scott Stephens and Janet Okoben High school addition bids, preschool design OKd -- The Indianapolis Star Indiana: February 26, 2002 [ abstract] Major steps on two Warren Township Schools building projects -- an addition at Warren Central High School and renovation of an elementary into an expanded Early Childhood Center -- have been authorized by the School Board.
-- Howard M. Smulevitz High School Closing Urged -- Connecticut Post Connecticut: January 16, 2002 [ abstract] The new architect overseeing plans to build a new Hartford Public High School urged the city's school building committee Tuesday to quickly find a place where the students can study for three years during construction or risk having to redesign the new school.
Boston High School chief sees pilot school as future (Massachusetts)-- Boston Herald Massachusetts: December 17, 2001 [ abstract] Headmistress Nicole Bahnam has to come up with a way to save Boston High School by remaking it into a pilot school. The district high school found itself on the chopping block because the building was never designed to hold a comprehensive high school and the money doesn't exist for the $8 million in renovations required to meet some, but not all, requirements for accreditation.
Bond issue would pay for school upgrades (Louisiana)-- Louisiana: November 16, 2001 [ abstract] Brock Elementary is one of 10 schools that will get major renovations if St. Tammany voters approve a $54 million bond issue on the ballot Saturday. The bond
issue would pay for a five-year construction plan designed to upgrade the
district's older schools and replace most of the school system's portable
classrooms. The plan also would add new classrooms to absorb future growth at the parish's fastest-growing schools.
CPS mulls $185M from state to rebuild (Ohio)-- The Cincinnati Enquirer Ohio: October 10, 2001 [ abstract] Officials of Cincinnati Public Schools are debating if $185 million in state aid for school construction would be best appropriated for complete replacement, demolition, or renovation, or, alternatively, to sell the majority of district buildings and losing some local decision-making power. Since 1997, the Ohio School Facilities Commission Ohio School Facilities
Commission will contribute a portion of aid - 23 percent for CPS - for a
construction and renovation project designed to bring all the district's
school buildings up to state standards. There is debate surrounding the situation, as many in the city feel the complete distruction and rebuilding of area schools is unnecessary, while spokespersons for the commission state that it is the best way to ensure all children in Cincinnati receive the best possible education.
-- Jennifer Mrozowski Schools Add Security in Reaction to Violence -- LA Times California: June 02, 2001 [ abstract] In response to highly publicized acts of violence in schools, such as the Columbine school massacre, school designers are making their plans to control the movements of students. Locks and bars and security cameras make students feel like prisoners instead of making them feel safe.
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